Dennis Sellers

<p>Apple fans have long complained about its online and cloud services. The company may be listening. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-06/apple-is-said-to-plan-improved-cloud-services-by-unifying-teams" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg says</a> that the Cupertino, California-based company plans to unify its separate Internet services groups into a single campus to better compete with Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Amazon, Inc. in the cloud.</p>

<p>Apple has an eye on expanding its presence in the smart home market as evidenced by a newly granted patent (for “flexible room controls”). It involves human-machine interfaces, and particularly to user controls in a room or building. </p>

<p>In a note to clients — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/10/05/supply-chain-suggests-apple-to-see-better-than-expected-holiday-season-analyst-says" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a> — RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani to believe iPhone sales are set to outperform Wall Street expectations in the December quarter. He bases this on a positive earnings pre-announcement from Apple supplier Dialog Semiconductor yesterday.</p>

<p>With Twitter sale news making the rounds, <em>Recod</em>e reports that Alphabet <a href="http://www.recode.net/2016/10/5/13179604/sources-google-will-not-make-a-twitter-bid-and-apple-also-an-unlikely-suitor">isn't planning to make an offer</a> and that Apple is unlikely as well.</p>

<p>Let the Apple-Samsung rivalry continue. Samsung is <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/05/samsung-acquires-viv-a-next-gen-ai-assistant-built-by-creators-of-apples-siri/">buying Viv Labs</a>, the company formed by the creators of Apple's Siri digital assistant.</p>

<p>OWC’s $79.95 <a href="https://www.owcdigital.com/products/external-storage/usb-drive-dock-overview">Drive Dock USB</a> is a handy tool for folks who need constant access to multiple drives. Though it’s designed to offer creative pros such as photographers, videographers, and music a quick, easy way to access data, archive files, perform backups and more, it’s an affordable, easy-to-use solution for anyone (creative pro or not) who has such needs. </p>

<p>Two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security for your Apple ID designed to ensure that you're the only person who can access your account, even if someone knows your password. It’s a useful feature — and one that’s necessary if you plan to use your Apple Watch to automatically unlock your Mac.</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>If Apple does release a new MacBook Pro this month — and I’m 99.99% certain it will — it looks to be a big seller. According to new research from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.1010data.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">1010data</a>, online sales of laptops from the summer of 2016 reached $2.2 billion and grew 12% year over year.  </p>

<p>According to R.W. Baird financial analyst William Power, and <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/disney-remains-center-of-merger-talk-this-time-its-netflix-2016-10-03">reported initially</a> by MarketWatch, Disney and (to a lesser degree) Apple are considering scooping up Netflix. I doubt it will happen, but there are valid reasons for our favorite tech company to make such a move.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-exclusive-yahoo-secretly-scanned-customer-emails-for-us-intelligence-sources-2016-10">Reuters' Joseph Menn reported yesterday that Yahoo had reportedly created custom software that would scan all incoming emails in real-time</a>, and flag any that contained certain pre-defined keywords. Yahoo hasn't denied it, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.techinsider.io/apple-google-microsoft-twitter-deny-building-us-spy-software-yahoo-report-2016-10" rel="noopener noreferrer">saying in a brief statement</a> only that "Yahoo is a law-abiding company and complies with the laws of the United States.”</p>

<p>Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple and its long-time CEO, died Oct. 5, 2011, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 56. <a href="https://twitter.com/tim_cook/status/783662822819401728">Apple CEO Tim Cook has tweeted</a> in remembrance of his predecessor and his impact on the world at large.</p>

<p>Targus has launched the $199.99 <a href="http://globalmessaging1.prnewswire.com/clickthrough/servlet/clickthrough?msg_id=8326790&adr_order=160&url=aHR0cDovL3Rhcmd1cy5jb20vdXMvdXNiLWMtdW5pdmVyc2FsLWRvY2tpbmctc3RhdGlvbi1kb2Nr%0ANDEwdXN6P2ljbj1wci1fLTEwMDUxNmh0dHA6Ly90YXJndXMuY29tL3VzL3VzYi1jLXVuaXZlcnNh%0AbC1kb2NraW5nLXN0YXRpb24tZG9jazQxMHVzeg%3D%3D">USB-C Universal Docking Station (DOCK410USZ)</a>, a compact 4K docking station that supports USB-C technology. It works with the 12-inch Apple MacBook.</p>

<p>Apple remains the <a href="http://interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-brands/2016/ranking/apple/">world's most valuable brand</a> this year, topping <a href="http://interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-brands/2016/ranking/">Interbrand's annual rankings</a> of the Best Global Brands for the fourth consecutive year. Apple’s brand value grew by 5% to US$178 million.</p>

<p>Apple has discontinued the third-generation Apple TV, removing it from its online store, notes <a target="_blank" href="https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/04/apple-tv-third-gen-discontinued/" rel="noopener noreferrer">9to5Mac</a>. Links to it now send you to the page for the fourth-generation Apple TV. </p>