RIAA wants to make FM radios mandatory in all smartphones, MP3 players
The RIAA and NAB have proposed a new bill that would force all smartphones, MP3 players and tablets to include an FM radio in the future.
Gary Shapiro, the president of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), had some harsh words for the proposal, as it would affect a large number of devices built by CEA members.
“Rather than adapt to the digital marketplace, NAB and RIAA act like buggy-whip industries that refuse to innovate and seek to impose penalties on those that do,” Shapiro added, via Ars.
For example, a product like the iPod Shuffle would be impossible to create, as the body would need to be made larger, and more controls would be needed to be able to tune stations.
The NAB is willing to cave into paying $100 million a year to the RIAA in royalties (under the Performance Rights Act), if the FM radios are implemented.
VirnetX to sue more companies over patents
In May, software giant Microsoft settled with little known company VirnetX for $200 million, after the former had been accused of patent infringement.
The patents in question covered methods for establishing Virtual Private Networks (VPN).
Microsoft now licenses the technology going forward.
This week, however, VirnetX has filed similar lawsuits against other technology companies, including Apple, Cisco, NEC and Aastra. VirnetX says each of the companies is currently violating at least one of five of the company’s patents relating to network communication.
The company is seeking monetary damages and injunctions against the products.
Without the aforementioned Microsoft settlement, the company was practically dead in the water, with a reported revenue of just $43,920 for 2009.
Apple employee charged with receiving over $1 million in kickbacks from suppliers
According to the Wall Street Journal an Apple employee has been arrested and charged with selling secrets to Asian suppliers in exchange for over $1 million in kickbacks.
Paul Shin Devine, who is one of Apple’s global supply managers, was charged “with offenses that include wire fraud, money laundering and unlawful monetary transactions,” which began in 2006.
Devine was charged in a federal grand jury indictment.
Says the Journal: “Devine came up with a scheme in which he supplied companies such as Cresyn Co. in South Korea, Kaedar Electronics Co. in China and Jin Li Mould Manufacturing Pte. Ltd. in Singapore with confidential information that would let them negotiate favorable contracts with Apple.”
“The indictment and civil suit claim that in return, Mr. Devine demanded payments, which were sent to bank accounts in his wife’s name in amounts that were small enough to avoid attention.”
The indictment also names Andrew Ang, who worked for one of Apple’s suppliers, and who is charged with wire fraud and conspiracy. Devine shared the kickback money with Ang, who brokered the deals between Jin Li and Apple.
George Lucas promises ‘Star Wars’ on Blu-ray in 2011
This weekend, during the Star Wars Celebration V, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced that all six movies from the popular Star Wars series will be released on Blu-ray, in the fall of 2011.
The films will come in The Star Wars Blu-ray Box Set.
Lucas did note that all the movies will be the “special editions,” since restoring the original versions (from the 80s) would “cost too much” and take too much time.
The box set will also include a plethora of documentaries, vintage behind-the-scenes moments, interviews, retrospectives and never-before-seen footage from the Lucasfilm archives.
“Blu-ray is the absolute best way to experience Star Wars at home – in pristine high definition,” adds George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars Saga. “The films have never looked or sounded better.”
As a teaser, the company showed off a deleted scene from “Return of the Jedi:”
George Lucas promises ‘Star Wars’ on Blu-ray in 2011
This weekend, during the Star Wars Celebration V, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced that all six movies from the popular Star Wars series will be released on Blu-ray, in the fall of 2011.
The films will come in The Star Wars Blu-ray Box Set.
Lucas did note that all the movies will be the “special editions,” since restoring the original versions (from the 80s) would “cost too much” and take too much time.
The box set will also include a plethora of documentaries, vintage behind-the-scenes moments, interviews, retrospectives and never-before-seen footage from the Lucasfilm archives.
“Blu-ray is the absolute best way to experience Star Wars at home – in pristine high definition,” adds George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars Saga. “The films have never looked or sounded better.”
