Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), dipped -0.63% and closed at $118.28.
Mozilla Unveils iPhone Ad Tracking Blocker
Mozilla made a surprise addition to the selection of content blockers on iOS recently, with the launch of Focus. The app, which was originally planned to land in November under the name Signal, doesn’t block every advert but any content that is served by a blacklist of web services that have been deemed a threat to the privacy of users, according to Forbes
Somewhat to Mozilla’s bemusement, Focus won’t work with its Firefox iOS app, due to an Apple (AAPL) decision to keep a recently-released content blocking application programming interface (API) private. It will only work with Safari. Mozilla is hopeful Apple will soon open up the API – the slice of code that opens up an application’s functionality for third-party use – so that Focus can work with the Firefox browser for iOS, released last month.
Apple Smart Battery Case Review
On Tuesday, the company finally admitted that heavy iPhone 6 or 6s users like me could use more power—at least as much as you get with the bigger iPhone 6s Plus. Apple’s $99 Smart Battery Case is like a Mophie, or the dozens of other battery cases out there. Its integrated battery nearly doubles your battery life so you avoid scurrying around for an electrical outlet like a rodent in search of scraps, according to WSJ
After five days of living with the Smart Battery Case wrapped around my iPhone, I no longer feel so powerless. Even better, Apple fixes many of the issues I’ve had with cases over the years. It uses the same Lightning cable as the iPhone to charge, and it tells you how much power is remaining right on the phone’s screen. Besides, the case doesn’t feel like the stuff plastic forks are made of.
There’s just one thing to consider before you buy: With a third-party case, you can get twice as much power for half the cost.
Apple’s Smart Battery Case, though still fairly unsightly, is ahead of those. Bend back the top and slide in your phone. It feels just like Apple’s smooth, soft-touch wraparound silicone case, except… with a protruding, awkward battery on the back. The battery juts out as if your phone will soon give birth to a rectangular alien.
Apple even integrated a passive antenna into the case so cellular reception doesn’t suffer. One thing to be aware of: Apple’s earbuds fit in the 3.5mm headphone jack opening without a problem, but my Beats Solo HD headphones didn’t. Unlike others, Apple doesn’t comprise a headphone jack extender. WSJ Report
Apple Releases Swift as Open Source
Apple Inc. designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications. The company recently reported that its Swift™ programming language is now open source. As an open source language, the broad community of talented developers — from app developers to educational institutions to enterprises — can contribute to new Swift features and optimizations and assist bring Swift to new computing platforms. Introduced in 2014, Swift is the fastest growing programming language in history and combines the performance and efficiency of compiled languages with the simplicity and interactivity of popular scripting languages.* Apple also launched the Swift.org website with detailed information about Swift open source, counting technical documentation, community resources and links to download the Swift source code.
The Swift open source code is available via GitHub and comprises support for all Apple software platforms — iOS, OS X®, watchOS and tvOS™ — as well as for Linux. Components available comprise the Swift compiler, debugger, standard library, foundation libraries, package manager and REPL. Swift is licensed under the popular Apache 2.0 open source license with a runtime library exception, enabling users to easily incorporate Swift into their own software and port the language to new platforms.