Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Xenographic writes “SCO has finally lost to Novell, now that Judge Kimball has entered final judgment against SCO. Of course, this is SCO we’re talking about. There’s still the litigation in bankruptcy court, which allowed this case to resume so that they could figure out just how much SCO owes, which is $3,506,526, if I calculated the interest properly, $625,486.90 of which will go into a constructive trust. And then there’s the possibility that SCO could seek to have the judgment overturned in the appeals courts, or even the Supreme Court when that fails. Of course, they need money to do that and they don’t really have much of that any more. Remember how Enderle, O’Gara and company told us that SCO was sure to win? I wonder how many people have emailed them to say, ‘I told you so.’”

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Original post by timothy

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes “In Atlantic Recording v. Raleigh, an RIAA case pending in St. Louis, Missouri, the defendant has asserted detailed counterclaims against the RIAA for federal RICO violations, fraud, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, prima facie tort, trespass, and conspiracy. The claims focus on the RIAA’s ‘driftnet’ tactic of suing innocent people, and of demanding extortionate settlements. The RICO ‘predicate acts′ alleged in the 42-page pleading (PDF) are extortion, mail fraud, and wire fraud. The proposed class includes all people residing in the US ‘who were falsely accused… of downloading copyrighted sound recordings owned by the counterclaim Defendants and making them available for distribution or mass distribution over a P2P network and who incurred costs and damages including legal fees in defense of such false claims′ or ‘whose computers used in interstate commerce and/or communication were accessed… without permission or authority’. This is the second class action of which we are aware against the RIAA and the Big 4 recording companies, the first being the Oregon class action brought by Tanya Andersen, which is presently in the discovery phase.”

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Original post by kdawson

An anonymous reader writes “The cyber-bullying trial of Lori Drew opened yesterday. She was indicted for conspiring to access and accessing MySpace illegally in order to ‘further a tortious act, namely, intentional infliction of emotional distress’ (PDF of the indictment). The BBC has background on the case, the NYTimes covers the opening statements, and Wired has today’s testimony.”

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Original post by kdawson

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes “The RIAA’s case in Boston against a 24-year-old grad student, SONY BMG Music v. Tenenbaum, in which Prof. Charles Nesson of Harvard Law School, along with members of his CyberLaw class, are representing the defendant, may shape up as a showdown between the Electronic Frontier and Big Music. The defendant’s witness list includes names such as those of Prof. Lawrence Lessig (Author of ‘Free Culture’), John Perry Barlow (former songwriter of The Grateful Dead and cofounder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation), Prof. Johan Pouwelse (Scientific Director of P2P-Next), Prof. Jonathan Zittrain (Author of ‘The Future of the Internet — And How to Stop It’), Professors Wendy Seltzer, Terry Fisher, and John Palfrey, and others. The RIAA requested, and was granted, an adjournment of the trial, from its previously scheduled December 1st date, to March 30, 2009. (The RIAA lawyers have been asking for adjournments a lot lately, asking for an adjournment in UMG v. Lindor the other day because they were so busy preparing for the Tenenbaum December 1st trial … I guess when you′re running on hot air, you sometimes run out of steam).”

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Original post by timothy

CNet has a report that a federal judge has dismissed Psystar’s antitrust suit against Apple. Observers had said that the counter-suit embodied the Mac clone-maker’s best chance of prevailing and staying in business. We’ve been following Psystar and the dueling lawsuits since the beginning.

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Original post by kdawson

netbuzz writes “The state of Washington is suing a search engine optimization and Web services outfit, based in Redmond, that has done business under the names Visible.net, Captures.com, and WebMarketingSource.com. In essence, the state says these entities have deceived mostly mom-and-pop sites through unfulfilled performance promises and financial shenanigans after charging up to $10,000 in up-front charges and more in monthly fees. About 90 complaints have been lodged over four years, the state says.”

