balamw
Aug 23, 07:23 PM
Not that much. Not 100 million smackers.
As has been mentioned the typical patent litigation is in the $5-$10 M range paid to the attorneys. With the main lawsuit and 5 countersuits they could have made a big dent in that $100M. Even when you have a large legal staff, litigation is usually handled by outside firms that specialize in those kinds of trials. With 32 million iPods sold in 2005 even a $3 licensing fee (~1% on average is not an atypical licensing fee) you'd easily surpass $100M if you were planning to sell iPods for more than 1 more year. A lump sum is preferable.
There are also less obvious or tangible costs. Uncertainty is never good buyers may shy away from a purchase if they feel there is a potential that the product will soon be abandoned/unavailable. There's also the fact that the discovery process in such lawsuits is often used as a tool to try and pry information out from the other side, such as future product plans, etc. that might well be worth big $ keeping undr wraps. And last but not least is the distraction that such a suit tends to place on the key employees who may be involved in designing a workaround or simply being deposed and directly involved with the trial.
B
As has been mentioned the typical patent litigation is in the $5-$10 M range paid to the attorneys. With the main lawsuit and 5 countersuits they could have made a big dent in that $100M. Even when you have a large legal staff, litigation is usually handled by outside firms that specialize in those kinds of trials. With 32 million iPods sold in 2005 even a $3 licensing fee (~1% on average is not an atypical licensing fee) you'd easily surpass $100M if you were planning to sell iPods for more than 1 more year. A lump sum is preferable.
There are also less obvious or tangible costs. Uncertainty is never good buyers may shy away from a purchase if they feel there is a potential that the product will soon be abandoned/unavailable. There's also the fact that the discovery process in such lawsuits is often used as a tool to try and pry information out from the other side, such as future product plans, etc. that might well be worth big $ keeping undr wraps. And last but not least is the distraction that such a suit tends to place on the key employees who may be involved in designing a workaround or simply being deposed and directly involved with the trial.
B
duncan989
Sep 26, 12:07 PM
Why Cingular?
They do not alow you to unlock their phones - even after their contract has expired. They think there is usa and nothing else. If you travel - you are screwed - roam on our network (or go to hell)! They are useless for anyone who travels beyond canada or hawaii(ok - thats only 15% of americans)
T-mobile are far and away the best carrier in the US. They dont have the most up to date phones - but they let you un lock after 90 days - and if you speak nicely to them ,(I told em I was going on business trip to Brazil) they do it earlier.
I asked a cingular rep if they had the unlock code for my cell. She said "No, but we have Blue-TEETH" I kid you not. They are as bad as At&T. They are only interested in screwing the customer!
If Apple go CIngular - I wont buy one - if they open it up to tmobile, I will.
They do not alow you to unlock their phones - even after their contract has expired. They think there is usa and nothing else. If you travel - you are screwed - roam on our network (or go to hell)! They are useless for anyone who travels beyond canada or hawaii(ok - thats only 15% of americans)
T-mobile are far and away the best carrier in the US. They dont have the most up to date phones - but they let you un lock after 90 days - and if you speak nicely to them ,(I told em I was going on business trip to Brazil) they do it earlier.
I asked a cingular rep if they had the unlock code for my cell. She said "No, but we have Blue-TEETH" I kid you not. They are as bad as At&T. They are only interested in screwing the customer!
If Apple go CIngular - I wont buy one - if they open it up to tmobile, I will.
MikeDTyke
Sep 1, 06:50 AM
Wasn't a silent upgrade. Apple bollocksed up the order.
You know this for certain????
Last year Apple did the exact same thing sneaking out faster G4's with more vram in the Mac mini line.
Everyone and their pet rumor site is expecting upgrades. We weren't expecting across the board superdrives. I now am.
Personally i'd trade that superdrive for GMA965 with x3000 graphics, but thats about as likely before MWSF07 as a bullet proof string vest.
M.
You know this for certain????
