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- LG Intuition spied in press shots, leaves one piece of the puzzle left to go
- Insert Coin: SmartThings wants to connect your dog, mailbox and kitchen cabinets to the internet
- Inhabitat's Week in Green: a locomotive that runs on hydrogen, honey detective and a 30 mph-capable hover bike
- Raspberry Pi lands MPEG-2 and VC-1 decoding through personal licenses, H.264 encoding and CEC tag along
- NASA to launch mini lab, test for cancer and disease in space
- Personal Energy Orb Arduino project knows you haven't been exercising, cripples your computer
- LG teases that Optimus G will have 768p gapless display, long-lifespan battery
- Ask Engadget: best robot cleaner for stone tile floors?
- Mobile Miscellany: week of August 20th, 2012
- IDC: iPhone wait cuts Apple's China phone share by nearly half, Lenovo seizes the opportunity
- Alt-week 8.25.12: robotic noses, Nodosaurs and Space X launches again
- Editorial: Engadget on the Apple vs. Samsung ruling
- Pioneering astronaut Neil Armstrong dies at 82
| LG Intuition spied in press shots, leaves one piece of the puzzle left to go Posted: 26 Aug 2012 11:04 AM PDT The LG Intuition may be one of Verizon's more poorly-kept secrets of recent memory. Apart from LG itself having confirmed that an Optimus Vu rebranding is due for the US within weeks, there's been pricing and even an uncannily detailed FCC filing to fill in the gaps. Why not throw official press images into the mix? From the renders DroidDog has managed to obtain, the Intuition is a bit more than just a one-for-one port of the original Korean phablet. While Verizon's influence is light outside of that attention-grabbing logo, there's a switch-up in the navigation keys to reflect that Android 4.0 will be there from the beginning -- a nice break from the ancient-feeling Android 2.3 layout of the original. About the only question left at this stage is that of the exact release date. There's a September 15th mention in one of the images, but we all know how dates in press imagery can be misleading. |
| Insert Coin: SmartThings wants to connect your dog, mailbox and kitchen cabinets to the internet Posted: 26 Aug 2012 09:29 AM PDT In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. Sometimes you just can't remember if you turned off the toaster oven before leaving the house. Sitting at work, you might wonder, "is my house burning down?" or "should I go home and check?" You could run home, of course, or you could just link that croissant cooker up to the internet and switch it off from your phone. SmartThings promises to let you do just that, offering a system that connects everyday physical objects to a cloud-based control center. The project aims to provide users with a bevy of end-devices -- automatic door locks, thermostats, humidity sensors, presence sensors, power outlet switches and more -- that connect to a router-like SmartThings hub. From here the user can easily see and control these devices on the SmartThings mobile app. That alone would be pretty handy -- but the SmartThings team decided to take it a step further by building SmartApps, that is, applications for further customizing how SmartThings devices (and the user) interact with the every day objects they're attached to. The platform is going to remain open, too, allowing owners and developers to build custom applications to fit their needs. Better still, the project is on a tight time line, and aims to put its product in backer hands by December -- of course, it'll have to reach its $250,000 Kickstarter goal first. Check out the team's pitch after the break, or hit up the source link below for more details. Previous project update: The Quikdraw has wrangled an additional $10k in pledges since we saw them on Friday, putting them over the hump. With more then half of its funding locked down 23 days to go, this crowdsourced holster is definitely quick on the draw. |
| Posted: 26 Aug 2012 07:00 AM PDT Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Inhabitat is always on the lookout for new and interesting innovations, but some of the things that flashed across our screens this week truly defy the rules of physics. Take, for example, the story of 51-year-old Chinese man Sun Jifa, who lost both of his arms in an explosion and built his own bionic hands out of scrap metal. Building functional prosthetic limbs is one thing, but doing it without the aid of fingers? That's downright mind-blowing. We were also pretty excited to hear that a California-based tech company has developed a working hover bike that travels up to 30 mph. It isn't quite ready for a high-speed chase in the forest a la Star Wars, but it still looks pretty cool. And in another amazing development, a team of Harvard researchers has figured out a way to store 70 billion books in a space the size of your thumbnail. In green