There have been scattered rumors over the years that Apple would enter the automotive market (the iCar, perhaps?). Well that’s not gonna happen, but major technology companies — such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft — are beginning to battle for share of the in-vehicle navigation market, according to the Strategy Analytics research group (http://www.strategyanalytics.com).
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Apple’ is to be commended for its decision to provide a FireWire-Thunderbolt adapter (US$29) for Macs such as its revamped MacBook Pro and MacBook Air lines — which lack FireWire ports.
Apple’s new, great love — and understandably so — is Thunderbolt. Still, a lot of folks have big bucks invested in FireWire products. The FireWire-Thunderbolt adapter allows those products to be used with the latest Macs.
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An Apple patent (number 8,217,619) for portable devices having multiple power interfaces has appeared at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. One of those interfaces involves solar power.
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An Apple patent (number 8,217,913) for an integrated touch screen has appeared at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office shows that Apple has investigated touch screens on Macs — at least laptop Macs.
Per the patent, displays with touch sensing circuitry integrated into the display pixel stackup are provided. Circuit elements, such as touch signal lines, such as drive lines and sense lines, grounding regions, in the display pixel stackups can be grouped together to form touch sensing circuitry that senses a touch on or near the display.
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Okay, folks, it’s time to set that iPhone down for a while. It’s affecting your mind.
Lookout (http://www.mylookout.com), makers of an app to protect your smartphone, has released the “Mobile Mindset Study,” which analyzes and explores data-based trends in the emotions and behavior driven by smartphones. As people rely more on their smartphones, they are increasingly checking their phones in bed, in the bathroom, at the dinner table, and while driving. Lookout found the frequency that people check their smartphones is increasing:
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