Dennis Sellers

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.ikmultimedia.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">IK Multimedia</a> has released the Total Studio 2 MAX bundle, a studio collection of software instruments and FX. It brings together 94 products in one single suite for macOS and Windows systems.</p>

<p>Apple has filed for a patent (number 20180074694) for a “keyless keyboard with force sensing and haptic feedback” that hints at Mac laptops with virtual keyboards instead of physical ones. In other words, the portable would sport two screens instead of one — with one display doubling as a keyboard.</p>

<p>The European Commission antitrust regulators will <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-shazam-m-a-apple-eu/eu-antitrust-regulators-to-decide-on-apple-shazam-deal-by-april-23-idUSKCN1GR1C4">decide by April 23</a> whether to approve Apple’s acquisition of Shazam. The tech giant filed for approval Wednesday. </p>

<p>David Smith, the developer behind the <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pedometer++/id712286167?mt=8" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pedometer++ app</a> for iOS and watchOS, has posted data dubbed “<a target="_blank" href="https://david-smith.org/blog/2018/03/14/apple-watch-series-3-adoption/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple Watch Adoption</a>," which the adoption rate of the smartwatch from Aug. 1, 2017 (a month before the debut of the Apple Watch Series 3) to March 14, 2018. </p>

<p>Apple has posted a <a target="_blank" href="//www.apple.com/families/" rel="noopener noreferrer">new webpage dubbed “Families,”</a> which promotes the kid friendliness of its products. </p>

<p>If you have more than one HomePod, you can manage settings that apply to all of Apple’s wireless speakers in the Home Settings. </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>The AWT News Update is on hiatus while my compadre, Steve, takes a road trip. 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 again been named “the most intimate brand,” according to the <a target="_blank" href="http://mblm.com/lab/brandintimacy-study/" rel="noopener noreferrer">2018 Brand Intimacy Survey</a> by MBLM, a consulting, branding, experience and technology company. Following the tech giant in the top 10 are Amazon, BMW, Jeep, Disney, YouTube, Target, Netflix, Whole Foods Market, and Google.</p>

<p>OWC has introduced the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.owcdigital.com/products/mercury-elite-pro-quad" rel="noopener noreferrer">OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad</a>, an external storage solution that offers four drive bays to provide massive amounts of storage from a single USB-C connection, with the flexibility to be utilized in Mac, PC and mixed Mac/PC environments. </p>

<p>Javier Ramirez has introduced <a target="_blank" href="https://wakefy.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wakefy</a> for macOS 10.12 or later. It’s a free app that turns your Mac into a Spotify alarm clock. </p>

<p>According to the latest research from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.counterpointresearch.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Counterpoint Research’s</a> Refurbished Smartphone tracker, the global market for refurbished smartphones grew 13% year-over-year in 2017, reaching close to 140 million units. This was in contrast with the global new smartphone market that grew a 3% last year, thus being outpaced by refurbished “second life” smartphones.</p>

<p>Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire (pictured) says France will take legal action against Apple and Alphabet’s Google a for “abusive commercial practices,” reports <em><a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-14/france-to-take-action-v-google-apple-for-commercial-practices" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a></em>. He accuses the tech giants of taking advantage of French developers.</p>

<p>Apple has been granted a patent (number 9,917,340) for a “fuel cell system to power a portable computing device” such as an iPad or a Mac laptop.</p>

<p>Soundness’ SoundSoap 5.0, the latest major version of the audio noise reduction software for macOS and Windows, introduced new technology that finds and removes background noises automatically by analyzing the media file. Unfortunately, files with more than one stereo or mono audio track still aren’t supported. Supported file types for opening are determined by Apple’s AV Foundation framework.</p>