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[00:06] This is Mac OS Ken. The memory crisis seems to claim a Mac, news around Apple Wallet, and your reactions to Apple CEO announcements. It is Friday the 24th of April, 2026. I'm Ken Ray, and this is news from Mac OS Ken, brought to you by yours truly and sponsored by OneSkin, a new standard for your skin. Try it now with 15% off using code Mac OS Ken at oneskin.co. slash Mac OS Ken. This show is also supported by people like you, patrons through Patreon. Find out more and then your support at patreon.com/macosken. It looks to a lot of people like Rem Narok has come up for the Mac. A number of sites, including 9to5Mac, ran reports over the past couple of days that had Apple listing the base model $599 Mac Mini as out of stock. Not backorder, just not. Apple won't let you order it at all, according to the site, with the company simply stating it is currently unavailable for delivery. What I don't understand is why they led with that. Go in one more paragraph in the same piece as any M4 Mac Mini with 256GB of storage is now in the same boat, regardless of RAM configuration. While the company will let people order other capacities, there is a considerable weight for them. 9to5Mac says the Apple Store is currently quoting 6 week wait times for the 512GB M4 Mac Mini, and that is the shortest delay they could find. Several of the other models are citing 9to10 week shipping estimates or longer, assuming they're available at all. The piece and other pieces on the issue put the problem down to the industry wide shortages of memory and storage components. It's not that Apple can't get those components, but they're probably prioritizing keeping MacBooks flowing over the lower volume desktop Macs, according to the piece. Calculated buying, AI driven demand, war in the Middle East driving up fuel costs. What else could throw a spanner in the works? Well, how about a walkout by workers? TechCrunch says tens of thousands of Samsung electronics workers held a rally Thursday signaling their intention to hold an 18-day strike next month. The piece says the workers union wants Samsung to scrap its performance bonus cap and redirect 15% of its operating profit directly to its workers. According to the report, rival chipmaker SK Hynex is reportedly expected to pay average bonuses of roughly $400,000 US per person to its 35,000 employees early next year. I thought that had to be a typo. Turns out, it was not. The TechCrunch report links to an article from Soul Economic Daily. According to that, employees at SK Hynex are likely to receive an average bonus exceeding $600,000,000 won, roughly $410,000 US per person early next year in what is being called a lottery bonus. The firm apparently posted a record high operating profit last quarter. That sent the size of profit-linked bonuses soaring, according to Soul Economic Daily. With chip demand expected to keep climbing, the piece says profit-linked bonuses are expected to keep climbing as well. The report says those could go as high as $800,000,000 won next year, roughly $539,000 US if they got it today. And suddenly you see why Samsung employees might be bothered by a performance bonus cap. While it's beneficial to know that the planned strike is only 18 days long, still not great for the supply chain. Manufacturers are said to be running full-bore right now. TechCrunch says Samsung is one of the world's top three memory chip manufacturers. The way the site sees it, if Samsung Electronics more than 35,000 workers go on strike next month, the ripples would be felt all the way in Silicon Valley as it may compound the ongoing memory chip shortage. What's in your Apple Wallet? More in Malaysia, less in the US. We'll start in the former, where Mac Rumors says Tap to Pay on iPhone has gone live. That'll let independent sellers, small merchants, and large retailers in Malaysia use iPhones as payment terminals. According to the piece, Tap to Pay allows iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets. All transactions are encrypted, and Apple has no information about what's purchased or the person who made the purchase. Back here in the States, if you're a Discover Card user, you are losing not one, but two features in Apple Wallet. A piece from Apple Insider says starting in early June, Discover Card holders will no longer be able to use reward points at checkout with Apple Pay, nor will they be able to view the account balance of a connected Discover Card in the Apple Wallet app. The piece points out that the card will still work with Apple Pay. Users will also be able to continue checking their balance in Discover's app for iOS. Discover Card users in the UK will still have the connected accounts balance feature in Apple Wallet, according to the report. And one more dip into your Apple Wallet. Your Apple Card savings account is doing less for you. Back to Mac Rumors, where we find Apple lowering the account's interest rate, with nary an indication as to why. A message in the savings account on Apple Wallet simply says, the annual percentage yield on your savings account changed from 3.65% to 3.5%. An email from Apple that I received Thursday had Apple pointing out that the APY on savings is variable and they may change the rates at any time. Rates are influenced by many factors, including the Federal Reserve funds rate. When this rate is lowered, it affects all US financial institutions, and they evaluate potential adjustments to their rates. Sounds like something of an explanation, though. Mac Rumors points out, Thursday's cut doesn't appear tied to a specific Federal Reserve move. More news in a moment, but first a word from today's sponsor, OneSkin, a new standard for YourSkin. I've spent this week focused on OS OneFace. That's what I've been using, and it has worked wonders for me. Seriously, I feel better about my face than I have in years. But that's not all they do. OS One Body Moisturizer improves skin texture, appearance and hydration. OS One Hair Scalp Serum addresses visible hair changes associated with age and stress. And just like OS One Face, it is all dermatologist tested, fragrance