Mobile Apps News from Nicole Hennig
Mobile Apps News
October 24, 2018
Hi everyone,
Welcome to the 63rd 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:
new apps that came with iOS 12
Apple's new iPhones and Apple Watch
Google+ is shutting down
my new book is out: Siri, Alexa, and Other Digital Assistants
my upcoming online courses (Online Privacy & Security and Keeping Up with Emerging Technologies)
several tips, including how to add accessibility captions to your Twitter photos
accessibility, voice-computing, thought-provoking articles, interesting stats, and articles about the future
Enjoy!
App News
Featured apps
People are having a blast testing out iOS 12's new Measure app
See what this new augmented reality ruler can measure with these examples (from people’s tweets). Measuring the cat is cute.
Apple’s Shortcuts App is Now Available to Download
If you’ve updated to iOS12, you can use this new app to create multi-step tasks that can be activated with a Siri command.
App lists
The Best iOS Writing Apps That Every Writer Should Use
Good list. I LOVE Scrivener (for my book writing) and Bear (for everyday notes).
Our favorite photo editing apps for iOS
If you like editing photos on your iPhone or iPad, check out these apps.
Best Translation Apps for iOS and
10 best translation apps for Android
Go beyond Google Translate with these useful apps.
App updates
Fantastical 2 Update Brings Support for new iOS 12
If you have iOS 12 can now take advantage of Siri Shortcuts to interact with this beautiful calendar app.
Twitter’s livestreaming video app Periscope launches audio-only broadcasts
It will be interesting to see how people use this to broadcast live audio to their followers.
Google+ is shutting down, and the site's few loyal users are mourning
I haven’t used Google+ in quite a while, and most groups I was in don’t have recent posts anyway. But some groups remain very active.
iOS 12 updates
iOS 12 just gave your iPhone new features—here's how to use them
Learn about Screen Time, Measure, more integrated password management (I love this), personalized Memoji avatars (for phones that support Face ID), Siri Shortcuts, better notification management, new options for Do Not Disturb, and a few other new features.
1Password, LastPass, Dashlane and More Updated With Support for iOS 12's AutoFill Password Feature
It's great that 1Password now auto-fills so easily everywhere.
Inside iOS 12: How to Create Siri Shortcuts
Detailed instructions and ideas for creating Siri shortcuts.
New iPhones and Apple Watch
Everything You Need To Know About Those New iPhones
Apple recently announced the Xs, Xs Max, and Xr. (X is pronounced “ten”). Learn about them here.
How dual-SIM works with Apple's iPhone XS & XS Max
Use two phone numbers on the same device. Handy for spending time in other countries when you’re there long enough to want a local SIM.
Apple Watch 4 Adds Ecg, Ekg, And More Heart-Monitoring Capabilities
Apple Watch is focusing on health and fitness-tracking functions.
Apple Watch Series 4 Review: Be Still My Heart
Learn about all the features — worth upgrading if you have one of the older Apple Watches.
Just for Fun
Here's how to make your 'Mini' (me) sticker in Google Gboard
Google’s AI-powered Piano Genie lets anyone improvise perfectly by bashing buttons
Party Games for Party Time (fun iOS games to play with groups of people)
My Offerings
Course: Online Privacy & Security: Best Practices for Librarians
December 3 - January 4 (with a week off of your choosing for the holidays)
If you missed this course when I offered it via ALA back in March, don’t worry — I’m offering it again, this time via Library Juice Academy (which means you can get credit: 1.5 CEUs or 15 PDHs).
With the knowledge from this course, you will:
know how to use several technologies that protect your privacy and security;
create a security and privacy action plan for your own data;
have enough information to offer a workshop on this topic for your library users;
receive a bibliography of information for learning more about these topics.
Here’s what one student said:
“This is the best online course I have ever taken. The content was current, the assignments were relevant, the instructor was accessible.” — Linda Azen Martin, Instruction Librarian, Santiago Canyon College, Seal Beach, CA
Tell your colleagues by sharing this page. Thanks!
http://nicolehennig.com/courses/privacy-security-best-practices-library-users/
My new book is now available!
