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Fahy vs Linden Lab: No case to answer?
Last week, on Thursday 8 April, Corey Fahy in Philadelphia filed a lawsuit against Linden Lab and more than 25 others, in the Pennsylvania East District Court (case number 2:2010cv01561, assigned to judge Joel Harvey Slomsky). Fahy alleges that an algorithm in one of his Second Life products has been subjected to copyright infringement, accompanied by the usual requests for damages, statutory damages, ten times damages, attorney's fees and all that. Where do we even begin? We'll spare you most of the cruft and go straight to the heart of the problems that we can see with this particular lawsuit.
The Virtual Whirl: The emperor's new terms
This week The Virtual Whirl virtual mailbag is stuffed to overflowing with queries about the new Second Life Terms Of Service (TOS) that launched slightly behind the new Second Life 2.0 viewer. The new version has grown from 7,500 words to more than 30,000 words across no less than 18 separate documents, all of which you must agree to in order to use the service – and golly, it has raised some questions.
$10,000 worth of iPhones stolen from Lancaster, PA Apple Store
Apple Stores continue to be sizable targets for theft, it seems -- the local paper in Lancaster, PA reports that four young men stole 17 iPhones from the displays at an Apple Store recently, resulting in almost $10,000 worth of losses. The robbery took place during the day; at around 1:30pm, the young men just started grabbing, and walked out of the store with as many iPhones as they could carry. Not that it'll probably do anything but get them in trouble. All of the phones are already entered in a crime database, and they were removed from the store without SIM cards, so any attempt to officially activate them will probably raise flags somewhere. Of course, from my time in retail I know that most retailers just usually write losses like this off, as it's just cheaper to eat the loss than deal with going after whoever stole the units. But you never know -- the police apparently have video and everything, so if the kids are caught, maybe they will face the music. Moral of the story: don't leave your iPhone lying around an Apple Store? On the other hand, the warehouses aren't safe either, at least not in Belgium... [ via @esposimi]
Select GameStops in NY, OH and PA selling Modern Warfare 2 already [update: Activision responds]
Update: Activision shot us an email to point out that "Activision has not given any retailer permission to sell Modern Warfare 2 prior to the Nov. 10 street date. The company fully supports the Nov.10 street date." It seems that a whole mess of folks are breaking street date and selling the game early. If you snagged a copy already, enjoy!Poor, poor GameStop. As the gaming public's anticipation for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 approached critical mass, they faltered in their loyalty, and took their business to small "mom and pop" game retailers who had broken the game's street date. Fortunately for the retail juggernaut, Activision showed compassion for its plight, and agreed to let certain GameStops in a few Northeast states start selling the game before Tuesday in order to help combat these vicious local businesses. We've been receiving tips all morning from folks living in New York and Pennsylvania (and Kotaku reports Ohio as well) stating that they were able to find the game on sale at their local GameStop. If you live in one of those Northeastern states, you might want to go ahead and call your local 'Stop to see if it's one of the stores which was granted special permission. If it is, then you can go straight to hell, you lucky jerk.
Comcast has issues with Verizon's FiOS VOD claims
The only thing we love more than analysts and surveys is content providers bickering over each other's ridiculous PR claims and none are as fun as when Comcast is involved. Avid readers are all too familiar with Comcast's strategy to give up on the linear channel race and instead focus on VOD "options" no matter how silly it makes them look to those in the know. What really makes this particular situation interesting is that Comcast doesn't appreciate it when another provider, like Verizon FiOS, gets in on the action when it recently claimed it offered 3 times as many VOD offerings a month as the nation's largest provider. Comcast claims this is just not true and there are actually at least 17,000 VOD titles available in most markets. If that is news to you, then you aren't the only one as Verizon blasts back with "I'm surprised that Comcast wouldn't talk about these numbers in their PR and advertising. We make sure to let our customers know when we're adding more to their service." Too true, Verizon, too true. Honestly we couldn't care less about VOD because we're in the small group of CableCARD users, but there's no way we could turn away from a train wreck like this.
Pennsylvania legislators consider violent game tax
GamePolitics spent a little time at the Pennsylvania House of Representatives last week for its hearing on violent video games. During the proceedings, a pair of State Representatives questioned the Penn. Joint State Commission about ways violent video games could be targeted. For example, putting a 5% tax on violent game sales, with those funds being allocated to parental education programs. Another suggests withholding tax incentives from companies that make violent video games.To be clear, the meeting was exploratory, so it's a lot of talk and very little substance -- like most government conversation about video games (www.instantrimshot.com). If you're in the mood for watching congressional proceedings about taxing video games, check out the video after the break.
