Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple is now taking orders for <a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/15-inch-space-gray-2.6ghz-6-core-512gb" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">15-inch MacBook Pros</a> with AMD Radeon Pro Vega GPUs (graphics processing units). These new graphics options purportedly deliver up to 60% faster graphics performance for the most demanding video editing, 3D design and rendering workloads.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The <a href="http://www.hitecglobal.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Hispanic Information Technology Executive Council</span></a> (HITEC) recently announced Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president, Internet Software and Services, as the 2018 Estrella Award recipient. He was recognized with this award during the HITEC Leadership Summit hosted by Cisco in San Jose on Nov. 8.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.sfbags.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WaterField Designs</a> has announced two new cases for transporting Apple’s 2108 Mac mini: a custom-fitted Mac mini SleeveCase ($59) and the Mac mini Travel Case ($179).</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Swamp Dog has announced Kudos 1.0, a macOS productivity app that can create a source reference for selected text. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Kano is bringing the $99.99 <a href="https://kano.me/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIk7rwgP_R3gIVyP_jBx2wlAQbEAAYASAAEgIEbPD_BwE" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit</a>, an interactive wand that lets you make and code “magic on a screen” to <a href="http://apple.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">apple.com</span></a> and select Apple Stores.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve got a $69.95 <a href="http://www.mophie.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mophie</a> charge stream desk stand connected to my iPhone Xs Max, and, as promised, it provides high-speed wireless charging, delivering up to 10W of power on contact. (My smartphone had an average charge of 38% after 60 minutes.)</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Future AirPods may be a bit more customizable for different sizes of ears. Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,129,625) for “headphone eartips with internal support components for outer eartip bodies.” </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Yikes! Apple has confirmed to <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/12/18077166/apple-macbook-air-mac-mini-t2-chip-security-repair-replacement-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Verge</em></a> that, under a recently revised repair process, only certain authorized replacement parts will work in a T2-equipped Mac. They require a proprietary diagnostic tool be run after the logic board or Touch ID sensor is replaced, so can’t be repaired by third parties.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has appointed Ashish Chowdhary, chief customer operations officer at Nokia Networks, as head of its operations in India, reports <a href="http://www.ians.in/index.php?param=category/10004/10004" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>IANS</em></a>, quoting unnamed “reliable industry sources.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">OWC has introduced the OWC 14-port <a href="https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB3DK14PSG/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Thunderbolt 3 Dock </a>for Mac and Windows systems machines maximizing simplicity and productivity.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Want to make FaceTimes calls on your Apple Watch? It may happen. Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,129,503) for an “image-capturing watch.” </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has updated <a href="http://www.apple.com/swift/playgrounds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Swift Playgrounds</a>, a free iPad app to teach kids of any age basic coding skills in Swift, to version 2.2. The upgrade — available at the Apple App Store — makes third party content easier to discover and download for free directly within the app.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">When Apple hyped the 2018 iPad Pro as a computer that has outsold almost all other laptops, the company begged reviewers to test drive it as a notebook replacement. Is it? For many people, yes, but for a lot of folks, no, it’s not likely to kick your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro to the curb.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive and renowned industrial designer Marc Newson have designed <a href="http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/red-n10000/lot.pr.9YPHM.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a unique ring</a> made exclusively for (RED) by Diamond Foundry. It’s completely made of diamond and is designed for the auction house <a href="http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/red-n10000/lot.pr.9YPHM.html">Sotheby’s</a> Dec. 5 (RED) Auction, raising funds to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in eight African countries.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple’s iPhone was the top-selling mobile phone during Alibaba's record-breaking 24-hour Singles Day shopping event, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/12/alibaba-singles-day-2018-apple-was-the-top-selling-mobile-phone-brand.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>CNBC</em></a>. </p>