Dennis Sellers

<p><span style="font-size:17px">Whatever happened to the post-PC era with tablets slowing replacing traditional personal computers? Tablet shipments continued to decline in the second quarter of 2015, falling 11% year on year to 42.5 million units, although Apple's iPad still dominates, according to the </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.canalys.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Canalys research group.</a></p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://tinyurl.com/o8sm8bc" rel="noopener noreferrer">Intel has announced plans</a> to release a laptop version of its Xeon processor. It's possible we'll see them pop up in the most powerful MacBook Pros ever, though Apple would have to make some compromises in regards to battery power.</p>

<p>A <a target="_blank" href="http://tinyurl.com/q3psaab" rel="noopener noreferrer">new rumor</a> says Apple will introduce an "iPhone 6c" along with an iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s Plus this year, but I don’t see it happening, especially in a four-inch form factor.</p>

<p>I store my various passwords for websites, wireless networks, certificates and more in Mac OS X Keychain. It's very handy as I found out this week when I needed to verify a password that I thought I knew (I was wrong). Here's how you can view all your passwords in Keychain.</p>

<p>Future iPad Smart Cases from Apple may have a power connector between the case and the tablet and to provide illuminated notifications. Apple has been granted a patent (number 9,104,371) by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office for an "integrated visual notification system in an accessory device."</p>

<p>We may yet see Apple products make of an alloy from Liquidmetal as evidenced by two newly published patents. Liquidmetal is the commercial name for a series of amorphous metal alloys. It's the brand name as opposed to the actual name of the material.</p>

<p>Recently, my brother was greeted by an irritating pop-up ad on his Mac. I guided him through the steps to removing it, so I'll repeat them here.</p>

<p>The TV/computer screen buzz lately is about Ultra High Def/4K displays. However, when considering new monitors (and, hey Apple, where's our 5K Thunderbolt Display?) and upcoming iMacs, perhaps Apple should think about pixel quality as well as pixel quantity.</p>

<p>Congratulations, Apple, you've held onto your tittle as the most sued U.S. company. However, you'd better watch out: Samsung is catching up quickly.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Recently I noted that, for whatever reason, Messages on my Mac quit offering the option to send folks messages in any format but its native iMessage format. Since some of my friends, relatives and business associates are still heathens and don't have Macs or iPhones, I had to rejigger things so I could send simple text messages. </p><p>If you're facing the same problem, here's how you send SMS texts from OS X Messages (You'll need both your Mac and iPhone handy):</p>

<p>The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has decided that ripping a CD in iTunes is no longer permitted, and neither is backing up your computer if it contains copyrighted content, notes <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/1M7zWeA" rel="noopener noreferrer">TorrentFreak</a>. That's not right.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">According to the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.canalys.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Canalys research group</a>, Lenovo took the top spot from Apple in the personal computer market (PCs) in the second quarter of 2015. Unlike most research groups, Canalys lists tablets such as the iPad in its tally of personal computers.</p>

<p>Adobe's Flash — a multimedia system for computers that is generally accessed through a web browser — has been slowly dying on the Mac vine for awhile. Perhaps it's time to remove it completely. </p>

<p>The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.blu-raydisc.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA)</a>  has completed an Ultra HD Blu-ray technical specification that will lead to the release of players and discs that support the new format. It will be begin licensing the format starting Aug. 24. However, don't expect any support from Apple.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Analysts often Apple stock, often implying that the company is "doomed" if it doesn't enter a new market such as making televisions (the long-rumored "iTV") or automobiles (the currently rumored "Apple Car'). They ignore one of the reasons Apple has been successful: it does a few things well.</p>