Samsung Drops Patent Suits Vs Apple in South Korea

Korea-based newspaper The Chosun Ilbo reports that Samsung decides to drop its plans to sue Apple in South Korea for patent violations. According to the unnamed Samsung executive, his (or her) company will instead focus its cases in other countries.

“We concluded that we should engage in legal battles with Apple only in the global market, but not in order to gain more market share in Korea,” the senior executive stated. It is apparent that Samsung would rather maintain a positive image in its home country. You see, while Apple is a dominating brand in other countries, Samsung is the “it” brand of South Korea, where its name is plastered on almost anything from televisions to refrigerators.

The statement comes after the iPhone went on sale in Korea last weekend.

Source: The Chosun Ilbo, via Engadget

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HP Pavilion dm1z Gets Refurbished for the Business Types

HP has announced a new 11.6-inch laptop for the business market. The catch is that it’s not really new.

The HP 3115m is a newly-designed HP Pavilion dm1z, with buttoned-up specs for the astute tastes of the 1%. It comes with an AMD E-450 APU, an 11.6-inch screen with 1366 x 768 resolution, Beats Audio, flush trackpad, and a reported battery life of up to 11.5 hours. In its most basic model, the laptop features 2GB of RAM and 320GB 5400RPM hard disk drive. It also comes with HP’s Keyed Cable lock and Computrace Pro module to track your 3115m in case it gets lost or stolen and wipe its data clean.

The HP 3115m is set to be available in North and South America on November 11 with a starting price of $430, which is $30 more than the dm1z.

Source: Engadget

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Apple Confirms Bugs in iOS5

After an influx consumer reports claiming that the iOS5 is sucking the life out of iPhones faster than usual, Apple has officially acknowledged that several bugs affect the battery life of its latest mobile OS.

In a statement released to tech blog All Things D, Apple said it would “release a software update to address those [bugs] in a few weeks.”

Complaints poured in online forums in recent days about how the iPhone 4S, as well as other Apple devices updated with iOS5, is consuming a lot of battery power mainly due to its power-demanding location services, which require constant pings to server. Despite the acknowledgement, Apple has so far released the iOS 5.0.1 Beta, which supposed fixes the bugs, to developers. We may have to wait for days, or even weeks before the update would land in our hands.

In the meantime, consider bringing your charger at all times.

Source: All Things D, via Engadget

 

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Dealing with iPhone 4S’ Short Battery Life

Just 17 days after the iPhone 4S is released and users have been complaining about the smartphone’s really short battery life. Although Apple claims that the iPhone 4S runs for up to eight hours of talk time and up to six hours of 3G Internet usage, that is not the case in real life. These complaints even include iPod Touch and pre-4S iPhones that have been updated with iOS5.

It has been observed that there are possible bugs in the iOS5 that may be causing it to suck the life out of your Apple devices, such as the calendar and time zone bugs. The calendar bug involves turning your calendar app on in the Notifications Center, which causes your events to “re-order themselves near-constantly.” Users can remedy this, for now, by disabling the calendar app within the Notifications Center.

Meanwhile, the time zone bug has to do with the phone’s location services, which also consumes a lot of battery energy. Users speculate that it has to do with the constant pings to servers to update location and time zone settings. Again, it can be solved by disabling it. Go to Settings > Location Services > System Services > Setting Time Zone and toggle off the location services. However, since location services is necessary for some apps, you can selectively turn it on by going to Settings > Location Services and browse through apps that need to use your phone’s location.

Tech experts even recommend disabling a barrage of other functionalities of your iPhone 4S if you want to increase its battery life. Go into Systems Services and disable anything you deem unworthy, such as Diagnostics & Usage and certain email settings. You can also turn off WiFi and Bluetooth, as well as turn down screen brightness and even switching it to Airplane Mode to spare some more green bars.

If Apple does not take immediate action to remedy these complaints, they may get themselves into anotherAntennagate.

