Samsung wins $120 million Apple patent dispute case following appeal

Sean Ridgeley | Business, Financial & Legal | Feb 26, 2016 7:03 PM CST

Apple and Samsung have been battling it out over mobile technology patents for years now, with Apple winning more often than not. Today marks a victory for Samsung, who recently appealed a ruling that would've seen it pay $120 million for infringing on Apple's quick links (the functionality that allows one to make phone calls from numbers seen on screen, among other things), slide-to-unlock, and auto-correct patents.

The court ruled the quick links patent was not infringed upon, and that the latter two patents were invalid. More, Apple was found to infringe on a Samsung patent, although it's not clear which.

The decision was unanimous among three judges of the Federal Circuit, the country's top court specializing in patent cases. Nearly $99 million of the damages related to the quick links infringement.

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Cyberpunk 2077 getting the composer for the Witcher 3

Jeff Williams | Gaming | Feb 26, 2016 5:05 PM CST

Cyberpunk 2077 is a long way towards being finished, but the CD PROJEKT Red has already decided to bring back the composer who made the great soundtrack for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Speaking to Gamepressure, Marcin Przybylowicz revealed that he's already been playing around with ideas for the music for Cyberpunk 2077, because well, that's apparently his in his job description and being the house sound designer, he's just the man to do it. "My superiors already force me to do it, because I spend most of my time with Geralt; however, some first attempts with Cyberpunk were already made."

Aside from being "forced" by his superiors, he's incredibly talented and his unique style and methods will probably make for a great soundscape in the upcoming game. He was not, however, the only composer to work on The Witcher 3 though. Pedro Macedo Camacho composed the main theme, and is also the Star Citizen soundtrack composer as well.

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WOOTING One keyboard boasts pressure sensitive keys

Sean Ridgeley | Peripherals | Feb 26, 2016 4:05 PM CST

You probably have a mechanical keyboard (if not, get on that), but we'll do you one better with an analog mechanical keyboard boasting what is undoubtedly the weirdest name around: Wooting One.

Currently in development and seemingly nearing launch, the main draw of the Wooting One is its pressure sensitive keys, allowing you to dictate exactly how fast a character moves in a game like The Witcher 3, or how precisely you turn in a racing game like Burnout Paradise. If you've used the Dualshock 3 controller before, it's basically that except with keys instead of sticks. Likewise, game support isn't a worry, as it comes at the hardware level. Lastly, if you dislike the feature or just want it off sometimes, you can disable it at any time.

The keys are described as "similar to CherryMX reds but not as light and not too heavy as [with] blacks", so by the sounds of it, you can expect custom keys.

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The Descendant gets a mysterious and fascinating new story trailer

Jeff Williams | Gaming | Feb 26, 2016 3:07 PM CST

A new cinematic trailer for The Descendant was just released and it shows how horrifying and terribly difficult life could be in the future should we seal our own fate with a man-made extinction-level event.

The Descendant gets a mysterious and fascinating new story trailer

But never fear, because we're put people in stasis so they can live on and sustain the human race once everything boils over. This narrative-driven point-and-click adventure is rife with a story and a vast mystery that has to be solved. You're one of the Descendants, supposedly chosen to carry the torch for humanity in the future, and when you awake to explore the Ark you've been placed in cryogenic storage in, there's a lot of unanswered questions to seek the truth to.

The first of five total episodes is set to go live on March 24th with the rest being released gradually throughout the year. So you'll be exploring Ark-01, where you wake up, with plenty of puzzles to solve and try to rescue survivors as Donnie. You'll get to experience events in the past as well as "current" day events while you investigate. An incredibly fascinating concept, to be sure.

Continue reading: The Descendant gets a mysterious and fascinating new story trailer (full post)

Torchlight II is the latest addition to the EA Access Vault

Jeff Williams | Gaming | Feb 26, 2016 2:00 PM CST

EA's Vault in their Origin Access program has just grown by one as they added Torchlight II to the family. That makes 16 games in total that can be played as part of the monthly subscription service.

Last month EA brought their Origin Access subscription service to the PC, something that was previously exclusive only to the Xbox One. You can pay $4.99 and get the privilege of being able to play all 16 of the games in the vault and you also get early access to EA games a few days before they're available to anyone else.

The full list of games that're now available in their EA Access program.

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Tech giants to file brief supporting Apple in encryption battle

Sean Ridgeley | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Feb 26, 2016 1:17 PM CST

Apple today asked a judge to throw out the order requiring it to hack the phone of an attacker in the San Bernardino case and followed it up with a request of its own: that its peers stand behind it to fight for privacy.