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Original post by kdawson

eldavojohn writes “”Some of your classmates are trying to contact you!” reads one e-mail. Attempts to remove yourself from the mailing list may only result in more mailings from the site of ill repute. Well, Ars Techica brings us news of a suit against Classmates.com. You don’t need to look far for anti-classmates.com sentiment spreading like wild fire across the tubes.” Good next target: ads that say “you’ve already won” some expensive toy.

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Original post by timothy

gollum123 writes “The US Supreme Court has removed restrictions on the Navy’s use of sonar in training exercises near California. The ruling is a defeat for environmental groups who say the sonar can kill whales and other mammals. In its 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court said the Navy needed to conduct realistic training exercises to respond to potential threats. The court did not deal with the merits of the claims put forward by the environmental groups. In reinstating the use of sonar, the top US court rejected a lower federal judge’s injunction that had required the US Navy to take various precautions during submarine-hunting exercises. The Bush administration argued that there is little evidence of harm to marine life in more than 40 years of exercises off the California coast. It said that the judges should have deferred to the judgment of the Navy and Mr Bush. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said overall public interest was ’strongly in favor of the Navy.’ ‘The most serious possible injury would be harm to an unknown number of the marine mammals,’ Chief Justice Roberts wrote. ‘In contrast, forcing the Navy to deploy an inadequately trained anti-submarine force jeopardizes the safety of the fleet.’”

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Original post by samzenpus

Filed under: Laptops

Hey guys / gals, check this out. Best Buy is practically admitting that it is just now starting to “gather insights from customers and work with manufacturers to design products that address [consumers′] needs.” In a rather odd release, the big box retailer is announcing two new laptops that’ll be exclusive to its store: the 14.1-inch Toshiba Satellite E105-S1402 and the 13.3-inch HP Pavilion dv3510nr. As for the former, expect a 1.2-inch thin frame, WXGA (1,280 x 800) panel, backlit keyboard, DVD burner, 5.5-hours of battery life and an $1,199 price tag. The HP (shown after the break) will include a LED-backlit WXGA display, up to 4-hours of battery life, inbuilt webcam and precisely the same retail price. Eventually, Best Buy is hoping to expand the Blue Label series to other product lines, though there’s no word on where to find these elusive input cards that it’s supposedly using to pick and choose wares.

Continue reading Exclusive HP / Toshiba laptops first in Best Buy’s Blue Label lineup

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Wireless, Networking

Aruba Networks already installed the “world’s largest” WLAN network at The Ohio State University, but its latest deployment just seems strangely more, how do we say… patriotic. Tag-teaming with Babylon Telecommunications, the pair has rolled out a WiFi network that will provide internet access to over 20,000 US soldiers at Joint Base Balad in Iraq. Believe it or not, there was no existing authorized web access at the base before these two stepped in, but thanks to a contract awarded by the Army & Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES), troops at the largest US military base in the region can now e-mail loved ones with ease, test their ping times from the sandbox and join a few online poker tournaments during down time.

[Via InformationWeek, image courtesy of DefenseLink]

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Original post by Darren Murph

While audio analyst Tim Gideon slaves away at PC Magazine’s comprehensive review, it’s time for some armchair analysis.

Of late, regardless of what Apple announces, a gray haze of ennui envelops the Apple faithful. And there is some cause for concern: why does the Zune’s implementation of Wi-Fi seem so sophisticated by comparison? Why was there no subscription service? Is the Touch/iPhone platform a true gaming device, or just a dumping ground for dumb apps?

All petty complaints, in my opinion. Sure, what Apple announced was no surprise. And there was no “just one more thing″. But the company listened to its customers, revamped the nano, and offered a few more updates to the Touch. My verdict: not impressive, but not a disappointment, either.

What did you think? And after you’re done telling me, be sure and wander into the Zune versus iPod thread

Original post by Mark Hachman

Even with all of the software announcements, like iTunes 8, everyone had hardware on their minds today, as Steve Jobs took the stage in San Francisco to issue a glut of new music-centric products.

