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This review will be a bit unconventional, probably because Arch Linux itself is a bit unconventional. Rather than having continued, numbered releases like most distros, Arch Linux follows the rolling-release model, meaning that you install Arch once and it updates forever (or at least, until you break something). There is no “Arch Linux 16.04 LTS”, there is simply Arch Linux. The philosophy of Arch, known as The Arch Way, focuses on simplicity and user centrality, rather than user friendliness....

Another day, another witness takes the stand in the Apple vs. Samsung trial. Graphic designer Susan Kare, who once did phenomenal work for Apple in the 1980s, took the stand to testify today and point out similarities between Samsung and Apple’s devices. The Wall Street Journal was present in the courtroom and reported this afternoon that Kare noted that the icons on Samsung devices in many cases infringed on Apple’s patents....

Apple’s relationship with China has never been an easy one. Indeed, I wrote a piece a couple of years ago arguing that the company was in a no-win position in the country. Things today are even worse… But Apple is in a very different position today than was Google in 2010. While Google had big ambitions within the country, it was not dependent on the market. Apple very much is. Not just because China is the largest smartphone market in the world – and as important to Apple as the whole of Europe – but because it is the iPhone maker’s key manufacturing base....

A report from FossPatents today (via MacRumors), covering a Samsung filing with U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, shows the United States Patent and Trademark Office has declared 20 claims related to Apple’s rubber-banding patent invalid. One of the claims was even used against Samsung as part of Apple’s $1 billion victory in a California court in August: The report noted an anonymous third-party challenged the validity of the patent earlier this year by requesting a re-examination (Google looks up into space, begins whistling):...

A consumer study by Reputation Institute has Apple and Google sharing the #1 spot as the world’s most reputable companies. According to the 2011 Global RepTrak 100 index, Disney, BMW and LEGO placed third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Sony, Daimler, Canon, Intel, and Volkswagen round out the top ten. As a matter of fact, the study found out that Apple, Google, LEGO and Sony are the only companies to make the top ten in nine of the 15 countries....

The Cielo Vista Mall, built in 1974, is just two miles from the Mexican border. Photo: G. O’Graffer While Apple has yet to open its first retail store in Mexico, the El Paso, Texas store the company is allegedly mulling should be Godsent for Apple’s Mexican fans – it’s just two miles from the Mexico border town of Ciudad Juarez. According to ifoAppleStore, the company will positing the store on the ground floor, next to the Gap store, of the 1....

During today’s “Peek Performance” event, Apple announced it’s bringing MLB games to Apple TV+ with Friday Night Baseball. With this deal, Apple will bring a couple of games every week, so users can take advantage of Major League Baseball. For a limited time, all users will be able to take advantage of this Friday Night games, then, Apple says users will need to be subscribed to Apple TV+. Fans in the US will also be able to enjoy “MLB Big Inning,” a live show featuring highlights and look-ins airing every weeknight during the regular season....

Transport for London yesterday activated the Express Transit feature, designed to make it easier to use an Apple Watch or iPhone to pay for public transit journeys. I got the chance to try it on a couple of short journeys across London last night, and it’s one of those tiny things which makes a worthwhile difference to the experience… My Apple Watch is my usual way of paying for things. In London, pretty much everyone accepts contactless payment, from the smallest convenience store to major chains....

Update: These mysterious entries have now been removed from the website. Original story follows … The Hermès website is currently featuring some product listings for ‘Series 5’ bands in its Apple Watch lineup. However, the product photos and description are copies of the product pages for the equivalent Series 4 bands. This may just be a stocking mistake. Web cache results suggest that these ‘Series 5’ search results are new as of this week, so that’s at least something....

A New York regulator has written to Facebook and the developers behind at least 11 popular iPhone apps found to be sending sensitive data to Facebook, to demand an explanation. This data included things like weight, BMI, menstrual cycles, alcohol consumption, food consumption, heart-rate, blood pressure and calories burned during exercise – including in one case the category ‘sexual activity’ … The privacy policies of the apps concerned do not make clear the extent of the data-sharing, often not mentioning Facebook at all....

