VirnetX’s big US$625 million patent infringement win against Apple just became a big loss. Federal Appeals Court Judge Robert Schroeder tossed out the judgement and set a retrial saying VirnetX acted inappropriately during the trial and very likely prejudiced the jury.
Apple Launches Surface Pro Spot Starring iPad Pro
Check out Apple’s new iPad Pro commercial, titled “iPad Pro — What’s a Computer?” It’s like a Microsoft Surface Pro spot, with a prettier star, better lighting, better graphics, and better direction. It pitches iPad Pro as a computer, only one you can touch, type on, and write on using a stylus. It features iPad Pro (9.7-inch), Smart Keyboard, and Apple Pencil. It’s almost like Apple is saying this combination of devices is kind of like a toasterfridge that can do it all. I’d love to hear some thoughts from our readers on this.
Apple Adding More than 100 Diverse Emoji to iOS 10
Apple announced Monday that it will add more than 100 diverse emoji to iOS 10. The new emojis are part of the Unicode Consortium’s ongoing efforts to expand emojis, and Apple said it’s working with the Consortium to include diverse options.
Are Humans Becoming Robotic Faster than Robots Can be Human-like?
People are walking around, staring at their iPhones, mesmerized by messages and selfies. They’re reading lurid news, glued to YouTube videos and immersing themselves in Pokémon GO. Is this robotic behavior slowly replacing typical human behavior? Is it happening faster than robots can become more human? Could robots someday role reverse and become more human than we used to be? Page 2 of Friday’s Particle Debris expands the initial discussion and leaves us to ponder.
The Ultra-Efficient File Management Bundle for Mac: $19.99
We have a deal for today on four Mac utilities for managing your files: Yes, Leap, Deep, and Fresh. They’re designed to help you keep track of your documents, make more of tags, match images, and more. You can get all four apps through our deal for $19.99. Check out the details in the deal listing.
Apple Intros Apple TV Remote App for iOS
Apple is finally bringing the Siri remote’s features to the iPhone and iPad with it’s new Apple TV Remote app. The app lets users control their fourth generation Apple TV as if they were using the device’s included remote, and supports Siri voice control, too. It also supports the second and third generation Apple TV sans Siri control, but can’t control iTunes on your Mac. For that you’ll still need the older Remote app. Apple TV Remote is a free download at Apple’s App Store.
Niantic 'Fixes' Pokémon GO Tracking by Removing the Feature
Good news! Niantic updated the Pokémon GO app to address the three-step tracking bug. Bad news! They “fixed” it by taking the feature out. And the salt in the wound is that third-party Pokémon trackers stopped working, too. Good luck finding new Pokémon now.
TMO Background Mode: Interview with SCC Director of Mobile App Development Tim DeBenedictis
Tim DeBenedictis is the co-developer of the astronomy sky charting app SkySafari. He’s now the Director of Mobile Application Development at Simulation Curriculum Corp. Tim was first inspired by the sky as a youth going on camping trips and being able to see the stars at night, something city dwellers seldom see. His dad was an avid bird watcher and always had a birding scope on the trips. One night, they pointed the scope at Jupiter and its moons. Tim described it as captivating and launched his interest in amateur astronomy. Later, that led to being a planetary science major at M.I.T. where he developed an extensive C++ code base for celestial mechanics. Years later, with that expertise, he co-developed SkySafari for the Mac, iOS and Android. Come take a grand celestial tour with us.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-08-01: Licensing iOS, Didi Buys Uber China
It’s time for Apple to start licensing iOS to cheap handset makers, or so says one pundit. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on Apple’s business model and decisions to not license its operating systems to other companies. They also take a look at Didi buying rival car sharing service Uber China.
Touch ID Trick: Train Multiple Fingerprints at Once
Apple’s Touch ID is an excellent security convenience, allowing you to quickly unlock your iPhone or iPad without having to type in your Passcode. Most of us will want to train at least the index finger and thumb of both hands in order to have some unlocking flexibility. That requires adding each fingerprint manually, and the iPhone only allows five total fingerprints to be trained. What if you want to train more than five fingers? Or what if you want to make the training process more efficient? In Sunday’s Mac Geek Gab 616, listener Robin provided an answer to these questions: train multiple fingerprints simultaneously.