Dennis Sellers

<p>Park Bench Software’s Desktop Repainter is a frilly-but-fun app that lets you change your macOS desktop/background with customizable settings for variably changing colors.</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>Charitybuzz, an organizations that benefits charities, has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/lunch-with-eddy-cue-at-apple-headquarters-in-california-1337402" rel="noopener noreferrer">launched an auction</a> in which the winning bidder will have lunch with Eddy Cue, vice president of Internet Software and Services, at the company's new Apple Park (the “spaceship” headquarters) in Cupertino, California. </p>

<p>Apple may not open retail stores in India before 2020 even though it’s currently scouting for locations, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/your-wait-for-an-apple-store-will-get-longer-heres-why/articleshow/59519735.cms" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Economic Times</a>. Why? The Cupertino, California-based company has yet to receive approval from the government for its retail foreign direct investment (FDI) plans, though such approval is expected, the article adds. </p>

<p>Last week, analysts at Raymond James — an American diversified holding company providing financial services to individuals, corporations and municipalities — conducted a survey of 500 consumers in June that showed that 14% of those surveyed fully intend to buy Apple’s HomePod wireless speaker system when it becomes available in December.</p>

<p>Video game publisher Versus Evil, in partnership with independent developer Tim Conkling, have made the strategic digital board game, Antihero, available on macOS and Windows systems.</p>

<p>Apple is renting a 22,500 square-foot office in St Albans, a “stone’s throw” from Imagination’s headquarters, where it plans to use the office to develop its own graphics technology as it ditches Imagination, reports the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/07/08/apple-sets-new-uk-office-imaginations-doorstep-amid-chip-row/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Telegraph</a>. </p>

<p>Apple will <a target="_blank" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-denmark-idUSKBN19V0MJ?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+%28Reuters+Technology+News%29" rel="noopener noreferrer">invest $921 million</a> in a data center located in Denmark that will power the company’s online services for European customers, reports <em>Reuters</em>. Due to become operational in the second quarter of 2019, it will be the tech giant’s second data center in the Nordic country to run entirely on renewable energy.</p>

<p>If you install macOS Sierra on an external hard drive, thumb drive, or other storage device, your Mac can start up from that device instead of your built-in startup disk. fter installing the operating system on a properly formatted storage device, choose one of the following methods to use that device as the startup disk for your Mac. </p>

<p>The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.panolapse360.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Panolapse time lapse software</a> for macOS boastsadvanced features to support professional photographers. The program simulates camera motion using software-based perspective-correction. It also packs tools for deflickering, animating panoramas, and auto-exposure.</p>

<p>Apparently, we’re not using our iPhones and Siri to their full capability. <a target="_blank" href="http://192.206.112.171/clickthrough/servlet/clickthrough?msg_id=8513189&adr_order=1750&url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5wYXJrc2Fzc29jaWF0ZXMuY29tLw%3D%3D" rel="noopener noreferrer">Parks Associates</a> has announced new Internet of Things (IoT) research examining the market for smart home devices and services. The research group finds that only Only 10% of users use their personal assistant device or app to control smart home devices.</p>

<p>Apple’s market share for renting and selling movies is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-itunes-falls-short-in-battle-for-video-viewers-1499601601">down</a> to between 20% and 35% after being over 50% about five years ago, reports <em>The Wall Street Journal</em>, quoting unnamed “people with knowledge of the matter.”</p>

<p>"Overall, the shipment growth of the device market is steady for the first time in many years," says Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. "PC shipments are slightly lower while phone shipments are slightly higher — leading to a slight downward revision in shipments from the previous forecast."</p>

<p>Apple has filed for a patent (number 9,699,546) for “earbuds with biometric sensing” that hints at future AirPods with enhanced capabilities. The invention involves earbuds configured with one or more biometric sensors. </p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.alertsec.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">AlertSec</a>, a cloud-based encryption company, has announced results of a new cybersecurity survey revealing that laptops, though they usually contain more sensitive and personal data than smartphones, are less frequently encrypted than other mobile devices. </p>