Friday, September 6, 2019

Deals Spotlight: 2019 MacBook Pro Discounted by as Much as $400 (Including Lowest Prices Ever)

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New sales for the brand-new 2019 MacBook Pro have emerged this week, with some all-time-low prices on a few different models. Discounts have hit both the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro, and reach as much as $400 off.

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Notable new low prices include the 13-inch MacBook Pro (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) for $1,599.99, down from $1,799.99; and the 15-inch model (16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) for $2,399.00, down from $2,799.00. These sales and more can be found on Amazon and are all listed below:

2019 MacBook Pro Sale


13-inch


15-inch

Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

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Apple Working on Siri Feature Allowing Back-and-Forth Conversations About Health Problems

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Apple is working on a new Siri feature for release by iOS 14 in fall 2021 that will allow users to have a back-and-forth conversation about health problems, according to internal documentation obtained by The Guardian.


The report does not offer any further details about the feature, but Siri will presumably become more capable of responding to physical and possibly mental health questions. Apple CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly said that Apple's health-related initiatives will be the company's "greatest contribution to mankind."

Apple has increased its presence in the health and fitness space over the past few years. In 2018, for example, it launched an ECG app for the Apple Watch that can detect signs of atrial fibrillation, a condition that can lead to potentially life-threatening complications such as stroke and cardiac arrest.

Also in 2018, Apple rolled out Health Records, a feature that allows patients to view medical records from multiple hospitals and clinics directly in the Health app on the iPhone, including allergies, vital signs, conditions, immunizations, lab results, medications, procedures, and other information.

Apple's internal documentation, which The Guardian obtained from a former Siri grader, also reveals the company's efforts to ensure that Siri responds as neutrally as possible to sensitive topics such as feminism:
In explaining why the service should deflect questions about feminism, Apple's guidelines explain that "Siri should be guarded when dealing with potentially controversial content." When questions are directed at Siri, "they can be deflected … however, care must be taken here to be neutral".

For those feminism-related questions where Siri does not reply with deflections about "treating humans equally", the document suggests the best outcome should be neutrally presenting the "feminism" entry in Siri's "knowledge graph", which pulls information from Wikipedia and the iPhone's dictionary.
In a statement, Apple said it aims for Siri to be "factual with inclusive responses rather than offer opinions":
Siri is a digital assistant designed to help users get things done. The team works hard to ensure Siri responses are relevant to all customers. Our approach is to be factual with inclusive responses rather than offer opinions.




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Sphero Launches New Sphero Mini Activity Kit and Mini Soccer

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Sphero today announced the launch of two new versions of its popular Sphero Mini robotic ball, debuting a new soccer-themed Sphero Mini along with an activity kit.

The Sphero Mini Activity Kit combines a clear Sphero Mini robotic ball along with several accessories. The Sphero Mini itself is equipped with a gyroscope, accelerometer, LED lights, and a rechargeable battery, and it can be used with the Sphero Play and Sphero Edu apps to play mini games, access drive modes, and more. The kit offers buildable mazes and tunnels, pins and cones, plus 15 Activity Cards to work with.


There are guided activities included on Activity Cards that can be used with the Sphero Play app, and the app is also gaining a new Block Drive mode. Block Drive mode offers an introduction to basic coding. Movement blocks instruct the Sphero Mini where to go, while Light Blocks add LED effects.


For more advanced users, there's the Sphero Edu app for programming the Mini to learn additional coding skills.

Sphero is also introducing the Mini Soccer, which is a Sphero Mini with a custom black and white shell that looks like a soccer ball. It comes with eight cones for creative challenges and it can be used with the Sphero Play and Sphero Edu apps.


The Sphero Mini Activity Kit will be priced at $80 and it is set to launch on October 2, while the Mini Soccer will be priced at $50 and will launch on September 16. The new Sphero devices will be available from the Sphero website and through other retailers.

Tag: Sphero

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Southwest Airlines Mobile App Gains Apple Pay Support

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Southwest Airlines has added Apple Pay support to its mobile app, enabling customers to pay for tickets, in-flight meals, baggage options, and other ancillary services using Apple's mobile wallet.


As an alternative payment method to debit and credit cards, Apple Pay offers more security by allowing customers to make transactions without storing their payment details in another commercial database.

In a press release announcing the support, Southwest said the airline's new Apple Pay integration would enable users to "purchase tickets from the carrier's app – with Apple Card if they so choose – and store it in the Wallet for redemption at the gate."
"Providing modern digital payment solutions to our Customers is critical," said Christopher Priebe, Director, Treasury, Payments and Risk at Southwest Airlines. "The launch of Apple Pay enhances our ability to sell flights, as well as ancillary products using one of the most widely-used digital wallets in North America."
The Apple Pay integration is the result of a partnership agreement with Southwest Airlines and digital commerce provider, CellPoint Digital, with help from airline-owned payment network UATP.

The partnership allows airlines to deploy new payment methods quickly using, including major global wallets like Apple Pay, Visa Checkout, WeChat Pay, Alipay, Google Pay or Pay Tm, along with bank transfer, installments and cash-based payment options.


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Thursday, September 5, 2019

Chandrayaan 2: Here’s Why It Is India’s Most Ambitious Space Mission


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ASUS Chromebook C425 Unboxing and Hands-On [VIDEO]


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Joseph Gordon-Levitt Developing 'Mr. Corman' TV Show for Apple

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Apple has inked a deal for an upcoming TV series called "Mr. Corman" written and executive produced by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, reports Variety.

The drama series follows an elementary school teacher "grappling with adulthood" in Los Angeles. It's not known if Gordon-Levitt also plans to star in the series.


Joseph Gordon-Levitt is known long-running TV series "3rd Rock from the Sun" along with movies like "500 Days of Summer," "Inception," "50/50," "Looper," "and "The Dark Knight Rises."

Apple has dozens of original films and television shows in the works for its upcoming Apple TV+ streaming service, which is set to launch this fall.

There's no specific launch date available yet, but rumors suggest Apple is aiming to debut the service in November. Pricing is also unclear, but there has been speculation that Apple will charge $9.99 per month for Apple TV+.


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