Dennis Sellers

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In the second quarter of 2018, Huawei surpassed Apple to secure the number two worldwide smartphone vendor position for the first time ever, according to <a href="http://www.gartner.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gartner, Inc</a>. Apple moved into the number three spot, adds the research group. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I know that Apple and design guru Jony Ive are obsessed with making products as thin as possible. I don’t think they’ll be satisfied until they make Macs, iPads, and iPhones as thin as a sheet of paper.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">FINsix’s $99.99 <a href="https://store.finsix.com/products/dart-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">DART-C</a> is described as “the world’s smallest charger for USB Type-C laptops” such as Apple’s recent Mac laptops (more on that in a minute). I’ll take their word for it, but it does allow you to ditch bulky bricks and USB chargers when you’re on the road.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Future AirPods and other headphones/earbuds from Apple may adjust themselves to your ears. Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,063,960) for “pressure sensing earbuds and systems and methods for the use thereof.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Veteran public relations strategist Brian Bumbery – who has worked with Metallica, Green Day, Chris Cornell and Madonna and spent eight years at Warner Bros. Records, before launching his own BB Gun Press firm in 2011 — has joined Apple as the director of publicity for Apple Music, reports <a href="https://variety.com/2018/music/news/brian-bumbery-publicist-apple-music-1202901818/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Variety.</em></a></p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">In a new job listing posted today — as noted by <a href="https://www.cultofmac.com/572189/siri-job-listings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Cult of Mac</em></a> —  Apple says it is seeking a writer and editor who can help evolve its Siri personal digital assistant into a “distinct, recognizable character” and make it be “more effective and delightful.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2018/08/25/apple-icloud-storage-offer-carriers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">appears to be partnering </a>with all four of the big U.S. carriers with a new iCloud introductory offer. Customers upgrading their iPhone plans get recommended to visit a special iCloud link (<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/9a4c59/free_2_months_of_200gb_icloud_storage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">first discovered on this Reddit thread</a>), which lets customers get 2 free months of the 200 GB iCloud tier, ostensibly to “get ready for your new iPhone.”</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">With Apple expected to announce <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2018/8/27/apples-big-iphoneipad-proapple-watch-event-likely-coming-sept-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a special Sept. 12 event</a> for new iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches, the rumor and analyst mill is abuzz with speculation.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">French radio station <a href="http://www.europe1.fr/technologies/information-europe-1-apple-presentera-ses-nouveaux-iphone-le-12-septembre-3740879" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Europe 1</em></a> says claims that Apple's annual iPhone event will be held Wednesday, Sept. 12, at the Steve Jobs Theater (pictured), with the keynote beginning at 10 a.m. (Pacific).</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Eve Systems has announced the second generation of Eve Room, its indoor climate and air quality monitor with Apple HomeKit technology. HomeKit is a framework that allows control of compatible home automation devices through iOS and Siri.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Zeroonetwenty has debuted <a href="https://www.zeroonetwenty.com/profind/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ProFind 1.0</a>, a search app for macOS. The utility combines both metadata searches or file system searches into one.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Basil Salad Software has released BiggerPicture 1.0 for macOS. It uses machine-learning to increase the resolution of photos and line-art images without causing pixelation or blurs. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple will soon release three 2018 iPhones, all of which will keep the edge-to-edge screen design of the iPhone X, but none will sport entirely new designs, according to a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-27/apple-to-embrace-iphone-x-design-with-new-colors-bigger-screens" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Bloomberg </em>report</a> that quotes unnamed “people familiar with the matter.” What’s interesting about the report is that the tech giant has at least considered branding the new premium phones the "iPhone Xs," indicating that they’re an upgrade to last year’s iPhone X, the article adds. </p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Recently, I wanted to download a YouTube video of my granddaughter, Elizabeth, dancing. If you’ve tried something like this, you know it’s a pain in the patootie. Then I found the free <a href="https://clipgrab.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ClipGrab app</a>, and life was good.</p>

<p style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Apple has been granted a patent for “collaborative document editing,” which hints at enhanced features for the iCloud collaboration features available for Pages, Keynotes, and Numbers users.</p>