Although a judge recently ruled in favor of Apple in its copyright infringement case against Psystar, the two companies have reached a new settlement, according to Computerworld and other reports.
Details are sketchy at this point, and there's no confirmation from Apple, but Psystar claimed in a motion filed Monday that a partial settlement has been reached.
"Psystar has agreed on certain amounts to be awarded as statutory damages on Apple's copyright claims in exchange for Apple's agreement not to execute on these awards until all appeals in this matter have been concluded," noted Psystar's motion filed in federal court in San Francisco. "Moreover, Apple has agreed to voluntarily dismiss all its trademark, trade-dress, and state-law claims. This partial settlement eliminates the need for a trial and reduces the issues before this Court to the scope of any permanent injunction on Apple's copyright claims."
Psystar also seems to be looking for a loophole against any injunctions. Apple had asked the court to prevent Psystar from selling clones not just with Leopard, but also Snow Leopard, which was released after the lawsuit began. But in its filing, Psystar argued that it should be allowed to sell its Rebel EFI utility, which lets customers install Snow Leopard on clones sold by the company, thus moving the legal burden away from Psystar.
Psystar's motion also indicated that another motion with further details would be filed Tuesday with Judge William Alsup.
Apple's lawsuit against Psystar began in July 2008 after Psystar started selling Mac clones with OS X installed on them. Apple has argued that its end user license lets people install its operating system on Apple computers only.
On November 13, Alsup ruled in favor of Apple, finding that Psystar's use of OS X on its clones was not "fair use" as the company contended and further finding that Psystar violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by "circumventing Apple's protection barrier."
Since then, Apple has been keen to shut down Psystar's Mac clone business permanently, calling for an injunction against the company and potentially millions of dollars in damages, substantially more money than the clone maker has.
Alsup's findings and Apple's fervor in going after Psystar raise the question of why Apple would agree to any kind of settlement at this point. A hearing was set for December 14, with a full trial scheduled to start in January. But if the latest news from Psystar is true, then the company may be able to avoid further courtroom drama.
Neither Psystar nor Apple has responded to requests for comment. We'll provide further details of this latest development as court documents become available.
Corporations can be heinous places. All day, people wander around, playing politics like so many Lindsay Lohans in "Mean Girls."
So today, one wonders just what machinations are being endured by Simon Aldous, the Microsoft Partner Group manager who was Wednesday quoted by PCR as suggesting that Windows 7 was rather inspired by the simplicity of the Mac OS. Indeed, Aldous declared that Microsoft's new operating system was designed to "create a Mac look."
In what appears to be a somewhat hurriedly written post on the Windows Team blog titled, "How we really designed the look and feel of Windows 7," Microsoft showed that perhaps some of its underwear is currently a little twisted.
The post read: "An inaccurate quote has been floating around the Internet today about the design origins of Windows 7 and whether its look and feel was 'borrowed' from Mac OS X."
This would suggest that Aldous was, in fact, misquoted.
However, the post, written by Brandon LeBlanc, continued, "Unfortunately, this came from a Microsoft employee who was not involved in any aspect of designing Windows 7. I hate to say this about one of our own, but his comments were inaccurate and uninformed."
"I'm Steve Jobs, and Windows 7 was my idea?"
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)Some would therefore now conclude that he was quoted accurately, but he didn't quite get his facts right. This is entirely possible, though one might wonder why he would have made comments with a ring of such endearing honesty.
However, perhaps the most interesting aspect of this Windows Team post is a comment left by someone with the handle "i-dont-do-tat".
This commenter wrote: "I know Simon Aldous, having worked in the same U.K. subsidiary as him for a few years. He's a good guy who, for me, is telling it like it is. He's paying testament to the common view that a Mac is cool and a great template to copy."
As many in the world of business will tell you, copying happens all the time. The competition is scrutinized religiously, and the best articles of faith are taken and sometimes even improved. This happens in every product category.
The "i-dont-do-tat" poster concluded that perhaps honesty might not be such a bad thing: "Denying this to your customers just makes you look stupid because the very look and feel of Windows 7 is desperately trying to look like a Mac OS--just admit it."
Oh, of course one mightn't expect honesty in the mass-market arena. It is a very dangerous place in which to say anything at all. Equally, though, in a tech world interview, perhaps a little nod toward the opposition is not such a bad thing. It might even lull it into a little complacent smugness.
One can only hope that Simon Aldous had a good breakfast Thursday and that he hasn't endured any untoward communications. Unless it's a job offer from Apple, of course, which he should accept only if the company gives him a better deal and appears to come from nicer people.
That's how the corporate world works, you see. Like high school, it's all temporary, so you have to make the most of it while you can.
