News.com covers some recently published patent applications from Apple.
The list includes technologies related to Expose, Video conferencing, music submissions and iPod technology.
The "Media player with acceleration protection" patent (applied in June 2003) covers fall protection for the iPod:
The portable computing device protects its disk drive by monitoring for such accelerations and operating to avoid usage of the disk drive during periods of acceleration. Through such protection, the likelihood of damage to the disk drive or loss of data stored on the disk drive is able to be substantially reduced. According to another aspect, a user of a portable computing device can be alerted when the portable computing device is being subjected to undesirable levels of acceleration.
Of note, IBM introduced similar technology in their ThinkPad notebooks in late 2003.
[UPDATE] - Another patent has surfaced today - "Apparatus for remotely controlling a digital processing system" - otherwise known as a mouse with a touch-sensitive scroll mechanism. Since its inception, Apple has not directly offered a mouse with a scroll wheel except from third parties.
Wednesday March 11, 2026 7:05 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Starting today, the seven new Apple products that were announced last week are available at Apple Stores and beginning to arrive to customers.
The colorful MacBook Neo and all of the other new products are on display at most Apple Store locations around the world starting today. Apple Stores have inventory of the new products for both walk-in customers and Apple Store pickup, but...
Thursday March 12, 2026 6:10 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple today announced that it will celebrate the company's 50th anniversary over the coming weeks, but it has yet to reveal any specific plans.
Apple was founded on April 1, 1976, so the company will turn 50 on April 1, 2026.
"While Apple is known for looking forward, this milestone offers a special moment to reflect on the journey that has brought the company here, to celebrate the...
We're only three months away from Apple's WWDC 2026 event, which will see the company unveil iOS 27. With the fully revamped version of Siri possibly delayed until September, iOS 27 is shaping up to be the update we wanted iOS 26 to be.
There will be new Apple Intelligence features, updates for the iPhone Fold, and more, with the latest rumors summarized below.
Foldable iPhone Features...
