Mac Automation Product Manager Sal Soghoian Leaves Company After Position Eliminated
Apple has eliminated the Product Manager of Automated Technologies role, ending Sal Soghoian’s employment with the company. Soghoian revealed the news at the MacTech Conference in San Francisco, according to Mac Observer. He also posted about the news on his website, which is dedicated to the user automation community.
Q. I hear you no longer work for Apple; is that true?
A. Correct. I joined Apple in January of 1997, almost twenty years ago, because of my profound belief that “the power of the computer should reside in the hands of the one using it.” That credo remains my truth to this day. Recently, I was informed that my position as Product Manager of Automation Technologies was eliminated for business reasons. Consequently, I am no longer employed by Apple Inc. But, I still believe my credo to be as true today as ever.
Soghoian was responsible for advancing a number of automation technologies for Apple, including UNIX CLI, Apple Events, JavaScript, AppleScript, Automator, Apple Configurator, scripting support for Photos, iWork, Finder, Mail and other Apple programs as well as Master for iTunes tools and Dictation Commands.
Since Apple eliminated the position, it’s unclear what the move means for the future of automation technologies in macOS. Soghoian says the best thing to do for those concerned is to direct any questions or concerns to Apple.
If user automation technologies are important to you, then now is the time for all good men and women to reach out, speak up and ask questions. The macOS user automation technologies include: UNIX CLI (shell, python, ruby, perl), System Services, Apple Events (JavaScript, AppleScript, AppleScriptObj-C, Scripting Bridge), Automator, Apple Configurator (AppleScript, Automator), and Application scripting support in Photos, iWork, Finder, Mail, and other Apple applications.
Starting on December 1, Soghoian says he will begin considering opportunities and is available for consulting for user automation services. He also says he’s optimistic about the future of user automation. “I’ve seen the benefits and power of individuals being able to automate critical and repetitive tasks,” he wrote on his website. “Solution apps are great, emojis are fun, but there’s nothing like really great automation tools.”
Photo Credit: Andy Ihnatko
Tags: Automator, AppleScript, Sal Soghoian
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Amazon Music Unlimited Family Plan now available: Here’s what you need to know
Amazon just brought its on-demand music streaming service to the UK, and now it is launching a new payment option for all.
Amazon Music Unlimited, which is designed to take on Spotify and Apple Music and other similar services, now offers a family plan to users. It lets as many as six people listen to tunes for $14.99 a month if you’re not a Prime subscriber. That’s the same price as Apple Music’s family plan option. Prime members can enjoy the annual Family Plan for $149 a year, which is a two-month discount.
Here’s what you need to know about the Family Plan.
- Amazon Music Unlimited explained: Price, devices and how to get it
Amazon Music Unlimited: What is the Family Plan?
The Family Plan allows each member of your family (up to six members who must be at least 13 years old) use Amazon Music Unlimited and all its features. Accounts are not shared, and each family member will have an Amazon account with their own recommendations. The only thing that’s shared is the payment, and one family member is responsible for the monthly charge.
Amazon Music Unlimited: What can you do with Family Plan ?
Amazon said each family member in the Family Plan subscription will have access to the same functionality as an Individual Plan subscription. You’ll still see all of your own music, library, playlists, and personalised recommendations.
Amazon Music Unlimited is similar to Apple Music and Spotify in that it offers “tens of millions” of songs you can listen to on-demand, ad-free. It also serves up recommendations engine through algorithms and hand-picked playlists, and you can access it via mobile apps and the web. Amazon even redesigned its existing Amazon Music app with support the streaming service and an all-new user interface that focuses on album art.
How much does the Family Plan cost?
- Non-Prime members: One family member pays $14.99 a month for all family members in the subscription.
- Prime members: One family member pays $149 a year for all family members (equals a two-month discount).
Remember, Echo users have access to a special subscription plan for $3.99 a month. If you’re part of an Amazon Music Family Plan, you can still access the service on your Echo without having to purchase a separate Echo plan. As an Echo user, you can also upgrade to an Individual Plan or a Family plan subscription at any time.