Siri, Alexa, and Other Digital Assistants: The Librarian's Quick Guide
Here’s my blog post with the table of contents. I’d love to hear from you if your library is experimenting with voice computing.
Get the book
Last year I self-published a set of ebooks about podcasts. Here's one you might be interested in. Only $2.99 on Smashwords.
Best Podcasts: Technology and Society
(Ebook)
An annotated guide to 29 podcasts on the ethical and social issues related to new technologies, and future predictions for technology. Recommended apps for listening are included, along with the benefits of podcasts. This guide is for anyone interested in podcasts on these topics and for those who recommend podcasts to others.
Course: Keeping Up with Emerging Technologies
Jan. 7 - Feb. 1st, 2019
Learn the best practices for tracking technology trends
I’m offering this course again in January through Library Juice Academy.
Here’s what one of my previous students said:
“This course was fantastic. Very relevant, informative, and engaging. I found it worth the time, and plan to implement much of what I learned in my own workplace, even though I’m not technically an Emerging Technology Librarian. Many concepts covered can easily be applied universally.”
—Marie Harris, Location Leader, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
Tell your colleagues by sharing this page. Thanks!
http://nicolehennig.com/courses/keeping-up-with-emerging-technologies-course/
Tips
Everything you should do before—and after—you lose your phone
How to manage your digital read-it-later list—before it's too late
Accessibility
Hearing aids: You ain't heard nothing yet
Interesting story by David Pogue about new hearing devices that could replace hearing aids for some people. Spend $500 instead of $5,000.
Innovation breaks down barriers for people with disabilities
HUBweek event in Boston addressed technologies for people with disabilities. ““While technology eliminates most physical barriers, there are . . . other major barriers that technology can’t really directly address,” Mallozzi said. “One of them is the stigma associated with disability, and people who don’t think that people like myself can be as capable as their able-bodied counterparts. How do we address that? Well, we start with events like this.”
Assistive Technology Devices: New Products and Information
Excellent overview with links to new information about assistive technologies.
Voice Computing
Northeastern University Expands Amazon Alexa Access to Public Spaces
At Northeastern University in Boston they are putting Echo Dots in more than 60 public spaces throughout the campus. These include a skill for asking about campus events and other information.
Comparing Voice Assistants
An informative chart to help you decide which smart speaker to get.
Amazon announces Echo Sub, Echo Link Amp, Echo Link, and Amazon Smart Plug
Lots of new devices are coming out with Alexa in them!
Amazon Rolls out Slew of New Alexa Devices
A list of all the new Alexa devices, with prices.
Google Home Hub hands-on: Assistant gets a screen
Similar to the Echo Show, but without a camera (privacy advocates like that).
Alexa can now reserve conference rooms
Part of the Alexa for Business platform. Will you get one for your library?
Why the Alexa Skills Kit is a Great Introduction To Coding For Kids
Interview with a 14-year-old girl who wrote an Alexa Skill that fetches status from the AWS services dashboard.
Pixel Buds translation feature comes to all Google Assistant headphones
Translate languages at the press of a button.
Thought-Provoking
Forget the new iPhones: Apple’s best product is now privacy
Makes the case that “the single biggest reason that consumers should choose an Apple device over competing devices — is privacy.” Apple can do this more easily than Facebook or Google because their business model is selling hardware, rather than monitizing user data.
Why Science Fiction Is the Most Important Genre
Thoughts from Yuval Noah Harari, author of the best-selling books Sapiens and Homo Deus. “It [science fiction] shapes the understanding of the public on things like artificial intelligence and biotechnology, which are likely to change our lives and society more than anything else in the coming decades.”
