Today’s Tech Sightings:

AirPods are displayed as Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook makes his closing remarks during an Apple media event in San Francisco, California, US, Sept. 7, 2016. (Reuters)

Eulogy for the iPhone Headphone Jack

Twitter burst into a flurry of activity Wednesday when Apple declared the death of the iPhone headphone jack at its iPhone 7 event in San Francisco. The tech giant replaced the jack with wireless earbuds, outfitted with their own communications chip. Apple described the move to do away with ancient technology and make room for more space as “courage.” But there are those who see profit as the motivating force for replacing the traditional headphone jack with $159 earbuds. While other news coming out of the event generated a lot of interest, the demise of the headphone jack was the most talked about – and mourned – on Twitter.

Microsoft’s Top Lawyer Becomes a Civil Rights Crusader

Microsoft’s president and chief legal advisor, Brad Smith, is taking on the U.S. federal government. In the past three years, he took the government to court four times for alleged constitutional violations in the process of trying to get access to Microsoft’s customer data. Smith believes government surveillance should be subject to checks and balances that protect privacy and says that balance needs to be restored.

Irish Government Wins Strong Backing by Parliament for EU Apple Appeal

The Irish government has won strong support in parliament to appeal the European Union’s decision to fine Apple billions of dollars in back taxes. The government denied giving Apple favorable tax treatment or any state aid and said the EU decision cannot be allowed to stand.

More:

• Why Apple Axing the Headphone Jack Is a Good Thing
• Apple Just Demonstrated Why People Hate the Tech Industry
• The 7 Biggest Announcements From Apple’s iPhone 7 Event
• Apple Ran ‘Untaxed Bermuda Triangle’ In Ireland
• The Cost of Ransomware Attacks: $1 Billion This Year
• These Technologies May Actually Deliver Elon Musk’s Dream of Changing the World
• Amazon Echo Could Soon Start Talking to You Unprompted
• Twitter Adds Button That Lets You Subscribe to Live Video Notifications