News+: What Kind of an iPad Homescreen Redesign Will iOS 13 Bring?

Writing for the Macworld magazine, Jason Snell shares some ideas for a rumored iPad homescreen redesign in iOS 13.

After more than a decade using more or less the same old app-launching interface Apple introduced with the original iPhone, it takes some effort to imagine how Apple could reinvent the concept of a home screen for the iPad. But reader, I’ve managed to make that effort. Here’s a look at some directions I hope Apple will go, assuming Gurman’s sources are right, when we first see this feature this summer.

One: I cannot wait for WWDC this year to see what iOS 13 brings. I hope the rumors are true that it will be an iPad-heavy release like iOS 11.

Two: This is the first of an occasional magazine article I’ll share as one of our Linked Teasers. Just a way to help people find cool content in Apple News+.

Amazon Alexa HIPAA Skills Come to the Device

Amazon announced six Alexa HIPAA-compliant skills are coming today. They will be for patients and caregivers.

Now Atrium Health patients in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia can ask Alexa to schedule same-day appointments, while Express Scripts members can check the status of a home delivery prescription and can request Alexa notifications when their prescription orders are shipped. Meanwhile, the Livongo Alexa skill lets people check recent blood sugar readings and monitor their blood sugar levels. Other developers or healthcare companies that are interested in adding skills to Alexa must apply to an invite-only Alexa program to participate.

Nothing will go wrong, right?

Amazon Preparing to Launch Over 3,000 Satellites to Help Provide Broadband

Amazon is working to launch thousands of satellites into space as part of a bid to offer global internet access.  CNBC found details of the project, known as Project Kuiper, contained within some of Amazon’s federal findings. A company spokesperson confirmed the project, saying it «will provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world.»

Amazon’s proposal is for a network of 3,236 satellites. Building, launching and operating the satellites will require intensive capital, likely billions of dollars. But Bezos has already been funding Blue Origin with upwards of $1 billion a year and Amazon itself remains one of the world’s most valuable companies. GeekWire first reported the filings on Thursday. Kuiper is the name of a belt of objects that include asteroids and dwarf planets. It was named for the late Dutch American astronomer Gerard Kuiper.

BBEdit Returns to Mac App Store after Four Years

Popular productivity app BBEdit left the Mac App Store in October 2014. Today it’s back. As the «go to» tool for web site designers, web application developers, writers, and software developers, this award-winning product provides an abundance of high-performance features for editing, searching, and manipulation of text, code, and HTML/XML markup. An intelligent interface provides easy access to BBEdit’s best-of-class features, including: grep pattern matching; search and replace across multiple files; project definition tools; function navigation and syntax coloring for numerous source code languages; code folding; FTP and SFTP open and save; AppleScript and Automator support; Unix scripting support; text and code completion; a complete set of robust HTML tools; and more. Mac App Store: Free (Offers In-App Purchases)

Facebook Runs Sponsored Content in Daily Telegraph to Help Get Its Message Out

As part of its drive for better publicity, Facebook has been running a series of articles with British broadsheet newspaper The Daily Telegraph. The partnership was reported by Business Insider as something of an exposé. In fact, it looks to be a fairly standard, and clearly marked, sponsored content campaign. However, what struck me as interesting is how seriously Facebook is taking improving its PR. More conventional adverts have appeared in Britain too. After months of bad publicity, it is taking action to get its message across and try and reassure users.

The series — called «Being human in the information age» — has published 26 stories over the last month, to run in print and online, and is produced by Telegraph Spark, the newspaper’s sponsored content unit. «Fake news, cyberbullying, artificial intelligence — it seems like life in the internet age can be a scary place,» the articles say. «That’s why Telegraph Spark and Facebook have teamed up to show how Facebook and other social media platforms are harnessing the power of the internet to protect your personal data.»

Ting Mobile Launches Right to Repair Campaign

Ting Mobile is launching a right to repair campaign, and released a survey called ‘Epic Phone Fails’ showing that 78% aren’t aware they have a right to repair their devices.

One of the least surprising results from the survey is that 78% of people have never heard of ‘Right to Repair,’ which is the sometimes contested right for people to repair the things they own without being required to go through the item’s manufacturer. We are encouraged by the opportunity to make consumers more aware of the options they have when it comes to repairing their smartphones.

Apple Cuts HomePod Price by $50, Now $299

Apple is cutting the price of the HomePod a bit. It used to be US$349 but now it costs US$299.

Apple today cut the price of HomePod on its online store by $50, with the smart speaker now listed for $299, down from $349. The price drop follows recent promotional discounts at several third-party retailers across the U.S.

Apple's Relationship with Intel Could Delay 5G iPhone

Apple is planning to release a 5G iPhone in September 2020. However, its somewhat deteriorating relationship with chipmaker Intel is putting that at risk. Fast Company looked into the situation, and why Intel could decide Apple’s business is just not worth it.

In order to deliver big numbers of those modems in time for a September 2020 iPhone launch, Intel needs to deliver sample parts to Apple by early summer of this year, and then deliver a finished modem design in early 2020. Intel said in November that it expected to ship the 8160 5G modem in the second half of 2019. The company, responding to this story, pointed me to that same statement. “As we said in November 2018, Intel plans to support customer device launches in 2020 with its XMM 8160 5G multimode modem,” a company representative said in an email late Wednesday.