Dennis Sellers

<p>Apple and Google have removed hundreds of trading apps from their online stores after an intervention by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to crack down on online fraud, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/apple-google-trading-apps-stores-financial-scams-fraud-stores-hack-cyber-a7870201.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Independent</a>.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-07/28/c_136481233.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple says </a>the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has certified approximately 320,000 acres of working forest that the company supports in China, enough for all its product packaging.</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 was down last month.</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 has expanded the tester limits in <a target="_blank" href="https://developer.apple.com/testflight/" rel="noopener noreferrer">TestFlight</a>, its free iOS app testing platform that’s part of iTunes Connect. Developers can now invite up to 10,000 users to beta test their apps before they’re released on the App Store. </p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/28799588/__Roemeense_stuntbende_opgepakt__.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">According to</a> <em>De Telegraaf </em>— as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/07/31/romanian-gang-arrested-for-stealing-590000-in-apple-iphones-from-a-moving-truck" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>AppleInsider</em></a> — police in the Netherlands have arrested five Romanian thieves suspected of stealing iPhones worth 500,000 euros (about $590,000).</p>

<p>Mac Gamer HQ has launched Mac Gaming Deals, a service designed to “help you save money and discover gems you didn't even know existed on the Mac.”</p>

<p>U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh ruled late on Friday that iPhone 4 and 4S users can pursue nationwide class action claims that Apple intentionally "broke" FaceTime to save money from routing calls through servers owned by Akamai Technologies, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-lawsuit-facetime-idUSKBN1AG1PJ" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reuters</a>.</p>

<p>China's crackdown on the Internet is continuing with news that Apple was <a target="_blank" href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/29/apple-removes-vpn-apps-from-the-app-store-in-china/" rel="noopener noreferrer">forced</a> to remove all major VPN (Virtual Private Networks) apps from its local App store, which helps users overcome the country's "Great Firewall."</p>

<p>Not only does Apple want your iPhone or Apple Watch to serve as your wallet and a repository for all your <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2017/6/15/apple-wants-to-turn-your-iphone-into-a-one-stop-shop-for-all-your-medical-info?rq=health%20data" rel="noopener noreferrer">health data</a>, it also wants the devices to double as your password and home to other identification documents.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://tinyurl.com/yazuwbr)" rel="noopener noreferrer">Flux</a>, the web design application for macOS, has been revved to version 7. The software can work with everything from a modern site using HTML5 and CSS3 to legacy sites built on older technologies. </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 has been granted a patent (number 9,715,751) for “zooming to faces depicted in images.” It seems to be designed to improve the zooming and facial recognition of features in the Photos app for macOS and iOS.</p>

<p>The AWT News Update is on hiatus while my compadre, Steve, takes a weekend road trip with his lovely wife. 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>Is it too late to convince Apple to add mouse support in iOS 11? That’s the main drawback that prevents me from replacing my Mac laptop with my 12.9-inch iPad Pro.</p>