Dennis Sellers

<p>Customer satisfaction with personal computers halts a three-year slide, according to new data from the <a href="http://www.theacsi.org/">American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)</a>. The ACSI Household Appliance and Electronics Report 2016 includes desktops, laptops, and tablet computers, as well as household appliances, televisions and computer software.</p>

<p>Two Apple patents have popped up that could — and let me emphasize COULD — be related to the Project Titan project, which is rumored to involve an Apple car.</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>Future Macs may watch you watching them. Let me explain. Apple has been granted a patent (number 9,454,225) for “gaze-based display control.” It involves a method for receiving an image such as the eye of someone looking at a Mac, and identifying, based the image of the eye, a direction of a gaze performed by the user. </p>

<p>If you like Just Mobile’s AutoHeal screen protector for the iPad Pro you’ll also appreciate the company’s <a target="_blank" href="http://usa.just-mobile.com/tenc-iphone7.html#.V-LvjTKZNBw" rel="noopener noreferrer">TENC</a>, a near-invisible, “self-mending” case for the iPhone 7/7 Plus. </p>

<p>Disruptive technologies like touch sensitive screens and smart glass everywhere will be one of the larger competitive issues for Apple in the not-too-distant future. However, purchasing a smart glass manufacturer -- perhaps even Corning itself-- would give Apple a competitive advantage for an "iOS everywhere" type approach. </p>

<p>The current Mac lineup relies on AMD graphics;  however, a switch to Nvidia could be in the works for the MacBook Pro and other Macs, if new job listings from the GPU maker is any indication.</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>So far Apple’s HealthKit has mostly collected fitness data from its devices, however, in the future, the software may interpret that information, turning it into advice for users, doctors and others, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-26/apple-said-to-expand-healthkit-from-tracker-to-diagnosis-tool?utm_content=tech&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-tech" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a>.</p>

<p>NewerTech's <a target="_blank" href="https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mobile-and-tablet/accessories/cases/nuguard-kx/apple/iphone-7-and-iphone-7-plus?utm_source=appleworldtoday&utm_medium=productreview&utm_campaign=kxcaseiphone" rel="noopener noreferrer">NuGuard KX protective cases</a> for the Apple iPhone 7 and 7s Plus resemble Apple Smart Cases on steroids with their one-piece design. However, they're thicker than the Apple case. Due to this, and other features, the NuGuard KX is more protective than the Smart Case, but does add a bit more bulk to your smartphone. </p>

<p>Every time you open a file on your hard drive, you Mac uses some memory. That makes things operate quickly, but, over time, residual files (think junk) can just lounge around in the RAM, making your Mac a bit sluggish -- sort of like I feel after a Thanksgiving dinner at Mom's.</p>

<p>Apple has hired Scott Seviour, a former vice president at Epic Records, “who could help Apple Music double down on streaming exclusives,” according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-hires-scott-seviour-epic-records-2016-9" rel="noopener noreferrer">Business Insider</a>. </p>

<p>In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, <em><a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnet.com/news/cnet-en-espanol-the-20-most-influential-latinos-in-tech-of-2016/" rel="noopener noreferrer">CNET en Español</a> </em><em>has </em>announced its list of the top 20 most influential Latinos in U.S. technology. This year’s list also includes 18 new executives and a record number of women, as well as Eddy Cue, Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Service at Apple.</p>

<p>Podcasts branded “Spoken Editions,” short-form programs that offer listeners an audio version of the publisher’s written content, are coming to iTunes, reports <a target="_blank" href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/23/apples-itunes-soon-to-serve-up-spoken-editions-of-publishers-content/" rel="noopener noreferrer">TechCrunch</a>. That means you could “read” your favorite website or hear the news when you’re doing other things.</p>

<p><a href="http://t.lt02.net/q/-fMWZXPULj_RMfdEg0uTQgWKS4slBeLOp9tzqGV0fyVyKtkQtUzCb1wBK4hZcOJc3VibWl0bmV3c0BhcHBsZWNlbnRyYWwuY29tw4g">SCOTTeVEST</a> has announced its Off The Grid (OTG) Jackets for <a href="http://t.lt02.net/q/Bs3kOn0X2IZL3sMQB0uNLCqtwRI9c7O703VlOMAQx3rriwl8jlXmGKUYwTnZcOJc3VibWl0bmV3c0BhcHBsZWNlbnRyYWwuY29tw4g">Men</a> and <a href="http://t.lt02.net/q/y12TbHufBOgG21rU20ukqAehpTXFCO6l8iLa2qC9cUIVYL2WL_QuS3QhAwZcOJc3VibWl0CbmV3c0BhcHBsZWNlbnRyYWwuY29tw4g">Women</a>. The jackets feature 29 pockets including two front Rapid Access Panels, which reveal massive compartments that can hold a laptop (except Women’s XS and S) without showing bumps or bulges.</p>