Last year Apple did the exact same thing sneaking out faster G4's with more vram in the Mac mini line.
Everyone and their pet rumor site is expecting upgrades. We weren't expecting across the board superdrives. I now am.
Personally i'd trade that superdrive for GMA965 with x3000 graphics, but thats about as likely before MWSF07 as a bullet proof string vest.
M.
zombierunner
Mar 22, 03:34 PM
finally some imac news ... 1080p target display mode come on
tatonka
Mar 24, 09:01 AM
I don't get peoples fascination with thunderbolt. Besides that it is new, it is pretty much useless right now. I agree that it is a cool port once they come out with the suitable accessories .. but til then, I couldn't care less.
The one thing I would like to see is the thunderbolt mag safe adapter as basically a one plug docking station .. not sure that is ever going to see the daylight though.
T.
The one thing I would like to see is the thunderbolt mag safe adapter as basically a one plug docking station .. not sure that is ever going to see the daylight though.
T.
Mattie Num Nums
Apr 19, 09:05 AM
This doesn't look like an iPhone 3GS? :confused:
http://www.parallelimported.co.nz/media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/a/samsung_galaxy_tab_white_back.jpg
http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/iPhone-3GS.jpg
The Samsung has a flash too. Also, compared to the iPhone 4 the Samsung is ACTUALLY available in White.
http://www.parallelimported.co.nz/media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/a/samsung_galaxy_tab_white_back.jpg
http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/iPhone-3GS.jpg
The Samsung has a flash too. Also, compared to the iPhone 4 the Samsung is ACTUALLY available in White.
~Shard~
Sep 10, 02:05 PM
I'm right with you when you say "that some of us want the power of a desktop but dont have the budget for the xeon range." Also I dont like all in one solutions. However, the 24" might be apple's way of saying that's close enough.
I agree with you (and I realize I'm preaching to the choir here) but I would argue that in some ways, a 24" AIO is even worse than a 17"/20" AIO, due to the sizable (no pun intended) investment in the display. If your 17" iMac bites the big one, but the display is still fine, well, okay, you have to throw away a perfectly good 17" display. But they're fairly cheap these days, so whatever. However, what if something goes a year or so from now on your 24" iMac? For me at least, throwing away a perfectly good, high quality 24" display would really suck. :cool:
I agree with you (and I realize I'm preaching to the choir here) but I would argue that in some ways, a 24" AIO is even worse than a 17"/20" AIO, due to the sizable (no pun intended) investment in the display. If your 17" iMac bites the big one, but the display is still fine, well, okay, you have to throw away a perfectly good 17" display. But they're fairly cheap these days, so whatever. However, what if something goes a year or so from now on your 24" iMac? For me at least, throwing away a perfectly good, high quality 24" display would really suck. :cool:
fabianjj
Apr 19, 08:30 AM
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3 like Mac OS X; sv-se) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8F190 Safari/6533.18.5)
To be honest, there aren't ha t many ways you can design a touch screen smartphone. It's a big screen with speaker on top and a few buttons on the bottom.
And for the software, if apple is the only one who can use a grid that you swipe horizontally, could google then claim the right to a vertical one, leaving any new competitor forced to choose a diagonal one? <slight sarcasm>
To be honest, there aren't ha t many ways you can design a touch screen smartphone. It's a big screen with speaker on top and a few buttons on the bottom.
And for the software, if apple is the only one who can use a grid that you swipe horizontally, could google then claim the right to a vertical one, leaving any new competitor forced to choose a diagonal one? <slight sarcasm>
Eraserhead
Apr 11, 04:15 PM
wtf, my bike gets in the low 40s! and it weighs 4xxlbs!
Its a diesel ;). But I guess it also shows how crazy US emissions regulations are.
Its a diesel ;). But I guess it also shows how crazy US emissions regulations are.
cube
Mar 30, 01:21 PM
Apple popularized the term "App" instead of "Application" (ugh!).
How come they don't have a trademark on the word "App"? (That would solve the problem.)
