This week, Apple and privacy were in the news. First, Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote an article in Time magazine arguing that individuals have a right to privacy online and promoting legislation to protect privacy. Although not mentioning them by name, the article seems directed toward companies like Facebook and Google. (For example, Tony Romm and Elizabeth Dwoskin of the Washington Post reported this week that the Federal Trade Commission is considering a record-setting fine against Facebook for privacy violations.) Second, the online search engine Duck Duck Go, which has long presented itself as a place that you could go to search for websites while knowing that your privacy is being protected, announced this week that it will use Apple Maps for local searches on the web, as reported by Dieter Bohn of The Verge. Google Maps has long been the king of online maps, and it is interesting to see Apple Maps being used as an alternative — not to mention seeing Apple Maps being used outside of an iPhone / iPad / Mac. And now, the rest of the news of note from the past week:
- My favorite app for taking handwritten notes is GoodNotes. This week, the app was updated to version 5. I plan to write a review after I have used the new version for a while; it’s been a while since I last reviewed the app in 2012. Two attorneys wrote about the new version of GoodNotes this week, although neither of them talked about the app from the standpoint of using it as an attorney. California attorney David Sparks of MacSparky wrote this report on the new version of GoodNotes, and Illinois attorney John Voorhies of MacStories wrote this review of GoodNotes version 5.
- A federal magistrate judge in the Northern District of California ruled this week that cops cannot force people to unlock an iPhone with a face or finger. Thomas Brewster of Forbes has the details.
- If you are thinking about going to ABA TECHSHOW this year, the early bird discounted prices were extended to January 21.
- Jason Snell of Six Colors reviews the Yale Assure SL, a smart lock that can unlock your front door automatically when you come home by using HomeKit to sense when your iPhone is near. In the past, I’ve had some reservations about using a smart lock, but Jason addresses all of my concerns in this article, so now I understand the appeal of a product like this.
- Adam Angst of TidBITS explains how he figure out why his mother’s iPhone was calling phone numbers in the Netherlands instead of the United States.
- Alex Allegro of 9to5Mac reports that Microsoft is telling users of a Windows 10 Mobile smartphone that Microsoft is ending support at the end of this year and they should switch to an iPhone or Android.
- If you want to add lots of battery life to your new iPhone, this week Apple released a Smart Battery Case for the latest iPhones. Rene Ritchie of iMore reviews the new cases-with-a-battery, which let you use an iPhone for over 24 hours straight. (I’ve been very busy at work this week — hence this post not going up until Friday night — and I feel like I myself have had some days this week when I have gone 24 hours straight.)
- Jason Cross of Macworld recommends some of his favorite apps for the Apple Watch.
- Mark Sullivan has an interesting article in Fast Company speculating on the future of the Apple Watch in the healthcare arena.
- Here is an interesting iPhone accessory noted by Matthew Panzarino of TechCrunch (and I suppose previously noted by Michael J. Fox) : Nike’s new self-lacing shoe.
- And finally, Apple released a series of videos showing how the iPad Pro can be used for creativity and productivity. The short videos show off how you can go paperless, create presentations, take handwritten notes (using Notability), create a podcast, and act as an interior designer. Here is the video on taking notes: