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Apple to pay $308.5 million for allegedly violating a DRM patent
Apple has been ordered to pay $308.5 million in a lawsuit alleging that the copyright protection in the App Store and Music violates PMC's patents.
Zynga sued for patent infringement
Zynga is being sued again, but not for any of the reasons you're probably thinking of. Personalized Media Communications, an intellectual properties company that makes its living by licensing its plethora of patents to various technology companies, has filed suit against the social mogul, alleging that Zynga's headlining titles infringe upon four of its patents.The patents in question cover a wide range of exceedingly vague situations, from "controlled access of media content" to "personalized content based on individual attributes" and "the use of control and information signals embedded in electronic media content to generate output for display that is personalized and relevant to a user."If you're thinking "Well gosh, those sound like they could potentially apply to literally everything on the whole Internet," that's the whole point. After countless billable hours and several appeals, this will either end with Zynga signing a licensing agreement with PMC and paying a potentially substantial amount of back license fees determined by the court, or PMC's patents will be deemed as either inapplicable or too vague, at which point everyone goes home. Either way, some lawyers are getting paid.
Microsoft slide chronicles the journey from Portable Media Center to Windows Phone 7
In case you missed it, Wired has a new piece out on the (very brief) history of Windows Phone 7. Unfortunately, the article pulls all punches, and skates through some bizarre statements from Microsofties, including calling Kin "a worthwhile risk that resulted in important lessons," and the real head scratcher of the piece: "Software is like making a movie and building a skyscraper. You're not quite sure how it's going to stand until it comes out in the end." Still, we were glad to find this slide (pictured above) in the article's photo gallery, chronicling the journey of the Metro design language from Microsoft's ill-fated Portable Media Center, to the vaguely successful Zune products, and around at last to the newly available Windows Phone 7. A bit of comeuppance for 2004's ahead-of-its-time, PlaysForSure-laden iPod killer? We like to think so.
MAG's Veteran Mode explained
MAG's official launch was only a few days ago, but developer Zipper Interactive is already explaining some of the benefits to having a high level character in the MMOFPS. Players who hit the level cap of 60 can enable "Veteran Mode", which Zipper Interactive has mentioned in the past. Now, they've clarified what exactly the advantages to doing so are in a blog post -- essentially it's an incentive to reroll once you've maxed out your character, and experience more of the game. If you're looking to try something new, you'll be able to keep your past accomplishments (medals, ribbons, and related stats) when you reset your character to level 1. Even though your experience counter resets to zero, your lifetime experience will show everything you've ever earned -- a permanent record viewable on the stats page of your barracks. Players after trophies for hitting max level in all private military companies (PMCs) in MAG will want to take advantage of Veteran Mode and the experience boost it imparts. Veteran Mode gives players a permanent 10% bonus added to the experience total for each match, provided that players sticks through the entire round. Other players can easily recognize a Veteran by the gold insignia displayed beneath that character's rank. While we suspect it'll be a while before most players hit that level cap, Zipper Interactive detailed MAG's Veteran Mode on the game's official blog.
Zipper dev diary reveals the three factions of MAG
Out of all of humanity's social needs and desires, we all love the feeling of belonging the most. People just can't get along without the comfort and support that can be provided by bowling leagues, church groups, family circles or bloodthirsty para-military contractors. The latest developer diary for Zipper Interactive's 256-man melee, MAG, reveals the three PMCs featured in the multi-multi-multiplayer shooter. You'll get to choose between the traditional military forces of Valor, the high-tech armada of Raven or the brutal, low-tech armies of S.V.E.R. (pronounced "sever"). Check out the three outfits in the video above, and let us know who you're thinking about enlisting with.
