Apple aims at reimagining vehicle owner's manuals

Apple might be taking a stab at a new way to access vehicle owners manuals.The US Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday published a patent application from Apple called "Identifying and Presenting Information Based on Unique Vehicle Identifier." According to the patent application, the technology would would identify all parts and part numbers in a car and beam that to a person's iPhone or iPad. With GPS technology included, it would also inform the car owner of the nearest dealership or car parts retailer to get the needed part.To add a bit more flavor to the technology, Apple says that the invention could also provide video instructions to drivers on how to fix issues whenever something goes wrong. Siri might also be used as a tool to communicate manual information to the driver.Patently Apple earlier reported on the application.Apple has been making a mad dash for the car market as of late. Just recently, the company unveiled CarPlay, a service that will be integrated into cars and allow vehicle makers to provide Apple's iTunes, Messages, and Siri experiences in-car.The patent application published Thursday doesn't mention CarPlay, due in large part to it being invented before Apple unveiled its in-car service. It's feasible, however, that the technology would work with CarPlay if the technology ever finds its way into vehicles.

Apple agrees to pollution audit in China, report says

Apple will participate in a jointly monitored audit with the Institute of Public and Environment Affairs to look into the pollution controls at factories owned by an Apple supply partner in China.The Financial Times reported on Sunday that Apple appears to be taking more interest in addressing environmental concerns in its supply chain and has agreed to subject its partner--a maker of printed circuit boards--to an inspection of the latter's operations in the "next few weeks."Ma Jun, a director at the China-based institute, told the news agency that Apple's agreeing to the audit was representative of an attitude change within the organization. The change began last September after an institutereport showed pollution discharges were "expanding and spreading" in Apple's supply chain. "One Apple vice president said that transparency was needed, and I felt that was the moment they decided they wanted to change the way they were doing things," he said.Read more of "Report: Apple agrees to pollution audit" on ZDNet Asia.