Tech

Apple Watch sleep apnea detection now available in Australia.

Following approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Apple has enabled sleep apnea detection notifications for some devices. The feature is supported by the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 and Ultra 2.

From Apple's support document:

If over a 30-day period you receive more frequent elevated breathing disturbances, you receive a notification of possible sleep apnea.

Emperor's New Clothes: Jack Dorsey Edition.

In another edition of 'The Emperor's New Clothes' in Silicon Valley, today we have a new app from genius founder Jack Dorsey.

Following on from Bitchat - which uses Bluetooth to allow for close-proximity chatrooms, Dorsey has now invented a "Sun Day Tracker" app.

From The Verge:

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has released a new app that tracks your sun exposure and vitamin D levels.

[...]

You can detail your skin type and clothing level, then manually toggle when you’re in and out of the sun and the app will track your rough vitamin D levels for the day, along with how long you can be in direct sunlight without burning.

In the same way that I don't understand AI music (we already have so much real music that it's impossible to listen to it all), now we have vibe-coded apps that...are just apps with extremely limited utility. If you have to manually toggle it every time you go outside, and then trust that the calculations are correct, how accurate could this possibly be?

Maybe it's just the Southern Hemisphere Winter getting to me.

Max launches in Australia March 31, putting Binge in limbo.

There's a a big shake up coming for Foxtel, specifically Foxtel's Binge. Another streaming platform is launching in Australia, with Warner Bros. Discovery today announcing the local launch date for Max. The service will start March 31, but other details are still a little unclear. Previously known as HBO Max, but also confusingly hosting both HBO Originals and Max Originals, the service has been available in the US since 2020.

It looks like the service will launch with exclusive access to HBO programming, as well as other Warner Bros. Discovery properties. Which does might put Binge in a bit of limbo, if we're reading this literally.

Via Whistleout:

A spokesperson for WBD confirmed to WhistleOut that new Warner Bros. and HBO content won't premiere on Binge. Hubbl has started bringing some live and on-demand Kayo Sports over to Binge to add value to the service. 
WhistleOut has reached out to Foxtel for comment on what will happen to the existing catalogue of HBO content on Binge. 

And from the press release:

As the home of HBO Originals and Max Originals, Max will offer fans culture-defining series including returning seasons of The Last of Us, And Just Like That..., House of the Dragon, Euphoria and Peacemaker as well as highly anticipated new shows such as It: Welcome to Derry and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, from the world of Game of Thrones.  
 
Subscribers will also be able to enjoy recently released theatrical hits from Warner Bros. Pictures, including blockbusters from the last few years such as Barbie, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice and Twisters, alongside treasured franchises including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and the DC Universe. Coupled with all-time fan-favourites including Friends, The Big Bang Theory and Rick and Morty, best-in-class real-life stories across food, home, lifestyle and factual like 90 Day Fiancé and Outback Opal Hunters, as well as family viewing such as Ben 10 and We Bare Bears, Max promises to set the bar for consistently captivating, craveable entertainment.
In addition, WBD also announced a launch partnership with Foxtel, providing Foxtel subscribers with access to the Max app at no additional cost.*
*Requires a compatible Foxtel IQ box. Some customers will need to upgrade their box. Included Max plan is Basic with Ads.

Developing...

The Verge introduces metered paywall.

Update: The paywall has launched. Via Semafor:

Editor-in-chief Nilay Patel told Semafor that the move was intended to drive additional revenue and insulate The Verge from changes made by social media platforms[...]
“I think it’s a tragedy that garbage is free and news is behind paywalls. I don’t want to make that worse,” Patel said. “I think that The Verge homepage and our news coverage serves a central utility function in our ecosystem.”

The website also hints at future integrations with ActivityPub and Bluesky in an effort to take the focus away from SEO and social-media traffic and make The Verge homepage a platform of its own.

Early benefits include unlimited access to posts, such as paywalled newsletters and metered product reviews and features, limited ads on all Verge content and a physical limited edition magazine. Also the original decentralised solution, RSS, is available to subscribers, with unabridged posts available through RSS readers.

Original post:

According to Semafor, Vox Media's technology website The Verge is going behind a paywall. Some content will remain free:

Beginning this week, the Verge will charge $7/month or $50/year for comprehensive access to the site as well as the already-paywalled newsletters Command Line and Notepad.
Some content and the publication’s homepage, which was redesigned in 2022 to resemble a social feed, will remain free. The Verge is Vox Media’s third major subscription push behind New York and Vox, which launched a membership program earlier this year.

Everything old is new again at Vox Media, which will also be introducing an app for its publication New York Magazine, focused on digital NY Mag subscribers:

It will be the magazine’s second crack at a mobile app; New York first launched an iPhone app in 2016. 
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