Dennis Sellers

<p>There’s a lot happening in the world of Apple news this week. Following are the hottest articles for the week of Jan. 15-20.</p>

<p>Apple’s HomePod has received official FCC approval, which means the smart speaker should be available any day now. Plus, according to the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2018/01/16/2003685829" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Taipei Time</em></a><em>s</em>, Inventec Corp., one of the two assemblers for the smart speaker, has released an initial shipment of about one million.</p>

<p>Apple has hired the tech team from Silicon Valley Data Science (SVDS), a business transformation consulting startup, but didn’t buy the company, according to <em><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/19/apple-has-hired-tech-team-from-data-science-startup-svds/">TechCrunch</a></em>.</p>

<p>The AWT News Update is on a one-day hiatus while my compadre, Steve, takes care of some personal business. In its place, I’ll offer a text-only (no podcast) summary of breaking stories with a tip o’ my hat to my former website, <em>Apple Daily Report</em>.</p>

<p>Apple has taken the top spot on Fortune's annual <a target="_blank" href="http://fortune.com/worlds-most-admired-companies/" rel="noopener noreferrer">"World's Most Admired Companies" list</a> — for the 11th year in a row.</p>

<p>In a note to clients — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.macrumors.com/2018/01/19/kgi-larger-iphones-to-offset-weak-iphone-demand/" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>MacRumors</em></a> — KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says demand for the iPhone X has been weaker than expected (mainly in China), but that larger-sized iPhone models in the pipeline should see Apple grow its overall worldwide shipments year-on-year.</p>

<p>A South Korean consumer group, Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty, has filed a criminal complaint against Apple CEO Tim Cook regarding “Batterygate,” alleging the company deliberately shortens the lifespan  of its handsets.</p>

<p>Apple has announced 70 colleges and universities in Europe have adopted Everyone Can Code, a comprehensive program designed by Apple to help everyone learn to build mobile apps. These colleges and universities are adopting Apple’s App Development with Swift curriculum.</p>

<p>Apple has been granted a patent (number 20180019081) for “keyboard backlighting with reduced driver circuitry” that hints at upcoming Mac keyboards with enhanced backlighting.</p>

<p>I have a fond spot in my heart for the Crash Bandicoot platform/running games from my PlayStation days. That fondness probably affects my feelings for the new Ostrich Island for the Mac, which is available for $4.99 at <a target="_blank" href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/337270/Ostrich_Island/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Stream</a>. </p>

<p>If you’ve set up your tabs in macOS High Sierra, it’s easy to find the items you’ve tagged. Click the Finder icon in the Dock to open a Finder window and do any of the following:</p>

<p>On a regular basis, <em>Apple World Today</em> posts a list of notable new apps or app updates that have been released. They may not necessarily be new, but they're popular and deserve mention. Here are today's picks.</p>

<p>Apple and Samsung are under investigation by Italy’s antitrust organization for alleged “planned obsolescence” of their products.</p>

<p>Apple told <a target="_blank" href="http://www.macrumors.com" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>MacRumors</em></a> that a fix for the “chaiOS” bug is coming in a software update (or two) next week. Look for the solutions to come in iOS 11.2.5 and perhaps macOS High Sierra 10.13.3.</p>

<p>Ireland’s Public Accounts Committee will begin collecting €13 billion (about $14.5 billion) from Apple in March, with payments expected to continue through September, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rte.ie/news/2018/0118/934185-apple-tax/" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>RTÉ</em></a>.</p>