Dennis Sellers

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">iAvatar, anyone? Apple has filed for another  patent (number 20160086386) for an “avatar creation and editing” that would allow users to create custom avatars (onscreen representations of a person) for use in online games and other applications. The other two patent filings are number 20160086386 and 9,576,400.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">In a new <a href="https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/13240025" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Geekbench benchmark</a>, the new MacBook Pro with a 2.4GHz Core i9 chip earned a single-core score of 5879 and a multi-core score of 29184. That’s a substantial leap over the previous high-end 6-core MacBook Pro from 2018.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Samsung is talking with Apple about supplying OLED displays for a 16-inch MacBook Pro and future iPad Pro models, according to Korean site <a href="https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thelec.kr%2Fnews%2FarticleView.html%3Fidxno%3D1695" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Elec</a> as noted and translated by <a href="http://www.macrumors.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>MacRumors</em></a>.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.jamf.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jamf</a>, which specializes in Apple management, has announced the results of an independent survey on higher ed students’ device preference.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Almost five years ago, Ben Kunz writing for <em>Bloomberg Businessweek, </em>predicted that Apple devices would soon project holograms "like you’ve never seen." Sounds a bit out-there, right? But Kunz could have been onto something. The tech giant has applied for a patent (number 20190150731) for an “information system and method for provide information using a holographic element.”</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20190158552) for a network media device that pulls multimedia data from one or more sources (e.g., a multimedia website or a multimedia server computer) at a first time, stores it to long-term storage within the device and transmits the stored multimedia data to one or more designated multimedia playback devices at a second time.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple currently has 33 employees working on augmented reality projects, according to <em>Thinknum</em>. A word-cloud analysis of openings for AR since 2016 shows a clear move from R&D to market research, resale, and retail applications, the article says.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has released an updated version of macOS Mojave 10.14.5 for 2018 and 2019 for MacBook Pro models (15-inch) that feature a T2 security chip. It can be downloaded via  the "Software Update" section of System Preferences on the laptops.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">FileMaker, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, has released the FileMaker 18 Platform, which features a range of enhancements from an improved user interface to a larger offering of security controls, according to Ann Monroe, vice president of worldwide marketing and customer success at FileMaker, Inc. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has sent out its press invitations for the keynote that will kick off the Worldwide Developer Conference. The keynote will be help at 10 a.m (Pacific) on Monday June 3, at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, CA.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><a href="https://webkit.org/blog/8943/privacy-preserving-ad-click-attribution-for-the-web/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple has introduced </a>a new privacy technology in WebKit that allows the attribution of ad clicks on the web while preserving user privacy. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><a href="https://clever.com)" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Clever, </a>a single sign-on platform for K-12 education, has hired Eric Krugler to be the company's vice president of engineering. He comes to Clever from Apple where he was senior director of engineering for the iCloud engineering team.</p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">In a positive note about the upcoming Apple TV+ streaming service, due this fall, video streaming expands its lead over subscription TV service in terms of customer satisfaction, rising 1.3% to a score of 76 on the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s (ACSI) 100-point scale, according to the <a href="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theacsi.org%2Fnews-and-resources%2Fcustomer-satisfaction-reports%2Freports-2019%2Facsi-telecommunications-report-2018-2019&esheet=51987556&newsitemid=20190521005130&lan=en-US&anchor=ACSI+Telecommunications+Report+2018-2019&index=1&md5=9718e5d4e2f40304372adecb7030d794">ACSI Telecommunications Report 2018-2019</a>. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,296,177) for “interactive content for digital books” that involves is iBooks Author software. </p>

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Canadians who purchased an Apple Watch Series 4 in Canada may soon get the device’s electrocardiogram (ECG) app and irregular rhythm notifications, as both features have been approved by Health Canada, according to <a href="https://www.iphoneincanada.ca/watch/health-canada-approves-apple-watch-ecg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>iPhoneInCanada</em></a>.</p>