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The Wrist-Amulet Edition Sunday, February 17, 2019

Smartwatches Are Changing The Purpose Of The EKG, by Andrew Bomback and Michelle Au, The Atlantic

Shrinking and wearing an EKG is a symptom of technology’s drive to subsume health and wellness, and it renews a belief in humanity’s mastery of the heart, that most important muscle. EKGs might start to seem capable of producing meaning on their own, instead of producing pictures that can be interpreted by medical professionals.

That aligns the continuous, single-lead, wearable EKG with the set designer’s intentions for the symbol. The EKG—especially the 12-lead device—offers real diagnostics, but not nearly as often as its traces convey the symbology of health. As it shrinks, that secondary meaning could become more primary. The wearable EKG offers the comforting weight of medicine itself, worn on the wrist like an amulet warding off evil, whether it ever gets used or not.

'I Knew Something Was Wrong:' Watch Alerts Nurse To Heart Problem,by Steve DeVane, Fayetteville Observer

“I knew something was wrong,” she said. “I shouldn’t be sitting still and my heart racing.”

A feature on Stamps’ Apple Watch let her know the situation was serious and showed emergency medical workers that she needed to go to the hospital immediately.

One Semester In The Digital Flagshp Era, by Michael Lee, The Latern

Breitman said the app Notability, which allows students to import and take notes directly on presentations, has been especially helpful to her. The iPad allows her to switch between platforms like Carmen and TopHat — an interactive education software —and back to her notes with much more ease than a laptop.

Breitman said while she has already gained a lot from the Digital Flagship initiative, she sees where it could grow in the years to come. Right now, teachers provide materials and the students use the technology, but in the future more teachers could actively use the technology along with students.

Stuff

Makeblock Neuron Explorer Kit Is A Useful Addition To A STEM Lab, by Bradley Chambers, 9to5Mac

We’re taking work we are doing on the iPad and seeing the results of it with items kids can touch. Makeblock has built a really fun kit, and if you have a need, I recommend you check it out.

Notes

How Smart Are Gmail's 'Smart Replies'?,by Séamas O'Reilly, The Guardian

The major stumbling block to my ever having used smart replies before was tone. Smart replies always gave me a sense of alien weirdness, so much so that when I did begin seeing them, I’d go out of my way to make sure the wording I did use in my reply was nothing like those suggested. It was as if I was spiting this assistant out of fear I’d be revealed as a Big Data techno-stooge. It’s not just that the replies are curt and impersonal, they’re also so chipper as to sound demented. I have a reputation to uphold, and it’s not as a perky yes man.

Bottom of the Page

While taking my iPhone X out of my pocket and putting it on my desk, I accidentally turned on the camera.

So I picked back up my phone to quit the camera app and, while putting it back on the desk, I accidentally turned on the flashlight.

(No, I did not accidentally turned on Siri, nor did I accidentally called emergency services today. These are turned off in the settings app.)

Of all the stuff that Mr Jony Ive has put into iOS to annoy me, the two little buttons on the lock screen annoy me the most.

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This is how I type accent characters when I am on my iPad Pro's smart keyboard.

a) Lift up my iPad Pro with my right hand, so as to disconnect the smart keyboard from the iPad.

b) Wait for the on-screen keyboard to appear.

c) Press and hold the character I want to type on-screen using my left hand. Choose the correct accent.

d) Put back my iPad Pro on my Smart Keyboard.

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Thanks for reading.