memorandum of understanding
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Rivian and Mercedes are teaming up to build electric vans more quickly
They plan to produce vehicles at a factory in central or eastern Europe,
US and Luxembourg sign 'space commerce' pact
The current US government relishes the thought of bringing business to space, and it's now eager to make deals with countries that share the same dreams. The US has signed a memorandum of understanding with Luxembourg in a bid to cooperate further on space exploration, research and, to no one's surprise, a "business-friendly regulatory framework." Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister Étienne Schneider didn't mince words when talking about the pact -- his country is eager to make asteroid mining a reality, and the US relationship could be an "important step forward" in making use of those resources.
EU bureaucrats want to force Apple to adopt micro-USB adapter
Since the concept was first introduced, consumers have complained about proprietary chargers. Regardless if they're needed or not for a given product, they can be annoying and inconvenient. But are they bad for the environment? That's the argument being put forward by the Members of the European Parliament's internal market committee. On September 26, the body voted unanimously to propose a law that would require companies to use a universal mobile phone charger. The law requires mobile phone manufactures to include the universal micro-USB charger in its designs. In a statement, Germany's MEP, Barbara Weiler, explained her support of the measure. We urge member states and manufacturers finally to introduce a universal charger, to put an end to cable chaos for mobile phones and tablet computers. This isn't the first time the European Union has sought to impose a charger standard on manufactures. In 2009, the Commission reached a voluntary agreement with 10 mobile phone manufacturers to adopt the micro-USB charge and sync interface as the industry standard. Apple signed the agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding, but has not replaced its 30-pin or 8-pin chargers. Thursday's vote means this formerly voluntary agreement is no longer voluntary. For Apple, with proprietary chargers that factor into the optimization of the iPhone design, this law raises some troubling concerns. Apple already sells iPhone micro-USB adaptors, and perhaps it could start including them with new iPhones as a workaround. The international market committee will now meet with the European Council to negotiate on how to move the legislation forward toward passage. No dates have been announced for those meetings.
Corning and Samsung plan LCD glass plant in China, may toughen up a few laptop screens
Corning and Samsung were the best of friends well before even the Lotus Glass deal, but the relationship just got a little cozier. The two have agreed to build a plant in China's industry-heavy Wuxi New District focused on making glass to cover LCD panels in laptops and desktop displays. The roughly $600 million factory will be a major production hub for Samsung, not just an expansion: it's planning to stop some of its glass production in South Korea and send that work to the new facility when it opens. There won't even be signatures on the agreement until sometime later this year, so the plant itself is still a distant prospect -- but while the two haven't outlined their exact strategy, the new plant may be the ticket to toughening up that future Series 9 laptop with a touch of Gorilla Glass.
Will new iPhone designs include Europe's common charger?
Way back in 2009, the European Commission reached a voluntary agreement with 10 mobile phone manufacturers to adopt a standard Micro-USB charge and sync interface. Apple, with its proprietary Dock connector design, was one of the parties that signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) stating that they'd comply. Could the new iPhone(s) expected next week finally move to the standard connector? There are some compelling arguments why Apple won't and will stick with the 30-pin dock connector design for the foreseeable future. On one hand, this isn't legislation, so Apple is under no obligation to comply with the new standard. On the other hand, the company did sign the MoU, and to keep in the good graces of the EU at a time when Apple is locked in a number of patent-infringement battles, the company should follow through. The overwhelming reason that Apple is likely to stick with the dock connector is the huge number of accessories both from Apple and other manufacturers that use that connector. The dock connector is used not only on the iPhone, but also on the iPod touch, iPod Classic, iPod nano, and iPad. If the Dock connector was to be eliminated from the iPhone, accessory manufacturers would need to totally redesign most of the docks and cables that have been produced for the iPhone, and Apple would also need to change the connector port on the other devices. The wording of the MoU is clear: the European Commission requires manufacturers to have a cable assembly that "terminates in a Micro-B plug" (outlined in red in the photo above). But that still doesn't keep Apple from holding onto the dock connector. There's also a section in the agreement which states that "In case a mobile phone does not have this connector (Micro-USB) integrated into the device, an Adaptor may be available to ensure compatibility. An 'Adaptor' is defined as a device with a Micro-USB receptacle/plug connecting to a specific non Micro-USB connector." My take on this is that Apple will most likely ship new European iPhones with a USB Standard-A cable that ends in a Micro-B plug, along with a Micro-B to Dock connector adapter. This means that Apple complies with the word of the agreement and also keeps backward compatibility with the thousands of dock connector accessories. For the EU, it's a win as there is one standard charger design for all phones made by the ten signatories. For Apple, it's also a win since the company only needs to design an adaptor to go from the Micro-B end of the charging cable to the dock connector. And for the accessory manufacturers, it's time to breathe a big sigh of relief, knowing that every product they've made over the past few years will still work properly.
Former Infinity Ward heads seek to void original contract with Activision
The complex and claim-ridden story of Activision and Infinity Ward won't get any legal clarification for some time still, but that doesn't stop former IW heads Jason West and Vince Zampella from trying to annul their original contract with Activision. According to a GameSpot report, an amended complaint filed by the duo late last week alleges that Activision began development of "Modern Warfare and Call of Duty games and related products" without the express consent of the two men, and seeks to void the original contract they signed with Activision -- a move that would put at least partial control over the Modern Warfare brand back in the hands of West and Zampella. "Activision did not inform West or Zampella of such plans or seek their input or approval for them. Indeed, while breaching the creative authority provisions of the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding], Activision continued to pay lip-service to them, in an attempt to mask its secret development efforts," the updated complaint reads. Furthermore, the aforementioned MOU was allegedly signed by West and Zampella with pressure from Vivendi's merger with Activision weighing on it, which West and Zampella say helped them land an agreement (detailed by the MOU) that kept them in control of the Modern Warfare brand. The MOU, however, contained one passage that the ex-IW heads "remained skeptical" of, where the agreement would only continue as long as the two remained employed at the company. It's claimed that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick responded to this concern by saying, "Don't worry about it. It's impossible for you guys to get fired."
