No product from any single company is going to be perfect for every consumer of said product. Additionally, each user is unique and not likely to be similar to any other user. Some users may need additional accomodations. These accomodations could be due to physical, cognitive, or even visual needs. In order to help their ecosystem be useable by everyone Apple has put forth tremendous effort into accessibility.

Accessibility for Apple is not just an afterthought, but it is built into every operating system that Apple ships. Furthermore, it is not a set of features that Apple adds once and does not improve upon. To celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day, which is May 18th, Apple has previewed a set of new accessibility features coming to its operating systems later this year. The features that will be coming are:

• Point and Speak in Detection Mode in Magnifier
• Assistive Access
• Live Speech and Personal Voice

Let us look at each of these in turn, starting with Point and Speak in Detection Mode in Magnifier.

Point and Speak in Detection Mode in Magnifier

There are those who may have vision problems and have been able to benefit from a feature called Magnifier. Magnifier will, as the name suggests, magnify the view of what is being shown on an iPhone's screen. While being able to increase the size of what is being shown this is only a first step. Later this year Magnifier will be able to have the app detect text and then it will speak it out loud to the user. This will help users be able to easily understand the text on signs, appliance buttons, and a myriad of other items.

Assistive Access

There are many people within the world who have mobility issues, either temporary issues or even permanent issues. For these users beign able to use an iPhone or iPad can be quite difficult, particularly if the touch targets are smaller and more difficult to precisely touch. For those who can benefit from it, Assistive Access can be quite useful.

From Apple's press release:

Assistive Access uses innovations in design to distill apps and experiences to their essential features in order to lighten cognitive load. The feature reflects feedback from people with cognitive disabilities and their trusted supporters — focusing on the activities they enjoy — and that are foundational to iPhone and iPad: connecting with loved ones, capturing and enjoying photos, and listening to music.

Assitive Access will create a very easy to use interface with large buttons to easily access the primary featuers that a user might need to access. As an example, Assistive Access combines the Phone and FaceTime into a single app that will allow users to easily contact someone, wheether it be via a phone or via FaceTime. This will be a boon for those with mobility issues and allow them to easily access the functions of their phone that they need to access.

Live Speech and Personal Voice

Live Speech and Personal Voice is a forthcoming feature that will allow users to type out what they want to say and have it spoken out loud. This may be during a phone calls, FaceTime calls, or even in-person conversations. For some adding this feature, as outlined above, might be enough. But it goes further. From Apple's press release:

For users at risk of losing their ability to speak — such as those with a recent diagnosis of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) or other conditions that can progressively impact speaking ability — Personal Voice is a simple and secure way to create a voice that sounds like them.

Users can create a Personal Voice by reading along with a randomized set of text prompts to record 15 minutes of audio on iPhone or iPad. This speech accessibility feature uses on-device machine learning to keep users’ information private and secure, and integrates seamlessly with Live Speech so users can speak with their Personal Voice when connecting with loved ones.

Additional Features

The items outlined above are just the beginning. Apple has also outlined a number of additional features coming. These include:

• Deaf or hard-of-hearing users can pair Made for iPhone hearing devices directly to Mac and customize them for their hearing comfort.3 Voice Control adds phonetic suggestions for text editing so users who type with their voice can choose the right word out of several that might sound alike, like “do,” “due,” and “dew.”4 Additionally, with Voice Control Guide, users can learn tips and tricks about using voice commands as an alternative to touch and typing across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
• Users with physical and motor disabilities who use Switch Control can turn any switch into a virtual game controller to play their favorite games on iPhone and iPad.
• For users with low vision, Text Size is now easier to adjust across Mac apps such as Finder, Messages, Mail, Calendar, and Notes.
• Users who are sensitive to rapid animations can automatically pause images with moving elements, such as GIFs, in Messages and Safari.
• For VoiceOver users, Siri voices sound natural and expressive even at high rates of speech feedback; users can also customize the rate at which Siri speaks to them, with options ranging from 0.8x to 2x.

