Infinite Canvas: New AR-Inspired Art Documentary Lands on Apple TV

There is a new documentary available for free on Apple TV. It’s called Infinite Canvas and follows “seven visionary artists as they push the boundaries of their work by exploring the uncharted territory of augmented reality art,” including Nick Cave, Nathalie Djubjerg, and Hans Berg. The hour-long film is based on an AR[T] experimental art series that took place in Apple Stores in San Francisco, New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.

Amazon Smart Clock For Echo Flex

Amazon has released a new Smart Clock for the Echo Flex. The new accessory plugs into the Flex’s USB port and is discovered by Alexa. Users can select between a 12 or 24-hour using the Third Reality Skill, and the device clock can support up to 20 different timers simultaneously. The display automatically adjusts brightness using a built-in light sensor, but this can also be altered via Alexa commands.

‘Deep Social’ Data Leak Exposes 235 Million Profiles of Instagram, TikTok, YouTube

A database containing almost 235 million social media profiles of users from Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube has been exposed because it wasn’t password-protected.

Evidence suggests that much of the data originally came from a now-defunct company: Deep Social. The names of the Instagram datasets (accounts-deepsocial-90 and accounts-deepsocial-91) hint at the data’s origin. Based on this, [security researcher Bob] Diachenko first contacted Deep Social using the email address listed on its website to disclose the exposure. The administrators of Deep Social forwarded the disclosure to Social Data. The CTO of Social Data acknowledged the exposure, and the servers hosting the data were taken down about three hours later.

Instagram QR Codes Launch Globally

Instagram launched its QR codes globally on Wednesday, The Verge reported. It means businesses can easily direct users to their profile on the photosharing app.

Users can now generate QR codes that’ll be scannable from any supporting, third-party camera apps. It first launched the product in Japan last year. The idea is that businesses can print their QR code and have customers scan it to open their Instagram account easily. From there, people can see store hours, buy items, or just follow the account. To generate your QR code, go to the settings menu on your profile and tap QR code. You might still see Nametag there, but eventually, it’ll become QR code. You can then save or share the image. Instagram previously deployed a similar system called Nametags, which were internal QR-like codes that could only be scanned from the Instagram camera. It’s now deprecating the feature entirely.

A One-Word Email From Tim Cook That Sums up His Leadership

Tim Cook’s leadership style, and the contrast with that of Steve Jobs, is much discussed. Inc picked up on an email from the Apple CEO responding to the complaints of a developer that was made public as part of recent antitrust hearings and rather summed up his style and emotional intelligence. The email only contained one word.

How would Cook respond to the lengthy message?  He forwarded the email to three of Apple’s highest decision makers, senior vice presidents Eddie Cue, Phil Schiller, and Craig Federighi, with a one-word question: “Thoughts?” On the surface, you may think there’s nothing special about that type of email. After all, it’s a single word.  But let’s break it down. First, Cook, the CEO of one of the most valuable companies in the world, could have dismissed the original message as a small-time complaint coming from a programmer who didn’t understand Apple’s overarching goals and strategy. But he didn’t.

Apple Music 1 Shows Writing on The Wall For Beats Brand

Speculation has been rife for a while that Apple would retire the Beats branding at some point in the near future. There was certainly a step in that direction on Tuesday with the rebrand to Apple Music radio, notes Brian M. Wolfe on iMore.

As the shift from Beats 1 to Apple Music 1 shows, any current Beats product name change would be seamless and probably won’t come until new models arrive, perhaps as early as this fall. Some name changes would be easier to make than others, however. The BeatsX, urBeats3, and Beat EP are probably history, while the Powerbeats and Powerbeats Pro could live on with “Apple” in each product’s name. Something tells me the Solo Pro, Beats Solo 3 Wireless, and Beats Studio 3 Wireless will all ditch “Solo,” and rebrand with “AirPods” in the name. Finally, the Beats Pill+ is likely to morph into a lower-priced HomePod. We should find out whether Apple retires the Beats name entirely soon enough, as the company is expected to begin announcing new products starting next month and into October.

Batch Rename Files on iOS Using This Shortcut

One task that was always easier on macOS was to rename multiple files at once using Automator. The Files app on iOS/iPadOS doesn’t have a lot of bulk actions. But I finally cracked it with Shortcuts to let you batch rename files on iOS and iPadOS. My shortcut lets you do three specific things: prepend text, append text, and replace text in a file name. If I think of more things to do with file names in the future, I’ll update the shortcut.

Pennsylvania to Launch COVID-19 App Based on Apple-Google API

Pennsylvania is to launch its COVID-19 tracing app in September, built on the Apple-Google framework, AppleInsider reported. The app is set to be called ‘COVID Alerta PA’, according to the state’s Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine.

COVID Alert PA will be interoperable with neighboring state Delaware’s app, as well as two other states yet to be named, according to 6 ABC. “The app is about Pennsylvanians helping Pennsylvanians, it’s about as a community being able to let each other know and track each other’s exposure so we can keep each other safe,” said Health Department spokesperson April Hutcheson. The app will notify people who have potentially been exposed to the coronavirus. The app uses the Centers for Disease Control guideline of being within six feet for at least 15 minutes.