The Morning After: Apple's MacBook Pro upgrade

July 13, 2018

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Morning there! Netflix claims a bunch of Emmy nominations, Apple snuck out a powerful new MacBook Pro, and Nintendo's Switch gets an old-school RPG many were waiting for.

Quantity counts for something.Netflix beats HBO in total Emmy nominations for the first time

With a total of 112 Emmy nominations for programs like The Crown, Godless and Stranger Things, Netflix edged out HBO's 108. It's the first time any competitor has topped the premium cable network in 17 years.

Now it has more than just minivans.Waymo's first Jaguar I-Pace EVs hit Bay Area roads

The Alphabet company finally got its first handful of prototypes of the electric SUVs and is testing them on Bay Area streets to gauge their performance for hardware- and software-design requirements. Eventually, the company will integrate the I-Pace into its forthcoming self-driving service, which is set to debut in 2020.

Back to the MacBook Pro?Apple's MacBook Pro refresh appeals to power users

Both the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro models have received some under-the-hood upgrades, along with a quieter keyboard -- even if this tweak isn't the redesign many are hoping for. The new models are on sale now at the same starting prices as their predecessors: $1,299 and up for the 13-inch model and $2,399-plus for the 15-incher. They both have larger batteries, as well as the same True Tone screen calibration tech seen in the newest iPad Pro. Also, Apple will be selling an external GPU in its store for the first time, a $699 model from Blackmagic that features AMD Radeon Pro 580 graphics, 8GB of GDDR5 memory and a slew of ports.

Prepare for the wind-down.Tesla's $7,500 EV tax credit is close to disappearing

Elon Musk's electric-vehicle company has sold enough cars to hit the ceiling for federal tax incentives. The automaker has confirmed that it has sold 200,000 units, and, as such, the $7,500 tax credit buyers have enjoyed will begin to phase out next year. If you take delivery of a Model S, Model X or Model 3 between January 1st and June 30th, you'll get a $3,750 credit, which is halved after July 1st and then will end next December 31st. A chart on the Tesla support page lays it all out.

And a free version of Microsoft Teams.Microsoft's collaborative Whiteboard app is now available

Microsoft's Whiteboard app, which lets users collaborate on an intelligent canvas through their Windows 10 devices, is now out of preview and available for download. There's also an upgrade for its Slack competitor, Teams, allowing anyone to use the collaboration software for free without an Office 365 account.

We'll call it a draw?Justice Department appeals approval of Time Warner-AT&T merger

Just when we thought the AT&T/Time Warner merger was finally a done deal after a district court judge ruled in its favor last month, it seems not everyone wants to accept its terms. The Justice Department has filed to appeal the approval. AT&T General Counsel David McAtee said in a statement that "We are ready to defend the Court's decision at the DC Circuit Court of Appeals."

Get ready to pay up.FCC officially changes rules for formal complaints

Now, complainants will have to pay a $225 fee to bring their issue to the commission via the official process. Informal complaints, however, are still free.