U.S. ITC to Investigate Apple After Ericsson Patent Infringement Claims
The ongoing conflict between Apple and Ericsson escalated this afternoon as the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) agreed to launch an investigation into claims that Apple infringed on as many as 41 of Ericsson’s cellular technology patents with its iPad and iPhone devices, reports PCWorld.
Apple and Ericsson first clashed in January, after the expiration of a 2008 licensing agreement between the two companies. Despite two years of negotiations, the companies failed to establish a new agreement that would let Apple use Ericsson’s cellular technology patents.
Apple filed a complaint suggesting Ericsson was both demanding excessive royalties for LTE patents and wrongly claiming its patents as essential for the LTE wireless communication standard. Ericsson responded with its own complaint, asking the court to determine whether its licensing fees were fair.
Ericsson’s cellular technology patents are considered essential and are subject to fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms (FRAND). According to Ericsson, the licensing deal it offered Apple (estimated to be between $250 million and $750 million annually) was reasonable, but Apple disagreed.
In February, Ericsson went on to file seven new lawsuits against Apple and two complaints with U.S. ITC in an effort to prevent Apple from selling products in the U.S., which is what led to today’s ITC investigation. Companies often file complaints in district court and with the ITC simultaneously as the ITC moves faster and has the ability to block products from being sold in the United States. The looming threat of a product ban can accelerate licensing negotiations.
Should the International Trade Commission’s investigation find that Apple infringed on Ericsson’s patents, it could potentially lead to an exclusion order preventing the infringing products from being sold in the United States until the dispute is resolved.
‘Cards Against Humanity’ expansion benefits women’s STEM scholarship
Cards Against Humanity, the naughty fill-in-the-blank card game, today launched the $10 Science Pack, an expansion offering 30 cards written in collaboration with Bad Astronomer Phil Plait and Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal creator Zach Weinersmith. But that’s not the coolest part: All proceeds raised by the Science Pack will be funneled into the Cards Against Humanity and SMBC Science Ambassador Scholarship, which offers full tuition coverage to women seeking undergraduate degrees in science, tech, engineering and mathematics. Applications will go live soon for the fall 2016 school year, and each one will be reviewed by a panel of more than 40 women working in STEM fields, including at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Harvard Medical School and the Smithsonian Institution.
“We desperately need diversity in science because the alternative makes no sense,” scholarship board member Veronica Berns, PhD, says in a press release. “So often girls are told in both overt and subtle ways that they aren’t able to be good at math and science. With this scholarship, I’m excited to get to tell a passionate girl out there, ‘Yes! What you are doing and dreaming is really great, and here’s some help to get you where you want to go.’”
The Science Pack was already in the works in November, when creators showed it off at the Bay Area Science Festival. Notable examples of science cards include the prompt, “Today on Mythbusters, we find out how long _____ can withstand _____ ,” and possible answer cards, “Uranus” and “The quiet majesty of the sea turtle.” It sounds like a great expansion pack, folks.
In America, women make up just 12 percent of engineers, and only 26 percent of the computing field.
“We knew from the outset that we wanted sales of the science pack to go to a science-related non-profit,” Cards Against Humanity co-creator Max Temkin tells Engadget. “We did some preliminary research and didn’t find any organizations that jumped out at us. Eventually we decided that with the funding we expected, it would have the greatest impact to just fund a few peoples’ college education. Targeting the scholarship at women who want to go into STEM just came from continuing to think about how our limited funding could have the greatest impact.”
Women are largely underrepresented in STEM fields — in America, women make up just 12 percent of engineers, and only 26 percent of the professional computing field, down from 35 percent in 1990, according to the American Association of University Women. NPR recently dove into the shifts in society and advertising that led women to leave these industries, and President Barack Obama has made diversity in STEM a priority for the White House.
The Cards Against Humanity Science Pack went on sale on Monday, and already it’s raised triple-digit numbers for the scholarship. For those interested in applying, here are some of the fine details: full tuition coverage is available for up to four years, applicants must be in high school or college, and they “must identify as women in a way that’s significant to them,” according to the press release. Sign up to be notified when applications go live right here, and buy the Science Pack here.
“Cards Against Humanity has a wide reach online, and we’re anticipating a huge volume of applications,” says Jenn Bane, Cards Against Humanity communications manager and project manager of the Science Ambassador Scholarship. “Our hope is that this scholarship makes a tremendous impact in someone’s life, and creates more visibility for women working in science.”
Source: Science Ambassador Scholarship
Moto X (2014) now available in red leather, via Moto Maker
While the latter part of 2014 saw the release of a number of stunning devices that are still very much worthy of purchasing even now, the reality is that many of these devices have become overshadowed by upcoming 2015 flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the HTC One M9. In order to steal back some of the spotlight, many times OEMs will employ a few different strategies to make their “no longer brand new but still relevant” flagships stand out such as introducing aggressive price cuts or new color configurations. That’s exactly what Motorola is doing.
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Motorola has already employed the former strategy through various sales and promos over the last few months, and now they’re going the latter route by introducing red leather to the Moto Maker. The new red leather option joining existing choices including various wood, leather, and plastic backs. As with other leather backs (and straps, in the case of the Moto 360), Motorola is teaming up with Horween for the new red leather back panel. Upgrading to red leather costs the same $25 charge as other leather/wood options.
