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As expected, Apple has added the seventh-generation iPod nano to its list of Vintage and Obsolete products, officially designating the last iPod in the iconic nano lineup as “vintage.” The vintage products list features devices that have not been sold for more than five years and less than seven years. After products pass the seven year mark, they are considered obsolete. Apple debuted a refreshed version of the seventh-generation iPod nano in mid-2015, and that was the final iPod nano that came out. Now that the device is five years old, it is being added to the vintage list. Apple...

If you've been a fan of the Mac during the past decade, you've probably felt like a kid who had been an only child until their parents surprised everyone by having a baby late in life. But, this wasn't just any new baby. The little wunderkind went on to become a straight-A student, a sports star and a decent human being loved by everyone in the community. Every once in a while, people remember that the kid has an older sibling -- who they admit is pretty cool, too. That's the Mac. But, after more than a decade of living...

Small, snug, and unyoked from laptop or phone, AirPods are easy to wear for hours at a time, without a second thought. This, BuzzFeed News recently declared, is “Making Things Awkward for Everyone Else.” All-day AirPod wear can make social interactions clumsy and uncomfortable: Has the AirPod wearer hung up the call or turned off their music? The person on the other end of the interaction doesn’t know. Particularly in situations that require some sustained face-to-face communication—ordering coffee or crossing paths with a co-worker—wearing AirPods and ignoring others, intentionally or not, can be a jerk move, BuzzFeed News concludes. But...

Today, a new iPod touch has been announced, with an upgraded processor which will allow the little gadget to do more, including augmented reality.

<p>Foxconn has deployed 40,000 robots in its factories in mainland China as it aims to reduce the number of workers at its plants creating digital devices.</p> <p>Dai Chia-peng, general manager of the automation technology development committee of Foxconn, said during an interview with local Chinese media that those robots are basically made by Foxconn itself, except for some parts like servo motors and reducers that come from other parties.</p>

Rise of the robots: 60,000 workers culled from just one factory as China’s struggling electronics hub turns to artificial intelligence Kunshan, in Jiangsu province, undergoes makeover as 600 companies look to trim their headcount The manufacturing hub for the electronics industry, Kunshan, in Jiangsu province, is seeking a drastic reduction in labour costs as it undergoes a makeover after an industrial explosion killed 146 people in 2014.The county, one-seventh the size of neighbouring Shanghai and the mainland’s first county to achieve US$4,000 per capita income, was adjudged the best county for its economic performance by Forbes for seven years in...

Apple and Samsung supplier Foxconn has reportedly replaced 60,000 factory workers with robots. One factory has "reduced employee strength from 110,000 to 50,000 thanks to the introduction of robots", a government official told the South China Morning Post. Xu Yulian, head of publicity for the Kunshan region, added: "More companies are likely to follow suit." China is investing heavily in a robot workforce. In a statement to the BBC, Foxconn Technology Group confirmed that it was automating "many of the manufacturing tasks associated with our operations" but denied that it meant long-term job losses. [snip] Since September 2014, 505 factories...

Foxconn, a supplier for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), has announced that it’s cutting its workforce. The exact number of employees that will be affected by the Foxconn layoffs hasn’t been announced. The company also hasn’t said when the layoffs will go into effect. The job cuts come as the company faces higher wages in China and less revenue growth, reports Reuters. The Foxconn layoffs are also likely affected by the company’s desire to replace workers with robots. The use of robotic arms in some parts of the company’s work will allow the company to replace workers that were performing simple tasks, Reuters...

Foxconn has been planning to buy 1 million robots to replace human workers and it looks like that change, albeit gradual, is about to start. The company is allegedly paying $25,000 per robot – about three times a worker’s average salary – and they will replace humans in assembly tasks. The plans have been in place for a while – I spoke to Foxconn reps about this a year ago – and it makes perfect sense. Humans are messy, they want more money, and having a half-a-million of them in one factory is a recipe for unrest. But what happens...

