Year: 2020

 Apple TV+ original kids slate honored with 2020 Parents’ Choice Awards

Apple Inc February 13, 2020 1

On January 31st, 2020, the Parents’ Choice Awards Advisory Board announced that Apple’s “Ghostwriter,” “Helpsters” and “Snoopy In Space” have been selected as 2020 Parents’ Choice Gold Award winners. All three series premiered globally on November 1, and are now streaming exclusively on Apple TV+.

“Helpsters” is called “positive, colorful, tuneful and educational,” by the Parents’ Choice Foundation. The live-action preschool series follows Cody and the Helpsters, a team of vibrant monsters who love to solve problems. From the makers of “Sesame Street,” the series is recommended for 3- to 5-year-olds. Preschoolers will discover the power of teamwork with the engaging and encouraging Helpsters, while absorbing important lessons in pre-coding skills, self-confidence, collaboration, effective communication, and much more. “Helpsters” is created by Emmy Award-winning and Parents’ Choice Gold Medal-winning Tim McKeon (“Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends: Destination Imagination,” “Odd Squad”), who is also showrunner of the series, and is executive produced by McKeon and creative executive Kay Wilson Stallings.

A re-imagining of Sesame Workshop’s 1992 series that the whole family can enjoy, Apple’s “Ghostwriter” is now a Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner. The Parents’ Choice Foundation hails that each episode will leave viewers “wanting more” and that each story illustrates “friendship, problem-solving, reading and family respect.” The series is executive produced by the multi-Emmy Award-winning Sinking Ship Entertainment (“Odd Squad,” “Endlings,” “Dino Dana”) and Emmy Award-nominated Andrew Orenstein (“Everyone Hates Chris,” “Malcolm in the Middle”); and directed by Academy Award-winning Luke Matheny (“God of Love,” “Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street,” “Here We Are”). “Ghostwriter" is recommended for 6- to 11-year-olds. Each episode story arc is grouped around literature, featuring classics and new works commissioned from popular authors like D.J. MacHale and Kwame Alexander.

Apple’s premiere series from its exclusive partnership with WildBrain, majority owner of Peanuts Worldwide, “Snoopy in Space” is a Parents’ Choice Gold Award-winning Apple original for kids that features astronaut Snoopy. In partnership with Peanuts Worldwide, the series is designed to inspire a passion for space exploration and STEM among the next generation of students. The Parents’ Choice Foundation notes in its review of the series that it "retains the charm of the earliest animated programs featuring Charles Schulz’s legendary Peanuts gang while also making the most of 21st century subject matter.”

In addition to the Parents’ Choice Awards, Apple’s Award-winning original kids series have received multiple honors to date, including a prestigious Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding for “Snoopy in Space,” as well as a Directors Guild Award for “Ghostwriter” director Luke Matheny.

The Parents’ Choice Foundation recognizes excellence in the entertainment and advertising industries by awarding its Seal of Approval. Established in 1978 as a 501c3, Parents’ Choice Foundation is the nation’s oldest nonprofit guide to quality children’s media and toys. Best known for the Parents’ Choice Awards program, the Parents’ Choice Award Seals are the Foundation’s internationally recognized and respected icons of quality.

Mobile World Congress 2020 Cancelled due to Coronavirus Outbreak

Dan Uff February 12, 2020 1

For the first time in its 33 year history, the company which holds an event called the Mobile World Congress has cancelled this year's event over concerns about the Coronavirus.

In early February, big-name attendees started to pull out of the event to prevent unnecessary risks to their staff due to the ongoing 2019 Coronavirus outbreak. Sony, Nokia, LG, Intel, Amazon, were among some of the first to cancel.

In a statement to Bloomberg News from John Hoffman, chief executive officer of conference organizer GSMA:

The global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak, travel concern and other circumstances, make it impossible.

Apple releases Swift Playground for Mac

CompuScoop Staff February 12, 2020 1

On Tuesday, released a Mac Catalyst-based app, Swift Playgrounds for Mac, which was built from the existing iPadOS Swift Playgrounds app.

According to the information:

Swift Playgrounds is a revolutionary app for Mac and iPad that makes it fun to learn and experiment with code. You solve interactive puzzles in the guided “Learn to Code” lessons to master the basics of coding, or experiment with a wide range of challenges that let you explore many unique coding experiences.

Swift Playgrounds requires no coding knowledge, so it’s perfect for students just starting out, from twelve to one-hundred-and-twelve. The whole time you are learning Swift, a powerful programming language created by Apple and used by professionals to build many of today’s most popular apps. Code you write works seamlessly as you move between Mac and iPad.

Lessons built-in
• Apple-created lessons guide you through the core concepts of programming by using code to solve puzzles
• See your code run in a beautiful, interactive 3D world that you can rotate and pinch to zoom using the trackpad
• Animations introduce each new coding concept at a high level before you dive into the puzzles
• Choose from three animated characters to carry out the steps of your code
• Glossary and built-in help pages give detailed information about available commands and frameworks

Explore and create
• Challenges offer many new opportunities for creativity by playing with game logic, music, and more
• Interactive coding shows the results of your code instantly, either beside the text or acted out in the live view
• Step through your code to highlight each line as it is run
• Use your own photos and images within a program to make it uniquely yours
• Starting points are a head start to create your own playgrounds that display graphics or chat with your Mac
• Create your own playgrounds from scratch to build something totally unique
• Reset any page to start over, or duplicate and rename any playground to try different ideas

Built for Mac
• Code suggestions let you write entire programs in just a few clicks of the mouse
• See help along side code suggestions to learn about the available commands
• Click and drag a brace to wrap a block of code inside a loop or conditional statement
• Drag and drop snippets of commonly-used code directly into your playground

Real Swift code
• Learn the same powerful Swift programming language used by the pros to create thousands of apps
• Take your Swift coding skills to the next level using Xcode to develop an app you publish on the App Store
• Access powerful frameworks such as SpriteKit for 2D games, SwiftUI for app interfaces, and more
• Use Bluetooth APIs to write programs that control robots and other real-world devices
• Concepts and skills you learn directly apply when writing real apps

Share
• Send your creations to friends and family using Messages, Mail, AirDrop, or other Share Sheet extensions
• Start a playground on your Mac, then open on your iPad using iCloud to continue the project

For more information, click here.

Siri will now answer your 2020 questions

CompuScoop Staff February 12, 2020 0

Apple News is now handling readers' 2020 election questions in a new way —with Siri.

In early February, Apple News gave readers the ability to reach out to Democratic nominees during a debate. The Apple News app allowed readers to directly email ABC's moderators for consideration.

Working with the Associated Press, Apple now allows users to ask Siri for information on the 2020 election.

Users will be able to ask general knowledge questions as well as those that require up to the minute information. For example, Siri will be able to tell you when a specific state primary is about to happen, as well as how a candidate performed in a primary or caucus.

Siri will speak the answer to the question, and when possible, will show a link to a corresponding Apple News article for further reading.

The feature has begun rolling out on February 11, so some users may not have it yet.

Apple had recently announced updates to its coverage of the 2020 US Presidential election alongside a guide to help readers guard against misinformation and seek out reliable news.

Apple News's coverage of the 2020 election is in the Today tab of the app, for users within the US who are also running iOS 13.3, iPadOS 13.3 or macOS 10.15.2.

Via: AppleInsider.com