Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">In 2015, Apple announced that it planned to build its first two data centers in Europe to host iCloud, iTunes and other online services. Located in Ireland and Denmark, these facilities will be powered by 100% renewable energy. Now those plans have partially changed. </p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">When you need to “rip” DVDs to your Mac's hard drive, the Little App Factory’s $24.95 <a href="http://thelittleappfactory.com/ripit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">RipIt </a>does it well and quickly. But it's a no-frills app, so other software may meet your needs better. And it can’t rip Blu-ray discs.g</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a new patent (number 2019018037) for “pro-active GPU hardware boot-up” that shows the company wants its Macs to boot-up even faster when using internal and external GPUs [graphics processing units].</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple is spending around $500 million on more than 100 games to debut this fall with its Apple Arcade game service, reports the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/44236e86-5ba3-11e9-9dde-7aedca0a081a" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Financial Times</em></a> (a subscription is required to read the article).</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">OpenX has announced the findings of <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2431872-1&h=3427882142&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.openx.com%2Fottresearch%2F&a=a+nationwide+survey">a nationwide survey</a> conducted by The Harris Poll, showing a massive consumer shift toward OTT/streaming video content consumption is well underway. </p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">On a regular basis, <em>Apple World Today</em> posts a list of notable new apps or app updates that have been released. They may not necessarily be new, but they're popular and deserve mention. Here are this week’s picks.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple manufacturer Foxconn will begin production of the iPhone X in India this July, according to <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/made-in-india-iphone-x-from-july/articleshow/68824180.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Economic Times</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">A Chinese-Taiwanese group will take control of Apple supplier Japan Display after pumping in funds as part of a 232 billion yen ($2.1 billion) bailout plan for the troubled display panel maker, reports <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-display-china/japan-display-to-come-under-chinese-groups-control-after-2-1-billion-bailout-idUSKCN1RO0U1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Reuters</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Disney CEO Bog Iger, also a member on Apple’s Board of Directors, says the upcoming Disney+ will likely come to the Apple TV.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Community Health Systems, Inc., has announced that many of its affiliated hospitals now support Health Records on the iPhone, which brings together hospitals, clinics and the existing Apple Health app to make it easy for patients to see their available medical data from multiple providers whenever they choose. </p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple wants to help you get a better night’s sleep. The company has filed for a patent (number 20190104985) for “adjusting alarms based on sleep onset latency” It involves the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch — whichever ones you use for your alarm.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">In a <a href="https://twitter.com/drbarnard/status/1116447489022996480">Twitter post,</a> developer David Barnard notes that Apple has added an additional confirmation step for subscriptions. </p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Another day, another lawsuit. As noted by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/04/11/new-lawsuit-alleges-patent-infringement-by-all-wi-fi-enabled-apple-products" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a>, a company called Red Rock Analytics is suing Apple for patent infringement.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) says <a href="https://www.acm.nl/en/publications/acm-launches-investigation-abuse-dominance-apple-its-app-store" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">it will investigate </a>whether Apple abuses the position it’s attained with its App Store. </p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">I’ve said before that Apple should introduce both lower-priced HomePods and more expensive ones, the latter for home theater systems (the HomePod Theater?). The company may be considering the latter, as it’s filed for a patent (number 20190180688) for “automatic rendering of 3D sound.” If it ever sees the light of day, such a system would require more than higher-end HomePods.</p>