Nikkei Asia reports that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s most important plant for supplying Apple processors has been hit by gas contamination in the chipmaking process. TSMC’s Fab 18 is the company’s most advanced chipmaking facility, and it’s where the processors of the upcoming iPhones and Macs are produced, according to industry sources. Even though, sources familiar with the matter said the gas contamination “affected the chip manufacturing process in a limited way....

According to Bloomberg, Apple has never spent so much on federal lobbying than they are right now: Apple’s crescent interest in federal lobbying comes as a Senate antitrust vote that could force the company to allow competing app stores or sideloading of iOS apps from developer websites. It reported a record $4.6 million in the first half of this year, $1.5 million more than its first-half figure a year ago. Though Apple disclosed Wednesday that its second-quarter lobbying expenses dipped to $1....

Season 5 of Arrow has been solidly working to reestablish the series as a street-crime-first superhero show, striking a balance between Oliver Queen’s battle with local crime lords and his ongoing efforts to serve Star City as its mayor. After two less-than-stellar seasons, the effort can easily be summed up as a rebuilding of sorts – not just of the core storyline but also the audience’s faith that the series isn’t going to tread the same path as The Flash, Supergirl, or Legends of Tomorrow....

Legends of Tomorrow star Caity Lotz will pull double-duty in season 5 - not only starring, but also sitting in the director’s chair for an episode. Taking over from Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, Lotz made her Arrowverse debut in Arrow season 2. Presumed dead, Sarah Lance revealed herself to be very much alive in the show’s sophomore outing, returning as a proto-version of Oliver Queen’s long-time comic book ally, Black Canary. Despite being seemingly killed off again at the start of season 3, the character was once again resurrected and ended up joining The Legends, though continued to make appearances in the other DC/CW shows....

Avengers: Endgame’s domestic box office opening may have been more than three times greater than Avatar’s, but Avatar’s weekly box office take was already outpacing Avengers: Endgame’s head-to-head by their third week of release. There’s been intense speculation about which movie would end up as the top movie in the all-time box office, but a closer look at the weekly numbers shows Avengers: Endgame never even had a chance. As Avengers: Endgame grinds to a close of its theatrical run, it’s becoming clear that the box office behemoth, despite a record-breaking opening, is not going to surpass Avatar’s total box office take, and even a special re-release (really just an expansion) likely won’t be enough for Marvel Studios and Disney to catch James Cameron’s number one all-time box office record holder (which is also conveniently now owned by Disney, although it was created under the rule of 20th Century Fox)....

The Avengers 4 trailer may be released very soon based on when the official prelude comic will be sold. Since the second Avengers: Infinity War ended, almost all fans can think about is what comes next. There’s been no marketing to this point, but that could change in the near future. While some may not even want to see a trailer for Avengers 4, Marvel Studios still needs to let the general public know that the follow-up to their $2 billion hit is coming next year....

Major spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War. - One of the most fascinating twists in Avengers: Infinity War involves Doctor Strange and Tony Stark. Early on in the film, Strange insists that he will sacrifice anyone and anything in order to prevent Thanos getting his hands on the Time Stone. Then, later in the movie, Strange actually bargains with Thanos - he offers him the Time Stone if he leaves Tony Stark alive....

It’s been fifteen years since David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson, Parker Stevenson, and Yasmine Bleeth patrolled the shores of Los Angeles, keeping its residents safe while wearing nothing but their iconic red swimsuits. While the secondary characters on Baywatch changed constantly, the core always remained, which is why the was show so popular. In its heyday, millions of viewers would to tune into the NBC show each week and even now, though it’s been out of syndication for some time, the show retains much of its popularity in pop culture....

Ridley Scott burst onto the Hollywood scene in 1979 with Alien, a film that successfully launched a sci-fi franchise that has explored nearly every idea, both good and bad, that they can think of. However, when Fox wanted to hand control over to Neill Blomkamp, Scott stepped in to pitch his direction for the franchise. Instead of retconning the events of later Alien movies, he decided to go in the direction of a prequel in the form of Prometheus, which included Michael Fassbender as the mysterious android David among the new cast members....

