Former Intel CEO and Chairman Andy Grove has died

Some sad news coming from Silicon Valley, Intel's former CEO and Chairman Andy Grove has passed away at 79. Grove is credited for helping build Intel to great heights as a semiconductor giant as well as a key figure in the consumer technology landscape. He served as Intel's leader from 1979 to 2005.

According to Intel, "Grove played a critical role in the decision to move Intel’s focus from memory chips to microprocessors and led the firm’s transformation into a widely recognized consumer brand. Under his leadership, Intel produced the chips, including the 386 and Pentium, that helped usher in the PC era. The company also increased annual revenues from $1.9 billion to more than $26 billion."

Grove was also a bestelling author and business strategist, his book Only the Paranoid Survive: How To Exploit the Crisis Points that Challenge Every Company is a must-read for managers and one of the best references for managing change within companies and industries. Grove served as an elder statesman of the shifting technology industry even after his retirement in 2005.  Read more about his life and achievements here.

Apple gives an update on environmental initiatives at SE event

Aside from talking about the new iPhone and iPad Pro, Apple has also shared its initiatives to help make the world a better place to live in. According to Lisa Jackson, Apple’s VP of Environment, Policy, and Social Issues, the company now runs 93 percent of its facilities on renewable energy and its facilities in the US, China, and 21 other countries are already 100 percent running on renewable energy. The company has set a goal of reaching 100 percent for all its facilities two years ago. Some of the company’s ongoing initiatives include a 40-megawatt solar farm in China and plans to put solar panels on Singapore’s rooftops.

Since 2012, Apple’s data centers have been running entirely on renewable sources such as solar, wind, biogas fuel cells, micro-hydro power, and geothermal power.  And earlier this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced they’re building a 1,300-acre solar farm to power its new headquarters and other stores and offices in California.

Source: The Verge

Apple CEO Tim Cook addresses ongoing battle with FBI over encryption

Stephan Lam/Reuters

Apple CEO Tim Cook started off its SE event without shying away from a hot topic. He addressed the ongoing legal battle the company has with the FBI, which is trying to extract information from an iPhone owned by one of the accused shooters of 2015’s San Bernardino attack. Cook says he owes it to their customers to protect their privacy and data. The first legal hearing of the case will happen tomorrow afternoon in a Central California District court.

Cook said during the press event, “We did not expect to be in this position at odds with our own government. We believe strongly that we have a responsibility to help you protect your data and protect your privacy. We owe it to our customers, and we owe it to our country. This is an issue that impacts all of us, and we will not shrink from this responsibility.”

Source: The Verge + ABC News

Apple introduces new Night Shift feature in iOS 9.3

Alongside the launch of the new devices, Apple’s also made iOS 9.3 available for download. This minor release brings with it some useful features including the new Night Shift mode. Working similar to what the F.lux tool does, it reduces the amount of blue light it emits based on the time of the day or where you are at the moment. Blue light is said to make it harder for people to sleep so you can schedule that to turn on in the evenings. Apple also adds password protection to its Notes app. You can even unlock it via Touch ID. This’ll be useful if you store sensitive personal information in the app. There are also new 3D Touch shortcuts for Weather, Settings, Compass, Health, Stocks, and Store.

Aside from that, Apple also tweaked its News app to personalize the For You section further with interests, suggestions, and trending topics. Multi-user support shows up when it allows students with iPads to share devices easily. Apple Health gets Apple Watch integration, while CarPlay gets the ability to add song suggestions for music and nearby points of interests if you need to find certain places.

Source: The Verge