The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday tightened rules for where patent lawsuits can be filed in a decision that may make it harder for so-called patent “trolls” to launch sometimes dodgy patent cases in friendly courts, a major irritant for high-tech giants like Apple and Alphabet Inc’s Google.

Anything that gets rid of patent trolls is a good thing, but I’m sure the trolls will try to incorporate in East Texas, where many of the patent cases currently take place.

Update: I misread the ruling. Lawsuits will have to be filed in the jurisdiction of the defendant, which should definitely deal a huge blow to patent trolls.

As with most Apple retail locations, this is just beautiful.

Graham Cochrane has some nice tips for Mastering a song you’ve recorded. I especially liked his comments on the loudness wars and how streaming services are making that less of an issue these days.

Great story. Much respect to Google CEO Sundar Pichai for encouraging the girl.

My thanks to Jamf Now for sponsoring The Loop this week. Jamf Now is an on-demand mobile device management solution for the iPads, iPhones and Macs in your workplace. We make device management simple and affordable for everyone, so businesses can support their users; no IT required. Manage your first three devices for free and add more for just $2 per device per month. Get started for free today!

Chris Cornell, the powerful, dynamic singer whose band Soundgarden was one of the architects of grunge music, has died at 52.

So incredibly sad.

In a case of extraordinarily bad luck, even for a guy that has a lot of bad computer luck, I happened to download HandBrake in that three day window, and my work Mac got pwned.

Long story short, somebody, somewhere, now has quite a bit of source code to several of our apps.

Okay, that’s bad, but there is some good news:

• There’s no indication any customer information was obtained by the attacker.
• Furthermore, there’s no indication Panic Sync data was accessed.
• Finally, our web server was not compromised.

[Via John Gruber]

At its I/O 2017 developer conference today, Google announced Google Assistant is coming to iOS as a standalone app, rolling out to the U.S. first. Until now, the only way iPhone users could access Google Assistant was through Allo, the Google messaging app nobody uses.

It’s great that Google Assistant is coming, but the lack of integration with iOS will certainly hurt its chances of being used as much as Siri.

We — Manton Reece and Brent Simmons — have noticed that JSON has become the developers’ choice for APIs, and that developers will often go out of their way to avoid XML. JSON is simpler to read and write, and it’s less prone to bugs.

Two very smart guys that I respect a lot. I’m going to take a look at this.

One of the greatest things Apple has done wit its technologies in recent years is to give people with disabilities the opportunity to be empowered and self-sufficient. Apple today published a series of videos showing how some of these people use their technologies. […]

This is a well done breakdown of the many services available for people that want to cut off their current cable TV subscription.

Currently, app-specific passwords are used to allow non-native apps like email clients to sign in to iCloud accounts that are protected by two-factor authentication. The security measure ensures that users can still link up their iCloud account to apps and services not provided by Apple, while also avoiding the need to disclose their Apple ID password to third parties.

Privacy and security are very important to Apple.

Universal Audio updated its software on Tuesday adding five new plug-ins. The plug-ins include Antares Auto-Tune Realtime; SSL 4000 G Bus Compressor Collection; Pure Plate Reverb; Fuchs Train II Amplifier; Eden WT800 Bass Amplifier.

There are videos on the product page introducing plug-in and what you can expect when using it. AS usual, UA has done a great job in choosing which plug-ins to release.

While we were on stage, Jack asked me to come back to work at Twitter. People cheered. But I wasn’t really sure if he meant it. After Tea Time, we spoke privately and Jack told me that he really did — he wanted me to come back and work at Twitter. The company I co-founded, the service I co-invented. I was stunned, but I knew the answer.

Other companies have brought back their founders—it has worked very well for some (Apple), and not so well for others (Yahoo).

Jamf Now is an on-demand mobile device management solution for the iPads, iPhones and Macs in your workplace. We make device management simple and affordable for everyone, so businesses can support their users; no IT required. Manage your first three devices for free and add more for just $2 per device per month. Get started for free today!

It’s a big day for Apple software updates. The company released macOS Sierra 10.12.5, iOS 10.3.2, watchOS 3.2.2, and tvOS 10.2.1. You can apply the update by going to Software Update on each device. The Apple Watch will need to updated from your iPhone.

