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Apple and Google give states new options for exposure notification software

The software, which is built into the operating systems on Google’s Android phones and Apple’s iPhones, uses Bluetooth to tell whether people have spent significant time near one another. If a participant in the exposure notification program tests positive for the coronavirus, that person’s close contacts may get a notification.

“I would say this is an improvement,” said Jeffrey Kahn, director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. Kahn, who has been studying the use of technology to fight the virus, said states have been hamstrung by indecision around which technology vendors they should use to build their apps, among other issues. He said this may help speed up adoption, but shouldn’t be considered a magic bullet. “It’s still not probably serving all the interests that public health would want, but it’s better than nothing,” he said.

First launched in May, coronavirus tracking software got off to a rocky

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Software
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What’s next, an Apple in every pot?



a hand holding a cellphone: As of 2018, Statistics Canada says, 88 per cent of Canadians 15 years of age or over had a smartphone.

© Postmedia photo illustration
As of 2018, Statistics Canada says, 88 per cent of Canadians 15 years of age or over had a smartphone.

How long do you suppose it will be before the prime minister descends the steps of Rideau Cottage and announces the federal government will be providing a new smartphone to every Canadian who doesn’t own one that’s less than five years old? (“We have your back pocket.”) This would be to repair the now clearly outrageous unfairness of his earlier announcement that the government is providing a free COVID-tracing app that will allow Canadians to discover whether they’ve spent dangerous lengths of time within infection range of an app user who has tested positive for COVID-19.

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Being free, voluntary and decentralized, the new app seemed like a good idea at the time but it was immediately and roundly denounced for the flaw that it

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Programming
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How the CEOs of Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook plan to defend Big Tech today

Ahead of the antitrust hearing that’s due to take place later today, the opening statements from the CEOs of Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook have been published on the House Judiciary Committee’s website. Ranging in length from four to eight pages, the statements give us our best look yet at how Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg plan to defend their companies from this latest wave of antitrust scrutiny, and accusations that some of their actions harm consumers and stifle competition.

There are a lot of similarities between the four statements which you can read in their entirety here:

For example, they all make appeals to American patriotism (“The rest of the world would love even the tiniest sip of the elixir we have here in the U.S,” Bezos claims), and talk about the benefits their products offer to consumers, as well as small businesses. All four

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Programming
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The CEOs of Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon are set to testify before Congress in a historic antitrust hearing next week. Here’s what’s at stake for each company.

From left to right, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, and Jeff Bezos.
From left to right, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, and Jeff Bezos.

Getty/Carsten Koall/Michael Kovac/Business Insider composite

  • The tech CEOs of Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook will appear before Congress in a first-of-its-kind hearing on Wednesday.

  • They’ll be testifying as part of an antitrust investigation into the dominance of digital platforms that has been running since last June. The CEOs, who will likely appear remotely over video, will have to defend the growing power of their tech companies to skeptical lawmakers.

  • Here’s why each CEO has been asked to appear, the types of questions they will likely be asked, and how the day might play out.

  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The CEOs of four tech giants will appear before Congress next week, where they’ll have to defend their companies’ growing power to skeptical lawmakers.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg,

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Software
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Inside Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google versus the Feds

Sometime very soon, four of the most powerful men on the planet will face off against a small congressional subcommittee. 

The stakes couldn’t be higher. 

Yes tech execs are called into D.C. regularly these days, but this time is different. These are the CEOs of the four mega-tech companies, starting with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, who’s never appeared before Congress. He’ll be joined by two other iconic personages: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg (world’s fourth richest, worth $88 billion), and Apple’s Tim Cook. The fourth member of the quartet, Alphabet’s (Google’s) Sundar Pichai has a lower profile but carries no less weight.

Even more than all of that though, this hearing could mark a new beginning in the tug and pull between big business and society in America—for better or for worse. 

“This is the end of a one-year investigation where we’ve looked at these big tech platforms

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Internet
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Are we missing anything from a virtual Apple iPhone announcement event?

