Business, Financial & Legal - Page 117

No one likes having to fiddle with cords to charge their gadgets. There are charging accessories out there that allow you to charge your devices, like smartphones, by simply laying the device on a charge plate. A company called PowerbyProxi is showing off the next generation of wireless charging at Computex.

The company has bowls that you can throw multiple smaller gadgets into charge them at one time. The charging devices the company has shown off in the past were able to provide 3.5 to 5 watts of power. It's important to note that PowerbyProxi is a component firm and these devices are proof of concept.

That means they won't be available to purchase. The company works with firms like Samsung, TI, and others to use its components in products you can buy. PowerbyProxi's latest product is able to deliver 15W of power and will be backwards compatible with Qi devices. The bowl can also charge devices at a vertical height of about 1.25-inches meaning devices can be stacked.

Two of the lawyers from the law firm that Apple used in its patent fight against Samsung, and an executive from Intel, have released a paper that shows just how much we're paying in smartphone royalty fees - a figure that won't see you smiling.

In a report titled "The Smartphone Royalty Stack: Surveying Royalty Demands for the Components Within Modern Smartphones," we now have a dollar amount when it comes to patent royalty fees on the average smartphone. The average smartphone is priced at $400, with patent royalties costing a huge $120 of that $400 - or more than 30%.

Considering the build of materials, or BoM, is usually less than that - smartphone owners are paying more in patent royalties, than the physical hardware that makes up the smartphone. The paper was written by WilmerHale intellectual property litigators Joe Mueller and Tim Syrett, who were joined by Intel's Vice President and Associate General Counsel Ann Armstrong, who all used public information to calculate the patent royalty costs.

Autonomous cars are something that will be on the market in the next several years. Vehicles that can drive themselves and passengers to and from locations with no intervention will revolutionize the way people travel. Autonomous vehicles will be very helpful for those who can't drive due to medical or other reasons.

One of the places where autonomous vehicles will definitely be adopted is in the taxi market. Not having to pay a driver will significantly, increase profits for taxi and for hire car services. Uber has announced that it plans to adopt self-driving cars in the future.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick says that the company will adopt autonomous cars when they are readily available and made the comment at the Code Conference in California recently. Uber also announced that it was making a partnership with AT&T at the conference to pre-load its app on some smartphones. The upside to replacing drivers for passengers is that fares could be lower.

Imagine being able to talk to anyone in their native language even if you don't speak their language yourself. That would be something that would help a lot of people communicate for business or just for fun. Microsoft has announced a new tool that can turn Skype into a personal translator service allowing people to talk via Skype even if they don't speak the same language.

Microsoft gave a demo where a worker talked with a colleague in English while the colleague spoke German. With the new feature, Skype is a real-time text and speech translator. The new Skype Translator feature will launch later this year as a Windows 8 beta app. Eventually it will make its way to all Skype users.

Microsoft's new tool has the potential to be very valuable to a lot of people. Skype is easy to use and is already in use by 300 million people around the world making this perhaps one of the most important innovations that Microsoft has come up with in recent years.

There has been some talk over the last several months that Microsoft needs to spin off its Xbox business. Microsoft's new CEO Satya Nadella told the attendees at the very first code conference that he has no intention of spinning off the Xbox business. He also said that he was very pleased at how the Microsoft game console business was going.

Nadella said that all of Microsoft's hardware know-how comes from the Xbox division. "It is the thing that is really going to power all the experiences on all the devices today and tomorrow," Nadella said. "In order to be in the hunt for those experiences, and get it right, you do need to from time to time build devices, so you don't leave anything to chance."

The rumor that Microsoft might spin off the Xbox division surfaced late last year for the first time. Paul Ghaffari from Vulcan Capital said, "The search business and even Xbox, which has been a very successful product, are detracting from that. We would want them to focus on their best competencies. My view is there are some parts of that operation they should probably spin out, get rid of, to focus on the enterprise and focus on the cloud."

