Apple sued for alleged trademark infringement tied to animoji feature on iPhone X

Why it matters to you

Apple’s new animoji feature may come as a result of some cool new tech in the iPhone X — but it may not be called animoji for long.

Apple is set to go through yet another lawsuit. The company has been sued by a Japanese firm, Emonster kk, which alleges that Apple stole the name “animoji” for the new animated emoji feature on the iPhone X. According to Emonster kk, it holds the U.S. trademark for the term “animoji,” and says that Apple’s use of the term is a “textbook case” of trademark infringement.

The animoji feature itself basically uses the new front-facing camera technology to map out the user’s face and apply facial movements to animate a character. It was shown off as a feature that could be included in Snapchat, and will debut on the iPhone X when the phone launches in November.

The story first broke in a report from Reuters, and Apple has declined to comment.

Emonster kk actually launched an app called Animoji in 2014, and a trademark was registered for the name of that app. According to the company, Apple had full knowledge of the app because it was actually available for download in the App Store. It will be seeking an unspecified amount in damages and a court order aimed at blocking Apple from using the term while the lawsuit is pending.

Apart from the Animoji feature, the iPhone X is hailed as being Apple‘s most innovative phone in the past few years. For starters, it finally offers wireless charging, and while many Android phones have offered wireless charging for years, Apple adopting it should help push the technology to a much higher level of availability. Of course, the $999 base price tag could be a little problematic for many would-be buyers. Despite that, however, anticipation for the iPhone X has apparently resulted in someone lackluster iPhone 8 sales — which was to be expected.  On top of that, Apple is said to be dealing with some serious stock issues. When the phone does finally launch in November, it’s likely that it will go out of stock pretty quickly.

We’ll have to wait and see what the outcome of the animoji lawsuit is, but we’ll update this article as we get more information.

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Celebrate TwitchCon this weekend with 20% off gaming peripherals at Amazon

Can’t make it to TwitchCon? Comfort yourself with gaming deals!

Is this deal for me?

The coupon code TWITCHCON20 takes an extra 20% off this selection of gaming gear on Amazon. Amazon loves to run these deals when gaming conventions come around.

There were similar codes for PAX West and Gamescom. However, this sale has a wholly different set of products.

This offer expires October 28.

TwitchCon is one of the newer gaming conventions. Although technically it’s a convention started by Twitch.tv to celebrate video streaming, video game streamers make up the majority of that population. So it features a lot of the men and women who play video games for a living – a gravy train I unfortunately missed out on.

Here’s a break down of some of the deals available:

• Razer BlackWidow X Chroma Mercury Edition mechanical keyboard for $119.99 (from $150) – The BlackWidow is an awesome keyboard for gaming, and this version has never had a price drop below $130
• Logitech G633 surround sound gaming headset for $79.99 (from $100) – This headset never drops from $100 except for these rare coupon codes
• Corsair T1 gaming chair for $279.99 (from $350) – This deal is also available in Yellow and Red
• Logitech G703 Lightspeed wireless gaming mouse for $75.06 (from $93.82) – The G203 Prodigy is a lighter version of this mouse that’s discounted to $27.99 with this code

This is just a few of the gaming products available with this discount.

TL;DR

• What makes this deal worth considering? – There are a lot of gaming peripherals in this sale, many of which we’ve never seen drop this low. If you need to enhance your gaming setup, this is the deal for you.
• Things to know before you buy! – This sale only applies to items shipped and sold by Amazon. Some items may sell out and the product page will revert to third party sellers. The code will no longer work in that case.

See at Amazon

Happy thrifting!

Explore a new reality with the $280 PlayStation VR and Camera bundle

VR is cool, but who in their right mind would play Resident Evil 7 VR? No thank you, nightmares.

Is this deal for me?

The PlayStation VR + PS4 Camera Bundle is currently on sale at Amazon for only $279.99 when you enter promo code 100VRSAVE at checkout. The last bundle deal we shared was back in August, and that sale only dropped it down to $300. The street price for this bundle is around $350, so this is a huge chunk off.

The PSVR headset allows you to play virtual reality games on your PlayStation 4 console (not included). It’s simple to setup and features such stunning graphics in some games that many people get frightened by the immersive nature of the headset.

With the PlayStation camera you can livestream your PSVR gaming to all your friends, so they can watch you score and freak out.

There are already a bunch of games available for PSVR, including Until Dawn, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Resident Evil 7, Batman: Arkham VR and more.

TL;DR

• What makes this deal worth considering? – We haven’t seen a deal on this bundle since August, and this price is $20 better than that one.
• Things to know before you buy! – Well, you’ll need a PlayStation 4 to use this. Don’t forget to check out all the games built for virtual reality.

See at Amazon

Happy thrifting!

Google Home with display will reportedly support YouTube and web browsing

The device is codenamed “Quartz”, and it’ll support YouTube, Google Maps, web browsing, and much more.

With the Pixel 2’s unveiling on October 4, we also got to feast our eyes upon the Google Home Mini and Home Max The Mini and Max look like two solid entries in the Home series, and while they each target new demographics previously unreachable by the regular Google Home, there’s still something missing – none of them have a display.

