Mobile Apps News #75
A smart cane for the blind with maps built in, fake news & media literacy, my tutorial about accessibility, and more.
Hi everyone,
Welcome to the 75th issue of Mobile Apps News! I hope you'll enjoy this newsletter and spread the word to your friends and colleagues.
This is my second issue using Substack instead of Mailchimp for my newsletter provider. I like it — except for the fact that they don’t have a way to add alt text to images. (They said it’s on a future development list). Since my few images are mostly “decorative,” I decided that’s OK for now.
This issue includes news of:
an app for keeping track of your personal library (Book Track)
an app for customizing the sound of phone calls (SonicCloud)
links to stories about fake news and media literacy
tips, accessibility, voice-computing, thought-provoking articles, interesting stats, and articles about the future
️ ❤️ Enjoy! (And if you like this issue, please “heart” it - thanks!)
App News
📱 Featured apps and app lists
Book Track Review: A Modern, iOS-Friendly Library Manager
Track your personal book collection in this app with a clean, simple interface. Keep track of books you own, books you want to read, and tag them in any way you like.
SonicCloud Personalized Sound: Have trouble hearing your phone’s audio? SonicCloud can help.
Adjusts sound to suit your personal hearing. Assess your hearing in the app and then use it to make phone calls, and it will adjust the timbre of audio to make sounds clearer. Listen also to podcasts and internet radio streams that are available in the app.
An app story: Using GoodNotes, MindNode, Ulysses, and Keynote to quickly make a presentation
Interesting process. “… this system of letting the idea cook and develop, and moving it along from one app to the next (instead of jumping right to “create”) helped me save a lot of time and energy.”
App updates
Google Celebrates 15 Years of Its Maps App with a New Design and Features
Google Maps has a new icon, new tabs for Saved (every place you have saved), Contribute (notify Google about places they should add), and Updates (a curated feed of trending places in your area).
MacOS Will Soon Support Universal Apps, Enabling a Single Purchase for Mac, iPhone, and iPad Apps
“With universal app support, developers will be able to charge users a single time to grant access to Mac, iPhone, and iPad versions of their app.“
My offerings
Does your library staff feel confident about serving people with all types of disabilities?
♿️ Making Library Services & Websites Accessible
I designed this tutorial so that library staff can complete it bit-by-bit, when their schedule allows, completely online. I’ve included several interactive activities to help make learning stick. Purchase it for your library (or library consortium).
📕 Book: Keeping Up with Emerging Technologies
Learn the best methods for keeping up — no matter what new technology is trending.
There are several books written for librarians about specific new technologies, but it’s hard to find a comprehensive resource for the best methods for keeping up, along with integrating new technologies into library services. That’s why I wrote this book. One reviewer says: “this book about technology has ideas and tips that will be relevant for quite some time.”
✅ Free tutorial: How Do I Evaluate Online Information?
I created this tutorial in collaboration with one of our academic librarians at University of Arizona. Feel free to share it — it has a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. This is one of a set of new information literacy tutorials. I created these in my role as e-learning developer for University of Arizona Libraries.
😀 Just for fun
Google brings emoji mashup stickers to Gboard on Android
“… combine two existing emoji to create one with a much more specific vibe. Google is calling the feature its Emoji Kitchen.“
Someone Built a Distraction-Free Cellphone With a Working Old-School Rotary Dial
The design details are open source, so you can build your own—in case you are yearning for a rotary dial.
The Simpsons in pure CSS
“Thirteen of the show’s characters rendered and animated using style sheets: no javascript or image files to be found.“
Apple won’t let bad guys use iPhones in movies, says Knives Out director
Now that you know this, it could lead to spoilers about who the bad guys are.
⭐️ Tips
iOS 13 Draining Your iPhone Battery Life? Here Are 12 Ways to Fix It
Which iPad Do I Have? How to Identify Apple’s Different iPad Models & Generations (Updated for 2020)
How to Find Your iPhone Even If It’s Dead or Offline (Updated for 2020)
♿️ Accessibility
Blind engineer builds a SMART cane that has Google Maps, Bluetooth, and a sensory device
“This innovative cane includes a built-in speakers, voice assistance, Google Maps, a Bluetooth system that makes syncing to other devices possible, and high-end sensors that alerts the user through vibrations when above chest level obstacles are within proximity—something a regular cane cannot provide.”
