Patent Wars – Appeals Court throws out $119.6 million of Apple wins

Credit: Cult of Mac

Adding salt to the wound, the court upheld a finding that Apple owes $158,400 in damages for infringing a Samsung patent on video compression.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-26/apple-loses-appeal-in-119-6-million-samsung-patent-case / Apple Inc. lost appeals court ruling Samsung Electronics Co. $119.6 million patents smartphone features Apple patents slide-to-unlock feature invalid wasn’t infringed U.S. appeals court ruled decision Samsung check cheque Apple smartphone features won’t have to make changes older models appeals court threw out verdict Apple had won upheld a jury finding iPhone pay $158,400 damage award infringing Samsung patent video compression case major suits global patent war began in April 2011 Apple accused Samsung slavishly copying iPhone Apple victory case patented designs phone upheld on appeal awaiting possible consideration U.S. Supreme Court appeals court ruling clearly a loss for Apple Paul Berghoff patent lawyer McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff Chicago fight between the smartphone smart phone handset makers market changed smartphone wars Apple focused battling FBI privacy security issues settlement Apple executives settle Samsung Rachel Wolf Tulley Cupertino California-based Apple company no comment Danielle Meister Cohen Samsung spokeswoman preparing a statement case Apple Samsung infringed patents slide-to-unlock feature autocorrect detect phone numbers touched to make phone calls autocorrect patent invalid detection patent wasn’t infringed U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit opinion posted electronic docket court upheld jury’s verdict Apple patents universal search background syncing weren’t infringed Samsung counterclaim video compression jury Apple infringed one patent not the other appeals court agreed Federal Circuit panel Apple entitled to a narrow order forced Samsung remove slide-to-unlock other features infringe Apple patents Federal Circuit judges panels case Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., 2015-1171, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Washington /

First Ubuntu smartphone BQ Aquaris E4.5 may be coming soon

Credit: GalaxyOfTech

I last posted about Ubuntu Linux phones at the end of 2013. Just over 2 years later, we may be about to see a Ubuntu phone with:

● 5-inch, 540×960 resolution display

● 1.3 GHz quad-core Mediatek Cortex A7 processor

● 1 GB RAM

● 8 GB of internal flash storage

● 8-megapixel back camera

● 5-megapixel front camera

● price around €169.90 ($US195)

http://galaxyoftech.com/first-ubuntu-smartphone-bq-aquaris-e4-5-specifications-review/

http://www.techradar.com/au/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/bq-aquaris-e45-ubuntu-edition-1295353/review / Ubuntu smartphone BQ Aquaris E4.5 specifications review CANONICAL first UBUNTU telephone MEIZU BQ new handset repurposed variant AQUARIS E4.5 mid-range cell phone Android new Ubuntu edition equipment not a huge deal 5-inch 540×960 resolution display 1.3 GHz quad-core Mediatek Cortex A7 processor 1 GB RAM 8 GB internal storage capacity flash memory mass storage 8-megapixel back camera 5-megapixel snapper front specification specs unremarkable CANONICAL BQ think outside the box product deals system XIAOMI first UBUNTU handset smartphone smart phone online glimmer deals telephone bargain in Europe Ubuntu arranged deals THREE Sweden GIFFGAFF UK AMENA Spain PORTUGAL TELECOM offer SIM packs system BQ early adopters main glimmer deal UBUNTU Phone Canonical crowd fund crowdfund premium Ubuntu Edge Smartphone MEIZU BQ’S UBUNTU dispatch window portable OS product SCOPES home screens committed to one subject music feature news different sources Youtube application viewing online features application viewing features saved money telephone feature extension differentiates it from IOS Android Cristian Parrino VP Mobile Canonical component keen procedure /

Some ways the Samsung Galaxy S7 is better than the iPhone – update

Samsung Galaxy S7 microSD & SIM card carrier
Credit: Life Hacker Australia

Camera

You’ve probably heard that that the quality of the image a camera produces isn’t simply a matter of pixels, & the camera in the S7 looks set to prove it. The S7 has a 12 megapixel camera, down from 16 in the S6. Samsung claim the new camera will produce superior images, particularly in low light. This may be a hard idea to sell, but there are good reasons to believe it can work.

Cameras in top-of-the-range phones are remarkably good, despite the compromises required to cram them into the tiny space available in a phone which has skinny-jeans-compatibility as a major design parameter. A small space for the camera means a small space for the light-sensitive sensor. A high pixel count means that each individual pixel is smaller. The resulting minuscule light-sensitive pixels perform poorly, particularly in low-light, where they produce dark, low-contrast, “noisy” images.

