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iPadOS 15 gets homescreen widgets, better multitasking

Can an iPad replace your Mac?

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Alongside iOS 15, watchOS 8, and macOS 15, Apple also unveiled its operating system for the iPad lineup — iPadOS 15. The new software update adds a tonne of new features that make the iPad a solid tool for work and play.

First off is a redesigned home screen that now supports widgets, just like iOS 14 did on the iPhone. There are also widgets for more apps than before, and they now come in different sizes than they did before. The new widgets for iPadOS include Find My, Contacts, Parcels, and Game Center.

The iPad is also getting the App Library, which is basically an App Drawer in Android’s glossary. It also sorts your apps into categories, so this is a good way to keep all your tools organized. The App Library is built right into the Dock, always a touch away.

The biggest addition for power users is an improved multitasking experience. The user can switch between Split View or Slide Over, and new shortcuts have been added to ensure switching between the two is seamless and instant.

In Split View, you can swipe down to replace an app with a new one for either side of the screen. It’ll also work with apps that have multiple windows. On the other hand, Slide Over display lets you access all open windows for any given app. This can come in handy when multiple Safari windows need to be dealt with in one go.

The Notes app now supports shared notes, so you can tag someone with an @, use hashtags to categorize, and see a timeline of all activities on the note. For those random note yet immediate note-taking moments, Quick Note can be summoned from the corner of the screen with the Apple Pencil.

Safari has received a major overhaul on all Apple’s operating systems, and the same extends to iPadOS. It now has a new minimal UI bar that puts tabs and the browser URL bar on the same row. The user can set up new tab groups, and there’s finally support for web extensions, just like macOS.

FaceTime has a variety of improvements, and the biggest of them is a feature called SharePlay that allows you to listen to songs together over Apple Music or watch TV shows in sync. It’s similar to last year’s Netflix Party but now deeply embedded within the Apple ecosystem.

Apple confirmed iPadOS 15 would be rolling out to compatible iPads in Fall 2021 — roughly around September or October.

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St. Peter reunited people with their deceased loved ones through tech

The new “If Heaven Could Write” campaign generates letters from the imagined perspectives of loved ones.

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Grieving can take many forms. Sometimes, it manifests through a desire to hear a loved one again. We look at their old clothing, a gust of wind, or a butterfly, and imagine them talking to us one more time. This year, St. Peter, through the power of technology, gave 11,000 people that chance through its new “If Heaven Could Write” campaign.

During St. Peter Deathcare Week, which ran from October 27 through November 2, the deathcare provider started the “If Heaven Could Write” campaign, an interactive digital experience that offered participants a chance to reunite with their deceased loved ones. It was available in 37 St. Peter Chapels and 76 cemeteries nationwide.

Upon scanning a QR code which took them to a portal, participants answered questions about their loved ones. Then, the portal generates a personal letter from the imagined perspective of the participant’s loved one, giving them one more chance to converse.

Of course, an imagined letter can’t replace someone who passed away. Still, the experience affords us a way to grieve and process the loss. No, the letter isn’t really from your loved one, but you can imagine what they would have said while reading through it. And sometimes, that’s all we need.

Though St. Peter Deathcare Week has already come and gone for the year, those interested can still participate in the campaign through its link.

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Next iPhone might get rid of the Action Button

Both functions will be in one button instead.

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In a world with a love-hate relationship with extra buttons on a phone, Apple has gone to the deeper end and included two buttons in the latest iPhones: the Action Button and the Camera Control. Next year, Apple might consolidate the two buttons into one, ridding itself of the Action Button.

According to a Weibo leak from Instant Digital, Apple will merge the two buttons starting with next year’s iPhones. Though technically a new button in itself, the merged version will, based on the leak, retain more Camera Control than the Action Button.

Of course, both functions can coexist in the same button. The Camera Control activates with a single press, while the Action Button needs a longer press. In the merged button, a single press can still open the camera and a longer press can activate whatever the user sets it to.

Both buttons have had a storied past. The Action Button came in 2023, replacing the Ring/Silent Switch. Meanwhile, the Camera Control debuted a year later, offering control over the camera with a capacitive button. The current iterations retain both buttons on the same phone.

Personally, as someone used to creating content, the Camera Control button is ultimately a boon to get those shots quickly while in the moment. Retaining that functionality is definitely worthwhile.

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NVIDIA CEO admits to having an affair with alleged Chinese spy

The company is currently investigating the allegations.

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In one of the craziest headlines this year, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has admitted to having an affair with an alleged Chinese spy.

Over the weekend, a heavy allegation claimed that the NVIDIA CEO had a relationship with a person actively involved in Chinese intelligence. Since Huang is involved in business globally, the accusation isn’t a light one. In fact, it’s serious enough that Huang admitted to the affair late this past Sunday.

In an internal letter reported by Associated Press, the CEO acknowledged the existence of the affair with a business executive. Of note, Huang did not confirm the executive’s ties to Chinese intelligence. NVIDIA, however, will conduct its own investigations regarding the allegations. Despite the allegations, Huang will remain as the company’s CEO. The company is also confident that the alleged spy did not compromise NVIDIA’s secrets.

According to The New York Times, the executive, Alice Huang, was reportedly feeding information back to Beijing, despite being an executive of the Singapore-based Megaspeed, which is already a serious customer of NVIDIA.

Now, NVIDIA is currently in a prime position when it comes to the industry today. Formerly a huge proponent of gaming peripherals, the company is now one of the biggest names in AI hardware, allotting a lot of its products for data centers. Huang’s allegations come at an interesting time.

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