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Apple granted patent for a 'reduced size multi-pin connector,' namedrops USB 3.0 and DisplayPort
Apple has just collected the US Patent Office's approval to add another to its vast hoard of patents. This one, numero 7,918,689 in the USPTO annals, describes a multi-pin male plug connector and a corresponding female receptacle, with the innovation being a reduction in size thanks to a single row of contacts. You can think of it as Apple's next generation of 30-pin connectors, or rather the next generation as the company envisioned it back in late 2008, the date of filing for this document. Back then, while the age of the click wheel was still upon us, Apple wanted to transfer USB 3.0 and DisplayPort signals over its newfangled plug, aspirations that were codified in claim 11 of its patent. We may now be a solid 30 or so months removed from that doc hitting the Patent Office's inbox, but the desire to have advanced data transfer tech integrated straight into the company's proprietary connectors is unlikely to have withered. Would it be a stretch to expect Apple's now working on a similar solution for the Thunderbolt interconnect -- whose plug looks identical to the one used for DisplayPort -- that is presently gracing its MacBook Pro line? %Gallery-120503%
Half a million users register for WAR
According to a recent market report, Warhammer Online now has a half a million registered users. This isn't boxes sold to retailers or projected numbers, this is 500k people who have registered to play Warhammer Online.These numbers come only one week after the game first went on sale, as publisher Electronic Arts claims the title of the fastest-selling MMO of all time. "In just one week we have a half a million people playing WAR online, and the ranks of Order and Destruction are growing at a record-breaking pace for a new MMORPG," offered Mark Jacobs, co-founder of Mythic Entertainment. Whether this sales trend will continue to rise, or taper off, is yet to be seen, but it will be interesting to keep an eye on WAR to see if EA's record-breaking claims hold true.
Apple sending battery recall emails to registered users
If there was ever a good reason to register a product like a notebook, being warned that it might catch fire, and getting the chance to avoid said fire, is as good as any in our book. We're receiving reports that Apple has begun sending emails to registered owners of iBooks and PowerBooks, announcing the recent recall and offering to get the party (of sorts) started. It would've been nice to hear this tactic being used when such a serious recall was first announced, but this is probably a good way to get the word out to any owners who might not keep up on Apple nerdery.
