28th December 2012 Archive

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Crushing $1.17bn Marvell patent judgment could set record

Curtains for US chipmaker?

A Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania jury has found chipmaker Marvell guilty of infringing patents owned by Carnegie Mellon University, resulting in what could prove to be the largest patent damage award in US history. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the jury awarded the university a judgment of $1.17bn after determining that …

Law 28 Dec 00:26
2012: The year that netbooks DIED

Last remaining makers preparing to exit market

Netbooks – those compact, underpowered, inexpensive notebook PCs once hailed as the future of mobile computing – are set to disappear from retailer shelves in 2013, as the last remaining manufacturers of the devices prepare to exit the market. According to Taiwanese tech news site DigiTimes, Acer and Asus are the only two …

Laptops 28 Dec 01:59
Major new science: WOMEN MORE NUDE more OFTEN online

Well, possibly real women ... not real science though

Virtual women are more likely to be naked than virtual men, researchers at the Canadian University of Laval have revealed, after publishing a scientific paper on the topic. An analysis of nudity in Second Life led the Canadian duo Anna Lomanowska (a trick-cyclist) and Matthieu Guitton (a neuroscientist who specialises in " …

Bootnotes 28 Dec 06:03
When your squash partner 'endorses' your coding skills on LinkedIn...

Biz-social media - thumbs-up or ballsup?

The amount of virtual spam I get from LinkedIn seems to be steadily increasing, to the point where, frankly, I can usually ignore the majority of email that has its name on the From: line. But maybe a month or two ago I suddenly started seeing a slew of LinkedIn recommendations from friends and colleagues in my inbox. I couldn’t …

Developer 28 Dec 09:00
Apple supremo Tim Cook's pay packet SLASHED 99% in 2012

Man, those shoes look a little big on you

Apple boss Tim Cook took a 99 per cent pay cut in 2012 - the year his firm's maps crapp confused iPhone fanbois and rival Android dominated the mobile market. The chief executive took home a paltry $4.17m in salary and a non-equity bonus, according to paperwork just filed with US financial regulator the SEC, down from the $ …

Financial News 28 Dec 11:26
China switches on 'BDS' civilian nav-sat rival to GPS

Do you prefer depending on the Pentagon, or the commies?

China's Beidou satellite navigation system has gone live to civilians, providing the Chinese public with accuracy comparable to GPS without reliance on American military hardware. Beidou's coverage isn't global yet, the Chinese only have half a dozen satellites in the sky (compared to the 33 GPS birds aloft right now, albeit a …

Government 28 Dec 12:33
Dish seeks more time to oppose Sprint - Softbank deal

While racking up $1.5bn in Christmas debt

Dish has asked the US regulator for more time to oppose Softbank's takeover of Sprint. Meanwhile it's stacking up the cash to fund its own network plans - which remain shrouded in mystery. Japan's Softbank wants to buy Sprint, for $20bn or so, and Sprint wants to spend $2.2bn of that to buy out Clearwire, giving the resulting …

Mobile 28 Dec 13:37