Whenever Apple escapes one lawsuit, the universe launches another one. Elsewhere, the epic battle for the nano-SIM comes to a head, and HP would like you to know it invented keyboards in a hard candy shell. The remainders for Wednesday, May 9, 2012 are operating within normal parameters.
Judge: Proview Can’t Sue Apple in California in iPad Trademark Battle (Wall Street Journal, subscription required)
Mark one for Apple: A judge has approved the company’s motion to dismiss a trademark-infringement suit filed against it in California by Proview. Of course, the matter is still pending settlement in China. I’m still trying to acquire a vintage Proview iPad to go on my shelf next to the Cisco iPhone.
Apple iPod iTunes Antitrust Litigation (Apple iPod iTunes Antitrust Litigation)
As long as we’re in the legal realm, there’s a class action lawsuit in the offing over the long-running complaint that Apple adjusted iPod firmware to disallow playing songs purchased places other than iTunes (i.e., Windows Media and Real Player-based audio). So, if you’ve bought an iPod in the last six years or so, you now get to decide whether you want to jump on this particular bandwagon. You might make enough to cover a song or two!
Nano-SIM update: Apple design modified to fix concerns, standard will be decided this month (The Verge)
No doubt you’ve closely been following the battle over the newest SIM card standard. Apple has apparently ironed out some issues with its proposed nano-SIM concept, and a vote is even now under way. Keep an eye out for white smoke issuing from the European Telecommunications Standards Institute HQ in the, uh, French Riviera.
Rovio Passes a Billion Angry Birds Downloads, Still Mulling IPO (AllThingsD)
Angry Birds maker Rovio is still thinking over an initial public offering, having reported pre-tax profits of $67.6 million this week. Or they could skip the IPO and go straight to making amusement parks in China.
HP on laptop design similarities with Apple’s: it’s a struggle as we drive to simplicity (Engadget)
“Apple may like to think that they own silver, but they don’t.” That from HP vice president of industrial design Stacy Wolff, speaking about his philosophy. In a subsequent interview with Engadget, Wolff laments that nobody gave HP credit for coming up with the black-on-silver chiclet keyboard in the mid-80s. We await a statement from the senior vice president of industrial design at Cadbury Adams.
Product News:
Office for Mac 2011 14.2.2 Update – The latest update to Microsoft’s office suite for Mac patches several vulnerabilities, including serious ones that could allow for remote code execution via a maliciously crafted RTF or Word file. Free.
NetShade 5 – Rayner Software has released version 5 of NetShade, its Internet anonymizer app. NetShade hides your Internet tracks by routing your Net connection through a proxy server; that means nobody can trace your original IP address. Previous versions relied on logins and passwords stored in OS X’s Keychain (a system the vendor says was not reliable); this update does away with the need for logins and passwords of any kind. The interface has been overhauled. There’s a free 10-day trial; after that, it’s $29 for the first year, $19 a year thereafter.