Vonage Asks for Retrial in Verizon Case
Following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday that called into question the patentability of "obvious" inventions, Vonage on Tuesday asked a federal appeals court to vacate a ruling that it infringed on Verizon's voice over IP patents and send the case back to the U.S. District Court for a retrial.
The Supreme Court decision came as part of KSR v. Teleflex; justices ruled in favor of KSR saying Teleflex's patents on electronic sensors in accelerator pedals were too obvious. In addition, the court said the Federal Circuit Court had recently too quickly sided with patent holders.
Google to Unveil 'iGoogle' Branding
Seemingly taking a page from Apple's naming playbook, Google on Tuesday will unwrap "iGoogle," a new brand for the search company's Personalized Homepage service. News features will arrive alongside the iGoogle site, including a "Gadget Maker" and location based search results.
Google's Personalized Homepage lets users create exactly that: a customized start page for their Web browsing. On the page, users can place "gadgets" containing information they are interested in, be it weather, stock feeds, news feeds from Web sites, and even the current date and time.
Microsoft: Expression Not an Adobe Competitor
FROM MIX 07 Microsoft on Monday officially began shipping Expression Studio, the company's new product suite for building what it calls "next-generation user experiences" for Windows as well as the Web. Expression targets the new breed of designer that is also part developer.
Expression was largely created to help companies build applications that take advantage of the new Windows Presentation Foundation found in Windows Vista. Microsoft hoped the rich application capabilities would draw users to Vista, but developers have been slow to build such experiences.
Microsoft Offers Free Video Hosting
FROM MIX 07 In order to spur adoption of its new Silverlight platform for developing rich Internet applications, Microsoft is offering up free video hosting that falls under the company's Windows Live services brand.
While the downloadable runtime and development tools such as Expression Studio and Visual Stidio provide the crux of Microsoft's Silverlight effort, services are important as well, says product manager Brian Goldfarb. This full ecosystem is what Microsoft hopes will set Silverlight apart from rivals like Adobe Flex and Sun's Java.
Microsoft Details Vision for Web Future
FROM MIX 07 Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie took the stage at the company's MIX 07 conference in Las Vegas Monday morning to discuss Microsoft's vision for the future of the Web, integrating software and services.
Ozzie opened his keynote by highlighting the difficult associated with creating applications for the Web due to the fragmentation across technologies, ranging from the Web browser to set-top box and mobile phone.
Yahoo Launches First Legal Lyrics Site
Yahoo! Music on Tuesday is launching the first legitimate repository for song lyrics thanks to a licensing deal with Gracenote, the company behind CDDB. Lyrics for 400,000 songs from the five major record labels and more will initially be available.
While lyrics have long been available on the Web, with some sites boasting libraries even larger than Yahoo's, this is the first official effort, which required deals with nearly 100 music publishers. Current illegitimate lyric sites also contain many errors, and tend to make money through spyware and other questionable advertising methods.
Microsoft Responds as EU Considers Break-Up
Barely meeting a deadline to respond to the European Commission's Statement of Objections that was issued March 1, Microsoft today asked EU regulators what it should charge for Windows Server protocols, if they feel current prices are "unreasonable."
As previously reported by BetaNews, Microsoft divides its intellectual property in categories based on the degree of confidentiality of IP information licensees would be receiving. Certain protocols which may fall outside the realm of patentability are given a separate classification, and for those, Microsoft wants to charge a flat fee; but for technologies for which it claims patent rights, the company proposes either US dollar rates per server or percentages of revenue.
EU Wireless Carriers Threaten to Raise Domestic Fees
The ongoing disagreement between the European Union and the mobile phone industry continues to heat up over a proposal to cap the cost of roaming fees. The GSM Association says carriers may be forced to raise domestic fees in order to balance the loss of roaming revenue.
Last July, the European Commission said it wanted to cut roaming fees by up to 70 percent, claiming that consumers were being taken advantage of while wireless carriers reaped huge profits. However, it said legislation would be a last resort, and it hoped the networks work make the changes on their own.
Google Wants Your Web History
A new effort from Google could raise the ire of those concerned about Google's growing reach: the company wants to track and store every Web page you visit. The feature, called Web History, is an expanded version of the company's previous Search History offering.
The idea of Web History is to enable Google Account users to look back through everything they've viewed on the Internet, be it search results, Web pages, images, or multimedia content such as video. Every URL will be stored and indexed within Google's massive infrastructure so users don't have to keep a history on their PC.
Dell Brings Back Windows XP as Option
In response to huge customer demand, Dell has brought back Windows XP Home and Professional as operating system options on a handful of consumer PCs. The computer maker, like most others, had largely switched its product lines entirely to Windows Vista.
The decision came after feedback on Dell's IdeaStorm Web site, where customers are asked what things they'd like to see the company do. Previous requests have included offering Linux as an option, and including OpenOffice rather than just Microsoft Office.
BitTorrent Uploader Faces 5 Years
The United States Department of Justice said this week that a fifth defendant has plead guilty to copyright infringement stemming from the crackdown on the Elite Torrents BitTorrent network, which was illegally spreading music, movies and software.
24 year-old Sam Kuonen of Columbus, Ga., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and criminal copyright infringement. He faces up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for July 16.
Microsoft Opens Beta Community Sites
In recent years, Microsoft has made major strides in building up its community outreach. The company has invited bloggers to special events and conferences, established a "Featured Communities" program, and even actively sought feedback from enthusiasts for Windows Vista.
Now, the company is taking that effort one step further by launching a series of beta Web sites designed for those who can't get enough of Microsoft. Initially, the Microsoft Community will be made up of Forums, Blogs, and a social bookmarking tool called Tagspace.
TurboTax Rush Leads to IRS E-file Meltdown
The Internal Revenue Service's electronic filing system used by Intuit's popular TurboTax tax preparation software came to a grinding halt Tuesday night, as users rushed to file before midnight. The company apologized to users, and promised that their taxes will be considered on time.
A message on Intuit's site last night read: "Intuit is working with the IRS and has notified them that throughput on our electronic filing system was not what we expected, resulting in a system slowdown. We encourage customers to continue trying to e-file as we continue to work on the issue."
Adobe Builds Media Player for Flash
Adobe on Monday offered visitors of the NAB 2007 conference in Las Vegas a peek at its new Media Player desktop application, designed to play Flash video content without requiring a Web browser. The program, formerly code-named "Philo," will enter beta testing this spring.
Although named as such, Adobe Media Player takes a different approach from that found in Windows Media Player and iTunes. Instead of focusing on existing, local content, the application relies on RSS feeds to receive Flash video. Adobe will essentially provide a virtual storefront, where users can discover new content and subscribe to it.
Netflix Taps ReplayTV Founder to Head Internet TV Group
Online DVD rental service Netflix, which has made no secret of its plans to get into the movie downloading business, has appointed Anthony Wood to head its newly created Internet TV group. His focus will be on delivering movies directly to subscribers' televisions via the Internet.
Wood has no stranger to streaming content to the living room. He was the founder of ReplayTV, which competed with TiVo for DVR dominance before its acquisition by SonicBlue in 2001. Wood served as senior vice president of engineering and was responsible for the company's ReplayTV and Rio lines.
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