The 20-million square foot campus was praised by President Donald Trump as proof of his ability to revive American manufacturing. -- t campus marked the largest greenfield investment by a foreign-based company in U.S. history and was praised by President Donald Trump as proof of his ability to revive American manufacturing. Foxconn, which received controversial state and local incentives for the project, initially planned to manufacture advanced large screen displays for TVs and other consumer and professional products at the facility, which is under construction. It later said it would build smaller LCD screens instead. Now, those plans may be...

The FBI agreed Wednesday to help an Arkansas prosecutor unlock an iPhone and iPod belonging to two teenagers accused of killing a couple, just days after the federal agency announced it had gained access to an iPhone linked to the gunman in a mass shooting in California. Faulkner County Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland said the FBI agreed to the request from his office and the Conway Police Department Wednesday afternoon. A judge on Tuesday agreed to postpone the trial of 18-year-old Hunter Drexler so prosecutors could ask the FBI for help. Drexler's trial was moved from next week to June...

The kids gave mom an ipod several years ago. They put tunes on it for her back when, now she wants some new stuff added. I signed up for iTunes and bought some new music. How do I get them on there? The library doesn't match and it seems to want to delete the old stuff. It won't sync or upload because I'm to "authorized". Why is this so convoluted?

Apple chief Tim Cook slammed what he called a wave of “dangerous” laws in several US states that he said promote discrimination and erode equality, in an editorial published Sunday. Cook — one of the most prominent chief executives to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality — wrote in the Washington Post that so-called “religious freedom” laws passed in several states threaten to undo progress toward greater equality. "There’s something very dangerous happening in states across the country," Cook wrote in the editorial.

If adopted, these proposals will impact record labels, music publishers, producers, royalty collection groups, terrestrial and satellite radio, and music streaming services. In a 245-page report issued on Thursday, the U.S. Copyright Office is throwing its weight behind what would be the most radical changes to how music is licensed in nearly a half century. Many of the copyright laws governing music were first erected at the time that player pianos became popular and have developed through the advent of radio, new recording devices and, most recently, digital networks. Maria Pallante, director of the Copyright Office, believes the law is...

A former iTunes engineer testified in a federal antitrust case against Apple Friday that he worked on a project “intended to block 100% of non-iTunes clients” and “keep out third-party players” that competed with Apple’s iPod. Plaintiffs subpoenaed the engineer, Rod Schultz, to show that Apple tried to suppress rivals to iTunes and iPods. They argue that Apple’s anticompetitive actions drove up the prices for iPods from 2006 to 2009; they’re seeking $350 million in damages, which could be tripled under antitrust laws. . . Apple argues – and Schultz agreed in court Friday – that it released many improvements...

Recently I had a fairly pedestrian thought, a thought I've been having on and off for 10 years: "I want to put some music onto my portable music listening device." This used to be a relative cinch: I'd put the music on iTunes, plug in my iPod, and drag the songs over. Now, anytime I dare hook my iPhone up to a computer, there's software that needs updating, apps and photos I need to clear away for extra room, and esoteric rules regarding what is allowed to "sync." After finally getting an album onto my phone, another software update a...

<p>The antitrust lawsuit against Apple is on its last legs after a federal judge dismissed the plaintiffs' last remaining witness.</p> <p>Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said Monday she was "concerned" and "troubled" by the remaining plaintiffs' witness in the class action case.</p>

<p>OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — In an unusual legal twist, a federal judge decided Monday that a billion-dollar, class-action lawsuit over Apple's iPods should continue, even though she also disqualified the last remaining plaintiff named in a case that has been on trial since last week.</p>

arstechnica.com cannot be linked or excerpted to, but there is a slightly interesting article up about how the battle against DRM seems to be finally heading to court. Ignore the link above, it merely links to the FR index page. Article link is: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/10/apple-will-face-350m-trial-over-ipod-drm/

A 16-year-old Norview High School student, Vincent Tyrell Parker of Norfolk entered a guilty plea to charges of killing both his parents in a brutal assault he claims was fueled by his dad taking away his iPod. Parker admitted to leaving school early, while his father was still at work. Vincent drove home to the 1000 block of Bland Avenue, where he lived with his parents. He went upstairs and pepper-sprayed his mother when she came out of the bathroom. He then stabbed her in the eye and beat her with a crowbar and a baseball bat. Vincent claimed at...