Apple Granted Patent for Head-Mounted Computing Device
Very quietly this week, Apple was granted a patent on a head mounted display device on an application filed back in 2006. While Google was conducting a knockout demo of Google Glass, Apple was busy applying for a broad patent on the same basic process. It looks like litigious Apple Corp is setting up for another epic court battle somewhere on down the road.Thanks to [H] member Sly for the heads up.
Google's patent is very specific to Google Glass — it's for a wearable display with an integrated finger-tracking input sensor. Apple's on the other hand, seems pretty broad, covering a variety of head mounted display technology implementations.
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Stupid Crook of the Day
Rule #1: Never try to rip off a company known for keeping track of millions of items 24/7/365. An Amazon employee thought he would test that rule and steal over $160k worth of iPods and HP laptops over a month's time period. Amazon will now be tracking the ex-employee from warehouse to courthouse and ultimately to the end-user, who in this case, will be the big house.
There's no word on what the former Amazon worker did with his haul, let alone how he smuggled 726 iPod touch boxes and 49 HP laptops out of the warehouse during that time.
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'Exploding' Samsung Galaxy S3 Mystery Solved
Several weeks ago there was an alarming claim from a Galaxy S3 owner that the phone spontaneously exploded. The report quickly spread over the Internet causing some fear of using or buying the Galaxy S3, which greatly concerned Samsung, so the company naturally investigated. The investigation yielded a slightly different cause for the explosion and fire.
Galaxy SIII owners can now rest assured that, unless they nuke their phones, they aren't likely to witness any traumatic explosions from their devices.
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Windows Home Server Discontinued
This week Microsoft announced the discontinuation of the Windows Home Server. The current version, WHS 2011 will be the last version produced and will be available as a standalone copy until the end of 2013 and as a preinstalled OEM until 2025.
So the home server dream is dead, and the nearest direct equivalent—Windows Server 2012 Essentials—costs substantially more ($425, compared to about $50).
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Apple Removes Green Electronics Certification from Products
In a move that surprised many in the industry, Apple has requested that EPEAT pull the certification on 39 Apple products from its list of green products. Apple offered no explanation for the move to de-certify its products.
"They were important supporters and we are disappointed that they don't want their products measured by this standard anymore."
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Japanese Researchers Transmit Electricity through Concrete
Staying ahead of the curve is the name of the game and the next generation of electric cars may just be receiving its power wirelessly directly through the road bed. A group of researchers from the Toyohashi University showed off their wireless transmission technology at a trade show in Yokohama.
To put the technology into practical use, the electric power needs to be increased by 100 times. But the group said that the parts needed for it are relatively cheap and that there is no major problem.
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Activision Reveals Its Own Walking Dead Shooter
Not a company to pass on an opportunity to capitalize on the zombie craze, Activision will be offering a new first-person shooter game based on the very popular The Walking Dead TV series. The action will center around the two brothers, Daryl and Merle Dixon in their quest to reach Atlanta.
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Facebook Kills Face.com Face-Recognition APIs, KLIK App
Facebook bought Face.com in June and the future looked bright for Gil Hirsch, founder of the facial recognition software company, but not so. In a recent email Hirsch informed developers that the company will be closing down access to the face recognition API within a month. Face.com seems to have gone proprietary.
"Also surprising given their announcement at acquisition they would support existing developers."
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Windows 8 boots 55.26% Faster Than Windows 7
We have heard that the boot times would be phenomenal with Windows 8 and recent testing is bearing out the claim. Testing is being done on the unfinished version of Windows 8, but even in the incomplete state, W8 is showing W7 a few things about fast boot and several other important areas.
In short, what PC Magazine has tested partially confirms that Microsoft has made sufficiently large strides to take Windows to the tablet form factor.
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Raspberry Pi Model A Makes First Appearance
Somebody should teach the guys over at the Raspberry Pi Foundation their ABC's. For some strange reason they decided to release version B first, followed by the Model A, to be released sometime in the near future. Pictures finally emerged of the new Model A this week, albeit a bit fuzzy, that shows the stripped down $25 version.
The board looks very similar to the Model B, but is obviously missing a few components. The good news is the board looks to have the same layout otherwise, so the same cases should work.
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Stolen AT&T Smartphones Get Lockdown Sequence
Beginning July 12th, AT&T will be providing a stolen phone database which will allow owners of stolen phones to report the thefts and have their phones locked down against unauthorized usage. AT&T is the first major carrier in the US to institute this service and will be joined by the other major carriers soon.
Lockdowns will supposedly occur basically instantaneously once a theft is reported, but the possibility that users will then later be able to unlock the device should they recover them remains unknown.
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Mozilla Pulling the Plug on Thunderbird Development
Mozilla is set to make an announcement on Monday that it will no longer be putting any resources into the development of Thunderbird, according to a report from TechCrunch. The company will shift its resources to other projects, possibly concentrating on its ongoing Kilimanjaro project.
"We have come to the conclusion that continued innovation on Thunderbird is not the best use of our resources given our ambitious organizational goals."
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British Airways Will Google Passengers Ahead of Flights
British Airways is taking customer service to a new level and raising a few eyebrows in doing so. The airline will be using Google to put an image with the passenger as well as other personal information to create a personal dossier allowing airline staff to better serve the customer.
"We're essentially trying to recreate the feeling of recognition you get in a favorite restaurant when you're welcomed there, but in our case it will be delivered by thousands of staff to millions of customers."
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Court Grants Temporary Reprieve on Galaxy Nexus Ban
A federal appeals court has issued a temporary restraining order on a lower court's temporary injunction against Samsung sales of the Galaxy Nexus. Confused? Well, don't worry, it's just temporary.
Although the ban is temporarily on hold, Apple has until Thursday to submit papers to the appeals court arguing why the ban should continue while Samsung pursues its appeal.
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Best Buy Cuts 2,400 More Jobs
As part of Best Buy's restructuring program, it was announced on Friday that the company will be cutting an additional 2400 jobs in its quest to reduce costs by $800M by 2015.
About six hundred of the jobs will be from its 20,000-person Geek Squad service and repair unit with the other 1,800 coming from store staff.
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