Apple’s got trouble down under after an Australian court hit it with a $9 million AUS fine (that’s $6.6 million U.S. dollars) for the infamous “Error 53″ message debacle in 2016. It’s Tuesday, June 19th and if you don’t remember what was going on in 2016 (and who does, really), iPhones started bricking after an update with an “Error 53” message. Apple refused to fix the phones at first, saying the error was due to users repairing the phones with aftermarket parts that Apple couldn’t verify, such as repairing cracked screens and so on.
But they eventually relented, and also agreed to compensate 5,000 iPhone users even before the court hit them with the fine. Of course, for a company valued at close to a trillion dollars, a $6.6 million fine is a bit of chuckle; Tim Cook probably has more than that in the swear jar on his desk. Apple says they will train Aussie staffers to comply with the country’s repair laws, which allows customers to fix their phones – a right being fought over right now in California.
It’s tough sledding over at Tesla these days, with a recent mysterious fire destroying a car belonging to a high-profile customer, Model 3 production delays, a cash crunch and more. Now, you can add sabotage to the list.
Reuters said that in an email to employees, CEO Elon Musk claims they have apprehended an employee that was making unauthorized changes to code in the cars’ operating system and sending sensitive data to a third party outside the company, but he didn’t say who. Musk said the saboteur was a disgruntled employee who was passed over for a promotion, and in hindsight, he says that was probably a smart move. Musk also said that numerous forces “want Tesla to die,” including oil and gas concerns, auto industry competitors, Wall Street short sellers and apparently, some bad apples at the plant. Musk did not say who the employee was or what their job duties entailed.
Message desk
Do you actually talk to people on your cell phone? OK we all do, sometimes, but text messaging seems like the most common form of digital communication these days, and up until now, Apple iMessage users had a distinct advantage: they could text to phones and other Macs right from that roomy iMac or MacBook pro screen.
At long last, Google – and the Android OS – has caught up. Google announced yesterday that the new version of Android Messages will allow for the same flexibility and convenience: You can now send a text message from a browser (we would imagine they will recommend Chrome) to a phone and visa versa. There is a bit of setup involved so hit this link for all the steps you need to take to get going.
We’ve got more news on our Facebook page and YouTube channel, and be sure to tune in to this week’s DT podcasts: Trends with Benefits (general tech shenanigans) on Thursdays, and Between the Streams (movie and TV topics) every Friday.
