TOP BANGKOK

A Bay Village, Ohio, company has sued Microsoft for allegedly infringing on its patents with the rapidly selling Kinect motion-sensing video game controller.

Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox 360
(Credit: CNET)

Impulse Technology filed the suit in federal court in Delaware, accusing Microsoft and several game makers--including Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and THQ--of violating patents related to, among other things, tracking and assessing movement skills in multidimensional space. The suit was filed on July 1, but was only recently written about by the Web site Law360.

Impulse claims that the Kinect violates seven patents, issued from 2001 to last year. In its suit, the company said it notified Microsoft in March about the patents. The suit does not mention if Microsoft replied to the notification. And Impulse's attorney did not return a call.

Microsoft declined to address the specific charges, but said it works hard to make sure its products don't violate patent holders' rights.

"While we can't comment about this specific case, Microsoft invests heavily in protecting our intellectual property rights and has hundreds of pending and issued patents covering Kinect," Kevin Kutz, director of public affairs at Microsoft, said in a statement.

The U.S. Department of Justice took a thinly veiled swipe at an online civil liberties group that's arguing a Colorado woman can't be forced to decrypt her laptop for police inspection.

In a legal brief filed yesterday in what is likely to be a precedent-setting case, the Justice Department claimed that the Electronic Frontier Foundation had previously agreed that being forced to type in your passphrase was legal and did not violate Americans' rights to self-incrimination.

Prosecutors are hoping to convince a federal judge to order Ramona Fricosu, accused of running a mortgage scam, to decrypt an encrypted laptop that police found in her bedroom during a raid of her home. Fricosu has been charged with bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering as part of an alleged attempt to use falsified court documents to illegally gain title to homes near Colorado Springs.
EFF staff attorney Hanni Fakhoury

EFF staff attorney Hanni Fakhoury
(Credit: EFF)

EFF's Know Your Rights guide, prosecutors said, warns the public that "a grand jury or judge may still order you to disclose your data in an unencrypted format under certain circumstances."

The upshot, they said, is that "EFF's 'Know Your Rights' publication correctly states that a judge may properly order the production of unencrypted data consistent with the Fifth Amendment." (The Fifth Amendment broadly protects Americans' right to remain silent--see CNET's Q&A with defense attorney Phil Dubois.)

EFF staff attorney Hanni Fakhoury, a former public defender in San Diego, wrote the guide. Fakhoury told CNET today that the Justice Department isn't exactly describing his work fairly:

    This (the guide) is simply stating the obvious: whether the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination applies is fact-dependent. EFF believes that under the facts presented in the Fricosu case, the privilege applies and prevents the government's attempt to force Ms. Fricosu to decrypt the laptop. Under a different set of facts, the outcome might be different; something that's true in most areas of the law.

    This is obviously a situation in which the government is trying to do something it has rarely tried to do before, so the courts are just starting to consider it. That is why EFF got involved in the first place, to assist the court by providing it with what we think the law should be. I'm flattered the government believes the guide I wrote is legal precedent, and I look forward to the day when that's actually the case.

The Justice Department also argues that Fricosu's Fifth Amendment rights are effectively nullified because the government obtained the laptop through a search warrant, not a grand jury subpoena.

"Evidence obtained through search warrants does not implicate the self-incrimination clause because search warrants do not compel individuals to make statements..." prosecutors said. "The applied-for order would use as the source of evidence only material seized with a warrant; it would not make use of any compelled statements."

Prosecutors have stressed that they don't actually require the passphrase itself, meaning Fricosu would be permitted to type it in and unlock the files without anyone looking over her shoulder. They say they're not demanding "the password to the drive, either orally or in written form," and that they know the laptop is hers because of a legally intercepted phone call she made to someone in prison.

Competing legal analogies: What's a PGP passphrase like?
The question of whether criminal defendants can be legally compelled to cough up their encryption passphrase remains an unsettled one, with law review articles for at least the last 15 years arguing the merits of either side of the issue. A U.S. Justice Department attorney wrote an article in 1996, for instance, titled "Compelled Production of Plaintext and Keys."

