Mobile Apps News from Nicole Hennig
Mobile Apps News
January 23, 2018
Hi everyone,
Welcome to the 56th issue of Mobile Apps News! I hope you'll enjoy this newsletter and spread the word to your friends and colleagues. Please get in touch if you have any suggestions for topics you'd like to hear about.
This issue includes news of:
3 new photography apps from Google
updates to several apps: Google Pay, Weather Line, Amazon Music, and more
my upcoming 5-week course on Privacy & Security Online (begins March 12 via ALA)
a new course I'm offering in August: Keeping Up with Emerging Technologies
several tips, including using Siri to search for objects in photos, and useful Gmail searches for cleaning up you inbox
several news stories about voice computing (a hot topic these days)
thought-provoking articles (including some about Bitcoin, another hot topic right now)
interesting articles about the future (with some good reads about self-driving cars)
Enjoy!
App News
Featured apps and app lists
Get to Inbox Zero at the Speed of Light with Spark by Readdle
Spark is my favorite email app for iOS. It makes it easy to quickly manage multiple email accounts.
Best Apps of the Year 2017
A good list. My favorite app on this list is Things 3, which I use every day to manage my to-do lists.
Google releases three new smartphone photography apps
Storyboard (Android), Selfissimo! (iOS and Android), and Scrubbies (iOS).
How You Could Get an Early Warning for the Next Big Earthquake
“Developed by Santa Monica-based Early Warning Labs, QuakeAlert is one of the few ways Americans can get advance notice of an impending quake.” Still in beta, and you can sign up to be notified when it’s ready.
Experimental Feature Pushes Google's Arts & Culture App to the Top of the Free Apps Chart
Have you seen social media posts where your selfie is compared to a work of fine art? It’s from this app. The other features of this app are nice, even if you don’t like the selfie matching. See also “Why Can't I Use The Google Arts & Culture App? It’s Only Available In Certain Areas” for an interesting read about the privacy concerns (and why people in Texas, Illinois, and outside the U.S. can’t use this). And this Houston Chronicle article tells how to get around that limitation.
App Updates
Amazon Music Library Changes: Ability To Upload Your Own Music Is Going Away
I’m sad about this. 2018 will be the last year I can pay $25/year to store my own digital music in Amazon’s music service (handy for playing with my voice-controlled Alexa devices). I store oral history interview recordings of my friends and family, recordings of my piano recitals from my college days, and most of the music I’ve purchased digitally. I’m gradually switching to Google Play Music for this, which is free for up to 50,000 tracks (yay), but doesn’t stream via my Amazon Echo. (Luckily, I also have a Google Home, which does stream Google Play Music).
New App Store Section Highlights Apps with Free Trials
Some apps are moving towards a subscription model. You can browse them here and get free trials.
Bringing it all together with Google Pay
Android Pay and Google Wallet are merging.
Secure Messaging App Confide Unveils Feature to Prevent Screenshots
Confide is an interesting way to send secure private messages. This is a useful update.
Weather Line Updated with iPhone X Support and Updated Today Widget
I use Weather Line to see average high and low temperatures by the month for different places. It's a good way to see what the weather is like in a location you are thinking of spending time in (or moving to).
Just for Fun
Hidden secrets in new Scottish £10 banknote revealed
“The Royal Bank of Scotland banknotes have otters on them. There are tiny 10s hidden on their noses, hidden poetry visible under UV light, and if you download the Blippar augmented reality app you can see the otters swim.” Interesting use of augmented reality -- and beautiful currency!
This amusing iPhone X game turns your face into a controller
Only for iPhone X (it uses the TrueDepth sensors). You use your nose as a controller by pointing at targets in the game. Funny! It occurred to me the other day that you could probably train your dog to play this game :)
Very Veggie — Delicious Vegetarian Recipes App by Filibaba
A beautiful well-designed app for vegetarian recipes.
My Offerings
Become a Power Searcher: Using Internet Search Tools Effectively
There is still time to sign for my Jan. 24th webinar via ALA. It will be both fun and interesting! Don't worry if you can't view it at the scheduled time -- ALA will send you a recording to view later.
Online Privacy & Security: Best Practices for Librarians eCourse (begins March 12)
I've turned my most popular webinar topic of 2017 into a 5-week online course (offered via ALA). After you participate in this course, you will
* know how to use technologies that protect your privacy and security.
* have a security action plan for your own data.
* be inspired to offer a workshop on this topic for your library users.
* easily continue your learning with the course resource guide.
Keeping Up with Emerging Technologies - the book
My recent book is getting positive reviews (Booklist, Amazon, and more). I invite you to add your own reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, or any library science journals and blogs that you write for. Reviews help sales tremendously in this day and age (which I'm sure you know). Thanks!
Keeping Up with Emerging Technologies - the course
I'm offering a 4-week online course in August on the same topic as my book. Join us for an interesting, thoughtful way to learn the best methods and sources for keeping up. Great for emerging technology librarians (or anyone who wants to become an expert at keeping up). Sign up now! (And spread the word to your colleagues, thanks!)