Where can you sign up for the Family Plan?
To sign up for the Amazon Music Unlimited Family Plan, go here.
Twitter’s live video app comes to Android TV
Twitter TV events have included Thursday NFL games and the presidential election, but until now they’ve only been available on TV through Apple TV, Fire TV and Xbox One. Now, Android TV is joining that list, and from the appearance, the app is the same as on every other platform. There’s a listing for whatever featured broadcast is going on at the top, plus popular tweets and videos from the service, and some live Periscope streams. Twitter is pushing this ahead of tomorrow’s Saints/Panthers game, but it should probably add some updated screenshots to the Google Play Store first — currently they only show the phone version of the app.
Twitter for Android TV is available in the @GooglePlay store! Watch #TNF streaming LIVE on Twitter tomorrow night. https://t.co/5Dsxcuh4fU pic.twitter.com/Z6TewE5dkp
— Twitter (@twitter) November 16, 2016
Source: Twitter for Android TV
Domino’s starts delivering pizza by drone, but only in New Zealand
If you measure the future in terms how pizza is delivered, the future is now: Domino’s now delivers via autonomous drone. Today, the pizza chain officially launched its drone delivery service in New Zealand. The pizzaria chain has been working with Flirtey on the program for awhile now, but has only just started offering it to a select group of customers.
“Drones offer the promise of safer, faster deliveries to an expanded delivery area,” Domino’s group CEO Don Meiji says. “Meaning more customers can expect to receive a freshly-made order within our ultimate target of 10 minutes.” Drone deliveries are being integrated into the company’s online ordering system, and the company says it hopes to expand the drone deliveries to a wider area soon.
The company didn’t announce any plans to bring drone delivery to the United States, but Flirtey is working on it. Earlier this year, the company performed its first FAA-sanctioned delivery in Nevada, carrying emergency food, water and a first-aid kit to an empty house. That’s promising, but it will probably be awhile before you can order-in by air — US Drone standards are pretty strict.
Source: PRNewswire
Apple to Halve App Store Fees for Subscription Video Apps
To appease video content makers and lure new video services to the App Store, Apple plans to cut the fees it charges streaming video apps, reports Bloomberg.
Apple normally takes a 30 percent cut of all App Store app purchases and subscriptions, but for subscription-based streaming video apps like Netflix and Hulu, Apple plans to cut its fee to 15 percent. Apple has already reduced the fees for some of its video partners, and will soon extend the 15 percent rate to all subscription video services that are integrated with the company’s upcoming TV app.
Apple’s hefty cut of sales made via its App Store has long angered partners, some of whom have accused the technology giant of anti-competitive behavior. The concessions speak to the growing importance of video to Apple, which next month will introduce a new app devoted to TV shows and movies.
For non-video subscription apps, Apple will continue to charge 30 percent, but will reduce that amount to 15 percent after an Apple customer has been subscribed to the service for a year, a change that was announced earlier this year.
Fee reduction rumors come as Apple is preparing to launch the aforementioned TV app, which will be available on both the fourth-generation Apple TV and iOS devices. Currently in beta testing, the TV app is designed to make it easier for users to find content to watch across multiple apps.
Because TV app is reliant on third-party content providers, it is in Apple’s best interest to lure as many content providers to its platform as possible for the best user experience.
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Apple Researching How iPhones Can Monitor Parkinson’s Patients in Real Time
Apple is researching whether iPhone and Apple Watch can be used to “passively monitor data” from patients suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, according to Fast Company. Those with Parkinson’s often see their doctors every six months, leaving wide gaps between visits where symptoms could improve or worsen, putting some on the wrong dose of medication.
Stephen Friend, the Sage Bionetworks president and co-founder that joined Apple in June, is in charge of the research. Friend and, by extension, Sage, have been valuable partners for ResearchKit. The company is behind the Parkinson mPower study app, which lets people easily participate in the world’s “largest and most comprehensive” study on the disease.
