Tech Digest daily round up: Apple boss Tim Cook takes witness stand
Apple boss Tim Cook took the witness stand for the first time in his company’s major legal battle with Epic Games over an alleged monopoly. Epic, maker of the hit video game Fortnite, claims Apple’s tight control over iPhone apps hurts competition. During his appearance, Mr Cook argued that keeping control of the App Store helped keep iPhones secure. He also said he did not know if the App Store made a profit, telling the court Apple did not break down the figures. Facing questions about the level of profit the App Store generates from the 30% commission it takes on sales, he said: “We don’t have a separate profit and loss statement for the App Store.” BBC
The 2nd generation iPad, introduced by Steve Jobs in March of 2011, has officially been marked as an obsolete product worldwide. Released less than a year after the launch of the original iPad, the second-generation iPad marked a breakthrough for the product line and set the groundwork for years to come. Apple added the iPad 2 to its “vintage and obsolete” product list in May of 2019, which marked the iPad as obsolete in all countries except the United States and Turkey, where local law required Apple to continue to consider it a vintage product. Yesterday, however, Apple updated its list to add the new iPad to its official obsolete list, deeming it obsolete worldwide. Mac Rumors
It’s a big week for 90s Windows nostalgia. Not only are the band from the Windows 95 CD-ROM reforming for the Summer Game Fest, Microsoft are finally binning the browser you loved to hate. They announced this week that they’re retiring Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 next June, instead pushing towards people to their newer and better browser, Edge. IE has effectively been dead for years but it’s still good to see it go. Microsoft announced this week that “the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10.” Some niche business setups will keep it going but broadly yep, get in the bin. If you still use IE, Microsoft suggest you switch over to their new browser, Edge. Rock Paper Shotgun
Business travellers may one day be able to eliminate jet lag by simply tapping on a smartphone app which is connected to an under-skin implant that can manipulate their sleep pattern. Researchers at Northwestern University, Illinois have been handed $33m (£23.2m) from the US Defence Department’s Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) to make the technology a reality. The researchers plan to build a bio-electronic device the size of a pinky finger that can alter the wearer’s circadian rhythm. Using an app, wearers can adjust the system so it can recalibrate their circadian rhythm accordingly. Telegraph
The White House is pushing a new reason to swipe right: vaccination badges and “super swipes” for people who’ve gotten their coronavirus shots. The Biden administration said Friday it’s teaming up with dating apps to showcase the benefits of getting a shot. Apps like Hinge, Tinder, Match and Bumble are offering special incentives to people who roll up their sleeves, including badges showing vaccination status and free access to premium content. BLK and Chispa will boost profiles of those who are vaccinated, to make them more visible to potential matches. And OKCupid will even let users filter out potential partners based on whether they’ve gotten a vaccine. AP News