Piazza At Schmidt's bringing huge Daktronics HD LED screen to Philadelphia
What's up with Philadelphia and all these HD displays? Not only is the City of Brotherly Love home to a gigantic 27- x 87- display at the Comcast Center, but it's about to be home to a swank 16- x 26-foot Daktronics HD LED video projection screen. Said display will be arriving at the Piazza At Schmidt's, a multi-use venue in the Northern Liberties neighborhood. The grand opening is scheduled for May 15th - 16th, 2009, and it will supposedly host up musical artists, street fairs and all manners of other performances. So here's the heads-up you needed to block out that weekend and check it out, cool?[Thanks, RSR]
Rumor: Philadelphia's first Apple Store in the works
A few of the rumor sites are reporting that an Apple Store is finally in the works for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It seems strange to me that a major city like Philadelphia would be without an Apple Store, but what do I know about marketing?MacNN credits an undisclosed source as reporting that Apple has signed a lease to the former Brasserie Perrier restaurant at 1619 Walnut Street [Google map]. This is a protected building with historical significance, so there's a limited amount of changes that can be made to its facade. Of course, the Apple Stores are known for their dramatic glass storefronts, though more subtle facades have been used in Europe.AppleInsider reports that the retail market has grown in that area recently, specifically across fine dining restaurants, shops and banks. Apple tends to build retail stores in this kind of market.Good luck, Philadelphia! We're hoping you get your first store soon.
Comcast brings a fresh trio to Philadelphia, PA
While citizens in the Philly suburbs of Willow Grove / Montgomery and Bucks Counties received these three last month, Comcast decided to wait awhile before bestowing them upon the residents of Philadelphia proper. As of now, USA HD, Discovery HD and SciFi HD have all been added, and if you're parked in the City of Brotherly Love, you can find 'em on slots 222, 224 and 226, respectively. The full release is after the break.
Sony calls it quits on US TV production
Honestly, it's surprising to us that Sony still had any TV manufacturing was still in the U.S., but sadly, the company will be turning the lights out on its last U.S.-based plant early next year. The Westmoreland, PA plant is set to cease TV production in February 2009 and finally close in March 2010 when TV and Blu-ray disc repair are relocated as well. Reliability be damned, the plant just couldn't avoid the axe this time around -- it had already shifted from RPTVs to LCD TVs since opening in 1990 -- but this last round of "5 or 6" worldwide plant closings for Sony will spell curtains for the Pittsburgh Technology Center. Our hearts go out to the 560 folks who will lose their jobs.[Image courtesy Westmoreland County, PA]
Comcast has no shame, successfully delays FiOS vote for Philadelphia
Ha, wow. This stuff is too rich to make up. We already knew that Comcast was blowing smoke by claiming that it had more HD material (than Verizon) that mere mortals actually cared about, but this is just incredible. A new report straight from Philadelphia makes clear that a practically imminent vote to give Verizon a 15-year lease to wire the city up for FiOS TV has been abruptly halted, and Comcast is largely to thank. Purportedly, lobbyists for the carrier swarmed the council chambers yesterday and managed to convince them to take another month or so to reconsider. Among the issues brought up were that another carrier wouldn't necessarily lead to lower prices and that Verizon would likely wire up higher income neighborhoods first / only. Thanks Comcast -- we bet even Adam Smith would agree that no competition is better than competition you find unfavorable.[Via DSLReports]
Philadelphia's NBC 10 brings the high-def love to its newscasts
Philadelphia residents, NBC 10 loves you. We mean, it really digs you. So much, in fact, that it has taken to heart all those surely kind letters you've sent in over the past few months regarding high-def news. Starting tonight, The City of Brotherly Love has another place to turn for high-definition newscasts, and that place is NBC 10. Reportedly, the station has been constructing an HD studio for months, and it has just now taken the wraps off of everything. Enjoy, Philly, and let us know if you're pleased in comments below.