architecture news, word has just come out that Facebook has commissioned Bilbao-famed starchitect Frank Gehry to design a green extension to the Facebook Menlo Park campus - complete with a massive, walkable green roof! In advance of the 2012 Solar Decathlon Europe, we brought you a preview of some of the top solar-powered houses in the competition. First, we took a look at the Brazilian Ekó House, a modular home that takes inspiration from the Tupi-Guarani people and that features a composting toilet. We also checked in on Team Rhône-Alpes' gorgeous solar-powered urban habitat with a vertical farm and Germany's ECOLAR house, which features a solar array that produces more energy than the home uses. IBM also set a new record for photovoltaic cell efficiency, and we explored how high-tech buildings influence other forms of design as we brought you nine different garments inspired by architecture. Does Los Angeles seem less smoggy these days? It ought to, because according to a new report, vehicle pollutants in LA have dropped an astounding 98 percent since the 1960s. In Sacramento, Stanford University's self-driving car hit 120 mph in a test drive, and in Ann Arbor, Mich., a small army of "smart," WiFi-connected cars were deployed to help researchers better understand how to reduce traffic and pollution. Meanwhile, students at the University of Birmingham recently built the UK's first hydrogen-powered locomotive. We're also pretty excited about Pure Fix's Kilo Glow bike, a glow-in-the-dark bike frame that help make cyclists more visible at night. And for those cyclists who want to be safe but can't stand to be seen wearing a helmet, the world's first "invisible" bike helmet is now for sale. We also explored several pressing environmental issues as record levels of radiation were found in fish near Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant and we delved into the Gates of Hell -- a burning gas crater in Turkmenistan that has been ablaze for 41 years. And do you know what's in your honey jar? Some of the honey that's sold in the US isn't even honey at all. Honey detective Vaughn Bryant analyzes pollen traces left by bees in honey to determine if it's legit and where it came from. Finally, we continued our back-to-school coverage by rounding up the top six kids backpacks of the year and we put together a week-long menu of bento box ideas. And don't forget to enter to win a Voltaic laptop-charging backpack stuffed with $500 worth of back-to-school supplies! |
| Posted: 26 Aug 2012 04:20 AM PDT Making the Raspberry Pi affordable involved some tough calls, including the omission of MPEG-2 decoding. Licensing fees alone for the video software would have boosted the board's price by approximately 10 percent. Now, after many have made media centers with the hardware, the foundation behind the project has whipped up a solution to add the missing codec. For $3.16, users can purchase an individual MPEG-2 license for each of their boards on the organization's online store. Partial to Microsoft's VC-1 standard? Rights to using Redmond's codec can be purchased for $1.58. H.264 encoding is also in the cards since OpenMax components needed to develop applications with the functionality are now enabled by default in the device's latest firmware. With CEC support thrown into the Raspbmc, XBian and OpenELEC operating systems, a single IR remote can control a Raspberry Pi, a TV and other connected gadgets. If you're ready to load up your Pi with its newfound abilities, hit the source link below. Update: The Raspberry Pi Foundation let us know that US customers won't have to pay sales tax, which means patrons will only be set back $3.16 for MPEG-2 and $1.58 for VC-1 support, not $3.79 and $1.90 for the respective licenses. We've updated the post accordingly. |
| NASA to launch mini lab, test for cancer and disease in space Posted: 26 Aug 2012 01:43 AM PDT It's hard to find a good specialist on earth, let alone when you're floating 240 miles above it. That's why NASA will test the Microflow, a breadbox-sized device that instantly detects cancer and infectious diseases, and can even sense the presence of rotten food. The Canadian-made device is a "flow cytometer," which works by analyzing microparticles in blood or other fluids and replaces hospital versions weighing hundreds of pounds. Here on Earth, the device could let people in remote communities be tested more quickly for disease, or permit on-site testing of food quality, for instance. It will be particularly advantageous in space, however, where Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield will test it during his six-month ISS mission, allowing crew to monitor, diagnose and treat themselves without outside help. Now, if we could just get it down to a hand size, and use some kind of radio waves instead -- oh wait, that's not until Stardate -105352.
