Month: May 2022

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Enjoy the podcast? Shop Apple at Amazon or check out our to support 9to5Mac Daily!

New episodes of 9to5Mac Daily are recorded every weekday. To ensure that new episodes of Mac Daily are available as soon as possible, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes/Apple Podcast.

Stories discussed in this episode:

• Apple Music now available on Roku streaming devices, smart TVs
• AirTag firmware update enhances unwanted tracking alert
• Microsoft Edge surpasses Safari as the second most popular desktop browser

Follow Chance:

Twitter: @ChanceHMiller

Listen & Subscribe:

• Apple Podcasts
• Overcast
• RSS
• Stitcher
• TuneIn
• Google Play

Don’t miss out on our other daily podcasts:

• Quick Charge
• 9to5Toys Daily

Share your thoughts!

Drop us a line at happyhour@9to5mac.com. You can also rate us in Apple Podcasts or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!

One of the catch-22s of the global component shortage is that chips for chipmaking machines are one of the items in short supply, say execs from Intel and Apple chipmaker TSMC.

Buying new chipmaking machines was never a speedy process, given their complexity and delicacy, but lead times before the pandemic were measured in months. Now, say chipmakers, that time can be as long as 2-3 years …

Background

The global chip shortage was created by a mix of factors. There were several factors that contributed to the global chip shortage. These included increased demand during pandemics, COVID-related production disruptions, and growing demands for chips from car-makers. Cars rely increasingly on microprocessor units.

The biggest problem isn’t with GPUs or CPUs but more common chips such as power management and display drivers. This low-tech chip is used in many devices including Apple’s.

Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that supply constraints cost Apple $6B in two quarters, and warned that the hit could be as high as $8B this quarter.

A recent report says that there have been shortages across seven chip categories, and that four of them will continue to be affected throughout 2022.

The vicious circle of chips for chipmaking machines

The industry is suffering from a vicious circle: the global chip shortage needs chipmakers to boost output, but that requires additional chipmaking machines which they can’t get because of the global chip shortage.

While many commentators say they expect the chip shortage to ease by the end of this year, the WSJ reports chipmaking companies describing that as an overly optimistic view.

What began as an epidemic-era aberration in supercharged laptop demand has turned into a major structural problem within the industry. Now many chip executives say the problem will persist into 2023 and 2024, or even longer.

“There’s this wishful thinking that by the end of 2022, supply will be balanced with demand,” said Tom Caulfield, chief executive of contract chip manufacturer GlobalFoundries Inc. “I just don’t see it.”

Advantest America’s chief executive, Doug Lefever said that the typical lead time for his machines which check whether new chips work correctly have increased by at least two times. “I think we’re in it for quite a while before we get completely back to standard lead times,” Mr. Lefever said.

Some chipmakers are prioritizing clients who produce chipmaking machines.

Ganesh Moorthy, CEO of Microchip Technology Inc., a maker of microcontroller chips that process data in all kinds of electronic devices, including chip-making equipment, said his company now is treating chip-equipment suppliers as priority customers, not unlike the way it treated medical-device manufacturers at the onset of the Covid pandemic.

Intel, and Apple chipmaker TSMC also support this idea.

A recent industry white paper argued the benefits of such a “multiplier effect.” A sophisticated testing tool requires 80 specialist chips that can be reprogrammed after they are produced, the analysis said, but then aids in making 320,000 of those same chips each year.

Photo: ASML

Citizen Sleeper, the sci-fi role-playing game (and a Polygon Recommends selection in Tuesday morning’s review), launches May 5 and will be available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers the same day. It joins Loot River, an ID@Xbox dungeon-crawler that also launched Tuesday and is a day-one Game Pass selection.

Both Loot Valley and Citizen sleeper are available for cloud, console, or PC subscribers. Loot Valley is an action-roguelike in which the player can navigate through procedurally created labyrinths. They are able to push stones blocks or manipulate other features, but they cannot move.

Citizen Sleeper, by Jump Over the Age, uses a dice-roll system inspired by tabletop RPGs. In it, the player is fleeing a dystopian megacorporation which has scheduled their body for “planned obsolescence.” Players take one of three classes and spend their time aboard a space station trying to create a new life, while preserving their old one.

Other games coming to Xbox Game Pass in the first half of May include NHL 22, available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers via EA Play on May 12. EA Sports’ latest hockey simulation is now available just in time to watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The first games were played on Monday night.