Can you guess what’s missing?

Although Amazon’s Echo Show isn’t perfect, it’s built-in display does allow for certain functionality you just can’t get on a smart speaker without a screen. Android Police recently conducted a teardown of v7.14.15 of the Google app, and while doing so, they discovered references to a device codenamed “Quartz.” Quartz is expected to be a Google Home that features a display like the Echo Show, and thanks to the Google app teardown, we have an idea of certain features we can expect from the gadget.

First off, and perhaps most importantly, you’ll be able to use Quartz to watch YouTube videos. This is a feature that was removed from the Echo Show in late September, and based on what we know so far, Google’s implementation of YouTube on Quartz will be better than what Amazon ever had (not like that’s much of a surprise).

When watching a YouTube video on Quartz, you’ll reportedly be able to see how many views and likes a video has, read through comments, and check who uploaded the clip. Additionally, you’ll have access to on-screen controls that can be used for pausing/resuming a video, skipping to the next one in a playlist, or going back to a previous video.

The Echo Show got us in the right direction, but Quartz already sounds infinitely better.

Along with well thought-out YouTube support, it’s also expected that Quartz will have a built-in web browser, access to Maps, a photo viewer, the ability to set timers, read recipes, and more. When you aren’t using the Quartz, a standby screen will showcase the current time, weather conditions, notifications, and suggested actions.

We don’t know when Quartz will be released or how much it’ll cost, but even so, just the thought of a Google Home with a screen has us excited.

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This is what the OnePlus 5T will probably look like

This is the OnePlus 5T you’re looking for.

In early October, a device render popped up for what was supposedly the OnePlus 5T. The render showed off a phone with a 6-inch 18:9 display with very minimal bezels, but it also looked a whole lot like another phone from Oppo. Since then, a new look at the 5T has surfaced, and it’s more of what we’d expect to see from OnePlus later this year.

The new render was uploaded by a user on Weibo, and while the phone looks similar to what we saw at the beginning of the month, there are a few big differences.

For starters, the “Never Settle” wallpaper that’s shown on the display is a lot more convincing than the lock screen on the other render that definitely didn’t belong to OxygenOS. The alert slider is no longer missing, the corners of the display aren’t so heavily rounded, and the render as a whole is much higher-res than what we saw last time around.

The top and bottom bezels don’t seem to have changed, with the ones on the sides being ever so slightly thicker (oh it could just be because this one doesn’t showcase curved edges like what we previously saw).

Old render (left), New render (right)

We also get a look at the back of the 5T, revealing the new position of the fingerprint scanner. The back does look exactly the same as the current OnePlus 5, but that’s sort of what we’re expecting considering the identical design between the OnePlus 3 and 3T.

Are these official images of the OnePlus 5T? We aren’t sure. Is this the final design for the phone? Possibly, but we can’t say for certain. What we can say, however, is that, between the two renders we’ve seen at this point, this is the one I’d bet my money on as to what the device will end up looking like.

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Amazon

Movie ‘sanitizer’ VidAngel files for bankruptcy

Back in 2016, Hollywood studios were able to stop VidAngel from streaming sanitized versions of blockbuster hits, claiming that its system for doing so was covered under the Family Movie Act of 2005. The injunction, which VidAngel promised to appeal, claimed that the company was operating as an unlicensed video on demand service.Unfortunately, the company is now filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

“…chapter 11 is simply a reorganization and part of our legal and business strategy,” Harmon wrote in a blog post. “Per federal law, chapter 11 reorganization automatically pauses our lawsuit with Disney and the other plaintiffs in California.” In an attempt at positive spin, CEO Neal Harmon also wrote that the strategy lets them continue another lawsuit, this one in Utah, to prove that its filtering system is legal. According to Harmon, VidAngel has a new filtering system for Netflix, HBO and Amazon, millions of dollars in the bank and is generating even more millions in revenue. Apparently, the market for “clean” versions of movies and television shows is larger than you might have thought.

Harmon notes that even if the company loses the lawsuit brought by Disney and other studios in California, it will have enough revenue from its new system to pay any court-ordered damages. “That way,” he wrote, “VidAngel can survive and reap a return for the many thousands of customers who invested in us.”

Via: AV Club

Source: VidAngel

Project Loon’s LTE balloons are floating over Puerto Rico

About a month after Hurricane Maria’s devastating landfall on Puerto Rico and a couple of weeks after the FCC gave clearance, Project Loon is bringing wireless internet to people on remote parts of the island. Part of (Google parent company) Alphabet’s X innovation lab, the project uses balloons circling the Earth at high altitude to provide wireless connections. Now, it’s partnered with AT&T to light up “limited” internet connectivity with support for text messaging, basic web access and email.

AT&T has been hard at work since the hurricane and says that it’s restored access to 60 percent of the population there, as well as 90 percent of the population in the US Virgin Islands. According to Project Loon, each balloon can provide coverage across up to 5,000 sq/km, so it hopes to cover most of the island. The access is provided using LTE band 8, and should work for AT&T customers using devices like most recent iPhones (they will need an update first), Galaxy devices (from the S6 on), Moto G, Motorola Z2 Force, plus the BlackBerry Passport and KEYone.

