Steve Sande

<p>For many years, our keyboards were mechanical. You pushed a key on a typewriter which either directly pushed a letter up to the paper or triggered an electric switch to do the same. Those keyboards always had a satisfying "clackity" sound to them, and had wonderful dished key-tops that welcomed your fingertips. Today, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.indiegogo.com/project/preview/3ce84b1a#/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lofree is launching a new mechanical keyboard on Indiegogo</a> (currently $74, will be $99 when available to the public on Amazon after May, 2017), and I was fortunate enough to get to try one out. It could easily become your favorite keyboard!</p>

<p>Steve's finally back from yet another vacation, which means that for the foreseeable future you'll be getting a podcast almost every weekday. Today we get back into the swing of things with three stories:</p><ul><li>Adobe releases new versions of the Lightroom apps for iOS, adding "Authentic HDR" for creating true RAW HDR images</li><li>Steve Jobs initially thought the idea of the Apple Store Genius Bar was "idiotic"</li><li>A new battery technology could greatly increase battery life, decrease charging times, and make for much safer lithium-ion batteries</li></ul>

<p>One of our most popular deals last fall was for <a target="_blank" href="https://deals.appleworld.today/sales/the-complete-ios-10-developer-course?utm_source=appleworld.today&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=the-complete-ios-10-developer-course_030617&utm_term=scsf-221807" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Complete iOS 10 Developer Course</a>. This course by Rob Percival provides 217 lessons that let you master iOS 10 and Swift 3 in no time at all. The course in usually priced at $199.00, but during our deals, you get the whole kit and caboodle for just $25! We're happy to let Apple World Today readers know that The Complete iOS 10 Developer Course is back for a limited time.</p>

<p>In my last travel post, I talked about <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2017/3/3/the-travel-series-how-to-be-safe-on-public-wi-fi-networks"><em>digital</em> security of your devices on unsecured Wi-Fi networks</a>. Today I’m looking at physical security of your Mac or iOS device; how to keep them from being stolen or lost, what to do if they are, and how to handle devices that are broken while traveling.</p>

<p>This Travel Series post is targeted to those who occasionally want to use public Wi-Fi networks to get online while traveling -- even in their home countries. Seeing a "Free Wi-Fi" SSID (Wi-Fi network name) can be awfully tempting, particularly if you're out of the country and received a note from your cellular carrier that your data roaming charges have exceeded $500... Most Wi-Fi hotspots provided by restaurants, bars, and hotels are actually quite safe, but there are ways to ensure that personal information, passwords, and credit card numbers are secure when using a questionable network. </p>

<p>It appears that the rumors earlier this week about Apple moving the iPhone (and other iOS devices) to USB-C were just that -- rumors -- so we can expect to see Lightning as the iOS charging/syncing connector of choice for the foreseeable future. If you were putting off the purchase of spare Lightning cables to replace those frayed or lost ones, delay no more! We have a deal on a <strong><a href="https://deals.appleworld.today/sales/mfi-lightning-to-usb-rugged-nylon-cable-6-4ft-2m-2-pack-silver?utm_source=appleworld.today&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=mfi-lightning-to-usb-rugged-nylon-cable-6-4ft-2m-2-pack-silver_030317&utm_term=scsf-217082">2-pack of high quality ZeroLemon 2-meter USB to Lightning cables for just $23.99</a> (or $20.49 for black and white cables).</strong> </p>

<p>The Apple Pencil is a wonderful accessory and companion to the iPad Pro, but there's always the question about what to do with the Pencil, the "charger cap" and so on. Put it on a desk that's slanted more than just a bit and it will roll off, and if you have beefy hands it may feel too slim. Pad & Quill's craftspersons have come up with the new <a href="http://shrsl.com/?gp7u"><strong>Leather Apple Pencil Grip</strong></a> (regular price $59.95, currently on pre-sale for $49.95)  to resolve all of these problems. </p>

<p>Scanning paper documents is a great way to save space, but unless you can somehow capture more than just an image of the document and actually get into the content, you're losing a lot of the value of scanning. <a href="https://deals.appleworld.today/sales/pdfconverterocr-4-lifetime-license?utm_source=appleworld.today&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pdfconverterocr-4-lifetime-license_030117&utm_term=scsf-217078"><strong>PDFConverterOCR 4</strong></a> for Mac can take scanned and native PDF documents, perform optical character recognition on the text and numbers in each document, then convert those documents into usable format ready for editing in Pages, Microsoft Word or Excel, and more.  </p>

<p>One of the most popular deals we've had over the past several months has been for a <a href="https://deals.appleworld.today/sales/vpnsecure-lifetime-3?utm_source=appleworld.today&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=vpnsecure-lifetime-3_022717&utm_term=scsf-217074"><strong>lifetime subscription to VPNSecure for just $39</strong></a>. All good things must come to an end, and that's the sad situation we have here today. Don't miss a chance to get this killer deal ($450 value) for less than a tenth of its regular price!  </p>

<p>Today's been a beautiful day at sea, with placid seas and blue skies in the Gulf of Mexico as our cruise ship heads towards New Orleans for Mardi Gras. While thoughts of food, drinks, Mardi Gras, food, drinks and food should be occupying my mind, I'm thinking about...backups. Today's post discusses how to ensure that your data is backed up while you're away from your home or office.   </p>

<p>Phishing is a form of social hacking; the hackers try to get people to divulge their email addresses, passwords, and other key information by sending out fake emails that are usually from email addresses in Russia (sorry, Russian readers, but it's true...). Tonight I received a phishing email that was so execrably bad that I just had to share it with readers of Apple World Today. Here's the email:  </p>

<p>Have an Apple Watch? The <strong><a href="https://deals.appleworld.today/sales/powertime-apple-watch-charging-dock-w-3-extra-usb-ports?utm_source=appleworld.today&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=powertime-apple-watch-charging-dock-w-3-extra-usb-ports_022417&utm_term=scsf-217081">PowerTime Apple Watch Charging Dock</a></strong>($44.99) is one of the best ways to charge up your Watch and up to three of your favorite devices, all at the same time. It's been a perennial favorite of Apple World Today readers, and PowerTime is back for a limited time. </p>

<p>Keep all of your devices -- whether it's a USB-C MacBook or MacBook Pro, or any other device that uses a classic USB-A type connector -- charged and ready to go with today's deal. This <a href="https://deals.appleworld.today/sales/nifty-c-powerpod-battery-pack-for-usb-c-a-devices?utm_source=appleworld.today&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=nifty-c-powerpod-battery-pack-for-usb-c-a-devices_022217&utm_term=scsf-217077"><strong>Nifty C PowerPod battery pack</strong></a> (US$49.99) features Qualcomm Fast Charge 2.0 technology for ultra-fast charging and a 10,000 mAH battery to provide plenty of power for your devices. </p>

<p>We're back today with another edition of the Apple World Today News Update podcast. It's all Apple today, since there were no juicy tidbits to spill about Samsung:</p><ul><li>Apple's expanding its data center footprint in Northern Nevada</li><li>Three news agencies testify in court to have the US Government force the FBI to admit who hacked the San Bernardino iPhone 5c and how much it cost taxpayers</li><li>iPhone 8 rumors now point to a device with a larger screen and smaller total footprint, along with lots of RAM and storage</li></ul>

<p>After two days in beautiful Ft. Lauderdale, FL, I've just boarded the <em>Celebrity Equinox</em> for an 11-day cruise. While in Florida, I had access to the AT&T cellular data network and to Wi-Fi at the hotel, but what happens when you're either away from your cellular carrier, perhaps out of the country all together?  </p>