American Horror Story just wrapped the final chapter of its sixth season, an ultra gruesome, twist-packed dive into the haunted lost colony of Roanoke. Not only did AHS mastermind Ryan Murphy fill its 10-episode run with several big surprises, but the network famously kept its promotion more mysterious than the actual show. As its premiere date drew closer, they released a series of teasers dubbed “misdirects.” Of the handful of clips released, only one revealed the true theme, and fans were left in the dark right up until the season’s kick-off....

macOS is a fantastic operating system for remote workers. It’s easy to maintain, very secure, and easy to use. There are times when things go wrong, though. When calling into your company’s IT department, getting them the information they need to diagnose the problem is crucial. I recently came across an app that needs to become a standard for macOS in every enterprise called SupportApp. About Apple @ Work: Bradley Chambers has been managing an enterprise IT network since 2009....

Apple is dropping out of a privacy trade group that has shifted towards more “industry-friendly data privacy laws.” The news was first reported by Politico and Apple confirmed the decision through a spokesperson. The change comes ahead of Apple CEO Tim Cook headlining a global privacy summit next week. The trade group, which is dubbed the State Privacy and Security Coalition, is notoriously secretive. The trade group is run by the law firm DLA Piper and has been criticized for pushing privacy legislation that favors members of the industry rather than consumers....

How much truth is there to Elon Musk’s claim that Apple has “nearly stopped” buying ads on Twitter? New numbers may help put the actual story in context. According to internal documents seen by the Washington Post, Apple was Twitter’s biggest ad buyer during the first quarter of 2022. An ad buy amounting to $48 million in Q1 meant Apple accounted for a whopping 4% of Twitter’s total revenue for the quarter:...

Certainly, most of the new iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro features are related to the cameras, which have been upgraded with better lenses and new video capabilities — including Cinematic Mode. To promote these new features, Apple has now added a new hashflag #HollywoodInYourPocket on Twitter. If you’re not familiar with hashflag, this is what Twitter calls an icon displayed next to some special hashtags on Twitter. Apple typically creates hashflags to promote their special events (as they did for this week’s event), but now the company is using a hashflag to highlight the new iPhone 13 cameras....

After four beta releases, Apple has seeded the macOS 12.4 release candidate for both developers and public testers. The build comes with support for the latest beta of the Studio Display webcam fix as well as a new feature to help manage Podcasts on Mac. macOS 12.4 RC is now available via OTA for developers and public testers already enrolled in the beta as well as being available soon from Apple’s Developer website and public beta website....

Along with macOS Monterey 12.1, on Monday Apple released updates to previous versions of its desktop operating system. The company is now rolling out macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 to users, as well as a macOS Catalina update with security fixes. According to the company on its official website, macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 fixes a security breach that could let malicious apps bypass the Gatekeeper check – which is macOS’ security system for preventing malicious or unidentified apps from running....

With its next round of software updates coming this fall, including iOS 16 and macOS Ventura, Apple will launch integrated support for the passkeys standard. The passkey standard is described as unique digital keys designed to replace the need for passwords altogether with streamlined sign-in across your devices, websites, and apps. What are passkeys? Passwords are one of the weakest links in digital security today. Many people will choose a password and then use it across every app, website, or service they sign into....

In another effort to boost its own streaming service, Apple has signed an overall deal with writer and director Sam Catlin, who is expected to develop and produce new television projects for Apple TV+. The deal was reported on Tuesday by Variety. According to the news, Catlin will work with Apple along with his partner Tiffany Prasifka under the Short Drive Entertainment brand. The content that Catlin and Prasifka will develop there is unknown at this time, but it will likely include original movies and TV shows for the Apple TV+ platform....

Heading into the weekend, we’re tracking a $50 Apple Watch SE discount to pair with the ongoing Series 7 sale. That’s alongside 12.9-inch M1 iPad Pro at $150 off as well as a Best Buy flash sale live through the end of the weekend. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break. Save $50 with this Apple Watch SE discount Regardless of which model you end up strapping to your wrist, the Apple Watch SE delivers many of the same features as the flagship Series 7 but in a more affordable package....

Apple has finally confirmed that Apple Watch Series 7 will be available in stores on October 15, with pre-orders starting this Friday, October 8. However, if you’re planning to buy a new Apple Watch, be aware that availability may be really low due to limited supplies. According to sources from Apple blogger and YouTuber Jon Prosser, mass production of the Apple Watch Series 7 began less than a month ago. This has reportedly resulted in really low inventories, which means that there won’t be many units available for immediate shipment next week....