Apple and (RED) celebrate $160 million raised for AIDS awareness and treatment

Apple's been a staunch proponent of AIDS awareness with its involvement in the (RED) initiative. As one of the earliest partners of the program, Apple has released various (product) RED variants of products of which partial proceeds would go into AIDS awareness and treatment. The company also puts World AIDS Day front and centre by dressing up their stores with symbolic RED Apple logos and having their staff wear the colour. The company now celebrates a milestone.

Click to read more ...

Andy Rubin takes leave from Essential for ‘personal reasons’ as investigation over ‘inappropriate’ Google relationship surfaces

The latest sexual harassment/misconduct to allegations hits a prominent name in the tech scene. Essential founder and CEO Andy Rubin is subject to a new report from The Information that claims Rubin left Google shortly after an internal investigation found he had an “inappropriate relationship” with a woman who worked under him in the Android division. While relationships are allowed within Google, they needed to disclose their relationship so one of them can be transferred out to another division or department. It isn’t clear what the relationship was like but during the duration of it the unidentified woman filed a complaint with Google’s human resources department. And shortly after this, Rubin left the company.

Rubin’s official spokesperson Mike Sitrick refutes The Information’s story saying, “Any relationship that Mr. Rubin had while at Google was consensual. Mr. Rubin was never told by Google that he engaged in any misconduct while at Google and he did not, either while at Google or since.” However, after this story broke, it’s been announced that Essential’s founder and CEO is taking a leave of absence for “personal reasons” and Essential’s President Niccolo de Masi will be in charge.

Source: The Verge + Android Central

Daisy Ridley is ready to hang up her lightsaber after ‘Episode IX’

© 2017 LUCASFILM LTD.

While we know that a new Star Wars trilogy is heading our way in the future, there might be one face we won’t see then. Actress Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey in the sequel trilogy, is ready to give up the role after Episode IX is done. Speaking to Rolling Stone she says, "I am really, really excited to do the third thing and round it out, because ultimately, what I was signing on to was three films. So in my head, it's three films. I think it will feel like the right time to round it out."

But the actress also isn’t completely ruling out showing up somewhere down the line in a similar manner as her co-stars Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Mark Hamill did. "Who knows? I honestly feel like the world may end in the next 30 years, so, if in 30 years we are not living underground in a series of interconnected cells ... then sure," she said. "Maybe." If we keep the planet alive by then, and there are more Star Wars films to be made, then perhaps we’ll get our wish.

New Apple patent stocks rumours of foldable iPhone

A newly published Apple patent application helps fuel claims that the tech giant is working on releasing a foldable iPhone. According to the patent published by the US Patent & Trademark Office, it describes the device as: “An electronic device may have a flexible portion that allows the device to be folded. The device may have a flexible display. The flexible display may have a bending region that allows the display to bend along a bend axis when the device is folded.”

The rumours about Apple working on a device with a foldable display have been around since last year. Some claim Apple will be working with LG. Just last month, a report says Apple was planning to invest in an LG plant to help produce the foldable display. The reports mention the use of an OLED panel. The patent application though covers everything from LCD, OLED, to microLED. And while this patent shows us the possibility of a foldable iPhone being in our future. It must be noted still that Apple patents a lot of things that don’t see the light of day.

Source: 9to5Mac