Steve Sande

<p>There have been a surprising number of vendors at CES 2017 showing off HomeKit compatible devices, but for those who have legacy home automation hardware running on ZigBee and Z-Wave systems the announcements have been of little interest since there's no way to control those older devices using iOS and Siri. A relatively unknown vendor, Focalcrest, has announced the Mixtile Hub, a device that claims to bridge HomeKit, ZigBee, and Z-Wave so that most home automation products can be controlled by the Home app.</p>

<p>Yesterday, we featured a <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2017/1/5/ces-2017-day-one-highlights-video-from-techlaunchpads-andrew-felix">short video of some highlights of day one at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show</a> in Las Vegas. Andrew Felix of TechLaunchPad is back with more interesting products to demonstrate what's going on in the world of tech...like a connected hairbrush.</p>

<p>This is the eleventh post in our annual 12-part series covering the accessibility features we would like to see Apple bring to its products in the coming year.</p><p>This series is being put together by Accessibility Editor Alex Jurgensen, with the help of several contributors.</p><p>For the eleventh request of Christmas, we ask Apple to give to us:</p><p><strong>11. A Customizable Rotor for VoiceOver Navigation in macOS</strong></p>

<p>In the bad old days, using Adobe's creative apps meant loading DVDs full of software onto your computer, waiting for slow updates, and navigating complex licensing agreements. Adobe moved everything to Adobe Creative Cloud, a subscription service that encompasses the creative apps that make up the company's software offerings. Creative professionals depend on the Adobe Creative Cloud, but for those trying to learn the apps there's a steep learning curve. That's why we've partnered with StackCommerce and Vizual Coaching Academy to offer you the <a target="_blank" href="https://deals.appleworld.today/sales/adobe-bundle-130-expert-courses?utm_source=appleworld.today&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=adobe-bundle-130-expert-courses_010617&utm_term=scsf-89985" rel="noopener noreferrer">Adobe Super Bundle</a>! For just $39, you'll get access to 130 courses to turn you into a Creative Cloud expert. </p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Although we've been hearing a lot about new products during the past week, it's actually day one of CES 2017 in Las Vegas, NV. Here's what's new from CES and from the world of Apple:</p><ul><li>We do a quick run through the myriad Apple-related announcements made today at CES 2017</li><li>A new version of the Google Calendar app for iOS devices adds integration to Apple's HealthKit framework</li><li>iOS 10 adoption is now at 76%, a huge leap from the end of November</li></ul>

<p>We don't have "assets on the ground" at CES 2017, but a longtime friend of the site -- Andrew Felix of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.techlaunchpad.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">TechLaunchPad</a> -- has provided us with a short video highlight of Day One at the show in Las Vegas. Check it out for some of the more amazing, fun, and in some cases even useful products that have been introduced.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is officially underway tomorrow, but plenty of companies have made announcements about new products that will be of interest to fans of Apple. We have info about two of those products lines today, as well as about how Apple has acquiesced to the Communist government of China in removing The New York Times apps from the Chinese App Store:</p><ul><li>Now you can toast bread, make coffee, and gaze into a connected mirror, all of these devices coming from Griffin Technology</li><li>Ring announces the Floodlight Cam, an outside security light, camera, and siren that works with the Ring app</li><li>China doesn't like the NYT's coverage, so they've ordered Apple to stop carrying the NYT apps</li></ul>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">This is the tenth post in our annual 12-part series covering the accessibility features we would like to see Apple bring to its products in the coming year.</p><p>This series is being put together by Accessibility Editor Alex Jurgensen, with the help of several contributors.</p><p>For the tenth request of Christmas, we ask Apple to give to us:</p><p><strong>10. Relay Support for Assistive Technology Peripherals</strong></p>

<p>Elgato introduced the new <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elgato.com/en/dock/thunderbolt-3" rel="noopener noreferrer">Thunderbolt 3 Dock</a> at CES today, enabling Thunderbolt 3-equipped Macs (and of course, Windows machines) to connect to a variety of ports and be charged with just one cable. The $299.95 dock is expected to ship this quarter.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">More CES 2017 fun, this time from Twelve South. The Charleston, SC-based design house has just announced the $29.99 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.twelvesouth.com/product/actionsleeve" rel="noopener noreferrer">ActionSleeve</a>, billed as the "first armband for Apple Watch." </p><p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Available in three sizes -- 38mm, 42mm, and 42mm slim (for slender arms) -- ActionSleeve holds your band-less Apple Watch securely to your bicep with Velcro™ closures. The accessory provides a way to keep your Watch away from damage when lifting weights, and Twelve South notes that the tight fit can actually improve tracking of heart rate for many users.</p>

<p>Chamberlain is a major manufacturer of commercial and consumer garage door openers, and was one of the first companies to commit to HomeKit when it was first announced by Apple a few years ago. At CES 2017, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.chamberlain.com/chamberlain/media/Library/pdf/Chamberlain-2017-Smart-Home-Initiatives.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer">the company made its first HomeKit product announcement</a> -- it will offer a bridge hub that works with HomeKit for future garage door installations and another bridge that provides current MyQ Garage installations with HomeKit compatibility.</p>

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<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">This is the ninth post in our annual 12-part series covering the accessibility features we would like to see Apple bring to its products in the coming year.</p><p>This series is being put together by Accessibility Editor Alex Jurgensen, with the help of several contributors.</p><p>For the ninth request of Christmas, we ask Apple to give to us:</p><p>9. The Ability to Use the Enhanced Siri Voices in Mac OS with VoiceOver</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Happy New Year! We're back, and on a more normal podcast schedule than during the past two months. You can expect to hear us every weekday afternoon, and here are a few pieces of Apple news for your listening pleasure today:</p><ul><li>Apple's pop-up shops that were set up to sell the high-end Apple Watch Edition are being closed</li><li>Apple Pay has added 47 more new US financial institutions during the past few weeks, bringing the total in the country to over 1,600</li><li>Apple chip manufacturing partner TSMC is reportedly on schedule to start testing production of a 7nm process that will produce more efficient CPUs for future products starting in 2018</li></ul>

<p>This is the eighth post in our annual 12-part series covering the accessibility features we would like to see Apple bring to its products in the coming year.</p><p>This series is being put together by Accessibility Editor Alex Jurgensen, with the help of several contributors.</p><p>For the eighth request of Christmas, we ask Apple to give to us:</p><p><strong>8. A System-wide Spellchecker on iOS</strong></p>