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| Personal Energy Orb Arduino project knows you haven't been exercising, cripples your computer Posted: 25 Aug 2012 11:19 PM PDT
Spending too much time indoors? You need a Personal Energy Orb, a glowing Arduino powered ball that allows you to trade physical exertion for a tolerable mouse speed. Developed by two students at the University of Munich for a physical computing course, the PEO connects to a bike-mounted revolution counter to note how far a user rides, counting the total distance toward usable time on a computer. A fully "charged" green orb will allow a user to use their PC unhindered -- but a spent red orb will drag Windows' cursor sensitivity settings to its lowest. The idea, the project's creators say, is to annoy the user off of the computer and back on to their bike. It sure sounds aggravating to us. Check out the full homework assignment at the source link below, complete with goals, follies and Python scripts. |
| LG teases that Optimus G will have 768p gapless display, long-lifespan battery Posted: 25 Aug 2012 10:55 PM PDT LG must know that word of the Optimus G has been spoiled, even if it's not quite ready to put all its cards on the table. While it's only acknowledging the phone's identity under a 'G' codename, the Korean electronics giant is willing to talk a lot about what's under the hood. Among the truly new revelations: that uncommonly wide 1,280 x 768 screen, now called the G2 Touch Hybrid Display, is a 30 percent thinner gapless panel that puts the LCD right near the glass in a way that just might be familiar to HTC One X owners. We don't know for certain if it's one of those newly-shipping in-cell touch panels, but that name certainly suggests LG is setting aside a few of those cutting-edge LCDs for itself. There's also a treat in store for those who work their phones to the bone -- a newly refined battery can go through 800 full recharge cycles before it gives up the ghost, or about 60 percent more than we've seen in the past. Combine these with the quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro we already knew was coming, and the Optimus G could be quite the technology showcase for both LG's native South Korea as well as the US through a possible Sprint model. |
| Ask Engadget: best robot cleaner for stone tile floors? Posted: 25 Aug 2012 08:00 PM PDT We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Anthony, who needs some robotic help keeping his stone floors clean. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.
We love original and different questions like this, the more original and different the better, so let's help this gentleman out. It's the old story of the high-tech being flustered by the stone age, but what's the solution? Is it the iRobot Scooba, with its squeegee apparatus tucked underneath, or something else? Why not share your considerable experiences in the comments below. |
| Mobile Miscellany: week of August 20th, 2012 Posted: 25 Aug 2012 06:15 PM PDT Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week was a bit slow, but we've managed to dig up a couple interesting MeeGo tidbits, along with an excellent utility for Nexus 7 / OS X users -- something to help you in the pursuit of slack. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of August 20th, 2012. Kindle Cloud Reader app comes to MeeGo
The ability to read Amazon e-books from MeeGo devices has existed ever since the birth of the Kindle Cloud Reader, but for those who'd prefer an alternative to the web browser, well... there's now an app for that. Enter Firestarter for the Nokia N9 and N950, which was recently submitted for approval to the Ovi Store. The interface leaves a bit to be desired, as gesture-based scrolling isn't part of the mix, but the app also includes a nice workaround -- the ability to scroll and turn pages with the volume keys. Just check out the video to see what's in store. [My Nokia Blog] Jolla's MeeGo handsets to include Android app compatibility While the MeeGo platform may have a newfound Kindle app, the overall ecosystem still leaves much to be desired. Fortunately, that'll be less of an issue for owners of MeeGo handsets from Jolla, as the company has announced the inclusion of the Android Compatibility Layer (ACL) from OpenMobile, and like the name suggests, it brings the ability to run Android apps. If you've yet to see ACL in action, there's no time like the present to take a peek. [SlashGear] PSA: AT&T's shared data plans now available Perhaps you've already seen the billboards in front of AT&T stores, but if not, the carrier's Mobile Share data plans may now be added to subscriber accounts. For a detailed breakdown of the latest pricing scheme -- and to determine if you'll save any money -- be sure to check out our comparison of AT&T and Verizon's data share plans. [CrackBerry, AT&T] Acer Liquid Gallant Duo now available for pre-order from Expansys UK You