This week we discussed the implications of Apple's lawsuit over MagSafe connectors, what happened between Ping and Facebook, the malware risks for iOS jailbreakers, 3D animation on the Mac, and much, much more. In case you missed it, here's the roundup:

: In Part II of our epic introduction to 3D on the Mac, you'll learn the basics of character animation and rendering, and you'll get an overview of the major 3D software packages on the platform.

: Verizon's CEO made cryptic comments Thursday morning at an investor conference, suggesting that the expected January launch of a CDMA-compatible iPhone on Verizon's network is not in the works.

You've heard of the government's "Do Not Call" list aimed at shutting down unwanted telemarketers—but did you know that many tech companies have a "Do Not Cold Call" list aimed at shutting down competition? The US Department of Justice today announced a lawsuit—and a proposed settlement—over just such behavior at Google, Adobe, Apple, Intel, Intuit, and Pixar.

The has been delayed into October, but Apple has already rolled out its new iTunes TV show rental service with the . Disney/ABC and Fox are on board with the new 99¢ TV episode rental service while other broadcast and cable networks have , leery of "devaluing" their content with low prices. Yet some of those same networks are willing to offer their content via Netflix instant streaming for fixed fees.

During a Goldman Sachs investor conference in New York this week, a number of media executives expressed concern that Apple's 99¢ price point is too low. "The 99¢ rental is not a good price point," Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said. "It doesn't work for us." Viacom operates several cable networks, such as MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon.

Sanho Corporation, the company behind the well-known external batteries, is being sued by Apple for violation of the company's MagSafe and 30-pin iPod connection patents. Apple (PDF) this month (via ), accusing Sanho of selling products that make use of Apple's proprietary technology without authorization.

Sanho/HyperMac's product line has become fairly well known among laptop power users who travel—the company sells high-capacity external batteries that can connect to any MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air in order to juice up the machine's internal battery or keep it going for hours beyond its normal capacity. (We here at Ars are .) The HyperMac brand recently added connectors to its batteries to allow users to charge their iPads through Apple's 30-pin connector, so the same battery can service both your MacBook and your other Apple portable devices.

Apple offers licenses for its 30-pin connector so that accessory makers can sell products to go with Apple's iDevices, but the company keeps the MagSafe connector to itself. Apparently, Sanho has authorization to sell neither: in its complaint, Apple accuses the company of violating six of its patents related to both technologies. Apple says Sanho's alleged infringement has caused damage to Apple's business, and wants a permanent injunction against the company (as well as unspecified damages).

The catch here is that Sanho's products don't actually recreate Apple's technologies—or at least that's what the company says on its website. The product pages on the HyperMac site says that the products come with "original MacSafe power connector[s] for maximum compatibility." Basically, Sanho says it's reusing Apple's own connectors in the sale of its own products, and the same goes for the 30-pin iPad connector.

If that is in fact the case, Apple may find itself butting up against the patent version of the first sale doctrine (commonly called the ""), which limits the patent owner's control over patented items after it has been sold the first time. Apple's customers can generally do what they please with Apple's products after purchasing them, including selling them to other parties.

The in court as of late, however, so there's no guarantee of who will win if this case goes to court. Apple will undoubtedly defend its patents aggressively, and Sanho will likely have to show that Apple's patent products were bought and modified lawfully in the US before they were resold to customers as HyperMac products.

After MacSpeech Dictate (read our )—the only game in town for voice recognition on the Mac—was , it was only a matter of time until the "Macspeech" branding gave way to Nuance's "Dragon" branding. That happened today, as newly-christened "Dragon Dictate" received a version upgrade to 2.0 and some slick new packaging.

Even before the acquisition, MacSpeech had used the Dragon NaturallySpeaking recognition engine under license, providing the program with terrific accuracy. Unfortunately, doing anything other than dictating a straight column of text was unbearably painful; editing, making corrections, manipulating the operating system—you wouldn't bother unless you were a masochist.

