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Apple to ship 1 million face masks a week for health care workers

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Apple is going to design and produce millions of face shields for health care workers as part of its effort to help the workers battling coronavirus in the United States.

“We’ve launched a company-wide effort bringing together product designers, engineering, operations, and packing teams and our suppliers, to design, produce, and ship face shields for health workers,” CEO Tim Cook explained in a video posted to Twitter.

Previously, the tech giant announced that it had secured 10 million masks for medical workers. Apple debuted a new COVID-19 website and app not long after that.

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Cook also said that one shipment has been delivered to Kaiser hospital facilities in California’s Santa Clara valley and that the company expects to make one million face masks by the end of the week and just as many each following week.

Initially, this effort will be for U.S. health care workers, but Apple hopes to expand it enough to aid workers in other countries impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The tech executive ended his video statement by encouraging people to follow local guidelines to shelter in place and maintain social distancing to slow the spread of the virus.

APPLE SECURES 10 MILLION MASKS FOR US HEALTH CARE WORKERS

As of Monday afternoon, there are more than 1.3 million cases of coronavirus worldwide; of those, 356,942 are in the United States.

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Coronavirus pandemic forces HHS to allow Apple FaceTime, Zoom, other apps for telehealth services

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With the coronavirus pandemic upending everyday life, the Dept. of Health and Human Services has made the extraordinary announcement to allow video chat apps such as Apple’s FaceTime and Zoom for medical consultations.

“During the COVID-19 national emergency, which also constitutes a nationwide public health emergency, covered health care providers subject to the HIPAA Rules may seek to communicate with patients, and provide telehealth services, through remote communications technologies,” the HHS wrote in an announcement on its website.

Also included on the list are Facebook Messenger video chat, Google Hangouts and Microsoft’s Skype.

In this photo illustration the American video Communications company Zoom logo seen displayed on a smartphone with a computer model of the COVID-19 coronavirus on the background.
(Photo Illustration by Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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Using these programs brings privacy concerns and the issue they may not be “fully compliant” with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). However, the HHS added that providers should notify patients there are privacy risks with these apps, while noting “providers should enable all available encryption and privacy modes when using such applications.”

Several video chat apps, including Facebook Live, Twitch and TikTok, as well as “similar video communication applications,” are not available for use in telehealth, the HHS added.

According to Teladoc, a telehealth company, demand for telehealth and telemedicine services are rising rapidly, as patient visit volume recently spiked 50 percent week-over-week in the week ending March 14.

Traditionally, the HHS has not allowed these types of apps for telehealth for care decisions, primarily because of privacy concerns. Instead, Epic medical software has been used, but the pandemic has significantly altered that for the time being.

“The traditional health care system simply does not have the capacity to address a worst-case scenario when it comes to the coronavirus,” Dr. Mark Smith, professor of clinical medicine at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and member of the Teladoc Health board of directors, said in a statement.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently recommended using telemedicine to evaluate suspected cases of COVID-19 disease, “thus minimizing the need for these individuals to go to health care facilities for evaluation.”

On March 17, the Trump administration announced what it called “unprecedented steps” to expand Americans’ access to telehealth and telemedicine services during the COVID-19 outbreak.

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As of Wednesday morning, at least 874,000 coronavirus cases have been diagnosed worldwide, 189,633 of which are in the U.S. The disease has accounted for at least 43,291 deaths around the world, including at least 4,000 people in the U.S.

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Fox News’ Brooke Crothers contributed to this story.

Kurt ‘The CyberGuy’ Knutsson explains how technology can help in fight against coronavirus

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Siri can now answer your COVID-19 questions

Apple phone users can ask Siri, the voice assistant, to identify any coronavirus symptoms and receive guidance on the infectious disease; The CyberGuy Kurt Knutsson joins ‘Fox and Friends.’

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Feeling worried about coronavirus? Want to know how much you and your family will receive from the more than $2 trillion economic relief bill President Trump signed on Friday? Kurt “The CyberGuy” Knutsson has the tools to answer your questions.

