Steve Sande

<p><span>Another day, another Apple TV channel! Today the NatGeo TV channel appeared on the Apple TV main screen, which appears to provide content from the National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild channel found on most cable and satellite TV systems. </span></p>

<p><span>For quite a few years, I've used a Henge Docks Clique keyboard tray to keep my Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad side-by-side in front of my main blogging computer -- a 27-inch iMac. I like how it functions, but it's simply a rather pedestrian plastic tray that clashes with the large wood office desk that I work at. Fortunately, Portland-based </span><a target="_blank" href="http://grovemade.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Grovemade</a><span> came to my rescue with the announcement today of the new wood </span><a target="_blank" href="http://grovemade.com/product/walnut-trackpad-tray/?initial=143" rel="noopener noreferrer">Trackpad Tray</a><span> ($59), part of the Desk Collection from the accessory manufacturer.</span></p>

<p><span>When the 12-inch MacBook with its single USB-C port was announced, a lot of pundits wondered what the future of multiple port MacBooks would be like. Today at Computex 2015, Intel announced the latest version of Thunderbolt -- </span><a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.intel.com/technology/2015/06/thunderbolt3/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Thunderbolt 3</a><span> -- which</span><span> uses the same USB Type-C connector found on the MacBook.</span></p>

<p><span>Apple has </span><a href="http://www.apple.com/live/">announced that it will stream the 2015 WWDC keynote on Monday, June 8th</a><span>. You can watch on the web or via the Events channel on your Apple TV. Let's see what Tim and company have cooked up this year. </span></p>

<p><span>Apple's HomeKit is a framework that allows control of compatible home automation devices through iOS and Siri. Announced last June at WWDC 2014, the framework was just a dream until today, when the first HomeKit-enabled devices began shipping. Here are some products that either are shipping or will begin shipping by the end of July.</span></p>

<p>Here are some of the best free apps, app updates and new apps that have landed in the App Store recently. Today’s notable apps include a discount on Pickle - Smart Clipper; the new Google Photos app; and a maintenance update to TeeVee 3. All app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so grab them while you can.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.teslamotors.com/models" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tesla Model S</a> is already a geek's dream electric car, with performance and feature enhancements that come through software updates and a host of built-in electronics. Now Rego Apps developer Allen Wong shows off his <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/remote-s-for-tesla/id991623777?mt=8" rel="noopener noreferrer">Remote S app</a> ($9.99) being used through Siri on an Apple Watch to turn on the HVAC system, unlock doors, start the car, and even open the sunroof.</p><p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">Anyone want to buy me a Model S so I can test the app? <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhiCFdWeQfA" rel="noopener noreferrer">Anybody? Anybody?</a></p>

<p>I was pretty bad this last week, both in not exercising much at all and in eating out a lot. Guess what? I gained a pound. The personal issues that are keeping me from exercising much are continuing, although I expect them to hopefully subside a bit this week.</p>

<p><span>One of the continuing news themes that we love to cover is the sale of Apple I computers at auction. They've gone for as much as $905,000, and are exceedingly rare -- only 200 Apple I computers </span><span>were hand-made in the first batch and</span><span> sold for $666.66 each in 1976. This weekend we heard the story of a Bay Area</span><span> electronics recycling firm that is looking for a woman who dropped off an Apple I in April that subsequently sold to a private collector for $200,000.</span></p>

<p><span>Last week's Caturday cat of the week was Leo, a beautiful Norwegian Forest Cat who was in the process of updating her MacBook Pro to the latest Mac OS X 10.10.4 beta. Maybe this is a trend, or maybe all cats in Norway have MacBooks, because this week we're bringing you a sweet Norwegian kitteh who appears to be logging into this MacBook Pro! </span><span>The photo is courtesy of Jørn Aune, who tells us</span><span>:</span></p>

<p>It’s time to save some of your hard-earned money with our <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/?tag=deals">Daily Deals</a>, featuring highlighted deals for AWT readers, hardware discounts and our own handpicked iOS and OS X sales. All prices are USD and subject to change. Please check prices before you purchase as some deals may expire quickly.</p>

<p>"We knew we could do a great job on this, and develop something that our customers would expect for the Mac platform." This quote from Mike Shebanek, who was a Product Manager at Apple back in 2004, captures the thought process that went into developing VoiceOver, Apple's built-in Screen Access Technology. Apple's inclusion of VoiceOver reflects the company's commitment to ensuring every one of its users can access its products, regardless of their accessibility needs.</p>

<p><span>OK, it's not really syncing, but this little hack by Niles Mitchell is still a lot of fun. What Niles did is to take his vintage </span><a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_512K" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mac 512Ke</a><span>, get it talking to a </span><a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerBook_G3" rel="noopener noreferrer">PowerBook G3 "Wall Street"</a><span> as a networking go-between, and then set up an action using </span><a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/workflow-powerful-automation/id915249334?mt=8" rel="noopener noreferrer">Workflow</a><span> on the Watch to go to the URL of an image stored on a floppy disk connected to that old Mac. The result? The Watch grabs</span><span> the file off of the floppy and it appears on the display of the smartwatch. Cool!</span></p>

<p>Here are some of the best free apps, app updates and new apps that have landed in the App Store recently. Today’s notable apps include a discount on Vizzywig - Video Editor; the new Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions game from Activision; and a significant update to Pixelmator that brings the image editing app to the iPhone. All app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so grab them while you can.</p><p> </p>

<p><span>Back before the Newton MessagePad made a splash in 1993 as the first "Personal Digital Assistant", several consumer electronics companies were making handheld devices designed to do all of the things that we take for granted now on our iPhones and Apple Watches -- take short notes, check our calendar, make appointments, and look up phone numbers. One of these devices was the Casio B.O.S.S. SF-8000 -- one of which I have in my Museum of Obsolete Technology. </span></p>