News items you should check out: April 15

Since Steve and I can’t cover everything, occasionally we’ll direct your attention to articles from various other sources worth your time.

° MacRumors previously reported that Apple plans to switch to randomized serial numbers for future products starting in early 2021. The company now seems to be preparing for that roll-out, telling authorized resellers and dealers in a memo obtained by MacRumors to ensure that their “systems, warehouses, and processes are in place and able to receive and ship the two serial number formats.”

° Selected stores in the UK’s Tesco supermarket chain are a giving random shoppers “surprise” substitutions, such as an iPhone SE in place of apples, according to AppleInsider.

° The Verge reports on the plight of multiple Apple customers who feel ripped off by a company called Phobio, Apple’s trade-in partner in the U.S.

° iMore says Apple has co-signed a letter with 310 other businesses and investors in support of President Biden’s climate action plan.

° In a note to investors seen by AppleInsider, JP Morgan lead analyst Samik Chatterje opines that Mac and Services sales will drive Apple earnings growth amid slowing iPhone sales. 

° On the latest episode, the MacVoices Live! conversation about “45 ways Apple put a ding in the universe” continues with the panel of David Ginsburg, Kelly Guimont, Guy Serle, Jim Rea, Jay Miller, Frank Petrie and Brittany Smith joining host Chuck Joiner for a contentious discussion of mobile computing and (of all things) the role VisiCalc played in introducing Apple to the business world.