iOS 7 Now Available and it’s a Big One

For those who have been refreshing their iPad’s software updates every few minutes for the past few hours, Apple has officially launched iOS 7 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The update is compatible with the iPhone 4 and newer, the fourth-generation iPod touch and newer, the iPad 2 and newer, and the iPad mini.

This update will require 3.1GB of free space on your device. Check out our tutorial on how to download iOS 7 here. We’ve even got a few suggestions for what to do if the download is too big.

iOS 7 includes the following new features:

• New design
• Redesigned interface updates the entire system and every built-in app
• Subtle motion and animation; layers and translucency provide depth
• Elegant new color palette and refined typography
• Updated system sounds and ringtones
• Control Center
• Quick access to commonly used controls and apps with a swipe up from the bottom of the screen
• Turn on & off Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb; adjust screen brightness; access media controls; turn on AirPlay and AirDrop
• Quickly access flashlight, timer, calculator, camera and music controls
• Notification Center improvements
• New Today view gives you an overview of your day, including weather, calendar, and stocks
• Notifications dismissed on one device dismisses across all your devices
• Multitasking improvements
• Preview screens of open apps when you switch between them
• Permits any app to keep content up to date in the background
• Camera improvements
• Swipe through different camera modes – video, still photo, square aspect, and panorama
• Real-time photo filters with iPhone 4S or later, and iPod touch (5th generation)
• Photos improvements
• Automatically organizes your photos and videos based on time and location into Moments
• iCloud Photo Sharing supports multiple contributors and videos, plus a new Activity view
• Add photo filter effects
• Flickr and Vimeo support
• AirDrop
• Quickly and easily share content with people nearby
• Securely encrypted transfers with no network or setup required
• Supported on iPhone 5, iPad (4th generation), iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation) and requires an iCloud account
• Safari improvements
• New iPhone tab view that lets you easily switch between open web pages
• Unified smart search field for both search terms and web addresses
• Shared Links shows web pages shared by people you follow on Twitter
• iTunes Radio
• Streaming radio service
• Pick from over 250 featured and genre-focused stations
• Start your own station from your favorite artist or song
• Siri improvements
• New, more natural sounding male and female voices for US English, French and German
• Integrated Wikipedia, Twitter search, and Bing web search results
• Change settings including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and brightness
• Supported on iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad with Retina display, iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation)
• App Store improvements
• See apps relevant to your current location with Popular Near Me
• Discover age-appropriate apps in the Kids category
• Keep your apps up to date automatically
• Find My iPhone Activation Lock
• Turning off Find My iPhone, erasing your device, reactivation, and signing out of iCloud requires your Apple ID password
• A custom message can be displayed on your device even after a remote erase
• iTunes Store improvements
• Preview and buy songs you’ve heard on iTunes Radio while inside the iTunes Store
• Add to, and shop from, your iTunes Wish List
• Scan code with camera to redeem iTunes Gift Cards
• Music improvements
• Play music purchases from iCloud
• Rotate your iPhone or iPod touch to browse your music with the Album Wall
• Videos improvements
• Play movie and TV show purchases from iCloud
• View similar movies and TV shows from Related
• Maps improvements
• Turn-by-turn walking directions
• Automatic night mode
• Bookmarks shared across devices via iCloud
• Mail improvements
• New Smart Mailboxes, including Unread, Attachments, All Drafts and To or CC
• Improved search
• View PDF annotations
• FaceTime audio calling
• Block unwanted Phone, Messages and FaceTime callers
• Support for sending long MMS messages
• Pull down on any Home Screen to reveal Spotlight search
• Scan to acquire Passbook passes
• New ringtones, alarms, alerts and system sounds
• Definitions of a selected word for additional languages: Italian, Korean, and Dutch
• Inclinometer in the Compass app
• Wi-Fi HotSpot 2.0 support
• Accessibility features
• Individuals with limited physical motor skills can now control their device using Switch Control
• Customize closed caption style
• Handwriting input support in VoiceOver
• Math input support using Nemeth Braille in VoiceOver
• Select from multiple premium voices for speak selection and VoiceOver
• Support for Made for iPhone Hearing Aids and stereo audio for iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation)
• Enterprise features
• Manage which apps and accounts are used to open documents and attachments
• Per App VPN
• App Store license management
• Enterprise single sign-on
• Remote configuration of managed apps
• Automatic data protection for third-party apps
• Exchange Notes syncing
• Install custom fonts
• New management queries and restrictions
• Education features
• Mobile device management for Apple TV
• Request AirPlay Mirroring from a student device to Apple TV
• Pre-configure AirPlay destinations and AirPrint printers
• Streamlined MDM enrollment
• Ability to restrict changes to accounts
• Web content filtering
• Authorized apps can initiate single app mode
• Configure accessibility settings for single app mode
• Features for China
• Tencent Weibo integration
• Chinese-English bilingual dictionary
• Improved handwriting input with improved accuracy, stroke order independence and support for simultaneous multiple character input
• Bug fixes

If you are receiving the following error message when attempting to download and install iOS 7, “Software Update Failed: An Error occurred downloading iOS 7.0,” don’t worry. You are not alone. I am having the same experience right now. I also received the message, “Unable to Check for Updates: An error occurred while checking for a software update,” on my iPad when attempting to download iOS 7.

FDA Clears iPad Controlled Robot for Hospital Use

Every time I hear a story about a robot that can perform tasks that are normally designated for humans, I think of movies like “Smart House” or “This House Possessed” where technology becomes possessed and attacks people. I know, its morbid. A lot of horror movies have themes of future technology gone awry. It’s good to know that in the 21st century, we’ve figured out a way keep our robots from killing people.

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of the first autonomous telemedicine robot for hospitals. RP-VITA comes equipped with an iPad for a face so that doctors can visit with patients no matter where they are.

RP-VITA was created by iRobot in collaboration with InTouch Health. The automonous robot navigates using state-of-the-art telemedicine and electronic health record integration from InTouch Health. The robot can map its environment and use sensors to move around in a busy environment without getting in the way. The iPad interface allows doctors to communicate with patients and hospital staff to allow for better consultation and care.

The FDA clearance allows for RP-VITA to be used for active patient monitoring in pre-operative, peri-operative, and post-surgical settings, including cardiovascular, neurological, prenatal, psychological, and critical care assessments and examinations.

“FDA clearance of a robot that can move safely and independently through a fast-paced, chaotic and demanding hospital environment is a significant technological milestone for the robotics and healthcare industries,” said Colin Angle, chairman and CEO of iRobot. “There are very few environments as difficult to maneuver as that of a busy ICU or emergency department. Having crossed this technology threshold, the potential for self-navigating robots in other markets, and for new applications, is virtually limitless.”

Let’s just hope that RP-VITA doesn’t fall in love with a patient and then try to kill her family so it can have her all to itself.