might've missed it, but Acer launched its dual-SIM Liquid Gallant Duo this week. While we were treated to a full list of specs for the Android 4.0 smartphone, its price remained a bit of a mystery. Thanks to Expansys, however, you can start litera... figuratively camping at the storefront, as the Liquid Gallant Duo is now available for pre-order in the UK. The white variant can be had for £148 ($234), whereas the black version will set you back an extra quid. Keep in mind, however, that companies such as Expansys often charge a premium for the chance to be first in line, and you're likely to see the price drop in the future. [Unwired View, Expansys] Nexus 7 Toolkit for OS X: all the essentials for rooting and unlocking at your disposal Have a Nexus 7 tablet and a Mac? How about a burning urge to attain root access or install custom ROMs? If so, you'll most certainly want to check out the Nexus 7 Toolkit, a collection of scripts for OS X that'll provide root access, unlock / lock the bootloader, and install ClockworkMod Recovery. While each of the feats are rather simple to accomplish, the Nexus 7 Toolkit also includes a handy script to return your tablet to the factory software image -- think of it as cheap insurance. [Droid Life] |
| IDC: iPhone wait cuts Apple's China phone share by nearly half, Lenovo seizes the opportunity Posted: 25 Aug 2012 04:45 PM PDT There's a lot of talk of a new iPhone coming soon, and the Chinese know it. IDC researchers estimate that Apple's share of smartphones in the country was sliced almost in half during the second quarter, to 10 percent, as expectations and rumors led the local population to wait for the big update. Better competition also played a part in denting iPhone shipments, although it's not Apple's chief rival Samsung who's responsible. Rather, it's China's own Lenovo that had the most impact. It broke into the double digits with a second-place 11 percent share thanks to recently started indirect sales of its Android-dominated lineup, while Samsung saw its own share dip slightly to 19 percent. Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei bracketed Apple at third and fifth. We wouldn't be surprised if the balance of power shifts in about a month, but the impacts to Apple and Samsung alike show just how tough it can be to stay on top in one of the fastest-growing markets on Earth -- especially one with so many local brands. |
| Alt-week 8.25.12: robotic noses, Nodosaurs and Space X launches again Posted: 25 Aug 2012 03:30 PM PDT Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days. All good things come to an end, they say. Thankfully, most bad things do, too. So while the rest of the world of tech is dealing with the fallout, and possible implications of patent law, over here in the wild party that is Alt, we're fist pumping at all the awesome weekly sci-tech fodder. For example, we've got a robo-nose that can sniff out nasties in the air, a 110-million-year-old footprint found in NASA's back yard, and not one, but two space stories to reflect on. There's a hidden joke in there too, come back once you've read through to find it. This is alt-week. Electronic hands and arms are -- relatively speaking -- fairly commonplace. In fact, most of our extremities and senses have cropped up in digital form one way or another. This includes the humble nose. We've seen them sniff out air contaminents and cancer before, but this time 'round it's lung-fulls of harmful poisons, such as biological weapons and gas leaks. The technology is based on research by Nosang Myung, a professor at the University of California, Riverside. With a size of four by seven inches, this has real world application in areas such as farming, industry and security. However, the developers hope to reduce its footprint even further, to about the size of a credit card, which could see it pop up in even more places. We know this is a serious business, but for once, we'd love an anatomically correct housing to be developed for it. It'd certainly spruce up those drab, dark warehouse corners. From the top of the body, we now go to the other extreme -- the foot. Not just any foot, either (although, also, not a robotic one), as this hoof belongs to something called a Nodosaur. The more astute among you might have already figured out that this is a prehistoric creature, possibly roaming the earth some 110- to 112-million years ago. Madness. Also, where do you think you might find such evidence of an other-worldly creature? Why, on the grounds of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center of course. We kid you not. The print was discovered by dino-tracker Ray Stanford, who says the creature would have been an armored leaf-eater of some stature, describing it as a four-footed tank. Also, if you ever meet iron-oxide or hematite, buy them a drink, as it's their presence in the soil that gave us such a good preservation. "Almost like concrete" says Stanford.