Closing Thoughts

Accessibility is a large aspect to Apple's operating systems that allow users, particularly those who need some sort of accomodation, to be able to customize their devices to work in a manner that functions best for them. In order for any operating system to be successful, Accessiblity cannot be something that is bolted on after the fact. It has to be a primary concern and should be able to help users create the best experience for their needs.

The three features highlighted above, "Point and Speak in Detection Mode in Magnifier", "Assistive Access", "Live Speech and Personal Voice" are just the latest in the line of accessibility features across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. I suspect that we will see many more accessibility features being added in the future.


Source: Apple Newsroom.

The surgeons behind the game have been busy and have had added only one new feature and fixed one small bug. The new feature is that questions for 3 are now in the app. This brings the total number of questions to 1793 for seasons 1 to 3. There are now 1,793 questions for all three seasons.

There was an infection in the app that caused the wrong information to be shown on the "About" screen for the latest season and episode, but this has been sewn up and fixed.

If there are any issues, be sure to email support. This is can be done via the "About" screen.

The place within Apple's ecosystem has changed over its 13-year lifetime. It started out as a much larger iPhone, but it has progressed to its own place within the ecosystem, including its own operating system. One area where power users have indicated that the iPad has been lacking is with "Pro" apps from Apple. Today, that has changed, because Apple has announced both Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro are coming to the iPad. Both apps will be available on May 23rd, 2023 in the App Store.

Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro on the iPad brings an app that professionals are accustomed to right on their iPad. Final Cut Pro for iPad utilizes multi-touch gestures to allow creatives to create, record, edit, and publish all from your iPad. While editing you make frame-accurate edits with just your finger as well as with the Apple Pencil.

If you have an Apple Pencil you can use a feature called "Live Drawing" to write directly on top of video content. If you have an iPad Pro with M2 you can use the Apple Pencil hover capability to quickly scrub through your timeline to preview footage without needing to touch the screen.

The Apple Pencil is great, but sometimes you just need to use keyboard shortcuts, and that is possible if you have either a Smart Keyboard or Magic Keyboard attached (and presumably any keyboard connected with Bluetooth) to perform actions using keyboard shortcuts.

More and more videos are utilizing High Dynamic Range, or HDR, technologies to provide even better color. If you have a compatible 12.9-inch iPad Pro, you will be able to use Reference Mode on the iPad to get accurate colors for your video. Beyond this, if you have a multicam setup, you can view and edit these right on your iPad, M2 iPad users can also do all of this in ProRes on their devices.

Final Cut Pro for iPad also includes the ability to add effects, backgrounds, and soundtracks do you video. If you need to remove a background, there is a new Screen Removal Mask feature which will allow you to replace the background.

If you need to import media, this can be done using either Files or Photos. Any media you import will be saved directly within your Final Cut Pro project. Final Cut Pro on iPad can also import files from iMovie on iOS. As for exporting, you can export projects to your Mac, but you cannot import projects from your Mac to the iPad.

Requirements

Final Cut Pro requires iPadOS 16.4, or later, and will work on any iPad with an M1 or newer. This means that you will need a 12.9-inch iPad Pro (5th or 6th generation) or 11-inch iPad Pro (3rd or 4th generation) in order to run Final Cut Pro.

You can learn more about Final Cut Pro on the iPad by visiting the Final Cut for iPad website.

Logic Pro

Logic Pro is designed to allow the creation of music, sound efforts, or any other audio that one can conceive.

Logic Pro for iPad utilizes the multi-touch gestures to quickly allow you to play software instruments, interact with controls, and use standard multi-touch gestures. These gestures include pinch to zoom, swiping to scroll just like you would with almost any other iPad app.

Just like Final Cut Pro you can use the Apple Pencil with Logic Pro to do some precise editing or you can use the Apple Pencil to draw track automations to get just the right sound. Also like Final Cut Pro, if you prefer keyboard shortcuts these should also work with a Smart Keyboard or Magic Keyboard (again presumably it will work with any bluetooth connected keyboard) to perform the same actions as on the Mac.

One of the features of Logic Pro is the ability to browse the sound library. This is included with Logic Pro for iPad and you can browse everything in one location and quickly filter the list to get just the item you are looking for.

