Dennis Sellers

<p>Macquarie Group and ING Direct plan to start using Apple Pay in Australia this month, “hoping to snatch market share from the major retail banks through digital technology,” reports <a target="_blank" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-australia-banks-idUSKBN15P02M?utm_source=applenews" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reuters</a>.</p>

<p>Mac users should download <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pipifier-pip-for-nearly-every/id1160374471?mt=12&uo=4&at=10l69J">PiPifier</a>, a free app for macOS 10.12 or later that’s found in the Mac App Store. It’s a handy extension that lets you play any HTML 5 video in Picture-in-Picture mode. Sweet!</p>

<p>Apple has delayed shipments for LG UltraFine 5K, a 27-inch model touted as the perfect display for 2016 MacBook Pros, and removed in store pickup options, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://www.macrumors.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">MacRumors</a>. New orders for the LG UltraFine 5K Display will now ship out in five to six weeks with fixes to a reported issue with router.</p>

<p>Apple subsidiary Beats will have the $149.95 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MLYF2LL/A/beatsx-earphones-white" rel="noopener noreferrer">BeatsX wireless headphones</a> available for purchase in the U.S. on Feb.10. Scoop one up and you’ll get three free months of Apple Music, which costs $9.99 per month (or $4.99 for students).</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>In a note to clients — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.macrumors.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">MacRumors</a> — KGI Securities Ming-Chi Kuo analyst says that all three new iPhones that will launch this year will support wireless charging.</p>

<p>According to the CEO of Russian hacking tool creator Elcomsoft, Apple is storing Safari histories in the iCloud going back more than a year, possibly much longer, even where the user has asked for them to be wiped from memory.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.sonnettech.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sonnet Technologies</a> has announced Mac compatible Twin 10G Thunderbolt 3 Edition Thunderbolt 3 to Dual-Port 10GBASE-T 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) adapter, and the Twin 10G SFP+ Thunderbolt 3 Edition Thunderbolt 3 to Dual-Port SFP+ 10GbE adapter. </p>

<p>Future iPhones and iPads (and perhaps even Mac laptops) could have flexible displays. Apple has filed for a patent (number 20170040306) for <strong>“electronic devices with soft input-out components.”</strong></p>

<p>Apple will launch a special 10th anniversary edition of the iPhone that will cost more than $1,000, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3068004/innovation-agents/heres-why-apples-10th-anniversary-iphone-will-likely-cost-more-than-1000" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fast Company</a>, quoting an unnamed “source with knowledge of Apple’s plans.”</p>

<p>In 2014 <em>Wired</em> made the suggestion that Apple should instead buy one or more of 10 potential purchases the magazine recommends. Following are the 10 companies Wired recommended (with tongue sometimes in cheek) that Apple should acquire, along with what I'd recommend if I were in charge of Apple (and be thankful that I'm not). It's up to you to decide which of my recommendations are also tongue-in-cheek and which aren't:</p>

<p>The EPIX app is now available on the fourth generation Apple TV. It offers subscribers of the entertainment network access to EPIX’s content, including its original series <em>Berlin Station</em> and Golden Globe nominated <em>Graves</em> and original documentary programming such as <em>America Divided</em>.</p>

<p>A macOS malware agent, named MacDownloader, was observed “in the wild” as targeting the defense industrial base, and reported elsewhere to have been used against an human rights advocate, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://iranthreats.github.io/resources/macdownloader-macos-malware/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Iran Threats</a>, a website run by Claudio Guarnieri and Collin Anderson that analyzes online threats from Iran.</p>

<p>A class-action suit filed against four optical drive manufacturers alleging illegal price fixing has been settled, with previous owners of computers — including Macs — equipped with CD or DVD drives between 2003 and 2008 eligible for $10 per computer owned during that period, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/02/08/mac-owners-between-2003-2008-can-claim-10-in-optical-drive-class-action-lawsuit-settlement" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a>.</p>

<p>Apple's WebKit team has proposed a new Community Group at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that will focus on developing a new standard API [application programming interface], perhaps based on Metal, for accelerating GPU-based 3D graphics and general computation for the web, notes <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/02/07/apple-seeks-to-position-metal-as-part-of-new-3d-graphics-standard-for-web" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a>. </p>