Kenneth Robinson beat the system. We should all be Kenneth Robinson. Kenneth Robinson for President! Kenneth! Kenneth! Why the fuss? Because Robinson found a loophole in the law that let him pay 16 dollars to own a $330,000 house. More »
Not like Congress has anything more pressing on its plate right now, but the suits on Capitol Hill have somehow found time to poke their noses in yet another minute aspect of our personal lives — lighting. All jesting aside, it was starting to look like those old, power-hungry incandescent bulbs wouldn’t have a second chance at life. If you’ll recall, a bill was passed way back in 2007 to kill ’em off by 2012, but Republicans were attempting to reverse things in order to give Americans a bargain option in the years ahead. Despite a 233 to 193 vote in favor of the repeal earlier this week, the necessary super majority wasn’t reached. Not willing to be left in the dark, those adamant about getting it turned around shoved it into something else as an amendment late Friday, which did indeed get the oh-so-coveted stamp of approval. Translation? GE has a production line to reactivate, STAT.
Light bulb efficiency passes through US House, incandescent bulbs flicker in celebration originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Jul 2011 13:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Look, we understand that being accused of pedophilia is horrible but, if you’re not keen on spending time in the pokey, it’s probably not best to exact your revenge by hacking and framing your accusers for making terrorist threats or downloading child pornography. That was the unfortunate route chosen by Minnesotan Barry Ardolf, whose neighbors Matt and Bethany Kostolnik went to the police after he allegedly kissed their four-year-old son on the lips. Ardolf broke into the couple’s Wi-Fi and e-mail accounts, and used them to post porn on MySpace, send threats to Joe Biden, and explicit come-ons to Matt’s coworkers. Now the 46-year-old cyberbully is facing 18 years in prison, a tough sentence for a first time offender sure, but an investigation revealed the Kostolniks were not his first victims. In addition to his lengthy stay in jail Ardolf will also have to register as a sex offender — an irony we’re sure isn’t lost on him.
[Thanks, Alan]
[Image courtesy Jason Morrison]
WiFi hacker lands 18-year prison sentence, sex offender status for campaign of cyber vengeance originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 20:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nortel was just looking for some quick cash when the company put its 6,000 telecommunications patents up for auction. Then Google decided that IP would make a mighty fine troll deterrent, and started a crazy bidding war to get it. A coalition of the willing — including Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, RIM, and Sony — opposed Big G and paid $4.5 billion for the prize portfolio pending approval by the powers that be. Well, both Canadian and US bankruptcy judges just gave the purchase two thumbs up, and the deal is officially done. Now the question is whether the auction’s victors will use these patents as a shield against those with trollish intentions or as a sword to strike at their enemies?
Update: To clarify, the deal was only approved by the bankruptcy courts, and the US DOJ is examining the sale for its possible anti-competitive effects.
It’s official: Nortel patent sale approved by US and Canadian courts (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 07:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Turns out Eric Schmidt is not alone in his vehement opposition to the PROTECT IP Act, and the resistance is hardly partisan. A group of over 100 law professors signed a letter (jointly authored by Mark Lemley, David Levine, and David Post) arguing that the legislation working its way through congress is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that speech can’t be suppressed without the speaker being given an opportunity to defend his or her actions. Yet, under the bill being advocated for by the RIAA the MPAA, a judge can issue a temporary restraining order that will essentially shutdown a site based only on evidence presented by the government. The letter warns that, not only could overseas domain owners be cheated of the right to due process but, plenty of protected speech could be censored based a single piece of infringing material. As we warned, this can only get nastier and this nascent battle is still only just getting started. Check out the full letter at the source.
PROTECT IP Act called unconstitutional by bipartisan group of law professors originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Watch out, Mario, the Lawyer Bros. are after you again. This time it’s Tomita Technologies and the patent in question is number 7,417,664, “Stereoscopic Image Picking Up and Display System Based Upon Optical Axes Cross-Point Information.” As you might have guessed, the case has to do with 3DS and its use of a parallax barrier 3D screen, something the Tomita’s 2008 patent (applied for in 2003) certainly describes, in addition to a stereoscopic capture device, a position-tracking system, and lots of other accoutrement. The case was filed on June 22nd and there’s not much for us to do now but wait to see whether this plucky plumber can jump his way into dismissal like he has again and again.
Nintendo 3DS accused of infringing on two-dimensional Tomita patent originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 08:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Last week, Microsoft quietly confirmed that cloud data stored on its European servers can still be handed over to American investigators — and the EU is none too pleased about it. As it turns out, the revelation has shed new light on a fundamental conflict between US law and the EU’s Data Protection Directive — an edict requiring that companies notify consumers whenever sharing their personal information. The bi-lateral Safe Harbor agreement calls for similarly strict protocol, but under the Patriot Act (which trumps all else), companies like Microsoft could be forced to hand over private data without informing targeted individuals. In response, some members of the European Parliament are calling upon legislators to take action and to implement safeguards that can’t be overridden by third-party governments. It remains to be seen whether or not this leads to any new laws or transatlantic tensions, but if we’ve learned anything, it’s that Europeans take their clouds very seriously.
Microsoft’s Patriot Act admission has the EU up in arms originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
WTO says China’s rare earths export controls violate international rules, US applauds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 06:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We’re seeing a heavy surge in Microsoft’s relentless pursuit of licensing deals in light of recent patent-infringement claims. Wistron Corp, a spinoff of Acer, is the latest company to make an agreement with Microsoft in a string of lawsuits and royalty clashes that’s spanned the course of two months. While we’ve seen Android suppliers such as Itronix and Velocity Micro come to agreements with the folks in Redmond, as well as others like Motorola and Barnes & Noble becoming courtroom fodder, this is the first time Chrome OS has been targeted. Wistron’s an ODM (original design manufacturer) that supplies other companies with computers, tablets and e-readers using either Google OS, so it’s not necessarily a surprise that it signed up for the Microsoft lawsuit prevention plan. Scant details are available aside from the fact that royalties will be collected as a result. Now that Chrome is involved, it not only shows that Team Ballmer isn’t backing down, it appears to have even more companies in its crosshairs — we just wonder who’s next on the list. Full (albeit brief) PR after the break.
Microsoft and Wistron come to terms in royalty agreement, Android and Chrome OS now targeted originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you thought you could evade US intelligence by moving to Europe and storing your dirty little secrets in Microsoft’s cloud service, guess again. During this week’s launch of Office 365, Gordon Frazer, managing director of Microsoft UK, admitted for the first time that cloud data stored at European datacenters could still be handed over to American officials, as outlined by US law. When asked whether Microsoft could guarantee that its EU-stored data would never leave the continent (even if requested under the Patriot Act), Frazer replied: “Microsoft cannot provide those guarantees. Neither can any other company.” Because the company’s headquarters are in the US, it’s obligated to adhere to American laws, meaning that any of the data stored on its servers is fair game for authorities to seize and inspect. Frazer insisted that targeted users “would be informed whenever possible,” but claimed that neither Microsoft nor any other US company can guarantee advanced notification. Bottom line: you’re better off hiding those nefarious files the old fashioned way — in an offshore safe deposit box.
Microsoft: European cloud data may not be immune to the Patriot Act originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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