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Apple new product launch unveils surprises Nicole Spindler
Nicole Spindler
Business & Finance Editor
AP
A massive change with the iPhones is that it will do away with the typical headphone jack and instead introduce wireless earbuds called AirPods. SE will also remain available at lower prices. Apple provided a preview of iOS 10, announcing that the new operating system will retire the familiar “slide to unlock” function and expand the use of Siri, according to NBC news. Cook praised the iPhone 7’s operating system as the “world’s most advanced mobile operating system,” the New York Times reported. The new system boasts several new features, including a home management tool called Apple HomeKit and redesigned maps that allow users to book rides and reservations from within. The phone can be woken up from sleep simply by lifting it, Cook said during the launch. This new wireless operating system will be released Sept. 13. Apple is hoping to reclaim smartphone
market share from rivals like Samsung, who is currently number one worldwide for a smartphone provider due to boosted sales of its popular Galaxy S7 phones, according to The Wall Street Journal. The New York Times reported that iPhone sales were down nearly 15 percent in the second quarter of 2016 compared to the year before, though that may be in part because consumers hold out for the new models in the fall. In addition to facing fierce competition from increasingly sophisticated Android and Galaxy phones, Apple needs to convince its current and potential users that the iPhone 7 is worth upgrading and waiting for. Editor’s Note: Information from NBC News, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal was used in this report.
Virgin Galactic restarts space tourism Jacqueline Witwicki
Business & Finance Editor
Accomplishing dreams of becoming an astronaut has just become a step more attainable thanks to Virgin Galactic. On Thursday Sept. 9, Virgin Galactic announced the return of their space tourism program with a test flight of their WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo. According to Virgin Galactic’s update from Mojave, where the test flight took place, the test was a complete success. It consisted of launching WhiteKnightTwo with SpaceShipTwo attached to its underside. In a full, active flight, SpaceShipTwo would then detach and launch from WhiteKnightTwo. It would then proceed to exit Earth’s atmosphere. This differs from all state sanctioned space exploration programs, such as NASA, since the ship is launching from a vehicle in motion as opposed to a launch pad. This new test comes as a welcome sign for fans of the company and space tourism in general, as Virgin Galactic has not completed any new tests since 2014. The LA Times reports that this has largely been due to the catastrophic crash that occurred in October of 2014 and resulted in the death of one of the test pilots. This error was largely identified to be the fault of a pilot’s error, however the company proceeded to pull their flight testing program for two years to ensure full safety checks could be completed on all new test vehicles. Virgin Galactic’s progress in the industry of space tourism indicates a possible future for an entire industry centered around the attraction. Techcrunch reports that “in 2015, VC investment in the sector increased by 253 percent year-over-year and a whopping 2,052 percent since 2012.”
Boler Business The degrading state of our nation’s infrastructure
Business & Finance Editor
Aiming to reignite excitement about iPhones after witnessing a decline in their sales, Apple executives took the stage at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Sept. 7 to unveil the company’s latest generation of devices. The most highly anticipated launch of the day was the new iPhone 7, which will be priced starting at $649, according to the New York Times. The new model is the first waterresistant iPhone. It comes with wireless stereo speakers and has a longer battery life than any previous model. On average, the iPhone 7 lasts two more hours than the iPhone 6S, the company stated on their website. A massive change with the devices that has been receiving mixed reviews is that the new iPhone 7 will do away with the headphone jack. Instead, Apple is including an adapter for older headphones to be plugged into the lightning port. New wireless earbuds called AirPods will be a leap towards a wireless future, Apple CEO Tim Cook told NBC News. The company said AirPods will hit the market in October for $159. Additionally, the iPhone 7 Plus will have two camera lenses with the capacity to zoom without losing resolution, which is comparable to professional telephoto lens. The phone’s camera includes an optical image stabilizer, a wider lens, an all-new flash that can recognize artificial lighting, video stabilization, wide color capture and a high-speed sensor, the Wall Street Journal reported. Storage options are changing as well. The new iPhone starts with a more generous 32GB, up from 16GB. Screen sizes remain the same as last year’s model: 4.7 inches for the iPhone 7 and 5.5 inches for the iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus and the 4-inch iPhone
Sept. 15, 2016
Virgin Galactic is not the only company looking to take part in the new market in recent years. Companies such as SpaceX and Space Adventures have launched their own programs with varying degrees of success. They have become major competitors for Virgin Galactic over the courses of the past few years. Most recently, The Inquisitor reports that Space Adventures has partnered with Russia based Space Corporation Energia in order to send a eight person tourist group to orbit the moon. Tickets for this particular exhibition start at $150 million. Comparatively, Virgin Galactic is planning on charging $250,000 per passenger, transporting more passengers at a time and sending launching passengers at 50,000 feet, then propelling them to 50 miles above Earth’s surface.
This would make all Virgin Galactic and Space Adventures passengers technical astronauts by NASA’s definition. The privatisation of space travel and the allowance for competition in the free market outside of nationalist competition has allowed the industry to make strides in the realm of passenger transit. This has added a sense of refueled vigor to the space race and a new global sense of wonder regarding the industry. However, while private companies such as Virgin Galactic plan to specialize in space tourism, it remains to be seen whether or not the research based side that has come to be associated with space travel will be neglected in favor of making a profit. Editor’s Note: Information from Techcrunch, LA Times and the Virgin Galactic website was used in this report.
AP
Flights that launch from the ground such as the one in the above image differ from Virgin Galactic’s test flight as it launched from an aircraft.
The American Society of Civil Engineers gave America a D+ rating in regards of the nation’s infrastructure, mentioning dilapidated roadways, insufficient waterways and a pressing need for modernization. The group estimates $3.6 trillion would need to be invested into U.S. infrastructure by 2020 just to raise the country’s support systems to acceptable levels. While everyone agrees that something should be done, there’s little consensus on where funding should come from and which projects should receive priority. It’s good that the issue is part of a big national dialogue about the health and the competitiveness of the country. However, when it comes to infrastructure, we talk about it in such abstract terms, like it is just one thing, when in reality, it’s transportation and water infrastructure and broadband and energy of that nature. This all matters, because all of those different sectors contrast in how they are designed, governed, financed and delivered. The ownership between these sectors varies from privately or publicly owned to being a partnership. The federal government has a big regulatory role in countless of ways; when it comes to overall spending and impact, it’s relatively small. If you take the sectors of transportation and water that dominate the public sector, the federal share of spending is only about 27 percent, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. Railroads, telecommunications and some energy sources have barely any federal investment. When most people are referring to infrastructure, they’re talking about roads and bridges. By just looking at transportation on the surface such as roads, bridges and public transit, the federal government did actually just pass a $300 billion multi-year deal last year. Although this law sent a sign of hope to cities and metropolitan areas, it is truly going to be up to local and regional governments to start improving their infrastructure. Infrastructure is clearly a building block connected to a variety of things. As world leaders have conversations around global trade, there’s an infrastructure component that needs to be a part of that conversation. There’s a big infrastructure component in regards to not only advanced industries and technologies, but also social equity and connecting low income workers to economic opportunity. Infrastructure needs to be seen as not only an engineering prospect, but as an economic one. Only about 11 percent of the American workforce today is employed directly in infrastructure sectors, which is in freight and logistics movement in many metro areas. Infrastructure depends on resources, but the United States is not making enough investments, despite still being a rich country. A vast majority of our infrastructure debt comes down to making right decisions about money and finance and knowing where the money will come from. By making the right choices and getting the appropriate funding, the United States could potentially get themselves out of a trench in order to complete with the advanced world for the years to come. Contact Nicole Spindler at nspindler19@jcu.edu