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Burst.com takes $10m bite out of Apple over iPod, iLife patent infringement
Seems like any large, multi-billion dollar tech firm will have some unknown number of plates spinning in the court system at any given time; for Apple, one of those plates just fell. Settling a two year old patent dispute with Burst.com, Cupertino's shelling out $10 million to license four (infringed) patents regarding audio / video technology in the iPod, iTunes, iLife, and QuickTime. Stings, but apparently burst got Microsoft to open up its coffers to the tune of $60m on another patent suit, so at least Apple's in good company. [Warning: PDF read link]
Electromagnetic can crusher can crush cans
Sure, we know you and your toga-wearing fraternity brothers are plenty good at smashing "beverage" cans against your forehead, but haven't you ever wanted to crush those cans using something with a little more... power? Enter the electromagnetic can crusher, a device which stores energy in a bank of capacitors, and then releases it in a quick -- yet powerful -- burst of pressure. Some folks out there on the internets have lovingly posted their experiments (perhaps so that other can-crushing aficionados can follow in their footsteps) complete with warnings like "This device involves extreme voltages, possibility of fire, explosion, violent ruptures of components and other risks." Sounds like fun, right? Hit the links and read all about it.[Via Hack a Day, thanks chainofcommand02]
Patent infringement lawsuit hits Apple
In a move that screams 'I was waiting for the right time to mention it,' Burst.com yesterday filed a patent counterclaims lawsuit against Apple Computer, claiming that their iTunes, iTMS, iPod and QuickTime Streaming infringe on four of their patents.It appears that this time around Apple actually fired first. Earlier this year, Apple asked the courts to render Burst's patents invalid, which sparked this counterclaim they filed yesterday. Burst has stated that they had hoped to avoid the courts and negotiate a "reasonable license fee," but it seems that a court is exactly where these two companies will need to settle the dispute.Check out Macworld's article if you're interested in more details surrounding the case.
