Dennis Sellers

<p class="">The U.S. appeals court in Washington, D.C. <a href="https://casetext.com/case/freedom-watch-inc-v-google-inc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dismissed a lawsuit</a> accusing top tech companies such as Apple of silencing conservative voices, reports <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/27/appeals-court-rules-in-favor-of-google-apple-facebook-and-twitter-in-anti-conservative-bias-suit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TechCrunch</a>. Filed in 2018 by Freedom Watch, the lawsuit accused Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter of violating antitrust statutes and the First Amendment by censoring conservative content.</p>

<p class="">Apple is in final talks with Paramount to partner and produce <em>Killers of the Flower Moon</em>, which carries a price tag of more than US$150 million, for its Apple TV+ streaming service, reports <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/apple-partner-paramount-martin-scorseses-killers-flower-moon-1287944" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Hollywood Reporter</a>.</p>

<p class="">Apple has acquired Inductiv Inc., a machine-learning start-up, reports <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-27/apple-buys-machine-learning-startup-to-improve-data-used-in-siri" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a>. The engineering team joined the tech giant in recent weeks to work on Siri, machine learning, and data science, the article adds.</p>

<p class="">As noted by <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MarketWatch</a>, shares of Apple rose 0.2% in morning trading Wednesday, enough for the tech giant to leapfrog Microsoft into first place on the list of largest U.S. companies by market capitalization, for the first time in three months.</p>

<p class="">Apple co-founder Mike Markkula is <a href="https://hallhall.com/property-for-sale/california/rana-creek-ranch/a091Y00002CyV8O/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">selling his California ranch for $37.5 million.</a> He was Apple’s third employee and second CEO.​</p>

<p class="">Apple is finally giving customers in India the ability to order customized versions of iMacs, MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs, Mac minis, and other Macs, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/27/apple-begins-offering-macs-with-custom-configurations-in-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reports TechCrunch</a>.</p>

<p class="">The <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/youtube-kids/id936971630#?platform=appleTV" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">YouTube Kids app</a> is now available for the iPhone, iPad, and the Apple TV set-top box. And it’s free.</p>

<p class="">The <a href="https://fidoalliance.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance</a>, an open industry association “with a focused mission: authentication standards to help reduce the world’s over-reliance on password, has launched <a href="http://loginwithfido.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">website</a> to help educate consumers on what Login with FIDO is all about.</p>

<p class=""><a href="https://www.hbomax.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">HBO Max </a>— the new US$14.99/month streaming service — has launched and is available on Apple devices and integrated with the TV app on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and the Apple TV set-top box.</p>

<p class="">Quibi chief producer Tom Conrad announced Quibi 1.3 in a <a href="https://twitter.com/tconrad/status/1265430153150128128?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tweet</a>, adding that it adds AirPlay support. Users can now stream video from the app on an iPhone or iPad to an Apple TV set-top box or smart TVs that support AirPlay.</p>

<p class="">Bryan Chaffin of <em>The Mac Observer</em> has had some issues with Apple’s product release schedules in the past. On the <a href="http://www.macvoices.com/macvoices-20142-bryan-chaffin-discusses-his-satisfaction-level-with-apples-release-schedules-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">latest episode of MacVoices,</a> he joins host Chuck Joiner to weigh in on how things have been going in recent months, both before and during the COVID-19 lockdown.</p>

<p class="">Shortcuts is a free app for iOS and iPadOS devices that runs complicated tasks. It’s a great app, so why isn’t there a Mac version?</p>

<p class="">Apple has filed for a patent (number 10,664,058) that shows it’s looking into methods for an iPhone to serve as a guidance device for the sensory impaired</p>

<p class="">Apple has released macOS Catalina 10.15.5 which sports a Battery Health Management feature.</p>

<p class=""><a href="https://www.vulture.com/2020/05/fraggle-rock-reboot-apple-tv.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Vulture</a> reports that, weeks after debuting a handful of pandemic-produced shorts, that Apple has struck a deal with the Jim Henson Company to produce a formal reboot of the classic kids’ show, “Fraggle Rock,” complete with full-length episodes, for its Apple TV+ streaming service.</p>