| How Microsoft Avoided Apple's Legal Wrath (and Why Samsung Didn't) Posted: 14 Aug 2012 12:29 PM PDT  Through what's been a highly publicized legal battle between Apple and Samsung over design patents, it recently came to light that all this courtroom drama could have been avoided if Samsung agreed to license technologies from its rival and pay a royalty of $30 per phone and $40 per tablet. Samsung, which Apple considered a "strategic partner," scoffed at the idea, and so here we are watching this whole mess play out, only to inevitably repeat itself in appeal when it's all said and done. So, why hasn't Apple gone after Microsoft?
Well, based on testimony from Apple's patent licensing director, Boris Teksler, Microsoft at one point inked a cross-license agreement with Apple that keeps the two sides out of court, so long as they don't clone each other's products. Even if Samsung would have signed a similar agreement, it probably would have ended up in court anyway. "All these patents are in Apple's unique user experience, and not ones we would license," Teksler testified, according to CNet. Teksler went on to say that Apple added "special prohibitions" that prevent either side from cloning the other. "There's peace to each other's products; there's a clear acknowledgement that there's no cloning," Teksler said. Other details of the specific agreement between Microsoft and Apple were not disclosed, though Teksler insists Microsoft didn't receive any special treatment. "We were trying very hard to come up with an amicable resolution with Samsung," Teksler added. "We wanted to get properly compensated for that which was infringed, and with respect to our unique user experience. That's exactly what we were trying to do with this presentation." Samsung doesn't deny that Apple approached the company about licensing certain patents, but said the topic of design patents never came up. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Battlefield 3 Premium Edition Shipping in September for $70 Posted: 14 Aug 2012 12:07 PM PDT  Electronic Arts' DICE studio has announced plans to release Battlefield 3 Premium Edition in September. The Premium bundle will cost $70 and, as you can guess from the name, comes with a membership to Battlefield Premium, a service that bombards gamers with a bunch of extras, including five themed digital expansion packs and access to DLC before everyone else.
The Premium bundle will also ship with a Multiplayer Head Start Kit that unlocks 15 weapons, gadgets, and vehicle upgrades. Basically, everything but the kitchen sink is included -- more than 25 maps, over 70 weapons and vehicles in all, and dozens of unlocks and upgrades. "Since launch, over 15 million people worldwide have enjoyed the thrill of Battlefield, and with the release of Battlefield 3 Premium Edition the community is set to surge once again. Packing a ton of gameplay at an incredible price, there has never been a better time to jump in and see what all the fun is about. We look forward to seeing some new faces on the battlefield," said Patrick Bach, Executive Producer, Battlefield 3. It's a pretty good deal for first time BF3ers. A Battlefield Premium membership alone costs $50, and this package runs only $20 more, if that's the route you were going to take. It will launch in the U.S. on September 11 and in the U.K. on September 13. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Microsoft Gives SkyDrive a Modernized Makeover Posted: 14 Aug 2012 11:50 AM PDT  Microsoft has updated its SkyDrive cloud service with a fresh coat of paint, modern digs, and taught it all new dance moves on the Web and desktop, the company announced today. SkyDrive.com now features instant search, a contextual toolbar, thumbnail multi-select, drag-and-drop organization, and HTML5 sorting, though those aren't the only improvements Microsoft made to its cloud service.
The Redmond software giant said it made "tons of bugs and performance improvements under the hood," which among other things will result in faster uploads. There's a new SkyDrive app for Android that lets mobile users access, upload, and share files from their Android devices, and Microsoft also made improvements to its SkyDrive API for developers. "With these updates and continued improvements to our back-end infrastructure, we're excited to leave preview and unlock new possibilities for a billion customers with the upcoming releases of Windows 8, the new Office, and tons of devices and apps that connect to SkyDrive," Microsoft stated in a Windows Team blog post. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Investors Clip Groupon's Share Price Following Second Quarter Financial Report Posted: 14 Aug 2012 10:11 AM PDT  Shares of online deal site Groupon dipped to a record low after the company reported second quarter revenue with mixed results. In reaction to the numbers, investors responded by sending Groupon's stock price down 15 percent in after hours trading. Groupon's stock is currently trading at $5.56, down more than 26 percent compared its closing price of $7.55 on Monday.
