Dennis Sellers

<p>B-Eng has announced SSD Health Check 1.0, the company's new drive utility for macOS. It will alert you when your solid state disk is in a critical state or reaches other critical limits. </p>

<p>MLG Automotive Law (mlgautomotivelaw) — a Newport Beach, California-based firm concentrating on representing the legal interests of businesses and people in the automotive industry — has filed a class action lawsuit against Apple, seeking to enjoin the company from selling further iPhones until it installs texting and driving safeguards.  The lawsuit, <a href="http://mlgautomotivelaw.com/press/2017-01-17-Ceja-v-Apple-Class-Action-Complaint.pdf"><em>Julio Ceja v. Apple Inc. </em></a>, was filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.</p>

<p>The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) officially adopted <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bluetooth.com/bluetooth5" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bluetooth 5</a> as the latest version of the Bluetooth core specification. Consumers can expect to see products supporting the spec in two to six months. It should appear in upcoming Macs, iPads, and iPhones.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://popularcommunitybank.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Popular Community Bank</a>, a subsidiary of Popular Inc., has added support for Apple Pay. Consumer and business banking customers can now enroll their eligible debit cards and pay quickly at participating merchants via Apple’s mobile payment service.</p>

<p>Cinedigm Corp’s <a target="_blank" href="http://www.DoveChannel.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dove Channel</a> is now available on the Apple TV. The Dove Channel app is optimized for tvOS, with a design featuring an improved user interface. Additionally, the app update allows subscribers to synch their account and stream movies across connected devices including iPhone, iPad and other platforms.</p>

<p>The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a Federal Circuit finding that it is jurisdictionally barred under the high court’s Cuozzo decision from considering if the Patent Trial and Appeal Board erred when it invalidated two SightSound Technology patents challenged by Apple on grounds Apple didn't explicitly raise, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://www.law360.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Law360</a>.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.liftmaster.com/?&gclid=CJqiyYzlpMoCFQymaQodUDoOgA">LiftMaster</a>, which makes installed garage door openers and access solutions, is bringing the promise of Apple HomeKit compatibility to the company's MyQ-enabled garage door openers. HomeKit is a framework that allows control of compatible home automation devices through iOS and Siri.</p>

<p>I recommend iBooks Storytime, a free app for the Apple TV (<a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2017/1/18/ibooks-storytime-is-a-fine-apple-tv-app-for-those-who-have-children-or-grandchildren">see my separate review</a>). Here’s how to set it up.</p>

<p>I read many books to my kiddos when they were young, and I love reading to my granddaughter. If you’re a parent or grandparent, I hope you do, too. However, if there are times when that’s inconvenient, you can have the Apple TV handle the job thanks to <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibooks-storytime/id1116818988?mt=8" rel="noopener noreferrer">iBooks StoryTime.</a></p>

<p>The Federal Trade Commission has filed a <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/170117qualcomm_redacted_complaint.pdf">complaint in federal district court charging Qualcomm Inc. with using anticompetitive tactics</a> to maintain its monopoly in the supply of a key semiconductor device used in cell phones and other consumer products.</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 has released a supplemental security update for Mac OS X El Capitan (the predecessor to macOS Sierra. <a href="https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1908?locale=en_US">According to Apple</a>, it “fixes a kernel issue that may cause your Mac to occasionally become unresponsive.”</p>

<p>Well, this just makes you wonder about the the old cliche that 99% of all statistics are made up. Earlier this month <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2017/1/11/apples-airpods-on-their-way-to-dominating-the-wireless-headphone-market?rq=Slice%20Intelligence" rel="noopener noreferrer">Slice Intelligence</a> said that Apple’s AirPods captured a 26% share of the wireless headphone market within a short time of going on sale. Together with a Beats share of around 15%, that put Apple at a combined total of 40%.</p>

<p>Future iOS devices such as iPhone and iPads may have knobs on their screens. Not physical knobs, but virtual ones. Apple has been granted a patent (number 9547,428) for a “system and method for touchscreen knob control.”</p>

<p>Apple is rising the prices for apps and in-app purchases at its app stores in some countries following changes to exchange rates and taxation policy. <a target="_blank" href="https://9to5mac.com/2017/01/17/app-store-app-prices-to-rise-in-the-uk-by-25-following-brexit-exchange-rate-fluctuations/" rel="noopener noreferrer">9to5Mac</a> reports that customers in India, Turkey and the United Kingdom will see price increases.</p>