Vonage to Pay Sprint $80 Million, Settling Patent Dispute
Forestalling a possible injunction of the sale of its voice-over-IP services that would likely have crippled the company, Vonage agreed this morning to pay Sprint Nextel a one-time fee of $80 million, for a license covering all past and future usage of Sprint's intellectual property. Two weeks ago, a jury found Vonage infringed upon Sprint's patents in the VoIP field, and had been ordered to pay $69.5 million plus 5% of its future revenues.
The deal effectively ends one of two disputes with major patent holders with whom Vonage has been competing for business. The other is with Verizon, and the judge in that case may yet issue an injunction unless Vonage has an inclination to settle there as well.
iPod Nano Catches Man's Pants on Fire
A Georgia man has escaped injury after the iPod nano he owned caught fire inside of his pocket, the exact cause of which is not yet known. Danny Williams of Douglassville, Georgia said all that protected him from burns was a piece of glossy paper that he had in his pocket along with the device. The burning nano did, however, burn a hole in the man's pants.
Williams works at a kiosk Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. He said the incident could have posed a big problem: "If TSA had come by and seen me smoking, they could have honestly thought I was a terrorist," he told WSB-TV. According to Willams' parents, Apple has said it would replace the unit. Apple has so far refused to comment on the incident.
Microsoft Preps 7 Patches for Tuesday
Microsoft has announced that it will issue seven security bulletins on Tuesday, fixing issues in Windows, Office and Outlook Express. Four of the patches will cover "Critical" vulnerabilities while another three deal with problems rated "Important."
The four critical issues involve remote code execution on Windows and in Office. The Important fixes are for denial of service, spoofing and elevation of privilege flaws. Each month, Microsoft announces details of upcoming patches the week before, but does not go into specifics of what vulnerabilities are covered. Separately, three non-security, high-priority updates will be released Tuesday on Microsoft Update with another being delivered via Windows Update.
Journalists' Protection Bill Passes Senate Judiciary: Are Bloggers Covered?
A bill attempting to reconcile a journalist's right to protect its sources with the federal government's need to know timely and critical information, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, but not without more exceptions having been added to the original House version. Still, the bill continues to define journalists rather loosely, leading some to believe federal protection could yet extend to independent, often solo bloggers.
Specifically, S. 2035, the Free Flow of Information Act, doesn't even use the word "journalist." Instead it refers to a person covered by protections of the Act, and defines that person as someone engaged in journalism. It then defines "journalism" as "the regular gathering, preparing, collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing, reporting, or publishing of news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public."
RIM Doubles Profits on Strong Results
In the midst of increased competition from the iPhone, BlackBerry maker RIM posted a higher than expected profit and strong subscriber numbers.
Some analysts had predicted that the release of the iPhone might have a negative impact on RIM's overall business. However, at least for now the company is doing well in spite of those concerns.
New Blu-ray Features Freeze Older Players; Updates Coming
With the next wave of interactive features having been added to 20th Century-Fox's latest Blu-Ray Disc releases, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and The Day After Tomorrow, there was always a certain level of anticipation that some existing Blu-ray consoles would have trouble, especially the first-generation editions. Surprisingly, it's the second generation which is seeing some early problems, with reports from owners of Samsung's BD-P1200 that they can't play either of these titles.
"You know, this really sucks...how much did we pay for the freaking things?" asked one AVS Forum member on Tuesday. "It's bad enough you have to choose sides to play certain movies, but now some don't even work."
XP SP3 Beta Preview Out, Last Update to XP
Microsoft sent out an e-mail to Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 beta testers, announcing the arrival of the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Beta Preview. Microsoft reiterated that this will be the final update for the aging operating system, which debuted in 2001.
No new features are planned for what is essentially a roll-up of existing updates. As Windows XP nears its end-of-life, Microsoft can ensure customers are up-to-date by telling them to upgrade to SP3, as opposed to SP2 with over one hundred additional patches. Final availability of XP SP3 is scheduled for the first half of 2008.