You might wonder how something like a dinosaur footprint could go unnoticed for so long, but then we remember how busy the teams at NASA must be. Proof of this dedication came to light this week with the news that the mirrors for the James Webb Space Telescope are now ready. There are 18 mirror sections in total, each of them gold plated and ultra-smooth. Once launched -- sometime in 2018 hopefully -- the 4.2-foot hexagonal sections will be the largest mirror ever flown in space. This should hopefully help it add to the work of Hubble, peering deep into the universe to help better understand the big bang and investigate alien planets. Certainly something to think about, the next time you're staring at your own tired visage with your own humble mirror during your morning routine. If 2018 is a little too long for you to wait until your next space-launch fix, then fear not. Space X recently revealed that the first of its 12 planned cargo runs to the ISS will take place in October. The news comes after NASA announced that Space X was fully certified to shuttle (as it were) cargo up to the permanent space station. Of course, you may remember Space X carrying out a similar mission recently, which it turns out was apparently just a practice run! With so many flights planned, they'll also likely be pleased to find out that scientists are pretty sure, now, that the universe is smooth, rather than fractal in nature as previously suggested by some camps. Should make for a smoother ride at least, not that they'd be going quite far enough for that really to be an issue. Maybe some day! [Image credits: NASA, Space X, USC] Seen any other far-out articles that you'd like considered for Alt-week? Working on a project or research that's too cool to keep to yourself? Drop us a line at alt [at] engadget [dot] com. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Editorial: Engadget on the Apple vs. Samsung ruling Posted: 25 Aug 2012 02:30 PM PDT It's done. It's all over. There's nothing left now but the tears, the big checks -- and the appeals. After weeks of laborious deliberations and no shortage of courtroom antics the jury has issued its verdict and, while it isn't a complete victory for Apple, it's most certainly a loss for Samsung. Naturally, we have some thoughts on the subject. Join us after the break as we express our feelings. Tim Stevens
As a software developer at heart, I couldn't help but wince while watching all the rulings come in, the majority indicating that Samsung's implementation of various features like pinch-zooming and bounce-scrolling did indeed infringe on Apple's. This means that, at face value, Apple owns that functionality, so others who want it are going to have to take extraordinary measures on the implementation side to dance around conflicts. This, without doubt, will give Android hardware and software makers -- and indeed Google itself -- something to think about in the coming weeks. The $1.05 billion ruling is of course the first ramification here, but I'm concerned about what's next. Will we go back to tap-zooming on other devices? Will grids of icons be off-limits going forward? Ultimately that could mean that creative designers and developers will come up with new ways around these restrictions -- there's nothing like a limited set of tools to inspire creativity -- but I'm concerned that this ruling will stifle progress in the short-term. I'm also concerned about how this ruling has substantially increased the potency of Apple's patent arsenal. While this tactical strike was an almost unmitigated victory, should Apple push the big red button again we might be knocking on the door of Mutually Assured Patent Destruction. The creative geniuses in Cupertino have every right to protect their creations, and as this verdict shows they can and will do so quite successfully, but I hope their role going forward is that of sagely stewards open to partnerships, not prickly defenders throwing landmines across the field of consumer electronics. Darren MurphThis is going to come off cynical, but it is what it is. There was zero doubt that Apple would win this. None. Looking at the closing arguments alone, it was plainly obvious that showing a jury full of laypeople Product A vs. Product B and asking them -- in a roundabout way -- if they looked alike would lead to an Apple victory. But the thing that really burns me up is that Samsung was on the other end of this. Why not Motorola? Why not HTC? Why not every Android smartphone maker since 2007? The brutal truth is that Samsung was simply made an example of because it's the only phone maker in the world that's actually pulling in meaningful profits besides Apple. I've been told that this