GAB’er Page: 1 March 10, 2020

THE GAB’ER
Newsletter of the Greater Albany AppleByters: March, 2020
GAAB is celebrating its 36th year (2019-2020).

The next GAAB Meeting is:

Tuesday, March 10, 2020
7:00 PM at
Panera Bread

161 Washington Ave Ext, Albany, NY

A map can be found at the GAAB website at
http://applebyters.com/index.php/meeting-
information/meeting_map/
GAAB Meeting Agenda
Greetings and Dinner
Discussion: Topics presented by members and
News from Apple including Mac OS X and iOS UpdatesGAAB Help Desk:
Bring your questions

Get the Most Out of Your Fancy Smartphone Camera

Shooting straight in the dark: At left, an ultra-wide angle photo taken on an iPhone 11 Pro Max and at right, a
zoomed-in version of the shot taken with a Pixel 4 smartphone.Credit...J.D. Biersdorfer

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

GAB’er Page: 2 March 10, 2020

By J. D. Biersdorfer

• March 4, 2020

The latest Apple and Google models have software that automatically enhances your photos,
but you can also take control to get your perfect shot.

It’s getting harder to take a truly bad photo on a good smartphone. Thanks to better lenses,
robust processors and integrated computational photography software to process images
under the hood, even scenes in low-light, no-flash situations that used to be hopelessly
murky can now turn out nicely.

Your phone’s native camera app makes it simple to grab a picture with just a couple of taps.
But if you’ve recently upgraded your device and want to dive deeper into the latest hardware
and software, here are a few tips — illustrated by two current models, Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro
Max and Google’s Pixel 4 XL.

Zooming Around

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

GAB’er Page: 3 March 10, 2020

Each member of the iPhone 11 family has at least two cameras for ultrawide and wide shots,
but the iPhone 11 Pro line adds a third telephoto lens. To quickly jump between the cameras
in Photo mode, tap the screen and select the .5x (ultrawide), 1x (wide) or 2x (telephoto)
buttons. To zoom up to 10x, pinch the screen or press a zoom option and slide your finger on
the dial that appears.

On the iPhone 11 Pro Max, left, and the Pixel 4, right, zoom controls appear when you tap the screen. The
iPhone 11 camera interface also shows the area outside the framed shot so you can better adjust your
composition.Credit...The New York Times

The Pixel 4 has a telephoto lens in addition to its main 1x camera. Tap the screen twice to
jump right to the 2x zoom. For manual zoom, tap the screen and move the slider. The Pixel 4
can zoom digitally up to 8x. Although the image typically loses some quality the higher you
push it, Google’s Super Res Zoom technology works to enhance the look of the photo.

Shooting in Dark Times

On the iPhone 11 line, the Night mode activates when the Camera app is open in low light
and on the standard 1x zoom setting. A small crescent moon icon appears on the screen
showing the capture time calculated to pull in enough light for the image. To override Night
mode’s math, tap the moon icon and use the on-screen slider to adjust the capture time. Not
fidgeting is important, so consider a tripod for long exposure times in dark environments.
Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com
GAB’er Page: 4 March 10, 2020

Along with the Night mode, iPhone 11 models running at least iOS 13.2 have Deep Fusion,
Apple’s machine-learning technology that snags nine versions of a shot in low to medium
light and blends the best parts together into one detailed photo. Deep Fusion kicks in
automatically, as long as you are not using the ultrawide-angle lens and not shooting in burst
mode. The Camera app’s Photos Capture Outside the Frame setting needs to be disabled as
well.

Left, the yellow Night mode icon on the iPhone 11 Pro Max shows how long the camera needs to capture the
image in low light. Right, the Night Sight mode in the Pixel 4 puts a circular progress indicator in the middle of
the screen so you know when the camera has fully captured the shot.Credit...The New York Times

Google has its own low-light setting, Night Sight. To use it on a Pixel 4, open the Camera app
and select the Night Sight mode. The shutter button then shows a moon icon. Tap the moon
and a circular timer appears, instructing you to hold still while the camera is capturing the
image.

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

GAB’er Page: 5 March 10, 2020

These photos, taken in the night modes on an iPhone 11 Pro Max, left, and a Pixel 4, right, show what the
phones can do without a flash.Credit...J.D. Biersdorfer

Google’s Night Sight mode includes an Astrophotography feature to capture long exposures
of the night sky; it works best away from places with light pollution, like large cities. To use
the phone for shooting stars, make sure you are in Night Sight mode and have the device
secured in a tripod or on a stable surface. When the “Astrophotography on” message
appears, tap the moon icon and wait until the onscreen timer is finished.

Fine-Tuning Portraits

For the past few years, many smartphones have included a “portrait” mode that keeps the
person, pet or object in the foreground in sharp focus while gently blurring the background.