Appearing on “Fox & Friends Weekend” with host Jedediah Bila, Knutsson said Saturday that Apple’s Siri could aid in the effort to diagnose potential COVID-19 patients and direct them to important information.

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“First of all, you have got Siri that you just talked about where, if you just ask, ‘Hey, how would I know if I have coronavirus?’ you’re going to be taken through those steps that are guided by information provided by the CDC,” he remarked.

“Now this is an effort from, actually the White House. Apple reached out to the White House and to the CDC and asked them, ‘How can we be of help?'” Knutsson stated further.

In addition, just hours ago, Apple launched a free app called COVID-19 to help screen for prospective new cases with step-by-step guidance.

“So, it will guide you: ‘What kind of symptoms are you feeling?’ And then, it will offer you guidance as [to] whether you should call your medical provider or should you call 911…if you have extreme symptoms, inside of that,” Knutsson explained.

“Apple says they’re going to continue to update this app. Because, I asked a question, you know, it makes sense it would evolve to, ‘is this going to be, eventually, the app we are talking about where we would be able to find out how to find a test near my house and if I qualify to get one?” he asked. “And so, we are not talking about any of that stuff, but it is evolving.”

Lastly, Knutsson told Bila about a free online stimulus calculator that will provide individualized information in relation to how much each person or family will receive from the U.S. Treasury during a time when businesses are shuttered.

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“You enter in your — essentially what you earned last year, whether you do or don’t have kids, whether you are single or married, and it’s going to formulate how much you should receive,” Knutsson noted. “You know the maximum now is $1,200 for a single person, $2,400 for a married couple…and $500 per child.”

“Now, that gets reduced if you make a lot of money. So, put in those figures. You will find out how much you are going to get and in three weeks we are supposed to see that through the online bank that you electronically pay your taxes with,” he concluded. “If you haven’t done that in the past, then…the Department of the Treasury is going to mail you a check rather than send it electronically.”

Apple announces new coronavirus app and website

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Apple on Friday announced a new COVID-19 app and website to help people stay informed and stay healthy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The app and website allow users to answer a series of questions around risk factors, recent exposure and symptoms for themselves or a loved one, and then receive guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about possible next steps.

In a statement released by Apple, the company emphasized that the screening tool is designed to be a resource but that it does not replace instructions from health care providers or guidance government officials.

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The new app and website offer resources to provide useful support and information to people about the coronavirus pandemic, including answers to common questions about risk factors and symptoms, as well as CDC guidance on washing hands and cleaning surfaces.

The COVID-19 app and website do not require a sign-in or association with a user’s Apple ID, and the tech giant says that individual responses will not be sent to Apple or any government organization.

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Apple, Facebook donating millions of masks to health care workers at risk during coronavirus pandemic

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Silicon Valley giants like Facebook and Apple are pledging to help in the worldwide battle against coronavirus by donating millions of masks so that health care workers can remain protected.

In a tweet over the weekend, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company would be donating the masks to health workers in Europe and the United States.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Sunday post that his firm will donate 720,000 masks, while also looking to help purchase more that could be donated.

“Health workers urgently need more protective gear,” Zuckerberg said in the post. “To help, Facebook donated our emergency reserve of 720,000 masks that we had bought in case the wildfires continued. We’re also working on sourcing millions of more to donate. I hope you’re all staying healthy and safe!”

As Reuters reports, the U.S., along with other countries, has seen a surge in demand for respirator masks caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Numerous state officials have said that the federal government is not moving fast enough to help with fulfilling the overwhelming need.

5 ways tech can help you stay sane while you stay home

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I can’t stop thinking that I am in the middle of a thriller about a sinister virus that causes a global pandemic. But this is no made-for-Hollywood screenplay. It’s a real catastrophe.

Many people are dealing with frustrating tech challenges while trying to find a new normal. You can Google anything; it’s just that you never know if the search results are legit. That’s why I am giving anyone who needs tech help a free 90-day trial to my Komando Community.

