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So I went to Best Buy to confuse an iPad with a Samsung | Technically Incorrect. The Apple-Samsung trial has been such a show that it has invaded my head in the same way as the first time I learned dwarf tossing was an entertainment in places like France and Canada. Could anyone really have wandered into Best Buy and confused a Samsung Galaxy Tab with an iPad, as has been suggested? While some began to pulsate at rumors that many, many people had exchanged their Galaxy Tabs for iPads at Best Buy, a study suggested that only 9 percent of people who returned a Samsung product at Best Buy did so in order to exchange it for an iPad.

Even then, that doesn't mean that they thought they'd bought an iPad in the first place. Perhaps they'd just changed their minds. So, driving back from something very moving today, I saw a Best Buy lurking in the distance and thought I'd wander in. I decided to be a naive customer. I wandered into the store and sloped toward a large Apple logo. Indeed, there were four or five iPads, pinned to a desk, so that I wouldn't steal them. "Really? " Facebook Groups Let You See Exactly Who Has Viewed Your Photos, Too. In July, Facebook rolled out a new “seen by” feature for groups, which let people know who has seen a post or announcement in that group, and when. And, although Facebook didn’t make much of a song and dance about it at the time, it looks like it is actually offering this feature on photos, too. As you can see in the screenshot below, the “seen by” feature in photos works just like the “seen by” feature for other group posts: someone who posts a photo to a group can see how many people in that group have viewed it, who those people are, and what time it was that they viewed the photo.

And that information is not exclusive just to the poster, either — others in the group can see who viewed a particular picture, too. The “seen by” feature on a photo was first brought to our attention by Christo Wilson, a computer science PhD student at U.C. Zhao told TechCrunch in an email that he first noticed it on Friday. Why There Are Too Many Patents in America - Richard A. Posner. After dismissing a high-profile suit between Apple and Motorola, one of our leading jurists discusses the problems plaguing America's intellectual property system.

(U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) Recently, while sitting as a trial judge, I dismissed a case in which Apple and Motorola had sued each other for alleged infringement of patents for components of smartphones. My decision undoubtedly will be appealed, and since the case is not yet over with it would be inappropriate for me to comment publicly on it. But what I am free to discuss are the general problems posed by the structure and administration of our current patent laws, a system that warrants reconsideration by our public officials.* U.S. patent law confers a monopoly (in the sense of a right to exclude competitors), generally for 20 years, on an invention that is patented, provided the patent is valid -- that is, that it is genuinely novel, useful, and not obvious. I would lay particular stress on the cost of invention. Judges Call Apple, Google Lawsuits 'Ridiculous,' 'Silly,' 'Arrogant' : Planet Money. Ahn Young-joon/AP This week's Apple-Samsung case is just the latest battle in a global war over high-tech patents.

As we've reported before, the big tech companies have amassed huge patent portfolios and are suing and countersuing each other all over the planet. Lots of people within the high-tech industry think the whole patent thing is out of hand. Now judges, it seems, are getting fed up. 'Arrogant' In May, a judge hearing a patent dispute between Microsoft and Motorola (now owned by Google) said: "The court is well aware that it is being played as a pawn in a global industry-wide business negotiation," said U.S. (Source: Geekwire) 'Silly' In June, Judge Richard Posner dismissed a case in which Apple and Motorola were suing each other over smartphone patents. Apple's .. argument is that "a tap is a zero-length swipe. " At another point, he called one of Motorola claims "ridiculous.

" 'Ridiculous' "Why on earth are these proceedings going ahead? " 'Not as cool' Valve boss Gabe Newell calls Windows 8 a 'catastrophe' 26 July 2012Last updated at 06:39 ET Valve is known for Half Life as well as zombie survival game Left4Dead Operating system Windows 8 will be a "catastrophe" for PC game makers, according to Valve Software's boss.

Speaking at the Casual Connect game conference in Seattle, Gabe Newell said the next version of Windows could mean big changes to the PC market. Many took his comment as a criticism of the changed user interface in Windows 8 as well as its built-in Windows Store. The Windows Store could dent the success of Valve's own online market, Steam, through which players buy games. Hat tricks Mr Newell, who worked for Microsoft for 13 years on Windows, said his company had embraced the open-source software Linux as a "hedging strategy" designed to offset some of the damage Windows 8 was likely to do.

"We want to make it as easy as possible for the 2,500 games on Steam to run on Linux as well," said Mr Newell. "Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. " Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe' Future - Technology - Connected cars open up to apps and the cloud. The automobile of the future will not just have internet access; it will depend on it, says Jon Stewart. It used to be that upgrading your car would involve a trip to the garage for a new set of alloy wheels, a paint-job or perhaps a souped-up sound system. But those days could soon be over as an increasing number of cars connect to the web.

In the same way as the smartphone was changed forever by the arrival of the app, car manufacturers are now betting on these small pieces of software to drive the future of the automobile. Soon, customising your wheels could be as simple as tapping your dashboard touchscreen to download the latest must-have app. “We already see many cars that have Google onboard, and Facebook and Bloomberg updates,” says Sven Beiker, the executive director for the center for automotive research at Stanford University in the US. But, he adds, apps could soon go a lot further than just letting you find your favourite music or communicating with your friends.

‘Car talk’ U.K. Judge Orders Apple to Publicly Recant Galaxy Copycat Claim - John Paczkowski. Last week, a U.K. court ruled that Samsung’s Galaxy tablets aren’t “cool” enough to be confused with Apple’s iPad, and certainly don’t infringe upon Cupertino’s design. Now, the same court has ordered Apple to publicly recant its allegations suggesting that they do. Judge Colin Birss today ordered Apple to post a notice acknowledging his ruling on its Web site and in British newspapers. The notice, which is to state that Samsung did not copy the iPad’s design, must remain on Apple’s Web site for the next six months, and must appear in a number of U.K. papers and magazines. A humiliating twist of the knife for Apple, which has repeatedly accused Samsung of “slavishly” copying its mobile devices, branding the company “a copyist.” If Birss’s order stands, Apple will be obligated to essentially publish an advertisement for Samsung. Apple, of course, can appeal.

And you can be certain that it will.