Dennis Sellers

<p>The Magical Bridge Foundation has announced Apple, one of the area’s largest employers, will help fund the <a target="_blank" href="http://magicalbridge.org/release-magical-bridge-foundation-announces-apple-will-support-innovative-accessible-new-playground-sunnyvale-california/sunnyvale" rel="noopener noreferrer">Magical Bridge Playground housed in Sunnyvale’s Fair Oaks Park.</a></p>

<p>StarTech.com has released the $317<a target="_blank" href="http://www.startech.com/TB31PCIEX16" rel="noopener noreferrer">Thunderbolt 3 PCIe Expansion Chassis with DisplayPort</a>, a turnkey solution for those looking to extend their laptop expansion options. The chassis enables users to add their choice of external PCI Express (PCIe) card to their MacBook or Windows laptop, and features a dedicated port for connecting a DisplayPort monitor. For additional scalability, the chassis also supports Thunderbolt 3 daisy chaining.</p>

<p>Apple would really, really like you to own more than one Apple Watch. And the tech giant has been granted a patent (number 9,912,799) for “switching between watches or other accessories” that would make it easy to juggle (not literally) multiple smartwatches.</p>

<p>If you’re looking for a way to help manage your weight, consider the Polar Balance. It’s a weight management service that combines the Polar Balance Bluetooth Smart scale, a Polar activity tracker, and the Polar Flow app and web service. The Polar Balance scale <a target="_blank" href="http://www.polar.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">is available</a> in black or white for $99.95.</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>Piper Jaffray <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40539648/this-is-why-a-lot-of-iphone-users-havent-upgraded-to-the-iphone-x?partner=feedburner&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company%29" rel="noopener noreferrer">has released a new survey</a> asking why folks who currently own iPhones haven’t upgrade to the iPhone X. </p>

<p>In a note to clients — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/03/05/apple-likely-to-be-all-in-or-all-out-of-self-driving-cars-within-2-years-analyst-argues" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a> — Guggenheim analyst Robert Cirha says Apple's experimentation with autonomous car technology is likely to veer away from creating a simple platform and back towards a fully self-designed vehicle.</p>

<p>Stanford Students Against Addictive Devices (SSAAD) staged a protest on Saturday outside of the Apple Palo Alta (California) store on University Avenue. The student protesters said the tech giant isn’t taking adequate technology addiction, reports <a target="_blank" href="https://www.stanforddaily.com/2018/03/05/student-group-protests-apple-over-addictive-devices/" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Stanford Daily</em></a>. They also demanded that the company adjust software features to mitigate users’ constant focus on their devices.</p>

<p>For a limited time, Apple’s iPhone X is available at Sprint for 50% off the regular price with a Sprint Flex lease. That’s $20 per month with $0 down. Here are your options for buying aniPhone from the carrier:</p>

<p>Regarding the speculation by KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (read my <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/2/25/why-would-apple-launch-its-own-brand-of-over-ear-headphones-since-it-owns-beats" rel="noopener noreferrer">thoughts here</a>) that Apple will launch its own branded high-end, over-ear headphone with an "all new" design to add to its growing audio accessory lineup, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-05/apple-is-said-to-turn-up-audio-ambition-with-high-end-headphones"><em>Bloomberg</em></a> has corroborated the rumor and added some more info.</p>

<p>Apple has been granted a patent (number 20180059925) for an “enhanced 3D interface for remote devices.” Despite the moniker, it’s another patent hinting at upcoming gesture-based interfaces for the Mac. The tech giant has been granted, or applied for, <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/2/6/apple-granted-another-patent-for-a-gesture-based-ui-for-the-mac?rq=gesture" rel="noopener noreferrer">numerous such patents</a>.</p>

<p>Software and Computer System Company (SCSC)’s <a target="_blank" href="http://scsc-online.com/ClearTime.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">ClearTime for the Mac</a> is a configurable clock and alarm system designed to provide users with a more obvious and configurable alarm and clock monitor than those found with standard Mac apps.</p>

<p>When you say “Hey, Siri,” the light atop your HomePod starts glowing. That doesn’t bother me, but it does others. Thankfully, you can turn it off. Here’s how:</p>

<p>This month the European Union (EU) will unveil plans to tax the revenue of large global tech companies such as Apple in the 2% to 6% range (though likely closer to 2% than to 6%), French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a Le <em>Journal du Dimanche</em> interview as noted by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-tech-tax-lemaire/eu-eyes-tax-on-tech-giants-closer-to-2-percent-than-6-percent-of-revenue-le-maire-idUSKCN1GF0SK" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Reuters</em></a>.</p>