One of the more professional features of Logic Pro for iPad is the "Pro Mixer". The Pro Mixer emulates a physical mixer and provides you with faders, channel strips, pan controls, plugins, and even automation so you can get just the right sound for your tracks. And since Logic Pro utilizes multi-touch, you can move multiple faders simultaneously. Logic Pro for iPad does allow you to move projects easily between the iPad and the Mac. You can also export songs in a variety of compressed and lossless audio formats. You can even export your finished track from Logic Pro and import it into Final Cut Pro. If you have a Garageband for iOS project, you can import it into Logic Pro for iPad, but you cannot export it back out.

Requirements

Logic Pro requires iPadOS 16.4, or later, and will work on any iPad with an A12 Bionic or newer. If you have one of the iPads below, Logic Pro should work for you.

• 11-inch iPad Pro (2nd generation or later)
• 12.9-inch iPad Pro (4th generation or later)
• iPad (8th generation or later)
• iPad Air (4th generation or later)

You can learn more about Final Cut Pro on the iPad by visiting the Logic Pro for iPad website.

Pricing

One of the biggest changes with the iPad versions of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro, as compared to the Mac versions, is the pricing. Both of the iPad versions are subscriptions, $4.99 per month or $49 per year, without any option of having a one-time purchase. The Mac versions of Final Cut Pro is $299.99 and Logic Pro is $199.99.

There has been some discussion regarding the iPad apps being subscriptions, with individuals on both sides. Some of the pushback has been due to subscription fatigue and everything being having a subscription. At the same time, some have mentioned that having the monthly subscription pricing could bring more people into using the apps, given that they can subscribe for a while and then cancel without needing to put down so much up front for an app where they might only have an need.

There is a one-month free-trial for both applications, so you can try them before you commit to a subscription.

Closing Thoughts

When someone uses "FINALLY", to signify that something has happened, it is often not an appropriate use. However, in this case I think it is appropriate for people to use it, particularly since many professional users have been wanting Apple's '"Pro" apps to be available on the iPad.

It seems as though Apple has utilized the features of the iPad to bring pretty good versions of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro to the iPad. Utilizing features like multi-touch to allow pinch to zoom and using Apple Pencil to allow precise editing should go a long way for users.

For many creatives having either Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro available on their iPad will go a long way to helping them create, edit, and share their creations. Some may balk at the pricing, but others will welcome it as a way of being able to do what they need while on the go or just on a platform where they feel most comfortable.

I am not one who uses Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro, not even on the Mac, so I am not the target market for these. I do not think I will be downloading or subscribing, but these are definitely apps that many will use. I hope this is just the start of what Apple has planned for their "Pro" apps and the iPad. I also hope that these apps will not suffer a "set it and forget it" approach that seems to plague many of the features on the Mac, but that is a whole other topic.

Source: Apple Newsroom.

Each year Apple introduces a new Apple Watch band with matching iPhone wallpaper, and Apple Watch face, in support of the LGBTQ+ community. Today has announced its most recent band and this year it is a sport band.

Apple's press release states:

Inspired by the strength and beauty of the LGBTQ+ community, the new Sport Band design showcases the original pride flag rainbow colors and five others — black and brown symbolize Black and Latin communities, in addition to those who have passed away from or are living with HIV/AIDS, while light blue, pink, and white represent transgender and nonbinary individuals.

This year’s design integrates a joyful rainbow of geometric shapes on a white base, which are compression-molded into the final band. In the forming process, the base material flows around each individual shape, creating small variations in their layout. No two bands are exactly alike, reflecting the individuality of all members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The new Apple Watch band will be available to order on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2023 and will be in Apple stores starting on May 24th, 2023 for $49. The Pride Edition Sport Band will be available in 41mm and 45mm versions and will be compatible with Apple Watch Series 3 and later.

The accompanying wallpaper and watch face will be available next week with the release of iOS 16.5 and watchOS 9.5 respectively.

Below are a couple of screenshots of the new iOS wallpaper in dark mode.

Source: Apple Newsroom.

Spring of 2023 is in full swing, and it is time for April's reading list. In April I managed to listened to 19 titles, of which one three of them were new. I will highlight all three this month.

