Rumor Roundup: Divide by zero error
Evidence shows Apple operating a mysterious Web crawling bot (AppleInsider)
Source: Website usage logs
Chance it's true: 100 percent
There's no denying that a crawler traced to Apple's servers is apparently sending some traffic to a number of websites. For what purpose that might entail, no one really knows. AppleInsider speculates this could have something to do with either Spotlight enhancements in OS X Yosemite or continued refinement of Siri in iOS. Either of them are decent enough guesses, but that's still all they are.
New report says you shouldn't expect a 128GB iPhone 6 Plus recall (BGR)
Source: Digitimes
Chance it's true: DIVIDE BY ZERO ERROR
We'll probably never know for sure whether this report is accurate, because Apple isn't likely to publicise anything related to the widely-reported (but probably not actually widely experienced) crashing issues on 128 GB iPhone 6 Plus units. I'm usually inclined to dismiss absolutely everything Digitimes says about Apple before even reading it, but this might be the first thing they've said all year that actually makes sense.
Yes, Digitimes finally said something about Apple that may turn out to be true. I'm scared, too.
Rumor: Faulty flash memory in select iPhone 6 & 6 Plus units prompts Apple to make switch [u] (AppleInsider)
That little [u] at the end can mean only one thing: someone hit "publish" on an article before doing any basic fact checking.
Indeed, from the article: "A source close to Apple has clarified that user-reported issues with large capacity iPhone 6 models are very rare, and that the company does not have any plans to recall the phones due to "faulty hardware," and that there is not a defect in the Anobit components those models use. The source of the rumor is a minor publication in Korea that is said to have close ties to Samsung." (emphasis added)
Oh re-he-he-he-heaaaaally? I find that extremely curious.
Everything we know about the upcoming Steve Jobs movie (updated) (Macworld)
Again, that little (updated) at the end is a telltale sign of an article that probably should have stayed in the oven a bit longer - or that should have just been left in the freezer in the first place.
The opening line of the article sets the tone: "Oh, geez. Everything we thought we knew about the next Steve Jobs biopic is turning out to be wrong." Inexplicably, the article doesn't end right there, but goes on for several hundred speculative, rumor-drenched words.
It's rather distressing to see how often Macworld has dipped into rumor reporting since its restructure a couple months ago. I almost never saw them stick their hands into the filth and grime of rumor reporting back in the old days, but it's happening with uncomfortable regularity now. I can only hope this isn't the beginning of a slow, steady decline where Macworld turns into the next BGR.
Hey, speaking of which...
Is Apple still launching the ultra-thin Retina MacBook Air this year? (BGR)
Source: Taiwanese website
Chance it's true: None
The word "still" in BGR's headline implies that Apple ever had plans to launch this long-rumored but never-confirmed device. The question mark at the end makes it easy to answer, thanks to Betteridge's Law of Headlines: no, the mythical device mentioned in this poorly-sourced report is highly unlikely to launch this year. Or, for that matter, next year.