How come they don't have a trademark on the word "App"? (That would solve the problem.)
Dr. Echsel
Apr 30, 01:52 PM
I've been waiting to buy my first Mac desktop for some time now... and an i7 SB iMac should last me through college :D
rdrr
Sep 15, 05:52 PM
I thought 10 Mega Pixels were possible with some tech that is suppose to arrive at the end of this year for phones.
I wonder if the new phone was like the original iPod Shuffle. You wear it around your neck. That would be funny. I would like the Star Trek Next Generation phone were you tap it on your chest to call people and it automatically goes into speaker phone. That was sort of like the shuffle concept with simple controls and no screen. Even works with iTunes.
Hmmm that is an intresting thought. I saw a demo, over a year ago, of a wireles VoIP phone at Dartmouth University that did just that. They wear them around their neck or use a clip, but it was voice activated, and they actually called them their "Star Trek badges".
http://www.vocera.com/
I wonder if the new phone was like the original iPod Shuffle. You wear it around your neck. That would be funny. I would like the Star Trek Next Generation phone were you tap it on your chest to call people and it automatically goes into speaker phone. That was sort of like the shuffle concept with simple controls and no screen. Even works with iTunes.
Hmmm that is an intresting thought. I saw a demo, over a year ago, of a wireles VoIP phone at Dartmouth University that did just that. They wear them around their neck or use a clip, but it was voice activated, and they actually called them their "Star Trek badges".
http://www.vocera.com/
iMouse
Apr 20, 10:03 AM
Looks as if the data is more or less for AT&T's purposes than for Apple's. A lot of the data is in a grid form on the map, possibly using tower triangulation to determine signal issues in a given area.
The dates coincide with the release of iOS 4 for sure.
Still not cool that this is being pushed to backups and appears to keep a never-ending history on the device unless restored and set up as new.
The dates coincide with the release of iOS 4 for sure.
Still not cool that this is being pushed to backups and appears to keep a never-ending history on the device unless restored and set up as new.
evilgEEk
Sep 19, 02:21 PM
This is excellent news! Hopefully the other studios will stop being greedy little buggers and get on board with the iTS.
I haven't bought a movie yet, mainly because there just isn't anything that I'm interested in the current selection that I don't already have on DVD. The other reason is that I'm more concerned with audio quality than video quality and I currently have no way of getting digital audio to my receiver, and I have no interest in watching a new movie in stereo.
Those of you that have bought movies, do they have artifacts? If yes, is it bad? I'm more interested in those that have played the movie over their SD TV rather than on your computer monitor.
I can't wait for the iTV! :D
I haven't bought a movie yet, mainly because there just isn't anything that I'm interested in the current selection that I don't already have on DVD. The other reason is that I'm more concerned with audio quality than video quality and I currently have no way of getting digital audio to my receiver, and I have no interest in watching a new movie in stereo.
Those of you that have bought movies, do they have artifacts? If yes, is it bad? I'm more interested in those that have played the movie over their SD TV rather than on your computer monitor.
I can't wait for the iTV! :D
monaarts
Apr 4, 12:30 PM
Apple needs to start paying it's employees better... Seriously, it seems like there is a robbery at an Apple Store every other day. Maybe TLC will make a movie about it soon, "The Deadliest Retail Job" HAHA
- Joe
- Joe
mkrishnan
Sep 19, 01:35 PM
Looking at some financials, I think Disney sells on the order of 100M DVD units per quarter, which comes out to about 7-10M units per week? 125k units through the online channel in one week isn't so bad. :) If they hit their $50M revenue target, that means they will see sales on the order of 1% of total home video sales? That's a fair start.
Vegasman
Apr 19, 08:58 AM
I agree. Sometimes I think this kind of lawsuits are a stretch and a bit silly, but not this time. When there's confusion even to me as a geek after a quick glance on these smarthpones, I have to agree that it's gone too far.
For me all phone look relatively the same at a glace so I always look at the buttons first.
