Monthly Archives: June 2011
Apple Files a Lawsuit Against Samsung for Patent Infringement
Apple Inc has filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in South Korea over patent infringement. Apple believes that the Samsung Galaxy line is copied off of iPhones and iPads, from hardware to user interface to packaging. Reuters reports that a judge previously urged the companies to resolve their conflict out of court because of their close business ties. According to Samsung’s quarterly report, Apple purchases a lot of Samsung’s semiconductors and is Samsung’s biggest client.
Categories Apple Inc., Apple iPad, iPhone, Samsung Electronics Inc., Samsung Galaxy
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Apple Talks About the MobileMe to iCloud Transition
Today Apple released an FAQ on the MobileMe to iCloud transition, stating definitively that users will have web access to iCloud apps. Services like Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Bookmarks, Find My iPhone and Back to My Mac will be transferred from MobileMe to iCloud. Services not making the transition include iWeb publishing, Gallery and iDisk; TechCrunch notes that while Gallery is being replaced by Photo Stream, there is no announcement yet whether Photo Stream will allow you to publish your photos to icloud.com. Other additions to iCloud include iTunes in the Cloud, Documents in the Cloud and a backup and restore function.
Categories Apple iCloud, Apple Inc., Apple MobileMe, iCloud.com, Photo Stream
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Hulu Plus Available for Six Lucky Android Phones
Hulu announced yesterday via the Hulu Blog that Hulu Plus will now be available on Android smartphones. The app is currently only available on six phones: Nexus One and Nexus S; Motorola Droids II, X and Atrix; and HTC Inspire 4G. Consumers with the right phones are excited, but most Android phones are left without the upgrade and, as Gizmodo notes, Hulu Plus is not offered for any of the Android tablets. The Android Market promises announcements of other supported devices in the future, but no word on exactly when those updates will happen.
Twitter Looks to Add Ads to Your Timeline
Twitter is taking steps to become more advertiser-friendly, looking at the possibilities of putting small advertisements in users’ Twitter feeds. The company is also considering offering shopping deals similar to Groupon and providing advertisers with enhanced profiles with extra tools and pre-scheduled tweets. These options would join promoted tweets and promoted trends, Twitter’s current revenue generators.
Categories Twitter
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JK Rowling Cuts Out Publishers and Stores to Self-Publish E-Books and Digital Audio
JK Rowling announced today that Harry Potter will finally be available in e-book and digital audio forms, exclusively on her own Pottermore website. Pottermore will be an interactive experience that puts readers into the world of her Harry Potter series, expected to launch in beta on July 31st and open fully to the public in October. This is the first time Rowling has allowed electronic editions of her novels, thanks to her past fears of piracy of her work. GigaOM notes that Rowling’s actions are not an option for all authors, as many writers’ contracts do not allow them to retain electronic publishing rights.
Categories JK Rowling, Pottermore
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ISPs Nearing Agreement On Action Against Web Piracy
Bandwidth providers and media companies may soon reach a new agreement on punishments for intellectual property piracy on the internet. Cnet reports that the companies, including AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, would be making a deal that cracks down harder than ever before on music and video piracy. ISPs’ options would include reducing pirates’ bandwidth, limiting the number of websites users can visit until they cease pirating, or requiring pirates to participate in copyright law and intellectual property education courses.
Categories AT&T, Comcast, Verizon Communications Inc.
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FTC to Subpoena Google in an Antitrust Investigation
Sources for The Wall Street Journal have said that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission may subpoena Google in an antitrust investigation against the company. This move would follow other Google antitrust investigations in recent years, but previous investigations were mainly interested in Google’s mergers and acquisitions. The FTC’s new subpoenas will contribute to an investigation into whether Google has gained its web dominance fairly.
Categories Federal Trade Commission, Google
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Mac Users Can Use Apple Store Wi-Fi to Download Lion
Apple representatives have offered Mac owners use of Apple Stores’ Wi-Fi to download Lion. The 4GB upgrade could be difficult to download for Mac users with slow or shared connections, and users with dial-up or using dormitory networks now have an option to quickly upgrade their systems when Lion is released in July. Users will be able to walk into the store with their laptops and download the upgrade without a Genius Bar appointment, but Apple notes that the Genius Bar staff will not be able to assist users with the download. [Computer World]
Categories Apple Inc., Apple Mac OS X Lion
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Apple Awarded Patent for Touch-Screen Technology
Apple finally won its patent on the iPhone, filed in December of 2007, and may now legally rule the market of capacitive touch-screen phones. PC Mag reports that the patent’s language is so broad that Apple possibly owns the concept of multitouch smartphones and even multitouch tablets. Intellectual property and patent experts predict that Apple will file lawsuits against competitors who make smartphones (like HTC, Motorola, Nokia, etc.) or competitors that run similar operating systems (like Android).
Categories Apple Inc., iPhone, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
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Ford’s Sync System Connecting Soon to a Smartphone Near You
Ford’s Sync system will be able to connect with smartphones in 2012 through an option called Sync AppLink. The Sync AppLink option is already available on the Ford Fiesta, and Reuters reports that it will soon be available on the Fusion, F-150 and Expedition. The Sync-to-smartphone connection is beneficial to driving safety, keeping the driver’s eyes on the road by allowing the driver to access smartphone apps via the car’s command system. Ford plans for Sync SmartLink to eventually be a factory option for all Ford and Lincoln vehicles.
Categories Ford Motor Company, Ford SYNC, Sync AppLink
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