Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple places 71st on Glassdoor’s list of the<a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Award/Best-Places-to-Work-LST_KQ0,19.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> “2019 Best Places to Work</a>” in the U.S. That’s up from 84th last year.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In a note to clients — as noted by <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/12/05/health-tracking-airpods-faces-competition-from-google-and-amazon-suggests-ming-chi-kuo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a> — Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the AirPods are more than just earbuds for Apple and will become increasingly important" to the company. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">iFixIt is offering <a href="http://createsend.ifixit.com/t/r-l-jtsojy-xlkjygu-i/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">the Mac mini Late 2018 Memory Maxxer RAM Upgrade Kit</span></a>. For $164.99, you get a PC4-21300 16GB RAM chip; a spudger, opening tool; angled tweezers, precision bit driver, and 4mm precisions bits. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">“Apple, tear down this wall!” What wall? The one between iOS and macOS.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,147,459) for “artistic style transfer for videos. It involves methods to easily apply different styles to videos crafted in its iMovie (macOS and iOS), Final Cut Pro X (macOS), and Clips (iOS) apps.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The Mac’s Touch Bar is actually a second, mini-display. Which means you can take a screenshot of whatever it’s displaying.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has presented its <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/12/apple-presents-the-best-of-2018/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2018 global top charts</a> from its editors across apps, music, podcasts, books, TV, and movies.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon Callus, an Apple security expert, who was previously hired back in 2011, and then re-hired in 2016, is leaving the tech giant again, this time to join the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/aclu-apple-idUSL1N1Y9025" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Reuters</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has ordered an AAU basketball drama series dubbed <em>Swagger</em> from NBA superstar Kevin Durant, according to <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/kevin-durant-swagger-apple-aau-basketball-drama-series/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Wrap</em></a>. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Lawyers behind a UK class-action style compensation litigation against Google for privacy violations have filed an application requesting permission to appeal against a recent High Court ruling blocking the proceeding, reports <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/04/google-you-owe-us-claimants-arent-giving-up-on-uk-safari-workaround-suit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>TechCrunch</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://crunchbase.com/organization/epic-games-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Epic Games </a>— an American video game development company that creates games such as Fortnite and offers its game engine technology to other developers — plans to launch a desktop games store built to take on Valve’s Steam Store.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">OWC has launched a refreshed <a href="https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TCDRVDCK/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">OWC Drive Dock</a> that supports up to two, simultaneous drives and connects to any Mac or PC with the latest USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 port for data rates of up to 981MB/second.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 10,149,041) for “earbuds with compliant member” that hints at features we could see in upcoming versions of the company’s AirPods, such as some of the biometric readings available with the Apple Watch.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">With Christmas just around the corner, it's time to buy a special gift for the person most important in your life. In my case, that would be me.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In writing for <a href="http://www.osnews.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">OS News</a> last year, Thom Holwerda said that Apple was exploring MacBook Pro features such as hooking an iPad up to a Mac to use it as a Cintiq-like device. That’s a great idea.</p>