Much of the debate has been over which of two analogies comes closest to the truth. Prosecutors tend to view PGP passphrases as akin to someone possessing a key to a safe filled with incriminating documents. That person can, in general, be legally compelled to hand over the key. Other examples include the U.S. Supreme Court saying that defendants can be forced to provide fingerprints, blood samples, or voice recordings.

On the other side are civil libertarians citing other Supreme Court cases that conclude Americans can't be forced to give "compelled testimonial communications" and extending the legal shield of the Fifth Amendment to encryption passphrases. Courts already have ruled that such protection extends to the contents of a defendant's minds, so why shouldn't a passphrase be shielded as well?

While the U.S. Supreme Court has not confronted the topic, a handful of lower courts have.

In March 2010, a federal judge in Michigan ruled that Thomas Kirschner, facing charges of receiving child pornography, would not have to give up his password. That's "protecting his invocation of his Fifth Amendment privilege against compelled self-incrimination," the court ruled (PDF).

A year earlier, a Vermont federal judge concluded that Sebastien Boucher, who a border guard claims had child porn on his Alienware laptop, did not have a Fifth Amendment right to keep the files encrypted.

Update 3:15 p.m. PT: I've heard back from Phil Dubois, Fricosu's criminal defense attorney. Dubois' position remains, he said in an e-mail message:

    That to force my client (assuming that she has the ability) to decrypt the hard drive would be an unreasonable and therefore unconstitutional search and so a Fourth Amendment violation; and

    That to force her to decrypt the drive would not be the same as compelling her to surrender the key to a safe, the new technology making that analogy inapposite, but would instead be compelling her to use the content of her mind to perform an affirmative act to assist the government to prosecute her, which raises the Fifth Amendment problem.

Talk about a David and Goliath story. The New York-based law firm of Bursor & Fisher is working with some AT&T customers in the hopes of blocking AT&T's proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile.
AT&T to buy T-Mobile

The firm is working on behalf of a small group of AT&T customers to demand arbitration from the company, which is the second largest wireless phone company in the U.S. and one of the biggest political contributors in the country. In its arbitration filings, Bursor & Fisher alleges that the deal between AT&T and T-Mobile would violate the Clayton Antitrust Act and harm competition in the wireless market. The firm has already signed up 11 AT&T customers, and it's soliciting more on its Web site: FightTheMerger.com. It filed the first arbitration demand Thursday in a 236-page document.

The main argument in the arbitration request is that the merger will lead to higher prices and diminished service, which would harm consumers. The customers are asking that the merger be blocked or at the very least that certain requirements be put on the merger, such as AT&T divesting some wireless spectrum and stopping its practice of entering into exclusive contracts with handset makers.

The Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission are already reviewing the merger. It's expected to take the agencies a year to complete their evaluation of the merger. The Justice Department in particular will be looking at potential antitrust claims while the FCC's main obligation is to ensure that the merger will serve the public interest, since the wireless licenses that AT&T and T-Mobile hold are regulated by the FCC. The FCC said this week that it has stopped the clock on its review as it obtains additional information from AT&T.

Scott Bursor, a partner at Bursor & Fisher, said his firm expects to file hundreds of these cases. While arbitration is typically used to dispute individual complaints, such as an erroneous charge on a bill, Bursor said he thinks the process can also be used for antitrust disputes, since class-action lawsuits are not available to AT&T customers.

"The law gives private parties the opportunity to sue in antitrust cases," Bursor said. "So we are using this arbitration process to help consumers, who are barred from filing class-action suits."

In its contracts, AT&T prohibits customers from suing the company directly or as part of a class-action lawsuit. A U.S. Supreme court decision in April upheld this practice. Instead, consumers must use an arbitration process. But consumers are also prohibited from filing arbitration as a group or class and instead must file claims individually, which is why Bursor has said the company will file hundreds of these claims.

And because each arbitration request is assigned to a separate judge, each case will be evaluated independently, which in theory could increase the chances of a beneficial outcome for the customers filing the complaint.

AT&T said in a statement that the arbitration process is not intended to hear class-action cases, such as the ones Bursor plans to file.

