eXtensions - Saturday 12 July 2025
By Graham K. Rogers
Minor problems with the eXtensions site were soon fixed this week. The values of the Apple Watch: messaging and health tracking; and a Nature article that warns about home diagnostics. Apple COO Jeff Williams will step down; to be succeeded by Sabih Khan. The tech press is now hand-wringing about Tim Cook's succession, with some harsh comments. It looks as if Apple will acquire the rights to stream F1 in the USA. Elsewhere fans will probably be stuck with traditional, inconvenient and expensive means of delivery.
On Friday morning I had a small fright when I was unable to access my website. I tried a number of alternatives, but nothing could even see the site. Perhaps a DNS attack, I wondered? I found out later that this guess was about right, although it was not directly affecting my site.
I sent email to the site provider and to Support but, unusually, that bounced; and I was unable to access their website either: crash, attack, internet broken (other sites I looked at seemed fine)?
I had other work to do, including the editing of a paper that was dumped on me Wednesday evening - the start of a long weekend. After lunch, I checked the internet again, including Facebook and YouTube then, as a shot in the dark, tried my web pages, which surprised me by reloading without any problem. Shifting to the Mac, I tried FTP (the way I still upload pages and images) and all was well. Disaster averted. Blood pressure returned to normal.
While I had been waiting, I watched the first episode of Foundation Series 3. Again, the sheer scope of this is disarming. While we are waiting for Series 5 of Slow Horses several sites this week reported that Apple has renewed this up to Series 7. With the last episode of Murderbot Series 1 appearing this week, I was pleased to see that this has been renewed for a second series. I also found that a trailer for the upcoming Chief of War has now been made available. That looks unusual enough to grab my interest.
I have been using the Apple Watch since it was first released here. The first few versions were supplied by Apple as I was writing a newspaper column back then. I had not worn a wristwatch for years and for a while used a pocket watch. I soon became used to the Watch on my wrist. The main benefits for me have been messaging and recording of health data.
Unlike many people whose eyes are glued to the screens of their handheld devices, I use notifications on the Apple Watch to the full. A quick glance to the screen shows me if a message needs immediate attention. With the phone, I just use the Watch to answer a call. This is particularly useful in a crowded metro train.
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The available health features have grown in the time that I have been using the various versions of the Watch and its OS. I was influenced by Dr Richard Milani, whom I interviewed when he came to Bangkok in August 2016. As a doctor, he was aware of how the Watch could allow remote monitoring of a patient's condition. Over time I have added to the ways in which I record data each day: weight, temperature (manually), water intake (auto/manual), as well as heart rate (plus other factors) and various exercise parameters.
Although unavailable in the USA (see below) I can include blood-oxygen levels (this morning 97%). I am also able to use the ECG app to give me a graph of my heart condition. With the data I collect over time I have been able to build a picture of how things are going: important as we age; and it makes it easier to see when things start to go wrong. On at least two occasions significant changes in the data recorded warned me (as if the general feeling of malaise had not) that all was not well. The first, which required surgery, was indicated particularly by a significant weight drop. Dr Milani had alluded to weight change as an indicator of patient health. The second was my only (to date) experience of Covid. Both took me to hospitals where further checks confirmed the problem. The Health app and the Watch only indicated that there was a problem, not what the problem was. As Apple frequently points out, it is not a diagnostic tool.
Writing in Nature this week Cassandra Willyard takes this further as there is some concern in the medical profession that the results from home diagnostic kits are "often inaccurate, unnecessary, confusing or even harmful". She mentions those that are fairly familiar - Covid and pregnancy testing - but there is a large industry that appears to cater to a form of mass hypochondria that has "been fuelled by consumer preferences and marketing". We would rather believe a test from a convenience store than one conducted by a doctor. There are several reasons for this, including a preference for home care, plus the obvious economics, particularly in the USA where health costs are soaring.
Some of the additional services offered by the companies that market home test kits (not all), have been described as "exploitative and deceptive." There are risks with self-diagnosis as I am aware when looking at the graphs, charts and figures from the Apple Watch and other sources. I am aware that the statistics change daily of course, but when there is a sudden change, particularly in more than one parameter, it is time for the doctor.
When the ECG feature was added to the Apple Watch it took several months for this to be made available here, because of medical caution. The regulatory body in Thailand had considered the feature and how it worked, but were concerned about the question of self-diagnosis. Eventually, the feature was unlocked and I am unaware that this has caused any problems.