A small sensor can most obviously be improved by making it bigger. While constrained by skinny-jeans-compatibility, Samsung has increased the size of the camera’s photo-sensor marginally from 1/2.6 inch (in the S6) to 1/2.5 inch in the S7. When combined with a reduced pixel-count, the S7 has significantly larger pixels. Rumour has it, 1.4 micron pixels, in the Galaxy S7, 1.12 micron in the S6.

Update: 1.4 micron pixels confirmed – camera teardown at: http://www.chipworks.com/about-chipworks/overview/blog/samsung-galaxy-s7-edge-teardown

Samsung claims that, in practice the new, larger pixels, are able to gather 56 percent more light than before, for better low-light images.

More obviously, images can be improved by letting more light into the camera, & Samsung have added an f1.7 lens.

A lens which lets in more light is sometimes said to be “fast”. This is a reference to the fact that with more light, the exposure time can be shorter, which leaves less time for camera shake or movement by the subject to reduce the quality of the image. Tim Cook could have recently used such a feature to avoid embarrassment at the Super Bowl.

We’ll have to wait for sample images, but taken together, these changes should yield better images, particularly in low light.

Fast charging

0-60% battery charge in 30 minutes.

microSD card

Returns in the S7 after being omitted from the S6, although Samsung hasn’t taken advantage of the latest Adoptable microSD capability in Android Marshmallow.

Waterproof

IP68 standard – one meter under water for 30 minutes. Also in the S5, omitted from the S6.



More at:
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2016/02/10-ways-the-samsung-galaxy-s7-trumps-every-iphone/?utm_source=Lifehacker+Australia&utm_campaign=ebdc676818-lifehacker_2016_02_25&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9fc709844c-ebdc676818-278953185 / 10 things Samsung Galaxy S7 can do iPhone can't Samsung Galaxy S7 Galaxy S7 Edge phones phone MWC event Barcelona hands-on time Galaxy S7 phones press event New York City impressed features functions iPhone Galaxy S7 iPhone can’t Galaxy S7 water-resistant Apple added gasket iPhone 6s iPhone dunked under water survive Samsung waterproof Galaxy S7 is water-resistant rated IP68 dust water resistance standard meter under water 30 minutes charge really quickly fast charge Galaxy S7 quick-charging microUSB charge completely hour and a half iPhone 6s Plus takes three hours to charge main benefit quick charging Galaxy S7 big jolt juice short period of time up to 60% battery life 30 minutes of charging charge wirelessly charge wireless quickly Samsung quick wireless charging charges faster regular wired charging wired quick-charging faster wireless charging place your phone on a charging dock get a boost during the day always topped up with battery Galaxy S7’s camera auto-focus faster than iPhone 6s Samsung Galaxy S7’s camera against iPhone’s MWC showroom floor S7 notably quicker locking onto objects takes better photos in the dark brief side-by-side tests S7 was superior low-light situations compared iPhone 6s add more storage with microSD card Samsung reintroduced microSD card slot Galaxy S7 slot incorporated into SIM card tray add up to an additional 200 GB bigger battery standard Galaxy S7 3,000mAh battery S7 Edge 3,600mAh battery iPhone 6s 1,715mAh battery 6s Plus has a 2,750mAh battery tested battery life Galaxy S7 smartphones last longer iPhone much bigger than iPhones’ batteries Samsung Pay credit card readers Samsung Pay almost any credit card reader even really old ones iPhone’s Apple Pay only works newer credit card terminals near-field communication NFC technology built into them store supports Apple Pay always-on screen always-on display new Galaxy S7 phones glance basic information date time basic information your notifications wake the phones iPhone wake the display check time notifications Galaxy S7 Edge widgets curved display’s edges access favorite apps contacts news make shortcuts actions composing text message edge Galaxy S7 Edge curved screen /

The dark side of trendy animal photos

“The International Union for Conservation of Nature, which sets species’ conservation status, lists the La Plata dolphin as vulnerable to extinction, protecting it from hunting and capture in Argentina – but not from people passing one of them around until it died from dehydration.” – Mary Bates, National Geographic

