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The Powerful-and-Moving Edition Friday, June 7, 2024

Apple Announces Winners Of The 2024 Apple Design Awards, by Apple

“It’s inspiring to see how developers are using our technology to create exceptional apps and games that enhance the lives of users,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “This year’s winners have demonstrated how apps can create powerful and moving experiences — and we’re excited to celebrate their hard work and ingenuity at WWDC this year.”

Seven different categories recognize one app and game each for delight and fun, inclusivity, innovation, interaction, social impact, visuals and graphics, and a new spatial computing category. Winners were chosen from 42 finalists.

Countdown to WWDC

Here’s Everything Apple Plans To Show At Its AI-Focused WWDC Event, by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

The company’s new AI system will be called Apple Intelligence, and it will come to new versions of the iPhone, iPad and Mac operating systems, according to people familiar with the plans. There also will be a partnership with OpenAI that powers a ChatGPT-like chatbot. And the tech giant is preparing to show new software for the Vision Pro headset, Apple Watch and TV platforms.

Apple’s approach to AI will involve integrating the technology into as many of its apps as possible, in ways that ideally ease the daily lives of customers. The company is less focused on whiz-bang technology — like image and video generation — and instead concentrating on features with broad appeal. The new capabilities will be opt-in, meaning Apple won’t make users adopt them if they don’t want to. The company will also position them as a beta version. The processing requirements of AI will mean that users need an iPhone 15 Pro or one of the models coming out this year. If they’re using iPads or Macs, they’ll need models with an M1 chip at least.

Apple To Debut Passwords App In Challenge To 1Password, LastPass, by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

Apple Inc. will introduce a new homegrown app next week called Passwords, aiming to make it easier for customers to log in to websites and software, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

[...]

The new app is powered by the iCloud Keychain, a long-existing Apple service that can sync passwords and account information between different devices. This capability was previously hidden inside the company’s settings app or presented when a user logs in to a website.

Gurman Reports Apple Is (Finally) Breaking Passwords Into A Standalone App For The Mac And iOS, by John Gruber, Daring Fireball

Password management is so important, and Apple’s own system is so good, that it deserves more prominence. Making Passwords its own app won’t just make it more discoverable, it will (correctly) set the perception that Apple Passwords is a serious personal security management tool that users should considering adopting.

Some Cheap Wired Headphones Are Actually Using Bluetooth, by Boone Ashworth, Wired

OK, this all likely seems very complicated and roundabout, so you might well ask: “Why bother? Why not just make them Bluetooth earbuds to begin with?” Well, aside from keeping that annoying unsupported accessory message from popping up constantly, it’s cheaper to make wired earbuds than to fit a tiny battery into each wireless bud. Bluetooth is an open standard, meaning just about anybody can develop with it, while accessing Apple’s Lightning ports requires a presumably pricey certification process that would get passed down to the customer. And boy, people sure love cheap earbuds.

Stuff

Leica’s New App Lets Your iPhone Mimic Its Cameras And Classic Lenses, by Antonio G. Di Benedetto, The Verge

Leica Lux is a new camera app available on the App Store loaded with 11 color profiles (dubbed “Leica Looks”) designed to match current Leica cameras and classic film-inspired aesthetics. The Lux app can be used in a fully automatic mode like Apple’s own camera app, but it also has an “Aperture mode” using software to mimic the style and bokeh of multi-thousand-dollar lenses like the Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH and classic Noctilux-M 50mm f/1.2 ASPH of 1966.

Adobe Terms Clarified: Will Never Own Your Work, Or Use It To Train AI, by Ben Lovejoy, 9to5Mac

The highlighted changes reflect the fact that Adobe now uses manual as well as automated scanning. Specifically, automated flagging will then be escalated for human review.

They go on to specify that this review is for CSAM, as well as app usage which breaks the company’s terms of use – such as for spamming, or hosting adult content outside of the area designated for this.

Notes

'Ted Lasso' Ended A Year Ago And Fans Are Still Waiting For Spinoff News, by Nicole Gallucci, Decider

Six months after Ted Lasso‘s Season 3 finale, Decider checked in on the status of the series, its stars, and any key show-related developments that had unfolded. So to mark the one-year anniversary of the colossal (yet confusing) finale, we’re back again with the latest info on the future of Ted Lasso.

Apple Hosting HBCU Arts And Entertainment Accelerator Program For 50 Students, by Todd Spangler, Variety

Apple is hosting 50 students from 19 historically Black colleges and universities for an immersive two-week experience as part of the Propel Center‘s arts and entertainment industry accelerator.

Apple and Southern Company are the founding partners of Propel Center, launched in 2011 as a hub designed to support and advance the work of HBCUs. The organization’s 2024 Arts & Entertainment Industry Accelerator program is a year-long experience launched exclusively for HBCU students, designed to create greater diversity in the arts and entertainment industry.

Digital Cameras Revolutionized Astronomy. Then They Found Their Way Into Your Pocket, by Phil Plait, Scientific American

And remarkably, this awesome power to casually capture breathtaking celestial snapshots—or selfies, for that matter—with a camera that fits in your pocket traces back, in part, to the work of astronomers using giant telescopes on the ground and in space. Both share a common legacy. Astronomers, it turns out, were among the first to develop and realize the power of digital cameras. Next time you upload a snapshot to social media, don’t forget to thank us. And you’re welcome!

Bottom of the Page

Yes, as part of my switch of podcast players, and now that the podcast player has a more reliable method of automatically removing older episodes of podcasts that I didn't get to listen (think: news podcasts that are no longer 'useful' after a day or two), I have followed too many podcasts.

So, today is podcast trimming day.

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Thanks for reading.