The first title is "Wordslut: A Feminists Guide to Taking Back the English Language" by Amanda Montell.

A brash, enlightening, and wildly entertaining feminist look at gendered language and the way it shapes us.

The word bitch conjures many images, but it is most often meant to describe an unpleasant woman. Even before its usage to mean “a female canine,” bitch didn’t refer to women at all—it originated as a gender-neutral word for “genitalia.” A perfectly innocuous word devolving into an insult directed at females is the case for tons more terms, including hussy, which simply meant “housewife”; and slut, which meant “an untidy person” and was also used to describe men. These are just a few of history’s many English slurs hurled at women.

Amanda Montell, reporter and feminist linguist, deconstructs language—from insults, cursing, gossip, and catcalling to grammar and pronunciation patterns—to reveal the ways it has been used for centuries to keep women and other marginalized genders from power. Ever wonder why so many people are annoyed when women speak with vocal fry or use like as filler? Or why certain gender-neutral terms stick and others don’t? Or where stereotypes of how women and men speak come from in the first place?

Montell effortlessly moves between history, science, and popular culture to explore these questions—and how we can use the answers to affect real social change. Montell’s irresistible humor shines through, making linguistics not only approachable but downright hilarious and profound. Wordslut gets to the heart of our language, marvels at its elasticity, and sheds much-needed light on the biases that shadow women in our culture and our consciousness.

The second title I want to highlight is Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation

Console Wars—a mesmerizing, behind-the-scenes business thriller that chronicles how Sega, a small, scrappy gaming company led by an unlikely visionary and a team of rebels, took on the juggernaut Nintendo and revolutionized the video game industry.

In 1990, Nintendo had a virtual monopoly on the video game industry. Sega, on the other hand, was just a faltering arcade company with big aspirations and even bigger personalities. But that would all change with the arrival of Tom Kalinske, a man who knew nothing about videogames and everything about fighting uphill battles. His unconventional tactics, combined with the blood, sweat and bold ideas of his renegade employees, transformed Sega and eventually led to a ruthless David-and-Goliath showdown with rival Nintendo.

The battle was vicious, relentless, and highly profitable, eventually sparking a global corporate war that would be fought on several fronts: from living rooms and schoolyards to boardrooms and Congress. It was a once-in-a-lifetime, no-holds-barred conflict that pitted brother against brother, kid against adult, Sonic against Mario, and the US against Japan.

Based on over two hundred interviews with former Sega and Nintendo employees, Console Wars is the underdog tale of how Kalinske miraculously turned an industry punchline into a market leader. It’s the story of how a humble family man, with an extraordinary imagination and a gift for turning problems into competitive advantages, inspired a team of underdogs to slay a giant and, as a result, birth a $60 billion dollar industry.

The last title I want to highlight is a sequal. The title is New Arcadia: Revolution (New Arcadia Book 2)

In the not-so-distant future, a deadly plague has forced billions into their homes, and locked them up tight. Hope may soon arrive in the form of an effective new cure from the mega-global Chum Corporation, but not before they decide their customers are ready for it.

That’s why they’ve created New Arcadia—a real-as-life virtual-reality game designed to bring the isolated people of the world together again.

After its successful launch in New Arcadia: Stage One, the game is being updated and expanded with a new rhythm-game mechanic to bring players together on the dance floor. No longer just for 1990s arcade fighting-game fans, all ages are being welcomed to the virtual party now.

For Prime Beta Tester John Chambers and his friends in New Arcadia, the stakes have never been higher. As the original players of the game, they feel a duty to ensure the new arrivals in New Arcadia adapt successfully to the world and prove to the Chum Corporation that people are ready to come together again in real life.

But there are other players within the game who have a more sinister objective—and they’ll do anything to ensure that the online experiment of New Arcadia is doomed to disaster and the people of the world continue to languish in solitude for a long, long time.

To succeed, John and his friends will have to conquer the mean streets of New Arcadia. And kill it on the dance floor.

I am not sure how many titles I will end up listening to in April, I am sure there will be at least a few, but beyond that I do not know how many titles.

Previous Reading Lists

Starting today, Apple's previously announced "High Yield" savings account is now available. Apple has partnered with Goldman Sachs to allow users to open a High Yield savings account where they can earn interest on the money in the account.