Blackwater mercs say 'make music, not war'
Okay, maybe what controversial private military company (PMC) Praying Mantis Blackwater Worldwide is actually trying to say by airdropping complete Guitar Hero setups to US troops in Afghanistan is "Make music, not war ... well, actually, make war too – after you've FC'd a few songs." The Associated Press reports that James Overton, a Blackwater recruiter, wants to bundle an Xbox 360, projector, and an undisclosed Guitar Hero iteration together in a package that can be deployed as a battlefield moral booster. "Every [military] place I've ever been to overseas, they've got like backgammon and Parcheesi and chess, and they're all gathering dust," Overton told the AP, adding, "But this is the stuff they play at home. And any semblance of home we can give them is best." Overton did not disclose who the troops call if their 360 displays a Red Ring of Death as a result of being dropped from the transport plane.[Via Gamasutra]
Toshiba's gigabeat prototype sports a 3.2-inch OLED display
Hey hey, lookie here, a Toshiba gigabeat prototype unearthed by Akihabara News at CEATEC. No real details except for the display: a vivid 3.2-inch, 240 x 427 pixel OLED. Yeah, we also noticed the curvier profile and missing Windows flag from the interface keys. A subtle clue, perhaps, as to how much longer Toshiba is willing to support Microsoft's defunct Portable Media Center platform.
Toshiba's Gigabeat T401 flash PMC comes packin' WiFi
Ah, so that's what that FCC approved MET401 is, the new Toshiba Gigabeat T401. That spiffy Windows flag should be your hint as to this player's Portable Media Center roots. A lingering death rattle from this once fertile lineage. The player sports a 2.4-inch, 320 x 240 pixel display; support for WMV video and MP3, WMA 9 Lossless, and DRM'd WMA audio; up to 4GB of flash; 802.11b/g WiFi (nice); Toshiba's latest H2C audio processing tech; and the ability to pump the audio for up to 16-hours or 5-hours of video if that's your thing. Looking pretty swank in that 9.9-mm thin packaging when it hits Japan on October 5th for ¥29,800 (about $258). Check out the WiFi-less 401S models (September 7th, ¥24,800, about $213, with three color options) after the break. [Via Impress]
Toshiba's 80GB Gigabeat V801: the last Portable Media Center
In what constitutes a death rattle for Portable Media Center devices, Toshiba just sputtered forth the latest in the V Series of Gigabeat players: the 40GB V401 (¥49,800 / $409) and 80GB V801 (¥59,800 / $491). Each packs a new 4-inch, 24-bit color, 480 x 272 pixel display with built-in brightness sensor for automatic adjustment to local lighting conditions. In addition to supporting WM DRM10 and WMA 9 Lossless as you'd expect in a Microsoft PMC, the device also packs an improved 1Seg tuner and EPG for plenty of digital TV viewing (and recording) while on the go. The latest Gigabeat also features improved sound quality and 24-mm thickness and a battery capable of 28/10/8 hours of playback audio/video/1Seg TV, respectively. Available June 1st in Japan.[Via Impress]
Microsoft Portable Media Center, RIP: 2004 - 2006
Microsoft, you've really got to let us in on these kinds of things. We knew when the Zune was announced that the writing was on the wall for Portable Media Center. After a couple of years of flops running the XP-esque embedded OS, we knew it wasn't long for this world. And it was especially clear that PMC was the media device OS which seemed to provide the foundation for the Zune; then all those next-gen PMC devices stopped trickling out. In fact, you could say we're still haunted by the memory of the Gigabeat S, the one truly amazing PMC device that literally provided the Zune hardware framework -- but all that's legacy now. Finally officially confirmed by a Microsoft employee, the story goes that last year Redmond sent out a letter to hardware partners that was heretofore unbeknownst to us, the gist being PMC 2.0 is the last version you're gonna see, so wrap up your devices now, we're not supporting it anymore. We'll definitely miss you PMC, from your syncing with our Media Center PCs, to the wacky variety of devices you rode in on. We're still a little unsure of your successor, but perhaps with time that little brown wireless player will actually pull it together and do you proud.Check out the Portable Media Center devices of a bygone age.[Thanks Eliot, via Mavromatic]
Toshiba Gigabeat V30 reviewed