1 button - Apple
4 buttons - Android
3 button - Windows Phone
Then I look for a logo to differentiate further.
For me all phone look relatively the same at a glace so I always look at the buttons first.
1 button - Apple
4 buttons - Android
3 button - Windows Phone
Then I look for a logo to differentiate further.
Evangelion
Sep 5, 09:06 AM
Store is back up. Can't see anything new
(j).jpg "lyrics quot;love to love you,")
lmalave
Oct 27, 10:02 AM
If, say, Steinberg didn't like the fact that girls were hanbding out Protools leaflets in the aisles near their stand do you think Protools would have been kicked out?
If they had already been forewarned and did it anyway, then yes, a company would have probably been kicked out (especially if they continued after a second warning).
Have you ever been to a tech convention? It is *not* a free-for-all where people roam around handing out fliers anywhere on the convention floor. Vendors are expected to stick to their designated booth that they paid for. Conventions make money by charging for floorspace. What kind of leverage would they have to charge for premium or larger floorspace, if vendors could just get the smallest booth possible, but then flood the convention floor with people handing out brochures? Even though Greenpeace is not a vendor and probably received their booth space pro-bono, they should still stick to the convention floor rules.
If they had already been forewarned and did it anyway, then yes, a company would have probably been kicked out (especially if they continued after a second warning).
Have you ever been to a tech convention? It is *not* a free-for-all where people roam around handing out fliers anywhere on the convention floor. Vendors are expected to stick to their designated booth that they paid for. Conventions make money by charging for floorspace. What kind of leverage would they have to charge for premium or larger floorspace, if vendors could just get the smallest booth possible, but then flood the convention floor with people handing out brochures? Even though Greenpeace is not a vendor and probably received their booth space pro-bono, they should still stick to the convention floor rules.
praetorian909
Sep 13, 07:30 AM
can someone tell me how to do that quick scroll thingee? i get it sorta randomly.
I just tried it, it seems to trigger when I make 2 or 3 revolutions on the scroll week. I'm already liking it a lot, a very welcomed new feature :)
I just tried it, it seems to trigger when I make 2 or 3 revolutions on the scroll week. I'm already liking it a lot, a very welcomed new feature :)
milo
Mar 30, 12:28 PM
Like if instead of "iPod", they called it "MP3 Player" and then suing Creative or Archos when they release a device advertised as an MP3 Player or called "Creative MP3 Player" for instance.
I see your point, but in that example there were already products in the market using the term "mp3 player". In the case of App Store, was that term previously in use? And by the way, "Mighty Mouse" wasn't a trademark violation, they listed that it was used with permission from day one.
I see your point, but in that example there were already products in the market using the term "mp3 player". In the case of App Store, was that term previously in use? And by the way, "Mighty Mouse" wasn't a trademark violation, they listed that it was used with permission from day one.
HecubusPro
Sep 14, 12:01 PM
Prior to the date being given out for the press event I was fully expecting a new MBP at Photokina.
However now given that it is on a Sunday I see no hope of an update. They wouldn't take down the store on a Sunday whereas the Apeture update will either be a free download or a preview of a 2.0 App therefore needing no major store changes.
PS Is there any precedence of hardware updates on a Sunday?
This is also another reason why I believe MBP updates will happen this Tuesday the 19th.
However now given that it is on a Sunday I see no hope of an update. They wouldn't take down the store on a Sunday whereas the Apeture update will either be a free download or a preview of a 2.0 App therefore needing no major store changes.
PS Is there any precedence of hardware updates on a Sunday?
This is also another reason why I believe MBP updates will happen this Tuesday the 19th.
milo
Sep 5, 04:35 PM
ok, just made a quick mockup of what i would like to see announced next week :cool:
http://users.pandora.be/blackbox/airport_video.png
and make shure it also works with video_ts folders and avi/divx files (maybe via an front row API for third party developers like VLC?) ;)
this would perfectly complement that itunes movie store
You nailed it, that would be perfect. That's EXACTLY what they should do.
http://users.pandora.be/blackbox/airport_video.png
and make shure it also works with video_ts folders and avi/divx files (maybe via an front row API for third party developers like VLC?) ;)
this would perfectly complement that itunes movie store
You nailed it, that would be perfect. That's EXACTLY what they should do.
