Dennis Sellers

<p>Fitbit dominated the “basic band” sector of the wearables market in the second quarter 2016, with 3.7 million shipments, <a href="http://www.canalys.com">according to Canalys</a>. Total shipments of basic bands, which are mainly health and fitness trackers, exceeded nine million units, adds the research group.</p>

<p>On the heels of announcing its new PasswordLess <a href="https://www.logmeonce.com/photologin/">PhotoLogin</a> feature, which enables users to log in by taking a photo on the computer that is sent to their trusted mobile device to approve, <a href="http://www.logmeonce.com">LogMeOnce</a> has announced a Visual One-Time Password (OTP) authentication option. </p>

<p>In regards to Apple's recent announcement that PPTP VPN will no longer be supported by their built-in VPN client on macOS Sierra, the folks at Feingeist Software say their VPN client for Mac Shimo is ready for PPTP on the new operating system. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.molotov.tv/">Molotov TV</a>, a popular Netflix alternative in France which combines live and on-demand viewing, has launched on the <a href="http://9to5mac.com/guides/apple-tv/">Apple TV</a>, notes <a target="_blank" href="http://9to5mac.com/2016/08/03/molotov-tv-apple-tv/" rel="noopener noreferrer">9to5Mac</a>.</p>

<p>As noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/08/03/apple-begins-rollout-of-apple-music-services-in-israel" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a>, Apple has expanded the international availability of its Apple Music to Israel, allowing customers in the region to sign up for a three-month free trial via iTunes on Mac and the dedicated Music app on iOS. </p>

<p>There is nothing more exciting than opening the box to your new iPhone; it’s shiny perfection. That lasts for about .2 seconds until we slap a case over it (phone cases being a necessary evil, of course). </p>

<p>We have encrypted storages for our passwords. We encrypt our emails, our chats, and our journals. If you need a secure word processing app for articles and text entries, there’s SecureWords.</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>The Kudelski Group announced today that it has entered into a comprehensive patent license agreement with Apple, Inc. Under the agreement, the parties agreed to dismiss all pending patent litigation. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.</p>

<p>Apple has released the second public betas of macOS Sierra and iOS 10 to public beta testers. The finished versions of the operating system updates are due this fall.</p>

<p>Apple says it paid Japanese suppliers more than $30 billion in 2015, “highlighting its economic contributions to the country in an effort to drum up support in tough times,” according to <a target="_blank" href="http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/In-PR-push-Apple-counts-the-ways-it-helps-Japan-s-economy" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nikkei Asian Review.</a></p>

<p>Apple may sell as many as six million Apple Watch 2 unit’s within its first few weeks of release, if a new <a href="http://www.nextworth.com/">NextWorth</a> survey — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.computerworld.com/article/3103000/apple-ios/apple-may-sell-6-million-apple-watch-2-units-in-weeks.html/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Computerworld</a>. Of course, Apple hasn’t even announced an Apple Watch 2 yet, but I’m predicting (hoping?) that we’ll see it along with an “iPhone 7” announcement sometime between Sept. 9 and Sept. 12.</p>

<p>For small businesses struggling to go digital and mobile, FileMaker, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, has released the <a target="_blank" href="http://info2.filemaker.com/service-business-lp.html?language=en&CID=701i0000001S2wD" rel="noopener noreferrer">Service Business Toolkit</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.filemaker.com/c/ios/us/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">Idea to iPad Bundle</a>. </p>

<p>Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product, so here are today’s patent highlights: </p>

<p>Logitech has announced the <a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.logitech.com%2Fnews%2FCREATE&esheet=51393357&newsitemid=20160802005550&lan=en-US&anchor=CREATE+Backlit+Keyboard+Case&index=1&md5=61a8d266548b16196ede9c13f47fa02b">CREATE Backlit Keyboard Case</a> with Smart Connector for the the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. Already offered for the 12.9-inch Apple tablet, the CREATE Keyboard Case provides a protective case, backlit keyboard, and integrated holder for the Apple Pencil all in one package. </p>