Source: TechCrunch

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Kingston Wi-Drive Wireless Flash Storage

Having a portable flash drive around can be quite convenient for those that need to bring lots of storage space wherever they go. But the fact that most of these storage devices still need to be connected via wires to a Pc or any other device can also be an inconvenience in itself. Flash storage maker Kingston has provided a wireless alternative with its new Kingston Wi-Drive Wireless Flash Storage.

People can now access their external flash drive wirelessly if they use the Kingston Wi-Drive. This flash drive allows especially iDevice users to share content stored on the drive wirelessly via the 802.11 g/n wireless protocol. iPhone, iPad and iPod users can connect their devices to the Wi-Drive using the WiFi feature on their device. The Wi-Drive can connect up to 3 devices simultaneously, making it easy for people to share their content using just a single wireless flash drive. Content can also be uploaded to the flash drive from a laptop or PC using a Mini-USB to USB cable. Files can also be transferred wirelessly using the Wi-Drive app. The Kingston Wi-Drive is available in16GB and 32GB capacities and costs US$120 and US$150, respectively.

Image Source: Kingston

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Humanix Electric Car Covered with Airbags

Japan-based company Humanix introduces a small electric car that no one would argue when they say it is the “safest electric vehicle in the world.” The “iSAVE-SC1″ is padded with inflated airbags from front to rear.

The electric car, which runs on three wheels, is large enough for three people. Its body is surrounded with tent cloth, which releases air upon collision to soften the impact.

The iSAVE-AC1 can run up to 50 kilometers per hour and can be charged using household 100V power plugs.

A project developed in cooperation with Hiroshima University, the iSAVE-SC1 will be available for retail in Japan come November for US$10,400, with a planned “mass production” beginning sometime next year. Humanix also set up office in San Francisco last April, which brings hope to Americans who are interested in purchasing this very safe electric car.

Source: TechCrunch

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Nokia Kinetic Prototype Bends and Twists

Visitors at the Nokia World exhibit got a surprise as a prototype product is prominently displayed in the showroom. The smartphone-like Nokia Kinetic has something that Apple and Samsung will not sue for patent infringement: A flexible OLED display.

The device comes with an OLED display that can be bent and twisted to access menus, programs, and apps. This screen may have come from Sonyor sourced from another manufacturer. Twist the device in opposite directions with both hands, for instance, to scroll through photo and music albums. Bend the display inward or outward and you can control zoom for photos, as well as activate pause and play functions. Tap the corners to pan through images.

Before you get so excited, CNET reports that Nokia Kinetic is strictly in prototype phase and will unlikely become an actual product (unless there is a clamor for it, I’m sure). Watch this YouTube clip for a demonstration.

Source: CNET, via TechCrunch

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Microsoft Finalizes Acquisition of Skype

Microsoft has finalized its acquisition of Skype, five months after it was first announced. Under the new deal, which is said to cost $8.5 billion, Skype CEO Tony Bates will be reassigned as the president of the new Skype Division of Microsoft and will have to report directly to Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer. Most of Skype employees, who are stationed in offices around the world, will remain in the team. These offices include outposts in the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Sweden, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Estonia.

“By bringing together the best of Microsoft and the best of Skype, we are committed to empowering consumers and businesses around the globe to connect in new ways,” said Bates.

Although the deal has been completed, the acquisition remains under review in several countries.

Source: Microsoft Blog, via Engadget

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Facebook Launches iPad App, Finally!

They say the reason why Facebook does not have an app for the iPad because of its disagreements over the former’s integration with Ping, Apple’s music-oriented social network. But it seems that the stalemate is over as the popular social networking site (finally) released an iPad app. The new app now enables iPad users to access their Facebook accounts without having to using a web browser. It functions just like any Facebook app–as it can be used to like, subscribe, post photos, and even play games–but it is optimized for the multitouch capabilities of the tablet. TheFacebook for iPad app is now available for free in the Apple App Store.

Facebook for iPhone users need not feel left out as features from the iPad application have also be integrated into the iPhone app. Facebook also announces that it is extending the Facebook Platform to mobile including the iPad app, iPhone/iPod app, and mobile web site. The FB Platform allows mobile developers to take advantage of social channels for search of discovery of their apps as well as the Facebook Credits payment system.