trial isn't about tech editors and avid followers of technology -- these folks can clearly see that a Samsung product and an Apple product are not the same. But let's be honest: the notion that consumers could have been willfully deceived that an Android-based Samsung phone was an iPhone is pathetic. There's a giant "Samsung" logo on it. It's about as absurd as suggesting that someone could be duped into buying a Honda Odyssey instead of a Dodge Grand Caravan. They're both minivans after all, right? And let's not even start on iOS 5's pull-down Notification Center, which was unquestionably spotted in other mobile operating systems. Oh, and iMessage? Nah -- I've never seen that idea implemented anywhere prior. The reality is that Android has made iOS better, and iOS has made Android better. The competition has led to stronger offerings on both sides for consumers of all ages, and if you want my honest opinion, Apple succeeded in derailing Samsung long before this trial ended. Just look at the Galaxy Note 10.1. It's a truly disappointing piece, largely because it was intentionally designed to not be as awesome as the iPad. And make no mistake -- it's a far cry from being an iPad. In the end, consumers will lose. Companies high and low are scrapping potentially amazing product ideas right now for fear of legal retaliation. Not just from Apple -- this ruling is way, way bigger than that -- but from any company with a patent on [insert obscure shape here]. I hope we're happy. Jon FingasEspecially as I own technology from both companies, I have incredibly mixed feelings about the verdict. I agree with many of you that software patents ought to be curbed or even given the boot -- they often cast too wide a net, and some of them have workarounds so trivial that you wonder why the patent holder bothered. If it were up to me, Apple wouldn't sue over software patents at all. You'll even catch me agreeing that a few things like multi-touch are closer to being "obvious" features that wouldn't justify patents to begin with, even if their exact implementations aren't as simple as some would like to imagine.
This lawsuit also included trade dress complaints, however, and it's hard to simply give Samsung a pass in this area, as good as its devices can be. For me, most of the issue centers around the original Galaxy S. That conspicuous bottom app tray? The sheer number of similar, unnecessarily square icons? The particular hardware styling of certain variants, including the Fascinate? They raise eyebrows, and none of them were either built into Android or reflected in phones from peers like HTC. No, I don't think Samsung was hoping to outright confuse buyers with Galaxy S models, but it certainly feels like the company wanted to ride Apple's wave of success and garner a similar amount of cachet without as much effort. I just can't let that slide, as much as I want to. The good news is that Samsung has (mostly) turned the corner with phones like the Galaxy S III; despite all the legal scrutiny over software, it's proof that Samsung can go on a more distinct path. That equal frustration with either party leads me to think that, really, the escalating patent wars between Apple and Samsung just need to come to an end. Apple, you can't truly destroy Android through lawsuits. Samsung, you can't feign ignorance that uncanny similarities existed, or draw the ire of regulators by countersuing with standards-based patents. I don't have significant objections to the verdict against Samsung -- Apple simply presented a better case -- but wouldn't it have been much nicer if Apple and Samsung alike had refused the temptations to sue (or countersue) and decided to compete only with the best possible devices they could muster? James TrewDuring the '90s, and into the next decade, many considered Microsoft the enemy, the malevolent gate keeper to their technological world. Forums would be littered with references to "MicroShaft," or "M$," so strong was the resentment from certain quarters. At this same time, Apple was something of the plucky, hipster upstart. Having a Mac was cool, it also meant -- albeit in a small way -- you were sticking it to the man. You were free from the "Mon$ter's" grip. Fast-forward to the present day, and it almost feels like those two roles are reversing. While Microsoft has (quite literally) undergone a dramatic change of image, Apple is fast becoming the unnerving ubiquitous force in consumer technology. This couldn't be demonstrated any more eloquently than by the events of the last few weeks. Let's get things straight. Do I think Samsung copied Apple? Yes, it probably did. But then has everything Apple has created been entirely original? Of course not.
