Farmers catch the snails from their paddies. — Photo nhandan.com.vn Viet Nam News QUẢNG TRỊ — Farmers in central Quảng Trị Province is struggling to cultivate rice in the summer-autumn crop season due to the outbreak of apple snails, an invasive species that attacks rice plants. A report by authorities in the province’s Cam Lộ District said apple snails have eaten newly-sowed rice in 50 hectares of the district. Farmers in Cam Lộ, a week ago, discovered their rice plants had been eaten. They later found many apple snails in the paddies, with hundreds of snails per one square metre. Some farmers did their re-sowing, but the plants continued to be eaten. The farmers are waiting for support from the local authorities to stop the outbreak of the snail attacks. They made several efforts, including chemical spraying, but failed to kill the snails. Experts said the high frequency of rains this summer reduced the time for the soil to dry, before cultivation, and this … [Read more...] about Apple snails attack rice crop in Quảng Trị
Apple at support
Apple discontinues full-size HomePod, to focus on HomePod mini
AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. These affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content. Apple on Friday announced the discontinuation of the full-size HomePod , saying it plans to focus on production and development of the HomePod mini. Apple informed TechCrunch of the product's end of life in a statement today. HomePod mini has been a hit since its debut last fall, offering customers amazing sound, an intelligent assistant, and smart home control all for just $99. We are focusing our efforts on HomePod mini. We are discontinuing the original HomePod, it will continue to be available while supplies last through the Apple Online Store, Apple Retail Stores, and Apple Authorized Resellers. Apple will provide HomePod customers with software updates and service and support through Apple Care. The company plans to sell remaining HomePod units until … [Read more...] about Apple discontinues full-size HomePod, to focus on HomePod mini
Returning to the Apple Store – the new normal
Feature AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. These affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content. For the first time since March 2020 all 270 Apple Stores in the US are now open in some capacity. AppleInsider has visited a few stores in the last few weeks, and the experience is radically different than what it was a year ago, or even when the stores reopened for the first time. Over the past year, my local Apple Store found in the Westfield Brandon Town Center mall has remained open save for only a few sporadic weeks. While I haven't had much need to visit in-person over the past year, two faulty MacBooks finally required me to make a Genius Bar appointment and bring them in for repair. Users looking to make any kind of Genius Bar appointment should plan far ahead as the earliest appointments for this location were at least one week out. If … [Read more...] about Returning to the Apple Store – the new normal
Apple now displays iPhone and Mac repairability scores in France
AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. These affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content. Apple this week posted repairability scores for flagship iPhone and Mac products in France, a measure mandated by the country's government in January. The listings, known as repair indexes, are now displayed on official Apple Store app purchase pages and on Apple's website, reports MacGeneration . Current-generation flagship devices including the iPhone 12 , iPhone 11 and iPhone SE series, as well as MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models, carry the informational mark designed to offer insight into a product's life cycle. Separately, Apple has posted a dedicated webpage on its French website with links to detailed repair index reports covering documentation; disassembly, access and tools; parts availability; parts pricing; and software and services support. … [Read more...] about Apple now displays iPhone and Mac repairability scores in France
PSA: Thunderbolt 3 cables longer than 0.5m generally don’t support USB 3.1 speeds
AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. These affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content. USB-C is the future of computer connectivity, but there is a great deal of confusion over USB-C, Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.1, and what any given cable with USB-C connectors is capable of. AppleInsider breaks it all down. Apple introduced USB-C to its user base with the retina 12-inch MacBook. At the time, it was a fancy USB port limited to USB 3.0 speeds of 5Gbit per second, and was officially called USB 3.1 Type-C Generation 1. The same physical port was used in the 2016 MacBook Pro refresh, offering a faster, more capable Thunderbolt 3 port with the same USB-C physical connector. The Thunderbolt 3 protocol allows for 40Gbit per second — assuming the cabling for it is right. But, right now, confusion reigns — and a simple choice that Apple made in the 2016 … [Read more...] about PSA: Thunderbolt 3 cables longer than 0.5m generally don’t support USB 3.1 speeds
DaVinci Resolve and Fusion now officially support M1 Macs
