Dennis Sellers

<p>Apple has activated a two month-long Apple Pay promotion offering cash back, points and more to users of its digital payments service, just in time to take advantage of six new supporting card issuers, reports Japanese blog <em>Ata Distance</em> — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/03/01/apple-pay-japan-gains-support-for-six-new-credit-cards-launches-limited-time-promotion" rel="noopener noreferrer">AppleInsider</a>.</p>

<p>Apple has placed 20th on the 2017 Global RepTrak 100, a list of the top companies with the best reputation in the world, as determined by the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.reputationinstitute.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reputation Institute,</a> a proper of stakeholder measurement, membership and management services. </p>

<p>If Apple releases new iPads anytime soon, I’ll likely sell my current Apple tablet. Preparing iPads for resale is a breeze. Why can't preparing my Mac for sale be just as easy?</p>

<p>The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.supertooth.net/EN/DISCO2/#page=page-1" rel="noopener noreferrer">DISCO 2</a> from Supertooth is a portable wireless stereo speaker with decent audio quality and an attractive design.</p>

<p>The AWT News Update is on hiatus while my compadre, Steve, takes a trip. 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>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>During a Q&A session at today's shareholder meeting held at Apple's Cupertino, California campus, Apple CEO Tim Cook told investors that the company is still very much focused on its professional and creative pro customers and will "do more" in the pro area. </p>

<p>Apple has posted the fourth tvOS 10.2 beta for the Apple TV for developers. Available at the Apple Developer Center, it focuses on “new features, bug fixes, and improvements in the OS and SDK [software development kit.”</p>

<p>In a note to clients — as noted by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ubs-apple-1000-engineers-ar-2017-2?r=UK&IR=T" rel="noopener noreferrer">Business Insider</a> — UBS analyst Steven Milunovich says Apple may have 1,000-plus engineers working on augmented reality (AR) and expects to see AR features on the “iPhone 8.”</p>

<p>Now LG appears to have revised UltraFine 5K displays (presumably with proper shielding) since Apple is currently promising deliveries as soon as March 8 through March 16 for new orders, reports <a target="_blank" href="https://9to5mac.com/2017/02/28/lg-ultrafine-5k-display-fix-shipping/" rel="noopener noreferrer">9to5Mac</a>. Apple Store Pickup still isn’t available, but that will likely change once inventory reaches retail locations, the article adds.</p>

<p>Based on my experiences and those of all theiPhone owners I know, I find this hard to believe. However, according to the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.blancco.com/resources/rs-state-of-mobile-device-performance-and-health-trend-report-q4-2016/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Q4 2016 State of Mobile Device Performance and Health report</a> by the <a href="http://www.blancco.com/">Blancco Technology Group</a>, which specializes in data erasure and mobile device diagnostics, it's now more reliable to own Android devices than iPhones.</p>

<p>The Davka Corp. has announced Alef Bet Schoolhouse for the Mac. It’s an app that introduces Hebrew letter basics to children ages three and up. </p>

<p>iShoes, anyone? Okay, I don’t think Apple is entering the shoe business, but the company has been granted a patent (number 9,578,927) for a <strong>“shoe wear-out sensor, body-bar sensing system, unit less activity accessment, and associated methods.”</strong></p>

<p>According to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-next-iphone-will-have-a-curved-screen-1488260583" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wall Street Journal</a>, the upcoming “iPhone 8” will have a curved OLED display and will ditch the Lightning port for a USB-C port.</p>

<p>More folks companies are realizing the health, comfort and productivity of "standing desks." For these reasons, Fellowes Brands has introduced the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fellowes.com/us/en/Products/Pages/product-listing.aspx?cat=OFFICE-WELL-BEING&subcat=SIT_STAND_SOLUTIONS&tercat=SIT_STANDS" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lotus Sit-Stand Workstation</a>. It works well with, say, an iMac, but was cumbersome when I used it with my combination of 15-inch MacBook Pro and a 27-inch LG Ultrafine 5K.</p>