Tech Archives - Page 8 of 16 - Serious Startups

With Jury Not In Agreement On Oracle Vs Google Case, Google Moves For Mistrial

Back in 2010 when Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems, Google found themselves in a bit of trouble over some usage of Java. The problem was that Google hadn’t gone through the proper steps when using Oracle’s API’s, and that this usage was infringing on Oracle copyrights. Fast forward to 2012, and we find ourselves right in the middle of the Oracle vs Google court case with some closure…sort of.

After dealing with a jurer accused to have discussed the case with a family member, the case had been put on hold earlier today. This suspended deliberations, but was cleared up when the jurer explained that she hadn’t necessarily about the case issues itself, but more of patents and the dealings with them. However, she had received some wrong information, which was explained when she was put on trial. When this was deemed a non-issue by the rest of the jury, the case began to proceed.

The jury decided that Google was definitely infringing on Oracle’s patents when developing Android. Google has stood their ground in their statement that they have done no such thing, but several lines of code and some internal documents lead many to believe that things may not be the way that Google has been describing them. So Google was found guilty, doesn’t this mean that the case should be finalized with a verdict? Not necessarily. While the jury agreed that Google was infringing, they could not agree on whether this fell under the rules of fair use. Because of this, the case will continue, with Google moving for a mistrial on the grounds of the jury’s indecision. This leads us to believe that after a few more months of discussion in court, the case will eventually end in a pretty large out of court settlement between Google and Oracle. Android is in no real danger at this point, at least from this specific case.

Source: Gizmodo

The Elder Scrolls Online Announced With A 2013 Release Goal

After all the talk about a multiplayer mode for Bethesda’s popular Elder Scrolls series, it looks like The Elder Scrolls online actually is real. Skyrim sold millions of copies within weeks of being out, coming nothing short of its predecessor Oblivion. The Elder Scrolls has become an extremely popular RPG series on PC and consoles, and is known for its extremely deep player-engaging experiences.

The Elder Scrolls Online will consist of an MMO experience on the entire continent of Tamriel. All of the “sub-continents” will be available as well, such as Cyrodiil from Oblivion and Skyrim. Hammerfell, High Rock, Morrowind, Black Marsh, Elsweyr, Valenwood, and Summerset Isles will all be playable and PvP will allow players to run rampant killing each other. The game is set 1000 years before the events of Skyrim (Elder Scrolls V), and there has been no storyline information released. Because this game will be multiplayer in nature, it will definitely differ from the current Elder Scrolls games available, but will likely appeal to the audience because of its highly-intriguing world. One thing that has been released about the plot is that players will be facing the evil Daedric Prince, Molag Bal, who is the Daedric Prince of slavery.

Zenimax Online Studios, founded by the developer of Dark Age of Camelot, will be developing this game for the PC and for Mac as well. Late 2013 is the proposed date for release, but in a project this big I wouldn’t be surprised if we encountered at least one delay. No pricing has been announced, and we are still in the dark as to whether this will require a monthly fee to play or just a one-time purchase. Be sure to check back for more details as this may be one of the biggest MMO’s to ever be released.

Source: IGN

Target Drops Kindle For Apple Mini Stores…. Wow!

Target has issued a statement confirming rumors that have been developing over the last two days suggesting that they are ending their sales relationship with Amazon and Kindle. The Minneapolis based retail chain said in a statement to The Verge:

“Target continually evaluates its product assortment to deliver the best quality and prices for our guests. Target is phasing out Kindles and Amazon- and Kindle-branded products in the spring of 2012. We will continue to offer our guests a full assortment of ereaders and supporting accessories including the Nook.”

The department store’s decision to stop carrying the Kindle line, including the Kindle Fire, is most likely to clear shelf space for Apple mini stores, or SWAS (store within a store), that were reported back in January. Targets been carrying iPods, and iPads for quite some time. Intomobile and other sites reported in January that they were going to expand that format and add more products.

More after the break
Read More…

Ikea Introduces New Knappa Cardboard Digital Camera

Ikea is the largest retailer of framed artwork in the world. They area also known for their flat laying furniture. I remember as a kid being amazed that everything that came from Ikea came in a box. It’s also the place for great swedish meatballs, cheap batteries and even cheaper trash cans and toilet plungers.

Now the Swedish furniture empire has added cheap digital cameras. How cheap? How’s free?

Ikea has introduced a new Knappa cardboard digital camera. The 2.3 megapixel camera is made out of one piece of cardboard, 2 batteries and a circuit board that houses the entire rest of the camera.

In a promotional video Ikea touts their great zooming function, just stretch your arms out. They also show their unique image stabilization function that greatly increases the clarity of the photo. Simply rest your elbows on a stationary chair and hold the camera tightly, voila it’s that easy.

The shutter time is nothing to write home about, from picture to picture you’re looking at about 8 seconds. It also only holds 40 pictures.

The idea behind the new cardboard camera is to use it to take pictures of Ikea’s new PS2012 collection and upload them to an Ikea furniture sharing social networking type site.

You can delete your pictures when you mass upload them to your computer or by holding a paperclip into the delete button.