As of this writing, the interest rate offered is 4.15 annual interest. According to the Apple press release, that is "a rate that’s more than 10 times the national average". This is not an automatic process, you must actually setup an account.

Setup

There are a number of steps needed to setup the account. These steps are:

1. Open the Wallet app.
2. Open your Apple Card.
3. Tap on the three dots.
4. Tap on "Daily Cash".
5. Under "Daily Cash Election", tap on "Savings" to begin the setup. This will open an informational screen.
6. Tap "Continue". This will open the Social Security Number screen.
7. Enter in your full Social Security number.
8. Tap the "Next" button. This will bring up the "Savings Account Terms and Conditions" screen.
9. Tap on "Agree" to agree to the terms. This will bring up a "You're Almost There" screen.
10. Confirm whether or not you are Subject to Backup Withholdings from the IRS.
11. Tap on "Confirm and Open Account". Your account will be setup.
12. Once your account is opened, you will have the option of transferring your Apple Cash balance to your savings account. tap on "Transfer to Savings".
13. On the "Transfer to Savings" screen, you can enter in amount you want to transfer. You can also choose the source.

Adding Funds

There are a couple of different ways to add funds to your Savings Account. The first is by transferring from your Bank account. The second, and more common, is to automaticaly have your Apple Daily Cash automatically transferred into the savings account.

If you want to add funds to your savings account, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Wallet app.
2. Open your Apple Card.
3. Tap on "Savings Account". This will open up the "Savings" screen.
4. Tap on "Add Money" to bring up the "Add Money" screen.
5. Enter in the amount you want to add to your savings account.
6. Select the source for the funds to be added. By default this is your Apple Cash card.
7. Double-click the side button to confirm the transfer.

Withdrawing Funds

You can withdraw funds from your Savings Account. You can transfer money to your Apple Cash account or your configured bank account.

If you want to withdraw funds from your savings account, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Wallet app.
2. Open your Apple Card.
3. Tap on "Savings Account". This will open up the "Savings" screen.
4. Tap on "Withdraw" to bring up the "Transfer Money" screen.
5. Enter in the amount you want to withdraw to your savings account.
6. Select the destination for the funds to be added. By default this is your Apple Cash card.
7. Double-click the side button to confirm the transfer.

Changing Daily Cash Destination

You can change the destination of where your Apple Daily Cash gets deposited. This can be done by using the following steps:

1. Open the Wallet app.
2. Open your Apple Card.
3. Tap on the three dots.
4. Tap on "Daily Cash".
5. Under "Daily Cash Election", tap on your preferred destination.

Things to Note

There are a couple of things to note. First, this is only available in the United States. Secondly, interest accumulates daily, but is paid out at the end of the month. Third, you can transfer money instantly between Apple Pay Cash and your Savings Account. The last thing to note is that there is a limit to the savings account balance, it does max out at the currently FDIC insured amount of $250,000, at least as of this writing.

Closing Thoughts

The Apple Card High Yield Savings Account is an easy way to allow people to save money and having your Daily Cash be automatically added does make it a bit easier to save money. Having the capability of easily transferring money in and out means that you are able to manage your money as needed.

Source: Apple Newsroom

The surgeons behind the game have been busy and have had added some new features for you. The biggest addition is questions for Season 2 are now here. This brings the total number of questions to 1,202 for both seasons 1 and 2. Along with the questions, a character has been added to the Duty Roster, Lieutenant Kelleye. She was inadvertently missed amongst the people who were in the most episodes.

There have been some scrapes and bruises that have been bandaged up too. Most notably supporting character names are now consistent. We have also made some minor tweaks to make things a bit easier, particularly no longer using acronyms in many cases, especially when referring to military ranks. Questions and answers are now consistent with the following ranks:

• Colonel instead of Col.
• Major instead of Maj.
• Captain instead of Capt.
• Private instead of Pvt.
• General instead of Gen.
• Lieutenant instead of Lt.