Dore said companies that faced disruptions because they did not run the Microsoft update or because they were using older versions of Windows could face lawsuits if they publicly touted their cyber security. His law firm sued LinkedIn after a 2012 data breach, alleging individuals paid for premium accounts because the company falsely stated it had top-quality cyber security measures. LinkedIn settled for $1.25 million in 2014.

It’s amazing to me that so many institutions have such poor security.

Apple Watch is an incredible device for many reasons, but none are as great as how it helps people track their exercise and movement. The watch does this by using rings—closing the rings means you had a great day of standing, exercising, and movement. But what if you don’t close the rings? […]

Another new one from Apple.

London’s Victoria and Albert Museum has announced the first major international retrospective of Pink Floyd, one of the world’s most pioneering and influential bands. To mark 50 years since the band released their first single Arnold Layne, and over 200 million record sales later, The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Moral Remains experience will be a spectacular and unparalleled audio-visual journey through Pink Floyd’s unique and extraordinary worlds; chronicling the music, design, and staging of the band, from their debut in the 1960s through to the present day.

I wish I could see this.

I don’t even know what to say, this is just cool.

The latest court ruling in a high-profile trade secrets case from U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco, made public on Monday, granted a partial injunction against Uber, which Waymo has accused of using stolen information to accelerate the building of its autonomous cars.

Clearly the judge didn’t believe Uber.

Rene Ritchie put together a Q&A for last week’s ransomware attack.

Satellite is all about bringing no-compromise audiophile sound to your daily life. Whether listening to streaming audio or digital remasters on your commute and at the office, or enjoying vinyl box sets at home, Satellite delivers iconic Blue studio sound wherever you go.

These over-the-ear headphones were released this week and they are great. I’ve been using them for a couple of weeks and will have a more detailed write-up coming out shortly.

A large number of hospitals, GPs, and walk-in clinics across England have been locked down by a ransomware attack, reports suggest. There are also some reports of a ransomware attack hitting institutions in Portugal and Spain, with telecoms provider Telefonica apparently hit hard. Further attacks have been reported in Russia, Ukraine, and Taiwan. Batten down the hatches: we might be in the middle of a global ransomware attack.

Apple’s iPhone 7 is the top selling smartphone model in Q1 2017, according to a new research report from Strategy Analytics released this week. When is it okay to be No. 2? When you’re also No. 1—the second top selling smartphone model is the iPhone 7 Plus, according to the report. […]

Thanks to Jamf Now for sponsoring The Loop this week. Jamf Now is an on-demand mobile device management solution for the iPads, iPhones and Macs in your workplace. We make device management simple and affordable for everyone, so businesses can support their users; no IT required. Manage your first three devices for free and add more for just $2 per device per month. Get started for free today!

Apple posted a new Web page showing you how to shoot a picture in different situations using the iPhone 7. This is a page I will definitely use.

John Paczkowski writing for BuzzFeed:

Sources in position to know tell BuzzFeed News that Amazon’s Prime video app — long absent from Apple TV — is indeed headed to Apple’s diminutive set-top box. Apple plans to announce Amazon Prime video’s impending arrive to the Apple TV App Store during the keynote at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 5 in San Jose, CA. A source familiar with the companies’ thinking say the app is expected to go live this summer, but cautioned that the hard launch date might change. Amazon had previously declined to even submit a Prime Video app for inclusion in Apple’s Apple TV App Store.

John certainly knows his stuff and this has been rumored before. It would be great if Amazon and Apple could get things worked out, release a video app, and get the Apple TV back in the Amazon store again.

“We are taking a careful yet balanced approach to incorporating autonomous vehicles on our roads to reduce dangerous driving habits, decrease the number of accidents and save lives on New York roadways,” Cuomo said in a statement.

Says a lot about the driving habits of many on the roads today.

Companies in New York must have a $5 million insurance policy, submit reports to the state, be overseen by the state police and pay the state police for supervising each test.

Testing also cannot take place in construction or school zones – which take up huge swaths of land in New York City – and must adhere to a predesignated route shared in advance with the state.

No doubt there will be challenges or suggestions from the companies developing the technology.