If you've been on the lookout for a sizable screen to enjoy Microsoft's Portable Media Center and all the interface joys that lie therein, the new Gigabeat V -- which has finally made it to the US in a 30GB, tuner-free version known as the MEV30K -- is a bit of a mixed bag. Sure, PMC is all there, enjoyable as ever, and CNET found the screen to be plenty bright and colorful, but they found it grainy as well, perhaps due to Toshiba stretching out the QVGA resolution over a whole 3.5-inches. They also found the thumb stick to be a bit "spongy," and the other controls were a bit awkward as well. Other little inconveniences like a lack of FM, no video input and a weird requirement to unplug USB when charging make this player hard for the reviewer to recommend. Luckily, the 25 hour and 8 hour battery life estimates seem to be no lie, audio quality is excellent and Toshiba has slashed the price down to $300 mere days after launching it for $400, which ain't bad at all for a 30GB PVP with a 3.5-inch screen, no matter how it reviews.[Thanks, Nana]
Toshiba officially partners with Vongo, launches Gigabeat S
It's not like we all didn't know that Vongo and Toshiba were bedfellows that begot the Gigabeat S in hardware and service, but today they made it official, laying down the 30GB MES30VW (left) for $299.99 and the 60GB MES60VK for $399.99. The part where they said the players are "available now" was news to us, but Starz's $10 per month Vongo movie download service is up and running, so assuming you actually find a place to pick up that Gigabeat S (with 2.4-inch QVGA display, PMC 2.0, FM tuner, USB On-The-Go, etc.) you can get your "iPod-killer" on post-haste. And it's about freaking time, too.
BenQ's VIIV-friendly DMP300 Digital Media Player
Now that you've picked up a brand new VIIV-powered PC (because computing just isn't computing without VIIV), you probably want a media streaming device to watch all your digital swag on regular TVs, and BenQ's got your back with the new DMP300 Digital Media Player. Like many of the other similar solutions on the market, the DMP300 streams your music (MP3, WMA, PCM), vids (MPEG-1/2/4, WMV9, XviD), and pics (JPEG, JPEG2000, BMP) over a wired or wireless (802.11b/g) network, but also leverages the power of VIIV for accessing certain remote applications and premium content. This model sports a full range of connectivity options -- HDMI, component, S-video, and digital audio outputs are some of the highlights -- and will be available for an undisclosed price under generic branding sometime next quarter.
Gigabeat S now on sale... at least somewhere
Yeah, yeah, we've been hearing mild rumblings about the impending launch of the Gigabeat S; in our ever vigilant effort to keep our collective ears pressed firmly to the ground we've got something for ya. Now, we don't normally do this, but we were tipped off to a web shop called eTailElectronics apparently located in North Dakota that supposedly has some coveted Toshiba MES60VK 60GB Gigabeat S players -- and is selling them for a solid $55 off MSRP markup, no less (weighing in at $345.99 not including T&S&H). It took us a couple days to get someone on the horn, but they confirmed that they had a few dozen players left, they've been flying out the door, and yes, they were actually really physically sitting right there, waiting to ship. Being that this was a business call in the name of journalistic research, however, we refrained from buying one. It was rough though, believe you us, rough indeed. [Thanks, Brian]Read
Toshiba Gigabeat V30T: a Portable Media Center with mobile TV
While we've been patiently waiting for the US launch of the Gigabeat S (set for release today tomorrow according to Amazon), Toshiba has been quietly prepping their new Gigabeat V series of Windows Portable Media Centers. Sure, the V30T player looks nothing like its sleeker sib, but that's due to the fact that this portable flaunts a new Wansegu (AKA, OneSeg) ISDB-T tuner for viewing the Japanese-flavor of mobile digital television launched last month -- in other words, the T-DMB / DVB-H / MediaFLO of Japan. Now on top of extracting that sweet TV from the ether, the V30T features a 3.5-inch, 320 x 240 display, support for WMV/WMA/MP3/WAV/JPEG and PlaysForSure WMA formats, and a brawny battery capable of up to 7/9/25 hours of TV/video/music playback, respectively, while keeping it all less than an inch thick. But this is all about the TeeVee Jack, so the V30T packs in a 30GB drive which, when combined with the EPG, allows you to record broadcasts up to 24 hours in advance for a maximum of about 130 hours of recorded, portable video. Expect the V30T to drop late June for about $450 in green.[Via Impress Watch]
