Monthly Archives: August 2012


Despite some predictions that deliberations could take 2-3 weeks or more, the Apple-Samsung…

Despite some predictions that deliberations could take 2-3 weeks or more, the Apple-Samsung jury reached its verdict remarkably quickly. Based on comments so far from jurors it looks like this case is far from over. 

Reshared post from +Jim Fawcette

Jury Forman Decisions Questioned in Apple-Samsung Case
Outside lawyers predict this case will go to the US Supreme Court

Fortunately, some jurors in the Apple-Samsung case are talking so we can get some insight into their thinking, and legal experts are raising serious questions we didn't read about in the wave of early press.

For example, the foreman said he wanted to punish Samsung for copying Apple Inc's designs. That means the foreman either didn't read the jury instructions, or decided to ignore them. The jurors' instructions twice tell them that only real damages can be awarded and money is not to be used to punish the company sued. 

A second juror says that there was a heated discussion about prior art, until the jury foreman essentially told them he was an expert because he was an engineer that held a patent, and that Samsung had infringed. The the debate on prior art was cut off. 

Also, the jury's judgment is full of odd contradictions and errors. Awards were given to Apple Inc. for products that were not found in violation, and even adjusting for those items, the money awarded doesn't add up properly.

Finally, the jury found that the Galaxy Tab, a device that looks quite similar to an iPad, was found to not infringe, even though the Epic 4G, a phone with a slide-out keyboard, curved top and bottom, different camera placement, different button and speaker placement, does infringe on Apple patents. 

I'm sympathetic with the plight of the jurors. Gawklaw noted that it took a lawyer three days to understand the jury instructions. Yet the jury reached a decision on the case in only three days. 

HT +William Shotts 

Embedded Link

Groklaw – Jury in Apple v. Samsung Goofed, Damages Reduced — Uh Oh. What’s Wrong With this Picture? ~pj Updated 4Xs
Jury in Apple v. Samsung Goofed, Damages Reduced — Uh Oh. What’s Wrong With this Picture? ~pj Updated 4Xs. Saturday, August 25 2012 @ 11:30 AM EDT. Late in the process yesterday at the Apple v. Samsu…

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The +Engadget team feels pretty much the same way I do about the Apple-Samsung patent… 14

The +Engadget team feels pretty much the same way I do about the Apple-Samsung patent fiasco. Yes Samsung took perhaps too much inspiration from the iPhone. But the patents at the heart of this whole mess never should have been granted by USPTO or any of the other patent agencies around the world that are now granting similar patents. 

Stop the madness!

Editorial: Engadget on the Apple vs. Samsung ruling
It’s done. It’s all over. There’s nothing left now but the tears, the big checks — and the appeals. After weeks of laborious

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It’s like the large-print edition of women

It’s like the large-print edition of women

Reshared post from +Mike Elgan

Why Do Women On Fox Wear So Much Makeup?

+Liza Mundy tackles the strange phenomenon known as "Fox Glam" — the caking on of makup and over-dressing on Fox News not only by female anchors and hosts, but even by guests. 

Is it the rise of HDTV? The older age of the audience? The right-leaning politics of the audience? Or is it something else? 

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/09/foxy-ladies/309054/

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In the latest edition of his podcast, +Andy Ihnatko provides an excellent analysis… 2

In the latest edition of his podcast, +Andy Ihnatko provides an excellent analysis of the Samsung-Apple suit and potentially chilling effects on the mobile phone industry of giving so much control to Apple. While many have written about the document that Apple presented with the licensing deal they offered Samsung in 2010, few if any (including myself) have read enough it to realize that Apple was also demanding retroactive royalties on phones that were introduced well before the iPhone.

Ihnatko is certainly no +Android fan boy and in fact is one of the hosts of MacBreak Weekly on +TWiT. His discussion of the so-called smoking gun competitive analysis document is particularly good.  Having spent many years as an engineer, benchmarking competitors and looking at what you can do better, is standard procedure and only the truly arrogant or stupid would deny that they never look at what has gone before. It's well worth spending an hour to listen. 

5by5 | The Ihnatko Almanac #39: iPone Knockoffs
5by5 – The Ihnatko Almanac #39: iPone Knockoffs

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To those of you in the audience that support the Republicans, I ask why? If you are… 10

To those of you in the audience that support the Republicans, I ask why? If you are primarily a social conservative, that's a separate discussion, although frankly demanding a certain type of personal behavior from people is hardly what I'd call small government.  

On the other hand, if you are a fiscal conservative, I reiterate the question, why support the Republicans. Do you favor smaller government? Since 1980, the GOP has controlled the White House for 20 out of 32 years and congress for roughly half that period. Yet, there is no empirical evidence that despite campaign claims to the contrary, that they will ever shrink government. Under Republican presidents spending has gone up and deficits have grown (primarily for the military and with tax cuts for the wealthiest among us) while median real incomes have gone down and poverty has increased. 

So under Republicans, government just spends more in ways that do not benefit the vast majority of the people. How is that an improvement?

Discuss

Will the GOP actually shrink government?
Video on msnbc.com: Up host Chris Hayes and his guests debate whether the Republican party is truly fiscally conservative, enough to shrink the size and scope of government.

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I listened to the latest edition of Triangulation yesterday where +Leo Laporte had… 2

I listened to the latest edition of Triangulation yesterday where +Leo Laporte had a great conversation with +Tim O'Reilly. As usual Tim had lots of interesting things to say.

However, I think the most important takeaway was the idea that you should always strive to create more value than you extract. Only when this happens does the economy as a whole grow and everyone benefits. 

Of course this is exactly the opposite of what the "geniuses" on Wall St do when they come with financial instruments like derivatives and CDOs. They find a way to make a lot of money for themselves without actually contributing any real value to the equation. 

For all of the derision I've heaped upon Apple (and rightly so I believe) over its policies of pursuing patents and patent litigation against competitors I still believe that on the whole the company has created far more value than it has extracted, at least so far by creating great products that people want and inspiring others to do so as well. If Apple starts collecting huge royalty payments from competitors that could shift the equation, but it remains to be seen what will happen. 

Ultimately for any company, the goal should be to first create outstanding products at a price point that customers can afford. When that happens, the profits will inevitably flow just as they have for Apple, +Ford Motor Company and others. They create products that consumers want, thus employing people that buy more stuff and supporting a supply base and other surrounding businesses. 

Triangulation 66 | TWiT.TV
Founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media, watcher of the alpha geeks, sharing their stories, helping the future unfold.

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The worst part of Mitt Romney saying something as utterly ridiculous as "America…

The worst part of Mitt Romney saying something as utterly ridiculous as "America invented education" is not the fact that he said it. It's that millions of Americans will actually believe it!

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Romney: America Invented Education
If you think Romney left out the public part accidentially, you're fooling yourself.

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