Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Hitting the road soon? Dog & Bone’s $59.95 LockSmart Travel is a TSA accepted, keyless, Bluetooth luggage padlock controlled by an iOS or Android app.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Broadcom has forecast current-quarter revenue largely above estimates on higher demand for components that power data centers, while the launch of new iPhones is expected to bolster its wireless business, reports <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-broadcom-results/broadcom-sees-fourth-quarter-boost-from-data-center-demand-iphone-launch-idUSKCN1LM31Z" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Reuters</em></a>.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20180253172) involving iPads and, to some degree, Macs with touch sensitive areas surrounding the main display. The patent is dubbed an “electronic device having a display and surround touch sensitive surfaces for user interface and control.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has hired Liz Schimel, a veteran media exec who previously served as president of Conde Nast China, “another sign of the increasing importance of Apple’s news operation, which has become a significant source of traffic for many media organizations at a time when Facebook is placing less emphasis on news,” notes <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/apple-hires-former-cond-nast-executive-for-news-app" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Information</em></a>. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Logitech’s Crayon stylus, currently only available to educational customers, will be made available to the general public on Sept. 12, the same day as Apple’s “Gather Round” event (hmmmmm). It’s a digital pencil that works with a variety of apps and software, including Apple’s updated Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, Microsoft Office and Explain Everything.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://satechi.net" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Satechi</a> has announced the Aluminum Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard and Aluminum USB Wired Keyboard, both of which are designed with the iMac in mind (though they’ll work with other Macs).</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple will be launching a dedicated web portal for authenticated law enforcement officers to submit lawful requests for data, track requests, and obtain responsive data from the company by the end of the year.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The European Commission — an institution of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the EU treaties and managing the day-to-day business of the EU — <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-shazam-m-a-apple-eu/eu-clears-apples-purchase-of-shazam-idUSKCN1LM1TZ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has given the green light </a>to Apple’s acquisition of Shazam. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a second patent (number 20180249783) that would tell you, among other things, when your shoes are starting to wear out. If the patent ever comes to fruition, I would image it would involve the company’s ongoing partnership with Nike since I doubt we’re going to be seeing a line of Apple Shoes with embedded chips.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20180253609) for a “system and method for light and image projection” that will only fuel the rumors that the company is building an “Apple Car.” Details of the invention show that it could also be used in an Apple Bike, Apple Train, or Apple Plane (though I don’t suspect we’ll see any of those).</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has delayed plans to launch Apple Pay in India after landing in a regulatory grey zone despite holding discussions with a few leading banks and the National Payments Corporation of India, which manages the United Playments Interface-based (UPI) platform, reports <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/after-amazon-whatsapp-apple-orders-stop-payment/articleshow/65694577.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Economic Times</em></a>, quoting unnamed “people with knowledge of the matter.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The downside of Apple's love affair with Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports on the MacBook and MacBook Pro is that you have to buy adapters and cables to interface with just about anything. If you need to record video and audio directly to your Mac, you’ll need another one: StarTech’s <a href="https://www.startech.com/AV/Converters/Video/usb-c-video-capture-device~UVCHDCAP" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">HDMI to USB-C Video Capture Device (UVCHDCAP)</a> .</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">According to <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/inside-the-world-of-eddy-cue-apples-services-chief" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Information</em></a>, Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, is so “overextended” he sometimes falls asleep during meetings. No wonder. He oversees Apple Music, iTunes, Apple Maps, Apple Pay, iCloud, and more.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that the 2018 Apple Watch will have a 15% bigger screen. There’s mounting evidence that he’s right. He doesn’t say exactly how this will be accomplished or if the updated smartwatch will pack a bigger chassis. Currently, Apple Watches come in 38mm or 42mm sizes.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/apple-amazon-tiff-1202927824/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Variety</em></a> is reporting that Apple’s video production execs, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, will head to the Toronto International Film Festival this week. Execs for the streaming giant “will arrive with checkbooks in hand as they look to make potential acquisitions that could fill out the content pipeline for the company’s still-under-wraps entertainment service,” the article adds.</p>