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The No-Longer-Working Edition Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Apple Still Hasn't Fixed Siri Issue That Nixed Call, Email, And Voicemail Features Used By Low Vision And Blind Users, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

With the launch of iOS 15, Apple changed Siri functionality and removed features that were heavily relied on by low vision and blind iPhone users. ‌Siri‌ commands that provide details on phone calls, voice mails, and sending emails are no longer working, and Apple has yet to fix the issue.

This AI Art App Is A Glimpse At The Future Of Synthetic Media, by James Vincent, The Verge

If you’ve been hanging out on Twitter lately, then you’ve probably noticed a profusion of AI-generated images sprouting all over your timeline like weird, algorithmic visions. These pictures have been generated using a new app called Dream, which lets anyone create “AI-powered paintings” by simply typing a brief description of what they want to see. It’s odd, often uncanny stuff — and extremely fun.

Kid-tracking App That Parents Love Sells Precise Location Data, by Jon Keegan and Alfred Ng, The Markup

Life360, a popular family safety app used by 33 million people worldwide, has been marketed as a great way for parents to track their children’s movements using their cellphones. The Markup has learned, however, that the app is selling data on kids’ and families’ whereabouts to approximately a dozen data brokers who have sold data to virtually anyone who wants to buy it.

Through interviews with two former employees of the company, along with two individuals who formerly worked at location data brokers Cuebiq and X-Mode, The Markup discovered that the app acts as a firehose of data for a controversial industry that has operated in the shadows with few safeguards to prevent the misuse of this sensitive information.

Stuff

Apple Configurator Now Available On iPhone For Adding Macs Not Purchased By An Organization Into Business Manager, by Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac

Apple on Monday released its new Apple Configurator app for iPhone, which is used to deploy iOS and Mac devices in schools and business. With the new iPhone app, it is now possible to set up a Mac not purchased by an organization into Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager.

Apple Chief Says Apple Business Essentials Doesn't Compete With Jamf , by William Gallagher, AppleInsider

This is a service that combines device management, storage and support into a single subscription," he continued, "with the goal of helping small businesses tackle all the different things that come up throughout the use of Apple devices in their organisation."

The Best Board Game Conversions To Play On Your New iPad, by Wesley Hilliard, AppleInsider

Board games have always been a great way to pass the time, and many are made better with digital conversion. Playing on your iPad means a quick start, no setup, no cleanup, and no missing pieces.

Develop

Apple Teams Up With Boys & Girls Clubs Of America To Bring New Coding Opportunities To Young Learners Across The Country, by Apple

In celebration of Computer Science Education Week, Apple and Boys & Girls Clubs of America today launched a new program that will bring coding to Boys & Girls Clubs in more than a dozen US cities. This new collaboration will bring coding with Swift to tens of thousands of students across the country, building on Apple’s existing partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America through the company’s Community Education Initiative in support of its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative.

Notes

Apple Is Running Out Of Time To Deliver On Its 2021 Promises, by Dan Moren, Macworld

Several of the most ambitious features have still yet to be released, and with the clock ticking down on 2021, it’s left more than a few users wondering if we’ll even see these features this year.

Well-Known Apple Developers Support Manifesto For Ubiquitous Linking, by Adam Engst, TidBITS

The Manifesto for Ubiquitous Linking is meant to encourage developers to add linking capabilities to their apps such that every distinct information resource within the app can be accessed via a link. And it encourages users who want to reap the cognitive benefits to request such support from the developers of the apps they use.

Bottom of the Page

I am not expecting any new products from Apple for the rest of the year, and that includes any of the features demonstrated at WWDC previously. Please do take a break, dear Apple developers.

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I am also not expecting any relaxing of Covid-related rules for the rest of the year, here in Singapore. Of which I can only say: oh well.

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Thanks for reading.