Over the last few months, Apple has quietly relaunched the iPhone 6 in a ‘new’ 32 GB configuration around the world. The company has opted not to sell the product directly, instead distributing the device via carrier partners. The 32 GB iPhone 6 originally debuted in emerging markets, presumably as a lower cost option, but has more recently appeared in the US — and now it has hit the UK too …...

Apple’s Shortcuts app is now built-in on iPhones and iPads with iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, a change that gives the automation app more integration and greater discovery. If you’re brand new to Shortcuts or want to take customization to the next level, there are two great resources out this month to help. First up is an ambitious design project from the MacStories team for personalizing how specific shortcuts appear on your iPhone and iPad Home screen....

Apple’s streaming video service is launching into an increasingly competitive market, and one in which consumers are already experiencing ‘subscription fatigue,’ says a new survey. The Deloitte survey of more than 2,000 US digital consumers contained a mix of good and bad news for Apple … The good news is that the market for streaming video services is huge and still growing rapidly, reports USA Today. But many streaming video subscribers feel overwhelmed and frustrated....

Apple appears to have secured a major discount on its 1.1 billion euro antitrust fine in France. The company has successfully had the fine reduced to 372 million euros by a French court, according to a new report. Reuters is the first to report on the substantially reduced penalty. Citing “two sources with knowledge of the matter,” the report said three factors are responsible for the significantly lower fine. The fixed-pricing charge has reportedly been thrown out and the time scope of another charge has been reduced....

As Apple continues to develop watchOS 2.0 for Apple Watch ahead of its release this fall, the company has released watchOS 2 beta 4 to registered developers today for testing the operating system update on Apple Watch. The upcoming OS update includes a ton of improvements to the platform including support for native apps, third-party complications, new watch faces including using your own photos, a clever Night Stand mode for using the watch as a miniature alarm clock, and several refinements to apps and features like Digital Touch and Siri....

Apple today has published three new ads focused on Portrait Lighting on iPhone X, and Live Photos. Without any narration, the three videos are quick and easy tutorials on how to shoot, and edit Portrait Lighting photos, along with the third demonstrating how to add effects to Live Photos. Since its debut, Apple has released a slew of new iPhone X tutorial videos. And rightfully so, the iPhone X is a new take on how to navigate and use an iPhone....

The Apple Store has gone down ahead of Apple’s latest media event at 10 AM PDT today. Apple is widely expected to announce two new iPhones and a brand new wearable device. Interestingly, Apple has finally dropped the linen from its ‘We’ll be back’ page, finally modernizing it with a post-iOS 7 stark white design. When the store goes back up, it will likely include information about Apple’s latest announcements. Information about preorders for the new phones is not known....

Apple is reopening many of its still-closed US and Canadian retail stores this week as the company analyzes local health conditions and determines a safe path forward. Locations reopening this week include some stores in Illinois, Minnesota, Virginia, Wisconsin, Ontario, Quebec, and more. As of June 23, 218 of Apple’s 271 US retail stores are open, following multiple waves of reopenings and local COVID-19 case number surges resulting in reclosings. Daily developments in the national pandemic response have left US Apple Stores in a constant state of flux since they began reopening on May 11....

In a new report by Bloomberg today, Apple and Samsung suppliers are making thousand of Vietnamese workers sleep on factory floors to minimize disruption of COVID-19 resurgence in the country as well as keep industry rolling. The report says thousands of people are sleeping on “metal bunk beds with bamboo mats and cots in makeshift dormitories as well as in tents pitched on cement floors inside cavernous halls, and are quarantined until they test negative after returning from home....

A new report out from Bloomberg today details that Apple is close to opening online sales in India as the country has relaxed its rules for foreign companies and the requirement to source 30% of production locally to open retail stores. This comes as good news for Apple as it has seen iPhone sales fall in the country this year. News about India potentially easing its requirements for foreign companies came last month as the country’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, said that local sourcing norms “will be eased....