Apple wants to stop Kodak from bankrolling its recovery on patents that it may not own; one company says people are downloading those new iPad textbooks like they’re going out of style; and blazing fast Wi-Fi may be coming to a Mac near you sometime this year. The remainders for Monday, January 23, 2012 are wireless and fancy free.
Apple claims ownership of digital photography patents asserted by Kodak (AppleInsider)
Pursuant to Kodak’s recent declaration of bankruptcy, Apple is piling on by saying that Kodak shouldn’t be able to get loans based on patents whose ownership is a matter of legal dispute between the two companies. Also, Cupertino is insisting that all sentimental photographs now be dubbed “Apple moments.”
350,000 Textbooks Downloaded From Apple’s iBooks in Three Days (All Things D)
Who knows, maybe Apple will announce how many of its fancy new iPad textbooks have been sold when it talks about its financial results on Tuesday. But one outside firm is already pegging that number at 350,000 since the e-textbooks went on sale last week (plus 90,000 downloads of the company’s iBooks Author app). Regardless of just how precise that number is, I think we can still safely say it’s way more times than any other textbooks have been downloaded “just for fun.”
In turnabout, teachers give students Apples, hope iPads boost test scores (Las Vegas Sun)
According to a report, iPad pilot programs in California have actually had a positive effect, with preliminary results showing math proficiency test scores jumping 30 percentage points. (Those kids all just downloaded PCalc, didn’t they?)
Apple working to adopt 802.11ac 5G Gigabit WiFi this year (AppleInsider)
You thought 802.11n was hot? Wait until you get a load of 802.11ac—the “ac” is for “Awww, crud!” as in “Awww, crud! Why don’t I have superfast new Wi-Fi yet?” The new Wi-Fi spec which, in theory, boasts higher speeds and better range may find itself in Apple products sometime this year—the company’s Wi-Fi hardware supplier, Broadcom, has already announced chips that support the spec. Look, if they make Wi-Fi any more powerful, I’m afraid it might burn a hole in my pants.
NBC News Is Starting E-book Unit (New York Times)
In Peter Falk’s day, television was called books—and so it may be once again. NBC News is launching a book division—creatively named NBC Publishing—that will produce ebooks based on content from other NBC Universal properties, including Universal Pictures, NBC Sports, and Telemundo. I’m holding out hope for an interactive telenovela and a virtual Bob Costas pop-up book.