Steve Sande

<p>Lifelong learners know how helpful it can be to write outlines of new material as it is presented, then use mindmaps to link it all together. <a target="_blank" href="https://deals.appleworld.today/sales/marginnote-pro-for-mac?utm_source=appleworld.today&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=marginnote-pro-for-mac_051017&utm_term=scsf-231741" rel="noopener noreferrer">Margin Note</a> is available with this deal for just $24.99, 50% off the normal $49.99 Mac App Store price tag, and it's just the tool you need to commit new knowledge to memory.</p>

<p>This is another skill I recommended in the first chapter of Dr. Macintosh (1989) and still recommend to this day. That skill is reducing your dependence on the mouse. </p>

<p>On today's episode of the Apple World Today News Update podcast:</p><ul><li>We ponder Apple's late entry into the "smart speaker" product category after today's reveal of the Amazon Echo Show, and quote Phil Schiller's comments about how worthless these devices are without a display...</li><li>Two Apple execs made a nice nest egg with some significant stock sales in the past week</li><li>Apple clarified its changes to the App Store affiliate program; it turns out that those reductions in commission rates are only for in-app purchases</li></ul>

<p>It's Monday, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. At least you have another episode of the AWT News Update to listen to!</p><ul><li>AAPL closes at $153.00 per share, with a record market cap of $811 billion</li><li>Microsoft announces a Cortana-based "smart speaker" to compete with Amazon and Google products, as well as Apple's rumored device</li><li>Apple will present plans tonight in Washington D.C. regarding its planned renovation of the historic Carnegie Library into a retail outlet </li><li>The cost to break into the San Bernardino terrorist's iPhone 5c? $900,000</li></ul>

<p>This Friday, <a target="_blank" href="https://9to5mac.com/2017/05/08/mothers-day-special-apple-watch-achievement-medal-imessage-sticker/#more-480743" rel="noopener noreferrer">a new Activity Challenge</a> will show up in the Activity app on the iPhone for Apple Watch owners in the US. What's it for? Mother's Day, which is Sunday, May 14. Those who earn the special award get a very nice achievement medal and iMessage sticker (shown in the image above). </p>

<p>TGIF! We have a few stories for you on today's podcast, including a very good close of the week for shares of AAPL, some mergers and acquisitions that could be appropriate for Apple, and some malware that's affecting a few Mac users:</p><ul><li>Apple closes at $148.96 per share, and is trading above $149 in after-hours trading</li><li>A Citigroup analyst has seven ideas for interesting strategic mergers and acquisitions for Apple</li><li>The "Snake" malware that has bugged Windows users for some time is now causing some issues for Mac users, although Apple has shut down the certificate for the installer</li><li>Apple has raised $7 billion in a bond sale </li></ul>

<p>Here's a frightening statistic...if you're the owner of an Android phone or tablet. Although Android is the dominant mobile operating system around the world with about a 72 percent market share, it also gets most mobile malware. Security experts at <a target="_blank" href="https://blog.gdatasoftware.com/2017/04/29712-8-400-new-android-malware-samples-every-day" rel="noopener noreferrer">the G DATA security blog</a> found almost 750,000 new Android malware apps in the first quarter, or about 8,400 each day -- that's about one new malware app every 10 seconds!</p>

<p>One of the advantages of "that other mobile operating system" is that many of those phones use a standard called Qi for wireless charging. You just place your smartphone onto a charging dock without plugging in any cables, and the device is quickly charged up. Well, rumor has it that the iPhone 8 will be the first iPhone with wireless charging, and Apple's a member of the Wireless Power Consortium...the group that developed the Qi standard. Today we've got a deal on a wireless charging dock for "those other phones" and possibly for the iPhone 8; get this <strong><a target="_blank" href="https://deals.appleworld.today/sales/fast-charge-2-in-1-wireless-qi-charger-for-samsung-phones?utm_source=appleworld.today&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fast-charge-2-in-1-wireless-qi-charger-for-samsung-phones_050517&utm_term=scsf-230912" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wireless Fast Qi-Enabled Charger for yourself or a family member for just $23.95!</a></strong></p>

<p>Not much Apple news today after the blast of hot, fresh tidbits on Tuesday. But we have the following for you:</p><ul><li>Some analysis about the smartphone market in China provided by Counterpoint Research shows that Apple is killin' it in the high-end phone segment</li><li>Another tvOS beta showed up today. When will the final 10.2.1 version arrive?</li><li>Niantic will host community events to let Pokémon Go and Ingress players connect with real people </li></ul>

<p>A nice, calm day after the storm of an Apple earnings report. Here's today's news:</p><ul><li>Apple closed slightly down from yesterday's near-record close</li><li>Quick! Run to the TV. Tim Cook is on CNBC's <em>Mad Money</em> with Jim Cramer</li><li>Rumor has it that Inventec is building the alleged Apple Siri speaker that may be announced as soon as next month</li><li>Beware the Google Docs phishing attack!</li><li>Enterprise sales are booming for Apple</li></ul>

<p>Apple World Today will soon be publishing a full review of the ecobee3 lite smart thermostat, but today that device is out of the limelight as ecobee announced the next-generation smart thermostat -- the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ecobee.com/ecobee4/" rel="noopener noreferrer">ecobee4 with Alexa</a> (US$249). </p>

<p>Handle a lot of Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files? Many of us do, which is why today's Apple World Today <strong><a target="_blank" href="https://deals.appleworld.today/sales/the-powerful-pdf-mac-bundle?utm_source=appleworld.today&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=the-powerful-pdf-mac-bundle_050317&utm_term=scsf-230911" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mac PDF Processing Bundle</a></strong> deal is so important. For just $29.99, you get four Mac apps that can handle even the most vexing PDF needs in a flash. You'll get:</p>

<p>Many users underestimate the convenience of the Sidebar, never bothering to customize it to suit their needs. That’s a big mistake. Although Apple populates a stock Sidebar with some useful folders, if you want to make it really useful, you need to populate it with the folders you use most.</p>

<p>Strava is a social network for athletes with an amazing iPhone (and Apple Watch) app to match. Yesterday <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/strava-running-and-cycling-gps/id426826309?mt=8" rel="noopener noreferrer">Strava</a> announced a new feature -- Athlete Posts -- that lets 36 top athletes post their stories, photos, questions, gear tips, race reports, recommendations and workouts as well as their shared activities. </p>

<p>Today Apple announced its earnings for the second fiscal quarter of 2017 ending April 1, 2017. Rather than parrot back all of those results to you, we're inviting you to do two things:</p><ul><li>Visit the Apple World Today site for more posts and information on topics from the earnings call</li><li>Watch the <a target="_blank" href="https://facebook.com/AWToday/" rel="noopener noreferrer">one-hour Facebook Live show</a> we did today discussing the earnings and questions asked by analysts</li></ul>