"The claims made by the Bursor & Fisher Law Firm are completely without merit," the company's statement said. "An arbitrator has no authority to block the merger or affect the merger process in any way. Our arbitration provision allows customers to resolve their individual disputes with AT&T in a prompt and consumer-friendly manner."

Bursor's firm has worked with wireless customers in the past on class-action suits over early-termination fees. His firm also sued AT&T over mobile-handset exclusivity. Michael Aschenbrener of Aschenbrener Law in Chicago, who has also brought class-action suits against wireless companies in the past, said that using the arbitration process to air antitrust complaints is unusual. So it's difficult to say if it will be effective. But he said at the very least it might get these consumers' concerns heard.

"Arbitration is a new approach in this context but necessary in light of recent anticonsumer Supreme Court precedent," he said. "Whether these consumers will be successful remains to be seen, but this demonstrates that consumers want to be heard and will be heard--no matter how much the courts and big businesses try to silence them."

These AT&T consumers involved in the arbitration are not the only ones opposed to AT&T's plan to buy T-Mobile. Sprint Nextel has also expressed its opposition. And this week, Senator Herb Kohl, who heads up a subcommittee on antitrust matters, asked regulators to block the deal.

Some states are also taking a closer look at the merger. California's Public Utility Commission is examining it. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced in March that his office would "undertake a thorough review of AT&T's acquisition of T-Mobile" and analyze the merger for "potential anticompetitive effects on consumers and businesses."

Meanwhile, AT&T has also garnered support from a number of groups. There are already governors in 26 states that have signed on to support the merger. And 76 members of Congress have also expressed their support for the merger.

AT&T said earlier this week during its earnings call that it is confident it will get the approval for the merger. And the company said it expects the deal to close in the first quarter of next year.

We thought Clearwire might have had a chance at legal victory against Sony Ericsson, but the wireless carrier has apparently dropped out of the ring. Clearwire told a federal court it no longer plans to produce a smartphone
-- which basically nullified Sony Ericsson's worry that upcoming Clearwire handsets would oh-so-similar swirling orb logo. As a result, Sony Ericsson's reporting today that it's dropped the trademark infringement lawsuit, which sounds good for all involved, except it leaves Clearwire not producing much of anything now.

Nobody likes being bothered while they're really getting into a movie, and as we all know you can't really get into a movie unless it's in 3D. Right? Sir Ian McKellen took things a step further, not only watching a screening of The Hobbit in the third dimension but doing it in character, and looking ever so slightly perturbed at having his viewing session interrupted by a rogue photographer. The guy in the back doesn't seem to mind, though.


Thomas: "Galadriel, is that new shampoo?"
Tim: "These glasses may be passive but I you may find me getting very aggressive if you use that flash one more time."
Brian: "I'll tell you what, you're making me Gandalf the Red right now."
Joe: "Would 'one standard to rule them all' be asking too much?"
Michael: "ZZ Top called, they want their roadie back"
Terrence: "Even Gandalf the Grey is powerless against the magic of these glasses which make any man look like a 90-year-old blind woman."
Richard Lai: "Ha, no 3D for that flaming cyclops in Mordor."
Darren: "One ring. Two Towers. 3Ds."
Christopher: "Sir Ian McKellen: the latest victim of Rick Rubin's Ambush Makeover."
Sean Buckley: "Confound it all, Samwise Gamgee. What have I told you about interrupting me during my stories?"
Josh Fruhlinger: "You know how they say 3D is bad for children? This dude is 14."

That Android 3.1 update that Google announced during I/O is slowly rolling out to 3G Xoom owners as we speak. How'd we know such a thing? Why, it just landed on our in-house Xoom, of course! Most of the changes to Honeycomb are happening under the hood -- better HTML5 support, faster performance,
and USB host functionality for connecting peripherals like game controllers and mice -- but there are some improvements that will be a lot more obvious to the user. Perhaps our favorite is the addition of resizable widgets. For the moment only the email and Gmail inbox, calendar and bookmarks widgets can be stretched or shrunk, but we're sure others will follow. We're particularly appreciative of the expandable calendar widget, which always felt a tad cramped. The task switcher also received a much requested upgrade and now lets you scroll through your last 18 launched apps, instead of just the five most recent. Lastly, the Android Market now offers movie rentals, alongside books and apps, which range in price from $1.99 to $4.99 for 24 hours of playback. There isn't a ton of revolutionary stuff going on here, but it's certainly a welcome and worthwhile update. Check out the video after the break to see Android 3.1 in action.