The rest of the titles joining Game Pass libraries by May 10 are:

• Trek to Yomi (Cloud, Console, and PC) — May 5
• Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Anniversary Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC) — May 10
• Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (Cloud, Console, and PC) — May 10
• This War of Mine: Final Cut (Cloud, Console, and PC) — May 10

The rotation of new games coming in the next two weeks means seven others will be leaving soon. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas — The Definitive Edition, the remaster of Rockstar Games’ landmark 2004 work, is departing May 10. On May 15, Enter the Gungeon; Final Fantasy 10/10-2 HD Remaster; Remnant: From the Ashes; Steep; The Catch: Carp and Coarse; and The Wild at Heart all leave Game Pass. Subscribers can buy them at a 20% discount before they go.

While no one seems to be concerned about Windows Explorer’s popularity, Microsoft clearly is doing their homework. According to an analysis, Edge has now surpassed Safari to become the second-most popular desktop browser.

The data by Statcounter shows how Microsoft Edge has slowly been growing in comparison to Safari since March of 2021. While Google Chrome remains the most popular desktop browser with more than 66% of users, Edge and Safari were fighting for 10% of the market share each.

Now, here’s what the top three popular desktop browsers look like:

• Google Chrome: 66. 64%
• Microsoft Edge: 10. 07%
• Safari: 9. 61%

If you think that userbase for Windows computers is way larger than Apple’s Macs, makes sense why Microsoft Edge has so much potential to keep growing. It could also indicate that less Mac users are choosing Safari to be their primary desktop browser. Another indication is that Safari users have decreased from March 2021 to March 2022, although Apple is selling more Macs than ever.

One reason could be the redesigned Safari introduced during WWDC 2021. While I personally enjoy the new stack design, people had lots of opinions on this new look. This is why, in the middle of the beta testing of macOS Monterey, iOS 15, and iPadOS 15, Apple changed how Safari would first appear and then only offered the new option for users if they really wanted that.

Firefox, which almost surpassed Safari in February of 2022, lost active users, although it’s not clear whether they migrate to Chrome or Edge.

Other browsers account for around 2. 5% of users and Opera accounts for 2. 44% of total desktop browser users.

What’s your favorite desktop browser? Are you using Safari, why? Please comment below with your views.

Read more:

• Microsoft’s new Chromium-based Edge is now the second-most popular desktop browser (April 2020)

Just in time for May the Fourth, lightsabers and other Star Wars items are returning to Fortnite. From now until May 17, various Star Wars items from years past will be available in the game — with some outfits back in the shop, as well.

There are four lightsabers available to find throughout the Fortnite world: Luke Skywalker’s green lightsaber, Kylo Ren’s red lightsaber, Mace Windu’s purple lightsaber, and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s blue lightsaber (just in time for the Disney Plus show premiering later this month). Additionally, the E-11 Blaster Rifle will also be in the game. All the Star Wars weapons can be used in the game like regular Fortnite weapons.

Image: Epic Games

The returning outfits include an Imperial Stormtrooper, Kylo Ren, Zorii Bliss, Finn, Rey, a Sith Trooper, Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, and Krrsantan. Your Star Wars Fortnite Outfit may be missing, such as the Mandalorian’s armor. This is because it might have been a Battle Pass item.

In addition to all the sweet weapons and new garb, there will also be various Star Wars-related quests active till May 15. Completing five of those will earn you a special Empire Banner. For more details, check out the Fortnite blog.

Mozilla is celebrating the 100th version of its Firefox browser today with the new launch for both Mac and iOS (PC, Linux, and Android too). For Mac, Firefox is gaining improvements to its Picture-in-Picture mode, a new language switcher, and more today. iOS will soon get clutter-free tabs, history and new wallpapers.

After first announcing Firefox 1.0 back in 2004, Mozilla arrived at its 100th build of the browser 18 years later. This non-profit wanted to take the time to express gratitude to its users for their feedback and to test beta versions. They also continued using Firefox throughout the years.

Since then our community of users — past and current — has grown to thousands of people and continues to shape who we are today. They have been so helpful in submitting bugs through Mozilla Connect and downloading Firefox Nightly and Beta versions. We appreciate all their efforts. We are grateful!

Firefox 100 for Mac, PC, and Linux

For Mac and other desktop builds, Firefox 100 now features subtitles and captions for the Picture-in-Picture mode. Mozilla says it will work with services like YouTube, Amazon’s Prime Video, Netflix, and more with WebVTT support. Other improvements include an auto-detection language switcher based on your preferred language and credit card autofill arriving in more countries.

• The addition of subtitles and captions to Picture-In-Picture mode, which was requested by users through Mozilla Connect. They will be available on Youtube, Prime Video, Netflix and other websites that support WebVTT format. In line with Mozilla’s mission of making the internet as accessible to as many users as possible, now those who are hard-of-hearing or multitaskers can enjoy even more improvements to their web browsing experience.
• The new first-run language switcher feature makes it easier for users to change to their preferred language in the browser. Firefox will now recognize a device’s language preference and ask whether the user would like to switch to one of the more than 100 languages.
• The credit card autofill feature will now expand beyond North America to the United Kingdom, France and Germany, making shopping online quick and easy.