Along with expanding the ranks, we fixed some other abbreviations to be consistent. These changes include:

• P.A. for Public Announcement
• O.R. for Operating Room
• V.D. for Venereal Disease

You can now send an email to support. This is done via the "About" screen. Lastly, support for the latest Macs and iPads has been added too.

We have just completed the first full quarter of 2023, and it is time for March's reading list. In March I listened to 16 titles, of which one was new and that new title is the one I want to highlight for the month.

The title is "Destructive Reasoning (Authorities Book 2)" by Scott Meyer.

An actor is brutally murdered while sitting alone in his fully locked car.

A note arrives claiming responsibility and explaining the man died not for who he was, but for who he pretended to be. He played Dr. Watson in a production of Sherlock Holmes. The note promises to kill everybody in Hollywood currently playing Dr. Watson: a surprisingly long list.

Billionaire Vince Capp sends his crime fighting team, the Authorities, down from Seattle to solve the crime, stop the killer, save lives, and above all else, increase their national profile. But it won't be easy. Detective Sloan will have to wrestle with the most irritating case of her career while two of her key operatives are terribly distracted: Rutherford has found a new role model to follow and emulate, and Max must tangle with a mysterious figure from a past he'd rather forget.

Destructive Reasoning is book two in the Authorities series: a funny, thrilling, confounding mystery in a setting of Hollywood glamor viewed with Seattle ironic detachment.

I am not sure how many titles I will end up listening to in April, I am sure it will be at least a few, but beyond that I do not know.

Previous Reading Lists

About this time every year Apple announces the dates for its annual World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC). WWDC23 will be from Monday, June 5th to Friday, June 9th. Last year Apple held a small in-person event for some developers, they will be doing the same this year. You can apply to attend the in-person event. This needs to be done by April 4th at 9am Pacific Time. Those who are chosen will be notified by 6pm Pacific Time on April 5th.

Along with WWDC is the Student Challenge. Submissions for the Swift Student Challenge are due by April 19th. More information is availble on the Swift Student Challenge website.

Source: Apple Newsroom

Most announcements from Apple come via press release, or streamed video. But that is not the way that I found out that Apple is releasing Apple Music Classical on March 28th. Instead, I got a push notification from the Apple Music app that let me know that Apple Music Classical was coming. It is possible that a press release will be published, but as of this writing it has not.

Back in August of 2021 Apple announced that they had acquired Polyphonic, an app dedicated to classical music. According to the Apple Music Classical product page,

Get the app designed specifically for classical music. Available to Apple Music subscribers at no additional cost. Instantly find any recording in the world’s largest classical music catalog with search built for the genre. Enjoy the highest audio quality available (up to 192 kHz/24-bit Hi-Res Lossless) and hear classical favorites like never before in spatial audio, all with zero ads.

Apple Music Classical also makes it easy for beginners to get acquainted with the genre thanks to hundreds of Essentials playlists, insightful composer biographies, deep-dive guides for many key works, and intuitive browsing features.

The Ultimate Classical Experience * Get unlimited access to the world’s largest classical music catalog (over 5 million tracks) with everything from new releases to celebrated masterpieces, plus thousands of exclusive albums. * Search by composer, work, conductor, or even catalog number, and find specific recordings instantly. * Listen in the highest audio quality (up to 192 kHz/24 bit Hi-Res Lossless) and enjoy thousands of recordings in immersive spatial audio with Dolby Atmos. * Benefit from complete and accurate metadata to make sure you know exactly what and who you are playing. * Learn while you listen, with thousands of composer biographies, descriptions of key works, and more. * Listen using AirPlay on compatible wireless devices.

Requirements * Requires an Apple Music subscription (Individual, Student, Family, or Apple One). Not available with the Apple Music Voice Plan. * Available worldwide where Apple Music is offered, excluding China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Taiwan, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Available features and content may vary by country or region. * Apple Music Classical is available for all iPhone models running iOS 15.4 or later. * To listen to music on Apple Music Classical, you must have an internet connection.

Apple Music Classical will only be available as an iPhone app at launch and it will be localized to English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

You can pre-order Apple Music Classical today from the Apple App Store. Apple Music Classical is included with any Apple Music subscription, so you will need to be subscribed to Apple Music in order to use the service.