Whether it’s an issue you’re having trouble with working remotely or trying to figure something out, you can leave questions on our forum for myself and a team of experts to answer. You’ll also be able to listen to my most recent national radio show and have access to the past three months of shows. Once your free trial expires, the service costs $4.99 per month. Tap or click here to get your free 90-day trial. Use discount code Kim when setting up your profile.

Tech will do wonders to bring back some semblance of your previous life. Let me show you how you can use certain apps, sites, and tools.

Reach out and see someone

To flatten the curve, we’re all staying home. This drastic change is tough, especially for close-knit families and people accustomed to working as a team. Remember, a text is nice but seeing someone’s face takes communication to a different level.

If you have an Apple device, there’s FaceTime. It’s straightforward to use. Simply select your contact’s phone number or Apple ID and then Video. You can connect to up to 32 people at once. The bummer is that it only works with other Apple devices.

For times when everyone is not in the Apple camp, there are options. Microsoft’s Skype has been synonymous with video calling for many years and supports calls up to 10 people. It’s simple to set up and works on Mac, Windows, Android, and even some Linux machines.

Google Duo works on Android and iOS devices and supports calls up to eight people. Know that it has a feature called Knock Knock. When you make a call, the person you’re calling sees a live video preview of you before they answer the call—just something to keep in mind.

Facebook Messenger works well because probably everyone you know is already on Facebook. You can group video chat up to six people. But, 50 more people can listen in on the call and send emojis, GIFs, and stickers during the call. In the Messenger app, tap Groups to get started.

You’ll find the apps above in Apple’s App Store or Google Play. Since the kids are home, schedule regular daily or weekly calls with any elderly family members, friends, and neighbors. If you’re working from home, have a morning video call with your team members to start the day and maybe another one later on.

Related: Stay up-to-date on the Coronavirus with my free newsletter. No ads. Just news. Tap or click here to get The Current.

Get in shape for free

Many fitness companies are responding to the Coronavirus with freebies to help get or keep you in shape while home. The megahit Peloton is offering a 90-day free trial to their at-home workout app that includes yoga, HIIT, stretching, and best of all, no bike required. Gold’s Gym has over 600 audio and video workouts in their Amp app. It’s free until May 31, 2020.

Planet Fitness is streaming classes live on Facebook every day at 7 p.m. ET. If you’re a morning person, Blink Fitness streams live on Facebook at 8 a.m. ET.

Play games virtually together

Instead of firing up a game to play by yourself, break out of your shell. Truly, there are multiplayer games for everyone from Fortnite, Monopoly to Words with Friends. Ask your friends to name a game they like and start playing with them. Or check the charts in Apple’s App Store or Google Play for inspiration.

I play Scrabble on my phone with my family. You can play with up to three people using the app or online at Pogo.com. Promise that you will not use any of the Scrabble Word Finder sites because that would be cheating. These little gems let you enter up to 12 letters to come up with possible words.

Expand your horizons

Maybe you’re like me. With all this time at home, I’ve finally cleaned out my office, twice. I’m ready for stimulation. Here, the internet is a true goldmine, whether you want to learn a new skill or you’re ready to branch out to a different career.

CodeAcademy is the place for you to learn software development along with HTML, Javascript, Python, Ruby on Rails, and CSS for free. But if you’ve ever wanted to take a class at Yale, Stanford, MIT, or Harvard, check out OpenCulture. You’ll find free on-demand audio and video courses from the world’s leading universities.

For all those times you couldn’t remember why something was the way it was or how to solve a math problem, every parent in the world should know about Khan Academy. It’s a good place to brush up on anything that you needed to know in school.

There are also several subscription-based learning sites. LinkedIn Learning offers thousands of classes in business, design, tech, web development, and more for $19.99 per month. Udemy is a similar site that offers a more diverse range in business and hobby classes. You pay by the class, usually under $20.

MasterClass is different in that they offer over 80 classes from names you know for $15 per month. Wolfgang Puck will teach you how to cook, Neil deGrasse Tyson will bestow his knowledge of Scientific Thinking and Communication, or have Bob Iger give you tips on Business Strategy and Leadership. Regrettably, even though Christina Aquilera offers singing lessons, I know that’s not for me.

