Apple makes strides in advancing carbon-free aluminum smelting, brings $188 million investment to Canada

Apple has played a crucial role in an international joint venture that could forever change global manufacturing of aluminum. A key component used in the production of Macs, iPads, iPhones and Apple Watch products, many technology companies like Apple prefer aluminum because of its strength and lightness as well as the various ways it can be treated.

By using aluminum in its products at scale, Apple has been able to find ways to make production more effecient and less wasteful as well as develop new processes.

Leading aluminum manufacturing companies Alcoa and Rio Tinto have developed, "a revolutionary process to make aluminum that produces oxygen and replaces all greenhouse gas emissions from the traditional aluminum smelting process. The technology represents the culmination of decades’ worth of research and development," Apple's statement said. 

According to the news. Alcoa, Rio Tinto, the Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec and Apple agree to provide a combined investment of CAD $188 million, which is a large investment in Canada, where the smelting will take place.

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ZTE ceases operations, reportedly on life support after U.S. ban

Chinese smartphone and communications manufacturer ZTE is reportedly on life support following a crushing US ban. The company has apparently ceased all online and retail operations in the wake of a ban imposed by the US goverment. ZTE is China's second largest telecom equiptment maker, it made its name in North America selling affordable smartphones as well as portablw Wi-Fi hotspot devices.

ZTEwas banned  for illegally shipping goods to Iran, the result is the ceasing of major operating activities for the companies. "ZTE appears to have suspended its online stores on its own website as well as on Alibaba Group’s e-commerce platform Taobao over the past few days, which display a “page being updated” message with no products to order," a report from Reuters says.

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Google Home Max coming to Canada on May 16 for $499

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Toronto - Smart speakers come in a number of varieties. You have the cheaper hockey-puck sized mini speakers that connect to the Internet easily enought but, because of their size, don't sound great. You have the larger coffee mug sized speakers that sound a bit better but only have so much room to accomodate bass. At the top end, you get the large smart speakers that are geared towards bigger sound with more complex audio capabilities.

All these speakers do the same thing and some even allow you to hook up to your existing loudspeakers to get that Hi-Fi sound. For homes that don't have a high-fidelity speaker, Google is offering its Google Home Max speaker as the one to rule them all.

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Google acknowledges we're on our devices too much, proposes some time management solutions

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

What was most impressive was the company's acknowledgement that we are spending too much time glued to our devices and that we're missin out on real life by being mired down by notifications and being distracted by social media, mobile games, infinite scroll experiences like Instagram of Facebook.

There were a lot of cool announcements today at Google I/O, the yearly pow-wow for all things Google. This is usually the time when we see the next version of Android as well as enhancements and improvements to the Google ecosystem, large as it is. Android is the world's leading smartphone platform with well over two billion user install base.

Google showed off smart functions of Google Assistant that can enable it to make calls and appointments just like a real assistant can. Improvement to the Photos app that can colour old Black and White photos using Machine Learning algorithms. Improved keyboard functionality and more intuitive Android OS features across the board.

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