No words.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160222-exotic-pets-wildlife-pets-nature-animals/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_tw20160223news-wildlifeselfies&utm_campaign=Content&sf21390311=1 / dark side of trendy animal photos think before you shoot video snap selfies with creatures wild animals selfies GIFs viral videos deadly for wildlife endangered baby dolphin died beachgoers Argentina hauled it out of the water pose photos two peacocks Chinese zoo died mishandled visitors taking selfies International Union for Conservation of Nature sets species’ conservation status La Plata dolphin vulnerable to extinction protecting protect protected protection hunting hunt capture Argentina people passing one around died from dehydration asphyxiation anyone intended to harm animal excitement thrill drew people in Neil D’Cruze head of Wildlife Policy and Research World Animal Protection UK shows interaction with wild animal habitat terrible deadly as animals captivity thousands species wild animals suffer exotic pet trade exact scale problem huge many animals traded illegally social media has changed the landscape exotic animals seem adorable acceptable what suffering lies behind the images animals trending Internet belong in the wild slow lorises venomous primates famous Internet videos nine species slow lorises threatened with extinction illegal pet trade two recent studies documenting illegal trade in slow lorises typical way they’re kept constitutes animal cruelty researchers examined 100 online videos pet lorises depicted unhealthy abused animals malnourished obese sick afraid distressed Louisa Musing Oxford Brookes University study authors videos expose slow lorises audiences around the world fueling demand pets distorting people’s understanding where they belong healthy environment cute videos suitable unsuitable as pets wild complex animals coauthor Anna Nekaris Little Fireface Project what appears cute is actually horrific slow loris move slowly freeze when stressed grab onto anything they can in the wild loris holding a fork raising his arms in the air are both signs of stress slow lorises should never be pets complex needs just cannot be met in a private household wild animals that need to stay in the wild raccoon dog raccoon dog tanuki owner tweeted photos pet leashed walks heater snowstorm begging for food look like raccoons wild members canid family like foxes and wolves native to East Asia biologists western Soviet Union hunted fur reproduced spread west central western Europe freeing pet raccoon dogs animals become too difficult to handle recently two raccoon dogs countryside in Wales abandoned pets invasive species compete indigenous wildlife spread disease introduce pathogens decimating native animals Clifford Warwick consulting biologist medical scientist studied exotic pet trade raccoon dogs pose big threat local amphibians ground-nesting birds invasive raccoon dogs harbor high levels of parasites infect people zoonoses diseases that can jump from animals to humans carried by exotic pets pet reptiles carry salmonella responsible for tens of thousands of cases of human illness U.S. each year local wildlife at risk chytrid fungus wiping out amphibian populations worldwide actually transmitted by the exotic pet trade pygmy marmoset world’s smallest monkeys endangered die easily in captivity /

Samsung Galaxy S7 announced

Samsung has finally announced its long-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S7, & its almost exactly as predicted in these pages.

And yes, the S7 & S7 Edge do have a microSD slot.

Android Marshmallow (6.0) has a new feature which makes memory in a microSD card contiguous with internal flash memory. “Adoptable” in Android Marshmallow parlance. E.g. if the user adds a 128GB microSD card to a 32GB Marshmallow phone, it will effectively become a 128+32 = 160GB phone. All of that 160GB can be used as a single flash storage to store apps, music, video or any other type of data, without the user having to be concerned with whether any item is actually in the internal flash or the microSD.

Unless it’s a Galaxy S7!

Samsung has decided to disable adoptable microSD flash :( Apparently the brilliant minds that came up with the, “internal SD card”, in earlier Samsung phones, have struck again.

Samsung’s implementation of microSD memory may be even more of a limitation than expected, because S7s will have only 32GB internal flash memory in many markets, including USA.

Grey market?



The Verge
http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/21/11077956/samsung-galaxy-s7-edge-smartphone-announced-specs-mwc-2016

Detailed specs from GSM Arena
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s7-7821.php

Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2016/02/22/samsung-galaxy-s7-problems/#49f7abc32ebe

Techradar
http://www.techradar.com/au/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-s7-what-we-want-to-see-1293401

