Former school teacher Christopher Brennan—Celebgate hacker—was recently sentenced to 34 months in prison after pleading guilty.
Apple is Hiring More Software Employees Than Hardware
For the first time in years, Apple has been hiring more software employees than hardware employees. I think this is a great move because Apple software is generally basic.
It makes sense for Apple: its hardware is now not only ubiquitous, but demand has finally plateaud. At the end of 2018 (right around when Apple began its earnest search for more software people), it became very clear that the iPhone was no longer Apple’s meal ticket as sales lagged followed by a very rare warnings call from Tim Cook.
So now what? Lock people into the ecosystem with software and services. How to get there? Hire people who know how to build that walled garden.
Apple Watch Popularity, Becoming the Next GE – TMO Daily Observations 2019-03-01
John Martellaro and Charlotte Henry join host Kelly Guimont to discuss Apple Watch popularity and the future of Apple’s (financial) services.
New York Investigates iOS Apps Sharing Data With Facebook
Additionally, on Thursday Ireland’s privacy regulator has 10 open investigations trying to figure out if Facebook violated GDPR.
Siri Shortcuts Might Just Be Misunderstood
Thursday’s update to Siri Shortcuts got writer Lance Ulanoff wondering if the feature is actually widely misunderstood. He saw it in action, working with apps that made an Espresso on command or could order your favourite pizza. He posted a column on Medium about the demo, and how Siri Shortcuts works. He concluded that the “ability to take deep dives into disparate apps without even touching your phone” is “the most compelling aspect” of the feature.
Getting Siri to launch an action isn’t that surprising, but what iPhone and iOS 12 users might not realize is the extent to which Siri’s been watching them and using local machine learning to build up a potential library of Siri Shortcut actions. It starts pretty simply. If you drag your thumb down on your home screen, you’ll immediately see a collection of 4-to-8 apps selected by Siri as those you use most often. There are also those Siri Suggestions that helpfully popup on your lock-screen offering to, for instance, initiate a call that its gleaned from your schedule.
New Siri Shortcuts for Third-Party Health and Fitness Apps
Apple highlighted a number of third-party health apps that have been updated to work with Siri Shortcuts Thursday. AppleInsider reported that the updated apps included QardioArm smart blood pressure, skiing-app Snoww as well as Streaks, WaterMinder, and Yazio. It also noted Apples suggestion that users could create personalized routines with these new Siri Shortcuts.
The apps Apple has selected offer a wide variety of functions to promote a healthy and active lifestyle, in a number of new ways. Following an announcement from Thursday about new additions to the Siri Shortcuts roster, the new batch of third-party health services cover both apps and hardware that can communicate with iPhones and other items in the Apple ecosystem.
Amazon Launches 'Day' to Reduce Number of Boxes it Delivers
Amazon launched a new delivery service called Amazon Day which could both burnish its green credentials, and reduce costs.
Apple Watch Health Features Can Change Medicine
Apple Watch health features and fitness tracking have the potential to change medicine. Dan Hon writes how his friend’s Apple Watch helped him.
One day, while I was testing my own Apple Watch, Tom was deconstructing a rack of network equipment. He suddenly noticed his heart was pounding. Then he began feeling dizzy. Next came tunnel vision. He needed to sit down.
I think more and more health features will come to the Apple Watch,, such as blood glucose monitoring.
YouTube Disables Comments to Protect Minors
YouTube has disabled comments on videos featuring minors, launched a new comment classifier, and terminated channels that endangered children.
SpaceX Taking Next Steps Towards Sending Astronauts into Space
SpaceX will move a step closer to putting human’s into space this weekend. Early Saturday morning, it will launch an upgraded version of its Dragon capsule craft, called Crew Dragon. The craft will contain supplies for International Space Station. Wired reported on how Elon Musk’s company hopes to prove that this type of craft can keep a human crew safe if it had to make an emergency landing.
SpaceX has always intended for its Dragon capsules to ferry humans, but Every SpaceX Dragon capsule launched so far has only shuttled cargo to and from the ISS. The upgraded version, debuting on DM-1, will feature new crew life-support systems, seats, control panels, and a propulsion system that can be used to keep the crew safe during a launch emergency. But it won’t carry people; before astronauts can climb aboard, SpaceX has to prove Dragon is ready.