Blind Woman Sees With New Implant, Plays Video Game Sent Straight to Her Brain
“A camera embedded in a pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses records Gómez’s field of view and sends it to a computer. The computer translates the data into electrical impulses the brain can read and forwards it to a brain implant by way of a cable plugged into a port in the skull.”
Mobile Applications and Litigation: Why Accessibility is Important and What to Consider before Launching, Part 1 of 2
Read this to learn why accessibility is just as important for mobile apps as it is for websites. Some companies have been sued for not making their apps accessible. In addition, web accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.0) were designed to be technology neutral and to evolve with changing technologies. Read part 2 for specific guidelines for app developers.
🗣 Voice computing
Activate This ‘Bracelet of Silence,’ and Alexa Can’t Eavesdrop
This bracelet jams the Echo or any other microphones in the vicinity from listening in on conversations. “A large, somewhat ungainly white cuff with spiky transducers, the bracelet has 24 speakers that emit ultrasonic signals when the wearer turns it on. The sound is imperceptible to most ears, with the possible exception of young people and dogs, but nearby microphones will detect the high-frequency sound instead of other noises.”
New Google Assistant Feature Reads and Translates Websites Out Loud on Android Devices
“When a webpage is open on an Android device, a user can get Google Assistant to read the text by saying ‘Hey Google, read it.’ The voice assistant is able to identify the main text of a website from the menu, the metadata, and other words on the page. The text will auto-scroll and the word being read will be highlighted as the text continues.“ Useful for people with visual impairments.
Spotify May Be Developing a Voice Assistant
They are working on a “Hey, Spotify” feature for controlling Spotify by voice when the app is open. Could be handy for listening while driving. (Not yet confirmed by Spotify).
📊 Interesting stats
U.S. In-car Voice Assistant Users Rise 13.7% to Nearly 130 Million, Have Significantly Higher Consumer Reach Than Smart Speakers
“Figures for in-car voice assistant use are far higher than current smart speaker use. In fact there are almost as many monthly active users of voice assistants while driving in the U.S. as there are total smart speaker owners.”
Many Tech Experts Say Digital Disruption Will Hurt Democracy
“Some 49% of these respondents say use of technology will mostly weaken core aspects of democracy and democratic representation in the next decade, 33% say use of technology will mostly strengthen core aspects of democracy and democratic representation and 18% say there will be no significant change in the next decade.”
🤥 Fake news and media literacy
The Hidden Signs That Can Reveal a Fake Photo - BBC Future
Disinformation and Fake News: a listening list - Podcast Brunch Club
With An Election On The Horizon, Older Adults Get Help Spotting Fake News - NPR
In the Era of Fake News, Teaching Media Literacy is a Must - LetGrow
💡 Thought-provoking
Musicians Using AI to Create Otherwise Impossible New Songs - Time
Is Working Remotely Effective? Gallup Research Says Yes - Gallup
MIT’s Latest AI Can Rewrite Outdated Wikipedia Page - Digital Trends
Man hacks his prosthetic arm to control music synthesizer with his thoughts - BoingBoing
Swedish council tests virtual reality in care for vulnerable people - Computer Weekly
Musicians Algorithmically Generate Every Possible Melody, Release Them to Public Domain - Vice
Protecting sensitive metadata so it can’t be used for surveillance - MIT News
Off the Hook podcast episode, March 4, 2020 - 2600 Magazine
This episode is interesting. Start at 11min 20 secs to hear a discussion of how remaining New York city payphones are going to be removed, history of NYC payphones, the rise and fall of payphones across the US, and finally, a bit about scammers who are profiting off of the coronavirus (beginning at 50:02).
🔭 The future
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2020 - MIT Technology Review
Un-hackable internet, tiny AI, anti-aging drugs, and more.
Six ways coronavirus will change our world - Exponential View
It could reinforce the power of scientific collaboration, lead to remote everything, encourage self-sufficiency around food, and more interesting thoughts.
Coronavirus Is a Preview of Our Self-Isolating Future - OneZero
Thoughts on working remotely as either a blessing or a curse, who can do it, who can’t, and more.
💌 Please share!
♡ If you enjoyed this issue, please “heart” it and share it with your friends who might be interested, thanks!
🐦 Follow @nic221 on Twitter. I tweet about libraries, mobile, apps, and emerging technologies.
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