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The Sign-Language Edition Thursday, May 20, 2021

Apple Announces SignTime And Many Other Accessibility Features Coming To Its Products, by John Voorhees, MacStories

SignTime will allow customers to communicate with AppleCare and Retail Customer Care inside their browsers using American Sign Language, British Sign Language, and French Sign Language. The service will also be available in-person at retail stores without making arrangements ahead of time. [...]

Later this year, Apple will add AssistiveTouch to the Apple Watch. The feature uses hand clenches, pinch gestures, and hand shaking to navigate and select controls in Watch apps.

Apple Adding New Background Sounds Feature To iOS To Help With Focus, Calm, And Rest, by Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac

Apple has some experience with ambient sounds, it brought seven different options to HomePod back in 2019 with white noise, stream, rain, ocean, night, forest, and fireplace.

Coming Soon

iOS 14.7 Beta Lets You Set Timers On HomePod Using Home App, by Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac

With this new version of iOS, users will be able to set timers on the HomePod using the Home app on the iPhone, iPad, and possibly the Mac as well.

On App Stores

Craig Federighi Says The Mac Has An ‘Unacceptable' Malware Problem, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who is presiding over the Epic vs. Apple case, asked Federighi about why the Mac can have multiple app stores, but not the iPhone. “It is regularly exploited on the Mac,” Federighi explained. “iOS has established a dramatically higher bar for customer protection. The Mac is not meeting that bar today.”

“Today, we have a level of malware on the Mac that we don’t find acceptable,” Federighi added.

Apple’s Revenue From Epic’s Fortnite Topped $100 Million, by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

Apple Inc. generated at least $100 million in revenue -- and possibly much more -- from Fortnite’s 30-month run on the App Store, according to testimony from the iPhone maker about its income from the business at the heart of an antitrust trial with Epic Games Inc.

Apple CEO Tim Cook To Testify Friday As Epic Trial Nears End, by Michael Liedtke, Associated Press

Cook will be taking the stand as Apple prepares to wrap its case before the two sides make their closing arguments and answer U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers' questions about the evidence on Monday. His appearance also will serve as a sort of bookend to the testimony of Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, who took the stand for two days during the first two days of trial.

Stuff

The 2021 M1 iPad Pros, by John Gruber, Daring Fireball

If you already love iPadOS, well, you’re in luck — go out and buy a new iPad Pro and I assure you, you’ll be delighted. For the rest of us, I have a feeling we need to see iPadOS 15 before we experience the true potential of these new (or any recent) iPad Pros.

Apple Debuts Redesigned Apple Store App On iPad With Sidebar And Rapid Access To Recent Orders, by Parker Ortolani, 9to5Mac

The new design takes advantage of the sidebars introduced in iPadOS 14 last summer. Apple has made a number of other changes to the app as well including updates to Today at Apple sessions and the iPad shopping experience.

Bombich Software Announces Carbon Copy Cloner 6 Featuring Faster Backups, Quick Updates, Snapshot Navigator, And More, by Tim Hardwick, MacRumors

Apart from offering the ability to make bootable backups on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, the new-look CCC 6 includes a number of additional features, including a "Quick Update" to existing backups that is said to be up to 20 times faster.

CardioBot For iPhone And Apple Watch Adds Blood And Pulse Pressure Support, More, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

CardioBot makes it easy to visualize your heart rate and other data to discover trends. Now, the app is expanding with support for tracking blood and pulse pressure for the first time.

Notes

Microsoft And Apple Wage War On Gadget Right-to-Repair Laws, by Mark Bergen, Bloomberg

One reason these legislative efforts have failed is the opposition, which happens to sell boatloads of new devices every year. Microsoft’s top lawyer advocated against a repair bill in its home state. Lobbyists for Google and Amazon.com Inc. swooped into Colorado this year to help quash a proposal. Trade groups representing Apple Inc. successfully buried a version in Nevada. Telecoms, home appliance firms and medical companies also opposed the measures, but few have the lobbying muscle and cash of these technology giants. While tech companies face high-profile scrutiny in Washington, they quietly wield power in statehouses to shape public policy and stamp out unwelcome laws. Tech companies argue that right-to-repair laws would let pirates rip off intellectual property and expose consumers to security risks. In several statehouses, lobbyists told lawmakers that unauthorized repair shops could damage batteries on devices, posing a threat of spontaneous combustion.

Apple Must Resist China’s Tyranny, by Editorial Board, Washington Post

Whatever the cost of resisting tyranny remains, Apple ought to be willing to pay.

Bottom of the Page

When I buy an iPhone, I expect Apple to continue to support my iPhone with security and bug fixes for some time.

And I also expect Apple to continue to make sure my device and my data are safe even after repairing, for example, a cracked screen or a swelling battery.

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Thanks for reading.