TechSpot

Apple loses preliminary injunction against Galaxy Tab 10.1N

Matthew DeCarlo — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:30:00 GMT

Dismissing Apple's attempted injunctions, a Duesseldorf court has cleared the modified Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N for sale in Germany. The decision comes after several rulings against Samsung in a series of bitter patent suits. Apple succeeded in blocking the original Galaxy Tab 10.1 in September along with the smaller Galaxy...

Engineers boost CPU/GPU speed 21%, could be a glimpse of AMD's future

Matthew DeCarlo — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:30:00 GMT

North Carolina State University researchers have discovered a method of boosting processing performance by more than 21%. Although many processing designs by Intel, AMD and ARM house CPU and GPU cores in the same package, the components still function mostly independently.

Download the entire Pirate Bay in just 90 Megabytes

Shawn Knight — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:30:00 GMT

It is now possible to download a copy of The Pirate Bay via a single 90MB zip file. The recent switch to magnet links and a script written by Pirate Bay user ‘allisfine’ made the small backup possible, according to a report from TorrentFreak.

Google's cloud storage service 'Drive' to launch soon

Jose Vilches — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

Google is reportedly getting ready to launch a cloud-based storage service that would rival the likes of Dropbox and Microsoft's SkyDrive. Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal says the service will be known as 'Drive' and will likely make its debut in the next few months....

Justice Department to green light Google-Motorola deal

Lee Kaelin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:00 GMT

Google could receive approval from the US Department of Justice for its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility as early as next week, giving the internet search giant a powerful armory of patents for its Android operating system, according to people familiar with the matter speaking to the Wall Street Journal.

Double Fine Kickstarter campaign raises over 700k in one day -- make that 1+ million

Shawn Knight — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:00 GMT

Video game developer Double Fine Productions recently launched a joint campaign with 2 Player Productions on Kickstarter to raise money for the development of an upcoming point-and-click adventure game. In less than nine hours, the team surpassed their goal of $400,000 with more than a month of donation time remaining.

Double Fine Kickstarter campaign raises over 700k in one day

Shawn Knight — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:00 GMT

Apple to announce iPad 3 in early March, shares approaching $500

Shawn Knight — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:00:00 GMT

Apple is said to be planning a media event for the first week in March where the company plans to debut their next generation tablet, tentatively known as the iPad 3. The event will be held in San Francisco, likely at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, a location...

Swagg Security hackers hit Foxconn, release usernames and passwords

Lee Kaelin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:00:00 GMT

Foxconn, the enormous manufacturing supplier to some of the world's largest technology firms has been hit by a new group of hackers looking to make a name for themselves. On Wednesday evening, a team calling themselves Swagg Security claimed they had breached the company’s network.

Google Wallet PIN vulnerable on rooted Android devices

Jose Vilches — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:57:00 GMT

Security researchers over at zvelo have discovered a vulnerability in Google Wallet that could expose users' PIN codes to a brute-force attack. The flaw only affects users who have rooted their Android smartphone, so most people won't need to worry about the issue for now, but the finding will nonetheless...

Tim Berners-Lee defends the open web from patent threat

Lee Kaelin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:47:00 GMT

The inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee testified in Federal Court on Tuesday giving evidence as part of the defense of a rather remarkable patent trial that’s getting under way in Tyler, Tx, where Michael Doyle is suing some of the world’s biggest internet companies by claiming...

Apple sued for $1.6 billion for using "iPad" in China, apology requested

Rick Burgess — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:30:00 GMT

A major Chinese display company, Proview Technology, has demanded that Apple cease using "iPad" in China. After engaging in "ambiguous" negotiations with Apple over the matter, executives at Proview have decided to take legal action by suing the company for 1.6 billion dollars, filing a temporary restraining order and demanding an apology. ...

Intel Core i7-3820 Review: Sandy Bridge-E for the masses

Steven Walton — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:17:00 GMT

Late last year when we reviewed the new Sandy Bridge-E processors, we mentioned a more affordable version called the Core i7-3820 was coming. Although information about the chip had been revealed, the processor has yet to hit shelves and is now expected to arrive later in February. Fortunately, sample units...

