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Charlotte Henry

Charlotte is a media junkie, covering how Apple is not just a revolutionary tech firm, but a revolutionary media firm for TMO. She is based in London, and writes and broadcasts for various outlets.

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Apple TV+: Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ Adds Brendan Fraser to Cast

Brendan Fraser (No Sudden Move) has joined the cast of Killers of the Flower Moon, reported Deadline. The Martin Scorsese-directed picture, which we got a first look at back in May, is set for release on Apple TV+.

The former title from Apple TV + and Paramount Pictures is a crime drama, based on the bestselling book of the same name by David Grann. It’s set in 1920s Oklahoma and will examine the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation—a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror. Fraser will appear in Killers alongside Oscar winners Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, Emmy nominated Jesse Plemons, and more. We hear that he will play lawyer WS Hamilton.

Australians Can Now Add Covid-19 Digital Certificate to Apple Wallet

Australians who have received two doses of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines can add the relevant certification to their Apple Wallet, Tap Down Under reported. It follows the same development in the UK.

As of today, it’s now possible to add a copy of your COVID-19 digital certificate to your digital wallet of choice – Apple Wallet or Google Pay – making it easier to show proof of vaccination for which will undoubtedly become required sometime in the future. There are two methods to add it into Apple Wallet; You can go straight to my.gov.au, tap on ‘Go to Medicare’ in the COVID-19 vaccination status area, and then under the PDF link, there’s an Add to Apple Wallet button. The other method, is to use the Medicare app – which is handy to have regardless for other features like a digital Medicare card.

Twitter Partnering With AP And Reuters to Tackle Misinformation

Twitter is partnering with news agencies The Associated Press (AP) and Reuters in a bid to tackle misinformation. Curation chief Joanna Geary explained how it is going to work in a blog post.

Twitter’s Curation team will increase our capacity to add reliable context to conversations happening on Twitter. This joint work will increase the scale and speed of the current work…by:  Increasing and improving context sharing: Ensuring that credible information is available in real time around key conversations as they emerge on Twitter, especially where facts are in dispute or when Twitter’s Curation team doesn’t have the specific expertise or access to a high enough volume of reputable reporting on Twitter. For example, people on Twitter can expect more Trends with contextual descriptions and links to reporting from trusted sources more frequently. Anticipating and proactively identifying emerging conversation: Proactively providing context on topics garnering widespread interest including those that could potentially generate misleading information. Rather than waiting until something goes viral, Twitter will contextualize developing discourse at pace with or in anticipation of the public conversation. Improving the effectiveness of product features: Supporting product experimentation and existing initiatives where additional credible context could make our work better. For example, Birdwatch will use feedback from AP and Reuters as one way to assess the quality of information elevated by Birdwatch participants.

How Educators in Australia are Embracing Swift

Some educators at schools in Queensland, Australia are embracing Apple’s Swift programming language. The company published a feature that includes some teachers and students sharing their experiences.
At Siena Catholic College and St Augustine’s College, two high schools in Southeast Queensland, teaching students the principles of app development using Swift is unlocking their creativity and allowing them to reach new levels of innovation and problem solving. “Our decision to choose Swift was clear and based on the simplicity, versatility, and limitless creativity the language provides,” says Paul Dionysius, who teaches technology courses at Siena Catholic College. “Every day we’re seeing our students develop enterprising ideas and designing real-world solutions to problems, building the essential skills for success in the 21st century. We have future blockbuster developers here today — I am certain of that and incredibly proud.”

1Password Reveals US$100M Funding Round

Password management platform 1Password has revealed it has raised funding worth US$100m. Business is booming thanks to new at-home and hybrid working arrangements, VentureBeat reported.

According to 1Password CEO Jeff Shiner, while multiple factors have aligned to drive demand for password management tools, the single biggest change since its last fundraise has been society’s rapid transition from offices to remote or hybrid working. “Businesses — both large and small — were forced overnight to adopt a remote way of working,” Shiner told VentureBeat. “That switch meant that companies, most of whom were used to a centralized office, suddenly needed to support employees using their own devices, at home on their own potentially insecure networks. With the remote-hybrid shift came a proliferation of SaaS tools to help keep people and teams productive. Many of these tools are brought in to help specific teams solve specific problems, which means that across an organization, there can be hundreds of different software products — all requiring unique logins and access.” Helping workers stay on top of all their login credentials is where 1Password comes into play.

Apple Wallet Supports Australian Health Insurance Cards Via HICAPS App

Australians are now able to add digital health insurance cards to their Apple Wallet via the Health Industry Claims and Payments Service (HICAPS) app. 9to5Mac has a good explainer of how it all works.

In Australia, when you pay a visit to an Extras provider, the receptionist provides you with a bill and asks if you have health coverage. At that point, you can hand them your HIF membership card and they’ll swipe it through an electronic claiming terminal known as a HICAPS machine. Now, with the Apple Wallet integration, users can just double click the side button on their iPhone with Face ID or double click the Touch ID button to view the health insurance card on the Wallet. Then, they just have to select their health fund membership card from Apple Wallet and hold the iPhone or Apple Watch near the terminal reader.