Dennis Sellers

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><em>This is an updated review of the ZenPod:</em> Are you into fidget spinners? I’m not, but if I were, I’d probably make good use of the ZenPod Pro.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">We can't blame the modern gamer if they've gotten to associate "car games" with racing. That's really what car games usually are - games with a ton of high-speed races on tracks with an assortment of customized vehicles and machines. Rarely do we see car games with different mechanics, such as hazards and power-ups. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has begun selling <a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/iphone" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">certified refurbished iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max models</a>. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple is discussing making original podcasts related to programs on its Apple TV+ streaming service, reports <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-21/apple-planning-to-make-original-podcasts-promoting-its-tv-shows?sref=9hGJlFio" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a>. The goal is to promote the various series.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/21/apple-card-users-can-now-download-monthly-transactions-in-a-spreadsheet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TechCrunch</a> reports that Apple has announced that Apple Card users can export monthly transactions to a downloadable spreadsheet that they can use with their personal budgeting apps or sheets. Here’s how:</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple may release a Smart Keyboard with a scissor switch design for its next-generation iPad and iPad Pro models, according to <a href="https://www.digitimes.com/backgrounders/features/snapshots.asp#s6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">DigiTimes</a> (a subscription is required to read the entire report). The article says that the next generation of Apple's tablets will sport a scissor switch keyboard.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><span style="text-decoration:underline">Plugable</span> has released a 512GB model of the Plugable Thunderbolt 3 NVMe External SSD, a solid state drive designed to reduce bottlenecks and improve performance with rapid speeds of up to 2400 MB/sec read and 1800 MB/sec write, all without the need for an external power connection. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">As <em>9to5</em>’s Ben Lovejoy pointed out in a <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2019/12/23/stereo-paired-homepods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“feature request" article</a>, Apple really needs to add stereo-paired HomePods as a Mac sound output. Apple’s iOS/iPadOS audio apps will happily allow you to select stereo-paired HomePods as a single output device. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,542,280) for “OLED based touch sensing and user identification” that hints at OLED screens with TouchID in future iPhones, iPads, and even touchscreen Macs.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Consumer Intelligence Research Partners has released analysis of the results from its research on Apple for the fiscal quarter that ended December 28, 2019.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a <a href="http://www.apple.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">full-page tribute</a> on its website. It has a photo of the civil rights leader and the following quote: </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">An ex-Apple exec who worked on the chips that power iPhones and iPads has had a request to toss a breach-of-contract lawsuit brought by the company rejected by the court in a tentative ruling, reports <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-20/apple-gains-footing-in-court-feud-with-ex-executive-turned-rival?srnd=technology-vp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a>.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple TV+’s <em>The Morning Show</em> is doing well this awards season. At Sunday's 26th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles Jennifer Aniston won an SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for her leading role as morning news anchor Alex Levy in the series.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">I’m skeptical that Apple will ever make its own accessory lenses for the iPhone or iPad, but you never know. The tech giant has been granted a patent (number 10,534,154) for “interlock arrangement for attaching a lens barrel to a lens carrier” that will, at least, make it easier for third parties to make photographic accessories for iOS and iPad OS devices.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has announced details about lots of its Apple TV+ series:</p>