Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 22nd Oct 2012 13:36 UTC
"One of the exhibits Samsung has now made public tells an interesting tale. It's the slide presentation that Apple showed Samsung when it first tried (and failed) to get Samsung to license Apple's patents prior to the start of litigation. While some of the numbers were earlier reported on when the exhibit was used at trial, the slides themselves provide more data - specifically on the difference between what Apple wanted Samsung to pay for Windows phones and for Android phones. The slides punch huge holes in Apple's FRAND arguments. Apple and Microsoft complain to regulators about FRAND rates being excessive and oppressive at approximately $6 per unit, or 2.4%; but the Apple offer was not only at a much higher rate, it targeted Android in a way that seems deliberately designed to destroy its ability to compete in the marketplace." Eagerly awaiting the 45 paragraph comment explaining how this is completely fair and not hypocritical at all. Bonus points if it includes something about Eric Schmidt being on Apple's board, and, double bonus point if it mentions one of the QWERTY Android prototypes. Mega Epic Bonus if it somehow manages to draw a line from Edison, Tesla, to Jobs.
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Member since:2005-06-29
I'm sure there were some excellent points made elsewhere in the article and I'm happy to be corrected, but these two arguments seemed to stand out as unconvincing to me.
Yeah, that part wasn't particularly convincing. I cared about the FRAND stuff, though - I'm glad authorities are keeping close tabs on a company as large and possibly dangerous as Google.
Member since:2006-01-14
I wouldn't be quite so upset if I actually could see some harm from Google being #1. Google spends an enormous amount of money creating maps. Why should they not get to dominate the market. No one is stopping anyone else from spending millions to make better maps. I also see search results as an opinion. No matter how Google gets its results, they are Google's opinion of the top results. I may rank things differently. As such, opinion is a form of speech and to be protected at all costs.
Edited 2012-10-22 14:28 UTC
Member since:2005-07-13
Member since:2007-02-18
Second, it seems odd to suggest that because Google makes the best mapping software, it's okay for Google to push everyone else out of the market.
First, That was not the suggestion at all. Second, Google isn't doing anything anticompetitive against other map makers, at least not in the same way Apple and Microsoft are.
Member since:2005-09-27
Member since:2005-07-13
First, That was not the suggestion at all. Second, Google isn't doing anything anticompetitive against other map makers, at least not in the same way Apple and Microsoft are.
Apologies if I misread the article. My understanding of the accusation is that Google have been using their dominance in search to unfairly promote their other products. Whether or not Google's other products are better is surely independent of whether Google have "cooked anything" in their search results?
If Google's services are getting promoted due to an impartial algorithm because they happen to be the best services, then I'd hope an investigation would vindicate them.
By the way, I'm not accusing Google of doing anything anticompetitive, and I'm not saying the accusations aren't themselves business-motivated. I really wouldn't know!
Member since:2009-01-22
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 14:35 UTC
The third and final WWDC product I want to talk about is - of course - OS X 10.9 Mavericks. While iOS 7 was clearly the focus of this year's WWDC, its venerable desktop counterpart certainly wasn't left behind. Apple announced OS X 10.9 Mavericks, the first OS X release not to carry the name of a big cat.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/11/13 17:07 UTC
We already talked about iOS 7 yesterday (after a night of sleep, it's only looking worse and worse - look at this, for Fiona's sake!), so now it's time to talk about the downright stunning and belly flutters-inducing new Mac Pro. As former owner and huge, huge, huge fan of the PowerMac G4 Cube - I haven't been this excited about an Apple product since, well, I would say the iMac G4. This is the Apple I used to love.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/10/13 23:13 UTC
Apple held its big keynote event thing at WWDC earlier this evening, but since I was away with friends I've had to read up on it later in the evening. The company announced iOS 7, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and they gave a preview of the new Mac Pro. Especially the Mac Pro impressed me, and while iOS 7's new Holo/Metro-inspired theme looks messy and garish to me, I do commend Apple for finally breaking the mold. This news item will focus on iOS 7 - I'll dive into the Mac Pro and OS X 10.9 tomorrow (it's late here now).
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/08/13 14:57 UTC
And yes, the PRISM scandal is far, far from over. More and more information keeps leaking out, and the more gets out, the worse it gets. The companies involved have sent out official statements - often by mouth of their CEOs - and what's interesting is that not only are these official statements eerily similar to each other, using the same terms clearly designed by lawyers, they also directly contradict new reports from The New York Times. So, who is lying?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/07/13 11:40 UTC
This story is getting bigger and bigger. Even though most Americans probably already knew, it is now official: the United States government, through its National Security Agency, is collecting the communications and data of all American citizens, and of non-Americans using American services, through a wide collaboration with the large companies in technology, like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and so on. Interestingly enough, the NSA itself, as well as the US government, have repeatedly and firmly denied this massive spying on Americans and non-Americans took place at all.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/04/13 12:45 UTC
Ah, patents - the never-ending scourge of the technology industry. Whether wielded by companies who don't actually make any products, or large corporations who abuse them because they can't compete in the market place or because they're simply jerks, they do the industry a huge disservice and are simply plain dangerous. According to The Wall Street Journal (circumvention link), president Obama is about to take several executive actions to address patent trolls - which may seem like a good idea, but I am very worried that all this will do is strengthen the positions of notorious patent system abusers such as Apple and Microsoft.
Linked by nfeske on 05/31/13 10:12 UTC
With version 13.05, the developers of the Genode OS Framework take measures to ensure that Genode continues to scale well with a growing number of users and the steadily broadening platform coverage. Further highlights are the improved SoC support for Exynos 5, OMAP4, Raspberry Pi, i.MX, and new components for realizing headless systems.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/29/13 16:59 UTC
At the D11 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook once again took the stage to be interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. While most of the interview can be replicated by picking and reading 10 random Apple fanblog stories - there were still a number of very interesting things that warrant some closer scrutiny.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!More Features »
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Member since:
2005-07-13
I'm absolutely no fan of the way Apple is throwing its weight around in the patent space, but this article seems to present a number of dubious arguments to me.
First, the discount for using a Windows OS is based on the fact the patents are already being paid for in the Windows licence. All Apple are doing is offering not to double-charge Samsung. I'm not sure it's reasonable to claim this is a bias towards Windows over Android. It may be the incorporated cost of the patents in a Windows licence is less than the $12 Apple wants to charge for these, but since we don't know the cost breakdown of a Windows licence, it's impossible to know.
Second, it seems odd to suggest that because Google makes the best mapping software, it's okay for Google to push everyone else out of the market. I'm no expert in competition law, but I'm fairly sure the argument goes something like this: if Google have a monopoly they'll no longer have to compete, so there'll be no reason for them to improve their services. It's important therefore to remove barriers to competition, so that even if Google is the best, someone else can come along with a better product at any time.
I'd be happy to see an article about the validity of a capitalist approach in a free-service economy, but I'm not convinced this was really what the article was driving at.
I'm sure there were some excellent points made elsewhere in the article and I'm happy to be corrected, but these two arguments seemed to stand out as unconvincing to me.