One feature that is not yet available here is Sleep Apnea. I monitor my sleep with the Watch, a sleep app (Sleep Cycle) and the Apple Health app, so can see when I have had a bad night. The Sleep Cycle app monitors the ups and downs of my sleep, including snoring, dreaming and sleep talking: mostly grunts as I turn over, but there are occasionally some identifiable words uttered in my sleep. The app also shows the average heart rate during the night. The Health App also shows different types of sleep: Deep, Core, REM and Awake. The last is as revealing as the others, as sometimes these periods are only a few seconds, while I can link others to specific waking events during the night.
The Blood-oxygen feature was not available right away here, but it is now another part of the picture I am able to build about what goes on throughout the day. Unfortunately this feature is not currently available in the USA owing to a patent dispute. Amber Neely (AppleInsider) reports that the litigation between Apple and Masimo is up for appeal again. Originally, Masimo alleged that Apple had infringed 10 patents and stolen trade secrets. The ITC ruled in Masimo's favour then and Apple was not allowed to import any Watch to the USA with the technology installed. The rest of us were unaffected. Neely writes, "Masimo's own smartwatch, the W1, was later found to infringe Apple's design patents."
More information on this is available from Ian Carlos Campbell (Engadget) who also notes that the "blood oxygen sensor was never as accurate as the pulse oximeters used in a doctor's office" (see above), adding that it was part of a suite of heart-related features. He speculates that this appeal is because the blood-oxygen sensor could be part of an "even more ambitious health feature down the road."
The Apple surprise of the week was the announcement that Jeff Williams is to cease his tenure as Chief Operating Officer later this month and will leave the company later this year. Unlike Phil Schiller or Luca Maestri who are both Apple Fellows, Williams retirement will be total. Sabih Khan will become COO.
Williams had often been suggested as a replacement for the CEO position, should Tim Cook move on, but that clearly will not now happen. We can expect a rush of opinions now for who pundits think should be next in line . . . As if Apple has not already decided. My favorite would be John Ternus, whom Zac Hall also thinks could become successor to Tim Cook. His name has long been mentioned for this and he would appear on the lists of many. I sometimes wonder about Craig Federighi, although, despite his clear abilities, he always plays the class joker. Deceptive? It may be a little early for someone like Greg Joswiak. I met him once, the year the MacBook Air was announced. Marketing is always to the fore at Apple, but Jos is not yet there and his age (61) might be against him.
In his article, Chance Miller (9to5Mac) writes, "Sabih Khan, Apple's senior vice president of Operations, will assume the COO role as part of what Apple describes as a "long-planned succession." With a long and drawn-out article, Leander Kahney does eventually name his potential candidate, Deirdre O'Brien. I had been thinking of adding her name to my list, but Kahney beat me to this. I think he is on the right track. Note that comment, "long-planned succession." If this had been planned for the exit of Jeff Williams, does anyone think that the succesion choice of who and when Tim Cook will depart is not already fixed? Some obviously have doubts.
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Online sources have now turned to speculation as to who might replace Tim Cook and it was no surprise to see another hatchet article from MacDaily News, written by a long-time contributor. This speculation suggests, with zero evidence, that despite Jobs' specific support, he never intended Cook to be any more than a short term appointment to steady the ship. MacDaily News followed that on Friday with another criticism of Cook, this time authored by Emily Bary (Marketwatch), with plenty of negative comments from the editor(s) of MacDaily News.
I note that, as web-based advertising has dried up, like others MDN is forced to ask for support. Not from me, guys. I will also link to another anti-Cook article from last month: see for yourself. There was also an article on MacDaily News from Adam Lashinsky (Washington Post - who have their own credibility problems these days). That is 4 items in less than a month (as well as plenty before).
With the success that the movie, F1, has had, Hartley Charlton (MacRumors) reports that Apple is looking to acquire the rights to stream Formula One in the USA. I hope they do. And I wish that they would acquire them here too. For years I linked to True television, but when Netflix arrived and MotoGP was available via an app, I ended up paying 1400 baht a month for 22 races a year. I soon stopped that. Like the Dorna app for MotoGP, there is an app for live Formula One races, but not here, presumably for copyright reasons that do not affect the motorcycle race transmissions.
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A later report from Chance Miller (9to5Mac) suggests that Apple has all but clinched the deal. There is some discussion on what will happen to F1 TV streaming in the USA once Apple takes over, although I am far more interested in what Apple could do with streaming F1 to the rest of the world. If F1 wants my money, they must provide a suitable service. I am unwilling to be handcuffed to the normal means of delivery which is both expensive and only available at scheduled times.
Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. After 3 years writing a column in the Life supplement, he is now no longer associated with the Bangkok Post. He can be followed on X (@extensions_th). The RSS feed for the articles is http://www.extensions.in.th/ext_link.xml - copy and paste into your feed reader.
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