Submission + - $1 Million Call of Duty Tournament (forbes.com)
AbhiTheOne writes: Microsoft and Activision Announce $1 Million Call of Duty Tournament.
Comment Re:The USPTO is holding roundtables (Score 2) 211
But you will be able to look at the patent which explains how the device works in detail so someone skilled in the art can reproduce it. If it does not, it should not be granted. Part of the problem is that software patents are obscurely worded and deliberately ambiguous to apply to more than what the patent was originally about.
Submission + - Microsoft Phases Out XNA and DirectX? (i-programmer.info) 2
mikejuk writes: It is reported that Microsoft has sent an email to DirectX/XNA MVPs which informs them that they are no longer needed because XNA and DirectX are no longer evolving. What does this mean? If you don't need MVPs then presumably you anticipate nothing to support in the future.
Submission + - 'Silent but deadly' Java security update breaks legacy apps - dev (theregister.co.uk)
An anonymous reader writes: An application developer reports that the latest Java 7 update "silently" deletes Java 6, breaking applications in the process.
Java 7 update 11 was released two weeks ago to deal with an unpatched vulnerability which had gone mainstream with its incorporation into cybercrook toolkits such as the Blackhole Exploit Kit in the days beforehand. Attacks were restricted to systems running Java browser add-ons.
Is it just me, or is Oracle actively seeking to make Java their own proprietary tech, in spite of the Java community. Pretty heavy handed, to arbitrarily remove a separate product to fix a security issue. Seems the completely wrong way to fix this.
Java 7 update 11 was released two weeks ago to deal with an unpatched vulnerability which had gone mainstream with its incorporation into cybercrook toolkits such as the Blackhole Exploit Kit in the days beforehand. Attacks were restricted to systems running Java browser add-ons.
Is it just me, or is Oracle actively seeking to make Java their own proprietary tech, in spite of the Java community. Pretty heavy handed, to arbitrarily remove a separate product to fix a security issue. Seems the completely wrong way to fix this.
Submission + - Micron Lands Broad "Slide to Unlock" Patent (patentlyo.com)
Zordak writes: Micron has recently landed U.S. Patent 8,352,745, which claims priority back to a February 2000 application---well before Apple's 2004 slide-to-unlock application. While claim construction is a highly technical art, the claims here are (for once) almost as broad as they sound, and may cover the bulk of touch screen smart phones on the market today. Dennis Crouch's Patently-O has a discussion.
Submission + - Judge Koh Rules: Samsung Did Not Willfully Infringe (muktware.com)
sfcrazy writes: In a nutshell there won't be a new trial, as Samsung wanted, because the judge thinks that the trial was fair despite allegations that the jury foreman could have been biased. She also ruled that there won't be any more money for Apple as the iPhone maker failed to prove they were 'undercompensated' by the jury. The most important ruling was that she also found that 'Samsung did not willfully' infringe'.
Submission + - Hardcore Minecrafters build immaculate clone of Game of Thrones' King's Landing (gizmag.com)
cylonlover writes: A dedicated band of Minecraft and Game of Thrones enthusiasts has lovingly recreated the fictional King's Landing locale in incredible detail. The setting will be familiar to fans of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novels and its TV adaptation, Game of Thrones, as the capital of the Seven Kingdoms. It took 100 builders over four months to build the King's Landing map, which includes some 3,000 buildings which have all been decorated on the inside.
Submission + - Apple patents Apple Store (yahoo.com)
sosume writes: Apple finally convinced the US Patent Office to grant patents for its Apple Store design. Despite many thousand years and forms of prior art, this seems like a new form of abuse of the patent system.
Submission + - IOC Trademarks '2014' (blogspot.com)
Cid Highwind writes: The UK Intellectual Property Office has issued a trademark on the number '2014' to the International Olympic Committee. The IOC's legal monopoly on next year covers all 45 possible trademark registration classes, from live animals to fire extinguishers to metal for railway tracks.
Submission + - Apple Avoids $1bn Tax Each Week (telegraph.co.uk)
mrbluze writes: As part of a wider investigation in the UK, it is revealed that by entirely legal means, Apple manages to avoid paying $1 billion in tax obligations to the US Government, paying only 2% of its overseas profits as tax.