While we wait for the OTA update that will bring Android 3.1 to existing Google TV devices, Logitech's Revue -- check the official blog post linked below for some of the features being added -- has apparently already received its price cut and CrunchGear points out it is currently available for $199 on Amazon.
As we noted a couple of weeks ago when the company announced weak sales and a plan to drop the price to $249, getting the price under two bills was probably as important as smoothing out the software experience. Of course, after Google I/O we wonder if anyone interested in Google TV is still jonesing for a launch device (even with the promise of updated software and Android Market access in the future) when something newer and better is likely on the way. After all, you can get Honeycomb on a T-Mobile G1 now, but that doesn't mean you would want to do it.

The WatchESPN app is now available for Android devices, bringing the same live video streams of ESPN channels it featured at its debut on iOS last month. The interface appears to be equivalent, however running it will require the installation of Adobe AIR on your Android 2.2 or higher device (no tablet optimizations yet and there's no Honeycomb mention in the press release after the break,
but it's probably on the list after the iPad-optimized version drops later this month). The downsides are still the same however, only TV subscribers to ESPNNetworks enabled providers (Time Warner Cable, Bright House or Verizon FiOS TV) can stream everything (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPNU) while those with just FiOS internet can access ESPN3, and all others are locked out entirely. If you have the right service plan, click the market link below to download the app (there's another app in the market called Watch ESPN Free, but we'd probably avoid that for now) for free.Continue reading WatchESPN app is now on Android, go-anywhere live TV streams still restricted to just a few providers

Tips and tricks ? Speed up your computer and security
There are many things where computer breaks down. You need some tips and tricks to look after your computer in proper way. Here are some tips regarding computer’s speed and security. You need security to protect your computer from other users to keep your privacy.

The slow down can be caused by many things in a computer. The registry keeps track of all system settings, software installation and drivers so the age of windows operating system is one cause. Install a good registry cleaner is the cure of this problem. There are softwares available such as Ccleaner. The Ccleaner will help increase your computer speed. This software is free. Just click on the registry button then it will list your problems after scanning. There will be a button “fix”. To fix all the issues just click that button. In case there is need to reinsert registry the Ccleaner will create backup. So if you are cleaning your drive with Ccleaner you will not come along any new issue.
You must not let your hard drive go full. It can also cause low speed of your computer. Windows need space for virtual memory as well as programs loading and installing. The virtual memory is a selected portion of the hard drive called page file. There is a free program from windows which is called as page defrag. It defrags the page file or the virtual memory. Defragging will speed up as you defrag the files together. It will speed up your access and your computer start up.
You must update your computer program files and your operating system to keep computer as secure as possible. Windows come with auto update feature. So when you turn on your computer, windows take care of the operating system. You need to left click the start button then on to left click the control panel icon. It will take you to the windows security centre. You must make sure that auto update is checked inside the box. The auto update will be on the left of auto updates.
There is an easy way to make sure your software programs all have the latest security patches too! With sequoias personal software inspector or PSI which is free for your own personal use. After installing Sequoia PSI 1- just left click the green button start scan, 2- left click on the blue solution button this will take you to the link then click open to allow it to install the patch, 3- continue with any other blue solution buttons, then rescan your pc.
Malware protection and removal are two big parts of a great anti-spyware program,
the cleanup has to be precise or your computer will have problems and the spyware will remain. One of the best anti-malware programs for detection and cleanup is Malware-Bytes Anti-Malware and also offers a protection mode if you have the pro version. Even the free version of Malware-Bytes Anti-Malware has outstanding removal and detection.

