Dennis Sellers

<p>In a note to clients —as noted by <a href="http://macrumors.com">MacRumors.com</a> — KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts the iPad Air 3 will debut in the first half of 2016 (but without 3D Touch) and that the iPhone 7 will arrive in the September timeframe.</p>

<p>Good news for the Apple TV: new data from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.parksassociates.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Parks Associates</a> finds that 14 percent of U.S. broadband households plan to buy a streaming media player by midyear 2016 and that, as of the third quarter of 2015, 31 percent of U.S. broadband households currently own a streaming media player, up from 27 percent at the beginning of the year.</p>

<p>Apple has updated its OS X version of iTunes to 12.3.2. It brings the desktop version of Apple Music in line with the recently released iOS 9.2 version of Apple Music. </p>

<p>Apple's iOS platform is the highest performing among its competitors with about 55 percent of the medical app market in terms of dollars for 2015, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kaloramainformation.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kalorama Information</a>. </p>

<p>Apple is predicted to close out 2015 with 32 percent share of the ultraportable PC segment, specifically due to its MacBook Air models, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.abiresearch.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">ABI Research</a>. </p>

<p>Along with Mac OS X 10.11.2 and iOS 9.2, Apple has released tvOS 9.1, an update to the operating system of the fourth get Apple TV. It introduces support for Siri search for Apple Music, which lets Apple TV owners ask Siri to play content from Apple Music. </p>

<p>Apple has been granted a patent (number 9207833) by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office for a “collaboration system” that hints at future users for <a href="http://www.apple.com/apple-pencil/">the Apple Pencil</a> introduced for <a target="_blank" href="http://www.apple.com/ipad/" rel="noopener noreferrer">the iPad Pro</a>. Or perhaps an “offspring” of the pen.</p>

<p>Apple has been granted a patent (number 9207729) for the design of the latest Mac Pro. It can’t really be called new, as it was introduced in 2009 and hasn’t been updated since, which has led to the not-infrequent accusation that Apple is ignoring its pro users. </p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.paloaltonetworks.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Palo Alto Networks</a>, a cybersecurity company, has revealed details of a new "BackStab" attack that it says is used to steal private information from mobile device backup files stored on a victim's computer. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.rippletraining.com/plugin/timelines/">Timelines from Ripple Training</a> -- a $59 plug-in set designed exclusively for Final Cut Pro X -- is a cool collection of eight transition effects that create graphical timelines for videos. </p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Apple has been granted a patent (number 20150342307) by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office for a “woven display’ that could result in future Apple Watch bands that display information such as medical information and which could even alert you if the watch band isn’t fastened securely (hey, those Apple Watches are expensive).</p>

<p>Wristly — the “the independent voice of Apple Watch” — has published its first annual “State of the Apple Watch” report — <a target="_blank" href="http://tinyurl.com/h2ewpqh" rel="noopener noreferrer">which you can download her</a>e —  of Apple Watch users. The report, based on 2,000-plus Wristly panelists — find a 97 percent satisfaction rating for the Apple smartwatch.</p>

<p>For the fourth year in a row, Walmart ranked No.1 in the Solar Means Business report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), which identifies major commercial solar projects and ranks top corporate solar users. Apple, Kohl’s, Macy's, Walgreens, Target, IKEA, Prologis, FedEx, Intel, General Motors, Verizon, Johnson & Johnson, Bed Bath & Beyond, Safeway, Hartz Mountain, Staples, L'Oreal, Kaiser Permanente and Toyota are also among the companies recognized for their amount of solar capacity and number of solar installations.</p>

<p>Apple apparently registered the strongest Friday sales in its entire history on Black Friday (Nov. 27), <a href="http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2015/11/30/this-black-friday-was-strongest-in-apples-history-global-equities/?mod=BOL_hp_blog_tt">says Global Equities' Trip Chowdhry</a>. He attributes this to the company's "strategic shift in selling."</p>

<p>Another day, another lawsuit. Deric White, 68, is suing Apple for “wiping away his life” when he took his iPhone 5 to an Apple Store for repair — and didn’t back up his data. If I’m counting correctly, this is the ninth lawsuit (two involving Wi-Fi Assist and two involving Shanda Games) filed against Apple this year.</p>