Check out this amazing video from Vanderbilt University about their new prosthetic ankle (via TechCrunch). Vanderbilt calls it smart, not because it’s connected, but because it adjusts on the fly, making it much easier to navigate uneven and rough terrain. According to the school, “The ankle has a tiny motor, actuator, sensors and chip that work together to either conform to the surface the foot is contacting or remain stationary, depending on what the user needs.” That’s just crazy cool, and the technology in this device could really make a qualitative difference in the lives of amputees and other people who need artificial legs. Plus, our future robot overlords will probably appreciate it, and it’s always good to try and get an inside edge with them. Check out the video.
You Can Now Download the iOS 12 Public Beta
The iOS 12 public beta is live, and you can download it over at Apple’s website. Of course, there are certain things to keep in mind and do beforehand.
Ride Along With a Space Probe As it Crashes Into a Comet
In September 2016, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta space probe crashed into comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Here’s a video from the spacecraft’s camera as it approaches. It shows the comet’s surface up close as Rosetta plunges in. (Courtesy Digg.) It’s very cool.
SongShift Lets You Transfer Apple Music Playlists to Other Services
There’s an app called SongShift that lets you transfer Apple Music playlists to other services. Supported services include Apple Music, Deezer, Discogs, HypeMachine, LastFM, Napster, Pandora, Spotify, Tidal, and YouTube. You can “shift” complete playlists from one streaming service to another, and automatically keep all of your playlists synced with each other. I’ve heard some Apple customers say that when they unsubscribe from Apple Music, then re-subscribe later on, none of their playlists and content is saved. I’ve never unsubscribed yet so I haven’t run into this issue, but it sounds like SongShift can help in these cases. App Store: SongShift – Free
Apple and Other Tech Companies Meeting in San Francisco to Chat about Privacy
The trade group organizing the meeting includes Apple, Google, Amazon, Adobe, Ebay, Facebook, HP, Twitter, Salesforce, IBM, Microsoft, Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung, Dropbox, and many others, though it’s not clear how high up the org chart this meet-up will go.
TMO Background Mode Interview with Science Fiction Novelist Steven Brust
Steven Brust is a popular science fiction author with 31 novels to his credit. He’s known for the Vlad Taltos series as well as the Khaavren romances. He’s also a musician: drummer, guitarist and banjo player, and he has a solo record out, A Rose For Iconoclastes. Like many writers, as we pondered on the show, he has a cat. We chatted about his early career as a computer programmer and the life-changing event that launched him into writing science fiction. Steven’s career has been filled with a fortunate series of happenstances, “luck,” both in the cover art of his novels and his choice of themes. Inspired by Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light, Steven writes what he’d love to read himself, and that has worked amazingly well. You’ll enjoy our chat about all things science fiction.
Free App Trials From Apple's Perspective
Drew McCormack took to Medium to write a post on trying to understand Apple’s perspective when it comes to free app trials. Developers aren’t happy about the move, because some argue that the changes to In-App Purchase guidelines aren’t true free trials.
So why does Apple…not offer a more formal version of free trials? Most developers seem to assume they are deliberately ignoring their protests, for no good reason, or that they simply are not willing to dedicate the resources to solve the problem. I doubt both of these assumptions. I think Apple have probably thought long and hard about it, and concluded that the options they have introduced are actually better than the free trials developer’s are requesting.
Apple News Features a Section for 2018 Midterm Elections
Today Apple launched a dedication section in Apple News for the 2018 midterm elections. It’s aimed at casual readers and critics alike.
Behaviour Interactive Hit with Lawsuit for Reusing Fallout Shelter Code in Westworld Mobile Game
Warner Bros. and Behaviour Interactive are facing a lawsuit from Bethesda Softworks over allegations that the Westworld Mobile game is a “blatant rip-off” of Fallout Shelter.
The AI Threat, Video Game Addiction - TMO Daily Observations 2018-06-25
John Martellaro and Andrew Orr join Jeff Gamet to look at the potential problems artificial intelligence systems could pose, plus they look at video game addiction.
