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The Special-Education Edition Monday, April 2, 2018

What Apple’s Education Announcements Mean For Accessibility, by Steven Aquino, TechCrunch

There is enormous potential for Apple to dig deeper and expand the toolset they offer to educators and students. To accommodate for special education is, in my view, akin to accommodating disabled users by offering accessibility features on each of Apple’s software platforms.

Special education is special for a reason. It involves ways of teaching and learning that are unique, and the people who work and learn in these environments deserve the same consideration.

On A Tight Tech-buying Budget, One Reporter Compares Chromebooks And iPads, by Julio Ojeda-Zapata, Pioneer Press

I haven’t had the new iPad long enough to definitively answer the crucial question: Would I spend $350 of my own cash on an Apple tablet or a Google Chromebook such as the Acer Spin 11?

But it is hard to imagine I’d go Chromebook with the choices laid out before me — The iPad is just too dang appealing.

Quiet By Design: Naomi Campbell Interviews Jony Ive, by Naomi Campbell, Vogue

"You and I might see the same things, but what they mean to us is based on so many historical and cultural references. There isn’t this universal truth to a single object. I was interested in how you go from what you see to what you perceive, what something might mean to you."

They Tried To Boycott Facebook, Apple And Google. They Failed., by Jack Nicas, New York Times

As the reach and influence of Silicon Valley’s tech giants have increased, so have the calls to boycott their products and services. The problem is that pulling off a boycott is not exactly easy: The tech companies’ products are so pervasive that they are difficult to avoid.

Stuff

Effortless Is A Mac Productivity Tool That Helps You Ward Off The Evils Of Procrastination, by Mahit Huilgol, TechPP

Time tracking is a crucial aspect of freelancing, and with Effortless you can view the total time spent on working.

Hyperspektiv Is A Photo App That Produces Glitchy, Psychedelic Images, by Thuy Ong, The Verge

The app adds random distortion effects, such as colorful glitches and floaty mirroring to a kaleidoscope twist.

Notes

Zuckerberg Slams Apple CEO Tim Cook's Comments On Facebook As 'Extremely Glib', by Alex Lockie, Business Insider

Zuckerberg contended that Facebook's mission of connecting the world meant it had to provide service to those who couldn't pay, and he said advertising naturally lent itself to the business model but Facebook still cared about people and their rights.

[...]

"If you want to build a service which is not just serving rich people, then you need to have something people can afford," Zuckerberg said.

Retailers Race Against Amazon To Automate Stores, by Nick Wingfield, New York Times

A global race to automate stores is underway among several of the world’s top retailers and small tech start-ups, which are motivated to shave labor costs and minimize shoppers’ frustrations, like waiting for cashiers. They are also trying to prevent Amazon from dominating the physical retail world as it does online shopping.

Companies are testing robots that help keep shelves stocked, as well as apps that let shoppers ring up items with a smartphone. High-tech systems like the one used by Amazon Go completely automate the checkout process. China, which has its own ambitious e-commerce companies, is emerging as an especially fertile place for these retail experiments.