Groupon reported year-over-year revenue growth of 45 percent to $568.3 million in the second quarter of 2012. Not too shabby, except for the fact that analysts were estimating revenue of $575.3 million, according to Bloomberg. More startling for investors is the fact that Groupon's Q2 billings, which is the total value of merchandise sold to customers (minus expected returns) fell 5 percent sequentially. "We had a solid quarter despite challenges in Europe and continued investment in technology and infrastructure," said Andrew Mason, CEO of Groupon. "We've deepened our relationships with a growing base of merchants and customers worldwide, demonstrating progress as we work to unlock the opportunity in local commerce." Groupon's plummeting stock price despite a growth in revenue underscores how fickle investors can be when it comes to investing in online companies, especially at the first sight of any red flags. Business Insider breaks down how, in this specific instance, the fixation on Groupon's billings was enough to beat the company's share price over the head with a club. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Rumor: Intel's Wireless Charging Tech Coming to Ultrabooks and Smartphones in 2013 Posted: 14 Aug 2012 07:27 AM PDT Despite having been around for a number of years now, wireless charging has hitherto never really threatened to take off. This is due in large part to the fact that current wireless charging solutions don't really have too many clear advantages over wired charging. But rumor has it that chip maker Intel will try and change that next year by having its homegrown WREL (Wireless Resonant Energy Link) technology built into ultrabooks and smartphones. According to Digitimes, its sources expect Intel-based ultrabooks and smartphones with the chip maker's resonant charging technology to appear sometime during the second half of 2013. However, the Taiwanese site's sources don't foresee a deluge of such devices next year, with Haswell (Ivy Bridge's successor) "unlikely to fully adopt the wireless charging technology." "The costs, resources and management of multiple, incompatible power cords, bricks, etc. are already a nightmare for the typical user," Intel says on a page dedicated to WREL. "WREL, in contrast to surface-based systems (power pads), demonstrates wireless power transfer whose efficiency can be nearly independent of orientation, distance, and load over a wide range of operating conditions. This technology could allow people to cut that last cord." To give you an idea of what Intel's implementation of this in-house technology might look like, here's a video of a recent demonstration by Intel of a smartphone using it to wirelessly draw power from an ultrabook. |
| Valve Readies Massive Overhaul to Steam Community Posted: 14 Aug 2012 07:21 AM PDT  Game developer Valve is preparing what it considers to be a "major update" to the Steam Community, one that will introduce a Game Hub feature to each and every game. The Hubs will highlight the most popular user-created screenshots, videos, and Steam Workshop items as rated by the community, while also populating them with game related news, discussions, and comments.
"The New Steam Community is all about showing off the best content that gamers have created," says Emily Kent at Valve. "With over 89 million screenshots, videos, Steam Workshop maps, levels, mods, and items, plus news articles and product updates, the community has created an unbelievable wealth of content around their favorite games." The forum integration means gamers will no longer have to fire up a Web browser and dive into a Steam forum to discuss a game or troubleshoot a title. Everything is centralized and separated by tabs that include All, Discussions, Workshop, Videos, Screenshots, and News. Right now the Steam Community overhaul is a closed beta, though Valve says it will show a preview of a new feature each day from now until August 16. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Wing Commander and Quake Artist Paul Steed Dies, Leaves Behind Controversial Legacy Posted: 14 Aug 2012 07:06 AM PDT  Paul Steed, a veteran videogame artist perhaps best known for his 3D modeling work at id Software where he worked on the Quake and Doom series, passed away over the weekend, The Jace Hall Show announced. Details of his death are unknown at this time, though that of his sometimes controversial career and his contributions to the gaming industry are well documented.
Steed's tenure dates back to the early 1990s when he began work at Origin where he put his imprint on the Wing Commander series. Throughout the course of his career, Steed spent time working for Iguana Entertainment, Virgin Interactive, Electronic Arts, WildTangent, Atari, Microsoft's Xbox Advanced Technology Group, and of course id Software. One of Steed's claims to fame is the "Crackwhore" player skin he released for Quake II, which was a bit of an homage to the all-female "Crackwhore Clan." That character wouldn't be the only controversial legacy on his resume. Several people who worked under Steed at Ignition/Exigent posted unflattering and sometimes downright vile anecdotes at Develop-Online.net after Ignition closed a U.S. studio in 2010, accusing Steed of "abusive behavior" as a boss, among other things (see embedded NSFW video below to get an idea of his outward persona). Controversy aside, Steed helped pioneer 3D gaming and is remembered by The Jace Hall Show as "simply one of the first cutting edge low-poly 3D modelers to ever exist in the industry." Steed is survived by his wife and children. For those interested, a Memorial College Fund has been setup for his family with PayPal donations being accepted at trentsteet36 at gmail dot com. NSFW Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Acer Announces TravelMate P243 Notebook with Spill Resistant Keyboard Posted: 14 Aug 2012 06:25 AM PDT  It might be hard to believe at this point, but there actually exists a mobile computing segment outside of the official Ultrabook category, and not just for AMD systems. Acer's new TravelMate P243 for business users is one such notebook and is built in the mold of a traditional laptop, albeit with a travel-friendly 14-inch display (1366x768 screen resolution). It also has a spill resistant keyboard, so if you spill a cup of coffee in between cities, it won't necessarily shut down your business trip.
Third generation Intel Core i5 processors power the new TravelMate P243 series, along with 4GB of DDR3 memory (upgradeable to 8GB) and up to 500GB of hard drive capacity. It has Wireless Display (WiDi) technology baked in, "a full range of advanced connectivity solutions" (which we take to mean USB 3.0, though Acer didn't come right out and confirm it), and various security features as part of Acer's ProShield technology. Acer says you'll be able to purchase a TravelMate P243 this month starting at $700, or $600 for models featuring 2nd generation Core i3 (Sandy Bridge) CPUs. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
