Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Target, Taco Bell, Hy-Vee supermarkets in the Midwest, Speedway convenience stores and Jack in the Box are the latest merchants to support Apple Pay, Apple’s mobile contactless payment system that lets you pay in stores using an iPhone or Apple Watch. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple wants to make it easier to handle voice-to-text or text-to-voice functions on an Apple Watch even in a crowded environment. The company has filed for a patent (number 10,187,512) for “notifications with custom user interface.” </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">For the 12th year running, Apple has topped the <a href="http://fortune.com/worlds-most-admired-companies/list" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">World's Most Admired Companies</span></a> list by <em>Fortune</em>. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has apparently settled a lawsuit with biometrics firm Valencell regarding alleged patent infringement regarding the Apple Watch. According to <a href="https://the5krunner.com/2019/01/21/apple-vs-valencell-settled/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The 5K Runner </em>website</a>, the case has been settled and neither company plans to comment.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">We’ve heard this before, but a <a href="https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20190122PD204.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>DigiTimes</em></a> report says glass passivated package (GPP) bridge rectifier orders for Apple's AirPower “continue to pour in.” Citing unnamed sources, the article says the wireless charger will be available later this year.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In the past, I’ve expressed my desire for a “HomePod Theater,” a higher end, home theater model of the HomePod with Dolby Atmos support. However, Apple may have something even more interesting in the works. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">On its <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/01/out-of-a-culture-of-giving-a-world-of-difference/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Newsroom page</a>, Apple is highlighting how Apple volunteers are helping to “transform lives.” </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.lexanimotorcars.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lexani Motorcars</a>, which specializes in luxury stretch and armored conversions, has produced the 30" Extended Cadillac Escalade Viceroy Edition—the world's first 2019 stretched Cadillac Escalade mobile office that packs multiple iPads.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Last March, Apple announced Everyone Can Create with educators and students in mind. Now the tech giant has released four new translations of the curriculum on Apple Books in French, German, Italian, and Spanish.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">If you want your handwritten notes on an iPhone or iPad converted to text, you're going to need an app that supports handwriting conversion. Sadly, Apple’s Notes and Pages for iOS can’t handle the job. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has filed for a patent (number 20190020925) for a “channel bar user interface” that could involve the company’s upcoming streaming service. It involves a media content provider that includes storage for storing and serving video content to subscribers. The media content provider records and or otherwise stores video content from around the world. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I recently noticed that the temperature display on the default watch face on my Apple Watch quit displaying the correct temperature. If you experience this, here’s how to fix it:</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Previously, I’ve opined that there would be no iPhone SE 2. Now I’m not so sure.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Director/producer Ron Howard and his production partner Brian Grazer have made a new, first-look deal with Apple to air its Imagine Documentaries films on the company’s upcoming video streaming service, according to <a href="https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/imagine-apple-documentary-first-look-pact-1203112356/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Variety</em></a><em>.</em></p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">With the fairly recent announcements about the new Mac mini and MacBook Air, you may be considering splurging on some of the new hardware. If you’re getting ready to sell your current Mac, you should make sure all your data is off of it before turning it over to another person. To do this, make sure that all of your data is backed up, then sign out of everything.</p>