Keep in touch

Why watch Netflix alone when you can have a Netflix Party? After you install the Chrome Extension, play the video you’d like to watch with friends. Click “Start Party” and share the party URL to invite friends. The video is synced with your friend’s devices, and a chat box lets you all talk about the movie, or whatever, in real-time.

To stay sane, some people are using video chats that I mentioned earlier to digitally hangout with friends for after-work happy hours, birthday parties, and poker games. It’s a great way to beat self-isolation and take your mind off everything.

Remember, we need social interaction for our health. So stay home and use tech to stay sane.

What digital lifestyle questions do you have? Call Kim’s national radio show and tap or click here to find it on your local radio station. You can listen to The Kim Komando Show on your phone, tablet, television or computer. Or tap or click here for Kim’s free podcasts.

Copyright 2020, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved.

Learn about all the latest technology on The Kim Komando Show, the nation’s largest weekend radio talk show. Kim takes calls and dispenses advice on today’s digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. For her daily tips, free newsletters and more, visit her website at Komando.com.

Apple announces new Macs and iPad Pro with a camera for scanning real-world objects

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Apple announced a bevy of new products on Wednesday, including a cheaper MacBook Air and a new iPad Pro that has the capability of scanning real-world objects.

The new iPad Pro, which will come in an 11-inch and 12.9-inch model, comes with a LiDAR scanner in its camera system that can be used to measure the distance of objects in the room, the tech giant said. It will utilize Apple’s new A12Z Bionic chip.

“The new iPad Pro introduces advanced technologies never before available in mobile computing,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, in the release. “Combining the most advanced mobile display with powerful performance, pro cameras, pro audio, the breakthrough LiDAR Scanner and new Magic Keyboard with Trackpad, this is another huge leap forward for iPad. There’s no other device in the world like the new iPad Pro and we think our customers are going to love it.”

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The LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) will combine depth points from the scanner, data from both the cameras and motion sensors to give a “more detailed understanding of a scene” and “a whole new class” of augmented reality experiences, Apple said in its release.

LiDAR is also used extensively in other applications including autonomous cars, where it allows vehicles to have a continuous 360 degrees view.

The new iPad Pro tablets have up to 10 hours of battery life, new additional cameras used for 4K video recording and an ultra-wide-angle lens that allows users to zoom. The 128GB 11-inch and 12.9-inch models start at $799 and $999, respectively.

In addition, Apple announced a new keyboard accessory that lets people use the iPad Pro with a laptop-style trackpad, a Magic Keyboard. It will start at $299 for the 11-inch iPad and $349 for the 12.9-version. It will be available in conjunction with iOS 13.4, which is available for download on March 24.

Apple also unveiled a redesigned MacBook Air. The new laptop starts at $999 for a 256GB model, compared to previous models that started at 128GB.

“From students and consumers buying their first computer to customers looking to upgrade, everyone loves the Mac, and they especially love MacBook Air. Today we’re giving it a huge update, with two times faster performance, the new Magic Keyboard, double the storage, a new lower price of $999 and an even lower price of $899 for education,” said Tom Boger, Apple’s senior director of Mac and iPad Product Marketing, in a separate release. “With its stunning, thin and light design, brilliant Retina display, all-day battery life and the power and ease-of-use of macOS, MacBook Air is the world’s best consumer notebook.”

(Credit: Apple)

APPLE PATENTS SYSTEM TO STOP PEOPLE FROM LOOKING AT YOUR IPHONE

In addition to the lower price point, the MacBook Air is getting the Magic Keyboard, first introduced on the 16-inch MacBook Pro. The 13-inch model comes in three colors – gold, silver and space gray – and has clearer microphones, Retina display, an updated Intel processor and several other features, including Apple’s T2 Security Chip for added security for Touch ID.