Canadian tech enthusiasts or simply those passing through the country can now breathe a collective sigh of relief. In a boost to, ahem, cloud computing, the country has now officially given the all-clear to use of electronic devices during all phases of airplane flights.

This covers e-readers, smartphones, tablets, computers and cameras as long as said devices are not transmitting and in flight mode. The changes were made possible thanks to an amendment to the Canadian Aviation Regulations.

"By collaborating with our aviation partners, we are able to offer airlines the tools they need to safely enable passengers to use portable electronic devices on airplanes," said Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, adding that this change maintains "the highest standards of aviation safety." In an official boast-sheet, Transport Canada said the country's record in aviation is one of the best in the world.

For a very long time the telephone industry has enjoyed government subsidies designed to help them roll out telephone service into rural parts of the country. The goal was to get people that live in rural America the same sort of communications tech that people in major cities get. As the years pass and fewer and fewer people use home telephone service the FCC has been working to repurpose some of those telephone subsidies.

The FCC announced a plan in 2011 that would use some of the funds from the telephone subsidies to subsidize the roll out of broadband internet access to rural America. Telephone firms pushed back hard against that change out of fear of losing subsidies. The FCC has now won the right to use some of the money from those subsidies to spread broadband in rural parts of the US. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the challenge leveled by telephone companies as unpersuasive opening the doors for re-tasking of subsidies.

"After years of good faith efforts faltered, voting to approve the comprehensive reform of universal service and intercarrier compensation continues to be one of my proudest moments at the FCC,"� wrote commissioner Mignon Clyburn. "The reforms are changing the lives of millions of Americans who will receive broadband for the first time."�

It looks like Tyrese Gibson and Dr. Dre have smoked themselves into a corner with their bragging about Dr. Dre, Beats founder and hip-hop legend, where they said he would be "the first billionaire in hip-hop". Well, Apple wasn't happy with that, guys.

Gibson said in a video that Dre was "drunk off of Heinekens," something that was posted to Gibson's Facebook page minutes after Apple announced it was acquiring Beats for $3.2 billion. You can understand why Apple isn't happy with this, as it seems Beats apparently leaked the news of the $3.2 billion deal before it had a signature on the dotted line, according to Billboard.

Online gambling website BetCoin has unveiled the BetCoin Reels online slot machine, a "provably fair" 5-line slot machine. Much to the dismay of governments already concerned of bitcoin-related money laundering, it looks like gambling will continue to push the cryptocurrency forward.

"The company is not resting on its laurels, however, and new games and new features are already in development," noted BetCoin officials.

BetCoin has four online bitcoin-themed "gaming" products that include instant payouts and 3D graphics, as online gambling websites scramble to accept bitcoin currency payments. There are a growing number of online websites that accept bitcoins, featuring poker, blackjack, roulette, and other popular casino games.

A Canadian lawmaker is spearheading an international group of attorneys, professors, bitcoin businesses and supporters to publish the first bitcoin law book. It's possible Canada could become the first country to create federal bitcoin laws, though volatility, secure monetary exchanges, and criminal behavior must be addressed moving forward.

"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to write about the evolving law surrounding Bitcoin and other digital currencies said Chrstine Duhaime, Duhaime Law partner, in a press release. "As the US Federal Reserve noted only weeks ago, Bitcoin's disruptive technology may force banks and other financial institutions to adapt and change the way they provide services to consumers and it will open new markets for business all over the world. It's important that the law keeps pace with emerging technologies like Bitcoin and we are excited to be a part of the international dialogue on Bitcoin law."

Consumers and businesses are becoming more familiar with bitcoins, but governments are still unsure how to handle the popular cryptocurrency. There are a growing number of money laundering-related cases involving bitcoins, which police authorities are trying to clamp down. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice is working to learn more about bitcoins and any black markets available for drug dealers and money launderers.

