Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has released the second public betas of macOS 14.1.4, iOS 12.2, and tvOS 12.2. The public betas are available on <a href="https://beta.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple's Beta Software Program website</a>. Just remember that beta software, so proceed with care.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Another day, another lawsuit. An attempted class action lawsuit — as noted by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/02/05/lawsuit-claims-apples-ios-updates-in-2016-forced-customers-to-buy-new-iphone-chargers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em> </a>— accuses Apple of forcing iOS devices owners to repeatedly buy new chargers by updating the smartphones with new requirements.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,200,761) for a “TV side bar user interface” that may involve an interface for its upcoming video streaming service. Or it could involve features of its TV app on iOS devices. Or both.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Imagine your iMac being Apple to wirelessly charge your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and more. It could happen. Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,199,873) involving a desktop computer that could sport a near field magnetic resonance (NFMR) power supply.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple told<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-france/apple-agrees-to-pay-back-taxes-to-french-authorities-idUSKCN1PU0VS" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> <em>Reuters</em> </a> that it’s reached a deal with France to pay an undeclared amount of back-dated tax, with French media putting the sum at around 500 million euros ($571 million).</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=Bdry5epxJNbOLkuqQQB-4mF0EBeFrQP2cgpOx84pilnExfMsQJUyhKA5ZqLePI1s38ZZ2AP61rnA4grq42i3yw==" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration:underline">Jamf</span></a>, which specializes in Apple management, has acquired <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=utWlfig448Ep9OplBCyH4pUl5Pbf3W2kNKf3jeg0GVaKmvxKskwELDwOBlgxuyuiqNt-wybR33fg9ynBQhhHyw==" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration:underline">ZuluDesk</span></a>, an Apple education technology solution. </p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">David Nield writing for <a href="https://gizmodo.com/why-choosing-between-windows-and-macos-still-matters-1832023864" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Gizmodo</em> </a>points out the Mac’s lag in gaming support compared to Windows. I’d love to see Apple address this issue — and, naturally, I have some suggestions — but first let’s look at some salient points in David’s argument.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Anker has launched its PowerLine II USB-C to Lightning cable, the first of Anker's new USB-C to Lightning cable series to receive Apple's official MFi certification. It’s three feet long and comes in white. The PowerLine II USB-C to Lightning Cable is available for pre-order at <a href="https://www.anker.com/deals/ctolightning" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration:underline">https://www.anker.com/deals/ctolightning</span></a> .</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Apple’s clearance sale of the iPhone SE apparently sold out quickly. But don’t fear.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">According to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-batterygate-lawsuits-cause-apple-to-set-aside-money-2019-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Business Insider</em></a>, Apple is setting aside money to pay for lawsuits related to the “Batterygate” brouhaha.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">In March 2017,  <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-20/apple-s-next-big-thing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a> reported that Apple has built an augmented reality (AR) team of hundreds of engineers “combining the strengths of its hardware and software veterans with the expertise of talented outsiders” and is “very serious about AR. Now one of those team members has left.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Advertising agency employees who work on augmented reality and virtual reality are worried that Apple “is about to upend web-based AR and VR,” according to <a href="https://digiday.com/marketing/definitely-going-break-things-apple-prepping-ios-change-may-hurt-ar-vr-advertising/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>DigiDay</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">A <a href="https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/xbox-live-growing-engaging-your-gaming-community-across-ios-android-switch-xbox-and-pc-presented-by-microsoft/865429" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">note  regarding the session</a>s at the upcoming Game Developers Conference (March 18-22) notes that Jeffrey Shi and Ramsey Khadder of Microsoft’s Xbox team will lead a session about how Xbox Live will expand to iOS and Android devices.</p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">If you longingly remember the heyday of digital albums, you're the person for whom Turntable for Mac is made. It's a "real album" app for macOS (10.13 and higher) and is available at the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/turntable/id835925938?mt=12" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mac App Store</a> for $4.99. </p>

<p style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Future iOS, watchOS, and perhaps macOS devices may allow you to control some user interface elements with your eyes. Apple has been granted another patent (number 20190035356) for “electronic devices with orientation compensation.” It’s the fifth patent filing by the tech giant that involves some form of gaze detection.</p>