Apple’s New Macs With ARM Chips EU Charges Amazon With Breaking Competition Law; Uber- Users Can book 30 Days Ahead and Pick Drivers

Apple showed off their previously announced Arm chips for Macs today in a record short online presentation…only 45 minutes! Theverge.com reports that the new M1 chip will give the upgraded Macs the longest battery life ever in a Mac…by a considerable amount. The new chip will power the MacBook Air, the entry level 13 inch MacBook Pro, and the Mac Mini for now. All other Macs will continue to use Intel silicon. Power efficiency gets a huge boost…the Arm chips are noted fr that. It is also faster Apple plans to move all Macs over to the new processors in the next couple years. The new MacBook Air will stay at $999, and the Pro at $1299. The Mac Mini starts at $699. Preorders are open now, and the new Macs ship next week.

The European Union’s top competition regulator filed charges against Amazon today, claiming that the online giant has abused its size, position, and access to data to gain unfair advantages over competitors. According to arstechinca.com, the EU’s statement of objections flows from Amazon’s ‘dual role’ in e-commerce..i.e. as both a retailer and a platform for third-party retailers. As a platform, Amazon has access to proprietary data about all those other merchants’ online business, which it then gathers and uses anticompetitively to get a leg up in its own retail operations, the EU alleges. In the US, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have been investigating Amazon for similar reasons. 

Uber is bowing a new feature this week. Techcrunch.com says users will be able to reserve a ride up to 30 days in advance, and can pick a favorite driver. The feature is intended to try to bring in new customers during the ongoing pandemic. It’s called Uber Reserve, and should show up on your app this week.