Source: New York Times, via Engadget

 

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Steve Jobs, This Was Your Life (Part 3)

(Click here for Part 1.)

(Click here for Part 2.)

Steve Job’s return to Apple as “iCEO” sparked the change for the better. In 1998, Apple released the all-in-one iMac desktop, which at the time were shaped like futuristic television sets. Consumers responded well with the iMacs, thus starting Apple’s return to profitably while ditching the products that did not work for them like the Newton.

Apple officially declared Jobs as its CEO in 2000, removing the “interim” label in the process. The “iDevices” continue to roll out with the introduction of the first version of iPod in 2001, which was released along with the iTunes software. Apple also unveils the OS X computers, which was powered with the new Mac operating system based on the NeXT software.

The success of iPod and iTunes was followed by the launch of the iTunes Music Store in 2003, which enabled iPod users to browse up to 200,000 songs and download them at 99 cents eachs. This gave consumers a convenient way to buy music legally online. The iTunes sold 1 million songs on its first week alone. The good news takes an unexpected turn in 2004 after Apple disclosed that Jobs underwent surgery for a rare but curable form of pancreatic cancer. Everybody thought he would be fine, but his illness turned out to be his life’s greatest battle.

Apple continued its momentum as it expanded the iPod line in 2005 with the tiny iPod Nano and an iPod with video playback. The company also announced that Macs from thereon will feature Intel chips. In 2006, Disney bought Pixar for $7.4 billion, making Jobs the largest individual shareholder of Disney. A year later, Apple’s first smartphone–the iPhone–was released. Its retail launch was an event on its own, as crowds camped overnight at stores to get their hands first to the new iPhone.

Jobs continued to suffer from cancer, which became more evident with his dramatic weight loss. There were even speculations in 2008 about Job’s death, which he refuted with an appearance at an Apple event. He claimed that his weight loss was caused by a “treatable hormonal imbalance.” Despite his wanting to continue to lead Apple, he went on medical leave in 2009 to undergo a liver transplant. During Jobs’ absence, COO Tim Cook took over day-to-day operations. Jobs returned to work that same year.

The iEra continued in 2010 with the iPad, which started the new market for modern-day touch-screen tablet computers. Apple sold 15 million iPads in nine months.

On January 17, 2011, Jobs announced a second medical leave to his employees. Although he still retains the CEO title, Jobs did not mention when he would return to the company. Once again, Cook stepped in on Jobs’ behalf. On August 24, Apple announced that Jobs resigned as CEO and became chairman. Cook took over as CEO upon Jobs’ recommendation.

Jobs spent his final days in his home in Palo Alto, California, until he breathed his last on October 5, 2011. It was later revealed that his death was due to respiratory failure, which was resulted from complications of pancreatic cancer.

Source: Telegraph and  Wikipedia

 

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Steve Jobs, This Was Your Life (Part 2)

(Click here for Part 1.)

The 1980s and the early 1990s are the not-so-good years for both Steve Jobs and Apple. Before 1985 ended, Jobs founded NeXT Computer, which intended to develop high-end computers for universities. The first NeXT computers were released in 1990 with a $9,999 price tag, which turned off the educational sector the product intended to cater. Like the Apple Lisa, the NeXT workstation was technologically advanced with its object-oriented software development system.

In 1986, Jobs bought The Graphics Group (later renamed Pixar) from “Star Wars” creator George Lucas for $10 million. Pixar was intended to be a high-end graphics hardware developer. The company attempted to sell the Pixar Image Computer, but it failed in the market. Pixar eventually contracted with Disney to produce computer-animated feature films, which Disney would co-finance and distribute. The partnership turned out to be a success with a string of blockbusters such as Toy Story (1995), Finding Nemo (2003), Ratatouille (2007), WALL-E (2008), and Up (2009) among others.

Jobs married Laurene Powell, a Stanford MBA graduate, on 1991 in a Zen Buddhist ceremony. The couple have a son and two daughters. Meanwhile, Apple announced an alliance with major information technology company IBM Corp. to develop new PC microprocessors and software. This was also the year when Apple unveiled its portable Macs called PowerBook.