FIFA 11 Ultimate Team – How to Keep the Fitness Method! – Squidge’s Tips & Tricks – Episode 1 – Gameplay/Commentary Get this to 300 Likes? COMMENT AND LIKE! ENJOY!!! A series by Squidge giving you different tips and tricks on ultimate team. This episode giving you his tips on ultimate team! Make sure you subscribe to Squidge Directors Channel (Subscribe to him!!!) www.youtube.com Subscribe to me aswell (SASportsGaming) www.youtube.com Follow me on Twitter!!! twitter.com twitter.com

ony Ericsson revealed plans to introduce its second generation with two new Xperia minis: the Xperia Mini and Xperia Mini Pro smartphone.
The new Xperia mini line has two options: the standard version, and the "pro" version which has a slide-out keyboard. In many other respects, however, these devices have undergone quite a bit of change.
In the first place, because they have a bigger 3.0" screen, the Xperia Mini is actually slightly larger than the previous generation. The width and thickness have remained the same across generations, however.


Secondly, the screen resolution has been bumped up from 240 x 320 (QVGA) to 320 x 480 (HVGA), an improvement which coincides with the improved 720p 5 megapixles video camera capability of the device. Sony Ericsson says the Xperia Mini will be the smallest HD-capable Android smartphone available.
Finally, it has been equipped with a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).
Xperia Mini is a GSM-compatible device, with support for HSPA (900/2100) and GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900) or HSPA (850/1900/2100) and GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900).

Mercedes-Benz's new A-Class E-Cell may be a limited production vehicle, but it is a production vehicle, which likely means that some folks will be interested in how it actually drives. Thankfully, the folks from PluginCars have now managed to take one for a quick spin, and have delivered a few first impressions. The short of it is that while it's a "nice ride," it's apparently not a very powerful one -- in fact, the site says that the car felt "significantly slower" than the Nissan Leaf, which also of course has the advantage of being cheaper and more widely available. The Mercedes does apparently handle much better, though, and while the floor is a bit higher than a normal car, the interior otherwise seems to be top notch. Unfortunately, the test drive wasn't exactly long enough to truly test the car's Tesla-provided batteries, but the site was at least pleased to see the current state of charge conveniently placed right in the middle of the dashboard.

Mercedes' A-Class E-Cell gets taken for a test drive originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  PluginCars  | Email this | Comments

Recently drop $500 on an Apogee Duet audio interface for your Mac after pondering one for all these years? Then we're afraid we've got a bit of bad news for you, as the company has now finally rolled out a successor to the highly-desirable device. Apparently redesigned from the ground up, the new Duet 2 expectedly ditches FireWire in favor of USB, and packs some "completely redesigned" mic preamps and converters, along with two inputs and four outputs, a pair of configurable touch pads, and even an all new OLED display that replaces the basic LED meters on the original. Of course, the one thing that stays the same is the professional-level price -- look for this one to set you back $595 when it's available next month.

[Thanks, Maxwell]

Apogee rolls out Duet 2 pro audio interface for Macs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Apogee  | Email this | Comments

Top 10 Drug Delivery Technologies 2010 to 2015

More than 25% of the marketed drugs fail to provide expected commercial returns due to drug distribution and absorption levels within the body (pharmacokinetics) therefore signifying the importance of drug delivery systems. Rapid enhancements in drug discovery technologies have lead to developments in proteomics and genomics and had a greater impact on drug delivery technology market. The changing market trends, with quick cycle of innovations have compelled market participants to clearly understand changing dynamics and focus on emerging technology and enhance market positions in terms of revenues, growth and geographical presence.

STUDY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

To define and measure drug delivery market and its various sub-segments with respect to types of systems, by mode of drug delivery, by therapeutics and others.
To identify major drivers and restraints of the market
To evaluate comprehensively all drug delivery technologies and benchmark them against various parameters to identify top ten technologies.
To identify and analyze comprehensively market structure with respect to the factors influencing market growth and industry specific challenges.
To analyze trends and forecasts of drug delivery market and its segments
To identify major stakeholders in the market and draw a competitive landscape for market leaders for each of the drug delivery technology market.
To analyze opportunities in the market for stakeholders
To strategically analyze micro markets with respect to their individual growth trends, future prospects and contribution to the total market
To understand regulatory framework, design criteria, pricing issues, threat from alternative methods available in the market.
To analyze and forecast revenues of market segments with respect to geographies (North America, Europe, Asia and Rest of the World
To provide comprehensive analysis of top players in the drug delivery technology market.
To effectively scope out and justify evaluation and provide sufficient basis of ranking top ten drug delivery technologies.

