Microsoft sues Samsung over the interest on billion-dollar patent payments

Microsoft sues Samsung over the interest on billion-dollar patent payments

Richard Lawler

Engadget

Microsoft had over a billion reasons (per year) to pursue a patent licensing deal with Samsung back in 2011 over the latter's use of Android. That fact is laid bare by a lawsuit today over the interest on payments (based on the number of Android devices sold) that are supposed to flow from Korea to Redmond. Re/code posted the unsealed lawsuit this evening, showing how despite the existing deal, Microsoft's purchase of Nokia last year lead to Samsung holding up its payment for the second fiscal year of the deal, and then refusing to pay interest on it. All of that is according to Microsoft, which also claims Samsung is threatening to hold off on paying its end for the third year of the seven-year deal. The documents reveal Microsoft's patent licenses cover some 80 percent of the Android phones sold in the US (up from 70 percent in 2012), and that the deal includes provisions for Samsung to lower the amount owed by developing and marketing Windows phones and tablets, and for Microsoft's use of Samsung patents. The amount in question? A paltry $6.9 million, although a decision on whether the deal will remain in force going forward is clearly worth more than that.

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Ariana Grande Shares Her Tips to Staying Healthy

We're so excited that Ariana Grande partnered with WAT-AAH brand water, because she's sharing her tips for staying healthy and hydrated. Water is essential to keeping your body and mind running strong, and Ari sure knows it!

“Living a healthy lifestyle is so important to me,” Ariana said. “My fans are my everything and, because of this, I could only endorse something I believe in. Also, I love drinking water and I want to inspire my fans to do the same."

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Did 5 Seconds of Summer Change Their Name

Even though 5 Seconds of Summer has "summer" in their name, that doesn't mean we are going to start abandoning them now that autumn has hit! But while performing on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, the 5SOS guys sang fall-themed parody lyrics — and even joked about changing their name to suit the season.

"Summer was fun/but I can hear autumn's call/It's time to change our name to/5 Seconds of Fall," they sang.

While it's obviously a big joke, the 5SOS Fan had fun pretending their favorite band was going by a new name.

We think this is just another sign the "Amnesia" singers have a great sense of humor!

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Taylor Swift Revealed How She Really Feels About Her Super-Autobiographical Music

 Taylor Swift  Revealed How She Really Feels About Her Super-Autobiographical Music 

Taylor Swift's confessional songwriting is part of the reason we love her, In a recent interview with Fashion magazine, the "Shake It Off" singer revealed how she really feels about her super-autobiographical music — saying that she gets a sense of satisfaction knowing that the person is hearing her songs!

"There’s a strange, eerie form of justice that happens when someone treats you terribly, you write a song about it, and that song ends up playing all over the world," she said. "You know at some point they’ve heard it in the grocery store, and they can’t escape.”

Taylor obviously means no ill will by it, but we're glad that it helps her work through her experiences.

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Google to launch own mobile chat app: Economic Times

Google to launch own mobile chat app: Economic Times

Reuters

Software giant Google Inc plans to launch a mobile messaging app it is likely to test in India and other emerging markets, the Economic Times newspaper reported on Friday, citing sources.
The daily said Google was in the early stages of development of the app, which will not make it mandatory to use a Google login.
If launched, the mobile app will compete in the mobile chat space with the likes of WhatsApp, Line and Hike.
The Mountain View, California-based company is also looking at localization, by adding Indian language support and voice-to-text messaging, the newspaper said.(http://bit.ly/1mXn7Kj)
A Google spokeswoman said the company did not comment on speculation.
(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Mumbai; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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Yahoo plans to invest in Snapchat: WSJ

Yahoo plans to invest in Snapchat: WSJ

Reuters

Yahoo Inc plans to invest a part of the proceeds from the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd stake sale in mobile app Snapchat, which lets users send messages that disappear after a few seconds, the Wall Street Journal said.
Yahoo and Snapchat held talks that are expected to lead to an investment in the mobile-messaging startup’s next funding round, the Journal said, citing three people familiar with the matter.
The round values Snapchat at about $10 billion and it was not clear how much Yahoo plans to invest in the hugely popular application, the Journal said.
Yahoo and Snapchat were not immediately available for comments.
Institutional Venture Partners and DST Global, two previous Snapchat investors, are also planning to invest in the company, the paper reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Yahoo's shares were up 1.4 percent at $41.07 in late trading on Friday.
(Reporting By Nayan Das in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)