There’s no word on whether they will sell these cameras after the promotional period or how long the promotional period will last however it’s actually a good idea to have them handy at Ikea in case a customer comes in without a digital camera or cell phone and wants to take photos of the exciting furniture, after all, Ikea is the DisneyLand of furniture stores.

Source: GizMag

Startup Interview: Meshin’s CEO Chris Holmes, Plus You Could Win An iPad!

Most app developers and development companies have been going to iOS before the Android platform. Trends are showing that’s starting to change. One of the companies that has released to Android before iPhone is Meshin.

Meshin’s co-founder Kristen Galliani explained to Nibletz.com that Apple doesn’t allow apps to call into other apps, that was one of the main reasons they needed the more open architecture of Android to build Meshin, an email and message aggregator, and Meshin Recall. Meshin Recall syncs with Evernote and helps organize your notes by using dates from your calendar. There is a lot more in store for Meshin Recall. The Meshin team is on the tip of the iceberg of the contextual intelligence space.

Meshin is about to unveil their Meshin Recall product for iOS and they are currently looking for Beta Testers to sign up. If you sign up for the iOS beta and refer the most people you could win one of those flash “New iPads” go here to do that.

Meshin came out of the Palo Alto Research Center with their biggest chunk of funding coming from Xerox (remember that little company that makes copiers and fathered the Mac?). PARC needed someone to bring Meshin to life and that someone is Chris Holmes.

With more than 25 years in the tech start up arena and some huge accomplishments under his belt he was the perfect fit.

Check out the interview after the break

Tim Cook Calls Windows 8 “Compromising”, Says iPad And MacBook Are Separate For A Reason

Microsoft has really hyped up their new plan to bring Windows tablets into the mass market. With Windows 8, Microsoft is trying to combine a software experience into both tablets and PC’s, bringing about a new wave of usage. Microsoft wants to develop apps that work seamlessly on both, and they want to build an environment where a user doesn’t feel any different when using a tablet compared when he uses his PC. This all sounds great and all, but in order to execute this plan Microsoft would have to do a lot of things we’ve never seen before in the mobile market and in the PC market.

Apple thinks this is the wrong way to go.

According to Tim Cook, Apple is purposely making MacBooks and iPads two completely different ecosystems. Answering a question about MacBook-iPad hybrid being a viable product in the future, Tim responded with a blunt but solid “no.” In fact, he went as far as using an analogy of combining a toaster and a refrigerator, explaining that these devices work great on their own, but combined would not be very pleasing to the user. Apple believes that streamlining two products down to one is “compromising” because somewhere in that process you will lose what makes these products work great for consumers. Apple has downright perfected their tablet. Not to say, it is perfect, but in comparison to the rest of today’s tablet market, the iPad is destroying the competition. Just look at the earnings numbers released today in the conference call. Apple recorded the best Q2 earnings call ever for the company, and iPads played a huge roll in doing so. Apple sold 11.8 million iPads in Q2 which is a 151% increase. They’re clearly doing something right.

Microsoft on the other hand, is having trouble getting any tablet sales at all. Windows 8 is supposed to be their savior, but is Tim Cook right? Apple has the idea of making one specific device do an outstanding job at what it is supposed to do. The MacBook, the iPad, the iPhone, all have specific pushes behind them that allow them to work together, but still separate them as completely different products for multiple reasons. Windows 8 will make tablets and PCs virtually identical on the software side of things, but this may cause some serious issues for overall performance of both of these products.

Tim Cook believes that Apple is doing the right things by separating and focusing their products, but Microsoft believes a combination will be the future for tablets and PC’s. Is Apple on the right path here, or will Microsoft come from behind to steal their market-dominating-crown. Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to check back for the latest tech news and updates.

Google Unveils Google Drive, The Company’s Unified Storage Service

What may be Google’s worst kept secret of all time, Google Drive, was finally announced today. Google has already had storage options available in other Google services (Google Docs, Google Music, Picasa, etc), but today they unveiled Drive as the unified way to manage just about anything you need to store. Google has been known to launch way too many products at a time instead of focusing on one, central service, so it’s nice to see them begin to implement unification into their ecosystem.

Much like they’ve done with the Play Store and Google+, Google is clearly trying to simplify all of their products down to one, easily-marketable line of products. In fact, Google Docs now redirects to Google Drive, and Google has stated that all previously available features will be there from the start. Google is also working on incorporating Google Drive into it’s products so they can dig files, photos, and anything else attachable by email into it’s services that interact with others, such as Google+ and Gmail.

Anyone who wants to can grab 5GB of Google Drive space for free, but getting anything over that will cost you a monthly subscription. 25GB will cost you $2.49, 100GB will be $4.99, and 1TB is $49.99. Google is also throwing in 25GB to your Gmail when you start paying them for Drive, which is also a plus (no pun intended). Google has released clients for Android, Mac, PC, but Apple’s iDevices have been left out for now with “clients on the way.” Google Docs has been updated to be the Google Drive app, so any users with it installed just have to go grab the update, but other than that be sure to check out all of the clients for your devices, and let us know what you think of Google’s new storage service in the comments below.