The D Las Vegas Casino Hotel, which was the first Sin City casino to accept bitcoin cryptocurrency payment, now has its own Robocoin bitcoin ATM. Customers can exchange U.S. currency and bitcoins, or deposit cash into bitcoin accounts. D Casino Hotel is located off the main strip, and can be found on Fremont Street.

D co-owner Derek Stevens said the number of bitcoin-related transactions is higher than initially considered, though wouldn't disclose exact figures. The popular cryptocurrency is accepted at the D front desk, casino floor, restaurants and in the casino gift shop.

The addition of bitcoin ATM machines in shopping malls and other popular shopping destinations continues to grow - and with casinos fighting for visitors willing to spend money - adding them to the hotel lobby and casino floor makes sense. Bitcoins continue to gain mainstream acceptance from customers, and more stores are showing interest in accepting the currency as payment.

Nest Labs has issued a recall on 440,000 of its Protect smoke alarms due to an issue with the Wave feature. The issue with that Wave feature can disable the smoke alarm accidentally. Nest's Wave feature was designed to allow the user to disable the alarm in non-emergency situations by waving their hand in front of a sensor.

Nest has rolled out an update to the alarm that is applied via Wi-Fi. That update will disable the Wave feature while allowing other features of the smoke detector to function. Nest Protect smoke alarms do more than just detect smoke in the event of a fire.

They are also designed to detect carbon monoxide, heat, light, and motion. It can send warnings to a smartphone if the feature is set up. Nest is offering the software update to fix the issue with Wave or a refund at the owner's discretion.

Currently, Netflix has a navigation scheme that relies mostly on grids of shows that you may or may not be interested in. There are some shows that are recommended for you based on your past watching habits. Netflix Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt has talked a bit about what the company sees for the future recently.

Hunt says that the streaming video service will eventually move beyond the grids of movies and TV shows that we see currently. In the future, the service will be mostly based on recommended content for users to enjoy. Hunt said, "Our vision is, you won't see a grid and you won't see a sea of titles."

Hunt also believes that in the future there may be no TV channels. Rather than channels as we have today, on-demand capability of the internet will help Netflix and other firms build a different channel for everyone. Hunt also thinks that the ad-free model has proven very popular with consumers and in the future firms will need to find other places to advertise their goods.

When the news broke that Twitch was being acquired by YouTube - which is owned by Google - for $1 billion, it shocked most. But, did people really think that Twitch only had a single offer? No, no it did not.

YouTube is having to fight against other interested parties, which includes Microsoft. Google and Twitch have agreed on the price, and are now reportedly working on the details of the deal, such as just how independent Twitch and its brand will be once it is fully acquired by YouTube. Twitch has reportedly looked at competing bids, but chose YouTube as it felt like the company was the best suited to its massive growth over the recent years.

Twitch has the aim of being the definitive platform for watching and streaming live video gaming, where it thinks Google can provide the means to get there.

Tesla Motors is one of the most successful EV manufacturers in the world. Tesla CEO Elon musk is working hard to bring the EV to the mainstream with cheaper vehicles that the average driver can afford. The current Model S EV can cost around $100,000 putting it out of the reach of the masses.

One of the things that is needed to bring the cost of EVs down to more reasonable levels is cheaper batteries. Musk says that the EV industry needs at least 200 gigafactories. Musk and Tesla plans to build the first of these gigafactories to help the company build cheaper battery packs for cars.

200 of these massive factories is a huge number. Tesla predicts that the first battery gigafactory that it plans to open will decrease the cost of EV battery packs by more than 30%. Musk thinks with more factories we can see battery cost reductions greater than 30%.

Another day, another acquisition, with Google acquiring Quest Visual, the company behind iOS app Word Lens. Word Lens uses the camera on the rear of the iPhone, translating the text to your desired language in front of your eyes.