To use that mode on an iPhone 11, open the Camera app and select Portrait. On-screen
instructions guide you on framing the shot, and you can apply lighting effects from the pop-up
Portrait mode menu — before or after you’ve snapped the photo. To adjust background blur
on a portrait in your camera roll, open the image, tap the Depth Control button (f) at the top of
the screen and adjust the slider that appears below.

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

GAB’er Page: 6 March 10, 2020

Even after you have snapped a picture in portrait mode on the iPhone 11 Pro Max, left, or the Pixel 4, right, you
can edit the background blur and other image elements right on the phone.Credit...The New York Times

Google also made improvements to the Portrait mode on its Pixel 4 phones, which now have
two cameras working the shot instead of just one. To use it, open the Camera app and select
Portrait. If you want to further edit a finished portrait, open the image, tap the Edit icon and
adjust the sliders for light, color and blur.

Digging Deeper

No matter which phone you have, be sure to explore all its camera menus, image-editing
tools and settings for optional features like compositional aids and shortcuts.

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

GAB’er Page: 7 March 10, 2020

Settings on the iPhone 11 Pro Max, left, and the Pixel 4, right, let you control how the camera
behaves.Credit...The New York Times

The phone itself may offer tips onscreen, but the online help guides for the iPhone 11 and the
Pixel 4 also have plenty of information to share for those wanting to get the most out of
mobile photography.

J.D. Biersdorfer has been answering technology questions — in print, on the web, in audio
and in video — since 1998. She also writes the Sunday Book Review’s “Applied Reading”
column on ebooks and literary apps, among other things. @jdbiersdorfer

A version of this article appears in print on March 5, 2020, Section B, Page 5 of the New York
edition with the headline: The Quest for That Perfect Shot.

Free Tool to Supply Broadband Speed and Pricing Data to Districts

By Dian Scha!hauser 02/11/20

Later this year a free tool will appear to help school IT organizations get internet speed and
pricing information on K-12 broadband connectivity across the United States using publicly
available data from the federal Schools and Libraries Program (E-rate). "Connect K-12" will

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

GAB’er Page: 8 March 10, 2020

be produced by Connected Nation with the help of EducationSuperHighway and managed by

E-rate specialist Funds For Learning. Connected Nation has long sought to bring high- speed
broadband into rural and other underserved areas of the country.

The project is being viewed as a legacy initiative. A few months ago,EducationSuperHighway

announced that because 99 percent of schools are now on fiber and delivering at least 100
Kbps of bandwidth for every student, the classroom connectivity gap was officially "closed."
And because its mission was met, it also declared that it would close as well. Since its
founding in 2013 the nonprofitt had monitored availability of high-speed internet for digital
learning in K-12. In a recent "State of the States" report Founder and CEO, Evan Marwell,
said that the organization would spend the next year "helping as many of the last one percent
of schools and students get connected to high- speed broadband," and then it would close its
doors. That's expected to happen in August 2020.

According to the two organizations, the new tool will provide the details that school district
and state leaders need to upgrade their bandwidth to the FCC's 1 Megabit per second (Mbps)
per student goal. Officials said the tool would also report national and state connectivity
trends to keep the E-rate program focused on the prize: continuing to support school
broadband access.

"For years, we've worked to help schools bring instructional technology and better
connectivity to the classroom, but Connect K-12 will enable us to provide key data and
insights that will help state and local leaders take informed action to improve school
connectivity in districts across the country," said Tom Ferree, head of Connected Nation, in a
statement. "All of us...are honored and excited to work with EducationSuperHighway in
launching this tool and building upon their impressive legacy as they prepare to sunset later
this year."

Marwell, pointed to "strong leadership, actionable data and partnerships at the state and
national level" as the key ingredients for increasing school broadband access. "As a leader in
the broadband and public-sector space, we feel confident that [Connected Nation] will
continue to work in partnership with state leaders and schools in an effort to ensure every
child has access to the opportunities digital learning can provide."

Funds For Learning, a consultancy that specializes in helping districts access the federal E-
rate Program, was selected as the technology partner to manage the data readiness and
software elements of the tool.

About the Author

Dian Scha!hauser is a senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE
Journal and Campus Technology. She can be reached at dian@discha!hauser.com or on
Twitter @scha!hauser.

UPDATE

January 30, 2020

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

GAB’er Page: 9 March 10, 2020

Apple delivers a new redesigned Maps for all users in the United States

New Apple Maps Designed with Better Road Coverage and Pedestrian Data, More Precise
Addresses, and Detailed Land Cover

Apple today announced that all users in the United States can now experience a redesigned
Maps with faster and more accurate navigation and comprehensive views of roads, buildings,
parks, airports, malls and more, making it easier and more enjoyable to map out any journey.
Apple completed the rollout of this new Maps experience in the United States and will begin
rolling it out across Europe in the coming months.