(Credit:
Dong Ngo/CNET)
It's probably time you said goodbye to your PowerPC-based Mac.
Adobe confirmed Tuesday that future versions of its Creative Suite will run only on Intel-based Mac computers. There will be no support offered for PowerPC-based systems.
The company's decision follows Apple's announcement in June that it was discontinuing support for the PowerPC in its new operating systems, starting beginning with Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). With Apple's future development focused on Intel Macs, Adobe is aligning its resources accordingly.
According to Adobe, existing customers who own Creative Suite 3 and Creative Suite 4 will still be able to use the software on either a PowerPC-based Mac or an Intel-based Mac without having to make any changes. However, Adobe will provide support for these two suites only to address critical issues that may arise.
Creative Suite is Adobe System's collection of well-known industry-standard graphic design, video editing, and Web development applications. These applications include Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, Flash, and many others.
While Snow Leopard has not been released yet, and the new version of the Creative Suite hasn't been announced, either, Adobe decided to announce these changes now so its customers will have time to plan their migration strategy accordingly. This means you should go get yourself an Intel-based Mac if you haven't done so already.
For more information on the discontinuation of support, check out Adobe's FAQ.
Apple on Tuesday used a copyright infringement claim to have seven videos, showing features of Snow Leopard removed from YouTube.
As it does with all of its unreleased products, Apple has managed to keep a pretty tight lid on the upcoming version of Mac OS X, code-named Snow Leopard. However, on Monday, at least seven videos were posted to the popular YouTube video service.
The videos showed a number of features, including Stacks, QuickTime, the Dock, the Snow Leopard Welcome Movie, QuickLook, and the Finder Preferences.
Six of the seven videos on Tuesday say they have been removed by the user. One video says it "is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Apple, Inc."
It's not a big surprise that the videos were removed. Developers must sign a nondisclosure agreement, or NDA, before they even get access to Snow Leopard and agree that they will not reveal details of the operating system publicly.
YouTube's policy is very clear too. The company's copyright policy is available from its Web site:
YouTube respects the rights of copyright holders and publishers, and requires all users to confirm they own the copyright or have permission from the copyright holder to upload content. We comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and other applicable copyright laws, and promptly remove content when properly notified. Repeat infringers' videos are removed, and their accounts are terminated and permanently blocked from using YouTube.
While we would all like to see some more in-depth features of Snow Leopard, it looks like we'll have to wait until Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, where Apple is expected to show the operating system during the keynote address.
There are literally dozens of categories in the annual Webby Awards--too many, if you ask some--covering pretty much every niche of digital media. This year's winners, announced Tuesday, are quite a lot to scroll through.
The list of top honors, however, is short.
This year, the Webby Awards' Person of the Year is former "Saturday Night Life" cast member Jimmy Fallon, whose new "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" has brought Twittering and gadget fandom to the network-TV crowd.
The film-specific Person of the Year award goes to "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, who has partnered with Google on an animated Web series and whose creations consistently rank at the top of Hulu's most-watched clips.
The Artist of the Year accolade is for Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor. A vocal critic of the mainstream music industry, Reznor has been skeptical of "innovative" digital distribution efforts and most recently lashed out at Apple on his blog for turning down a Nine Inch Nails iPhone app.
A new category, Breakout of the Year, joins the Webbys this year. It's been awarded to--surprise, surprise--Twitter.
The fact that the Webbys' top awards go to known entities isn't new. Its highest honors tend to go to mainstream celebrities who have built their fame offline and have then turned to the Web as a sort of experimental platform. Last year's Person of the Year awards, for example, went to comedian Stephen Colbert, director Michel Gondry, and Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am for his YouTube sensation "Yes We Can" in support of Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
The Webbys ceremony is set for June 8 as part of Internet Week New York.
Shares of Amazon.com sold off sharply Tuesday, and Apple failed to swim against the tide despite rolling out a revamped MacBook line, as the broader markets gave up gains from its stellar performance a day earlier.
Amazon trading performance
(Credit: Yahoo Finance)Amazon fell 9.93 percent to end the day at $55.86 a share, with little news out on the company. Amazon, however, is set report its third-quarter results on October 22.
Apple, meanwhile, received little love from investors, after rolling out its new MacBook lineup. The computer maker's stock fell 5.6 percent to end the day at $104.08 a share. Investors, who in general were selling off stocks across the board, may have also been less than happy that the computer maker was rolling out an under-$1,000 notebook.
Apple and Intel stock performance
(Credit: Yahoo Finance)Intel, meanwhile, jumped as much as 6 percent in after-hours trading, after reporting a 12 percent increase in third-quarter profit. Intel, which reported its quarterly results after the markets closed, ended the day down 6.24 percent to $15.93 a share, during the regular trading hours.
