Bryan Chaffin

One little, two little, three little dongles. Four little, five little, six little dongles. Seven little, eight little, nine little dongles. 25 little dongles in a row. I know, I skipped a few, but I was stretching the absurdity a little far, even for me. So, what am I am talking about? Dr. Andrew Leavitt gathered up all 25 dongles/adapters Apple currently sells. With folks thinking about the headphone jack going the way of the floppy, it’s an interesting list to consider. I hadn’t realized Apple still sold 30-Pin adapters, for instance. And how about that External USB to Modem adapter? Who has external modems any more? I know, apparently someone. Check out Dr. Leavitt’s list. The image at the top, BTW, is a mockup of a headphone jack-to-Lightning adapter. I can’t imagine Apple could make it so small—you’re going to need some signal processing in there somewhere.

There has been much (pointless) wailing and gnashing of teeth about Apple ditching the headphone jack. We’ll find out if Apple is really doing it Wednesday morning, but there’s at least one Lightning headphone jack adapter already in the wild. It has the unsexy name of HRT i-dSp Headphone digital Sound Processor, and it allows you to connect a regular pair of headphones to an iOS device through the Lightning port. Don’t rush out and buy it just yet, though. For one thing, we don’t know how Apple is handling the transition. For another, this device also requires an Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter, making it unwieldy. I expect more seamless devices sooner, rather than later, if Apple does ditch that port. My point in posting this, however, is that there are already solutions on the market for a problem that doesn’t yet exist.

The thing I enjoy the most about posting games like this is the chorus of “Gee, thanks, Bryan. I just wasted my entire afternoon because of you” messages I get. With that in mind, I offer you a cordial “You’re welcome!” reply. Today’s game is called TAP and SMASH. The premise is simple: when you tap, a triangle that represents you moves up in a straight line. Along the way, you collect stars (for points) and coins (for buying power ups, continuing your game, etc.). In your way are circles and lines traveling across your path. When you tap, you move. When you don’t, you fall. That makes avoiding the enemy shapes a matter of timing and luck. I suck at this game, but it has that just-one-more quality. It’s also free to download. For $0.99 you can turn off ads that play every five minutes or so between games. You can also buy coins, but you can have a lot of fun without doing so. I happily paid to turn off ads because I’ve been playing the game a lot. Enjoy!

YouTube user Matthew Rogers has posted a new drone flyover video of Apple Campus 2.0, the so-called Spaceship HQ. This update features some of the glass panels that will form the outer walls of the building, solar panels on the roof, the shrinking dirt mountain on site, many of the outer buildings, fuel cells, and more. I love seeing these updates.  The building is amazing, even in its unfinished state, and being able to watch it grow is fun.

Apple published two blog posts Thursday that highlight some of the first third party apps that will have Siri support in iOS 10. The move comes ahead of the actual launch of iOS 10, and continues the company’s effort to play a broader role in shaping the Apple narrative. In Hey Siri, book me a ride, Apple highlights Uber, Lyft, mytaxi, Didi Chuxingm Vonage, Cisco Spark, and Skype. Users will be able to use Siri to get a ride or make a call without first opening these apps. In Hey Siri, show me my best selfies, Apple shows Siri integration with Pinterest,  Vogue Runway, Looklive, and Pikazo.

BusinessInsider has a piece on the Carpool Karaoke series Apple is working on for Apple Music. According to Ben Winston, co-founder of series producer Fulwell 73 Productions, the show is going to open up guest spots to celebrities who aren’t musicians. He also said the deal came together because of Jimmy Iovine, and that CBS will limit Carpool Karaoke‘s exposure on The Late Late Show with James Corden to keep it fresh. Carpool Karaoke could be a breakout hit for Apple. For context, the episode featuring Adele (below) has 124.6 million views on YouTube. Mr. Corden is executive producer of the Apple Music spinoff, but won’t be hosting it. There’s more in the full BI piece.

Here’s something cool for techies on the go, especially the back-to-school crowd. It’s called MOS Pack, a backpack with a built-in portable charging station for all your gadgets. It has pockets for iPhones (or other smartphones), iPads, your passport, and a spot for a water bottle. On the charging side, the MOS pack doesn’t have a built-in battery—which you’d have to lug around—but instead has a charging station that distributes power to all your gadgets from one plug. Inside it has a cable management system you feed to each gadget in each pockets, and you’re charging everything without having to pull them out. I thought it quite clever at $99.