In 1993, Apple introduced the Newton, a handheld, pen-based computer. The consumers did not respond well to the Newton as Apple reported a quarterly loss of $188 million in July. This round of financial struggles caused Apple CEO Sculley to resign and was replaced by Michael Spindler, who dramatically restructured the company. Meanwhile at NeXT, Jobs opted to focus on software development instead of whole computers.

A year later, Apple unveiled Power Macintosh computers. The devices were based on the PowerPC chip the company developed with IBM and Motorola. In what was described as a major mistake for Apple, the company licensed its operating software, which allowed other companies to “clone” the Mac computers.
The first of these clones was released by Microsoft in 1995, which ran on Windows 95 OS. This software was easier to use than previous versions of Windows, worked like the Mac system, and was released on computers that were less expensive than Macs. Apple struggled with the competition while experiencing parts shortage and mistakes in predicting customer demand. This was also the year when Toy Story was released in theaters. Riding on the movie’s success, Pixar went public on Wall Street with an IPO that raised $140 million.

Apple announced in 1996 that it would buy NeXT for $430 million, which in the process purchase the operating system Jobs and his team had developed. Jobs was appointed as an adviser to Apple, while Gil Amelio replaced Spindler as CEO. A year later, Amelio was pushed out in favor of Jobs. As an “interim” CEO, Jobs referred to himself as the “iCEO,” foreshadowing the marketing hook for Apple’s new products in the years to come.

Source: Telegraph and  Wikipedia

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Steve Jobs, This Is Your Life (Part 1)

We may have different opinions about the late Steve Jobs. Some see him as someone who created expensive products made cheaply in factories where workers’ rights were abused; while others look up to him as the man who revolutionized computer technology. Whichever your opinions about Jobs may be, we cannot argue the fact that he led a life of perseverance and the success that came from it, not to mention the legacy he left.

Jobs was born in San Francisco out of wedlock and was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs of Mountain View, California. He learned later in life about his biological parents after hiring a private detective to track them down: Abdulfattah John Jandali is a Syrian Muslim immigrant to the United States and currently a vice president of a hotel-casino in Reno Nevada, while Joanne Schieble (later Simpson), is a speech language pathologist. Although Simpson’s parents did not approve of her marrying a Syrian, which Jandali claimed was the cause of putting Steve up for adoption, the two eventually married and produced Job’s biological sister, novelist Mona Simpson whom he enjoyed a close relationship since they met as adults in 1986. Jobs never contacted Jandali and never discussed openly about him.

While Jobs was in high school, he frequently attended after-school lectures at the Hewlett-Packard Company in Palo Alto, California. He, along with friend Steve Wozniak, was later hired in HP as a summer employee. In 1972, Jobs enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Although he dropped out after just one semester, Jobs continued auditing classes at Reed, which means he never received grades or credit. Jobs returned to California in the fall of 1974 and began attending meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club with Wozniak. He worked as a technician at Atari, which at the time produced popular video games, with an intent to save enough money for a spritual retreat to India. He was able to make the trip and came back as a Buddhist.

On April Fool’s Day 1976, Jobs and Wozniak founded Apple Computer after they created a new computer circuit board. A third co-founder, Ronald Wayne, left the company after less than two weeks. Their first product, the Apple I computer, went on sale that summer for $666.66. A year later, Apple was incorporate by its founders and a group of venture capitalists. The company then unveiled Apple II, the first personal computer with color graphics. It became so successful, Apple’s revenue reached $1 million.

Job’s relationship with painter Chrisann Brennan bore a daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, in 1978. Jobs denied paternity, claiming he was sterile. Lisa was raised on welfare for two years, but was later acknowledge by Jobs as his daughter. She grew up to become a graduate of Harvard University and work as a writer.

Jobs visited the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in 1979 and saw the commercial potetial of its mouse-drive graphical user interface, which led to the creation of the Macintosh. A year later, Apple went public and was able to raise $110 million, making it one of the biggest initial public offerings yet. Apple then reached its first billion in revenue in 1982.