EagerDragon
Sep 10, 06:20 PM
Put a Conroe processor in a midrange headless system, and you'll have what the cube was supposed to be. The problem is that Apple just finished rationalizing a minimized line. To add something else into their lineup makes for all kinds of headaches.
Low-end (headless) - mac mini
Mid-range (all-in-one) - iMac
High-end (headless) - mac pro
Server room (headless) - xserve
In order to rationalize another product line in the mid-range (pro-sumer?) market, I think they'll need to focus it on some other feature that people need. Dropping the cube back out there just cannibalizes sales of existing product, if you are not careful with it.
Apple does not seem to believe that there is some large contingent of people who want a mid-range system that would prefer it not to have a monitor. I, however, think they are wrong, and they are missing a large segment of people who are willing to pay top dollar for a high-end well-designed machine. That market is the one for the high-end gamer.
Apple absolutely could produce a great machine aimed at high-end gamers. Produce a super-cool design aimed at that segment. Make it BTO with multiple upgradable graphics cards, fast bus speeds, fast ram, RAID 0, etc. They could leave off FW800, Bluetooth (most wireless gamer mice don't use it), and some of the other connectivity options that high-end gamers could care less about (modems, etc). Put the Conroe processors in there and crank them up as high as you can. The high end system could be liquid cooled, we already know apple can do that when needed. Most games are still not threaded all that well - but an MT OpenGL also couldn't hurt...
They could also Pre-install boot-camp as a BTO option. We all know any serious gamer is going to want windows installed - so just prep them for it. It wouldn't surprise me to see many more people buying macs to run windows on in the near future anyway.
There isn't any reason why such a machine couldn't look like the "cube" I suppose, but I'd probably prefer to see something different. The cube had a different design goal and has too much baggage associated with it anyway.
It is coming, I bet. But you forgot the need for SLI. Apple is a hardware company and does not mind selling to Windows users that want the best hardware for their games. It is coming.
Low-end (headless) - mac mini
Mid-range (all-in-one) - iMac
High-end (headless) - mac pro
Server room (headless) - xserve
In order to rationalize another product line in the mid-range (pro-sumer?) market, I think they'll need to focus it on some other feature that people need. Dropping the cube back out there just cannibalizes sales of existing product, if you are not careful with it.
Apple does not seem to believe that there is some large contingent of people who want a mid-range system that would prefer it not to have a monitor. I, however, think they are wrong, and they are missing a large segment of people who are willing to pay top dollar for a high-end well-designed machine. That market is the one for the high-end gamer.
Apple absolutely could produce a great machine aimed at high-end gamers. Produce a super-cool design aimed at that segment. Make it BTO with multiple upgradable graphics cards, fast bus speeds, fast ram, RAID 0, etc. They could leave off FW800, Bluetooth (most wireless gamer mice don't use it), and some of the other connectivity options that high-end gamers could care less about (modems, etc). Put the Conroe processors in there and crank them up as high as you can. The high end system could be liquid cooled, we already know apple can do that when needed. Most games are still not threaded all that well - but an MT OpenGL also couldn't hurt...
They could also Pre-install boot-camp as a BTO option. We all know any serious gamer is going to want windows installed - so just prep them for it. It wouldn't surprise me to see many more people buying macs to run windows on in the near future anyway.
There isn't any reason why such a machine couldn't look like the "cube" I suppose, but I'd probably prefer to see something different. The cube had a different design goal and has too much baggage associated with it anyway.
It is coming, I bet. But you forgot the need for SLI. Apple is a hardware company and does not mind selling to Windows users that want the best hardware for their games. It is coming.
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