Blackmagic Design has updated its popular video-editing apps DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Fusion, adding native M1 Mac support. Following the public beta that had launched in November, DaVinci Resolve 17.1 is now available to the public in the official update channel. The update brings full native support for the M1-powered variants of the 13-inch MacBook Pro , MacBook Air , and Mac mini . Previously, DaVinci Resolve had only run on M1 Macs using Rosetta 2 translation. Native M1 support allows the software to take full advantage of Apple Silicon's performance. Apple's chip has up to a 3.5x faster CPU, 6x faster GPU, and 15x faster machine learning than Intel Macs. The M1-friendly update carries over the 100 new features and 200 improvements from DaVinci Resolve 17 . That list includes significant updates to the Fairlight audio workstation and color grading toolset with broader user interface upgrades. It also adds: new HDR color correction tools … [Read more...] about DaVinci Resolve and Fusion now officially support M1 Macs
Apple silicon Macs to support Thunderbolt despite shift to ARM
AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. These affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content. Apple on Wednesday clarified its stance on future integration of Intel's Thunderbolt protocol, saying Macs powered by custom-designed Apple silicon ARM chips will continue to support the connectivity technology. The tech giant in a statement to AppleInsider said Apple silicon Macs will support Thunderbolt's latest specifications. Thunderbolt's future on Mac was in question as Apple is in the beginning stages of transitioning away from Intel's x86 architecture in favor of its own ARM designs. "Over a decade ago, Apple partnered with Intel to design and develop Thunderbolt, and today our customers enjoy the speed and flexibility it brings to every Mac," the company said. "We remain committed to the future of Thunderbolt and will support it in Macs with Apple … [Read more...] about Apple silicon Macs to support Thunderbolt despite shift to ARM
Intel details Thunderbolt 4 spec, but ‘Apple silicon’ support is unclear [u]
AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. These affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content. Intel on Wednesday announced new details about its upcoming Thunderbolt 4 standard, though compatibility with Apple silicon Macs remains to be seen. The Thunderbolt 4 standard will be backward compatible with previous Intel ports and cables, and will also be cross-compatible with USB4 . Compared to Thunderbolt 3 , it'll offer a number of tangible benefits to consumers while retaining the USB-C connector type. For example, it'll allow for universal cables up to two meters long without needing to resort to active cables that leave out older USB standards. Thunderbolt 4 will also support accessories, such as docks, with up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports . The standard will double the minimum video and data requirements of Thunderbolt 3. Other features include … [Read more...] about Intel details Thunderbolt 4 spec, but ‘Apple silicon’ support is unclear [u]
Everything you need to know about USB-C & Thunderbolt 3 on Apple’s new MacBook Pro
Feature AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. These affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content. Apple has decisively transitioned its new MacBook Pros to use the slim, unidirectional new USB-C port first introduced on the Retina MacBook a year and a half ago. Its latest MacBook Pro machines not only supply more connectors, but also support the enhanced new USB 3.1 Gen 2 and Thunderbolt 3 protocols for blazing fast wired connectivity and high resolution displays. Flex your power Like the Retina MacBook, the new MacBook Pro models no longer use MagSafe, Apple's quick release magnetic plug for delivering power. Power is now delivered via USB-C, which fits snuggly enough to pull your laptop off the edge of a table if something inadvertently tugs the cable hard enough. While many are weeping over the death of their beloved MagSafe, I've … [Read more...] about Everything you need to know about USB-C & Thunderbolt 3 on Apple’s new MacBook Pro
Ad-supported HBO Max option coming in June
AT&T announced on Friday that it plans to launch a cheaper ad-supported version of HBO Max in June. The telecom giant has only released minimal detail on the plan. It hasn't yet announced pricing or an exact release date for the upcoming cheaper tier. AT&T expects the ad-supported HBO Max tier to combine with global expansion to drive subscriber and revenue growth in 2021. HBO Max will launch in 60 markets outside of the US in 2021. These will include 39 Latin America and the Caribbean territories in late June and 21 European territories in the second half of 2021. The company anticipates ending the year with between 67 and 70 million subscribers. The service had around 61 million subscribers at the end of 2020. The company expects its HBO unit to more than double its revenue in the next five years. "Zach Snyder's Justice League" is one of the high-profile HBO Max exclusives coming in 2021 In response to the pandemic, Warner Bros is … [Read more...] about Ad-supported HBO Max option coming in June