Become an Expert in Mobile Apps for Education with These Courses
Are you the type of person who prefers to learn at your own pace? And do you want to improve your expertise in mobile technologies for education? If so, then these self-study versions of my online courses are a good choice for you. (The price is much lower than courses I teach on other platforms, too!)
Tips
Tips and Tricks for Getting the Most Out of Your New AirPods
FAQ: What to Know About Apple Slowing Down iPhones to Prevent Unexpected Shutdowns
Accessibility
How Tecla-E Enhances Amazon Alexa for Quadriplegic Users
“Tecla-e is for anyone who cannot easily use a smart device such as smartphones, tablets, computers or have difficulty using home appliances. This includes those with quadriplegia and other mobility impairments resulting from spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, ALS, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, brain injuries or stroke.” Learn how this works together with Alexa. Interesting.
Amazon Echo – my blind dad’s new best friend
Interesting points about how her blind father uses an Echo.
Voice Computing
I’ve collected a quite a few links this month about voice computing since I recently created a new webinar about it: Smart Digital Assistants.
Also, I bought a Google Home in December (and I love it), so now I have both platforms (Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant). I like using both, and they each have different pros and cons. Google’s “personality” seems upbeat and sassy, while Alexa seems polite and demure.
Alexa FAQ Part 8: Alexa Alarms, Reminders and Timers
Useful tips.
Alexa Fast Tips Friday: New Alexa Translation Feature
Now Alexa can translate phrases between languages. Google Home did this first.
Google takes on Echo Show with four new smart displays
Some tasks work better when you combine a visual display with voice computing. I'm looking forward to trying one of these, either from Amazon or Googe.
Alexa, Watch Out! Google’s Assistant is about to be everywhere
Lots of new products have Google Assistant built-in.
Alexa For Your Car For Under $50
Now you don't have to wait for new cars that will build in Alexa. Add these to any car.
Google Assistant Now Available on Android Auto
Voice computing will be in so many cars!
Growing Up with Alexa
What will it do to kids to have digital butlers they can boss around? (The author feels it’s not as bad as all that).
The Octogenarians Who Love Amazon’s Alexa
Results of a study of using Alexa in a community of retirees. (They loved it).
Amazon’s Alexa is now a feminist, and she’s sorry if that upsets you
“In late 2017, a petition on the social network Care2 asked Amazon to “reprogram their bots to push back against sexual harassment.” And they did. Now Alexa is assertive when she hears harassing insults. Read about the changes.
“Alexa, Understand Me”
Predicts that voice-based AI devices could become the primary way we interact with our machines.
Thought-Provoking
Killing Net Neutrality Has Brought On A New Call for Public Broadband
“Today, around 185 communities in the United States offer some form of public broadband service. Because these services are controlled by public entities, they are also accountable to the public — a perk that anybody who has tried to get a broadband company on the phone can appreciate."
The Bitcoin Boom: In Code We Trust
Interesting. “Bitcoin’s rise may reflect, for better or worse, a monumental transfer of social trust: away from human institutions backed by the government and to systems reliant on well-tested computer code.”
Book: The Internet of Money by Andreas M. Antonopoulos
(and The Internet of Money, volume two)
If you're interested in learning more about the societal implications of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain technologies, read these two short books. Each chapter is a transcript of a talk given by the author, with a link to the talk on YouTube (if you prefer to watch it). I just finished volume two and I'm finding his talks extremely fascinating.
Library Of Congress Will No Longer Archive Every Tweet
“As of Jan. 1, the library will only acquire tweets "on a very selective basis." This article discusses why.
How—And Why—Apple, Google, And Facebook Follow You Around In Real Life
How location data from your phone tracks you and how to turn it off (and what will no longer work if you do that).
Interesting Statistics
39 million Americans reportedly own a voice-activated smart speaker
That’s one in six people. “Uptake of these devices over the last three years is outpacing the adoption rates of smartphones and tablets.”
The Smart Audio Report: NPR & Edison Research
Lots of interesting statistics in this report.
The Future
Gartner Reveals Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users in 2017 and Beyond. "By 2020, 30 percent of web browsing sessions will be done without a screen."
These 3 articles about self-driving cars are fascinating.
1. A User’s Guide to the Dawn of Robot Driving - The driverless future starts in 2018. It’s coming quickly. “In just a few years these companies are promising to fill the roads with robo-taxis, driverless delivery vehicles, and sentient shuttles that will transform the way we move, upend industries, and ultimately reduce deaths by car accidents.”
2. Driverless Hotel Rooms: The End of Uber, Airbnb, and Human Landlords Wow, this is a fun read. Makes you think about all sorts of changes that could come if we have self-driving cars.
3. To get the most out of self-driving cars, tap the brakes on their rollout Recommends going slowly with implementation, because people tend to be afraid of self-driving cars, even though they will save so many lives “Every day about 100 people die in car crashes on U.S. roads.”
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