Joe Rossignol

Sonnet Technologies this week launched a Thunderbolt 3 to dual HDMI 2.0 adapter compatible with Mac and Windows PCs. The plug-and-play adapter enables the connection of up to two 4K Ultra HD displays with HDMI 2.0 to a single Thunderbolt 3 port at 60Hz on computers such as the 2016 and later MacBook Pro. The adapter is powered by the computer it is plugged into and also supports monitors...

Mastercard today announced that cardholders will no longer have to provide a signature for any purchases in the United States and Canada after April 2018. The change will apply to both debit and credit cards. Mastercard said removing the need to sign for card-present transactions will not have any impact on customer security due to modern safeguards. "Our secure network and state-of-the...

Rogers, the largest wireless carrier in Canada, has admitted that it has seen lackluster demand for the iPhone 8 so far. "What we're seeing is sort of […] anemic appetite for the iPhone 8," said Rogers CEO Joe Natale, during an earnings call today, according to Reuters. iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus pre-orders began on September 15, and the devices launched on September 22, including at...

Apple today previewed its new Michigan Avenue store along the Chicago River ahead of its grand opening on Friday. Apple shared new pictures that provide a look at the store's 32-foot glass facades and 111-by-98 foot carbon-fiber roof. Two staircases lead to the store's lower level, featuring indoor trees and a seating area for Today at Apple sessions. The flagship store is designed to...

Apple Stores continue to be the most popular destination to purchase a new Mac in the United States, according to a recent survey conducted by research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Apple's retail locations and online store accounted for roughly 40 percent of Mac sales between October 2016 and September 2017, based on 2,000 survey respondents who purchased a Mac during that...

Rite Aid today announced that it now accepts Apple Pay as a payment method on its desktop and mobile website. iPhone, iPad, and Mac users accessing RiteAid.com through the Safari web browser will now see a "Buy with Apple Pay" option at checkout alongside existing credit card and PayPal payment options. Rite Aid said it is the first pharmacy retailer to accept Apple Pay as a form of...

Apple has reportedly asked its suppliers to reduce iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus production by nearly 50 percent in November and December, according to Reuters, which cited Taiwan's Economic Daily News. The report quotes an unnamed source who claims it is the first time in the iPhone's history that new models face a major cutback so shortly after mass production began. iPhone 8 and iPhone 8...

In addition to Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates, Apple Pay may launch in the Netherlands and Poland later this year. Dutch blog One More Thing, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, claims that ING will be the first bank to offer Apple Pay in the Netherlands. Virtual bank Bunq also supposedly plans to support Apple Pay. Rabobank, one of the largest banks...

Verizon today announced it is lowering its deductible for cracked screen repairs for customers signed up for its Total Mobile Protection plan. Starting on Thursday, October 19, the fee will be reduced from $49 to $29. Total Mobile Protection itself costs $11 per month for smartphones and $9 per month for tablets. Enrolling in Total Mobile Protection is typically only allowed within 30 days...

A new entry in Apple's Machine Learning Journal provides a closer look at how hardware, software, and internet services work together to power the hands-free "Hey Siri" feature on the latest iPhone and iPad Pro models. Specifically, a very small speech recognizer built into the embedded motion coprocessor runs all the time and listens for "Hey Siri." When just those two words are detected,...

Apple Maps now provides indoor maps for eight additional airports in the United States, as the new feature continues to roll out in iOS 11. The recently added airports include O'Hare International and Midway International in Chicago, McCarran International in Las Vegas, Baltimore–Washington International, Miami International, Minneapolis–Saint Paul International, Oakland International,...

Apple and GE today announced a new partnership that will provide developers with the tools to make their own powerful industrial apps. The two companies unveiled a new software development kit for iOS that will give developers the ability to make iPhone and iPad apps that use analytics from GE's industrial "Internet of Things" platform Predix. For example, a Predix app can notify workers...

Microsoft today introduced the Surface Book 2, the second generation of its high-end notebook and tablet hybrid. The new Surface Book 2 is equipped with Intel's latest eighth-generation Core processors, up to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 graphics, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 17 hours of battery life based on video playback. Microsoft says those tech specs make the Surface Book 2 up to five...

Last year, popular accessory maker Twelve South introduced a candle that promised to deliver a "New Mac" scent. The limited time product was so popular among Apple aficionados that it quickly sold out. Twelve South is back at it again this year with a new "Inspire" candle, which it refers to as Mac candle N°2. Made from 100 percent soy wax, it is said to give off strong notes of bergamot,...

Apple TV's universal search feature now supports a selection of additional apps in the United States and other countries. In the United States, fourth- and fifth-generation Apple TV users can now search for movies or TV shows on BBC America, Classix, and Oxygen, an NBC-owned channel that primarily airs true crime programming. In Canada, newly supported apps include Apple Music, CBC TV,...

Google's official search app for iOS has been updated this week with more navigation options in the United States and other countries. In addition to Google Maps, you can now use Apple Maps or Waze for navigation when searching for places and addresses in the Google app. When you search for an address and tap the navigation button, a menu opens with the three options for directions:...

While the iMac Pro doesn't launch for another six weeks or so, possible benchmarks for the computer may have already surfaced on Geekbench. The results provide us with an early look at just how powerful Apple's $4,999-and-up desktop workstation will be when it is released in December. Interestingly, the iMac Pro models benchmarked appear to have custom, downclocked Xeon chips that Intel...

VirnetX today announced that the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has denied all of Apple's motions in a longstanding FaceTime-related patent lawsuit between the two companies. The court also granted all of VirnetX's motions in the retrial and increased the royalty rates that Apple owes during the infringement period, resulting in a revised final judgment amount ...

Just over a decade after the iPhone launched, and six years after Steve Jobs passed, some critics believe that Apple's pace of innovation has slowed. Unsurprisingly, Apple's services chief Eddy Cue doesn't share that opinion. "I disagree vehemently with that and I think we've been incredibly innovative," said Cue, in a recent interview with Indian publication Livemint. Cue pointed out...

Mathy Vanhoef, a postdoctoral researcher at Belgian university KU Leuven, has discovered and disclosed major vulnerabilities in the WPA2 protocol that secures all modern protected Wi-Fi networks. Vanhoef said an attacker within range of a victim can exploit these weaknesses using so-called KRACKs, or key reinstallation attacks, which can result in any data or information that the victim...