Google bids $900 million for Nortel's patents to protect against litigation trolls

Nortel, once one of the biggest telecoms company in the world but now in the death throes of bankruptcy, has selected Google's $900 million bid for its patent portfolio as the stalking horse bid. This doesn't mean that Google will automatically win Nortel's massive array of telecoms patents, but it does mean that Google is the preferred buyer.

Google, which has a history of lobbying for patent law reform, has been the target of many patent litigation suits. Google's relative infancy means that it has a lot less patents in the vault than big-hitters like Microsoft, Oracle and IBM, and buying Nortel's portfolio of 6,000 patents could provide better protection against patent litigation in the future. It's worth noting that both Apple and RIM have showed interested in the portfolio, too.

Mashable speculates that the patents -- which are nearly all telecoms-related -- will be used to defend against Oracle's attacks on Android's use of Java. We reckon that Google is simply looking to cover its future endeavors in the world of networking. In the absence of patent law reform, and continued threats to net neutrality, owning a bunch of telecoms patents sounds like a very sensible move.

Google bids $900 million for Nortel's patents to protect against litigation trolls originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/google-bids-900-million-for-nortels-patents-to-protect-from-li/

TRIDENT MICROSYSTEMS VIRGIN MEDIA LAWSON SOFTWARE MCAFEE MICROSEMI UNISYS TAKETWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE

Roku rounds out its media arsenal with new Spotify and Vevo channels

DNP  Roku rounds out its media arsenal with new Spotify and Vevo apps

Roku's music cred increased twofold today. First up was news that a Vevo channel is coming to the set-top box, bringing video and music streaming along with its recommendations service. Users will be able to sync their Vevo accounts to access saved videos and playlists. The (extra-sweet) cherry on top: Spotify will be coming to Roku 2 players as well as the Roku Streaming Stick for users in the US, UK and Ireland, with support for the Roku LT and the new Roku HD coming in early 2013. Not enough new goodies for you? Roku's Android and iOS apps just received some minor yet nifty updates, including new controls (such as shuffle and repeat) for music in the Play on Roku feature.

Filed under: ,

Comments

Source: Roku Blog, Vevo News, iTunes

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/20/roku-new-spotify-vevo-channels/

ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL SALESFORCE COM STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS DIRECTV GROUP INFORMATICA AMERICA MOVIL ROCKWELL AUTOMATION

New Logitech keyboard and trackpad make it even easier to interact with your Apple devices

logitech-keyboard-and-trackpad-for-macThe  Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard and Rechargeable Trackpad for Mac are the latest products in Logitech‘s Mac lineup.  The Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard has backlit keys that automatically adjust their illumination to fit the ambient conditions (or you can manually adjust them), and the motion sensor detects when hands are near to know when to turn on or off the illumination.  You can pair the keyboard with your Mac computer, iPad, and iPhone simultaneously and easily switch the keyboard between the devices.  It’s USB-chargeable, so you don’t have to worry with batteries.  The keyboard is $99.99.

The Rechargeable Trackpad for Mac has a glass surface and supports all of the multi-touch gestures of Mac OS.  It has a large surface for easy gesturing and fine control of the cursor.  It has the integrated click, just like the integrated Macbook trackpads.  It connects to your Mac via Bluetooth, and it recharges via USA USB.  It’s $69.99.

Filed in categories: Bluetooth Gear, Computer Gear, iPhone, iPad, iPod, News

Tagged: , ,

New Logitech keyboard and trackpad make it even easier to interact with your Apple devices originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 17, 2012 at 10:00 am.

Leaked Android Music app images and hands-on review

Android Music player
This morning, an updated version of the stock Android Music app was leaked along with a new version of Android Market. The new Music app, which is labeled 'version 3', is similar to the leaked build from December, but it has received a ton of polish -- and indeed, it looks almost ready for prime time.

If you don't have Android 2.3 -- or don't want to root your phone to install the leaked Music app -- take a look through our gallery, and then read on for our initial hands-on impressions.

Continue reading Leaked Android Music app images and hands-on review

Leaked Android Music app images and hands-on review originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/leaked-android-music-app-hands-on/

NOKIA DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES GOOGLE NOVELLUS SYSTEMS SYNNEX QIMONDA LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS

Chocomize personalized chocolate: giveaway and discount code

chocomize
Okay, I know what you're thinking: chocolate on Download Squad? That's right! That's because Chocomize is one of the nerdiest ways to get chocolate online: it's a website where you customize your own bar using a multi-step process.

We've covered Chocomize before in our holiday gift guide, so when they reached out to us offering to do a giveaway, we really couldn't resist.