SCOPE AND FORMAT

The report intensively evaluates drug delivery technologies with respect to revenues, growth, therapeutic areas, patents registered and industry focus to arrive at top 10 drug delivery technologies. The key drug delivery technologies discussed in the report are:

Oral drug delivery technologies
Injectable drug delivery technologies
Pulmonary drug delivery technologies
Transdermal drug delivery technologies
Other drug delivery technologies

The report also focuses on the emerging drug delivery technologies and mechanisms.

INTENDED AUDIENCES

Drug delivery technology – manufacturers, suppliers and dealers
Pharmaceutical and biotech companies
Healthcare providers
Potential investors in the drug delivery technology market

INFORMATION SOURCES

Each of the section will provide market data, market drivers, trends and opportunities, top-selling products, key players, and competitive outlook. This report will also provide market tables for various geographic regions covering sub segments and micro markets. In addition the report also provides 40 companies. Key market developments will be sourced from the top companies that are profiled. Secondary research will progress through both paid and unpaid sources. We will conduct primary research to provide in-depth understanding of the market.

In this day and age, all the beautifully tragic and emotional romantic situations from the past are a lot more difficult to come by. Lost loves, missed opportunities, lovers’ quests…are all taking on new shapes and forms. This new series of skits might give you an idea of what we mean. PRODUCED, WRITTEN, DIRECTED, EDITED Wong Fu Productions (Wesley Chan, Ted Fu, Philip Wang) STARRING Wesley Chan Rachel W Philip Wang Music by George Shaw georgeshawmusic.com “Coffee Shop Meet” Closing theme by David Choi http Girls! Get your “Tech Ruins Romance” Tshirt here! areyouaniceguy.com Special Thanks: Cha for Tea Behind the Scenes and Outtakes wongfuproductions.com ‘Stupid Cupid’ TSHIRTS and MORE! areyouaniceguy.com areyouaniceguy.com SUBSCRIBE! youtube.com OFFICIAL wongfuproductions.com FACEBOOK http TWITTER twitter.com STORE Get your Nice Guy/Girl Tshirts and Awkward Turtles areyouaniceguy.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Our interest in the BlackBerry Touch (codename Monaco) was piqued when we first caught wind of the device, and we had a feeling it'd be making its way into the wild ever since one showed up in Verizon red around mid-Feburary. Now, BGR has managed to procure an unreleased prototype, and we've gotta say that we like what we're seeing. According to the pub, it should get official at BlackBerry World in May, and it'll run OS 6.1 underneath that 800 x 480-pixel screen. The new BB6 is said to use a BlackBerry ID in place of a PIN for certain key functions -- a necessary move for non-BB platforms rumored to be getting BBM (a historically PIN-based service). BGR also claims it won't be getting the Storm nomenclature, so we apologize in advance to the SurePress fanboys. Either way, we've got an inkling that we'll be hearing more as we get closer to May, but unfortunately our dreams of a super AMOLED-equipped Torch running stock Android with a BBM app will just remain figments of our imagination.

BlackBerry Touch / Monaco gets manhandled, said to get official in May originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 18:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  BGR  | Email this | Comments

At this point, we're guessing that it's just a matter of time before the likes of Pentax and Nikon toss their hat into the ever-expanding mirrorless camera ring, and at least for the former, it looks as if that could come sooner rather than later. If the (predictably grainy) image above is to be believed, the NC-1 is dangerously close to being ready for primetime, and according to leaked materials, it'll be the world's smallest mirrorless camera when it gets official in May / June. Purportedly, we'll find a 14 megapixel sensor and a pair of lenses to choose from -- an 8.5mm f/1.9 prime lens as well as a 5-15mm f/2.8-4.5 standard zoom. Crazier still, the NC system could be followed by a larger system in the summer, with that fellow sporting an APS-C sized sensor and compatibility with K-mount lenses. 'Course, we'd invite you to chase all of this with a dash of salt for now, but you can bet we'll be scrounging for more.