Firefox 100 for iOS and Android

On mobile, the new Firefox will bring a cleaner design with clutter-free tabs and history. New browser wallpapers are also included while the HTTPS-only mode for Android will be enabled for every website possible.

• Clutter-free history and clutter-free tabs for Android and iOS will tackle clutter not only by organizing browser history through removing duplicate sites and grouping history items by the original item, but also by moving tabs that haven’t been opened in 14 days to an inactive state, keeping them available – but out of immediate view.
• New browser wallpapers for Android and iOS will let users personalize their browser display in more ways, allowing for a visual experience more suited to their preferences.
• HTTPS-only mode for Firefox on Android, which will boost browser privacy and security. Firefox now automatically creates a secure and encrypted connection to HTTPS for every site that users visit. You can read more about the difference between HTTP and HTTPS here.

Firefox 100 for Mac is available now direct from Mozilla. However, the new build for iOS will be arriving later this week on the App Store.

Samsung to deliver fully-virtualized and O-RAN compliant 5G solutions to support DISH Wireless’ advance of America’s First Smart Network(tm)

Samsung Electronics and DISH Network Corporation (NYSE: DISH) announced that Samsung Electronics was selected for the deployment of 5G Open Radio Access Network solutions across DISH Wireless’ SMART 5G(tm) network. Per the multi-year agreement, the companies will collaborate to deploy Samsung’s 5G O-RAN-compliant virtualized RAN (vRAN) solutions and radio units in markets across the U.S., supporting DISH’s 5G commercial services.

“Samsung’s 5G solutions will play an integral role in our network expansion, giving us the flexibility to deploy our cloud-native network with software-based solutions that support advanced services and operational scalability,” said John Swieringa, president and chief operating officer, DISH Wireless. “We look forward to working with Samsung, whose industry leadership in vRAN and O-RAN innovation will help support our vision of delivering open, interoperable cloud-based 5G services to consumers and enterprises across the U.S.”

“Samsung is excited to join this 5G journey with DISH, a pioneer in bringing new experiences to households and businesses around the country, leveraging openness and virtualization that sit at the heart of network evolution,” said Mark Louison, executive vice president and head of the Networks Business, Samsung Electronics America. “Our advanced 5G vRAN and radio solutions bring telco-grade quality and cloud-based agility together, building on these benefits to enable more customers to experience the full value of commercial 5G Open RAN.”

Samsung Networks Business will supply DISH Wireless with its 5G and RAN solutions, vRAN software and a variety of O-RAN compliant radio units, including Massive MIMO radios. Samsung’s vRAN can operate on any commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) server, while still delivering performance on par with traditional hardware-based equipment. With its cloud-native architecture, DISH Wireless’ Open RAN deployment is based on open interfaces, allowing for multi-vendor interoperability and various deployment scenarios. The Samsung radios will also support all of DISH’s Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) spectrum bands (including n71, n29, n66, n70, n48 and n77). ¹

Samsung and DISH 5G Network Collaboration

Handsets and Devices

DISH and Samsung’s collaboration will extend to retail wireless customers, providing them with leading-edge 5G devices, connecting customers to DISH Wireless’ SMART 5G(tm) network.

“Our work with DISH Wireless is bringing many of Samsung’s innovative mobile products and services to even more customers on the DISH network,” said Jude Buckley, executive vice president of the Mobile Business, Samsung Electronics America. “We are excited to continue to work together to bring Samsung’s powerful mobile products and services, which are compatible with the DISH network, to more customers.”

“Together, we’ll create solutions to bring DISH Wireless’ smart network to life for retail and enterprise customers, enhancing their productivity, enriching their connection to people and smart technology, improving their business operations and giving our customers control over their 5G services,” said Stephen Bye, executive vice president and chief commercial officer, DISH Wireless.

DISH is currently testing its 5G network using the Samsung Galaxy S22, and plans to continue using Samsung phones as a reference platform throughout the network deployment process.

About DISH
DISH Network Corporation is a connectivity company. Since 1980, it has served as a disruptive force, driving innovation and value on behalf of consumers. The company’s subsidiaries provide television entertainment to millions of people with award-winning technology and satellite DISH TV. In 2020, the company became a nationwide U.S. wireless carrier through the acquisition of Boost Mobile. DISH continues to innovate in wireless, building the nation’s first virtualized, O-RAN 5G broadband network. DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) is a Fortune 200 company.

¹ n71 (600MHz), n29 (700MHz), n66 (AWS: 1.7GHz/2. 1GHz), n70 (AWS: 1.7GHz/1. 9GHz), n48 (CBRS: 3.55GHz-3. 7GHz), n77 (C-Band: 3.7GHz-3. 98GHz)