Dennis Sellers

<p>As noted by the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mobilenapps.com/articles/27759/20161230/amd-drops-hints-upcoming-next-gen-vega-gpu-architecture.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mobile & Apps website</a>, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) dropped a teaser through its official Twitter account for Radeon that says, "New Year. New architecture," referencing to its next-gen Vega GPU architecture. I think these will be available in the March rev of the iMac and, perhaps, a new Mac Pro.</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>At this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.intel.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Intel</a> is announcing an expansion of its current CPU lineup, with the addition of several new and more powerful seventh-generation Core i-series processors known by the code name of Kaby Lake. You can expect to see them, per my crystal ball, in iMacs that will arrive in the spring and new MacBook Pros that will arrive in late summer or early fall.</p>

<p>Neonode has created the <a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.air.bar&esheet=51484836&newsitemid=20170103005403&lan=en-US&anchor=AirBar&index=1&md5=669f5cef6e3ccfc595ba57fbf2f91dc2">AirBar</a>, a lightweight device that adds touchscreen capabilities to a 13.3-inch MacBook Air. It will be shown at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. </p>

<p>At this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Cognitive Systems Corp., an advanced RF technology company, will launch Aura, a “thoughtful” security system for the home that uses patented spectrum analytics technology to detect and monitor motion, without using cameras.</p>

<p>Remember the language translators in <em>Star Trek</em>? Apple wants to give your iPhone, iPad, and perhaps your Apple Watch such capabilities. The company has filed for a patent (number 9,535,906) for a “mobile device having human translation capability with positional feedback.”</p>

<p>Apple's third-generation Apple Watch is expected to be unveiled in the third quarter of 2017 and will focus on improving battery life and overall performance, but will sport no major redesign, according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.macrumors.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">MacRumors</a>.</p>

<p>If you want the Touch Bar experience that comes on some models of the 2016 MacBook Pro but can’t afford the new laptop, you can experience it on your current Mac with he Duet Display app.</p>

<p>According to the latest market share survey from <a target="_blank" href="http://netmarkeshare.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">NetMarketShare</a>, the market share for iOS rose, but that for macOS dipped in December.</p>

<p>Ahead of Apple Music in the list were Facebook, FaceBook Messenger, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Search, Google Play, Gmail, and Instagram. In the 10th spot, behind Apple Music, was the Amazon App.</p>

<p>I've stared into my crystal ball and this is what I see happening in regards to Apple in 2017. Here’s what I’m predicting for the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">I've stared into my crystal ball and this is what I see happening in regards to Apple in the 2017. First, let’s look at the Mac line-up, which was sorely neglected this year. </p>

<p>If you have a new MacBook Pro and, like me, don’t want all your info stored only “in the cloud,” the <a target="_blank" href="https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/external-drives/owc-mercury-elite-pro-dual/mini" rel="noopener noreferrer">OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini RAID</a> is a great solution for expanding your available local storage.</p>

<p>Apple CEO Tim Cook has called the AirPods a “runaway success,” and maybe he’s not exaggerating. Apple is seeing strong demand for the wireless earpieces during the year-end holidays and its strong sales are expected to benefit the device's manufacturer Inventec, according to a Chinese-language <em>Economic Daily News</em> (<em>EDN</em>) report (as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20161230PB200.html?mod=3&q=AIRPODS" rel="noopener noreferrer">DigiTimes</a>). </p>

<p>A family grieving the death of their daughter wants Apple held accountable for encouraging distracted driving with its FaceTime app, in a <a href="http://courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FaceTime.pdf">lawsuit</a> filed Friday in Santa Clara County Superior Court. FaceTime is a videoconferencing app that Apple includes with its iOS and Mac devices. </p>