Whether you’re connected to Project Loon or a regular tower, LTE will display on the phone the same way. Still, as the balloons float by in the stratosphere (launched from Nevada), the team says it’s hoping to provide connectivity during daylight hours. This is the second time Project Loon has played a part in disaster recovery, after it helped provide service in Peru (where it was already testing) after flooding early last year.

Source: X Company (Medium)

Razer’s new webcam and microphone are made for streamers

Razer is known as a gaming laptop, mouse and keyboard maker, but it actually offers a wide variety of products, like Xbox controllers, power banks, and even an upcoming phone. Razer also makes webcams like the Stargazer, which is built for streaming video games. Now Razer is upping its streaming game with two new “streamer certified” peripherals, a webcam with a built-in ring light called Kiyo as well as a USB condenser mic named Seiren X.

The $100 Kiyo’s built-in light has 12 levels of brightness to help light your face for those important picture-in-picture streams on Twitch. It also outputs high-def video at 720p with 60 frames per second (FPS) or 1080p at 30 FPS. The Seiren X also retails at $100 and comes with a removable desk stand so you can set it up anywhere you’re streaming from. It connects via USB and has 25mm condenser capsules and a tighter recording angle that’s optimized for streaming, according to the company.

“Streaming has become an integral part of the gaming community,” said Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan in a statement. “We took a hard look at what streamers really needed, and engineered products to support those specific use cases. The result are products that produce professional quality streams while remaining accessible to beginner users.”

Ring lights aren’t anything new, of course. I had one that you could slide onto Apple’s old standalone iSight camera years ago. Still, the Kiyo could be attractive to someone who has a darker room and needs to stream a better image. There are plenty of microphones to choose from, but if you’re using other Razer gear, the affordable Seiren X might entice you, too.

Via: The Verge

Source: Razer

Eltima Software’s Elmedia Player and Folx Infected With Malware

Mac owners who have recently downloaded Elmedia Player or Folx from Eltima Software may have unwittingly installed malware on their machines, reports ZDNet.

Downloads of Folx and Elmedia player were infected with Proton, a Remote Access Trojan, after Eltima’s servers were hacked. The Proton backdoor lets attackers access browser information, keylogs, usernames, passwords, macOS keychain data, and more.

In an email to ZDNet, an Eltima spokesperson said that the malware was distributed with downloads as a result of their servers being “hacked” after attackers “used a security breach in the tiny_mce JavaScript library on our server.”

The compromised software was discovered on October 19, and customers who downloaded software from Eltima on that date before 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time may be affected by the malware. The following files will be found on an infected system:

– /tmp/Updater.app/
– /Library/LaunchAgents/com.Eltima.UpdaterAgent.plist
– /Library/.rand/
– /Library/.rand/updateragent.app/

Apple and Eltima have disabled the developer ID that was used to sign the Proton-infected software bundle, and Eltima is working with Apple to figure out what happened.

Anyone who was impacted by the malware will need to reinstall macOS to get rid of it. Eltima says it has taken action to prevent against further attacks and improve its server security. Clean versions of Elmedia Player and Folx are now available from the Eltima website.
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Apple and AT&T Team Up to Improve Cellular Service in Puerto Rico With LTE Band 8 Activation

Apple and AT&T have been working together to improve cellular connectivity for iPhone users in Puerto Rico who have been largely without cellular service since Hurricane Maria hit a month ago.

The two companies are enabling LTE Band 8, a provisional LTE band that’s been approved but not activated or licensed in the United States or Puerto Rico, reports TechCrunch.

LTE Band 8 will work with the iPhone 5c and up on iOS 10 or higher in Puerto Rico following a carrier update. Band 8 is a 900Mhz band with improved range to better reach cell towers that are located further away.

“We are working with AT&T to activate cellular service for iPhone users in Puerto Rico as the island recovers from Hurricane Maria,” read an Apple statement. “Apple engineers have created a special carrier settings update which users connected to Wi-Fi or who are connected to a cellular network will automatically be prompted to download throughout the week. The update allows iPhone customers with iPhone 5c and later models running iOS 10 or higher, to connect to a provisional band on the AT&T network so they can be in touch with loved ones and get services in this time of need.”

iPhone owners in Puerto Rico will need to go to Settings –> General –> About when connected to Wi-Fi or cellular to download the carrier update.

Once the new carrier data has been installed, iPhones will be able to use Band 8 where available to connect to cellular towers and Project Loon balloons being deployed by Google to improve cellular service in Puerto Rico.

Project Look balloons support basic communication and internet activities for sending text messaging and accessing information online over LTE.

Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria on September 20, much of Puerto Rico continues to be without power, and millions are also without running water. Many areas are also without cellular service and Wi-Fi connectivity with up to 75 percent of antennas currently down, making it difficult for families to stay in touch.

Tags: AT&T, LTE
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