S&P cuts Sony rating, warns it could face further downgrades

Lee Kaelin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:30:00 GMT

US credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s cut the long term debt rating of Sony Corporation to BBB+ yesterday, issuing a stark warning that it could drop the Japanese electronics company a further notch within a year if it does not begin to show a significant turnaround in profits. ...

Chrome 17 released with "instant" browsing, improved security

Matthew DeCarlo — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:00:00 GMT

Keeping with its snappy development cycle, Google has released the latest stable build of Chrome. The update comes nearly two months after the launch of Chrome 16, a month after Chrome 17 entered beta and only a day after Chrome for Android. As with most browser updates, the new version...

Nvidia and Rambus settle four-year memory patent dispute

Rick Burgess — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:30:00 GMT

In 2008, Rambus accused Nvidia of infringing upon 17 patents across six of their product lines. After four years of legal sparring, the companies have finally decided to resolve the matter privately. The newly struck deal will be valid for five years although no other details were given.

Nvidia and Rambus settle five-year memory patent dispute

Rick Burgess — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:30:00 GMT

In 2008, Rambus accused Nvidia of infringing upon 17 patents across six of their product lines. After five years of legal sparring, the companies have finally decided to resolve the matter privately. The newly struck deal will be valid for five years although no other details were given.

Microsoft releases OneNote for Android OS

Lee Kaelin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:30:00 GMT

After expanding their note-taking software OneNote onto Apple’s iOS range of devices in December, Microsoft has followed up by releasing a version for Android which is now available for download through the Android Market. With the Redmond based giant's cross-platform divergence almost complete, the mobile version of their app is now...

Windows 8 Consumer Preview coming Feb. 29, bundled apps leaked

Matthew DeCarlo — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:30:00 GMT

As promised, Microsoft will release a public beta of Windows 8 this month. The company scheduled a launch event for the "Consumer Preview" of its next operating system on February 29 in Barcelona, Spain -- the same timeframe and city as Mobile World Congress but they're separate occasions. Although the...

'App Economy' responsible for half a million US jobs since 2007

Shawn Knight — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

A new study from TechNet estimates that close to half a million jobs have been created in the United States as a result of the “App Economy.” This is up from zero in 2007 when Apple introduced the iPhone.

Amazon, Viacom content deal boosts Prime Instant Video catalog

Jose Vilches — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:00:00 GMT

Amazon has announced a new licensing deal with Viacom that will add around 2,000 titles to the catalog currently offered under its Prime Instant Video streaming service. According to the press release, the new selection will include shows from MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Spike, VH1, BET, CMT and Logo.

Scientists use heat to store data on magnetic hard drive

Shawn Knight — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:00:00 GMT

A multinational team of scientists have discovered a new method to store data magnetically that is hundreds of times faster than current hard drives are capable of. Data is stored on a traditional spinning hard drive by applying an external magnetic field that inverts the polarity on the media (representing a...

Logitech announces Touch Mouse M600 for Windows

Jose Vilches — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:30:00 GMT

Logitech has announced a new buttonless mouse featuring touch-sensitivity across its entire surface to support a handful of gestures as well as the usual left- and right-click functionality. The Touch Mouse M600 bears a clear resemblance to Apple's Magic Mouse, adopting an ambidextrous design and smallish footprint, but comes in...

HP taking Envy 14 Spectre pre-orders, ships February 17

Shawn Knight — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:30:00 GMT

HP has started taking pre-orders for their Envy 14 Spectre Ultrabook that debuted last month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Starting at $1,399, the Spectre won a Best of CES 2012 award from CNET and was one of the most unique Ultrabook designs of the show.

Nokia to cut 4,000 more jobs and move manufacturing to Asia

Lee Kaelin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:30:00 GMT

Finnish phone manufacturer Nokia has announced plans to cut a further 4,000 jobs at its plants in Finland, Hungary and Mexico as the struggling firm tries to reduce manufacturing costs by re-locating production assembly work of its smartphones to Asia.