Apple unveiled the Lisa computer in 1983 with much fanfare, only to be pulled off the shelves two years later. It was also this year when Jobs lured John Sculley away from Pepsico Inc. to serve as Apple’s CEO, where Jobs famously asked: “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?” The first Macintosh computer went on sale in 1984 with an iconic commercial inspired from the novel “1984″ shown during the Super Bowl.

Life was not all roses in Apple during the mid-1980s. An industry-wide sales slump during 1984 caused a deterioration in Job’s working relationship with Sculley, which caused an internal power struggle and significant layoffs because of disappointing sales. At the end of May 1985, Sculley fired Jobs from his duties as head of the Macintosh division. Wozniak also resigns from Apple that year.

Source: Telegraph and Wikipedia

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BlackBerry Messenger Coming to Android?

The BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) has always been the prime feature in any BlackBerry handset, which allows messaging between BB users via the BlackBerry PIN system. But recent leaked images posted on TechnoBuffalo show the private messaging service being run through Android.

The pics, according to the source, were supposedly taken by an RIM employee. It shows off the BBM for Android app running on a developer phone. Apart from the application’s icon and account interface, nothing much can be seen from the photos.

The photos can either be an elaborate hoax or Research In Motion does have plans to bring the BBM into Android.

Source: TechnoBuffalo, via Engadget

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“Invisible Key” Unlocks by Hand Gestures

A faculty member from an institute in Taiwan has developed a technology that enables a person to unlock a door with a simple hand gesture. Tsai Yao-Pin of Technology and Science Institute of Northern Taiwan introduces the “invisible key,” which uses a special chip-and-accelerometer combo integrated into the lock.

The chip is able to track users’ hand movements in three dimensions, and these gestures can be saved for future use. Users can simply flash these saved hand motions in front of the lock to deactivate it. With the “invisible key” concept, Tsai and his school won the Gold Award at the Taipei International Invention Show last weekend.

The invention does sound innovative on paper, but like physical keys, hand movements can be duplicated.

Source: Geek, via TechCrunch

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Another Company Sues Nintendo for Patent Infringement

Taking the cue from ThinkOptics, another little-known company sues Nintendo for patent infringement over the Wii. UltimatePointer owns the patent titled “Easily Deployable Interactive Direct-Pointing System and Presentation Control System and Calibration Method Therefor” (7,746,321), which controls “movement of a computer display cursor based on a point-of-aim of a pointing device within an interaction region includes projecting an image of a computer display to create the interaction region.” Note that UltimatePointer’s product, the Upoint Laser, has yet to break out of testing phase and is not currently on the market.


Like ThinkOptics, UltimatePointer claims that Nintendo knew its products were infringing the patent in question before it was officially issued on June 29, 2010. And Like ThinkOptics, UltimatePointer also filed their complaint with the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Texas, which tends to favor the patent owner. The plaintiff also included retailers like JJ Games, Best Buy, Game Stop, RadioShack, Sam’s, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Sears, Dell, and many others in the suit.


It would be interesting how the court would decide on a patent infringement claim with the patent holder has not yet released its products.


Source: Gamasutra, via TechCrunch

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Microsoft Mislabels Google Chrome as Malware

Microsoft made a mistake of identifying Google Chrome browser as a malware. On September 30, Microsoft’s built-in Security Essentials suite has labelled the “alternative” browser as having the “PWS:Win32/Zbot” malware, causing Chrome to be removed from PCs and prohibited from reinstalling. The false alarm was probably caused by an unspecified Chrome’s seamless updates.


Although the company behind the popular Windows OS has corrected the problem on the same day, it could not be helped but speculate whether Microsoft is just giving users of browsers other than its own Internet Explorer a very bad day. The market share of Internet Explorer is dropping as many Windows users choose alternative web browsers like Firefox and Chrome.


Meanwhile, Google has released an update that automatically repairs the Chrome browser for affected users. This requires tinkering on Security Essentials and reinstalling the browser.


Source: TechCrunch

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How To Enable/Disable New Facebook Timeline Profile NOW?