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Google's secret brainchild: Giant TV technology

Google's secret brainchild: Giant TV technology

CNBC.com staff

CNBC

Think Legos, but with screens that together make up a giant TV of different sizes and shapes.
This is Google's (GOOGL) latest invention, led by former Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Mary Lou Jepsen, who heads Google's display technology division, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The details of the project are very hush-hush—it's unknown how big the screens are nor the size of the full display. To date, the largest screen is a little more than nine feet diagonally and costs $120,000 on Amazon, said Riddhi Patel, reserach director at NPD DisplaySearch.
A major challenge that the project's team is tackling is how to make the smaller display screens fit together seamlessly so the individual borders are not visible.
"The big challenge is to electronically, and through software, do the stitching between the seams," said a person familiar with the project. The person added that Google is recruiting new experts to solve the problem.
Patel said in theory, these large screens may be used in homes for multi-tasking—a person can watch television, browse the Internet and read email simultaneously on the big screen. 

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Apple plans iPad event on Oct. 16: report

Apple plans iPad event on Oct. 16: report

AFP

On the heels of a major launch of large-screen iPhones, Apple has scheduled an October 16 event to update its iPad line, technology news website Re/code reported Friday.

The event also will include a look at next-generation software for powering Macintosh computers, Re/code said, citing unnamed sources.

The gathering is to take place in an auditorium at Apple's headquarters in the California city of Cupertino, according to the report.

Apple did not reply to an AFP request for comment.
If the report is on target, the iPad event will take place a day before Apple begins selling its latest iPhones in China.

Apple launched the large-screen iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on September 19 and has rolled the smartphones out to an array of countries, but not China where it took some time to clear licensing hurdles.

Apple's revenue in Greater China -- which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan -- is second only to the United States, and chief executive Tim Cook has said he expects it to become the company's biggest market in time.

Apple, which popularized tablets with its iPad, remained the largest single global vendor in the second quarter but its market share fell to 26.9 percent from 33 percent last year, as Android makers boosted their share, according to the research firm IDC.

iPhone 6 sales soar

The first day of global sales for the phones was a huge success, with Apple breaking its sales record for an opening weekend of a new iPhone model, delivering 10 million in three days and boasting it could have sold more if it had them.

Both new iPhones have larger screens as Apple catches up with the "phablet" trend pioneered by competitors such as Samsung, which has had success with its Galaxy Note series.
The iPhone 6 has a screen of 4.7 inches and the 6 Plus is 5.5 inches, reflecting a growing preference for big screens on smartphones.

Main rival Samsung has long had a range of larger handsets, which are popular in Asia.
Apple made a rare apology last week for a software bug in a freshly released version of iOS mobile operating system that saw iPhone users lose service, and sought to quell a storm over reports that its new handsets are susceptible to bending.

Apple downplayed reports on bending of its newly released oversize iPhone -- one analyst described the damaging claims as "a black eye" for Apple --- saying it had only received nine complaints about the matter.

The statement said that "with normal use a bend in iPhone is extremely rare and through our first six days of sale, a total of nine customers have contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 Plus."
Apple released fully updated iOS 8.0.2 software to fix trouble with the original version of the mobile operating system for its gadgets.

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Facebook steps up battle on 'fake likes'

Facebook steps up battle on 'fake likes'

AFP

Facebook said Friday it has stepped up its battle against spammers who promise to deliver "likes" to its members, and warned users on using such scams.
The world's most popular social network said that to date, it has obtained legal judgments of nearly $2 billion against fraudulent activities on Facebook. It was not clear how much of that was actually collected.

Facebook's moves appeared to counter concerns that users -- including politicians and companies selling products -- are buying "likes" to make them appear more popular. And it is targeting a cottage industry which seeks to deliver these results to Facebook members, often promising "10,000 likes" or more for a fee.

"We write rules and use machine learning to catch suspicious behavior that sticks out. When we catch fraudulent activity, we work to counter and prevent it, including blocking accounts and removing fake likes all at once," Facebook site integrity engineer Matt Jones said in a blog post.
"As our tools have become more sophisticated, we’ve contributed some of our spam-fighting technology to the academic community as well, in hopes of helping other companies combat similar problems."