Exclusive: Tim Berners-Lee tells us his radical new plan to upend the World Wide Web
Tim Berners-Lee has been working on a startup aiming to decentralize the web. “The app, using Solid’s decentralized technology, allows Berners-Lee to access all of his data seamlessly–his calendar, his music library, videos, chat, research. It’s like a mashup of Google Drive, Microsoft Outlook, Slack, Spotify, and WhatsApp. The difference here is that, on Solid, all the information is under his control. Every bit of data he creates or adds on Solid exists within a Solid pod–which is an acronym for personal online data store.”
The rise of fake Amazon reviews — and how to spot them
Learn about 100% off coupons (in exchange for positive reviews), bot armies, and more.
Why Libraries Will Save the World (If We Let Them)
“The author of Palaces for the People makes a case for libraries as the heart of our communities.”
Review of “Click Here to Kill Everybody: Security and Survival in a Hyper-Connected World”
I’m reading and enjoying this book by Bruce Schneier (one of my favorite security experts) about security issues with Internet of Things devices. (Love the title).
Reminder: Claims about millennials, and every other generation, are bullshit
Good points. I prefer the idea of “perennials” — “ever-blooming, relevant people of all ages who live in the present time, know what’s happening in the world, stay current with technology, and have friends of all ages.” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/move-over-millennials-its-time-meet-perennials-ageless-julie-kerr/
We Need to Rethink Our Ideas About Aging
How old we are shouldn’t determine who we are. “We must think of people as individuals rather than defining them by their age.”
Shocking stats about librarians of color in the profession
Photo of a slide from the conference, Joint Conference of Librarians of Color that happened in September in Albuquerque, New Mexico. See more tweets from this event.
The Long, Strange History Of The Presidential Text Alert
A fascinating account of the “odd history of national doomsday alerts, plans that over the years have included everything from special radio stations to pink balloons to TV entertainer Arthur Godfrey to, at least for the cable network CNN, the song the band played as the Titanic sank.”
There are Many Problems With Mobile Privacy but the Presidential Alert Isn’t One of Them
EFF explains how this system works. “To send out a Presidential Alert the president would have to, at the very least, convince someone in charge of the WEA system at FEMA to send such a message, and FEMA staffers may be reluctant to send out a non-emergency message, which could decrease the effectiveness of future emergency alerts.“ They probably should have called it a FEMA alert instead of a “presidential alert.”
Boston Public Library Takes Aim at the Digital Divide with New Pilot
Like many other libraries, the BPL is loaning out wi-fi hotspots. “The library system will begin offering access to 200 unlimited Wi-Fi hotspots free of charge.”
What Brands Can Learn From The New York Public Library's Instagram Stories
“They teamed up with the creative agency Mother and well-known illustrator Magoz to bring classics to life in the form of ephemeral content with each page only lasting 10 seconds in nature before disappearing. Luckily, these books live in the Highlights section on Instagram and can be viewed at any time. The three books they’ve piloted include Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Yellow Wallpaper, and The Metamorphosis.
The launch of Insta Novels has been a resounding success. The library says it has seen an increase of 100,000 new Instagram followers and over 40,000 readers completed Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.”
Three US universities now let students use iPhone and Apple Watch as their campus ID card
Interesting. “By using contactless NFC readers, students can use their digital ID card to access dorms, dining halls, library, and the gym. You can also use it to pay for bookstore supplies, laundry usage, and restaurant meals.”
Interesting Statistics
Amazon Maintains Smart Speaker Market Share Lead, Apple Rises Slightly to 4.5%
Amazon has 64.6% of the U.S. market.
23 charts and maps that show the world is getting much, much better (updated Oct. 27, 2018)
Read these stats when you need some good news. Extreme poverty has fallen, child labor is on the decline, and more.
The Future
The Periodic Table of Technology Lays Out Which Advances Are Coming Next
Interesting way to organize info about new technologies. Download the full image (and zoom in).
IKEA designs future autonomous cars that work as hotels, stores, and meeting rooms
Have your next meeting in a self-driving car.
What Kids Need to Learn to Succeed in 2050
By Yuval Noah Harari. I’m enjoying his book, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.
The future of voice search: 2020 and beyond
Tries to be more realistic than some of the hyped-up predictions about voice search.
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