All posts by W4GVL

ESPN Schedule Strength Ranking

Gator Sports
Incredibly, the 2024 college football season is nearly upon us.
We are well under two months away from kickoff and I think I speak for all of us when I say it can’t possibly get here soon enough. Amazing how many of these teams are in the SEC. 
Speaking of the brand-new season, ESPN recently revealed their strength of schedule rankings as computed by their famous Football Power Index.
The top 10 toughest schedules in all of college football goes as follows…
#1. Florida Gators
#2. Mississippi State Bulldogs
#3. Georgia Bulldogs
#4. Kentucky Wildcats
#5. Auburn Tigers
#6. Alabama Crimson Tide
#7. Oklahoma Sooners
#8. Tennessee Volunteers
#9. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
#10. Texas Longhorns

Fl Digital ID Update

Technology

Florida has abruptly removed its digital driver’s license application from the iOS and Android app stores, forcing digital ID holders to rely on physical cards for the time being.

A digital screen displaying a driver's license with a photo, name, and various personal details, including date of birth, address, and license numbers.
Florida has removed its Florida Smart ID app from the iOS App Store

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) has ended support for its current digital driver’s license app, known as Florida Smart ID. The agency announced on its website that it is removing its application from the iOS App Store and Google Play Store on Android, and has instructed users to delete the current Florida Smart ID app from their devices as it will no longer be functional.

The sudden and unexpected removal of the Florida DHSMV’s application is the result of a vendor-related issue. According to the FLHSMV website, the Florida Smart ID app will be updated and improved by an entirely new vendor.

As first reported by 9to5mac, The FLHSMV plans to have a new version of the app developed by early 2025. The agency has instructed users to send an email to FloridaSmartID@flhsmv.gov to receive notifications once the new-and-improved application becomes available.

The FLHSMV provided a short statement to users of the digital ID app.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is working to enhance services to its customers. The agency will be revising the Florida Smart ID application. Once a new vendor is selected, improvements will be made to the Florida Smart ID application.

At this time, FLHSMV is removing the current Florida Smart ID application from app stores. If you have downloaded the app, please delete it from your device, as it will no longer be functional. Please note, your data remains secure with the Department.

We expect the new app to be developed by early 2025 and will notify you by email at that time.

Florida’s Smart ID application was originally introduced in early November of 2021, and became fully functional later a month later in December 2021. Unlike other US states, which support Digital IDs in Apple’s Wallet app for iOS, Florida had a standalone application for digital driver’s licenses.

While Apple’s Wallet application lets users input and save digital IDs and driver’s licenses, you can only add your license to the app in four US states: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Maryland. As mentioned previously, Florida had its own dedicated app for digital driver’s licenses, meaning that they could not be added to the Apple Wallet app, despite claiming Apple was working with the state previously.