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The Do-Not-Understand-Technology Edition Monday, April 4, 2022

Even When Apple Implements Change, Nothing Really Changes, by Dan Moren, Macworld

And thus we get to the root of the problem: the people in charge of regulating and legislating these kinds of changes might mean well, but they fundamentally don’t understand technology well enough to not only formulate their rules effectively but also fundamentally to even ask the right questions about how they can accomplish their goals.

This doesn’t necessarily mean they should abrogate their responsibility altogether and let tech companies regulate themselves: we’ve already seen how that’s working and the answer is generally not great. But just as those big tech companies finagle their taxes to pay as little as they can legally get away with, loopholes and inspecific regulations allow them to do the bare minimum, without even getting close to fixing the underlying problem.

Stuff

Apple Adds Workouts For New Parents To Fitness+, by C. Low, Engadget

Apple continues to expand its Fitness+ workout video service with more content catering to people with different needs and lifestyles. Today, the company is adding seven ten-minute videos for new parents, in a series called "Get back to fitness after having a baby." The activities are a mix of core, strength and Apple's "Mindful Cooldown" workouts that are led by Fitness+ trainer Betina Gozo, who is a new mom.

Apple Maps Becomes A Better Waze Alternative With New Real-Time Traffic Alerts, by Bogdan Popa, Autoevolution

The company has joined forces with HAAS Alert for the integration of Safety Cloud real-time roadway hazard information right into Apple Maps, with users to therefore receive notifications right in the app when approaching a flagged location.

Upon My Death, Delete: How To Plan Your Digital Legacy, by Ritesh Chugh, The Guardian

While it is a morbid thought, taking stock of your digital life and planning what will happen when you’re no longer there to log in is critical to ensuring that your information can be easily and responsibly taken care of.

This is an issue that online platforms are increasingly aware of, and many now allow you to issue instructions for what should happen in the event of your death.

Notes

Seoul's Largest Apple Store Opens Its Doors April 9, by Malcolm Owen, AppleInsider

Apple will be opening its largest Apple Store in South Korea on April 9, with customers able to make reservations to the opening of the outlet in Myeongdong,in the heart of Seoul.

Following an initial tease in March about its upcoming opening, the store page for Apple Myeongdong updated over the weekend with a confirmation it is opening on April 9 at 10am local time.

Apple Makes It Easy To Work Remotely (Unless You Work For Apple), by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

The majority of Apple corporate jobs, from hardware engineering and design to marketing to software development, still require a Bay Area address. This partially reflects the specific needs of a company that is, at its core, a hardware designer. Despite the two-plus years of the pandemic, Apple hasn’t shipped a major new product category developed remotely. An Apple Car is still at least three years away, and the company’s long-in-development mixed-reality headset has seen multiple delays and may not ship until 2023.

Apple is also pushing for at-office work to protect its culture of secrecy, which is easier to maintain when everyone is in the same physical space. It was also a hallmark of the culture developed by Steve Jobs, whose name marks the on-campus auditorium where the company introduces products. He heralded the circular-shaped Apple Park design as a way to spark random conversations and ideas.

Bottom of the Page

There are many ways to promote competition. Cutting the legs off the front-runners is but just one of the method.

If you feel interoperability between messaging apps, how about at least doing a proof-of-concept with a few messaging app providers first? Let's see if, firstly, it is technically feasible. Secondly, see if there's a business case. (I am skeptical if there are any companies that can earn healthy profits just by doing messaging apps.) If you are just throwing laws and regulations around while handwaving the technical and business challenges away, don't be surprised you will face resistance from both companies and consumers.

Government-sponsored researches. Peer reviews. These are not new ideas.

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Thanks for reading.