LG and Microsoft announce South Korean partnership
Korean television manufacturer LG and Microsoft have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding representing a new partnership in South Korea between the TV maker's 3D sets and Microsoft's Xbox 360 consoles, Engadget reports. A press release on the subject (wobbily translated from Korean) seems to say that the 360 will be sold in the region with 3D games in-tow and an LG 55/47LX9500 LED, possibly starting in June. Unfortunately, no details of the partnership could be confirmed with Microsoft or LG reps in the States as of this publishing. That said, a Microsoft rep told us: "As we've said before, 3D games are available today on Xbox 360 and will continue to evolve. Today, you can buy a 3DTV and wear glasses to play games like Avatar, and more titles like Batman: Arkham Asylum are on the way. The promotional partnership with LG announced in South Korea today is specific to the South Korean market, but is further evidence that as 3D adoption grows, Xbox 360 will support 3D games and entertainment." Given that statement, we don't see the partnership having global implications just yet -- not to mention the game being played above is Avatar and the two games mentioned by Microsoft are known to be 3D enabled. But hey, at least we got this hilariously awkward image of Microsoft's Alan Bowman playing games with LG's marketing strategy lead, right? [Via Engadget]
Law of the Game analyzes ex-IW bosses' suit against Activision
[Maveric2003] When various legal fracases arise from time to time, we turn to Law of the Game's Mark Methenitis, an actual, real lawyer, for thorough analysis. So, Methenitis kindly looked over the full complaint filed against Activision by ex-Infinity Ward heads Jason West and VInce Zampella, and then described to us the importance of the little things: the wording of the contract between the two ex-heads and Activision, the financial implications of the possible loss of the Modern Warfare name (for either side), and the ... shall we say, flamboyant ... language used in the document itself. According to Methenitis, the complaint's colorful phrasing is "for dramatic effect and little more." Methenitis pointed out in an email exchange with Joystiq that "readers shouldn't place too much emphasis on the language in the facts" and that the story told by the claims "sounds like a relatively common 'business deal gone bad' kind of suit." As for this particular case, though, he allowed, "Granted, based on the value of Call of Duty and Modern Warfare, the stakes are high both for the royalties and future creative control of the brand." (Methenitis here is referring to the ex-studio heads' allegation that Activision had handed over creative control of all Modern Warfare-branded games, part of the "Memorandum of Understanding" that was agreed upon between the two parties before the creation of Modern Warfare 2.) The stumbling block for West and Zampella, Methenitis said, could be in the wording of the memorandum. "That [receiving their royalties and retaining control of the Modern Warfare name] may be more problematic if the wording of the Memorandum of Understanding isn't such that it can be enforced as a contract," he said, adding, "Given the context and description in the suit, it seems like the term 'Memorandum of Understanding' in this case is just a fancy title for a contract rather than a less-than-enforceable agreement similar to a Letter of Intent." (Head past the break for Methenitis' full analysis.) While Methenitis wouldn't weigh in on the possible end result of this suit, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter mentioned in his latest report that, "We think that West's and Zampella's claim for creative control over the Call of Duty and Modern Warfare brands has little merit, and we expect Activision to retain control over the brands." One thing's for sure, if a messy lawsuit does get underway (and isn't settled out of court like so many are), we'll assuredly catch wind of more dirty laundry.
LG, Funai officially jump on the tru2way bandwagon
tru2way might not be entirely without issues, but add one more major ally to CableLabs' two-way technology, as LG (and Funai) both signed onto the same Memorandum of Understanding ratified by the six largest cable operators and a slew of consumer electronics manufacturers. Ideally, this means tru2way rollout will be speedy, and there will be plenty of hardware on shelves over the next year. LG prez Woo Paik expects HDTVs planned for '09 and beyond to include tru2way support, hopefully their compatibility testing will go a little bit better than Panasonic's.
Cable ops, consumer electronics manufacturers sign agreement on tru2way roll out
Joining Sony & six major cable companies in signing a memorandum of understanding of understanding regarding tru2way technology this week were Intel, ADB, Digeo, Panasonic and Samsung. As these companies have already announced work on compatible technology, some of which we've seen recently at The Cable Show, the names there aren't the surprise, it's the one that isn't (yet), LG. While they -- and presumably other companies -- look over the agreement, details haven't yet been released, but Multichannel News notes some elements include that the MSOs (Comcast. Time Warner Cable, Cox, Cablevision and Bright House) deploy at least 20% tru2way set-top boxes until 10 million are deployed and they've committed to supporting the technology by specific dates. Another element that might concern some companies, according to Cable Digital News, is a "monitor application" that the cable company uses to control how devices use processing resources. All the same, once these details have been hammered out and are out in the open, it should lead to a much smoother roll out of tru2way than its CableCard 1.0 predecessor and ensure everyone's equipment works as planned.[Via Multichannel News and Cable Digital News]