Since 2011, Apple has invited journalists and analysts to the San Francisco Bay Area every fall, for the hottest tech ticket of the year – the unveiling of a new iPhone.

But with a pandemic in full swing – and showing no signs of dying down – Apple is expected to skip the physical reveal, and put the show online in September when it announces the latest slate of iPhones.

Rival Samsung is doing just that as well on August 5, with a virtual sneak peek at its latest phone, the Galaxy Note update.

But, what do we as consumers miss out on, by turning the tech launch into a TV show?

Smart!: Home smart home: Apple reveals new home automation, control features coming in iOS 14

Watch: News from WWDC: Apple Watch help with handwashing and a few other things you need to know

The scene at Apple's event in Cupertino, Calif. on September 12, 2018
The scene at Apple’s event
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Software
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Apple (AAPL) Expands iPhone Repair Program in US & Globally

Apple AAPL is expanding its Independent Repair Provider (IRP) program to supply repair parts, tools and manuals for iPhones to more businesses across the United States. The program will also be opening its third-party iPhone repair program to independent repair shops in Canada and 32 countries across Europe, including the United Kingdom.

Considering precautionary measures against COVID-19, Apple has been working with its partners to offer additional mail-in repair options and supporting the network in ways that meet health and safety guidelines. Additionally, the iPhone-maker is also creating an online tool to verify whether an independent shop participates in its program.

The IRP program gives iPhone owners an additional third-party channel for repairs. To qualify for the program, which is free to join, businesses are required to have an Apple-certified technician on staff. Businesses in the program have access to free training from Apple, as well as the same genuine

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Software
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I tried Hey, the $99 a year email app that Apple threatened to remove from the App Store, and it completely changed the way I look at my inbox forever

The Hey app focuses on its so called Imbox, for important email.
The Hey app focuses on its so called Imbox, for important email.

Hey/Basecamp

  • Hey is a new email app from Basecamp that’s designed to help you get the most out of your email.

  • It lets you sort emails into categories for newsletters and shipping notifications, and makes it possible to screen emails just like you screen phone calls.

  • The email provider, which was initially invite-only, has caught on in the short time it’s been available, breaking into the top 100 iPhone apps the day after it launched.

  • Overall, I found that Hey made my inbox feel more organized and has the potential to help me find relevant information more quickly, but it comes with a learning curve and a hefty price tag: $99 per year.

  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

There’s been an obsession with killing email in recent years, and for good reason. Our inboxes have become

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Software
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The 5 Most Exciting Things Apple Announced at its Virtual WWDC 2020

The effects of COVID-19, which necessitate social distancing and nationwide stay-at-home orders, are evident even when it comes to press events. On Monday, Apple hosted its first-ever pre-recorded Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The stream featured some snazzy camera work, and updates to both Apple software and hardware from CEO Tim Cook, SVP Craig Federighi, and various other Apple employees, including a number of women and people of color, the most ever shown in a single keynote presentation from the company.

Aside from the new faces, Apple went on to highlight the newest features coming to its software for its iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch devices, along with its Apple TV and macOS platforms.

On top of all that, the company announced a long-rumored shift in the hardware that powers its Mac computers—one that echoes a transition it made 15 years ago that set it up for over a decade of

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Programming
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Apple Watch help with handwashing and a few other things you need to know

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, which kicked off with a keynote by CEO Tim Cook on Monday, had a different vibe.

The keynote, which typically serves as a venue for Apple to highlight its latest iOS operating system, was done online only, due to crowd restrictions to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Cook & Co. unveiled new software updates for iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and Mac computers – public betas for those will begin in July with final software versions available this fall, Cook said.

The Apple CEO also announced that Apple would begin making its own processors for Macs. The move from Intel chips will make for “a huge leap forward” for Mac computers, he said.

Apple expects to ship the first Mac with an Apple processor by the end of the year, with the transition to all Apple processor-based Macs to take about two years.

New Intel-based Macs

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Computer