Dennis Sellers

<p class="">Since Steve and I can’t cover everything, we’ll frequently offer a wrap-up of news items you should check out.</p>

<p class="">Apple is offering a free month of service to folks who tried Apple News+ but have since opted out of the news subscription service. The offer was <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2020/07/10/apple-news-plus-promotion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spotted</a> by <em>9to5Mac</em>.</p>

<p class="">Elon Musk, the space and electric-car titan who was the highest-paid executive in the U.S. for 2019 with US$595.3 million, according to the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-highest-paid-ceos/?sref=MRDu5QV3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg Pay Index</a>.</p>

<p class="">Creaks is the latest game on the Apple Arcade, Apple’s US$4.99/month or $49.99/year game streaming service. It’s available for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS.</p>

<p class="">Apple has said that its entire Mac line-up will transfer from Intel processors to Apple Silicon over the next few years. In a note to clients — as noted by <a href="http://www.macrumors.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MacRumors </a>— analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says a 13.3-inch MacBook Pro is likely to be the first product to benefit from the transition.</p>

<p class="">Columnist John C. Dvorak wrote in a December 2017 column dubbed <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/commentary/357782/apple-is-ready-to-ditch-the-mac" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“Apple is Ready to Ditch the Mac”</a> that Apple was, well, ready to ditch the Mac as iOS is poised to replace macOS. Obviously, that never happened — and won’t happen.</p>

<p class="">Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis (<em>Annie, Beasts of the Southern Wild</em>) is set as a lead alongside O’Shea Jackson Jr. in Swagger, Apple’s new basketball-themed drama series, reports <a href="https://deadline.com/2020/07/quvenzhane-wallis-to-star-in-apples-kevin-durant-basketball-drama-swagger-1202981981/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Deadline</a>. She’ll play Crystal, a young, top female basketball player.</p>

<p class="">Photos in iOS 13 introduces a Portrait Lighting feature dubbed High-Key Mono, which uses depth mapping to simulate studio lighting and gives the sensation of either being closer or farther away from your subject.</p>

<p class="">In a new Apple Pay promotion, Apple wants to “make summer yours” with its mobile payment system.</p>

<p class="">Since Steve and I can’t cover everything, we’ll frequently offer a wrap-up of news items you should check out.</p>

<p class="">Worldwide PC — as in “personal computer,” not just Wintel systems — shipments totaled 64.8 million units in the second quarter of 2020, a 2.8% increase from the second quarter of 2019, according to preliminary results by <a href="http://www.gartner.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gartner, Inc</a>. And it was good news for Apple’s Mac.</p>

<p class="">Finland’s Nokia has launched a set of tools for data center networking, developed in cooperation with Apple, to help companies to manage the growth in traffic as 5G and machine learning technologies roll out, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nokia-datacentre-apple/nokia-launches-data-centre-networking-tools-developed-with-apple-idUSKBN24A2JW" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reuters</a>.</p>

<p class="">Apple has updated its iWork apps (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) for the Mac. They’re available at the Mac App Store</p>

<p class="">Apple has released first public betas of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14. The completed (ie, non-beta versions) should arrive this fall.</p>

<p class="">Belkin has introduced new additions to its SCREENFORCE screen protection for MacBooks and BOOST↑CHARGE mobile power collections for multiple Apple devices. The company says they deliver “full privacy, multi-device charging convenience, and ultimate portability.”</p>