Bay Area neurologist Diana Blum tells Fast Company that using phones to monitor patients could be an “important window” into the time between doctor’s visits. Apple is hoping that Friend’s research could help built an evidence base that proves the effectiveness of using mobile device to monitor patient symptoms.
Apple has worked on beefing up its ResearchKit team, most recently hiring Duke’s Dr. Ricky Bloomfield, who was on the forefront of implementing ResearchKit and HealthKit. One of Bloomfield’s research fields is autism, having created Autism Beyond. Other recent hires include Dr. Mike Evans, who will help Apple chart “the future of family medicine,” and Stanford’s Dr. Rajiv B. Kumar, who has used ResearchKit to help patients with diabetes.
Tags: HealthKit, ResearchKit, CareKit
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Mini’s first hybrid is an AWD Countryman with an electric mode
Mini has unveiled a hybrid all-wheel-drive Countryman S E at LA Auto Show.
Interestingly, the front wheels are powered by the gas engine, while the rear wheels are connected to the electric motor. The two powertrains push out 221 horsepower altogether, with the twin-turbo internal combustion engine outputting 134 horsepower and the rear motor 87. Mini said that the plug-in car will travel nearly 25 miles when in a pure electric mode. There’s no word on expected miles per gallon yet.
The vehicle offers “eDrive modes” that include electric, electric with the gas coming at high speed or fast acceleration, and gas-only for when the battery needs to be re-juiced. While most hybrids offer these type of modes for different situations and ranges, the entire platform is based on BMW’s all electric eDrive system, which powers the i3 and i8. It’ll also serve as the platform for an all-electric Mini expected to launch in 2019.
The new Countryman S E, which is Mini’s first hybrid, is eight inches longer and one inch wider than the current model, giving owners more cargo space, and it comes with the now-standard 6.5-inch display for navigation. There’s also a panorama sunroof, keyless entry, laser headlights, and fog lights. Mini said that 25 per cent of all Minis sold are Countrymans, so it makes sense that the company would take a stab at EVs with it.
Mini
We don’t know yet when the car will launch nor how much it will cost.
Rutgers professor forced to take psych evaluation over tweets
What you say online has consequences. An adjunct professor from Rutgers learned that this week after he was detained by police and forced to take a psych evaluation after asking his class a few hyperbolic questions and later posting versions of them to Twitter. According to the New York Daily News, last Wednesday Kevin Allred asked his class if conservatives would care as much about the Second Amendment if guns killed more white people. “In class, we talked about flag burning generally as a form of protest, and what does the flag mean to different people,” Allred told the publication.
Last night, police showed up at his Brooklyn apartment to take him to Bellevue Hospital for psychiatric evaluation. The cops told him that he could refuse going with them, and that he wasn’t under arrest, but if he refused he’d be taken by force. He wasn’t handcuffed, and rode to the hospital in an ambulance. Allred says the doctors couldn’t understand why he was there.
“The doctors were like, ‘This is ridiculous, why did they bring you here?’” he said. “And I said, ‘That’s what I thought, but they told me I had to do it.’”
she said politicians say much worse on live television with no repurcussions and they choose to waste resources bringing me in.
— Kevin Allred (@KevinAllred) November 16, 2016
In a statement, the NYPD said they were acting on a tip from Rutgers campus police that Allred threatened to “kill white people.” One of his tweets says that if he saw a Trump bumper sticker that his “brakes would go out and I’ll run you off the road.”
“”will the 2nd amendment be as cool when i buy a gun and start shooting atrandom [sic] white people or no…?” was the deleted tweet according to NBC New York.
“The Rutgers University Police Department responded to a complaint from a student and took all appropriate action,” the school told regional news site NJ.com. “We have no further comment.”
Rutgers said that the NYPD was sent because campus police hadn’t been able to get in touch with Allred. Allred said that he had no missed calls or emails from the school.