Verizon and Comcast exchange words on HD options in Philadelphia
And by "exchange words," we mean "get seriously agitated and spout off at one another." As Verizon comes down the home stretch on a deal that would give it a 15-year agreement to offer programming services in the City of Brotherly Love, rival Comcast is quaking in its boots. After proclaiming that a huge chunk of Verizon's HD options were just "program fillers on blow-drying hair, kissing, grilling a hamburger, folding a pillowcase, chopping garlic, and other mundane topics," Verizon hit back by insinuating that Comcast was just "desperate." In a fit of stupidity, Comcast produced figures showing that it had a total of 1,304 HD choices in the area compared to Verizon's 1,057; what it failed to mention was the 37 versus 104 (respectively) number that describes the huge gap in linear HD channels between the two carriers. Oh Comcast, when will you ever stop making yourself look silly?[Via BroadbandReports]
Comcast adds USA HD, Discovery HD and SciFi HD in Pennsylvania / Delaware
While the residents of the Steel City just received a trio from Comcast, it looks like other markets in the state (as well as Delaware) are preparing to receive three others. Specifically, subscribers in the Philadelphia suburbs of Willow Grove / Montgomery and Bucks Counties, as well as New Castle, Delaware, will be seeing USA HD, SciFi HD and Discovery HD shortly, with potentially unfounded promises for lots more in the future. Don't worry about tomorrow, though -- just enjoy what you've been blessed with today. Full release is after the break.[Thanks, Margo]
Pittsburgh gets a few new HD channels from Comcast
Nearly half a year ago, Pittsburgh residents were cheering as Comcast ushered in a new slate of high-definition options. Now, it's time for yet another round of golf claps, as the carrier has just added in SPEED HD (219), Fox News HD (202) and FX HD (199) while replacing the now-defunct MOJO HD with Fox Sports Pittsburgh (226). And hey Comcast, tipster Steve says you should seriously consider adding ESPNU HD soon (and we're in agreement).[Thanks, Steve]
Verizon gears up for FiOS rollout in 27,000 Aimco apartments
It's incredibly obvious that one of Verizon's main opportunities for growth in FiOS TV is locking down contracts with housing facilities and apartment complexes, and while we've seen some small to medium-scale rollouts before, this one takes things to a whole 'nother level. Last year, the provider inked a deal with Aimco that would eventually bring fiber-based FiOS services to residents of some 27,000 apartments in 11 states across the nation. Now, 100 Aimco properties from coast to coast will be lit up with FiOS TV / internet / digital voice services prior to the onset of 2009, and that should make for quite a few happy tenants this holiday season.[Image courtesy of Apts247]
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: November 22, 2008
Verizon's not slacking off as the run-up to the holiday season continues -- probably because folks are apt to have all sorts of free TV watching time here in the next month or so -- so we'll get right down to the releases. Up first are the towns of Middleton, Massachusetts, and the corporately-stacked Wilmington, Delaware, which have just granted the company a video license. Next, we head to the Pacific Northwest to see that Camas, Washington and Gresham, Oregon have agreed to do the same. Finally, we're told that Philadelphia-area residents are being treated to 30 new channels (17 of which are in high-def). That's it for this week -- we'll see you back again in seven days for (hopefully) even more.Read - Philadelphia channelsRead - Washington expansionRead - Massachusetts expansionRead - Oregon expansionRead - Delaware expansion
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: November 15, 2008
It's been a slow week for FiOS TV expansions, but we suppose the hard-working individuals responsible for 233,000 new net customers in Q3 deserve a little rest and relaxation before getting back to the grind. Up first we have the Tampa Bay, Florida area getting gifted with a new wave of interactive features on their DVRs. Next, we see three more Trump (yes, that Trump) Properties receiving FiOS TV and high-speed internet services, and if you're curious as to which ones we're referring to, they are: Trump Parc, Trump Parc East and 610 Park Avenue. Lastly, we're notified that Verizon and the City of Brotherly Love (or Philadelphia, if you prefer) are working together to grant the carrier a cable franchise; if passed, Verizon would work to deploy its fiber-based network throughout the region over seven years. That's it for this week, so we'll see you back again in seven days for (hopefully) even more.Read - Tampa BayRead - Trump PropertiesRead - Philadelphia
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: November 8, 2008
Not only did Verizon pick up nearly a quarter-million new FiOS TV subscribers in Q3, but it's looking to make sure even more Americans have an opportunity to join in during Q4. This week, the carrier has received approval to light up its fiber-based TV service in several more New York communities -- Port Washington North in Nassau County, the Town of Fishkill / City of Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County, Schuylerville, Throgs Neck and Edgewater Park in the Bronx, and Sheepshead Bay and Gerritsen Beach in Brooklyn. Additionally, it added in 53 new HD channels in Richmond / Hampton Roads, VA, 10 more in Harrisburg, PA and 16 in Rhode Island. We'll see you next week -- here's to hoping your neck of the woods gets covered within the next seven days.Read - New York expansion IRead - New York expansion IIRead - Hampton Roads, VA additionsRead - Richmond, VA additionsRead - Harrisburg, PA additionsRead - Rhode Island additions
Burglars break into restaurant, steal HDTV, leave money / food behind
Not that we'd have any expert knowledge in the wide world of theft, but this just doesn't seem like the best way to go about snagging a new HDTV. At any rate, an undisclosed amount of thieves reportedly drove a truck (or large SUV... it was dark outside, okay?) into the front door of Los Tres Amigos restaurant in a small Pennsylvania town, broke the glass, ganked a 47-inch Insignia HDTV and "fled the scene." For starters, you'd risk prison for an Insignia? Really? Second, with LCD prices tanking like never before, don't you think you could've waited until Black Friday to get yourself a steal? Sigh.[Image courtesy of Hotel Interactive]
