
Apple will repair these Mac Mini models for free; Find out if yours is on the list
Live Events
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
Apple has announced a worldwide repair programme for certain Mac mini computers fitted with the M2 chip, after reports that a small number of units are unable to power on.The tech company said the problem affects only a limited batch of Mac minis made between 16 June and 23 November 2024. Other Mac mini models are not affected.Although Apple has not revealed the exact cause of the issue, it confirmed that the fault could stop some devices from turning on completely.To check if a Mac mini is eligible, customers can visit Apple's official support website and enter their device's serial number. If it qualifies, Apple or an authorised service provider will repair the unit free of charge.This programme is global, meaning users can access support regardless of where they bought the Mac mini. The free service is available for up to three years from the date of purchase.Apple described the issue as affecting a very small percentage of devices and encouraged users to back up their data before getting their computer repaired. All repairs will follow Apple's standard service process.The move is part of Apple's ongoing efforts to maintain quality and customer trust, especially as it expands its range of Macs powered by its own chips.Inputs from agencies

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
When China jailed three people for leaking details of soon-to-be launched Apple gadget
Three Foxconn R&D employees in China were sentenced to prison for leaking details about the iPad 2 before its launch. The employees received sentences ranging from one year to 18 months and were fined between $4,500 and $23,000 for violating trade secrets. The arrests, which took place in December 2010, highlight Apple's aggressive stance on protecting its product secrecy. It also shows how importamt it is for the largest manufacturer of Apple's product to ensure this secrecy around the company's products. The three Foxconn employees reportedly provided digital images of the iPad 2's design to Shenzhen MacTop Electronics, an Apple-compatible accessory manufacturer founded in 2004. In exchange, MacTop paid the employees 20,000 yuan (approximately $3,000) and offered discounts on its products. This allowed MacTop to produce iPad 2 cases ahead of competitors, gaining a market edge. According to Cult of Mac, 'The leaked information gave MacTop a significant head start, showcasing how valuable Apple's trade secrets are in the competitive accessory market.' Apple's strict secrecy policy for its products Despite this high-profile case, leaks of Apple products persist, given the thousands of workers involved in its supply chain, many earning low wages. 'It's actually surprising that more Apple leaks don't surface, considering the scale of their manufacturing operations,' Cult of Mac noted. Apple's secrecy measures have since intensified, including deploying undercover security teams and imposing multimillion-dollar fines on suppliers who fail to safeguard confidential information. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Eat 1 Teaspoon Every Night, See What Happens A Week Later [Video] getfittoday Undo While Apple CEO Tim Cook has been slightly more forthcoming about future plans than Steve Jobs, the company remains fiercely protective of its hardware details. A leaked internal memo a few years ago underscored the severe consequences for employees who disclose sensitive information. With billions at stake in product launches, Apple's ongoing battle against leaks shows no signs of slowing down. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now


Economic Times
6 hours ago
- Economic Times
Apple Paper questions path to AGI, sparks division in GenAI group
New Delhi: A recent research paper from Apple focusing on the limitations of large reasoning models in artificial intelligence has left the generative AI community divided, sparking significant debate whether the current path taken by AI companies towards artificial general intelligence is the right one to take. The paper, titled The Illusion of Thinking, published earlier this week, demonstrates that even the most sophisticated large reasoning models do not genuinely think or reason in a human-like way. Instead, they excel at pattern recognition and mimicry, generating responses that only appear intelligent, but lack true comprehension or conceptual understanding. The study used controlled puzzle environments, such as the popular Tower of Hanoi puzzle, to systematically test reasoning abilities across varying complexities by large reasoning models such as OpenAI's o3 Mini, DeepSeek's R1, Anthropic's Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Google Gemini Flash. The findings show that while large reasoning and language models may handle simple or moderately complex tasks, they experience total failure when faced with high-complexity problems, which occur despite having sufficient computational resources. Gary Marcus, a cognitive scientist and a known sceptic of the claims surrounding large language models, views Apple's work as providing compelling empirical evidence that today's models primarily repeat patterns learned during training from vast datasets without genuine understanding or true reasoning capabilities. "If you can't use a billion-dollar AI system to solve a problem that Herb Simon (one of the actual godfathers of AI, current hype aside) solved with AI in 1957, and that first semester AI students solve routinely, the chances that models like Claude or o3 are going to reach AGI seem truly remote," Marcus wrote in his blog. Marcus' arguments are also echoed in earlier comments of Meta's chief AI scientist Yann LeCun, who has argued that current AI systems are mainly sophisticated pattern recognition tools rather than true thinkers. The release of Apple's paper ignited a polarised debate across the broader AI community, with many panning the design of the study than its findings.A published critique of the paper by researchers from Anthropic and San-Francisco based Open Philanthropy said the study has issues in the experimental design, that it overlooks output an alternate demonstration, the researchers tested the models on the same problems but allowed them to use code, resulting in high accuracy across all the tested models. The critique around the study's failure to take in the output limits and the limitations in coding by the models have also been highlighted by other AI commentators and researchers including Matthew Berman, a popular AI commentator and researcher."SOTA models failed The Tower of Hanoi puzzle at a complexity threshold of >8 discs when using natural language alone to solve it. However, ask it to write code to solve it, and it flawlessly does up to seemingly unlimited complexity," Berman wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).The study highlights Apple's more cautious approach to AI compared to rivals like Google and Samsung, who have aggressively integrated AI into their products. Apple's research explains its hesitancy to fully commit to AI, contrasting with the industry's prevailing narrative of rapid questioned the timing of the release of the study, coinciding with Apple's annual WWDC event where it announces its next software across online forums said the study was more about managing expectations in light of Apple's own struggles with said, practitioners and business users argue that the findings do not change the immediate utility of AI tools for everyday applications.


Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
Centre eases rules for buying scientific equipment, consumables by R&D institutes
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel In the wake of demands from researchers, the government has enhanced financial limits for the procurement of scientific instruments and consumables by various scientific institutions, including those pursuing research in the defence sector, and also allowed them to look beyond the GeM portal for making such existing financial rules mandated procurement of equipment of less than Rs 200 crore only through the government e-marketplace (GeM) portal and from local producers to encourage the domestic manufacturing various scientists and researchers faced hindrances due to these rules as several high-end research equipment were not available on the GeM Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research are among the many institutions that will benefit from the changes in the general financial rules (GFR) that have removed the bottlenecks in conventional procurement, officials and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said the aim is to give as much freedom as possible for innovation to grow within the framework said that the GeM portal was introduced to ensure transparency in government purchases but the mechanism may not have evolved to meet the requirements of researchers."When we are looking forward to playing a global role, we will have to follow global parameters. Our benchmarks have to be related to the global benchmarks," Singh told a press conference to the amendments to the special provisions in the GFR, vice chancellors and directors of various research and development institutions will now be able to purchase scientific equipment and consumables for research purposes up to Rs 2 lakh without seeking any quotations, as against the earlier limit of Rs 1 financial limit for procuring goods by the Purchase Committee has been enhanced to Rs 25 lakh from the existing Rs 10 lakh. The financial limits for procuring goods using the limited tender enquiry (LTE) and advertised tender enquiry have been increased to Rs 1 crore from the existing Rs 50 changes in the rules also allow vice chancellors and directors of scientific organisations and academic institutions under various ministries, departments and organisations to make non-GeM procurement of scientific equipment and consumables."We need to make sure that within the framework given to us and exercising all the integrity at our command, we try to give as much freedom as possible for innovation to grow," Singh changes to GFRs removed the bottlenecks in conventional procurement that used to at times throttle scientific work, Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology, Chancellors and directors have been designated as competent authorities to approve the issuance of a global tender enquiry of up to Rs 200 crore for the procurement of scientific equipment and consumables required only for research amendments to the GFR will apply to the departments of science and technology, biotechnology, scientific and industrial research, atomic energy, space, earth sciences and health research, including the Indian Council of Medical Defence Research and Development Organisation, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and its affiliated institutions and universities, and educational and research institutes conducting post-graduate, doctoral-level courses or research under any ministry/department will also benefit from the amended the Modi government completing 11 years in office, the announcement is being seen as a reaffirmation of its focus on science, innovation, and youth-led development, core themes that are integral to India's future global role, Singh said.A recent report by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister had highlighted how rules originally intended to ensure transparency were inadvertently hampering scientific progress, he announcement follows extensive consultations led by the Principal Scientific Adviser's office, drawing insights from 13 IITs and multiple research bodies across India."We have tried to do away with red-tapism," said Singh."This is a move that places trust in the science leaders of this country. The message from the Modi Government is clear -- 'we trust you, we value you and we are committed to you'," the minister said.