OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Google: most Apple patents don’t relate to core Android

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-27 Google 66 Comments

One company's response to the jury verdict in Apple vs. Samsung was still missing: Google's. The company has now responded to The Verge, and there's almost a certain bitterness in their language. Not, as you would expect, directed at Apple; no, the bitterness is directed at Samsung. The message Google is sending to other Android OEMs? Stick to stock Android, and you'll have no problems.

A device with a touchscreen and few buttons was obvious

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-26 Wireless 158 Comments

In light of the jury verdict in Apple vs. Samsung, the one-liners and jokes flew back and forth. One in particular, by Dan Frakes, has been copied and pasted all over the web, and it goes like this: "When the iPhone debuted, it was widely criticized for having no buttons/keys. Now people think the iPhone's design is 'obvious'." This is a very common trend in this entire debate that saddens me to no end: the iPhone is being compared to simple feature phones, while in fact, it should be compared to its true predecessor: the PDA. PDAs have always done with few buttons.

Neil Armstrong passed away

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-25 In the News 54 Comments

"Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, died Saturday, weeks after heart surgery and days after his 82nd birthday on Aug. 5. Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, and he radioed back to Earth the historic news of 'one giant leap for mankind'. He spent nearly three hours walking on the moon with fellow astronaut Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin." Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Such a great man. The world lost a true legendary hero today. This man will be an inspiration for generations to come.

Groklaw: Apple vs. Samsung jury verdict “a farce”

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-25 Legal 42 Comments

Well, that didn't take long. Groklaw notes several interesting inconsistencies and other issues with the jury verdict. "If it would take a lawyer three days to make sure he understood the terms in the form, how did the jury not need the time to do the same? There were 700 questions, remember, and one thing is plain, that the jury didn't take the time to avoid inconsistencies, one of which resulted in the jury casually throwing numbers around, like $2 million dollars for a nonfringement. Come on. This is farce." My favourite inconsistency: a Samsung phone with a keyboard, four buttons, and a large Samsung logo on top infringes the iPhone design patent. And yet, we were told (in the comments, on other sites) that the Samsung f700 was not prior art... Because it had a keyboard. I smell fish.

Microsoft: Apple’s victory good for Windows Phone

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-25 Microsoft 67 Comments

Microsoft's response to Apple's win is probably the most cringeworthy of all. Blatantly admitting Windows Phone can't make a dent in the market on merit, but instead requires the court room to do so, Bill Cox, senior director of Windows Phone marketing communications, said: "Windows Phone is looking gooooood right now." Nauseating.

Apple, Samsung respond to jury verdict

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-25 Legal 22 Comments

Reactions to Apple's yesterday win are in. Tim Cook: "The lawsuits between Apple and Samsung were about much more than patents or money. They were about values. At Apple, we value originality and innovation and pour our lives into making the best products on earth. We applaud the court for finding Samsung's behavior willful and for sending a loud and clear message that stealing isn't right." Samsung: "Today's verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer. It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices. It is unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners, or technology that is being improved every day by Samsung and other companies."

Apple wins

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-24 Legal 270 Comments

And just like that, within a matter of days, the jury has reached a verdict in Apple vs. Samsung. The basic gist is simple: Apple's software patents are valid, and many Samsung devices infringe upon them. Apple's iPhone 3G trade dress is valid, and Samsung's Galaxy S line infringes, but other devices did not. Samsung did not infringe Apple's iPad design patent. Apple did not infringe any of Samsung's patents. Apple is awarded a little over $1 billion in damages. Competition lost today, and developers in the United States should really start to get worried - software patents got validated big time today.

Submitted by fran 2012-08-24 Wireless 8 Comments

"Jolla, the mobile startup staffed by former Nokia executives who want to keep the company's MeeGo software alive, says it will use existing technology to bring in apps from other platforms - including Android. Will it be enough to boost the plucky company's fortunes?" It won't be a saving grace, but it's a nice bonus. There's something about these guys that fills me with confidence. Can't wait for their devices to hit the market.

Guest post by fran 2012-08-24 Google 5 Comments

A new version of Chrome OS has been released. From the Chrome Blog: "We made the apps list much more compact, so you can access your apps without interrupting your browsing experience. We also added a search box at the top of the apps list, which you can use like an omnibox to search the web, specific websites, or the apps on your computer, visual improvements such as a redesigned Cloud Print dialog and the ability to add custom wallpaper. You can now also save files directly to Google Drive, so you can access files later from any device, including Drive on iOS or Android. Under the hood, we've added audio support for USB and HDMI, additional sandboxing security features, and many more bug fixes."

Apple vs. Samsung: inside a jury’s nightmare

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-23 Legal 33 Comments

Fantastic work by The Verge. "Although Apple and Samsung did their best to present high-level narratives about copying and product development throughout the trial, the jury's work is far more complicated than simply asking if Samsung copied Apple. Instead, the 20-page verdict form presents around 700 extremely specific questions, divided into 33 groups. These questions exhaustively cover everything at issue in the trial, down to exact dollar amounts Samsung might owe for each of 28 devices accused of copying Apple intellectual property." I don't know just how much power a US jury has, but if I were them, I'd buy a tl;dr stamp and use it on every page of the verdict form. Samsung and Apple ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Microsoft unveils its new logo

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-23 Microsoft 30 Comments

For the first time in eons, Microsoft has changed its logo. "The logo has two components: the logotype and the symbol. For the logotype, we are using the Segoe font which is the same font we use in our products as well as our marketing communications. The symbol is important in a world of digital motion. The symbol's squares of color are intended to express the company's diverse portfolio of products." Nice logo, clean, concise. With Windows Phone 8, Office 2013 and Windows 8 on the way, the company could use a fresh coat of paint. Confusing that they're using what would've been a better Windows logo than the Windows 8 logo, but alas.