Jones said that Facebook if necessary takes the spammers to court "to remind would-be offenders that we will fight back to prevent abuse on our platform. We also limit likes per account to make spammers’ operations less efficient."

Jones said the moves are aimed at preserving authenticity on the network of more than one billion members. Facebook uses various techniques including algorithms to detect when there is a suspicious spike in "likes."

"It’s important to remember that fraudulent activity is bad for everyone -- including page owners, advertisers, Facebook and people on our platform," he said.

"We have a strong incentive to aggressively go after the bad actors behind fake likes because businesses and people who use our platform want real connections and results, not fakes."

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Fire destroys 3 buildings at Flight 93 memorial

Fire destroys 3 buildings at Flight 93 memorial

Associated Press - ‎Saturday‎, ‎October‎ ‎4‎, ‎2014

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — A fire at the Flight 93 National Memorial destroyed three administrative buildings on Friday, leaving officials concerned about some of the memorabilia and archival material stored there.

Wind-whipped flames didn't touch the under-construction memorial and visitors center, which are about 2 miles away on the large property in rural western Pennsylvania, National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst said. No one was injured in the fire, whose cause is under investigation.
The buildings comprised the park's headquarters, with conference facilities, storage space and the superintendent's office. About 10 percent of the memorial's archival collection was kept on site, and many objects were in fireproof safes, officials said.

Park staff saved an oral history collection and photo collection. The Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the memorial last month was not on site, officials said, but a full inventory will have to wait.

"Until the area is declared safe, however, staff will not be able to access the collection storage area and determine the condition of any other objects," the park service said in a statement.
Among the items whose status is unclear is a flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 11, 2001. Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who led the chamber on the day of the attacks, donated it during an anniversary ceremony last month.

The memorial, in Shanksville, marks the spot where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed during the Sept. 11 attacks. The plane, which was traveling from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, went down in a reclaimed strip mine after passengers fought back against its hijackers. All 33 passengers and seven crew members were killed along with the hijackers.

A memorial plaza was completed in time for the 10th anniversary of the attacks in 2011. It features a white stone wall, which traces the path of the doomed flight, with separate panels for each victim. There are plans for a 93-foot-tall tower with 40 wind chimes.
Officials have said they hope construction of the visitors center, which is estimated to cost $17 million to $23 million, will be finished by June. That would give park officials three months to install exhibits in time to open for the 14th anniversary of the crash.

The president of the Families of Flight 93, Gordon Felt, issued a statement expressing sadness about the fire and saying the group awaited further information on the cause.
All told, the park is expected to cost about $60 million. The government spent another $10 million for the land, which is about 75 miles east of Pittsburgh.
anniversary of the crash.

The president of the Families of Flight 93, Gordon Felt, issued a statement expressing sadness about the fire and saying the group awaited further information on the cause.
All told, the park is expected to cost about $60 million. The government spent another $10 million for the land, which is about 75 miles east of Pittsburgh.

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Does One Direction Feel Threatened By 5 Seconds of Summer?

GETTY IMAGES

One Direction has proven that they love 5 Seconds of Summer, but Simon Cowell has apparently been warning the group to "watch out" for their opening act. We thought everything was cool between them, but it turns out, 1D might actually be scared 5SOS will steal their fan base!

"Steal My Girl" songwriter Julian Bunetta revealed that the track has another meaning besides simply being about their girlfriends — it's also about their fans!

"There are a few meanings behind it…there is the one that speaks to the bigger picture of them and their fans, and there is the one that speaks to the actual person in your life, and that was very intentional,” he told MTV News.

"If you have something great, everyone is going to try and take it from you. And that also speaks to the fanbase, I think, ’cause of other groups [trying to steal the 1D fanbase].”

While we don't think 1D has any bad feelings towards 5SOS, there are a lot of boy bands like The Vamps that have become super-popular recently. We had no clue they were anxious about losing their Directioners, but we think there's room for everyone! They have nothing to worry about.

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Can You Guess the Major Hair Makeover Demi Lovato Is Planning

Credit : Instagram

There's a brand new Demi Lovato hair makeover brewing ... we just don't know exactly what it is yet! The singer shared an exciting pic on her Instagram page to announce that she wants to try out a new hairstyle, because she "needs some color" in her life!

Demi's current style is a natural brunette shade with touches of honey blonde ombre at the tips, but judging by her photo we're thinking she's about to debut a fiery red shade! We can't wait to see her new look!

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