I’m not sure when I started using RSS, but it was probably sometime in the early 2000s when I discovered the now-defunct Bloglines. Over the years, as services came and went, and my needs changed, exporting my feeds using OPML made it easy to switch to other services. At the same time though, I...
Apple Launches Heart Study App in the US in Partnership with Stanford Medicine
Today, Apple launched the Apple Heart Study app. The app lets users contribute heart rate data to a study being conducted in partnership with Stanford Medicine regarding irregular heart rhythms. The app uses the Apple Watch to monitor the user’s heart rate and alert them when they may be experiences atrial fibrillation, a leading cause of stroke. Apple COO Jeff Williams commented that:
“Every week we receive incredible customer letters about how Apple Watch has affected their lives, including learning that they have AFib. These stories inspire us and we’re determined to do more to help people understand their health,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s COO. “Working alongside the medical community, not only can we inform people of certain health conditions, we also hope to advance discoveries in heart science.”
If the app detects an irregular heart rhythm, the user receives an alert on their iPhone and Apple Watch, a free consultation with a study doctor, and an electrocardiogram patch for further monitoring. The app is available in the US only on the App Store and users must be 22 or older to participate in the study.
Apple Marks Record (RED) Fundraising and Pledges to Make Donations Based on Apple Pay Sales
Apple has partnered with (RED) for many years to help people living with HIV worldwide. This year marks a new record year of giving for Apple with over $30 million raised for the Global Fund, which is the equivalent of 144 million days of ARV medication that prevents the transmission of HIV from mothers to their unborn children.
“Connecting through our products and services helps make it easy for our customers to join us in the effort to create the first AIDS-free generation,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. “By working with (RED) to stop the transmission of HIV from moms to their unborn babies, we’re already seeing a significant impact in areas where help is needed most. We’re committed to continuing the fight and empowering future generations through these vital efforts.”
This year Apple will mark World AIDS Day at its nearly 500 retail stores with red Apple logos for the week. Also, for every Apple Pay transaction made at a retail location, online, or in-app, Apple will donate $1 to the Global Fund.
As in the past, the App Store is participating too, with a (RED) Today tab takeover featuring stories related to the cause and the developers who are supporting it. King, the maker of the Candy Crush series of games, will also offer limited edition bundles of their games with in-app proceeds going to the Global Fund.
Apple Fixes Root Access Bug with Security Update→
Yesterday a serious security flaw in macOS High Sierra was discovered that let someone with access to a Mac running Apple’s latest OS gain root access to the its data. Today, Apple released Security Update 2017-001, which fixes the issue. The release notes to the update describe the issue as follows:
Impact: An attacker may be able to bypass administrator authentication without supplying the administrator’s password
Description: A logic error existed in the validation of credentials. This was addressed with improved credential validation.
In a comment to Rene Ritchie of iMore.com, Apple said:
https://twitter.com/reneritchie/status/935909201821478914
Needless to say, this is an important update that should be installed as soon as possible.
Marco Arment Releases Forecast Public Beta, a Podcast Encoder That Embeds Chapter Markers and Other Metadata
Marco Arment, the creator of the Overcast podcast player, has released a public beta of a tool for podcast producers called Forecast. The macOS utility handles encoding of podcasts as MP3 audio files and embedding of chapter markers and other metadata.
The final steps of putting together a podcast episode are tedious. Encoding can take a long time for longer shows and then, artwork, a title, description, and chapter markers have to be embedded. There are other little annoyances like manually entering an episode’s duration and file size into a show’s CMS too.
To speed the process up, Forecast uses a custom integration of the LAME MP3 encoder that spreads the encoding work across all of a Mac’s CPU cores, reducing encoding times substantially. Chapter markers are automatically generated in Forecast if created as markers in an audio editing app like Logic and exported as a WAV file. Forecast will even autofill artwork and other information if audio files are named consistently. There are also quick-copy shortcuts for grabbing an episode’s duration and file size.
Forecast is a beta, which comes with the usual caveats, but there is comfort in knowing that it has already been used in production by Arment and other podcasters for two years. I began using Forecast about a month ago as part of the AppStories production workflow, and it’s been stable and a big time saver.
Perhaps best of all, Forecast is free. Arment only requests that users that find Forecast useful consider mentioning Overcast on their podcasts or buying an ad for their podcast.
The Forecast public beta is available on Overcast.fm.
Pixelmator Pro First Impressions: A Beautiful Modern Interface with Advanced Image Editing Tools
Five years in the making, Pixelmator Pro debuted today with an all-new look and host of new features. The new interface eliminates visual clutter and anchors tools in side panels, so you always know where they are. Much of the app’s chrome has been eliminated too, putting your project in the spotlight where you can focus on it and not the app. It’s a modern, clean style that makes the app feel spacious and professional.
Pixelmator Pro adds a raft of features as well. Layer styles, color adjustments, and effects are all highly customizable, can be saved as presets, and shared. I’ve only had a little over 24 hours to put Pixelmator Pro through its paces, but based on my first impressions, it’s an impressive debut that I expect will replace the original version of the app as my go-to image editor.
Apple Celebrates the Hour of Code with In-Store Events, a Swift Playgrounds Challenge, and Teacher Resources
Apple has participated in Code.org’s Hour of Code challenge for the past several years. This year, the company is back again with a series of workshops for kids that run from December 4 - 10, 2017, which coincides with Computer Science Education Week. During free sessions:
Young aspiring coders can learn coding basics during a Kids Hour session, while those age twelve and above can use Swift Playgrounds on iPad to learn coding concepts and even program robots.
In addition to the in-store lessons, Apple has added a new coding challenge to its Swift Playgrounds iPad app with which students build and customize a digital robot and new teacher resources as part of its Everyone Can Code curriculum.
You can sign up for the Hour of Code sessions here, but act quickly because in years past, these sessions have filled up fast.
AppStories, Episode 33 – What’s on Our Apple Watches?→
On this week’s episode of AppStories, we talk about the Apple Watch apps we use and how our use of the Watch has changed as the product has evolved.
Sponsored by:
- Spark – The Future of Email
AppStories Episode 33 - What’s on Our Apple Watches
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Game Day: GRID Autosport
Feral Interactive has brought Codemasters’ GRID Autosport to iOS, and it’s gorgeous. Codemasters is no stranger to racing games. The developer’s F1 2016 game was featured during Apple’s iPhone 7 keynote in 2016 and set a new standard for racing games on iOS when it debuted in November that year. Just over one year later, GRID Autosport is pushing those boundaries again.