Chocomize is giving away ten gift certificates, each worth $50, for you to create your own customized chocolate. They sent us some pictures of their recent creations, which you can find in the gallery below.

Regardless of the giveaway, you can use the discount code switched to get 10% off any Chocomize order. The code is valid through April 20th - just in time for Easter!

To participate, simply leave a comment. Fine print is after the jump.

Continue reading Chocomize personalized chocolate: giveaway and discount code

Chocomize personalized chocolate: giveaway and discount code originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/giveaway-and-discount-code-chocomize-personalized-chocolate/

SONIC AUTOMOTIVE MENTOR GRAPHICS EMULEX ARROW ELECTRONICS INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES MILLICOM INTL CELLULAR PEROT SYSTEMS

This Weird Crystal Demonstrates a New Magnetic Behavior that Works Like Magic

Scientists at MIT just discovered an entirely new state of magnetism in which the polarity of particles is constantly fluctuating. The new state, called a quantum spin liquid, had been predicted by theories before, but to prove it, scientists had to grow this weird rock for 10 months. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/38qfark6BlM/this-weird-crystals-magnetic-behavior-works-like-magic

HON HAI PRECISION IND INTEL QUANTA COMPUTER ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL SALESFORCE COM STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS DIRECTV GROUP

Toyota pulls Cydia theme and ads to appease Apple

Apple asks Toyota to remove jailbreak Cydia theme
In news that will no doubt shake the very bedrock of your belief system, Apple has asked Toyota to remove its Scion theme and its advertising from ModMyi, a Cydia repository. The Scion theme has been available for weeks, but after it received a ton of press in the last couple of days, Apple finally lashed out.

It's not like we should be surprised, considering Apple has claimed in the past that jailbreaking is illegal -- but at the same time, did the Cupertino cronies hear about the ruling that made circumventing DRM, and thus jailbreaking, legal? Anyway, whether Toyota was supporting illegal, legal, or deliciously gray and ambiguous, activity, it doesn't matter: Apple asked Toyota to remove the theme, and Toyota graciously bent over and capitulated.

This story raises a much more interesting topic, though: this is the first time a multinational company has publicly acknowledged and embraced the jailbreak community. Considering jailbreaking is technically legal, and Cydia's creator, Jay Freeman, estimates that up to 9% of OS devices are jailbroken, it simply makes good, commercial sense to target jailbreakers with ads. Toyota was simply trying to make some money, for shame!

As long as Apple continues to throw around its increasingly-expansive mass, the legality of jailbreaking will continue to be inconsequential. It will be interesting to see if another big company dares embrace the jailbreak community after this, too.

Toyota pulls Cydia theme and ads to appease Apple originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 05:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/toyota-pulls-ios-jailbreak-theme-and-ads-to-appease-apple/

EMC EPICOR SOFTWARE MICRON TECHNOLOGY INTERSECTIONS DIODES INORATED INTERNATIONAL GAME TECHNOLOGY ZIONS BAN

Path 2.9 update introduces contextualized, personalized search (update: now with video)

Path 29 update introduces contextualized, personalized search update now with video

Many of us enjoy looking through our social network history to reflect on shared memories, and Path is helping users do just that with its latest 2.9 update. Adding a comprehensive search feature that uses metadata in addition to user-defined tags, searching "Photos from Thanksgiving" pulls relevant images even if they didn't have those words in the post. The same concept applies to different days and times, like "sunset" or "weekend brunch." Other contextual categories include friends, places, seasons and the weather. There's also a "Nearby" function that taps into your phone's GPS for moments captured in your immediate vicinity.

One particular search that impressed us during a hands-on briefing is the ability to search for "emotions." Similar to the "like" feature in Facebook, Path lets users mark a post with one of five emoticons (smile, frown, laugh, gasp or heart). With the 2.9 update, you can search for all the posts that received a particular emoticon ("funny" searches all the laugh-tagged posts for example). As a little easter egg, if you search for "royal flush," you'll bring up the posts that have received at least one of each emoticon. It's more amusing than useful, but we found it cute nonetheless. The search feature is only in English to start, but the company is planning on additional language support in the future. Check after the break for more screens, or hit the links below to grab the latest version of Path from Google Play and iTunes.

Continue reading Path 2.9 update introduces contextualized, personalized search (update: now with video)

Filed under:

Comments

Source: Path, Path (iTunes), Path (Google Play)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/20/path-update-adds-contextual-search/

PEROT SYSTEMS WESTERN DIGITAL CHINA MOBILE POWERCHIP SEMICONDUCTOR MICROSOFT HON HAI PRECISION IND INTEL