Year: 2018

Yet another story of an Apple Watch saving a life

CompuScoop Staff August 2, 2018 1

In another case of the Apple Watch detecting a medical condition, an Australian man says the Watch alerted him to his elevated heart rate, leading to fast enough intervention to save his life.

According to 9 News in Australia, 24-year-old college student Adam Love received notifications on his Apple Watch that his sleeping heart rate had reached between 130 and 140 beats per minute. Alarmed, Love visited a doctor.

The visit culminated in Love being diagnosed with a hole in his heart, a serious condition that he had had since birth and had been missed to that point. During the examination that was prompted by the Apple Watch data, the doctors also discovered that the man's circulatory system was delivering aerated blood to the wrong location.

The Apple Watch wasn't the only new technology that helped save Love's life. His subsequent heart surgery was performed via a keyhole incision, which was patched up by a daVinci 3D robot, allowing Love —who happens to study robotics —a much faster recovery.

Watches save lives

Love's is at least the fourth story to make the news rounds this year of the Apple Watch spotting a condition or otherwise playing a role in rescuing a user from a calamitous health emergency.

A woman and child were saved from a car accident after the activation of the Emergency SOS feature. The heart rate monitor helped lead to the diagnosis of a Florida teenager's kidney disease, while the same thing happened with a man's ruptured ulcer that same month. And a Hong Kong man's heart condition was spotted by the Apple Watch this past spring.

In some of those cases, including Love's, the life-saving properties have caused the users to declare themselves Apple Watch fans for life. Apple has not used any of these stories in advertising, although CEO Tim Cook has made personal phone calls to at least some of the users.

Via: AppleInsider.com

iOS 12: How to send handwriting feedback in Notes

Dan Uff August 1, 2018 2

Starting with iOS 12, users of the notes app will be able to send feedback about the handwriting feature when using the app.

Here's how:

1. Open Apple Notes as normal.

2. Tap a note with handwriting.

3. Tap the SHARE icon (upper-right corner).

4. In the bottom list is an option to send Handwriting Feedback.

5. When you're done, tap SUBMIT to send the feedback to Apple.

Doing the above is said to help improve the algorithms (or sometimes called machine learning) that interprets handwriting.

Apple Reports 3rd Quarter Results

Dan Uff July 31, 2018 2

Revenue Up 17 Percent and EPS Up 40 Percent to New June Quarter Records

Services Revenue Reaches New All-Time High

Cupertino, California — July 31, 2018 — Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2018 third quarter ended June 30, 2018. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $53.3 billion, an increase of 17 percent from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.34, up 40 percent. International sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

“We’re thrilled to report Apple’s best June quarter ever, and our fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Our Q3 results were driven by continued strong sales of iPhone, Services and Wearables, and we are very excited about the products and services in our pipeline.”

“Our strong business performance drove revenue growth in each of our geographic segments, net income of $11.5 billion, and operating cash flow of $14.5 billion,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “We returned almost $25 billion to investors through our capital return program during the quarter, including $20 billion in share repurchases.”

Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2018 fourth quarter:

revenue between $60 billion and $62 billion

gross margin between 38 percent and 38.5 percent

operating expenses between $7.95 billion and $8.05 billion

other income/(expense) of $300 million

tax rate of approximately 15 percent before discrete items

Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.73 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on August 16, 2018 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 13, 2018.

Apple will provide live streaming of its Q3 2018 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PDT on July 31, 2018 at www.apple.com/investor/earnings-call/. This webcast will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.

