Month: August 2012

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From Ars Technica: Apple v. Samsung verdict is in: $1 billion loss for Samsung

Aurich Lawson

A jury of seven men and two women has just read the Apple v. Samsung verdict to a packed courtroom—and it was all bad news for Samsung. The Korean electronics giant has been found to infringe all of Apple’s utility patents and all but one of the four design patents asserted, and was ordered to pay more than $1.05 billion in damages to Apple.

That’s less than the $2.75 billion Apple asked for, but still a huge sum. If it holds up on appeal, it will stand as the largest patent verdict of all time. More importantly, it gives Apple a huge leg-up in the corporate patent wars, and immeasurably strengthens the company’s negotiating position with regard to the Android phones it is struggling against.

Samsung has been the number one seller of smartphones in the U.S. in the past few years, and this verdict could alter the balance of power. Apple’s ultimate target is Google, which created the Android operating system that runs on Samsung smartphones. Steve Jobs thought Android was a rip-off of Apple products, and vowed to declare “thermonuclear war” on the competing OS, according to his biography.

 

from Ars Technica

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From Popular Science – New Technology, Science News, The Future Now: Video: A Real Working Hoverbike Zooms Across the Desert

Tandem-Duct Aerial Aerofex

Future tech doesn’t always look the way the ’70s might’ve predicted, but sometimes it does. Case in point: this beautiful, fully functional hoverbike that could’ve been torn out of our archives. It’s going to be a while before you see one zipping down the street, but if the public does get a chance to ride one, the bike is rideable right out of the box–no training required.

Brought to you by aerospace firm Aerofex, the bike runs on a pair of powerful fans. It picks up on instinctive movements people make while riding a bicycle or motorbike, then moves in the same way (except, you know, flying), meaning anyone can have a go at it. For safety reasons, they’ve tested it at 30 mph and 15 feet high, although earlier versions of it went as fast as a helicopter.

Like all fun toys, the military will probably get this one first. The founders aren’t planning to make a manned version immediately, they told Innovation News Daily; instead they’re opting to use it as a test platform for creating hover drones.

But until we see it somewhere else, fight back your Star Wars speederbike dreams with this test run video, shot in the Mojave Desert.

[Aerofex via Innovation News Daily]

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From Droid Life: Analysts: Google’s Nexus 7 Sales Could Reach 8 Million By the End of 2012

Taken from the number of sales of the displays used in the device, it looks like Google will be looking at a grand total of 8 million Nexus 7 tablets sold by the end of 2012. According to what Google had previously expected to sell since the July launch, that’s more than double the previous estimates. Google spokespeople have yet to confirm these projections, but once the sales numbers are posted, folks are likely to be happily surprised at the popularity of the Jelly Bean-powered device.

I know I could speak for most readers here that it’s easily been one of the most popular Android devices ever launched. With fantastic build quality, Jelly Bean, and that unbeatable $200-$250 price tag, it can’t be beat.

Via: Computer World

Cheers Sameer!

from Droid Life

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From Ars Technica: City of Oakland, FCC identify source of police radio interference: AT&T

Since its installation in July 2011, the City of Oakland has had massive problems with its radio system.

On Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that local officials, in collaboration with investigators from the Federal Communications Commission, have now found the culprit to the Oakland Police Department’s ongoing public safety radio woes: AT&T.

Last week, FCC and the City of Oakland notified the mobile network that its towers were interfering with the radios, but the problem got significantly worse when a police car found itself within a quarter-mile of a tower. (That is, according to David Cruise, the city’s newly-hired public safety systems adviser, as reported by the Chronicle).

“If the officer is in an area close to one of their cell sites, essentially the cell site overpowers their radios,” he told the paper.

 

from Ars Technica

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From Autoblog: Study: Feds launch largest-ever road test of connected vehicles

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Vehicle-to-Vehicle communications envisioned

Vehicle-To-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-To-Infrastructure (V2I) communications are going to play a big role in future automobiles when it comes to autonomous vehicles, but in the near term, these technologies are being looked at as a way to make the roadways safer by reducing crashes and congestion. As part of its Safety Pilot program, the Department of Transportation has announced plans for the largest-ever real-world test of V2V and V2I technologies consisting of almost 3,000 cars, trucks and buses in Ann Arbor, Mich.

V2V and V2I allow vehicles to connect and communicate with one another along with roadways and intersections using a wifi signal with the intention of reducing vehicle collisions in the instances such as rear-end collisions, blind intersections, vehicles running a red light or vehicles changing lanes when another vehicle is in its blind spot. Automakers, including General Motors and Ford Motor Company have already been testing intelligent vehicles, but the benefit of a government-sponsored program like this is that it could create a universal language for vehicles to communicate with each other rather than each automaker coming up with its system independently.

Both GM and Ford are supplying vehicles for this program, but there will also be extensive feedback received from drivers. Ahead of its real-world tests, the DOT conducted a study that found 90-percent of drivers who experienced V2V and V2I had a “highly favorable opinion” of the technologies. Safety Pilot will last for a year, and the data collected will help the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration determine how the technology can be used in the future, along with what, if any, laws need to be made regarding V2V and V2I.

GM says that it can start offering this technology in its cars by the end of this decade and Ford says it has already started developing Intelligent Vehicles.

Scroll downfor V2V videos from GM and Ford as well as a press release from the U.S. DOT.

 

from Autoblog

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From Autoblog: Video: Consumer Reports cuts loose, compares Scion FR-S against Subaru BRZ

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Consumer Reports pits Scion FR-S against Subaru BRZ

The folks at Consumer Reports are a lot like the Ben Steins of the automotive world. At first glance, they are the dry-as-saltines, facts-only crew that can’t be bothered by anything but the empirical data with which they distill to arrive at their coveted “Recommended” accolades. It isn’t always this way with CR, though, as we found out when they hopped behind the wheel of the Toyobaru coupes of our collective dreams, the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ.

Automotive engineer Jake Fisher hosts this test and speaks for the CR team explaining that, though both coupes are very much the same animal, they have subtle differences. The BRZ comes with a bit more available kit, like a rear spoiler, HID headlights and navigation, while the FR-S carries a lower price. All seems like what we’ve heard before, right? Well, CR ends up favoring the FR-S, claiming it has a more balanced ride and handles better.

This decision stands in contrast to a recent Motor Trend comparison test, in which the print publication favored the driving characteristics of the Subaru over the Scion.

More than anything, this highlights just how close the two cars are, and as CR‘s Fisher put it, “You’re not gonna go wrong with either one of these.” We agree, but click belowto see the video and find out exactly what made CR err on the side of the Scion, then weigh in with your thoughts in Comments.

 

from Autoblog