In a speech given at a conference yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke out on why Apple places an emphasis on privacy and responsibility, and he took swipes at other technology companies that take a different approach. Jason Snell of Six Colors prepared a transcript of Cook's remarks, and it is a short and interesting read. For example, in one part of the speech that was clearly aimed at Facebook, Cook said: "Long hours spent cooped up at home, the challenge of keeping kids learning when schools are closed, the worry and uncertainty about what the future would hold, all of these things threw into sharp relief how technology can help — and how it can be used to harm. Will the future belong to the innovations that make our lives better, more fulfilled, and more human? Or will it belong to those tools that prize our attention to the exclusion of everything else, compounding our fears and aggregating extremism, to serve ever-more-invasively-targeted ads over all other ambitions?" And now, the news of note from the past week:
- Yesterday, I discussed Apple's most recent financial quarter in which the iPad seemed to do particularly well. Jason Snell of Six Colors noticed the same thing and he discussed that and more in his take on Apple's fiscal 2021 Q1 financial results.
- CARROT Weather, my favorite weather app, was updated yesterday to version 5. Alex Guyot of MacStories describes what is new, including lots of options to customize the interface so that the app shows you exactly what you want to see in the way that you want to see it.
- A BBC News article describes how a cyclist in England was swept off of his bike into a swollen river and was carried a mile downstream before he was able to grab hold of a branch and then use his Apple Watch to call the fire department, which was able to save him.
- Danielle Moody of Fox 29 in San Antonio reports that a woman who was kidnapped used her Apple Watch to call for help.
- This week, Apple introduced a new part of Fitness+ for the Apple Watch called Time to Walk (or Time to Push for those in a wheelchair). The idea is that you connect your Bluetooth headphones, such as AirPods, to your Apple Watch and then take a walk while an interesting person tells a story interspersed with music as your Apple Watch keeps track of the exercise you are doing while you walk. For the first week, Apple featured stories from singer-songwriters Dolly Parton and Shawn Mendes, actor Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black), and NBA player Draymond Green. I tried the one with Dolly Parton and I really enjoyed it. She shared some stories from when she was young and then introduced three of her songs. The only song I recognized was 9 to 5, and Parton shared some fun stories about making that movie and creating the song. I'll definitely try this one again. Michael Potuck of 9to5Mac shares some more details on how the new feature works.
- Bradley Chambers of 9to5Mac recommends home security cameras that work with Apple's HomeKit smart home technology.
- Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac reviews the EasyPencil Plus by SwitchEasy, a stylus that works with the iPad and looks somewhat similar to the second-generation Apple Pencil but costs only $37 on Amazon.
- I really enjoyed watching the TV series Tehran on Apple TV+, a fun spy thriller. Nellie Andreeva of Deadline reports that the show has been renewed for a second season.
- And finally, speaking of Apple TV+, Apple has a new show starting on February 5: The Snoopy Show. Snoopy was always my favorite of the Peanuts characters thanks to his vivid imagination, and it looks like this show focuses on that. The official trailer for the show made me smile. It also made me wish that my two teenagers were little kids again so that they would want to curl up on the couch with me and watch these cartoons. (My wife and I did convince them to watch the classic Peanuts Thanksgiving and Christmas specials with us this past November and December, so maybe there is hope.)