View PDFs at apple.com

This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include without limitation those about the Company’s estimated revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, other income/(expense), tax rate, and plans for return of capital. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation: the effect of global and regional economic conditions on the Company's business, including effects on purchasing decisions by consumers and businesses; the ability of the Company to compete in markets that are highly competitive and subject to rapid technological change; the ability of the Company to manage frequent product introductions and transitions, including delivering to the marketplace, and stimulating customer demand for, new products, services and technological innovations on a timely basis; the effect that product introductions and transitions, changes in product pricing and product mix, and increases in component and other costs could have on the Company’s gross margin; the dependency of the Company on the performance of distributors of the Company's products, including cellular network carriers and other resellers; the inventory and other asset risks associated with the Company’s need to order, or commit to order, product components in advance of customer orders; the continued availability on acceptable terms, or at all, of certain components, services and new technologies essential to the Company's business, including components and technologies that may only be available from sole or limited sources; the dependency of the Company on manufacturing and logistics services provided by third parties, many of which are located outside of the US and which may affect the quality, quantity or cost of products manufactured or services rendered to the Company; the effect of product and services design and manufacturing defects on the Company’s financial performance and reputation; the dependency of the Company on third-party intellectual property and digital content, which may not be available to the Company on commercially reasonable terms or at all; the dependency of the Company on support from third-party software developers to develop and maintain software applications and services for the Company’s products; the impact of unfavorable legal proceedings, such as a potential finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others; the impact of changes to laws and regulations that affect the Company’s activities, including the Company’s ability to offer products or services to customers in different regions; the ability of the Company to manage risks associated with its international activities, including complying with laws and regulations affecting the Company’s international operations; the ability of the Company to manage risks associated with the Company’s retail stores; the ability of the Company to manage risks associated with the Company’s investments in new business strategies and acquisitions; the impact on the Company's business and reputation from information technology system failures, network disruptions or losses or unauthorized access to, or release of, confidential information; the ability of the Company to comply with laws and regulations regarding data protection; the continued service and availability of key executives and employees; political events, international trade disputes, war, terrorism, public health issues, natural disasters, and other business interruptions that could disrupt supply or delivery of, or demand for, the Company’s products; financial risks, including risks relating to currency fluctuations, credit risks and fluctuations in the market value of the Company’s investment portfolio; and changes in tax rates and exposure to additional tax liabilities. More information on these risks and other potential factors that could affect the Company’s financial results is included in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the Company’s most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and subsequent filings. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

Press Contact

Josh Rosenstock

Apple

jrosenstock@apple.com

(408) 862-1142

Investor Relations Contacts

Nancy Paxton

Apple

paxton1@apple.com

(408) 974-5420

Matt Blake

Apple

mattblake@apple.com

(408) 974-7406

Company Agrees to Ban 3D Printed Guns in Pennsylvania, USA

CompuScoop Staff July 30, 2018 2

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- State officials say they've stopped a company that makes 3D downloadable gunsfrom making them internet-accessible in Pennsylvania and from uploading new files.

Attorney Gen. Josh Shapiro says Texas-based pro-gun group Defense Distributed agreed to block Pennsylvania users after an emergency hearing Sunday night in federal court in Philadelphia.

Shapiro says he, Gov. Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania State Police sued the company before its formal rollout of a downloadable gun program Wednesday.

He says the company said in court it actually began distributing gun files Friday and by Sunday, 1,000 people had downloaded 3D plans for AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifles.

Wolf says untraceable guns in the hands of unknown users "is too daunting to stand by and not take action."

CBS Philadelphia reportsShapiro said, "The harm to Pennsylvanians would have been immediate and irreversible. Defense Distributed was promising to distribute guns in Pennsylvania in reckless disregard of the state laws that apply to gun sales and purchases in our Commonwealth. Once these untraceable guns are on our streets and in our schools, we can never get them back.

"The decision tonight to block Pennsylvania users from downloading these 3D gun files is a victory for public safety and common sense."

A settlement between the State Department and Defense Distributed is allowing the release of plans for guns online.

The settlement followed a long legal battle between self-described anarchist Cody Wilson, 30, Defense Distributor's founder, and the department.

The State Department demanded Wilson take down his blueprints five years ago. He complied, but fired back with a lawsuit, citing "free speech" rights.

After a legal battle, the settlement was recently reached. Starting Wednesday, the State Department will allow Wilson to start posting his 3D gun blueprints on his website.

"What I'm opposed to is technology unchecked," said David Chipman, a retired Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agent. He says 3D-printed guns present a real and present danger because they're both unregulated and untraceable.

"We are basically handing the keys to the store to terrorists and armed criminals," he said.

Via: CBS News / Associated Press