Dennis Sellers

<p>At Monday's Worldwide Developer Conference keynote, Apple will almost certainly preview the next version of Mac OS X — which will most likely be dubbed “macOS.” Hopefully, the company will concentrate on stability and performance issue, as well as bug fixes. Beyond those, here are some things I'd love to see:</p>

<p>The MacPaw team has conducted a survey of 670 Mac OS X developers, to learn their preferences on app distribution channels, revenue channels, tools they prefer to use, challenges they face, etc.</p>

<p>For all its early momentum, Chromecast had been unable to out ship the Apple TV. This finally changed during the first quarter of 2016 with Apple TV shipping 1.7 million units compared to Google pushing 3.2 million Chromecasts to market, according to the <a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechnology.ihs.com%2F579425%2Fconnected-device-market-monitor-q1-2015&esheet=51359886&newsitemid=20160610005332&lan=en-US&anchor=Connected+Device+Market+Monitor&index=1&md5=3b59277253129cc719606aa0f9110b09">Connected Device Market Monitor</a>. from the IHS research group.</p>

<p>Yesterday, <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2016/6/9/apple-creates-an-apple-energy-energy-subsidiary" rel="noopener noreferrer">it was reported</a> that Apple has created an energy subsidiary, Apple Energy LLC. Now <a target="_blank" href="http://www.hickoryrecord.com/news/catawba-county-approves-lease-for-apple-s-renewable-energy-center/article_cf451340-2e81-11e6-8ea5-17ea0e23e19c.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Hickory Record</a> says there’s a new lease agreement between Catawba County and Apple that will allow for the construction of a renewable energy facility that harnesses landfill gas.</p>

<p><em>MacDailyNews</em> reports Apple will <a href="http://macdailynews.com/2016/06/09/apple-to-deliver-imessage-to-android-at-wwdc/">announce iMessage</a> for Android at Monday's Worldwide Developer Conference keynote event, reports MacDailyNews, citing unnamed “sources.” Currently, the instant messenger service is only available for iOS and OS X devices. </p>

<p>According to the Japanese website <em>Mac Otakara</em> —as noted <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/06/09/rumor-apples-iphone-7-to-ditch-space-gray-for-deep-blue-color-option" rel="noopener noreferrer">by AppleInsider</a> — a Chinese supplier says the upcoming iPone 7 will be available in dark blue, silver, gold and rose gold options. </p>

<p>The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.adata.com/en/ufd/feature/357" rel="noopener noreferrer">ADATA i-Memory Flash Drive</a> combines Apple-certified Lightning and USB connectivity, which makes it a breeze to move files from your Mac to your iOS device. It also supports Live Photos and Apple AirPlay audio and video content with Apple TV compatibility. If only there weren’t some substantial drawbacks to the drive.</p>

<p>If you need to design more than your run-of-the-mill emails and newsletters, Mail Designer Pro from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.equinux.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">equinux</a> needs to be in your software arsenal. It’s gotten even better with the just-released version 3.0.</p>

<p>Apple has updated Logic Pro X — its Mac OS X software for professional songwriting, editing, and mixing — to version 10.2.3. It adds three new Chinese instrument patches: pipa, erhu, and percussion. </p>

<p><a href="http://moovweb.com/">Moovweb</a>, which specializes in powering engaging mobile experiences for the world’s leading brands, has announced plans to optimize its platform for Apple Pay’s rumored debut on mobile web. </p>

<p>Apple has created an energy subsidiary, “Apple Energy’” LLC, that’s registered in Delaware but run from its Cupertino, California headquarters, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://9to5mac.com/2016/06/09/apple-energy-company/" rel="noopener noreferrer">9to5Mac.</a> The company was apparently formed to allow the company to sell excess electricity generated by its solar farms in Cupertino and Nevada, with plans to sell electricity across the whole of the U.S., the article adds.</p>

<p>Paragon Software Group (PSG has released <a href="http://eu.vocuspr.com/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d8.%3b192-%3eLCE19%2f%3a5%3e1-GLCE270%3a&RE=MO&RI=489191&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=125094&Action=Follow+Link">Paragon Hard Disk Manager for Mac</a>, a tool to protect, maintain, and manage your OS X system. It’s designed to cover all aspects of a Mac’s life cycle, from drive partitioning and regular backup to system migration, disaster recovery options, and wiping of recycled storage.</p>

<p>Worldwide PC (as in personal computers, not just Windows systems) shipments are forecast to decline by 7.3% year -over-year in 2016 according to an updated forecast from the International Data Corporation (<a href="http://www.idc.com/">IDC</a>) <a href="http://www.idc.com/tracker/showproductinfo.jsp?prod_id=1">Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker</a>. The outlook continues to call for progressively smaller declines through 2017 followed by stable volume in 2018. </p>

<p>Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product, so here are today’s patent highlights:</p>

<p>I wanted to like the $169.99 <a href="http://magnasonic.com/products/display.php?id=3079">LED Pocket Pico Video Projector</a> (especially since the price has been reduced from $299.99). which is lightweight, sports a pocketable (3.9 x 3.0 x 0.5”) design, and packs a rechargeable battery. However, the limited number of Apple devices with which it works dampened my enthusiasm. </p>