Technologies
Latest
Splitting up with Apple is a chipmaker's nightmare
Apple is such a powerful company that, for third-party suppliers, it's hard not to become reliant on the cash that it pays you. But when Apple says that it's done, choosing to move whatever technology you provide in house, the results can be really painful.
Inhabitat's Week In Green: cities in the sky, a cloned Chinese village and a few green DIY Father's Day projects
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. As the race to develop new, more efficient modes of transportation heats up, it could soon become even easier (and greener) to jet around the globe. This week saw the Solar Impulse -- that broad, funny-looking airplane -- complete the world's first solar-powered intercontinental flight. Meanwhile, Boeing's hydrogen-powered 'Phantom Eye' drone aircraft successfully completed its first flight, releasing only water as a byproduct. Both developments signal growing confidence in employing new green technologies in air travel. Now that green airplanes are taking flight, what will we do with all of those old fuel-guzzling planes that are currently in use? One Oregon man may have found an answer -- Bruce Campbell transformed an entire Boeing 727-200 into his home, converting one bathroom into a shower and installing a computer monitor in the middle of the control panel.
Motorola sues Apple for 18 alleged patent infringements
Motorola is the latest company to file a patent lawsuit against Apple, suggesting in court that Apple has infringed on proprietary Motorola technologies in its mobile devices. Motorola itself filed papers about 18 different infringements. Its subsidiary Motorola Mobility Inc filed three more, as well as a trade complaint regarding technologies including a system to distribute message traffic and various systems like that. Truth be told, this is all pretty esoteric -- Microsoft just recently sued Motorola for the same type of thing, and technology patents are often so vague and far-reaching that I suspect none of this is ever meant to actually reach court. Apple's lawyers will determine what the settlement should be (and Apple will probably pay it), and Motorola might even use that money to pay off Microsoft. It's possible that this could blow up into a bigger argument (depending on what Motorola wants to get out of this), but at this point, it all just seems more like corporate posturing than anything else. So instead, let's all take this time to remember Motorola and Apple's disastrous collaboration, the Rokr, and what a mess all of that was. Man, it's hard to believe just how terrible cell phones were before the iPhone came along. [via Slashdot]
BBC: WoW's patches may push some over the bandwidth limit
We've posted a few times already on the bandwidth limits recently introduced by some ISPs, and in general we've decided that WoW doesn't use nearly enough bandwidth to get you in trouble with your Internet Service Provider. That's likely still true, but as this columnist at the BBC found out, if you're close to the limit, this month's 2gb patch might have been enough to put you over the top. Generally, while the WoW connection does require a strong bandwidth hookup, it won't use too much bandwidth sending data back and forth. But patches and other downloads definitely add to the total, and on a patch like 3.0.2, you're looking at a lot of data flying back and forth.I'll still maintain it won't get you near the limit -- if this columnist really did have a 25gb limit, the 2gb download was still just a fraction (he's been downloading a lot of other stuff, seems to me). So it's not time to start worrying yet -- if your ISP does send you a letter, then you can look at your internet usage, and see, if like this columnist, it's time to switch ISPs.But he's got another point, and that is that gaming is clearly having a large effect on computers and technology in general. Would we be fulfilling Moore's Law every two years if we didn't have 3D graphics that needed upgrading? Would high bandwidth connections be as prevalent today around the world if it wasn't for games like WoW that required a high bandwith hookup? Gaming is affecting the basic technologies and economies of the Internet these days, for better or worse.
Hang Your Mac - Sonnet MacCuff Pro
It's common knowledge that Mac Pro is one of the most powerful pre-configured desktop computers out there, but who knew it was hung? With a little help from Sonnet Technologies, your Mac Pro or PowerMac G5 can hang elegantly from under your desk instead of taking up valuable floor real estate. The MacCuff Pro is made of solid steel and retails for a pricey $129. While the idea of hanging a tower is cute, I'd be cautious to try it on anything but the sturdiest desks, and definitely only those made of solid wood instead of particle board. [via CrunchGear]
Microsoft bites back at Lucent
Remember that quarrel between Microsoft and Lucent Technologies over MPEG technology a while back? Well they're at it again (as if it had ever stopped). This time, however, Microsoft is going on the offensive.With a bold war cry, they countersued Lucent. We suspect there was some mild name-calling involved, but regardless, the allegations state that Lucent is the one violating a number of copyrights this time. Microsoft also says that the other decoding technology patents were invalid.How long will this slap-fest continue?
