Tim Cook thinks Apple-backed Didi Chuxing could help ‘traffic jams go the way of the flip phone’

Apple CEO Tim Cook has penned a short piece on Didi Chuxing president Jean Liu for Time’s 100 Most Influential People feature, and in it he shares his vision for the company in which Apple invested $1 billion last year.

Cook first explained Apple’s investment in the Chinese Uber competitor as “a chance to learn more about certain segments of the China market” among other strategic reasons, and in his latest piece Cook describes the potential for Didi Chuxing to help solve every commuter’s nightmare:

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9to5Toys Lunch Break: Apple Watch Charging Dock $13, Sony 75″ 4K UHDTV $1,000 off, Sony Wireless Headphones $179, more

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

Daily Deals: Griffin Charging Dock for Apple Watch $13, WD NAS 4TB Hard Drive $120, more

Sony 75-inch 4K HDR Smart Ultra HDTV $2,899 shipped ($1,000 off)

Sony h.ear Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones back to $179 shipped

Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro w/o Touch Bar $1,280 ($219 off, Tax NJ only)

Apple’s Touch Bar-equipped 13-inch MacBook Pro 512GB now $1,740 shipped

Apple’s entry-level 13-inch MacBook Air on sale for $750 shipped

Beats Powerbeats3 W1-enabled Wireless In-ear Headphones down to $130 shipped

BeatsX Wireless In-Ear Headphones go to $120 at Amazon and Best Buy

Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones $160

 

Apple AirPort Express Base Station $67 (Reg. $99)

Duet Display for iOS/Mac goes 50% off: $10 (Reg. $20)

9to5Rewards: SkylinkNet Plus Alarm System Starter kit [Giveaway]

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

 

USB-C Adapter 3-pack from Amazon for $6 (Reg. $10)


Nintendo Switch bundle w/ Zelda Breath of the Wild and more in-stock for $500

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

Mu tag is the world’s smallest item tracker

The Mirabook turns your smartphone into a fully functional laptop

Super Nintendo Classic Edition Console reportedly on the way!

MORE DEALS STILL LIVE:

TP-Link Wi-Fi Smart Plug with Alexa control starting at $18

Pad & Quill 25% off: leather wallets, iPhone cases, watch bands & more

Bose SoundLink On-Ear Bluetooth Wireless Headphones $150 (Orig. $250)

Elago’s adorable W3 Apple Watch Stand is back under $10

Score a pair of UE BOOM 2 Bluetooth Speakers for $175 ($300 value)

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PSA: This spoof Apple site illustrates the sophistication of today’s phishing attacks

Most phishing attacks – links that send you to a fake website in the hope that you’ll login with your real credentials – are usually easy to detect. Emails are often generic, rather than using your registered name. Grammar is poor or the wording is weird. The email will threaten closure of your account if you don’t take urgent action, and so on.

If you did miss all these clues and click on the link, the URL would show that it’s not really the site that it claims to be. But one demonstration site created by a Chinese security researcher shows how it’s possible to visit a fake website that seemingly shows the correct https://www.apple.com URL in a browser window …

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Star Guide astronomy app gains new cinematic tours, 50x larger catalog, more

Star Guide for iOS is out with a new update that includes three new features including cinematic tours of the galaxy. The new version brings an add-on called Supermassive that includes high definition zoom, 50x larger catalogs, and an exclusive audiovisual series.

The new astronomy features will require an annual subscription to access, but users can update and access a free two-week trial of the Supermassive features starting today. Star Guide has also added other new updates including upcoming comets that you can spot from Earth and the Chinese space laboratory Tiangong-2.

Check out the full release notes below:

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Possible sneak preview of 5th Ave redesign would explain the glass cube replacement [Gallery]

When we learned yesterday that Apple seemingly plans to replace the iconic glass cube of the Apple Store at New York’s 5th Avenue, the reason wasn’t clear. However, some architectural models that have just come to light might explain the reason and give us a sneak preview of the new design of the flagship store.

Apple replaced the glass cube once before, back in 2011, when it was able to reduce the number of glass panes from 90 to just 15, resulting in a much cleaner look. But this time we’ve learned that the replacement cube may not look any different to the existing one …

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Comment: Approaching Earth Day, I invite Apple to take a ‘man on the moon’ approach to mining

There’s an acronym widely used for setting goals: SMART. There are a few different versions of this floating around, but one common one is that objectives should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Apple’s stated commitment to stop mining the earth and build all products from recycled materials would seem to fail on two of these criteria.

It isn’t currently achievable. It simply isn’t realistic today for Apple to obtain all of the materials it requires in the quantities it needs at a viable price without mining some of them, and there’s no saying when it might become so.

It’s also not time-bound. Apple has given no indication of when it might reach its goal. Anyone can claim almost anything will be achieved – however far-fetched – without specifying a timeframe.

But while Apple’s objective isn’t SMART, that doesn’t make it either meaningless or useless …

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