For example, Windows users have had icons on their desktops arranged neatly in a grid, since long before iOS came around. I've owned several pre-iPhone mobiles that did the same. Nokia's Symbian s60 for example. It might not have been exactly the same, but a grid, with icons, nonetheless. In fact, pre-Android and iOS, most mobile phones often looked and operated in much the same way, the difference was mainly in the hardware itself. Apple (and to be fair, it's not alone) has ushered in a new era though, where minute details, that really aren't new innovations, are being patented. More frustratingly, the patents are being granted. And this is where I feel the real problem lies. Apple had the legal right to protect something, it did, and won. Fine. What is more galling is that the jurors seem to have missed an opportunity to question the validity (and by proxy, value) of these patents, and they didn't. They handed Apple the right to romp ever forward down this self-destructive path, the end of which is good for no one. Not even Apple. Don't let it become Appl€? Steve DentUseful, new and non-obvious -- that's what a patentable invention has to be, according to the USPTO. But that office started brushing aside its own criteria around the internet's early days, and brought the system to its current, twisted state -- with the Apple v. Samsung decision being exhibit 'A'. Cupertino deserved to win. It was clear to me that Samsung was infringing on items like bounce-back (7,864,163), but that patent, for one, should never have been awarded in the first place. And the whole problem started a couple of decades ago, with the granting of a spate of eye-opening digital clunkers. The first time I saw an absurd technology patent was in the early '90s. It was awarded, in part, for the electronic process of "storyboarding" still images, or arranging them in the same sequence they'd appear in a film or video. "That can't possibly be patentable," I thought. "Where's the novel process? How is that non-obvious?" Companies like Avid had to ante up to use that so-called technology for their video editing software, which increased the price of their products, shaking down them and their buyers. With precedent like that, the USPTO opened the floodgates to similar dubious products which aped existing methods but were now "digital." For instance, Hollywood has been doing storyboards for a hundred years on paper and celluloid, so why is transferring that process to a computer new and non-obvious?
That turned out to be the tip of the iceberg, as inventions like that led to all manner of ludicrous patents, bounce-back included -- which is merely an animation to indicate the bottom or side of a page. Does that mean that any smartphone effect that mimics an object falling and landing hard, like flying sparks (off the top of my head) -- is patentable? I know US patent law is liberal, but that's ridiculously thin. It seems that every half-baked idea that pops into a designer's head is thrown into the patent bin, and a big chunk of those are actually approved. Not only does that stifle budding inventors and companies, it makes a mockery of what an invention actually is. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Pioneering astronaut Neil Armstrong dies at 82 Posted: 25 Aug 2012 12:45 PM PDT It's a story that we hoped we'd never have to report. Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on Earth's Moon, has died at the age of 82 after complications from heart surgery three weeks earlier. His greatest accomplishment very nearly speaks for itself -- along with help from fellow NASA astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, he changed the landscape of space exploration through a set of footprints. It's still important to stress his accomplishments both before and after the historic Apollo 11 flight, though. He was instrumental to the Gemini and X-series test programs in the years before Apollo, and followed his moonshot with roles in teaching aerospace engineering as well as investigating the Apollo 13 and Space Shuttle Challenger incidents. What more can we say? Although he only spent a very small portion of his life beyond Earth's atmosphere, he's still widely considered the greatest space hero in the US, if not the world, and inspired a whole generation of astronauts. We'll miss him. [Image credit: NASA Apollo Archive] |
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