Apple also updated its Mac Mini computer. Starting at $799, the Mac Mini comes with double the storage capacity at 256GB and the $1,099 version has 512GB worth of storage.

The Tim Cook-led company did not unveil a new iPhone, despite rampant speculation earlier this year that it would do so. The new product announcements were issued via press release instead of Apple’s usual March product event because of the coronavirus pandemic that has overtaken the globe.

Earlier this week, Apple’s Beats subsidiary announced new Powerbeats earbuds. The new headphones, which are available immediately at $150, contain Apple’s H1 chip, 15-hour battery life and can be operated with “Hey Siri” wake call.

Last week, Apple moved its developer conference, scheduled for June in San Jose, to an online conference in wake of the pandemic.

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Apple patents system to stop people from looking at your iPhone

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Ever have a feeling that someone — next to you on the train or behind you in line at the grocery store — is snooping on your smartphone screen?

Well, as it turns out, Apple is researching a potential solution to this digital privacy intrusion.

A recently discovered that was reported by Tech Xplore reveals the tech giant is looking into a technology to distinguish between user and unwanted onlookers and blur screen content not intended for unauthorized eyes.

The feature, called “gaze-dependent display encryption,” would utilize face recognition to determine the owner of the smartphone and eye-tracking to figure out what segment of the screen the authorized viewer is scanning at the moment.

GOOGLE, FACEBOOK WARN OF MODERATION WOES AS CORONAVIRUS EMPTIES OFFICES GLOBALLY

Apple’s new iPhone 11 Pro Max is seen above.
(Getty Images)

SEVERE CORONAVIRUS INFECTION RISK MAY INCREASE WITH SMOKING OR VAPING

If unknown faces appear, either directly in front of the device or in the background, gaze encryption would be activated.

According to the patent, if an authorized viewer is reading a screen and a person appears in the background snooping, eye-tracking will leave currently viewed spots untouched while it renders the remainder of the screen indecipherable to onlookers.

The obscured segments will resemble the text or image displayed, but scramble it. These manipulations will apparently include text scrambling, color altering and image warping.

Fox News reached out to Apple for comment on this story.

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The CyberGuy: Three apps to help monitor older loved ones during the coronavirus pandemic

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Even if Americans can’t be there physically for older loved ones during the coronavirus outbreak, there are apps that can help family members be there electronically, Kurt “The CyberGuy” Knutsson said Saturday.

Appearing on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Knutsson said there’s “no reason you shouldn’t be doing this.”

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“Here’s the deal. They put our diapers on. They had our lunch ready. They sent us off to school. We got to the bus on time, and they were there for us,” he said. “It’s time now, at this moment when we really can’t physically be with our … older loved ones, we can be there electronically.”

Knutsson said one tool family members can utilize is a video calling service like Skype — which is free to download — or FaceTime on Apple products.

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“Use an app like FaceTime or Skype, and they will be able to see your face. They will be able to feel you that way. It isn’t the same thing as us being there, but gosh it matters,” he said.

Knutsson said another great app for recording how a loved one is doing in isolation is ConnectCare.

“They have made this now free to download. You can use it on Android or iOS. What this does is allow us to take advantage of putting down how our loved one is doing,” he said. “We might be able to say, ‘Hey, we had medication taken at this time,’ the temperature is this, [and] they are feeling this way…It keeps us all in touch.”

Knutsson advised younger family members to train older loved ones to put in information.

“It keeps it in the family, and it’s not shareable to other people outside of your own family,” he noted. “So, that’s what I really love about it.”

The third app he recommended is Life360, which has some of the same capabilities as the other apps but has “gone a step further.”

“You can set it to find out if your loved one who is older is leaving the house. Because sometimes we have stubborn older loved ones, and you don’t want to be that police for them, but it sure is helpful to understand if they are leaving their house frequently,” he said.

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Knutsson said Life360 also has a car crash detector for anyone using the app.

“We need to just tune in and listen to what our older loved ones are feeling,” he said. “We can’t cure this ourselves, but be there for one another in this powerful way where you just listen. Just listen.”