Not sure if the Moto X (2014) is right for you? Be sure to check out our full review.
Microsoft brings super-fast WiFi to Seattle Center using TV ‘white space’
Microsoft is using Seattle Center — home of the iconic Space Needle — as a testbed for a super-fast WiFi network.
Announced today, the technology Microsoft is testing takes advantage of “TV white space” — frequencies that have typically been reserved as television broadcast space.
Verizon starts rolling out Lollipop update for the LG G2
Verizon is now pushing out the much-anticipated, eagerly-awaited Lollipop update to all carrier-branded models of the LG G2 located in the United States. This 1.3GB upgrade carries Software Version: VS98039A and transports the latest build of the Android operating system, together with a handful of bug fixes, stability improvements and speed optimizations to the handset.
All the changes you’d expect to find in Lollipop are bundled into this update, including support for multiple accounts, improved notifications, a smoother multitasking experience and the recently-announced Material Design guidelines.
To start the upgrade, make sure you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network. Then, from the home screen, press the Menu key, followed by Settings. Scroll to the bottom and tap ‘About Device’, followed by ‘Software Update and ‘Update Now’.
Come comment on this article: Verizon starts rolling out Lollipop update for the LG G2
Apple’s Smartphone Trade-In Program Launches in United States, Canada and Europe
Apple has expanded its Reuse and Recycling Program in the United States, Canada and several European countries to cover eligible Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone smartphones. The new trade-in program is available online and in-store and provides customers with the option to mail in eligible non-Apple smartphones, including certain Samsung, HTC, LG, Nokia, Sony and BlackBerry models, for credit in the form of an Apple Store gift card or bank transfer.
The smartphone trade-in program has gone live in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany and Canada in partnership with third-party device buyback and trade-in company Brightstar. Apple is also accepting various PC models by certain manufacturers as part of its expanded Reuse and Recycling Program, handled by third-party vendor Dataserv.
Apple confirms new trade-in program is up and running today in US, UK, Canada, France, Germany and Italy.
— John Paczkowski (@JohnPaczkowski) March 30, 2015
Apple’s Reuse and Recycling Program launched in August 2013 and was previously limited to trading in qualifying iPhones, iPads and Macs for immediate credit towards the purchase of a new Apple device. Apple also offers a traditional recycling program for disposing of devices such as iPhones, iPads, Macs and other smartphones and computers that are no longer eligible for trade in.
Verizon LG G2 gets Android 5.0 Lollipop, ahead of the G3
While LG G3 owners on Verizon’s network are still rocking KitKat, owners of its predecessor are in for a pretty sweet treat starting today. That’s right, Android 5.0 Lollipop is now rolling out to Big Red’s LG G2.
The new software is dubbed version VS98039A, and with it comes a number of improvements such as an improved notification panel, Lollipop style navigation buttons, searchable settings, and more. Even the aesthetics have been revamped a bit with this update, but it’s not Lollipop’s Material Design changes that we’re seeing. Instead, the LG G2 is being upgraded to a new flatter, minimalist design that is in line with the custom UI found on the LG G3.
For full update notes, you’ll want to head over to Verizon’s website. Keep in mind that the update is just starting to roll out, so it may be hours, days or even weeks before it reaches your device. Anyone receive the update yet? If so, what do you think so far?
Try Microsoft’s new browser in Windows 10’s latest test release
If you’ve been wondering when Microsoft would finally roll its brand new Project Spartan web browser into a version of Windows 10 you can try, wonder no longer. The Redmond crew has released a preview build of the operating system (10049) that includes Spartan, so you can check out Cortana voice commands, annotation features and speedier rendering for yourself. The software is still rough around the edges and won’t have every feature due when Windows 10 ships this summer, but you can give it a shot today if you simply can’t wait to kick Internet Explorer to the curb.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Microsoft
Source: Blogging Windows (1), (2)
Gmail for Android puts all your accounts in a single inbox
Flipping between your multiple email accounts in Gmail has always been a bit of a pain, especially on mobile devices but that changes today with the release of Google’s new “All Inboxes” option for Gmail’s Android app. It does exactly what it sounds like: display every one of your inboxes (even accounts from Outlook and Yahoo) in a single, unified list. You’ll be able to read and reply to each email, regardless of provider, without swapping tabs or logging out.
Google has also announced that email threads from external accounts (Yahoo, Outlook, or anything that loads through IMAP/POP3) will now display with the same threaded conversation format as internal Gmail emails. These newly integrated accounts will also reportedly benefit from an improved autocomplete function, larger attachment previews and one-touch saves to Google Drive.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Gmail Blog (Blogspot)
LG UK teases the G Watch Urbane in a new promotional video
Earlier today, LG UK took to its official YouTube channel in order to share a promotional video of its gorgeous upcoming G Watch Urbane. In the 29-second clip, we get to see the device in all its glory from every possible angle with a bunch of different faces and straps, including my personal favorite, the very sophisticated brushed steel band.
Hit the break below to check it out.
Come comment on this article: LG UK teases the G Watch Urbane in a new promotional video
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