Business, Financial & Legal News - Page 241

All the latest Business, Financial & Legal news as it relates to tech, gaming, and science - Page 241.

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LG Display workers get charged over Samsung OLED technology theft

Anthony Garreffa | Jul 18, 2012 3:21 AM CDT

LG Display Co., the world's second-largest flat-panel maker has had six naughty employees charged over the theft of technology from Samsung Mobile Display Co. The six employees of LG leaked, or stole Samsung Mobile's OLED technology and business secrets.

This is all according to an indictment filed with Suwon District Court in South Korea. Two of the six accused include two former Samsung Mobile employees. Samsung Mobile have requested that LG Display formally apologize, as well as take the necessary steps to prevent reoccurrence. LG Display also merged with Samsung Display Co. this month.

In an e-mail sent out yesterday, Samsung Display Co. said that LG Display systematically took Samsung's OLED technology, and core staff to overcome its own shortcomings. LG said in a separate e-mail that the information obtained is widely known in the industry and isn't considered a trade secret. LG Display are also taking legal action against Samsung Display, a unit of Samsung Electronics Co. for defamation.

Continue reading: LG Display workers get charged over Samsung OLED technology theft (full post)

Windows Phone 7's US market share still doesn't fare well

Anthony Garreffa | Jul 17, 2012 11:31 PM CDT

Nielsen, an analyst firm, have their latest numbers for the U.S. smartphone market in Q2 2012, with numbers showing that for Q2, smartphone adoption continues to increase with 2 in 3 new customers grabbing a smartphone.

But, the Windows Phone 7 numbers are the most interesting bit of this new data, where the mobile OS holds just 1.3-percent of the market. Nokia itself has only 1.2-percent of smartphone owners, and that's considering the amount of marketing that Nokia have pushed with their Lumia series of devices.

We have RIM's BlackBerry handsets having a nice 9-percent of the US smartphone market, with Motorola, HTC and Samsung enjoying 11-, 14- and 17-percent, respectively. Apple takes the crown by enjoying a nice 34-percent of the US smartphone market pie. If we look at operating systems, Android takes the crown, with a hefty 51.8-percent of the market, and 54.6-percent of new customers taking an Android-based handset.

Continue reading: Windows Phone 7's US market share still doesn't fare well (full post)

Apple's Retina MacBook Pro takes the EPEAT Gold status upon its return

Anthony Garreffa | Jul 16, 2012 4:24 AM CDT

Apple's sharp exit, but swift return to EPEAT has been a whirlwind of random behavior for the usually straight-shooter company. But, it seems that the pullout, and return to EPEAT could've been from a dispute over the status that had been given to the Retina MacBook Pro.

The two 15-inch models may have been threatened with a lower-than-top ranking, which would've been a first for Apple. The Retina-powered models now appear on the EPEAT website, this time with Gold rankings. Considering that critics have complained that the Retina models are less "repairable" than other notebooks, and that the fusion of the display to the casing itself, as well as the gluing of the battery make both components more difficult to recycle than models that don't sport those features.

The scoring is now identical for non-Retina and Retina models of the 15-inch MacBook Pro. Within this scoring, Apple loses points for "materials selection" as well as "energy conservation", without EPEAT explaining what these could mean, or how Apple could improve them. But, there is some light at the end of this Apple and EPEAT tunnel, in the way that the Retina MBP gets full points for "product longevity/life cycle extension", an acknowledgement that Apple's use of custom batteries, and the rMBP's new fused display is likely to decrease the chances of a defect, which could offset the new machines' lack of easy interior repair.

Continue reading: Apple's Retina MacBook Pro takes the EPEAT Gold status upon its return (full post)

Apple set to report record-breaking sales of their iPad, 20 million in the last quarter

Anthony Garreffa | Jul 13, 2012 3:22 AM CDT

Apple is staring down the barrel of a record-breaking sales for their iPad, with sales of 20 million in the June quarter, according to one analyst. Charlie Wolf with Needham & Company issued a note to investors on Thursday, where he has increased his June iPad shipment forecast.

His previous forecast was 13.5 million units, and he's increased this to a significant 20 million. Wolf does admit that his initial estimate in April was "hastily formulated", which is why his latest prediction is so much bigger. Wolf says:

In our view, it's only a matter of time before iPad shipments exceed iPhone shipments. The iPad is invading the business market at a much faster pace than the iPhone. In addition, the iPad will launch in China on July 20th. This should provide a significant boost in sales now that Apple is providing Chinese languages and services on its iOS platform.

Continue reading: Apple set to report record-breaking sales of their iPad, 20 million in the last quarter (full post)

Kim Dotcom offers to voluntarily travel to the U.S., if his assets get unfrozen

Anthony Garreffa | Jul 12, 2012 2:27 AM CDT

MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom seems to be positioning himself on the chess board that is his legal troubles right now, in a move that is right out of the left field. Dotcom has agreed to voluntarily travel to the United States where he'll face piracy charges, but has only agreed to do so if the Justice Department unfreezes his assets to help him cover living expenses and pay for legal representation.

Dotcom gave the proposal over Twitter, of all places. Dotcom's statement was delivered just a day after a New Zealand court postponed his extradition hearing due to the raid on his mansion being ruled illegal. The evidence collected was therefore obtained illegally, and the case has been postponed until 2013.

Kim Dotcom appears to be totally calm with his proposal to the DoJ, one would imagine he has a trick or two up his sleeve? What are your thoughts on this?

Continue reading: Kim Dotcom offers to voluntarily travel to the U.S., if his assets get unfrozen (full post)

Microsoft goes full steam ahead for retail stores, 44 total by June 2013

Anthony Garreffa | Jul 11, 2012 11:17 PM CDT

Microsoft talked of retail stores earlier this year, and those plans are now coming to fruition. The Redmond-based company behind Windows and Office plans to open up a Microsoft Store in Toronto, Canada later this year, as well as another store in Puerto Rico, according to Microsoft's Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner, where he spoke at the Worldwide Partner Conference.

Microsoft currently have 20 stores open across the United States, with 9 more coming this year. Microsoft is opening an Orlando-based store on August 18, and its Boston Prudential Center on August 23. The Canadian and Puerto Rican stores will be the first time Microsoft have stepped outside of the U.S. with a Microsoft-branded store.

The company also has plans to extend across the pond to the U.K. with a store in London in 2013. Microsoft hopes to have a tally of 44 retail stores open by June 2013. Comparing them to Apple, they are small fries for now, with Apple having 364 stores in 13 countries, with a whopping 246 of those in the U.S..

Continue reading: Microsoft goes full steam ahead for retail stores, 44 total by June 2013 (full post)

San Francisco will stop buying Macs for the city's 50 agencies, over the EPEAT issue

Anthony Garreffa | Jul 11, 2012 4:30 AM CDT

Just a few days ago, Apple pulled 39 of their products (old, and new) from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) and it looks like this move is already starting to haunt them. San Francisco will shortly cease purchasing Macs for the city's 50 agencies, and this could just be the tip of the iceberg for Apple.

This is all according to Department of Environment officials who spoke to the Wall Street Journal, with the officials saying that within the next two weeks it will send out letters to agencies explaining that Macs "no longer qualify" for city money. This is all because Apple pulled 39 of their products from EPEAT, and while workers will still be able to buy Macs, they'll have to go through a process described as "long" and "onerous".

While this isn't the death bell ringing for Apple, it could be a sign of things to come. Only 1- to 2-percent of the city's computers are Macs, which amounts to around 500-700 systems. For Apple though, the loss of orders, and the press it receives, as well as the multitudes of other government agencies who pick up on the news could exclude Macs from purchasing departments. Legally, 95-percent of all U.S. federal government purchases must be EPEAT-certified.

Continue reading: San Francisco will stop buying Macs for the city's 50 agencies, over the EPEAT issue (full post)

Apple tells EPEAT, a green electronics registry, to remove 39 of their products from its list

Anthony Garreffa | Jul 8, 2012 11:08 PM CDT

Apple have asked the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) to remove 39 of their products from its group's list. EPEAT are one of the largest eco-friendly certifying agencies in the U.S., who are funded by the EPA and a coalition of manufacturers, including Apple.

Why are Apple making this move now, considering they've supported EPEAT up until now? Well, in order to gain EPEAT certification, "recyclers need to be able to easily disassemble products, with common tools, to separate toxic components, like batteries", reports John Schectman from the Wall Street Journal.

That is a pretty big restriction for the closed-garden company that is Apple and their products. Considering the new Retina MacBook Pro (rMBP) is virtually impossible to take apart, with the battery glued in, and is pretty much non-serviceable by users. The LCD on the rMBP is glued into the notebook, making it quite difficult to remove. But, Apple are removing all of its products from EPEAT's registry, even their older desktops that were once certified.

Continue reading: Apple tells EPEAT, a green electronics registry, to remove 39 of their products from its list (full post)

EU court rules that digital downloads can be resold

Anthony Garreffa | Jul 6, 2012 6:17 AM CDT

One of the things that sucks about digital media is the fact that until now, once it was downloaded, that was it. No trade-ins, no selling them to friends or someone over the Internet. But, the Court of Justice of the European Union thinks you should be able to resell those games.

The court thinks consumers should be able to resell any software they buy, no matter if it was physical media, or in a downloadable form. Where did this judgment pop up from? A case involving UsedSoft, who is a company that resells Oracle licenses acquired from previous owners. Oracle tried to stop UsedSoft from selling licenses, but it didn't fare well for Oracle. You can check out the full ruling here, as well as the official press release, a snippet can be seen below:

Under that directive, the first sale in the EU of a copy of a computer program by the copyright holder or with his consent exhausts the right of distribution of that copy in the EU. A rightholder who has marketed a copy in the territory of a Member State of the EU thus loses the right to rely on his monopoly of exploitation in order to oppose the resale of that copy. In the present case, Oracle claims that the principle of exhaustion laid down by the directive does not apply to user licences for computer programs downloaded from the internet.

Continue reading: EU court rules that digital downloads can be resold (full post)

HTC beats Apple in swipe-to-unlock patent dispute

Anthony Garreffa | Jul 5, 2012 4:26 AM CDT

Last year, HTC launched a London-based lawsuit as part of an effort to invalidate European patents that Apple had referred to in a German court case. Apple countersued, and here we are today. A judge has ruled that HTC has not infringed on four technologies that Apple claim as their own.

The judge has said that Apple's slide-to-unlock feature was an "obvious" development in the light of a similar function on an earlier Swedish handset. Apple has used this patent in disputes against other companies using Google's mobile operating system, Android. The four patents discussed were:

The judge ruled that the first three patents were invalid in this case, where the fourth didn't apply to HTC's devices. HTC were lucky, though, as the judge stated that if it weren't for a device HTC released back in 2004, they would've infringed on Apple's patent. HTC's Neonode N1 had a padlock on its screen with the words "right sweep to unlock" when it sat in protected mode. If it weren't for this, this entire case may have had a completely different outcome.

Continue reading: HTC beats Apple in swipe-to-unlock patent dispute (full post)