Dennis Sellers

<p>It’s been a cold, snowy, winter here in Nashville, Tennessee — and we still have a couple of months to go!. There’s always a chance that, if my neck of the woods ices over, the power will go out. If that happens, I’ll pack my 27-inch iMac 5K in my LaVolta Carry Case, head to a place where there’s working electricity, and carry on with my chores for <em>AppleWorld Today</em> (you’re welcome).</p>

<p>You can tag files and folders in macOS High Sierra to make them easier to find. Tags work with all your files and folders, whether you store them on your Mac or keep them in iCloud.</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 AWT News Update is on a one-day hiatus while my compadre, Steve, takes care of some personal busines. In its place, I’ll offer a text-only (no podcast) summary of breaking stories with a tip o’ my hat to my former website, <em>Apple Daily Report</em>.</p>

<p>Apple has landed a 10-episode comedy series executive produced by and starring Kristen Wig, the <em>Saturday Night Live </em>grad and movie actress (<em>GhostBusters, Downsizing), </em>according to<em> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/kristen-wiig-star-apple-comedy-series-reese-witherspoon-1075242?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=THR%20Breaking%20News_2018-01-17%2009:15:00_lgoldberg&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_breakingnews" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Hollywood Reporte</a></em><a target="_blank" href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/kristen-wiig-star-apple-comedy-series-reese-witherspoon-1075242?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=THR%20Breaking%20News_2018-01-17%2009:15:00_lgoldberg&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_breakingnews" rel="noopener noreferrer">r</a><em>. </em>The project, inspired by Curtis Sittenfeld's upcoming short-story collection <em>You Think It, I'll Say It</em> and produced by Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine banner.</p>

<p>Someone is attaching Apple shuttle buses that carry employees to and from San Francisco to the company’s Cupertino headquarters, according to an internal Apple email thread viewed by <a target="_blank" href="http://mashable.com/2018/01/17/apple-shuttle-attacks/#Mu7YwMpmqmqE" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Mashable</em></a>. Apparently, “rubber rounds” — rubber or rubber-coated projectiles that can be shot from either standard firearms or dedicated riot guns — are being fired at the vehicles, sometimes breaking windows.</p>

<p>Apple is among the companies that added the most debt last year to to finance either acquisitions or stock repurchases, says S&P Dow Jones Indices, reports <a target="_blank" href="https://www.investors.com/news/technology/att-apple-amazon-top-bond-issuers-ahead-of-rising-interest-rates/" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Investor’s Business Daily</em></a>.</p>

<p>Apple has announced a new set of investments to build on its commitment to support the American economy and its workforce, concentrated in three areas where the tech giant has had the greatest impact on job creation: direct employment by Apple, spending and investment with Apple’s domestic suppliers and manufacturers, and fueling the app economy that the company created with iPhone and the App Store. </p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/cheesecakeufo" rel="noopener noreferrer">Abraham Masri</a> has shared a link on Twitter that can freeze a recipient’s iOS or macOS device, and possibly restart it, when sent in a text message.</p>

<p>VoIP-Pal.com Inc., which earlier beat back Apple’s challenges to two patents for Voice over Internet Protocol technology, on Friday characterized as "absurd" the company's bid for sanctions after it alleged VoIP-Pal tainted Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceedings with a series of behind-the-scenes communications, reports <em><a target="_blank" href="https://www.law360.com/articles/1001158/voip-pal-says-apple-s-sanctions-bid-at-ptab-absurd-" rel="noopener noreferrer">Law360</a></em>.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.secdo.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Secdo</a>, which specializes in automated endpoint security and incident response technology, has announced support for macOS. The company says its approach “brings a number of long-awaited firsts among endpoint detection and response providers who lack feature parity for organizations faced with growing numbers of Mac users.”</p>

<p>The number of class action lawsuits against Apple over “Batterygate” has reached 45, but the law firm of DiCello Levitt & Casey wants to go rather further than demanding compensation. As noted by <a target="_blank" href="https://9to5mac.com/2018/01/17/iphone-battery-replacement-lawsuit/" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>9to5Mac</em></a>, it wants to force the tech giant to suspend the battery recycling program, keeping all the old batteries swapped so far.</p>

<p>Thomson Reuters, a mass media and information firm, has published its first "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/products-services/technology/top-100.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">Top 100 Global Technology Leaders</a>" list, which celebrates "the industry's most operationally sound and financially successful organizations.” Apple places sixth on the list.</p>

<p>We may be able to get our hands on an Apple HomePod soon. According to the <em><a target="_blank" href="http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2018/01/16/2003685829" rel="noopener noreferrer">Taipei Time</a>s</em>, Inventec Corp., one of the two assemblers for the smart speaker, has released an initial shipment of about one million.</p>

<p>There’s talk that Apple is working on a “foldable” (or at least bendable) iPhone for the future. A newly granted Apple patent (number 9,869,807) for “electronic devices with soft input-output components” may add credence to the rumor as it involves flexible connectors.</p>