Technology

To help make life better for you, my loyal readers, I suffer by running Windows 7 and 10 on two harmless — never hurt anyone in their lives — PCs. Well, I did. But, in the last week I ran into not one, but two, showstopper update bugs.

First, on Windows 10, I was one of those &lucky& people who had files vaporize when I &updated& to Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809). Because I only use Windows for trivial tasks, I didn&t lose anything valuable when the patch decided to erase everything in the My Documents folder.

Somehow, I think most Windows users use Windows for more important work than I do. I hope you have current backups. At least ComputerworldWoody Leonhard has some good news: You can get those deleted files back.

Apple has quietly been putting considerable effort into building faster and more efficient chips that can help differentiate its hardware from the rest of the consumer electronics pack, and today ittaking its next (and possibly biggest) step in that strategy: the company is paying $300 million in cash to purchase a portion of Dialog Semiconductor, a chipmaker based out of Europe that it has been working with since the first iPhone. On top of the cash purchase, Apple is also committing $300 million in further purchases from the remaining part of Dialogbusiness.

This will be Applebiggest acquisition in terms of people: 300 people will be joining Apple as part of the deal, or about 16 percent of Dialogtotal workforce — and from what we understand, those who are joining have already been working closely with Apple up to now. The teams joining are based acrossLivorno in Italy, Swindon in England, andNabern and Neuaubing in Germany, near Munich, where Apple already has an operation. They will report to AppleSVP of hardware technologies, JohnySrouji.

&Dialog has deep expertise in chip development, and we are thrilled to have this talented group of engineers who&ve long supported our products now working directly for Apple,& said Srouji, in a statement. &Our relationship with Dialog goes all the way back to the early iPhones, and we look forward to continuing this long-standing relationship with them.&

The deal will also include IP and licenses for further IP.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2019, pending regulatory approvals.

The deal comes at a time when many expect Apple to release a VR headset in the future, and while our sources haven&t told us specifically about this, what we do know is that one big, more general focus for the company is continue working on power management and chips that are more efficient in that regard, particularly considering the newest devices that Apple has added to its range: wireless Airpod headphones and the Watch.

&This transaction reaffirms our long-standing relationship with Apple, and demonstrates the value of the strong business and technologies we have built at Dialog,& saidJalal Bagherli, CEO of Dialog, in a statement. &Going forward, we will have a clear strategic focus, building on our custom and configurable mixed-signal IC expertise and world-class power-efficient design. Our execution track record, deep customer relationships, and talented employees give us great confidence in our future growth prospects… We believe that this transaction is in the best interests of our employees and shareholders who will benefit from a business with enhanced focus, strong growth prospects and additional financial flexibility to invest in strategic growth initiatives.&

Dialog is holding a conference call later this morning to talk more about the deal and we will update this story as we learn more.

More to come.