Our favourite ‘forgotten tech’ – from BeOS to Zip Drives

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-23 In the News 41 Comments

"We all know about the gadgets that get showered with constant praise - the icons, the segment leaders, and the game changers. Tech history will never forget the Altair 8800, the Walkman, the BlackBerry, and the iPhone. But people do forget - and quickly - about the devices that failed to change the world: the great ideas doomed by mediocre execution, the gadgets that arrived before the market was really ready, or the technologies that found their stride just as the world was pivoting to something else." I was a heavy user of BeOS, Zip drives, and MiniDisc (I was an MD user up until about 2 years ago). I'm starting to see a pattern here.

Guest post by Norman Feske 2012-08-23 OS News 15 Comments

The just released version 12.08 of the Genode OS Framework comes with the ability to run Genode-based systems on ARM hardware without an underlying kernel, vastly improves the support for the NOVA hypervisor, and adds device drivers for the OMAP4 SoC. Further functional additions are a FFAT-based file system service, the port of the lighttpd web server, and support for on-target debugging via GDB.

AT&T defends FaceTime decision

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-23 Apple 26 Comments

"AT&T is defending its decision to limit the use of Apple's video chat feature, FaceTime, to its Mobile Share data plans by saying that the limitation does not violate the FCC's net neutrality rules. The company wrote in a blog post on Wednesday that some groups had 'another knee-jerk reaction' to AT&T's limitation, but the company argues that its decision meets all FCC requirements." You can expect Verizon to follow suit soon. Carriers don't do things like this unless they know the competition will tag along. This also happens to explain why Apple probably can't do much about it; if both Verizon and AT&T give FaceTime the boot like this, there's little Apple can do. For what it's worth - I'm happy The Netherlands (and Chile!) has unconditional net neutrality. This would not fly here, further illustrating the need for net neutrality.

Samsung effectively kills Tizen, Bada

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-22 Wireless 49 Comments

As Sammobile reports: "Samsung will not bring any kind of new Bada phones in the second half of 2012. Samsung's latest bada phones showed up last year at IFA 2011 in Berlin. Samsung showed the Wave3, Wave M and Wave Y, all those devices run on Bada version 2.0. The focus of Samsung in the second half of 2012 is fully on Windows Phone 8 and Android. Because the Windows Phone market is in the hands of Nokia they will try to get that share back. Samsung will also try to make their Android position better than before. Thanks to some new Galaxy products in the second half of 2012. Another sad thing is Samsung moved their first TIZEN OS devices to 2013. Samsung already gave away some developers devices with TIZEN 1.0. The only problem is the support from TIZEN itself." Tizen was a lost cause to begin with, and Bada, while actually pretty good, can easily be replaced by Android. As much as it sucks to lose two operating systems (don't kid yourselves - these are EOL messages), it makes sense from a business perspective. Next up: the TouchWiz team.

Apple, Samsung deliver closing statements, up to the jury now

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-22 Legal 34 Comments

"After weeks of witnesses, prototypes, and one last failed settlement talk, it came down to this: Apple and Samsung's closing arguments in what is very likely the tech trial of the century. The day saw both sides landing heavy blows before sending the case off to the jury - where anything can happen." The jury has to contend with 109 (!) pages of instructions and a verdict form consisting of whopping 22 pages with over 700 (!) verdicts to make - and they have to be unanimous. This is beyond ridiculous, bordering on the clinically insane. With several options for appeal still open, there is nothing to be gained from this. It's a circus.

Google’s Motorola files new patent case against Apple

Submitted by C 2012-08-21 Legal 24 Comments

"Google's Motorola Mobility unit said it filed a new patent-infringement case against Apple claiming that features on some Apple devices, including the Siri voice-recognition program, infringe its patents. The complaint at the U.S. International Trade Commission claims infringement of seven Motorola Mobility patents on features including location reminders, e-mail notification and phone/video players, Motorola Mobility said yesterday. The case seeks a ban on U.S. imports of devices including the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers." Can anybody explain to me how this is a new suit when Motorola and Apple have been wasting tax money and court resources for years now?

Windows 8 EULAs very different from previous incarnations

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-21 Windows 40 Comments

With Windows 8 right around the corner, the usual game of reading the end-user license agreements and spotting the different versions is in full swing. Usually, this is a game of ridicule as Microsoft comes up with ever more convoluted version schemes and EULA terms. This time around, though, the company seems to be taking steps to make things easier, as Ed Bott reports.

An LTE iPhone could disrupt the UK mobile market

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-21 Apple 34 Comments

Vlad Savov at The Verge: "Today's been rather a momentous day in the UK mobile arena, following local regulator Ofcom's approval of Everything Everywhere's plans to use existing spectrum to roll out LTE service early. Vodafone, O2 and Three have complained in unison against the market distortions that would result from one carrier having 4G while everyone else waits for an oft-delayed auction, but their biggest fear may yet remain unspoken: a de facto exclusive on the next iPhone."

Judge: Google ‘failed to comply’ with paid bloggers order

Thom Holwerda 2012-08-20 Legal 25 Comments

"Earlier this month Judge William Alsup ordered Oracle and Google to disclose any journalists or bloggers either has paid that could have commented on the Oracle v. Google case. Both parties responded last week - but Judge Alsup didn't think Google was completely forthright, and has asked the company to try again by the end of the week." Good to know Alsup is on top of this. Google claimed it hadn't paid any shills, but as large and powerful as the company is, I find that very hard to believe.