Sony Sells 500,000 New PSPs
Sony said Thursday that it had sold 500,000 units of its updated PlayStation Portable model in Japan. While sales have cooled significantly since its September 20 launch when 250,000 were sold in a mere four days, it was still a blockbuster month for the device. Sales were the highest since December 2004, the month the original PSP launched.
The PSP led all other consoles -- including the set-top ones -- during the week of September 24 to 30 in Japan, according to figures from MediaCreate. The device sold 102,809 units, significantly more than second place Nintendo DS at 72,895. The closest console was the Wii, which sold 24,143 consoles, the firm said.
Apple Owns Up to iMac Freezing Issues
Apple confirmed Thursday that there was indeed an issue with a recent software update causing a limited number of its iMac desktops to experience user interface freezes, and that it required a restart to remedy the problem.
The exact reason for the issue is not yet known, although Apple said it has a team of researchers looking into the problem. Once the root cause is identified, a software patch will be issued. An Apple spokesperson said the likely time frame for the fix will be sometime later this month.
Sony Debuts Cheaper PS3 in Europe, Without Backwards Compatibility
Confirming speculation, Sony on Friday said it will introduce a new base model of its PlayStation 3 console in Europe, Africa, Australasia, and the Middle East.
The new console includes a 40 GB hard drive, Wi-Fi, and HDMI connectivity. Sony says the introduction of the new console has a lot to do with consumer feedback as well as research into prospective console owners.
Microsoft Names New Zune Chief
Just two days after it launched its redesigned Zune music player, Microsoft has named a new head for the Zune unit.
Microsoft veteran Rick Thompson has been named Zune vice-president, and will report to J Allard, the company's design chief for its entertainment and devices division. Allard managed the Zune division prior to Thompson's promotion.
Corel's New 'Format-Neutral' WordPerfect Office X3 Update in Beta
It isn't really a new version of WordPerfect, and in more than one way, that fact is starting to show. But for the product that still purports to be the world's #2 commercial word processor, just behind Microsoft by about 85 points give or take a few, even the smallest change may as well be a monumental shift. This week, Corel released to selected beta testers an updated version of its WordPerfect Office X3 suite, which still features the Quattro Pro spreadsheet, and which now places the OpenDocument Format on an equal standing with Microsoft Word formats.
"At the end of the day, customers don't care about formats - they shouldn't have to," remarked Corel's director of product management Jason Larock in an interview with BetaNews. "I think for a consumer or small business customer, I don't want him thinking, 'Should I be ODF or should I be OOXML or WordPerfect format?' I just want him to work with his documents, work with them correctly."
Microsoft Confirms Split From Bungie
In a surprising turn of events, Microsoft confirmed Friday that it had indeed severed ties with Bungie, the creators of its popular Halo franchise.
The split is shocking due to the fact that Bungie and Microsoft had just finished the most successful entertainment launch with Halo 3, netting some $300 million in the first week of sales.
Report: iPhone Coming to Canada via Rogers
Apple is planning to begin selling its Apple iPhone through Rogers Wireless in Canada by mid-October, technology news site Digital Journal reported this week. The site said a source from within Canadian luxury retailer Holt Renfew said it would be receiving the phone within two weeks, and it would retail in the country for $799.
If true, such a high price for the phone may turn off many buyers. Although prices are typically higher in Canada, a weak dollar has brought the currencies to near parity, and Canadian consumers may balk at paying the premium. Apple would not comment on the report, and a Rogers Wireless representative would neither confirm nor deny it.
Guilty: Duluth Woman Owes $222,000 for Pirating Songs
As first reported by the Duluth News Tribune, local resident Jammie Thomas was found guilty by a jury in US District Court of having pirated 24 specific audio files, and was order to pay plaintiffs from the recording industry a total of $222,000.
It could have been much worse, with evidence presented that the Kazaa client on Thomas' system had been responsible for the proliferation of as many as 1,702 tracks. At $9,250 per track, she could legally have been liable for as much as $15.74 million.
Most Commented Stories
BetaNews, your source for breaking tech news, reviews, and in-depth reporting since 1998.
Regional iGaming Content
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.