They are allowing individuals to share data between devices. Meaning I can have 1 data plan for my phone and tablet.

I listen to pandora for several hours a day at work and I never go past 1.5 gigs a month.

Its the other way around. They are waiting for the contract to expire then forcing you off your unlimited plan.

What if you were another peer uploading garbage that had sha-1 collisions? Yep its hard but I'm willing to bet they'd put the resources into this.

fyi, Its SHA-1 according to wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent_(protocol)

Every once in a while an article makes slashdot about the advances in md5 collision. I really don't know what the state of the art is, but I'm willing to bet this start up is willing to throw a cluster of PS3s at this like others have done.

First its $550 million. And yes it looks like microsoft has so far made a 550-240=310 million profit. But I can also see an advantage in facebook having their 900lb gorilla buddy microsoft being the one to go to AOL and negotiate for these patents. Namely if it was FB doing the negotiating that would have tipped their hand, then the patents might have been costlier.

Also microsoft has a billion to throw around, while I'm not sure facebook has that pre-ipo.

No direct payoff? Microsoft put 240 million into facebook in 2007.

They are merely protecting an investment.

Some phones have OLED screens that consume less power when displaying dark colors.

Another reason is nighttime usability on a smartphone. Too much light is blinding after your pupils have dilated to accommodate the dark.

I'm wondering when/if a U.S. company is going to sue China and go after their assets. Namely the Chinese government's stake in U.S. debt.