Cases
http://appgameblog.com/top-10-best-cases-for-samsung-galaxy-s7/ / Samsung Galaxy S7 lead-up launch new flagship phone Samsung Galaxy S line February 21 pre-orders live release date 11 March cost most expensive mainstream Samsung phone ever hands-on review Samsung Galaxy S7 best Samsung Galaxy S7 deals Samsung Galaxy S7 release date pre-orders new phone announced retailers deliver phone earlier pre-order hands-on first impressions Galaxy S7 video price pricing information Samsung Galaxy S7 two-year contract carriers phasing out subsidized agreements about $27 a month handset 24 months 30 months pricing plan monthly Samsung Galaxy S7 SIM-free price carriers monthly fees up front price bump unlocked premium people paid Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge design design Galaxy S7 Edge Galaxy S6 phone very similar look metal edges rounded corners rear of the phone rounded away S6 Edge back Galaxy Note 5 IP68 rating dunk it in 1.5 meters of water 30 minutes Galaxy S5 more premium design glass metal chunkier feels good in the hand mix of glass and metal screen Samsung 5.1-inch QHD Super AMOLED display Galaxy S7 Super AMOLED tech great color reproduction brilliant differences between the light and dark elements of the screen QHD resolution is pin-sharp too 1,440 x 2,560 pixels resolution sharp eye can't ever see the pixels pictures web pages look smooth and clear OLED technology self-emitting display sits closer to the glass too Galaxy S7 brighter optimised the tech resolution always on display display technology Samsung Galaxy S7 hasn't altered much headline feature Always On Display standby show a clock your calendar some weird pattern gloss look of the phone draw power less than 1% per hour still adds up over the course of a day some users check phones 150 times a day check the time wake up the phone power people look at the clock save power leaving the display on screen API open for developers new display choices near future storage
internal storage sizes Samsung S7 32GB in most territories Samsung offered 64GB 128GB variants microSD card SIM tray Samsung Samsung performance card slowed down gallery photos adoptable Android Marshmallow on board Galaxy S7 Adoptable Storage feature encrypt make it part of the internal storage built-in storage camera Galaxy S7 12MP camera down from the 16MP Galaxy S6 downgrade big change for the better letting in more light 25% more 56% large pixels being used /

Climate science under attack in Australia

Australia's government is a coalition of conservative parties, the larger partner paradoxically calling itself, the Liberal Party. One of its earliest actions, after gaining power, was the abolition of the government funded, Climate Commission. Response was what became Australia's biggest crowd-funding campaign, to reform as the Climate Council. Their purpose essentially unchanged:

"We exist to provide independent, authoritative climate change information to the Australian public. Why? Because our response to climate change should be based on the best science available." – Climate Council

Not content with attempting to destroy the Climate Council, Australia's conservative government has recently announced plans to abolish over 100 climate science research positions from Australia's foremost scientific research organisation, the CSIRO.¹ Part of the response is an email to supporters from Professor Will Steffen, a member of the Climate Council, which is reproduced below in its entirety.
__________

I recently emailed you to share my dismay at the news that the CSIRO plan to cut over 100 jobs from the agency’s climate science staff. The messages of support and solidarity we received at the Council from our community were truly heartening - thank you!

The fact remains that cutting climate science now, as the demand escalates for both reducing our emissions and protecting our communities from worsening impacts, just doesn’t make sense. It’s like flying into a violent storm and ripping out the radar, navigation and communication instruments.

To get the facts out about how significant and damaging these cuts will be for Australia and the world, we've put together a new report, Flying Blind: Navigating Climate Change without the CSIRO. And already this morning, it’s received widespread media coverage.

The report reveals some worrying findings:

● The cuts to CSIRO’s climate science capacity will damage Australia’s ability to understand, respond to and plan for a changing climate.

● If the cuts proceed, Australia will have already reneged on a key promise in the Paris climate agreement.

● The cuts will leave a gaping hole in international science community’s ability to understand climate change in the Southern Hemisphere.

This may be one of our most important reports yet - and we’ve put together a short video to help the report reach as many people as possible. Will you please share it widely with your friends and networks? And if possible, go the extra step of asking them to do the same? Australia’s climate scientists need our support.



Outrage over these proposed cuts is shared world-wide - almost 3000 scientists from 60 countries have signed an open letter to highlight how these cuts will significantly limit CSIRO’s capacity and diminish the global climate change research effort. This pressure from the international community, along with your efforts to stop this story slipping off the front pages CAN make a difference.

It is so important that the whole community are aware of how these cuts will impact our ability to understand, plan for and respond to climate change - so please, help us get this report out there. Thank you.

In solidarity,

Professor Will Steffen
Climate Councillor

P.S. These cuts to climate science are deeply troubling, it makes our work, getting the facts out to the public even more vital. Please consider chipping in a few dollars a week so we can keep going.

You can also keep up with Climate Council on Twitter or Facebook.
__________

¹ Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) – http://www.csiro.au/en/About/ climate change global warming CO2 carbon dioxide greenhouse effect greenhouse gas /

Origami kayak

Credit: Rei Co-op/The Gadgeteer

If you live in an apartment, have a small car, use public transport, or have other reasons to place a high value on small size (for a kayak), something from the Oru range of foldable kayaks may be for you. Prices from $US1,375 to $US2,475.



http://the-gadgeteer.com/2016/02/20/summer-is-on-the-way-unfold-the-oru-kayak/

http://www.rei.com/product/898276/oru-kayak-beach-foldable-kayak / Oru Kayak Beach Foldable Kayak bay lake pond slow river fold folding folded origami small fit in the trunk small car unfolds water-worthy craft one person just minutes adventure fold up store stored storing small apartment keep it in your car pre-order Oru Kayak /