Dennis Sellers

<p>Apple has reduced the shipping times for most iPhone 6s models in China to as little as one day. That compares to one to two weeks for previous generations of iPhones, reports <em>My Drivers</em>, a Chinese website that covers IT industry news and product launches.</p>

<p>Apple has been granted another patent (number 9,167,138) by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office that hints that gesture controlled interfaces are at least being considered for future Macs. If the invention every reaches fruition, Apple won't be the first to bring such technology to the Mac. That would be <a target="_blank" href="http://leapmotion.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Leap Motion</a>, which makes a controller that senses how you naturally move your hands and replicates the movements on your Mac’s display.</p>

<p>Apple did a fine job in <a target="_blank" href="http://tinyurl.com/otx5jsx" rel="noopener noreferrer">upgrading its iWork apps</a> — Pages, Numbers and Keynote — for Mac OS X. I was beginning to fear the utilities were suffering from neglect, but, thankfully, I’ve been proven wrong. The Pages upgrade is especially sweet (of course, it is the iWork app I use the most).</p>

<p>At this week’s Wall Street Journal Digital Live conference, Apple CEO Cook <a target="_blank" href="http://tinyurl.com/oabb99v" rel="noopener noreferrer">discussed a variety of topics</a>, including the next gen Apple TV. He says it will go on sale Monday, Oct. 26, and ship later in the week. It will cost US$149 for a 32GB model and $199 for a 64GB version.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Forget Computers offers a <a target="_blank" href="http://tinyurl.com/pgghwm6" rel="noopener noreferrer">Robot Cloud Starter Kit</a> for US$99 per year that allows you to “secure and organize allyour Apple devices in the cloud” to “to deliver automated device inventory and online alerts.” This is an interesting idea; however, as I've said many times, I really don't like the idea of keeping all of my personal information — including technology details — in the cloud. </p>

<p>The gang at iFixIt has torn apart the new <a target="_blank" href="http://www.apple.com/imac/" rel="noopener noreferrer">21.5-inch Retina 4K iMac </a>from Apple. You can find the complete <a target="_blank" href="//tinyurl.com/p593w6p" rel="noopener noreferrer">teardown here</a>, but following are some of the highlights:</p>

<p>Eternal Storms Software's ScreenFloat for Mac OS X (10.7 and higher) is a screenshot utility with a twist. It lets you create screenshots that float above all other windows. This means you don't have to resize or move windows around just to keep a screenshot visible.</p>

<p>Photos in Mac OS X El Capitan has gotten some solid improvements. My favorite is — no, wait, I'll save that for tomorrow — but I do like that fact that you can now add and edit location information (something iPhotos, the app Photos replaces, was able to do for a long time).</p>

<p>A study by <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/1IgsWvE" rel="noopener noreferrer">Morpace</a>, a market research and consulting firm, says that consumers who own hybrid or electric vehicles "have a high level of trust and interest in an electric vehicle" from Apple. The report also says that Apple plans to manufacture such a vehicle by 2020.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Future Macs and perhaps iOS devices could sport a built-in projector. Apple has been granted a patent (number 20150292709) by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office for "integrated photonics for optical projection."</p>

<p>According to the latest smartphone shipment report from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.trendforce.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">TrendForce</a>, worldwide smartphone shipments in the third quarter grew 9.1 percent over the second quarter, totaling 332 million units. Looking ahead, the research group says Samsung’s annual shipments will enter negative territory for the first time, whereas Apple will keep up its sales momentum in this year’s second half with the iPhone 6s.</p>

<p>The revamped Notes app in Mac OS X El Capitan gets even beefier, adding some Evernote-like features that many users have long wanted. You can embed links for websites and adds images. You can create checklists. Today, let's look at the latter feature.</p>

<p>WaterField Designs' US$59 <a target="_blank" href="http://tinyurl.com/orm2vn8" rel="noopener noreferrer">iPhone 6s Plus Smart Case</a> is a good looking and rugged case with a simple, yet elegant, design that's less than an inch thick. </p>

<p>Apple has topped Samsung as the brand with the strongest connection with consumers in the UAE, according to the UAE MBLM Brand Intimacy 2015 Report. Apple also topped the MBLM Brand Intimacyrankings in the US and Mexico, reports the <a target="_blank" href="http://tinyurl.com/odvpcdj" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gulf News</a>.</p>

<p>Apple is blocking Chinese access to iOS 9's News app in China due to the government's policy of insisting that companies are responsible for censoring sensitive content, notes <a target="_blank" href="http://tinyurl.com/pjtc2d5" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a>, quoting an unnamed "person with direct knowledge of the situation."</p>