Dennis Sellers

<p>If Apple really is ditching the 3.5mm jack in the next generation iPhone (and I think it is) and relying solely on Lightning and wireless headphones, perhaps they should kick things up a notch and release their own (earbud) versions of the Vi.</p>

<p>The folks at the streaming music service, Spotify, say Apple is making it harder for the streaming music company to compete by blocking a new version of its iPhone app, reports <a target="_blank" href="http://www.recode.net/2016/6/30/12067578/spotify-apple-app-store-rejection" rel="noopener noreferrer">re/code</a>. A letter sent this week by Spotify attorney Horacio Gutierrez to Bruce Sewell, Apple’s general counsel, said Apple is “causing grave harm to Spotify and its customers” by rejecting an update to Spotify’s iOS app.</p>

<p>Apple will be receiving the Robert S. Bray Award from the <a href="http://www.acb.org/">American Council of the Blind (ACB)</a> the company's continued innovations in accessibility. The award is given to a company or person who has improved communication technology or devices or which has expanded access to such devices for all blind people.</p>

<p>Another day, another lawsuit. China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), a government agency supervising content production in the country, is suing the Apple for infringing the exclusive online broadcast right of a film it made, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ywang/2016/06/30/apple-sued-again-this-time-by-a-china-media-regulator/#55329d6c1540">reports Forbes</a>.</p>

<p>Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product, so here are today’s patent highlights: </p>

<p>Mail Drop is Apple’s solution to the problem of running into file size limits (usually between 10MB and 40MB) when trying to send attachments in various email clients. It basically detects when you’ve attached a large file in an email, and ask if you’d like to use the service instead of sending it through the email server. </p>

<p>Apple wants us to live in a world without optical drives, but for some people that's not feasible. If you fall into this category, check out <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mcetech.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">MCE Technologies</a>' Fovea line of portable, slot-loading optical drives designed for the Macs lacking optical drives.</p>

<p>On a regular basis, <em>Apple World Today</em> posts a list of notable new apps or app updates that have been released. They may not necessarily be new, but they're popular and deserve mention. Here are today's picks.</p>

<p>The upcoming “iPhone 7” will, according to rumors, drop the traditional 3.5mm jack and support only Lightning-based headphones and wireless headsets. Now Cirrus Logic has released its MFi Headset Development Kit, a reference platform that is designed to help original equipment manufacturers quickly develop new Lightning-based digital headsets. </p>

<p>Samsung will see its shipments of AMOLED panels to increase from 239 million units this year to 2019 thanks, in part, to upcoming iPhones, according to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitimes.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">DigiTimes</a>. </p>

<p>Business and engineering/IT students in the world's 12 largest economies have chosen their favorite employers — and Apple’s near the top of the list. More than 267,000 millennials in Universum's Talent Survey have ranked the companies they find most desirable for employment.</p>

<p>The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced <a href="http://elink-eu.azuresend.com/l/5456ee8bfde5431cb2e61aea2cf5c940/366DD291/D74085CF/062016">the expansion of the 802.11ac standard</a> to include new features that provide a higher-performance connectivity experience. Most Apple products offer 802.11ac compatibility, including Macs, the AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Time Capsule. The expanded 802.11ac could see implementation in future versions of the latter two devices, which are overdue for an upgrade.</p>

<p>Incipio’s latest USB-C product lineup supports charging solutions and adapters that are great for users of the 12-inch MacBook, which has only one USB-C port. I’ve tested ‘em all; they work just fine. Instead of serving up a dozen mini-reviews, I’ll just provide a round-up of the USB-C items here:</p>

<p>Western Digital Corporation has launched its My Passport Ultra, and upcoming My Passport for Mac and My Passport Ultra Metal portable hard drives, with up to 4TB capacity. </p>

<p>Another day, another lawsuit. Florida resident Thomas S. Ross has filed a lawsuit against Apple this week, claiming the company infringe upon his 1992 invention of a hand-drawn "Electronic Reading Device" (ERD), reports <a target="_blank" href="http://www.macrumors.com/2016/06/28/florida-man-sues-apple-1992-invention/" rel="noopener noreferrer">MacRumors.</a></p>