Calum Leslie of the BBC reports that when a penguin — now named Pierre — was found washed up on a beach in Australia, he was brought to the Perth Zoo. But he was the only penguin there, so to stop him from getting lonely, they let the penguin watch penguins from other zoos on an iPad. In other words, the penguin was forced to social distance, and the only way he could see and hear others was to use video streaming. Trust me, Pierre, we can all empathize with you right now. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- Apple released iOS 13.7 this week. It adds COVID-19 exposure notifications that work without you having to first download a special app. However, you still need to be in a region in which the government supports the Apple-Google notification system. As Igor Bonifacic of Engadget explains, there are currently only a few states in the United States that support this system.
- Bradley Chambers of 9to5Mac recommends apps to extend the features of HomeKit. One of the apps that he recommends is HomeRun, an AppleWatch app that makes it simple to turn devices on and off from your Apple Watch. I use that app almost every day, and it works very well for me.
- Margaret Barthel of DCist reports that in the Washington D.C. area you can now use your iPhone as a Metro Card. I used to ride the Metro every day when I went to law school in D.C., but that was in the early 1990s, so I wasn't getting much use out of the iPhone at the time.
- As Apple's website explains, the latest version of the iMovie app can add a song to a video project, and then iMovie will automatically adjust the song to fit the length of your project. The Memories part of the Photos app can do this as well, and it is a pretty slick feature.
- Using an iPhone to take pictures underwater may damage your iPhone. It is safer to use a waterproof case, such as the Catalyst Waterproof Case. But if you want to risk it anyway, Erin Brooks offers some very helpful tips for underwater iPhone photography in an article for The Sweet Setup.
- If you are looking for some good music to listen to this weekend, WWOZ in New Orleans is hosting Festing In Place: The Next Fest Thing featuring seven days of recordings of live performances from Jazz Fest and other music festivals in New Orleans. The lineup is very impressive.
- And finally, here is a clever new video from Apple emphasizing privacy as an advantage of the iPhone.