As a teaser, the company showed off a deleted scene from “Return of the Jedi:”
Slim Xbox 360 hacked
In a short forum post today, Team Xecuter, in conjunction with Team Jungle and C4E has said that the new slimmed down Xbox 360 250GB model has been hacked, allowing users to playback backups.
Poster “Xecuter” says the team has successfully patched the DVD-Rom drive.
While a pack that can be released to the general public is nowhere near done, the first and probably hardest step is now finished, reads the post.
Xecuter took time to respond to commenters, as well:
Comment: It’s fake
Answer: We are Xecuter, C4E and Team Jungle. Duh.
Comment: …Get rich quick scheme
Answer: You mean like all the other free firmwares released ? Xecuter finance everything in the group so you don’t have to.
Comment: Does anyone knows a cheap decapping service in europe?
Answer: If only they still used the MT1319L, eh?
HTC Incredible getting Android 2.2 next week
Citing Verizon sources, Mashable has said that HTC Droid Incredible users will begin to receive Android 2.2 (Froyo) OTA during the next week, starting on Wednesday.
Those same Verizon team members already have Froyo installed on their devices, meaning the update is ready for consumer consumption.
Since the start of August, the Nexus One the HTC EVO 4G and the original Motorola Droid have updated to 2.2. Additionally, the Droid 2 has launched with the updated software already installed.
Froyo brings a 450 percent performance boost over 2.1, native support for Flash 10.1, USB and Wi-Fi tethering, Apps2SD and cloud sync.
A few other phones, such as the Dell Streak, Motorola Droid X, HTC MyTouch 3G Slide and Samsung Captivate have all had 2.2 promised but with no set timetable.
Google confirms purchase of Jambool
Google has confirmed their purchase of the virtual currency start-up Jambool for $70 million, continuing its strong expansion into the social gaming market.
“We’re pleased and excited to welcome the Jambool team to Google. We are committed to offering consumers and merchants innovative digital payment solutions and Jambool will help Google evolve our payments offering and expand into digital goods and content,” says Google.
Jambool was founded in 2006 and has been a hit with its Social Gold virtual currency product.
Social Gold can be used in MMOs, virtual worlds, regular online games and social gaming applications.
The company was started by former Amazon execs Vikas Gupta and Reza Hussein.
Last month, Google purchased the social gaming developer Slide, for $182 million, and earlier in the year, Google invested about $150 million in developer Zynga, the company behind hits like Farmville.
Murdoch to start national digital newspaper
Rupert Murdoch, the CEO of News Corp has announced this weekend that the company will launch a new national digital newspaper, one that will offer short, “snappy” stories and be available to tablet and smartphone users.
Says the CEO: “We’ll have young people reading newspapers. It’s a real game changer in the presentation of news.”
Murdoch hopes the new platform will transform the way people read news, especially on tablet devices, which are gaining popularity.
The paper will operate under the guidance of the New York Post, one of News Corp’s most profitable papers.
There is no timetable yet, but analysts anticipate a launch by Christmas.
Since the launch of the Apple iPad tablet in April, advertisers have increasingly looked to digital devices as a way to connect with users that have slowly but surely moved away from print news. Research firm Gartner anticipates 10.5 million tablets will be sold this year.
eBay starts its own cashback program
eBay has launched its new cashback rewards program this weekend, dubbed eBay Bucks, giving U.S. registered users a way to earn 2 percent back on most items they purchase through the popular auction site.
Users simply have to sign up for eBay Bucks, which is completely free, and you will be given 2 percent cashback on your purchases. That cash is then placed in your account, and can be used to take money off future purchases in the marketplace.
You must use PayPal to pay for items to get the cashback.
Furthermore, the cashback accumulates for 90 days before it is paid out to consumers.
A few categories are excluded from the earnings reward, including purchases from Classifieds, Business & Industrial Capital Equipment, Real Estate, and eBay Motors categories (except Parts & Accessories in eBay Motors).
View more details here: eBay Bucks FAQ
