Month: August 2024
A Long, Weird FOSS Circle Ends as Microsoft Donates Mono To Wine Project
An anonymous reader shares a report: Microsoft has donated the Mono Project, an open-source framework that brought its .NET platform to non-Windows systems, to the Wine community. WineHQ will be the steward of the Mono Project upstream code, while Microsoft will encourage Mono-based apps to migrate to its open source .NET framework. As Microsoft notes on the Mono Project homepage, the last major release of Mono was in July 2019. Mono was “a trailblazer for the .NET platform across many operating systems” and was the first implementation of .NET on Android, iOS, Linux, and other operating systems.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
An anonymous reader shares a report: Microsoft has donated the Mono Project, an open-source framework that brought its .NET platform to non-Windows systems, to the Wine community. WineHQ will be the steward of the Mono Project upstream code, while Microsoft will encourage Mono-based apps to migrate to its open source .NET framework. As Microsoft notes on the Mono Project homepage, the last major release of Mono was in July 2019. Mono was “a trailblazer for the .NET platform across many operating systems” and was the first implementation of .NET on Android, iOS, Linux, and other operating systems.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Apple’s latest iOS and iPadOS developer betas include an AI object removal tool for Photos
Apple’s latest iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 developer betas are here, and they include a few new Apple Intelligence features. The most notable is a Clean Up tool in the Photos app, which sounds very much like Google’s Magic Eraser. The idea is that you’ll be able to remove background objects from your snaps without modifying the subject — even if the undesirable item overlaps the person you’re focusing on. According to Apple, the tool can remove the shadow and the reflection of an unwanted object too.
The company notes that the Photos app will identify distracting background elements for you, so you should be able to remove them with a tap. Otherwise, you can circle or brush over an object you want to nix. Clean Up works for finer details when you zoom in too. The tool is compatible with every image on your camera roll, including those you took with an earlier iPhone or iPad, or even a DSLR.
There’s one other smaller Apple Intelligence update in the latest beta. Those who have been checking out previous builds have been able to receive summaries of multiple Mail and Messages notifications. This feature will now work for other apps.
There are several other Apple Intelligence features that the company has announced but is yet to start testing in developer betas, including image and emoji generation, priority notifications, in-app actions and personal context updates for Siri, availability for other languages and platforms and, of course, ChatGPT integration.
The only devices that support Apple Intelligence features at the minute are the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and Macs and iPads with an M1 chip or newer. Anyone with a compatible iPhone or iPad can install the latest iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 developer betas, but it’s always worth bearing in mind that betas can have bugs. So be sure to at least back up your data first if you don’t have a secondary device for testing and you don’t want to run the risk of having any major issues on the phone you use all the time.
Apple Intelligence features are unlikely to be included in the first retail versions of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, which should be available soon after next month’s iPhone 16 event. They’ll probably start to roll out in iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, which are expected to be available to everyone in October.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/apples-latest-ios-and-ipados-developer-betas-include-an-ai-object-removal-tool-for-photos-185215465.html?src=rss
Apple’s latest iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 developer betas are here, and they include a few new Apple Intelligence features. The most notable is a Clean Up tool in the Photos app, which sounds very much like Google’s Magic Eraser. The idea is that you’ll be able to remove background objects from your snaps without modifying the subject — even if the undesirable item overlaps the person you’re focusing on. According to Apple, the tool can remove the shadow and the reflection of an unwanted object too.
The company notes that the Photos app will identify distracting background elements for you, so you should be able to remove them with a tap. Otherwise, you can circle or brush over an object you want to nix. Clean Up works for finer details when you zoom in too. The tool is compatible with every image on your camera roll, including those you took with an earlier iPhone or iPad, or even a DSLR.
There’s one other smaller Apple Intelligence update in the latest beta. Those who have been checking out previous builds have been able to receive summaries of multiple Mail and Messages notifications. This feature will now work for other apps.
There are several other Apple Intelligence features that the company has announced but is yet to start testing in developer betas, including image and emoji generation, priority notifications, in-app actions and personal context updates for Siri, availability for other languages and platforms and, of course, ChatGPT integration.
The only devices that support Apple Intelligence features at the minute are the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and Macs and iPads with an M1 chip or newer. Anyone with a compatible iPhone or iPad can install the latest iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 developer betas, but it’s always worth bearing in mind that betas can have bugs. So be sure to at least back up your data first if you don’t have a secondary device for testing and you don’t want to run the risk of having any major issues on the phone you use all the time.
Apple Intelligence features are unlikely to be included in the first retail versions of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, which should be available soon after next month’s iPhone 16 event. They’ll probably start to roll out in iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, which are expected to be available to everyone in October.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/apples-latest-ios-and-ipados-developer-betas-include-an-ai-object-removal-tool-for-photos-185215465.html?src=rss
A host of Apple workers are losing their jobs
Apple has laid off around 100 workers in a rare occurrence for the company.
Apple has laid off around 100 workers from its digital services group, marking a rare instance of job cuts for the company.
The layoffs are believed to have been part of a strategic shift in priorities for Apple, and were announced yesterday to affected employees, according to sources familiar with the matter (via Bloomberg).
Apple’s redundancies impacted teams within SVP Eddy Cue’s services division, including some engineering roles, with the most significant cuts occurring across Apple Books workers.
Apple lays off employees
Other teams also saw some layoffs, including Apple News, although the app remains a key part of the company’s strategy and forms part of the top-tier Apple One Premier subscription – there is also a free version of the service available with less content.
Despite the changes, Apple Books is still expected to receive updates and new features, suggesting that Apple has not turned its back on the service.
More broadly, and under the leadership of CEO Tim Cook, Apple has been driving its services revenue, which now stands at more than one-fifth (22%) of the entire company’s income, up from less than one-tenth a decade ago. Services brought in $24.2 billion in revenue in the company’s most recent quarter.
While layoffs are typically rare at Apple, 2024 has already seen four rounds of job cuts. Earlier this year, Apple laid off hundreds across its self-driving car project and reduced its microLED display efforts.
TechRadar Pro has asked Apple to comment on the latest layoffs, but we did not immediately receive a response.
Nevertheless, the company’s workers have been relatively fortunate compared with those employed by other tech giants – Google started the year by laying off around 1,000 workers, and has made seven more similar announcements in the months that have followed (accoridng to layoffs.fyi).
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