“We set out to create the best and most private maps app on the planet that is reflective of
how people explore the world today,” said Eddy Cue, Appleʼs senior vice

Apple delivers a new redesigned Maps with better road coverage and more precise
addresses.

president of Internet Software and Services. “It is an effort we are deeply invested in and
required that we rebuild the map from the ground up to reimagine how Maps enhances
peopleʼs lives — from navigating to work or school or planning an important vacation — all
with privacy at its core. The completion of the new map in the United States and delivering
new features like Look Around and Collections are important steps in bringing that vision to
life. We look forward to bringing this new map to the rest of the world starting with Europe
later this year.”

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

GAB’er Page: 10 March 10, 2020

Maps helps hundreds of millions of people in over 200 countries and territories navigate and
explore the world. Itʼs everywhere customers are: at home, in the office, on the go on usersʼ
iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, and in the car with CarPlay. Privacy is central to the
Maps experience, offering personalised features created using on-device intelligence. Maps
is deeply integrated into the most popular apps customers use every day, including Photos,
Messages, Calendar, Weather and more. With MapKit and MapKit JS, Maps is also the
foundation for many popular third-party apps and services like Instagram, Bank of America
and Nike Run Club.

Building on the new map, iOS 13 introduced many new features that help users navigate and
explore the world with a simple tap.

Explore Major Cities with Look Around

Maps offers interactive street-level imagery with high-resolution, 3D photography and smooth
and seamless transitions through

Apple delivers a new redesigned Maps for all users in the United States.

major cities with Look Around. Customers from anywhere in the world can navigate through
New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Houston and Oahu,
with many more places to come.
Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com
GAB’er Page: 11 March 10, 2020

Users can easily build and share lists of their favourite restaurants, places they want to visit
or top sites for their next big vacation using Collections.

Look Around is an interactive way to visually explore a city with 3D imagery.

Users Can Share Places They Love with Collections

Customers get quick and easy navigation to the places they visit every day with Favourites.
Whether itʼs home, work, the gym or school, users can simply tap and go once itʼs in
Favourites on the launch screen.

Collections makes it easy to share locations with friends and family.

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

GAB’er Page: 12 March 10, 2020

One-Tap Navigation to Frequent Places with Favourites

Real-time transit information gives detailed transit schedules, live departure times, arrival
times, the current location of a bus or train en route, and system connections to help plan a
journey. Maps also includes important real-time information like outages. Real-time transit is
available in many cities across the world including the San Francisco

Navigate to frequent destinations with a quick tap of Favourites.

Additional features in Maps include:

Bay Area, Washington D.C., New York, Los Angeles and, starting today, in Miami, with many
more cities to come.

Share ETA sends an estimated time of arrival to family, friends or coworkers with a simple
tap. The receiver can follow along on the journey, and Maps will even update them with a
revised estimate for when the traveler is arriving if a significant delay occurs.

Flight status uses on-device Siri intelligence to scan for information stored in Mail, Calendar
or Wallet and proactively serves flight information for terminals, gate locations and departure
times, as well as flight changes or cancellations for upcoming travel.

Indoor Maps for airports and malls makes it possible for users to get the most out of their
next trip or shopping excursion. By simply opening the Maps app, users can see what level
theyʼre on, restroom locations and even which stores and restaurants are open.

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

GAB’er Page: 13 March 10, 2020

Siri Natural Language Guidance provides more natural-sounding directions that are even
easier to follow, such as “At the next traffic light, turn left.” Siri Natural Language Guidance is
available across the United States.

Flyover offers a way to see select major metro areas with photo-realistic, immersive 3D
views. Users can move their device through space to experience a city from above, or
explore in high resolution as they zoom, pan, tilt and rotate around the city and its landmarks.
Flyover is available in more than 350 cities.

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com

GAB’er Page: 14 March 10, 2020

Maps and Privacy

Apple is committed to keeping personal information safe and has built privacy into the core of
Maps. With Maps, no sign-in is required and it is not connected to an Apple ID in any way.
Personalized features, such as suggesting departure time to make the next appointment, are
created using on-device intelligence. Any data collected by Maps while using the app, like
search terms, navigation routing and traffic information, is associated with random identifiers
that continually reset to ensure the best possible experience and to improve Maps. Maps
goes even further to obscure a userʼs location on Apple servers when searching for a location
through a process called “fuzzing.” Maps converts the precise location where the search
originated to a less-exact one after 24 hours and does not retain a history of what has been
searched or where a user has been.

Press Contacts

Tara Hendela

Apple

thendela@apple.com (647) 943-4680

Cortney Hughes

Apple

cortney_hughes@apple.com (647) 943-4562

Contact GAAB at our Website: http://applebyters.com