The technology that makes Word Lens work will be baked into Google Translate, but I think we'll also see it work its way into Google Glass, too. While Quest Visual is rolled into Google, the company will make the Word Lens language packs free to consumers, where it said: "As a thank you to everybody who supported us on our journey, we've made both the app and the language packs free to download for a limited time while we transition to Google".

In some areas if you don't lock your bike up, it will be gone before you come back out to get it. In those areas, a bike lock is a requirement. However, if you want to share your bike with a friend, you have to tell them your combination or give them a key and that can be a problem if you aren't nearby. A new high-tech bike lock called the Skylock is looking to help solve that problem.

Skylock is a U-lock that has a solar powered rechargeable battery inside. The lock is able to send the owner theft and crash alerts. It also has keyless entry and opens the ability to share your bike without having to be there.

It works with a smartphone app that runs on Android or iOS. Bike owners unlock the bike using that app. The app will also warn the user if the bike is jostled while they aren't around. The lock can also call 911 if it senses a severe impact while someone is riding the bike. One hour of sunlight on the solar panels promises a week of power for the lock. Skylock costs $249 and the company behind the product hopes to ship it by the end of the year.

One of the big benefits of ordering items from Amazon is that in some areas they will actually deliver your purchases on a Sunday, greatly shortening the time you have to wait to get your stuff. Amazon and the USPS have announced that they have expanded that Sunday delivery service to more cities.

There are 15 new cities that now have Sunday deliveries. The new cities include Austin, Texas; Cincinnati, Ohio; College Station, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; Lexington, Ky; New Orleans, La; Oklahoma City, Okla; Philadelphia, Pa; San Antonio, Texas; Shreveport, La; and Waco, Texas.

"So far, the most common items delivered on Sunday include baby supplies such as newborn apparel, books and toys - Sunday delivery is clearly crossing errands off the weekend to-do list," said Mike Roth, Amazon's vice president of North America operations, in a news release announcing the expansion. "We know our Amazon customers love the convenience of everyday delivery, and we're excited to be offering Sunday delivery in more cities across the U.S."

In the mid 1900's most states adopted laws that forced car manufacturers to only sell their vehicles through independent local dealers instead of through their own sales dealerships. While these laws prevented market domination of a single manufacturer, it has become a hinderance for smaller manufacturers such as Tesla to get their vehicles sold in many states. Today the Federal Trade Commission finally voiced its opinion on the banning of direct Tesla vehicle sales by several states.

"For decades, local laws in many states have required consumers to purchase their cars solely from local, independent auto dealers. Removing these regulatory impediments may be essential to allow consumers access to new ways of shopping that have become available in many other industries," reads a post written by FTC directors Andy Gavil, Debbie Feinstein and Marty Gaynor.

Tesla sold just 22,000 cars last year which is barely a fraction of the 15 million total sales the entire new car industry sold. In the post, the FTC says that that number hardly makes Tesla a serious threat, and these lawns need changing. "What it could represent is a real change to the way cars are sold that might allow Tesla to expand in the future and prove attractive to other manufacturers, whether established or new ones that have yet to emerge, and consumers. Efforts to litigate, legislate, and regulate to eliminate Tesla's perceived threat have forced it to battle jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction for the simple right to sell its automobiles directly to consumers," the statement continued.

While speaking at the media forum in St Petersburg yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Internet was one big "CIA project" and "is still developing as such".

After his remarks, Russia's biggest search engine, Yandex, saw its share price drop drastically. The Kremlin has been trying to grab more control over the Internet, as opposition activists have used to promote their ideas and organize various protests. Putin touched on Google, saying that information "all goes through servers that are in the States, everything is monitored there".

There have been conspiracy theories for as long as I remember that the Internet was a big CIA project, and that Mark Zuckerberg was a CIA agent. This is why Facebook has become so big so quickly, because the US spy agencies instead of having to require a subpoena or similar to get information on someone - people just hand it up on a silver platter through the social network now.