It is evaluated as the most profound changes which can be new Facebook’s evolution, what Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote at the f8 conference in San Francisco Thursday (Sept 22nd, 2011) is not only a challenge to Google Plus and other social networks but also makes 800 million users fell both enjoyable and anxiety.

The interface change with TimeLine feature in redesign is the most intriguing. It is a new style of profile which is full of breakthrough.

How to Enable TimeLine Profile Feature?

If you’re willing to get into the brand-new Facebook Timeline, let’s follow some simple steps bellow:
- Login Facebook and access the developer app (click on Allow button)

- Click on Create New App button to create a new application (enter App display name, App namespace and captcha code). Don’t be worried, it’s a silent app!

- On your new app, click on Open Graph tab, fill in anything you want then click on Get Start button.


- Now, come back your Facebook profile, the TimeLine feature appears. Click on Get it now to enable the redesign profile with TimeLine.

How to Disable TimeLine Profile Feature?

If you’re still not ready with the new interface and want to return to the old, let’s visit the Developer App again to click on the app which you created, then click on Delete App and confirm to disable.

Do you like the new interface of Facebook?

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Logitech Harmony Link Turns iPad into Universal Remote Control

Harmony by Logitech has made some of the best universal remotes, but this latest product turns smartphones and tablets into univeral remotes. The product comes in two parts: Harmony Link hardware and the Harmony Link app.

The hardware comes as a disc that is placed near the user’s entertainment system and serves as the link between the new controller and the equipment via local WiFi. The backside of the disc has tiny IR blasters that can control the cable box, TV, and A/V hardware. Logitech claims that the Harmony Link can replace up to eight remote controls.


Meanwhile, the app turns the iPad into a Harmony universal remote. Apart from using the touchscreen as a remote control, the iPad app also allows users to browse for TV programs. They can slide through the interactive TV listings and press “Watch Now” to switch the TV into the appropriate station. Although the app only works for iPad, Logitech will come up with an iPhone and Android app that will only display activity buttons and device controls.


The Logitech Harmony Link is expected to hit stores on October with a $99 suggested retail price.


Source: Logitech, via TechCrunch

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Facebook Introduces New Profile “Timeline”

And you thought the barrage of Facebook’s new features would stop for now, but no. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled during the f8 conference in San Francisco the next stage of the popular social networking service, starting with an updated format on the user profile he calls “Timeline.”

Zuckerberg notes that the old Facebook profile is like the user’s most recent five minutes, while the updated profile from 2008 extends to the last 15 minutes. The Timeline, according the Zuckerberg, is “the rest.” Facebook describes Timeline as the story of the user’s life.


The new profile… er, Timeline… looks more visual, with early reviews saying that it looks like “a really nice Tumblr blog.” It consists of three main parts: A section where all the user’s stories are placed, another section for all the user’s apps, and a new way to express the user’s status. Timeline can retrieve personal data from as far back as the user’s beginnings in Facebook, which can be pretty embarrassing for some. You know, like how you don’t like your high school year book photo be brought back again.


The Facebook Timeline also works on mobile phones, which Zuckerberg briefly showed on an iPhone screen during the presentation. It features the same idea, but only in a more condensed execution.

This update is expected to gradually roll out on Facebook over the next couple of months.


Source: TechCrunch (1) and (2)

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Google+ Now in Beta Stage, Available to Public

Google+ has officially ended its field trial and now enters beta stage, thus making the social network war even more interesting and Facebook becoming more agitated with its flurry of new Gplus-esque features–but that’s another story. With the beta stage, Google+ is now available to everyone. No invitation is required, but users are still required to create a Google account.

The social networking service from Google also lays out a number of updates, including improvements to the Hangouts video chat. Users can now perform Hangouts straight from their mobile phones, although only on Android 2.3+ for now. There is also a new Hangouts On Air feature for public broadcasts, as well as several extra features like Hangouts APIs, screensharing, a sketchpad, and shared Google Docs.


Google has also added search functionality across the Plus, as users can now surf for people and topics on the search bar. It has also renamed the Huddle group chat to Messenger, complete with a number of new tweaks. You can read more about it on Google’s official blog at the source link.


Source: Google Official Blog, via Engadget

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