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Not only did Samsung not infringe on Apple's patents, a parade of witnesses for Samsung told the jury today in the Apple-Samsung trial, those patents aren't valid even if Samsung did copy them. With some help from Apple's very light cross-examination, Samsung again flew through a lengthy list of experts who testified on the relative worthlessness of Apple's patents for "data detectors" (also referred to as "quick links"), universal search, autocorrection and the "slide to unlock" concept.
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Fueling speculation that Apple may be planning to expand iTunes Radio to selected countries in the near future, tweets on Twitter have revealed that Apple's director of iAd services, Paul Wright, has been making the rounds of London media marketing and ad agencies where he is based. This follows claims by online radio service Bloom, which would be a competitor to iTunes Radio in the UK, that it was rebuffed from advertising on iAd, and a report of iTunes Radio briefly functioning in Ecuador.
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For observers in Apple's battle against the US Department of Justice over alleged e-book "price fixing," it will come as no shock whatsoever that Judge Denise Cote has ruled against the company on a connected legal matter -- but the fact that she actually cited a reasoning based in law this time may surprise some. The US District Court judge has refuted Apple's filing for a dismissal in the lawsuits brought by 33 states and territories based on the DOJ case ruling.
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Google debuted its Hangouts-based video support service Google Helpouts last fall; today an app version for iPhone has been released. Users can connect over Google's Hangouts service to experts who are knowledgable in a specific subject for tutoring. The iOS app offers the ability to find, schedule, give or start a "Helpout," read reviews and listing details, receive text-message and mobile reminders, and more. Helpouts for iPhone does not support creating new listings for topics, as this feature is currently limited to its web version. Available for free on iTunes, Google Helpouts requires iOS 6.0 or later.
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Just shy of a week after the last release, Apple has issued its seventh beta of the forthcoming maintenance release, 10.9.3, to developers. As before, the new version lists no known issues, and asks testers to focus on any remaining issues with graphics drivers, audio, Mail, Safari, and the re-introduced feature of local syncing of Contacts and Calendar data through iTunes to local devices. The new build, 13D43, also includes preliminary support for pixel doubling on 4K displays.
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Apple, Samsung, Google and Microsoft, among others, have joined with the top five US wireless carriers to create an industry group dedicated to fighting smartphone theft and implementing multi-platform technology to aid that cause by next summer. HTC, Huawei, Motorola and Nokia are also part of the group, which is aiming to create a "baseline anti-theft tool" similar to the steps Apple has already taken in its own iPhone security software, particularly with regards to preventing reactivation.
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Intel Corporation today reported first-quarter revenue of $12.8 billion, operating income of $2.5 billion, net income of $1.9 billion and earnings per share of 38 cents. This is a dramatic drop from the company's fourth quarter results, with a drop of 26 percent in net income, with a drop of eight percent of the company's revenue.
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Following a Nikkei report to the effect earlier this week, Alpine has officially confirmed plans to ship aftermarket receivers compatible with Apple's CarPlay. The units will roll out in the US and Europe towards the end of 2014, but apart from a concept image, no other details are available. The Nikkei account suggested prices would fall between $500 and $700.
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Feral Interactive has announced today that Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut has been released for OS X, available exclusively through Steam. Deus Ex: Human Revolution players perform as an ex-SWAT specialist who has been hired to oversee the security of an experimental biotechnology firm. Adam Jensen discovers there is more to the company than previously thought when a black ops team breaks in and kills scientists.
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Today, Ricoh Imaging Americas Corporation has revealed the new Pentax 645Z magnesium alloy-bodied medium-format DSLR. The new camera features a 51.4MP CMOS image sensor, tiltable LCD, and is the only camera so far in the medium-format category to offer video recording capabilities.
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A&E has updated two of its iOS apps -- History, and the network's namesake -- with support for watching live TV. Previously users were able to watch clips and full episodes, but only after the fact. Like some other TV apps, gaining access to the live streams requires a cable subscription.
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Microsoft has launched a new cheaper tier of its Office 365 subscription service, aimed at individuals wanting to use the productivity suite. Hinted at last month, Office 365 Personal allows for the software to be installed and used on one PC or Mac and one tablet, including the iPad version, rather than the five computers and five tablets provided in the more expensive Office 365 Home Premium, renamed to Home, subscription plan.
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Audio specialist Pioneer has announced plans to ship five Apple CarPlay-compatible receivers this summer. The new models in the NEX series will all have large LCD displays, but come in at very different price points. The cheapest model, the AVH-4000NEX, is set to cost $700. Higher-end models will ship for $750, $900, $1,200, and $1,400. Pioneer is also promising various non-CarPlay related improvements; the units are expected to have more responsive interfaces, for example, and better sound and safety features.
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This week in the MacNN forums, members help other long-time users and Fresh-Faced Recruits resolve problems. Forum members are assisting one Fresh-Faced Recruit with an iMac that is unable to recognize audio inputs or outputs after a power failure, but so far have been unsuccessful in their attempts. Yesterday, Junior Member "phkc070408" was trying to determine if there was a way to assign a specific key or series of keys to type a pre-programmed set of text.
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This week, Apple's online store has a wide selection of refurbished iPad and iPod models on sale. Right now, the refurbished 16GB iPad mini can be had for just $249 after a $50 discount. A $120 discount slashes the cost of the second-generation 16GB iPad 2 down to $279.
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MacMall.com has dropped the price on the 27-inch iMac from $1,800 down to $1,400. Until April 30, a $100 mail-in-rebate offer drops the price even further to $1,300. That is about $200 less than the lowest price offered anywhere else. This iMac features a 2.9GHz Intel quad-core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive. Included is a one year warranty on parts and labor from Apple.
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