Gadgets & Tech – Spoken Edition

It seemed like Apple completely reinvented the way we used iPads with the recent iPadOS 13 update that added support for trackpads and mice. But now iPadOS 14 is here. It’s not quite the overhaul that iPadOS 13 was, but the update adds a few useful features that could make it easier to get work done on your iPad. To start, an interface redesign puts puts navigation and organizational tools front and center in the apps you use most.

In an email, Amazon notified Dash Wand owners that it’s ending support for the device as of July 21. What’s that you say? You’ve never heard of the Dash Wand? Well, that’s hardly surprising. The first iteration of the gadget was introduced back in ye olde days of 2014. It was a lil wand thing with a barcode scanner and microphone, meaning you could scan your groceries or tell the stick to restock up what you were running low on. It got a quiet refresh in 2016.

Japan’s Riken institute has ripped through prior records on computing speed, with its brand-new Fugaku supercomputer performing 2.8 times more calculations per second in a biannual speed ranking than the previous record holder, the IBM system at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Summit, the Oak Ridge computer, is now second place.

Our big boy president has once again angered the mods, with Twitter flagging another one of his tweets for violating its rules.

Last week, Donald Trump tweeted, “There will never be an ‘Autonomous Zone’ in Washington, D.C., as long as I’m your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!” (The autonomous zone is a reference to a group of protesters against police brutality in Seattle who have occupied parts of the Capitol Hill neighborhood and declared it a cop-free area; local officials have described it as resembling a block party, while the right-wing media and Trump have played it up as an apocalyptic threat to national security organized by terrorists.)

Apple users will now be able to trade-in their old Macs in physical Apple Stores rather than having to use the company’s online system for these devices. An Apple representative confirmed the change to Gizmodo, and an updated FAQ on Apple’s trade-in hub now omits language that previously stated that the only exception to in-store trade-ins was Apple’s line of computers.

Video chat service Zoom will finally add end-to-end encryption to calls placed by users on the free version of its service, weeks after announcing it would only be available to premium users who shelled out for the privilege. In April, Zoom faced a shareholder lawsuit alleging that the service boasted it used true end-to-end encryption, which prevents malicious parties from intercepting the contents of a conversation unless they have access to one of the devices involved.

It’s been a rough few years for Olympus, and with smartphones cannibalizing the sales of pocket cams and Sony dominating the sales of high-end mirrorless cams, Olympus has decided to sell off its camera division and exit the camera game entirely. In a press release issued last week, Olympus says that following due diligence it will sell its imaging business to Japan Industrial Partners by September 30, 2020.

Apple’s super-stuffed developer’s presentation last week brought new announcements for wearables, an overhauled iOS interface, and a new macOS with the debut of Big Sur. But Apple dropped a bunch of updates coming to the Apple tech we use in our homes—a place we’re now spending more time than ever.

The big push here was the ease with which you can use multiple products with the least amount of trouble, as you might with features like Airplay to push a video from your phone to your Apple TV or using the Home app to control the various smart devices around your space. Apple says it has open-sourced HomeKit to prioritize privacy and ease of use, so that when you add a smart device and set it up through the iOS 14 Home app, it’ll automatically suggest various automation options.

Apple has long supported smart bulbs that can change to nifty colors. But with iOS 14, it’s adding something called Adaptive Lighting, which can be used to change the colors you see in specific rooms automatically based on your preference.

The company is also rolling out a beefed-up system for home security cameras that will let users specifically designate the zones they want to monitor while excluding activity outside of those zones. So, for example, you can opt to only be alerted about activity within that designated area. Another security measure being added is facial recognition for close contacts you’ve tagged in your photos.

This feature will extend to Apple’s own products as well. HomePod will alert you about who is at the door, while Apple TV will display a video overlay from your security camera in the corner of your streaming screen. The company said that all cameras connected with the Home app will be linked to tvOS 14 as well as supported through the control center.

Apple TV got a few exciting updates of its own in tvOS 14. Multi-user support is coming to Apple Arcade from the control center to pick up where you left off. The company has also announced coming support for Xbox Elite 2 and Xbox adaptive controllers for Apple Arcade. With picture-in-picture support on the way, Apple will also introduce AirPlay sessions.

As for news on the Apple TV+ front, well, the news was pretty slim (though it will be available on Sony and Vizio smart TVs later this year). But! We did get a trailer for the forthcoming Isaac Asimov sci-fi joint Foundation, which will arrive sometime in 2021.

On Tuesday, China launched the final satellite in its BeiDou Navigation Satellite (BDS) System, marking the completion of its homegrown GPS-esque navigation system. The project has been decades in the making. It began in the 1990s, and the first satellite launch was in October 2000, according to Space.com. BDS is currently one of four global navigations systems. The others are the U.S. government-run GPS, Russia’s GLONASS, and the European Union’s Galileo.

After releasing a line of new outdoor lights earlier this year, Philips Hue has returned with some new lights better suited for indoor use including an updated Lightstrip Plus and Hue Bloom lamp, along with a new 1600 lumen bulb which is now the brightest smart light out of Hue’s entire portfolio.