Apple responds to issue with HomePod staining wood surfaces

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Apple's HomePod has started to ship to customers in the US, UK and Australia and while many seem to be delighted by the audio quality and elegance of this diminutive speaker, others aren't too thrilled to discover that the HomePod's plastic ring at its base leaves circular marks on wood surfaces. See Apple's reply below.

"It is not unusual for any speaker with a vibration-dampening silicone base to leave mild marks when placed on some wooden surfaces," Apple says. "The marks can be caused by oils diffusing between the silicone base and the table surface, and will often go away after several days when the speaker is removed from the wooden surface." Apple says the marks recede after a few days or users can simply wipe or treat their wood surfaces to remove the marks. If all fails, Apple's suggestion is “placing your HomePod on a different surface.”

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Microsoft's Build Conference returns to Seattle on May 7

Microsoft's Build developer's conference returns to Seattle, Washington on May 7-9. Registration for developers opens on February 15, 2018. Build was usually held in the Bay Area but is now heading back to Microsoft's home state.

Expected to be discussed at Build are the upcoming versions of Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, including Windows on ARM and hopefully a glimpse of some new hardware, possibly a sneak peak at the anticipated 'Andromeda' folding tablet with telephony device.

Microsoft's Cortana is now available on iPad

iPad users now have another personal assistant or A.I. to consider in Microsoft's Cortana. Cortana has been available on the iPhone for some time, Microsoft has tailored Cortana's user interface to suit the iPad's larger screen, a laudable change (cough, cough, Instagram). 

Upon installation, Cortana asks for location permission, access to calendars as well as a list of interests. If you use Cortana on Windows 10, having it on your iPad will be seamless. iOS now has Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and now Cortana available to users.

Apple posts Q1 revenue of $88.3 Billion, has 1.3 Billion active devices installed

Apple today announced its financial results for fiscal 2018 first quarter ending December 30, 2017. Historically Apple's stringest quarter, this one saw a revenue of $88.3 billion, a 13 per cent increase from a year ago quarter. International sales hit a record while accounting oe 65 per cent of the quarter's revenue.

“We’re thrilled to report the biggest quarter in Apple’s history, with broad-based growth that included the highest revenue ever from a new iPhone lineup. iPhone X surpassed our expectations and has been our top-selling iPhone every week since it shipped in November,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve also achieved a significant milestone with our active installed base of devices reaching 1.3 billion in January. That’s an increase of 30 percent in just two years.”

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