Steve Sande

<p>In a move that surprised only those few people who actually loved Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft executive Joe Belfiore broke the news on Twitter this weekend that the platform is essentially dead.  </p>

<p>One of the "features" of iTunes 12.7.0 -- the latest official version of Apple's media store -- that has befuddled a number of Mac users is the removal of the iOS App Store. For bloggers, having the iOS App Store in iTunes was very useful, as we could use the app to easily search for apps on our Macs while writing. The removal of the iOS App Store also caused issues for Volume Purchase Program (VPP) customers who need to deploy apps within a business through iTunes. <a target="_blank" href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208079" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple has released iTunes 12.6.3 specifically for VPP customers</a>, providing a way for other users to bring back the App Store if they wish.</p>

<p>Apple CEO Tim Cook has a meeting later today with French President Emmanuel Macron, but he spent time earlier today doing some sightseeing, visiting Apple technology partners, and surprising several app developers.</p>

<p>Apple’s ARKit is a framework that’s part of iOS 11 that lets developers create augmented reality (AR) experiences for the iPhone and iPad. One of the first developers we knew of that created AR apps was this week’s sponsor, <a href="http://helloiat.com">It’s About Time Products</a>, and we’re happy to tell you about the free <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ar-tape-measure-air-measure/id1283029650?mt=8">AR Tape Measure 2.0</a> app.</p>

<p>We love the Pay What You Want deals that we get in the <a target="_blank" href="http://deals.appleworld.today" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple World Today Deals Shop</a>. No matter what you pay -- like a penny -- you're still going to get something, in this case MacCleanse 6, a utility that normally costs $29.95. Pay more than the average of all people participating in the Pay What You Want deal and you get five wonderful Mac apps! We call it the <a target="_blank" href="https://deals.appleworld.today/sales/master-the-pay-what-you-want-fab-5-mac-bundle-ft-techtool-pro-9?utm_source=appleworld.today&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=master-the-pay-what-you-want-fab-5-mac-bundle-ft-techtool-pro-9_100917&utm_term=scsf-251734&utm_content=a0x1a000003DQn5" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fab 5 Mac Bundle</a> and you can get it for a limited time. </p>

<p>A fun fall Friday with plenty of ripe Apple news!</p><ul><li>Try out <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/word-swipe-for-imessage/id1152091057?mt=8" rel="noopener noreferrer">WordSwipe</a>, our sponsor this week and a fun game you can play with friends through Messages</li><li>Pixelmator has been updated so you can now edit photos with its tools in the Photos app, and there's more goodness in the app</li><li>Futuremark says that the "slowdown" of iPhones after iOS upgrades is all in the minds of users</li><li>Apple and Ohio State University team up for The Digital Flagship University</li></ul>

<p>We know that this is going to bring tears to the eyes of many (just kidding), but a piece of online history will be going away for good on December 15. Verizon Oath, which owns the AOL and Yahoo brands, announced that <a target="_blank" href="https://aimemories.tumblr.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) will be shut down</a> on that date.</p>

<p>I really like small “selfie drones”; they’re easy to pack away in a bag for travel, they’re lightweight so they aren’t subject to regulatory issues, and they do a pretty good job of taking photos. Up until now, the only one I’ve owned is the $499.95 <a href="https://gethover.com">Hover Camera Passport</a> drone that was sold through Apple retail outlets — although it is appears as “currently unavailable” at this time. Like most consumer electronic products, another company has taken the idea of a lightweight, folding portable drone and is currently crowdfunding manufacturing of a similar product that will ship early next month. The iOS-controlled SimToo <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/moment-drone-the-best-foldable-4k-aerial-camera#/">Moment Drone</a> can be had for as little as $199 during the Indiegogo campaign, and if you’ve balked at the price tag of the Hover Camera Passport, you’re going to like what you see with the Moment Drone.</p>

<p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/10/katherine-adams-joins-apple-as-general-counsel-and-svp/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple has announced</a> that Katherine Adams will be joining Apple as General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Legal and Global Security, as current General Counsel Bruce Sewell will be retiring by the end of the year. </p>

<p>KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has looked at data available since the release of the iPhone 8 models last month and says that sales of the iPhone 8 Plus have been "better than expected". But the analyst said that the expected "super cycle" of high iPhone sales will be delayed into 2018 due to production issues surrounding the iPhone X that's expected early next month.</p>

<p>Next week's release of iOS 11.1 beta to developers and public testers has one fun change in store: literally hundreds of new emoji. Apple revealed some of the upcoming characters today, which are Apple's take on the approved Unicode 10 standard.</p>

<p>Like the looks of Apple AirPods but don't like the price tag? Or maybe the only thing you need AirPods for is talking on the phone...and do you really need two AirPods to do that? We've got just the solution for you: a <strong><a target="_blank" href="https://deals.appleworld.today/sales/i7-bluetooth-4-1-completely-wireless-earphone-white" rel="noopener noreferrer">RAWtronics i7 Bluetooth 4.1 Wireless Solo Earphone for $17.99</a></strong>.</p>

A thunderstorm cut recording of this podcast short today, but we still have a few good stories from the world...

<p>Accessory manufacturer Belkin today announced the availability of a new dock for USB-C devices. The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.belkin.com/us//F4U093/p/P-F4U093/" rel="noopener noreferrer">USB-C 3.1 Express Dock HD</a> provides a ton of ports including two USB-C 3.1 ports for connecting and charging new smartphones and laptops.</p>

<p>Well, that was fast. <a target="_blank" href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2017/10/5/macos-high-sierra-flaw-exposes-passwords-of-encrypted-apfs-volumes" rel="noopener noreferrer">Earlier this morning we posted an article about a flaw in macOS High Sierra that exposed passwords for APFS encrypted containers</a>; now a supplemental update has been released to fix that issue and it's available in the Mac App Store. In addition to two security fixes, the Supplemental Update also "improves installer robustness", "fixes a cursor graphic bug when using Adobe InDesign", and "resolves an issue where email messages couldn't be deleted from Yahoo accounts in Mail".</p>