Apple’s head didn’t fail to deliver on his annual promise of new iPods, either, with updates to the Nano, Touch, and Classic lines.

Apple phased out the thicker version of the iPod Classic, jamming the player’s largest capacity–120GB–into a more svelte package. The company also dropped the price on the player to $249.

The real star of the show, however, was the new iPod Nano. The device’s fourth generation bears a strong resemblance to those pictures that have leaked out across gadget blogs over the past few days, with a longer body and larger display. The screen’s orientation shifts when the player is turned sideways, making it possible to watch video.

The Genius feature, introduced in iTunes 8, is now incorporated into the device. Pressing down on the center of the Clickwheel brings up a new pop-up menu that lets users make playlists on the fly. The Nano also now features a built-in voice recorder.

The new Nano boasts 24 hours of music playback and four hours of video on a single charge, according to Jobs. It’s available in a rainbow of new colors. The Nano is available in 8- and 16GB capacities, for $149 and $199, respectively. The 8GB is available today, with the 16GB following early next week, at the latest.

Apple also introduced updates to the iPod Touch line. The new rev of the device features integrated volume controls on its side, a built-in speaker, Genius playlist integration, and built-in apps, including Nike Plus for workouts.

Original post by Brian Heater

As we brace ourselves for the seemingly inevitably fourth-generation iPod nanos, one Hong Kong-based company is sending a little love to its predecessor. The new iBikeConsole is actually a fairly innovative approach (I don′t often use those words in tandem when describing the latest in a long glut of iPod accessories) to an under-addressed problem: attempting to bike with a soundtrack.

The case clips to the center of your bikes handle bars, while waterproof and shock-proof controls attach on either side, putting the screen front and center, while assuring that your hands don’t leave the handlebars as you attempt to adjust the volume or advance a track.

The Mode button, meanwhile, lets you “check your speed, trip distance, and more.” Pretty snazzy, and the site has a nice little Flash demo of what the product looks like in action.

iBikeConsole is compatible with the first three generations of Nanos (no word on gen four, of course) and is available now for $76.

Seeing as how using the device means that your ears will be occupied and your eyes will spend an inordinate amount of time staring between the handlebars, I suppose the phrase “use with care” goes without saying.

Original post by Brian Heater

As we brace ourselves for the seemingly inevitably fourth-generation iPod nanos, one Hong Kong-based company is sending a little love to its predecessor. The new iBikeConsole is actually a fairly innovative approach (I don’t often use those words in tandem when describing the latest in a long glut of iPod accessories) to an under-addressed problem: attempting to bike with a soundtrack.

The case clips to the center of your bikes handle bars, while waterproof and shock-proof controls attach on either side, putting the screen front and center, while assuring that your hands don’t leave the handlebars as you attempt to adjust the volume or advance a track.

The Mode button, meanwhile, lets you “check your speed, trip distance, and more.” Pretty snazzy, and the site has a nice little Flash demo of what the product looks like in action.

iBikeConsole is compatible with the first three generations of Nanos (no word on gen four, of course) and is available now for $76.

Seeing as how using the device means that your ears will be occupied and your eyes will spend an inordinate amount of time staring between the handlebars, I suppose the phrase “use with care” goes without saying.

Original post by Brian Heater

I’ll be the first to admit that we all get a little over-excited when it comes to Apple product releases. We’ve sent Lance Ulanoff and Tim Gideon to San Francisco to cover Apple’s Let’s Rock announcement tomorrow, and the rest of us are just sitting around the New York offices eagerly awaiting the company’s tight-lipped announcement.

A British company called Jivo may have got a bit too excited about the whole thing. Today they sent out a release for their new cases for the iPod Nano 4g, which is widely speculated to be one of the products announced tomorrow.

Priced at £19.99, the dimensions of the case match media speculations about the upcoming player, with a wider screen that resembles current Zune flash-based models.

Slip up or wishful thinking? I suppose we’ll all find out, this time tomorrow.

Original post by Brian Heater