That's happened with Microsoft, whose President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith declared in a congressional hearing yesterday his company's "wholehearted" support of Apple's position, and that it would file an amicus brief next week to that end. (An amicus brief is a filing that allows those not directly involved in a case to have their say in it.)

Twitter has confirmed to us they "expect to be on a brief supporting Apple" and that the "filing deadline is Wednesday."

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Armored Warfare gets a bunch of new features, maps and ferocious tanks

Jeff Williams | Gaming | Feb 26, 2016 1:01 PM CST

Armored Warfare lets you take command of a number of modern Main Battle Tanks and duke it out amongst your friends. The newest update puts in a number of great new features, a new intricate close-quarters map and new Chinese tanks, like the feared Type-98.

Armored Warfare gets a bunch of new features, maps and ferocious tanks

To sell you the new tanks there's a new Arms Dealer known as Zhang Feng who has some of the best deals on Chinese tanks around. His inventory is available to everyone who wishes to try out something new. A new Tier 5 premium tank has also been added, the WZ-1224, a 44-ton masterpiece with a 120mm smoothbore main gun.

The new Coastal Threat Map is a 1.2K square map with a mixture of open-spaces that allow for huge arcs of fire and a small city with its tight quarters to test your skills appropriately. For those that prefer PvE, the reward system has been modified so that it's almost as lucrative as playing strictly PvP. That way you'll be able to get some of the better loot while you practice and improve.

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Need a game to play? Black Ops 3 multiplayer is free over the weekend

Jeff Williams | Gaming | Feb 26, 2016 12:06 PM CST

It's the weekend, there's a good chance that it'll be cold and dreadful outside in the majority of the world, so you might be looking for something new to play. And even though Call of Duty tends to get its fair share of criticism, Call of Duty: Black Ops III is having a free weekend. You can play the multiplayerr-centric Starter Pack for free until the 29th of February.

If you happen to get sucked in and enjoy the experience, Activision is selling the standard edition for 33% off the regular price, and the deluxe edition for 20% off. That's not a bad deal considering it unlocks the max level, which is capped at 55 in the starter pack, and gives access to the weapon paintshop, the gunsmith, emblem editor, arena, freerun mode, theater and the ubiquitous black market.

But you have only until the 29th at 1PM PST to try it out for yourself. Call of Duty has evolved considerably, making turns into new paths that some didn't quite like after Call of Duty 4, but Black Ops 3 might surprise you with the agile, fast-paced gameplay. Then again, you might completely hate it. But it's free.

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Battlefield 5 listing leaked, it could be set in a WW1 era

Jeff Williams | Gaming | Feb 26, 2016 11:30 AM CST

You can already pre-order Battlefield 5, among other unreleased games, from an online retailer based in Switzerland already. On their site they've placed details that seem to presume what the game will be about, with no actual evidence to back up their claims.

While we know that that another Battlefield is coming this year, as sure as the wind blows in a storm, no details have been released and it's likely that this particular retailer doesn't actually have any real information from EA. Any details are assumptions based off of previous games. It's a safe bet to think that it's going to be an online, multiplayer shooter, and it's not a stretch to think that it could be set in an era we haven't visited in awhile, or at all, to keep it fresh.

Apparently the description has been changed since it was first reported by PCGamesN, and it no longer says anything about WW1. Though it would be quite refreshing to have something new, even if it isn't true to the actual combat style. Trench warfare, while deadly, frightful and not fun in real-life, probably wouldn't translate to a game very well. Verdun is a fascinating game, but it also takes some creative liberty to make it more interesting for gamers to play.

Continue reading: Battlefield 5 listing leaked, it could be set in a WW1 era (full post)

Ubisoft is getting taken over by Vivendi, wants Canada's help fighting

Jeff Williams | Gaming | Feb 26, 2016 11:06 AM CST

Ubisoft might be in financial danger, and in their weakest moment the French multimedia powerhouse, Vivendi, is attempting a hostile takeover to acquire the game company and add it to their extensive portfolio.

To stop the buyout from happening, Ubisoft is trying to appeal to the Quebec provincial government and even the national Canadian government to help keep from being absorbed. They're calling for investors around the world to help them in their endeavor.

"We want to increase the number of Canadian shareholders in Ubisoft to have better control over the capital. ... We feel it's a good defense." Yves Guillemot said in a statement about the current attempt by Vivendi to buyout their company.

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