May 25
Trump’s slapdash attempt at negotiations has left the U.S. isolated from its Asian allies.
May 25
Police Killed At Least 378 Black Americans Since Colin Kaepernick Took A Knee
Posted in: Today's ChiliThese Americans deserve to be more than another statistic.
May 25
A patent case that began back in 2011 has reached a conclusion, with Samsung ordered to pay about $539 million to Apple over infringements of the latter’s patents in devices that are now long gone. The case has dragged on for years as both sides argued about the finer points of how much was owed per device, what could be deducted, and so on. It’s been eye-wateringly boring, but at least it’s over now. Maybe.
The patents in question are some things we take for granted now, UI cues like “rubber-banding” at the bottom of a list or using two fingers to zoom in and out. But they were all part of the “boy have we patented it” multi-touch gestures of which Steve Jobs was so proud. In addition there were the defining characteristics of the first iPhone, now familiar (black round rectangle with a big screen, etc). At any rate Apple sued the dickens out of Samsung over them.
The case was actually decided long ago — in 2012, when the court found that Samsung had clearly and willfully infringed on the patents in question and initial damages were set at a staggering $1 billion. We wrote it up then, when it was of course big news:
Since then it’s all been about the damages, and Samsung won a big victory in the Supreme court that said it only had to pay out based on the profit from the infringing component.
Unfortunately for Samsung, the “infringing component” for the design patents seems to have been considered by the jury as being the entire phone. The result is that a great deal of Samsung’s profits from selling the infringing devices ended up composing the damages. It sets a major precedent in the patent litigation world, although not necessarily a logical one. People started arguing about the validity and value of design patents a long time ago and they haven’t stopped yet.
CNET has a good rundown for anyone curious about the specifics. Notably, Samsung said in a statement that “We will consider all options to obtain an outcome that does not hinder creativity and fair competition for all companies and consumers.” Does that mean they’re going to take it as high as the Supreme Court (again) and drag the case out for another couple years? Or will they cut their losses and just be happy to stop paying the legal fees that probably rivaled the damages assigned? Hopefully the latter.
May 25
NASA has revealed an increased focus on commercial partnerships, calling this a key aspect of its goal of returning humans to the moon. According to the space agency, it will be expanding its commercial partnerships as part of a robotic lunar campaign comprising multiple missions. These missions will, among other things, deliver NASA tech and tools to the moon, where … Continue reading
May 25
May 25
Jessica Bain scored the black history and culture fellowship at Spotify.
May 25
Woman Makes Racist Face At Asian-American Serviceman: ‘Not Your F**ing Country’
Posted in: Today's ChiliVideo shows the woman making a slant-eye gesture and yelling “Chinese ugly” at the Korean-American reservist.
May 25
The bee is the symbol of the city and is incorporated into the Manchester coat of arms.
May 25
“Unplug your Alexa devices right now. You’re being hacked.”
May 25
The Amazon Echo and Google Home are amazing devices and both have advantages over the other. In my home, we use the Amazon Echo and have them around the house and outside. I have the original in the living room, a Dot in bedrooms, my office and outside, a Tap in my woodworking workshop and Spots in the kids’ room (with tape over the camera). They’re great devices, but far from perfect. They’re missing several key features and the Google Home is missing the same things, too.
I polled the TechCrunch staff. The following are the features we would like to see in the next generation of these devices.
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