Nuance has addressed some of these deficiencies in its 2.0 overhaul of the product. The recognition engine is now the same one used in the latest version Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Windows (version 11), and the software adds better controls for manipulating the mouse curse and for performing basic tasks, like searching Google. And editing, long the thing that kept me from using MacSpeech Dictate on a regular basis, is now said to be better, with commands that are "easy to say, easy to remember, and designed to simplify and speed up editing by voice." We'll see.

The new version requires Snow Leopard. It goes for $199, though users of earlier Dictate versions can for $49. We'll put the new Dictate through its paces and bring you a full review soon.

It's time to take a long, cool drink of Hatorade, because we're about to review an iPhone case. Not just any iPhone case—a case that is supposed to keep your phone safe no matter what. Well, excluding water and probably small explosions. The is actually a series of layers, and you can use or discard as many as you'd like depending on your needs. This is what your phone will look like with every layer, including the belt clip, attached. Yes, there is an iPhone 4 hidden in that Batmobile.

Apple has entered into a multi-year agreement with Rovi Corporation, allowing it to license intellectual property from the digital content management company, according to an . Details on the deal are sparse, but it has led to speculation that Apple may be up to bringing even more content to the Apple TV.

Rovi Corporation is a player in a number of different fields, including software that allows devices to sync with one another, program guides for service providers, and content-protection technology for producers. Because of the nature of Rovi's business, Piper Jaffray's go-to Apple analyst Gene Munster observed in a note to investors () that such a licensing deal points in the direction of an all-in-one Apple TV, complete with DVR functionality.

Munster believes that this could happen within the next 2 to 4 years. The time frame would put Apple significantly in the competition to take over your living room, but Apple has had a great deal of success coming to market second but with a few new paradigms. The strategy could work out well again, assuming Apple's implementation is easy to use.

Munster seems to believe that the Apple TV truly has the potential to be Apple's next great cash-cow. The analyst feels Apple will sell 1.5 million units in fiscal year 2011 alone, up more than a million units from previous years. Further, Munster all but guarantees that Apple will come out with some sort of giant iMac all-in-one TV (it should be noted that this is one prediction that we don't exactly believe in). Still, Apple continues to say that the Apple TV is just a hobby, so perhaps it's wise to see whether the survives the next couple years first.

Those who follow Apple rumors know that buzz has been picking up lately about Apple opening an iBooks-like distribution medium for the iPad, but for magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Now, the claims to have further inside information about Apple's digital newsstand, saying that Apple has stepped up its efforts to court publishers for a launch "as early as the next month or two."

According to "people familiar with the matter," Apple is pressing news and magazine conglomerates to get on board with Apple. Those in the industry believe the iPad could provide some much-needed revenue and distribution growth, but also fear giving Apple the kind of power the company had over the music industry for so long.

I'd like to apologize for the long wait for this final portion of our 3D on the Mac series. It's been a while since in this two-part series came out and it's shocking how much can change in the span of a few months. The long-rumoured 64-bit Qt port of Maya for OS X is out, Pixologic released the fantastic ZBrush 4, Cinema 4D R12 and Houdini 11 added some sweet additions, and SIGGRAPH 2010 was enlightening with some to the world of 3D.

This week's top Apple news covered all corners of the Apple universe, from nostalgia about the decade-old Mac OS X public beta and five years of iPod nano reviews to rumors about the next iPhone and Apple TV. We also looked at the latest iPod nano and analyzed Apple's HDR photography feature in iOS. Read on for the bite-sized roundup:

: The sixth-generation iPod nano is unlike any other iPod nano Apple has ever sold. The device now has a touchscreen and its interface looks a lot like iOS, but it's really more of a mishmash between the iPod shuffle and the iPod touch. Ars gives it the once-over.

: For the vast majority of Mac users, the September 13, 2000 appearance of the Mac OS X Public Beta was the first glimpse of Apple's attempt to produce a modern operating system. Hop in the Classic.Ars time machine and check out John Siracusa's original review of the Mac OS X Public Beta.