Dennis Sellers

<p>The most desired electronics this holiday season include Apple’s AirPods, Sony PlayStation VR as well as home assistants, including Amazon Echo and Google Home, according to Adobe’s online shopping predictions. </p>

<p>Apple has been granted a patent (number 20170317707) for “drop countermeasures for electronic device,” which is designed to make iPhones, iPads, and perhaps even Mac laptops less likely to sustain damage if dropped.</p>

<p>Using the Safari web browser in iOS 11, you can save a webpage in PDF format. Here’s how:</p>

<p>If you're like me, you're awaiting the day when you can cut the cable or satellite cord entirely. I haven't quite reached that day yet. However, a product like the $149 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.winegard.com/elite" rel="noopener noreferrer">Elite 7550</a> from Winegard Company may help you get closer to that goal.</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>Mac sales were up 25% year-over-year by unit number in Apple’s fiscal 2017 fourth quarter that ended Sept. 30. Apple desktop/laptop numbers were 5.4 million for the quarter compared to the 4.9 million Macs sold in the same period of 2016.</p>

<p>iPhone sales were up 2% year-over-year by unit number in Apple’s fiscal 2017 fourth quarter that ended Sept. 30. Apple smartphone numbers were 46.7 million for the quarter compared to the 45.5 million iPhones sold in the same period of 2016.</p>

<p>iPad sales were up 14% year-over-year in Apple’s fiscal 2017 fourth quarter that ended Sept. 30. Apple tablet numbers were 10.3 million for the quarter compared to the 9.3 million iPads sold in the same period of 2016.</p>

<p>Apple's services category set an all-time quarterly revenue record of just over $8.5 billion in Apple’s fiscal 2017 fourth quarter that ended Sept. 30. The category includes the App Store, iTunes Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, AppleCare, licensing fees, and more.</p>

<p>Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the Apple Watch saw unit growth of over 50% for the third consecutive quarter during Apple’s fiscal 2017 fourth quarter that ended Sept. 30. As usual, he didn’t mention how many units were sold.</p>

<p>Apple has announced the financial results for its fiscal 2017 fourth quarter that ended Sept. 30 — with revenues beating the Street’s estimate by $1.81 billion The tech giant posted quarterly revenue of $52.6 billion, an increase of 12% from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.07, up 24%. International sales accounted for 62% of the quarter’s revenue.</p>

<p>Upwork, a freelancing website, has released its newest quarterly index of the hottest skills in the U.S. freelance job market. Final Cut Pro X specialists rank 10th on the psi and Swift developers come in at 11th place.</p>

<p>Apple’s iOS 11 has overtaken its former version iOS 10.3 less than a month after release according to <a target="_blank" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatcounter.com%2F&esheet=51710034&newsitemid=20171102005971&lan=en-US&anchor=web+analytics+company+Statcounter&index=2&md5=0a6ee9ce80bede891a9f00c5afa08ef6" rel="noopener noreferrer">web analytics company Statcounter</a>.</p>

<p>Sonnet Technologies has introduced a new paradigm in Thunderbolt-connected external GPU (eGPU) devices with the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sonnettech.com/product/egfx-breakaway-puck.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">eGFX Breakaway Puck</a>, a portable, high-performance, all-in-one eGPU for Thunderbolt 3 computers that delivers accelerated graphics, and provides multi-display connectivity leveraging AMD's Eyefinity technology. You can use it with a Mac. Kinda.</p>

<p>Apple has been granted a patent (number 20170315691) for a “mapping application with an interactive compass.” It involves the Maps app for macOS, iOS, and watchOS devices.</p>