Apple is estimated to have avoided more than £550m in tax in Britain in 2011. Its latest accounts show UK turnover at just over £1bn and profit at £81.3m, generating a tax bill of £14.4m.
However, analysis of its filings in America suggest a more realistic figure for UK turnover is £6.7bn. This would imply an estimated profit of £2.2bn and, at the then corporation tax rate of 26pc, a £570m tax bill, the Sunday Times reports.
Submission + - Whitehouse Petition to Repeal DMCA (whitehouse.gov)
An anonymous reader writes: Given the recent criminalization under the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) for unlocking your cell phone for use on another network, a petition has been created at whitehouse.gov to repeal the DMCA. If you're a United States citizen, and believe the DMCA is too broad and harsh (e.g. makes it illegal to circumvent protection for fair use, even if no copyright law is violated), then signing the petition is one way to make your voice heard.
I also encourage you to write to your Congressional representatives, or contact them through opencongress.org.
I also encourage you to write to your Congressional representatives, or contact them through opencongress.org.
Submission + - Microsoft blames PC makers for Windows failure. (theregister.co.uk) 1
rtfa-troll writes: The Register tells us that Microsoft has begun squabbling with PC manufacturers over the reasons behind the failure of Windows 8. Microsoft is "frustrated with major OEMs who didn't build nearly enough touch systems". PC manufacturers have hit back saying that they "would have been saddled with the costs of a huge piles of unsold units" claiming that customers actually avoided higher end touch products which were available and instead bought lower end cheaper laptops whilst "Microsoft is not blaming itself for" the failure of it's own touch device, surface RT. The PC manufacturer's claims that touch is the problem seem to be backed by reviews, and some educational rants from users and opinion from user interface design experts, however Microsoft sees this differently . Microsoft is planning to strike back at the PC vendors in February with Surface pro; with a shorter battery life and much heavier than a normal tablet, this is being seen as a direct competitor to traditional laptops. By using it's desktop operating system franchise as a lever Microsoft will be able to enter the lower specification end of the Laptop market with a cost advantage which make make life difficult for former partners such as HP and Dell.
We've discussed previously how some PC manufactures such as Dell have failed in generational change whilst others have diversified to survive market chainges; Samsung with Android and the (still) bestselling Chromebook. ASUS with their successful Nexus tablets. We also discussed the ergonomic problems which are claimed to make touch screens unsuitable for PC use.
We've discussed previously how some PC manufactures such as Dell have failed in generational change whilst others have diversified to survive market chainges; Samsung with Android and the (still) bestselling Chromebook. ASUS with their successful Nexus tablets. We also discussed the ergonomic problems which are claimed to make touch screens unsuitable for PC use.
Comment Re:Installation is the big bottleneck these days (Score 1) 110
I reported the issue to Mozilla (as per the link in my previous post) so they can investigate and improve things on their end. This should then benefit other complex JavaScript/WebGL applications, especially if the voxel.js code is used in web-based games and other applications.
Comment Re:Installation is the big bottleneck these days (Score 1) 110
For me, Firefox 18 was unresponsive for a minute or so while loading one of the voxel.js demos. It eventually loaded. I have reported the issue as https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=835076.
Submission + - Facebook + Instagram asking for photo IDs (cnet.com)
140Mandak262Jamuna writes: Apparently Facebook and Instagram are asking their account holders to verify their identity using government issued photo ids that include their full name and date of birth.
Your account has been secured and requires account validation. Please login to Instagram.com from your desktop computer to validate your identify. is the message they are getting, according to CNET. CNET is speculating that it is an attempt by these companies to crack down on underage users because they are worried about the liability.
And here in slashdot we are obsessing with privacy and google getting to collect so much of info etc etc. Out there there are people who seem to be willing to upload their IDs to these sites, and think it is a fair price to pay for these services. Is there a site that will give a fake photoshopped government issued ID to upload to such services?
And here in slashdot we are obsessing with privacy and google getting to collect so much of info etc etc. Out there there are people who seem to be willing to upload their IDs to these sites, and think it is a fair price to pay for these services. Is there a site that will give a fake photoshopped government issued ID to upload to such services?
