Apple’s Imminent 3rd Special Event; Trump Loses Twitter “Public Interest” Shield in January; Google ‘Device Lock’ Controller-Wheel Lock for Your Phone; Car Makers Look to Dropping Battery Packs for Body Based Storage

Apple’s 3rd event since September is tomorrow at 10 am Pacific. 9to5mac.com reports that it will feature the new Apple silicon powered MacBook Air and Pro, the release of the latest Mac OS Big Sur update, and we may get get the delayed AirPods Studio headphones, and the AirTags (Tile clone) trackers, too. We will post a recap/overview of the announcements here tomorrow. 

After January 20th, Donald Trump will lose his so-called ‘public interest’ protection on his Twitter account. According to theverge.com, his account will be subject to the same rules as any other user…including bans on inciting violence and posting false information (such as about voting and the pandemic.) Twitter said in a statement “Twitter’s approach to world leaders, candidates, and public officials is based on the principle that people should be able to choose to see what their leaders are saying with clear context. This means that we may apply warnings and labels, and limit engagement to certain tweets. This policy framework applies to current world leaders and candidates for office, and not private citizens when they no longer hold these positions.” Position related accounts like @POTUS transfer to the new administration upon the inauguration of the new president. 

In a notice published under the radar this year, Google noted a Play Store app called ‘Device Lock Controller.’ 9to5google.com says the app allows creditors to take action on smartphones that users buy on time, and don’t pay or pay slow. Ultimately, you can get locked out of the phone if you don’t pay your bill. It happens in stages. 

1. On the fourth (4th) day after the repayment deadline, (carrier) will lock the device, limiting your use.
2. Should you continue to default, on the 7th day, you will be barred from all outgoing calls and SMS.
3. Should you default for 30 days, you will be blacklisted and disqualified for subsequent device loan facilities and your details will be forwarded to the CRB.

Note that if your device is restricted, basic functionality, such as emergency calling and access to settings, will still be available. Best course…pay your bill!

A potential game changer for electric cars is being experimented with. It would allow ditching battery packs completely! Arstechnica.com reports that a team of European scientists headed by Lief Asp from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, is working on using the bodies of cars for electric storage. The so-called ‘structural batteries’ would mean a large section of the vehicle would be freed up, to say nothing of a huge amount of weight could be removed. One experiment so far involved using a trunk lid as a huge supercapacitor. They have also been running cells integrated right into body and frame members, protected by a layer of carbon fiber. It is years away, but could be a huge game changer down the road.