Dennis Sellers

<p>Spiceworks, a platform and website for IT pros, has announced the results of a new survey examining the adoption and usage of intelligent assistants and AI (artificial intelligence) chatbots in the workplace. </p>

<p>Just in case you’d like to go scuba diving with your HomePod, Catalyst (<a href="http://www.catalystcase.com">www.catalystcase.com</a>) has released the Catalyst Waterproof Case for Apple’s wireless speaker. Well, actually you can’t scuba dive with it, but you can, theoretically, sink the HomePod down to 33 feet with the case protecting it.</p>

<p>Apple has started beta testing a new <a target="_blank" href="https://beta.business.apple.com/static/docs/beta.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer">Business Manager platform</a>, which is slated to debut later this spring. </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 both macOS and iOS both increased slightly last month. </p>

<p>Apple wants to make it easier to share location information among its iOS and watchOS devices. The company has been granted a patent (number 20180091951) for the aptly-named “sharing location among devices” and refers to the “Find My Friend” feature on iPhones and iPads.</p>

<p>You can set up the Remote app on your Apple Watch to play music on your Apple TV. To use the Remote app, set it up with your Apple TV or in iTunes on your computer. You only need to set up the app once for each device, and you can remove devices later. After you set up the app, you can quickly choose what to control from your smartwatch.</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 hiring trend data suggests that the company is hiring hundreds of engineers to make Siri, its personal digital assistant, smarter. </p>

<p>Apple is facing a 12.7 billion won (approximately $11.9 million) class action lawsuit in South Korea regarding “Batterygate,” reports <a target="_blank" href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-slapped-with-12-million-lawsuit-for-battery-scandal-in-south-korea/" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>ZDNet</em></a>.</p>

<p>Apple has released the <a href="https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1959">combo updater for macOS High Sierra 10.13.4</a>. It contains everything in the macOS Sierra 10.13.4 released yesterday, along with all the updates since High Sierra’s inaugural 10.13.0 release back in the fall. </p>

<p>U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh on Thursday appeared open to excluding testimony by one of Samsung’s proposed experts in an upcoming damages trial in California federal court with Apple over the designs of its smartphones, criticizing the expert for picking “some arbitrary J.D. Power percentage,” reports <a target="_blank" href="https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1027758/judge-koh-rips-samsung-expert-before-apple-damages-trial?nl_pk=ade0cf2b-ea3f-464b-bc93-d8e19277ac63&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Law360</em></a>.</p>

<p>Although I prefer the HomePod for use in my home office, <a target="_blank" href="https://audioengineusa.com/shop/wirelessspeakers/a5-wireless-speakers/?utm_source=Audioengine+press+%26+reviewers&utm_campaign=68ecacfc7a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e4feea32dd-68ecacfc7a-289848513&goal=0_e4feea32dd-68ecacfc7a-289848513&mc_cid=68ecacfc7a&mc_eid=4e155b57bd" rel="noopener noreferrer">Audioengine’s A5+Wireless Speakers </a>are some of the best around — though, at $499 (and up), they should be. That A5+ is a two-way powered speaker system with 5-inch Kevlar woofers and three-quarter-inch silk dome tweeters. Bluetooth set-up is easy, and there’s a Bluetooth antenna to keep your stream of tunes from dropping. </p>

<p>Apple has filed for a patent (number 20180089563) involving “decision making for autonomous vehicle motion control.” It probably involves an advanced version of CarPlay, since I don’t think Apple will ever product an entire “Apple Car.”</p>

<p>You can set up your HomePod, Apple TV 4K, Apple TV (4th generation), or iPad as a home hub to automate and remotely control your HomeKit accessories from your iOS device. </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>