Tech stocks, overall, were down, with the CNET Tech Index giving up 39.15 points to end the day at 1,228.68.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq, meanwhile, closed down 65.24 points, or 3.5 percent, to close at 1,779.01. The S&P 500 fell 5.34 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 998.01. And the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 76.72 points, or less than 1 percent, to end the day at 9,310.99. On Monday, the Dow was up a record 936 points.
Click here for ongoing coverage from CNET News, "Tough times for tech."
Now showing on YouTube: Star Trek.
(Credit: Google)Google's YouTube has begun testing a dramatic departure in content and advertising, adding 15 50-minute TV episodes from Star Trek, Beverly Hills 90210, and MacGyver and with prominent new ads.
"We are starting to test full-length programming on YouTube, beginning with some fan favorites requested by you," Google said on its YouTube blog on Friday.
It's an experiment in video display and advertising, too, with ads for Research in Motion's BlackBerry and Intel's Centrino chip technology showing prominently on the videos I watched. The TV shows are preceded by a 15-second pre-roll ad, and YouTube will show mid-roll and post-roll ads as well, according to the blog posting. "As we test this new format, we also want to ensure that our partners have more options when it comes to advertising on their full-length TV shows," Google said.
The shows also feature new display possibilities that set off the ads--no doubt the "in-chrome ads" that Chief Executive Eric Schmidt referred to earlier this year when discussing the high priority of making more money from YouTube. A new "theater view" sports bright ads against an otherwise darker screen, wrapping the video in deep red faux curtains. And the "lights-out" mode retains the traditional YouTube interface, but with the darker screen and relatively bright ad.
The TV shows are all from CBS, which owns CNET News.
The content is tagged with a new film strip icon to indicate that it's different from conventional YouTube videos. The icon shows in search results, too.
Update 3:23 p.m. PDT: YouTube's long-form move has been expected for months, and now Google will begin to see how well viewers take to the idea.
Milking more money from YouTube has been a top priority for Google this year, and the new content and ads clearly are a part of that. They also show the increasing sophistication of Google's relationships with studios, which with the exception of litigant Viacom, have been warming to YouTube in some cases.
Schmidt has said the right way to pair advertising with YouTube's vast and fast-growing video collection is the "holy grail."
YouTube features 'theater mode' that lends prominence to the video and the ads.
(Credit: CNET News)
With little fanfare, Netflix previewed a feature many Mac users have wanted to see for quite some time.
A little tidbit tucked away at the bottom of a blog entry posted in the wee hours of the morning proclaims that the movie rental company will make its "Watch now" service work on Macs by the end of this year.
Separately, the company announced that it has forged a deal with Starz that adds 2,500 movies and TV shows to its streaming library.
Netflix still has a long way to go before its instant viewing library can compare with its DVD rental library (of 132 movies in my personal Netflix queue, only 21 are available for instant viewing). The relatively small number of videos available for streaming have limited the "Watch now" feature's usefulness for some time (not to mention that of the Roku player). But the added titles and forthcoming Mac compatibility does bring Netflix one step closer to being truly competitive with the iTunes Store for video rentals.
Now to get a few more deals made, and the streaming service working with Firefox.
As promised in May, Google has brought the open-source Gears technology to Apple's Safari, augmenting some browser abilities such as using Gears-tailored Web sites while offline.
The company announced a beta version of Gears for Safari (DMG file download link) on the Gears users mailing list Monday.
"We would love for you to install it and test it and file bug reports so we can polish it and find all the corner cases," said Google's Jeremy Moskovich.
Gears extends a browser so, for example, some Google Docs can be edited or viewed while the user isn't connected to a network. It also can speed up use of the WordPress blogging software and some operations at MySpace, and Google is expanding its scope to geolocation services and other areas, too.
The software requires Safari 3.1.1 on Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.11 or Leopard 10.5.3, he said.
Gears already works on Firefox and Internet Explorer; Opera is working on a version for both its desktop and mobile browsers.
(Via Google Operating System.)
Amid the shaky launch of the iPhone 3G, Apple's new MobileMe service--a juiced-up revamp of its .Mac offering--also took a blow. Apple has consequently opted to entitle eligible members to 30 days free as a we're-sorry gift.
.Mac accounts had been scheduled to "migrate" to MobileMe last Wednesday evening, but instead produced an outage in which neither service was available. New subscribers, meanwhile, had experienced issues signing up.
"The transition from .Mac to MobileMe was a lot rockier than we had hoped," a details page from Apple explained. The offer isn't for everyone: only .Mac members whose accounts were active on July 9, and MobileMe members who registered before 7:00 p.m. PDT on Tuesday (i.e., amid the activation chaos) are given the 30 free days.
It's automatically added to eligible accounts, Apple's site explained.
