Hasta La Gadget!

Hounded by international antitrust allegations, Intel fired an initial $1.25 billion salvo’s worth of settlement last year, but now Chipzilla’s biggest distributor of silicon is feeling the heat as well. Dell publicly announced it has set aside a $100 million reserve fund to head off investigations at the pass with a potential settlement of its own. While the company doesn’t admit wrongdoing, it recognizes “alleged violations of negligence-based fraud provisions,” also known as accepting Intel’s controversial chip rebates without reporting them to the government. Dell’s actually been under SEC investigation since 2005 for accounting-related transgressions and the company now hopes to tie up all loose ends at once — here’s hoping we see cheaper Core i7-infused laptops whether or not execs pull it off.

Dell hit by Intel’s antitrust aftershocks, prepares for $100 million settlement originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And the mess gets messier. A class action lawsuit filed against Google in Oregon has now been enriched with the allegation that Google willfully collected personal data with its Street View cars, rather than doing so accidentally, as it claims. It’s a bold accusation, whose primary basis is a patent application, filed by Google in November 2008, for a “computer-implemented method of estimating the location of a wireless device.” A subsidiary claim references the “obtaining [of] one or more packets of data transmitted” from one wireless device to another to help estimate accuracy of location results. That’s the supposedly damning verbiage that shows Google intentionally created WiFi-snooping software, and it’s also what’s being relied on to show that Mountain View couldn’t have been ignorant of the data collection going on. Yes, it’s quite a stretch, but that’s what lawyers are for: mental gymnastics.

Over in Europe, Google is doing its best to placate local regulators, some of whom are contemplating criminal charges against the multinational company, by agreeing to hand over all data that was collected by its vehicles. France, Germany and Spain will be first to peruse the info, though presumably there’ll be an open door to other nosy governments as well. Doesn’t that strike you as weird — having your private data protected by letting a bunch more people look at it?

Google to disclose WiFi snooping data to regulators amid allegations it was collected intentionally originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 07:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Take this for whatever it’s worth (which isn’t a whole heck of a lot without any official confirmation from any of the parties involved), but the New York Post has it that the Justice Department’s inquiry into Apple‘s iTunes practices may in fact be growing. ‘Course, it’s not exactly surprising to hear that authorities are now investigating every nook and cranny of Apple’s tactics thanks to Steve Jobs’ public thrashing of Flash and his sly insistence that the world shun Adobe while hugging HTML5, but we’ve still yet to hear from the DoJ and Apple about what exactly is going on within Cupertino. At any rate, the Post notes that a number of “sources” have confirmed that the inquiry is growing, most notably to include “how the iPhone and iPad maker does business with media outfits in areas beyond music.” We’d heard whispers that things may be getting just a bit too dictator-ish in the developers Ts and Cs, and now it seems that the DoJ is “asking questions about the terms that Apple lays out for computer programmers who want to develop apps for the iPad.” It’ll be interesting to see how all of this plays out, but we can bet devs (and end-users, frankly) are hoping and praying for less restrictions in the future.

DoJ’s inquiry at Apple purportedly expanding beyond iTunes practices originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 07:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When we first heard about Zer01 it was set to launch at a time when other MVNOs were disappearing. (Remember Amp’d Mobile, or Helio?) Zer01 was pledging unlimited voice and data for just $69.99 a month, before most other carriers had their $99 plans, but ultimately never delivered a thing. Apparently Global Verge was similarly left in the dark, but unlike the rest of us it had invested $170,000 in Zer01 in exchange for selling wireless services as part of its multi-level marketing company. Global Verge had been allowing its “e-associates” (people who pay for the right to hawk Global Verge’s wares) to shill for Zer01 wireless, which of course never delivered a single call. There are accusations flying fast and frantic about which of the two companies is the worst offender here, but the District Court in Clark County, Nevada at least believes that it’s Zer01 reneging on its promises, awarding $43 million to Global Verge for breach of contract and various other legal wrongdoings. Congrats, GV, and good luck collecting.

Global Verge wins $43 million lawsuit against mystery MVNO Zer01 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 May 2010 08:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve got an early Apple iPad, chances are its screen was cleaned with a banned substance called n-hexane, which releases a toxic nerve gas upon use. 2,000 workers at Wintek’s East China LCD plant went on strike in January, claiming the substance was poisoning them, and now 44 of those reportedly affected are planning to sue. According to reports, the screen cleaner was originally used because it performed better than alcohol, but Wintek has since fired the factory manager who suggested n-hexane and discontinued its use. That didn’t keep 62 workers from winding up in the hospital, however. The Guardian interviewed two hospitalized workers last week, and you’ll find their stories at our more coverage link below. We’re sure you’ll agree these Chinese labor violations are getting out of hand — let’s hope this lawsuit spurs government and industry to do something concrete about worker abuse.

44 Chinese workers sue Wintek over screen cleaner poisoning originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 May 2010 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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