mPath
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Active Storage reportedly closing its doors
For those who deal with Macs in the enterprise, you may be saddened by the surfacing news that Active Storage is shutting down. Over the last four years, the company has unveiled an array (pardon the pun) of Mac-centric storage solutions, including controllers intended to bridge the gap left by Apple's discontinued Xserve line. The news comes unexpected to many, with no official word from the company regarding the shut down. If anything, a quick browse of their website shows no indication of any problems -- as recently as two weeks ago, in fact, they announced a new storage platform offering and formed partnerships with a couple of media companies to promote the new brand. The only hint of confirmation on the shutdown is a forum post from one of the engineers, which indicates that the employees were also taken by surprise, but that many of them have already moved on to other jobs and that details should be made public soon. It's at least some comfort to know that the employees have been able to recover from the blow, but I'm sure many customers will have questions about the future of their products and support contracts as word of the closure gets around.
PalTalk suing Microsoft for $90 million for copyright infringement
Two-and-a-half years ago, online communications company PalTalk announced it would be suing Microsoft for infringing on two of its online gaming patents. PalTalk claimed that Halo's online component and the Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles themselves clearly infringe on technology relating to "controlling interactive applications over multiple computers" which was developed by MPath Interactive, then acquired by PalTalk Holdings for a sum of $200,000.Recently, PalTalk decided to move foward with the case, and is attempting to seek $90 million in damages from Microsoft for the "tens of millions of dollars" the company lost as a result of Xbox Live's online offerings. PalTalk lawyer Max Tribble claimed Microsoft met with MPath to look at their online gaming technology, and "found the technology to be very valuable." Afterwards, they supposedly yoinked it.Microsoft's lawyer, David Pritkin, confirmed the company met with MPath, but decided to "go in a different direction and work with a different company," which he says upset PalTalk, and could be one of the main reasons for the suit. He added that the patents aren't incredibly valuable, and that the $90 million in damages sought by PalTalk is a fairly exorbitant sum. The trial is set to take place in a U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas, with a verdict likely to surface in the coming weeks.