What’s In Your Bag: Colby Brown

In this episode of What’s In Your Bag we get up close and personal with a good friend of mine in Colby Brown. We’ve covered him more than anyone else with numerous Beyond The Lens features. He’s that much of an interesting interview so I couldn’t help it. He has been on the road and was able to take the time to inventory his gear along with sending a couple of photos…

Confirmed: Sprint Nexus NOT AOSP

Questions have been raised since the Galaxy Nexus landed on Verizon which/what is AOSP and what isn’t. Well just now, Jean-Baptiste Queru just took to Google+ to explain that the upcoming Sprint LTE version isn’t going to be AOSP.

The short answer is: the Sprint Galaxy Nexus is not supported in the Android Open Source Project.

The long answer: the release process for the Spring Galaxy Nexus is similar to that of the non-yakju variants of the GSM Galaxy Nexus (e.g. yakjuxw, yakjuux, yakjudv…), which makes that device similarly impossible to support in AOSP. There are no source files, no proprietary hardware-related binaries and no factory images available for the Sprint Galaxy Nexus. In addition, since it’s a CDMA device, it would probably be limited by the usual CDMA licensing issues that have been affecting the other CDMA devices.

New Mexico Startup: Whiteman Technology Unveils Windows Set Top Box At DEMO

A Clovis New Mexico startup, Whiteman Technology, is hoping to take advantage of a hole in consumer entertainment that’s been caused by the delayed release of next generation gaming systems by both Microsoft and Sony. While the world awaits the two gaming giant systems, Whiteman has unveiled a monster of a set top box.

There are a lot of choices in set top boxes these days. You’ve got Boxee, Roku, Google TV boxes, Netgear Neo boxes and many more all competing for the same space. However Whiteman has packed their box with a ton of features.

Whiteman Technology’s set top box features:

– The ability to display cable tv programming (not found on most boxes)
– Playing 3D games for the PC
– Recording 6 channels at the same time (DVR)
– 1 terabyte hard drive to store everything in your collection
– voice control and gesture recognition

“We’ve taken people off guard with a hardware startup,” Ryan Whiteman said at DEMO. “We have gotten a lot of attention, and we intend to build this in the U.S.”

Whiteman and his co-founders Blake Jordan and Shaffin Baldwin have not announced pricing or availability for the new set top box but did say it would be on par with TiVo’s set top boxes which tend to run a little more than the Roku, Boxee or Google TV variety. But, you’re getting a ton more features.

Whiteman Technology was one of 80 companies chosen to participate in IDG’s Demo Conference in Santa Clara, CA this past week.

source and photo: VB

Karma? Arianna Huffington Gets Hacked By Nigerian Hackers

Gawker is reporting and now Arianna her self is confirming that yesterday morning her personal email was hacked into. For those who don’t know who she is, she is the founder of Huggington Post, a blog site which after selling to AOL for over $300 million never gave a dime to her workers, many of whom she never paid in the past.

The email went out to look like Arianna her self sent a document for people to see. What it did was leave those who opened the email to a mock site for users to log into. Thus providing their email and passwords to the hackers.

Anonymous Is Building A New Social Music Platform

The RIAA and the hacktivist group Anonymous has been at odds for a while. Anonymous and coherts LulzSec went after most of the major record labels in 2011 getting usernames, email addresses and more and doing data dumps all over the place.

The new service called Anontune is still in the early stages of development. The system is designed to pull songs from third party sites like Youtube and then users can put them into their own playlists and share them. They plan to do all of this and all the while keep the service from getting shut down by the music industry, reports wired.

“We would say stuff like, ‘People really use YouTube as a music player yet it really sucks for that purpose … it’s too unorganized,’” the anon wrote to Wired. “And then, ‘YouTube does make a good music player but you can’t play all your songs on it since the obscure ones aren’t uploaded,’ then eventually, ‘Hmmm, what if you were to combine music websites like Myspace, Yahoo, YouTube and others?’”

More with video after the break
Read More…

Kansas City Startup: Rare Wire Takes The Wraps Off Their Native Mobile App Building Platform

The do it yourself app space is getting crowded, however most of the DIY app building platforms are based on HTML 5 or just wrappers for mobile sites. What Matt Angell and Kirk Hasenzahl, the co-founders of Rare Wire have built is a platform for non-developers to build their own native apps.

If you’re not familiar with the term native apps, that’s an app that you download to your smartphone or other mobile device, that for the most part functions on it’s own on the hardware side. Non native apps require the backbone of the internet to operate on and HTML 5 in most cases. The advantage to native apps is that they are popular and give the developer and user a sense that the app is created specifically for what it was downloaded to do. The advantage to HTML 5 is that it’s truly multi-platform enabled.

Rare Wire is an app development firm that builds white label apps for clients like the United States Military Academy at West Point, Ebony Magazine and the Atlantic, so they have a bunch of credibility backing them. They’ve been using their platform, called The Wire, to build apps for their clients, but are now unleashing it to other developers. According Hasenzahl the platform that they’ve developed allows developers with just web development experience to design truly native apps.

More after the break
Read More…