Allred’s Twitter account was subsequently suspended, and to get it reinstated, he had to delete the tweet regarding the Second Amendment.
and i didn’t want to delete it bc i stand by the fact it’s protected speech. but had to in order to get back on here. 😡
— Kevin Allred (@KevinAllred) November 16, 2016
Via: Gothamist
Source: Kevin Allred (Twitter), New York Daily News, NBC New York
Acura’s Precision Cockpit fuses AI and Android in your auto
Digital dials are great and all, but why not turn things up a notch? That’s exactly what Acura is doing with its Precision Cockpit, unveiled at the LA Auto Show today. More than just an in-car infotainment system, the concept includes cabin elements borrowed from the NSX (such as the seats and the steering wheel), which show us just how future Acura motors will look and feel inside, along with how we’ll interact with them. Acura’s calling it a “choreographed in-car experience” (of course) and it appears that experience includes some clever technology.
The centerpiece of the cockpit, for gadget fans, are the two 12.3-inch display panels. One squarely in your line of view where your dials would go, and the other located right above the central stack. The line-of-sight display is where you’ll find your virtual dials of course, but there’s so much more going on.
One of the most impressive features is the built-in 3D engine, that serves up images of adjacent cars, pedestrians and cyclists, even those obscured from view claims Acura, in real time. But why not just look out the window? Well the Precision Cockpit leverages a slew of onboard sensors and artificial intelligence to point out the projected path or paths of other road users, so you can get a heads up on if that cyclist coming from your right is about to cross your path. There’s not a lot of information on how accurate it is, or how it’s figuring it out, but if there’s a chance of it improving the safety of everyone, we’re all for it.
The central display is where you’ll find your more regular collection of infotainment options, similar to the panels you might find in other high end cars, such as the Mercedes S-Class (S65 etc.). That doesn’t mean there’s nothing new going on here, but Acura was most keen to talk about how you interact with it. This is where the “precision” in Precision Cockpit comes in.
In the central stack, right where you might expect to find a physical remote or a jog dial like you get in most premium vehicles, you’ll find a curved touchpad — a bit like on a laptop. The curved design gives your digits some form of “center” without looking, and the actual touchpad is mapped pixel to pixel with the central display. And, as everything has to have a fancy name, Acura is calling this “absolute positioning.” But in short, it just means top right on the touchpad is top right on the screen. Which is mostly what you’d hope for anyway?
It’s interesting to see a company plan ahead, not just for how it’s in-car interface, but also how it will interact with the other emerging technologies. Acura’s AcuraWatch suite of safety systems is already in many cars (70,000 according to the company), so it’s not hard to imagine how the Precision Cockpit’s use of artificial intelligence will bring a whole new layer to what’s possible. There are also hints at integrating autonomous, and semi-autonomous features with the user controls. But for now, we’re mostly left to do just that, as the Precision Cockpit isn’t likely to land in a car any time soon, with the company hedging it’s bets on a delivery date as “Starting in the next few years.”
‘Persona 5’ delays US release date to April 2017
The localized, English version of the highly anticipated JRPG Persona 5 just got an official release date. According to Atlus’s John Hardin, Persona 5 will land on PlayStation 4 and PS3 consoles in the US and the rest of the west on April 4th, 2017, with both the Japanese and English dubs available as a free DLC.
The dual audio support will arrive as a download “for logistical reasons,” Hardin said in his announcement, but Atlus has assured fans that it will be free in perpetuity on both the PS3 and PS4. “This was something we especially wanted to do for the Atlus Faithful,” Hardin wrote, “the ones who still appreciate our English dubs and respect all the effort we put into localizing.”
While that official release is still a solid four months off, American fans of the series can get a taste of the action with a playable Persona 5 demo at PlayStation Experience in Anaheim next month. Until then, you can watch other lucky players take it for a test run right this second on Atlus’s Twitch Channel.
Source: PlayStation Blog
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