Apple and Google said they will roll out software updates in mid-May to begin support for contact tracing. Public health authorities will incorporate the contact tracing API into their apps, which can then be downloaded from the Apple and Google app stores. The companies said they will bake the contact tracing feature into iOS and Android in the coming months, so that users won’t even have to install an app. The companies said this would help get more people using the system.
Even when the contact tracing feature is baked into the OS at the system level, any detection of a positive match would still prompt the user to download the relevant public health app for their region to receive more information about what the COVID-19 contact tracing process is, and next steps.
Apple said it “drew upon its engineering and clinical resources to help develop a new Covid-19 website and Covid-19 app” at the request of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and outlined the privacy protections in its agreement with the agency. Apple said the tools, which are available as an app and on the web, aren’t subject to HIPAA guidelines and said it doesn’t collect any personal data from individuals.
Once you get in the swing of things, using the iPad with a trackpad/mouse plus keyboard feels faster than using it with touchscreen plus keyboard. Perhaps that’s just because I have 30-plus years of experience using the older school computing paradigm. But I’ve long been a heavy, heavy iPad user, and this just feels faster for whatever reason.
However, if you only purchased the macOS app, it will continue working for you but won’t receive any software updates. Otherwise, you’ll need to purchase the macOS version a second time. GoodNotes assures us, though, that only a tiny fraction of customers used the Mac app on its own, without the iPad/iPhone versions.
Today’s headline feature is Productions, a new toolset for Premiere Pro first previewed in January at the Sundance Film Festival. Productions is a system of organization that Adobe hopes will improve workflows for feature film, broadcast, and and web-based episodic content.
If you are finding yourself accidentally triggering Siri or other application shortcuts, you’ll want to check our Bar None.
NapBot is a powerful third-party sleep tracking application for Apple Watch powered by CoreML. A new update for the app brings additional independent Apple Watch features, as well as a new deep sleep trend analysis option for users.
9to5Mac has analyzed the latest HomePod firmware available and found something unexpected: starting with version 13.4, the HomePod operating system is now based on tvOS, instead of iOS. But what exactly does that mean for the rest of us?
[...]
While the fourth generation Apple TV (the HD-only model) also runs with the A8 chip, it will probably not be discontinued this year. If Apple wants to keep the HomePod updated for a longer time, it makes sense that the HomePod Software should be based on the next version of tvOS instead of iOS 14 due to the A8 chip support.
Sleep well. Eat well. Stay safe.
~
Thanks for reading.