free and suitable for sensitive skin. If healthier skin is a concern, OneSkin could be the solution for you. Check them out at oneskin.co.uk/macosken. With over a decade of research behind it, OneSkin's OS One Peptide is proven to target the visible signs of aging helping you unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. For a limited time, try OneSkin with 15% off using code Mac OS Ken at oneskin.co/macosken. That's 15% off oneskin.co with code Mac OS Ken. When they ask where you heard about them, please tell them you heard about it on Mac OS Ken. Try Oneskin now with 15% off using code Mac OS Ken at oneskin.co/macosken. On now to today's fun and game segment. We'll start in Apple Maps, which has dolled itself up for next weekend's F1 Spectacle. MacRumors says Apple Maps has updated its 2026 Formula One Tracks Around the World Guide with a dedicated experience for the Miami F1 Grand Prix, which takes place on May 3rd and will be streamed on Apple TV. The revamp is said to include 3D landmarks for such features as grandstands, the marina, the pit building, the finish line and other points of interest. There are also curated guides for folks visiting the area, as well as info for things people attending the race will actually need, including entrances, restrooms, water stations and so on. Congrats to Apple TV, winner of two more Peabody Awards. 9 to 5 Mac says the feature Come See Me in the Good Light was among this year's documentary winners. Meanwhile, the mind-bending drama Pluribus was among this year's winners in the entertainment category. Winners will be honored at an event in Beverly Hills at the end of next month. Two big trailers for two Apple TV sci-fi shows. Won't be streaming for a few months, but Apple's out with the first teaser for the third season of Silo. The Cupertino streamer issued a press release promoting the show and dropping the teaser on YouTube. According to the release, season three of Silo continues the saga of a dystopian society of 10,000 people living underground under mysterious circumstances while revealing an origin story set centuries earlier. The first two seasons are available to stream now. Season three of Silo starts its run with one episode on Friday, the third of July. Coming much sooner to a TV near you, the For All Mankind spinoff, Star City. Apple TV issued another press release this week promoting the show and dropping a pulse pounding trailer. It covers the same events of For All Mankind, happenings in a world where the Soviet Union was first to the moon rather than the US. But this time, the release says, events were explored from behind the Iron Curtain, showing the lives of the cosmonauts, the engineers and the intelligence officers embedded among them in the Soviet space program and the risks they all took to propel humankind forward. I watched the trailer out of curiosity. It was only when it was over that I realized I had kind of stopped breathing freely somewhere in the middle. The first two episodes of Star City hit Apple TV on Friday, the 29th of May. The trailer is up now on YouTube. And available for your viewing pleasure right now, the kids and family series, My Brother the Minotaur. In this one, Apple says a Minotaur raised by humans starts dreaming of his mythical past, then sets out on a wild adventure with help from his brother and friends to understand who he really is. Only one season for this one so far. All ten episodes are available to stream now on Apple TV. Earlier this week, I asked for your reactions to this week's big news, the planned passing of Apple's CEO title from Tim Cook to John Ternes. Several of you wrote in, here is some of what some of you had to say. Dave wrote, saying, I think you gave too little attention to the switch to Apple Silicon. That was a huge gamble, and it could have turned out badly. One of Tim's monumental accomplishments that changed society was his being the first CEO of a Fortune 500 corporation to openly come out as gay. In both cases, Tim Cook was incredibly brave. As for his dealing with the current administration, Dave says Cook developed an unusual skill for being able to deal with autocrats. It's better that he practiced this dark art in a less conspicuous role at Apple. Brian wrote in, saying in part, Cook took over Apple when it was a $300 billion company. Today, it's valued at $4 trillion, adding $3.7 trillion in value without breaking a sweat. Looking ahead, I couldn't be more excited for the future of the company. Tim Cook's steady hand created the business strength for John Ternes to write the exciting next chapter. Youngs says, I think the Tim Cook era was great overall. Sure, there were wrinkles here and there, and I understand you don't agree with all of his actions, but considering Detractors downplaying Cook's ability to navigate post jobs Apple back when he was promoted to be permanent CEO in 2011, his era will be remembered fondly. That said, Youngs bothered by clickbaity articles about Ternus style and alleged strife in Apple's executive ranks. Give me a break and let him do the job. And finally, Rich wrote in to say, I think it is great that John Ternus is going to be the next CEO of Apple, mainly because he is a hardware guy like Steve Jobs was. I take nothing away from Tim Cook. I think he has been great for Apple. I don't think when he first started, anybody knew how much he was going to grow the company and that Apple would make great and exciting products and services. Also, Cook will still be there, just not a CEO. Obviously, he would help with distractions, leaving Ternus to run Apple, hopefully, for many years to come. Mac OS Ken, brought to you by me, and sponsored by OneSkin, a new standard for your skin. Try it now with 15% off, using code Mac OS Ken at oneskin.co/macosken. This show is also supported by people like you, Patrons through Patreon. Find out more in that your support at patreon.com/macosken. Advertising handle by Backbeat Media, online at backbeatmedia.com. You can find me on Mastodon, Mac OS Ken at mastodon.social. You can also send me an email, info at macosken.com. Until next time, that is news from Mac OS Ken. I'm Ken Ray. Ciao!