[Thanks, Andrea]

Images leak out of Pentax NC mirrorless camera system, makes us long for summertime originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Mirrorless Rumors  | Email this | Comments

Time Warner Cable was the first party to blink in the battle with programmers over its new live TV streaming TWCable TV iPad app, removing channels from Viacom, Fox and Discovery. The company's official statement indicates its merely choosing to focus on the "enlightened programmers" who support its cause and that it will provide replacement channels (maybe BBC America, since it's in all the screenshots) ASAP, possibly as soon as tomorrow. Expect the legal fight to continue to heat up between Time Warner, which believes it has obtained all the rights necessary to provide these channels on any screen in a customer's home, and the programmers, that think it hasn't.

Throwing more gasoline on the fire is word from Cablevision that its new iPad app with TV and video on-demand access was supposed to be out already and is merely awaiting Apple's approval before it launches. According to the Wall Street Journal it will go forward launching the Optimum Link -- formerly PC to TV Media Relay -- product that brings video from their PC to the TV tomorrow. Check out the list of pulled channels after the break or on Time Warner's blog, we'll let you know when or if anything changes.

Continue reading Time Warner removes channels from iPad app while Cablevision prepares one of its own

Time Warner removes channels from iPad app while Cablevision prepares one of its own originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  TWCable Untangled  | Email this | Comments

Intel cares about you. It cares that your data is safe and secure in a sturdy storage silo of the solid state variety. In order to enlighten you on the dangers that old and dusty magnetic hard drives pose, it has kindly fashioned out a short film detailing graphically the fate of your 1s and 0s when they're kept on an HDD that suffers an unexpected impact. It's atmospheric, thrilling stuff, which we dare not spoil for you here. We'll just say it ends on a pretty hilarious note and point you to the video below.

Continue reading Intel posts a short film about SSDs and the folly of not using them

Intel posts a short film about SSDs and the folly of not using them originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Intel  | Email this | Comments

It's perhaps a little too early to be feeling all retro-nostalgic for the netbook, with much of the industry moving on up to your notbooks and your tablets and such, so we'll just say that Hercules is still kickin' it old school by launching its eCAFE netbooks. There are two models, the Slim HD and EX HD, the former tipping the scales at 1.9lbs and measuring only .8-inches thick, while the EX model is a bit heftier at 2.5lbs and 1.1-inches, managing 13 hours of "real use" battery life. Both are said to smoothly play 720p video on their 10-inch, 1024 x 600 displays or export it over HDMI, running a custom flavor of Linux and powered by an ARM Cortex-A8 processor. Hercules says this "sets a new standard" in netbooks, but 8 or 16GB of flash storage and 512MB of RAM sounds all too familiar to us, and if that cramped, recessed keyboard is the future we're quite happy to stick in the present, thanks.

Hercules re-invents the netbook again, launches 10-inch Linux- and A8-powered eCAFE originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Hercules  | Email this | Comments

Continue reading Native Instruments rolls out Traktor 2, Maschine 1.6 update

Native Instruments rolls out Traktor 2, Maschine 1.6 update originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Native Instruments  | Email this | Comments

Despite the questionable appeal of watching movies two months after they come out in theaters for $30 a pop, The Hollywood Reporter reports Warner Bros., Sony, Fox and Universal are going ahead with their premium video on-demand scheme. According to the always helpful unnamed insiders, DirecTV will be launch the service nationally at the end of April, with Walmart-backed Vudu and a regional launch by Comcast soon after. Company Town mentions movies like The Adjustment Bureau, Paul, or Just Go With It could be among launch titles. There's no word on DRM although apparently Paramount has taken a pass specifically due to piracy concerns -- theater owners aren't happy either -- so we'll just wait and see if the quality of scene rips suddenly make a jump by this time next month. Either way, expect some new variation of Gregor and his lap giraffe to make an appearance soon.

DirecTV, Comcast, Vudu could start offering 'premium VOD' $30 movie rentals in April originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  The Hollywood Reporter  | Email this | Comments