Steve Sande

<p>Apple's AirPods wireless earbuds should be coming out soon -- in fact, they may hit stores by the end of this week -- but for some people there are negatives associated with the product. First of all, those little white dangly bits just seem a bit weird to some folks, and the lack of a way to keep them completely connected to your ear while running is a concern. Then there's the price tag -- $159. Fortunately, there are alternatives, and today we're looking at the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KBQ6GQ4/appwortod01-20/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rowkin Bit Wireless Stereo Earbuds</a> ($109.99, affiliate link). </p>

<p>Pyle USA has been making moves in the home automation and security market recently, and today the company announced the new <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pyleusa.com/ip-camera-surveillance-security-monitor-with-wi-fi-h-264-video-p2p-network-image-capture-video-recording-built-in-microphone-and-speaker-for-2-way-communication-built-in-web-server-software-included-downloadable-app.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pyle HD Pan & Tilt Security Camera</a> ($56). At that low price tag, the device offers HD viewing of homes or offices for security purposes, with the ability to remotely control the camera via the free <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pyle-ip-cam/id886659989?mt=8" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pyle app</a>. </p>

<p>I've typed over 3 million words while blogging over the years, but this is the first blog post that I've written by hand. That's thanks to <a href="https://appsto.re/us/Qr8Ucb.i">MyScript Nebo</a>, an app for iPad Pro and Apple Pencil that has the best handwriting recognition I've ever seen -- and I was a rabid Apple Newton user and developer. It's so good that it's been awarded as an Apple World Today Top Pick of 2016.</p>

<p>Readdle's PDF Expert 2 is the best editor around for Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) files. It's a perennial Apple Editors' Choice, was the 2015 App of the Year Runner-Up in the Mac App Store, and can usually be found near the top of the Top Paid Apps list in the Mac App Store. We have a very short-term <a href="https://deals.appleworld.today/sales//pdf-expert-2-0-for-mac?utm_source=appleworld.today&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=/pdf-expert-2-0-for-mac&utm_term=scsf-89902"><strong>deal on PDF Expert 2 for Mac</strong></a> -- it's just $29.99, 50% off the usual $59.99 price.  </p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">It's Friday! Before you head to your favorite local watering hole or restaurant for some Friday Afternoon Club libations or a nice meal, get up to speed on the latest in Apple News:</p><ul><li>The latest in a series of Apple Store heists happens in a mall in Natick, Massachusetts</li><li>Apple's pop-up Watch Edition store in the swanky Galeries Lafayette in Paris will close in January</li><li>Germany appears poised to be the latest country to get Apple Pay</li></ul>

<p>Earlier this morning, Apple World Today may have been unavailable to our readers. That's because a number of large websites and web hosting providers based on the East coast of the US -- including our host Squarespace -- have been hit with a series of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. The attacks are continuing, taking down such sites as the New York Times, CNN, Twitter, Netflix, HBO Now, PayPal, and Reddit. </p>

<p>Beats 1 is Apple's free and global Apple Music radio station, and now the station has a new presence on the web -- <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/beats1/?9" rel="noopener noreferrer">a dedicated Facebook page</a>. </p>

<p>Have a monitor weighing up to 30 pounds that's taking up too much desk space? How about a 21.5-inch iMac? Today's Apple World Today Deals Shop bargain is the <a href="https://deals.appleworld.today/sales/quirky-spacebar-monitor-stand-plus-6-port-usb-hub-white?utm_source=appleworld.today&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=quirky-spacebar-monitor-stand-plus-6-port-usb-hub-white_102116"><strong>Quirky Spacebar Monitor Stand</strong></a>, featuring a built-in 6-port USB hub, and you can get it for a limited time for $37.99.  </p>

<p>A few years back, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.automatic.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Automatic</a> revolutionized the way that people drive by coming out with a small device that plugged into a car's on-board diagnostics (OBD) port, then linked via Bluetooth to a smartphone for automatic logging of trips, diagnosis of Check Engine Light codes, and other fun and useful functions. Today the company has introduced <a target="_blank" href="https://www.automatic.com/lite/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Automatic Lite</a>, a $79.95 version of the adapter that does away with some of the more expensive, subscription-based functions of its more expensive sibling the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.automatic.com/pro/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Automatic Pro</a>. </p>

<p>You're putting together the ultimate smart home, but there's just one piece you haven't figured out yet -- the garage door. Skylink today announced a $299 garage door opener that's designed with compatibility with <a target="_blank" href="http://ifttt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">IFTTT</a> in mind. While it's not Apple HomeKit-compatible, the huge number of channels available on IFTTT means that you can work up some amazing "recipes" that can operate the <a target="_blank" href="http://skylinkhome.com/products/garage-door-opener-atoms" rel="noopener noreferrer">Skylink ATOMS Garage Door Opener</a>. </p>

<p>While Samsung stands to lose billions of dollars because of the Galaxy Note 7's tendency to spontaneously combust, one company stands to make some money off of the Korean manufacturer's woes. <a target="_blank" href="http://uniqfind.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">UniqFind</a> makes all sorts of skins and cases for Mac notebooks and iOS devices, selling them on Amazon. Their latest -- the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.uniqfind.com/collections/apple/products/explosung-iphone-skin" rel="noopener noreferrer">Explo-Sung iPhone Skin</a> -- is designed to make your iPhone look just like an exploded Galaxy Note 7.</p>

<p>The magic continues at Apple in the run up to next Thursday's Mac event. For several months, one of the suggested features of the new MacBook Pro has been an OLED touch panel at the top of the keyboard that's reconfigurable based on the app that's currently being used. According to trademark agent Brian "<a target="_blank" href="http://thetrademarkninja.com/2016/10/19/apple-trademark-exclusive-new-macbook-details/" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Trademark Ninja</a>" Conroy, that touch panel is likely to have the name "Magic Toolbar". </p>

<p>You finally got that Jet Black iPhone 7 you wanted, didn't you? Want to keep it looking nice and avoid those "micro-abrasions"? Maybe you went with a Silver iPhone 7 Plus, and although you know it's waterproof, you'd like a bit more protection. <a href="http://synd.co/2e5Kl2Q">Spidercase</a> has the perfect case for your new iPhone, and as this week's sponsor of Apple World Today, we're going to get you as excited about these amazing cases as we are!</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">It's happening - Apple has officially announced a Mac-oriented event to be held on Thursday, October 27, and we're as excited as we can be. </p><p>In today's special edition, we look at some of the more persistent and logical rumors about the expected MacBook Pro and MacBook Air updates, as well as make some educated guesses about what might be done to refresh the rest of the Mac line. </p><p>Could we see a new iMac? Maybe a new 5K Thunderbolt Display? How about refreshed Mac mini and Mac Pro models? The Mac Pro is really getting long in the tooth, having not had a refresh since 2013. </p><p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Check out this slightly-longer-than-usual podcast and see what we think might come out of next week's event.</p>

<p>Yep, all the rumors were correct. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.apple.com/apple-events/october-2016/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple has officially announced an event for October 27</a>, which will most likely be the day that new MacBook Pros and a new MacBook Air will be announced. But who knows? Perhaps they'll also throw a little Mac Pro, Mac mini and iMac magic our way.</p>