Latest Technology and Gadgets News
Posts tagged Apple
Apple blames Samsung for intentionally destroying evidence
May 13th
Last May 1st was full of tension in the Northern District of California. Same place where Apple filed a motion asserting that Samsung purposely destroyed evidence that would aid in Apple’s victory. Said conduct is known as “spoilation of evidence,” and Apple is asking that the Judge educates the Jury about said matter.
According to the iPhone manufacturer, Samsung did this intentionally, so as to not give Apple the needed information to come to a better conclusion. “Vast quantities of relevant evidence in blatant disregard of its duty to preserve all such evidence.”
Samsung is scheduled for an official reply on May 15, with a hearing set for July 7th. But the Korean Manufacturer is asking for an extension, as the Company would have to review “thousands of pages of documents and voluminous pages of deposition testimony” in order to provide a valid argument on the matter. If the Court grants Samsung said extension, the hearing would be set back to July 10, with a May 29th brief from the Galaxy makers.
If Apple is found victorious, Samsung could be accused of intentionally, and knowingly, infringing on Apple’s patents. Yes, things just might be getting pretty ugly.
[Via: Network World]
View full post on Android Phone Fans
Amazing Apple Anecdote: The Mythical Mr. Macintosh
May 12th
We’re back with another amazing Apple anecdote. This week, we learn about the legendary Mr. Macintosh, Steve Jobs’ idea of a mythical man that lived inside your Mac, only coming out occasionally and ensuring that you don’t see him for more than a few seconds.
As former Apple employee Andy Hertzfeld recalls:
Steve Jobs often came by Texaco Towers after dinner, to see what was new, and we’d usually show him whatever recent progress we made. Sometimes he’d be pissed off about something, but other times he’d be really excited about a new idea. I was the only one in the office one evening when he burst in, exclaiming that he had a flash of inspiration.
“Mr. Macintosh! We’ve got to have Mr. Macintosh!”
“Who is Mr. Macintosh?”, I wondered.
“Mr. Macintosh is a mysterious little man who lives inside each Macintosh. He pops up every once in a while, when you least expect it, and then winks at you and disappears again. It will be so quick that you won’t be sure if you saw him or not. We’ll plant references in the manuals to the legend of Mr. Macintosh, and no one will know if he’s real or not.”
Engineers like myself always daydream about building surreptitious little hacks into the software, but here was the co-founder and chairman of the company suggesting something really wild. I enthusiastically pressed him for details. Where should Mr. Macintosh appear? How often? What should he do when he shows up?
“One out of every thousand or two times that you pull down a menu, instead of the normal commands, you’ll get Mr. Macintosh, leaning against the wall of the menu. He’ll wave at you, then quickly disappear. You’ll try to get him to come back, but you won’t be able to.”
I loved the idea and promised that I would implement Mr. Macintosh, but not right away, since there were still so many more basic things to get done. Steve told the idea to the marketing team, and eventually recruited the French artist Folon to do some renditions of Mr. Macintosh. I also asked my high school friend Susan Kare, who hadn’t started with Apple yet, to try to draw some Mr. Macintosh animations. Most of the Macintosh system software had to be packed into a 64 KByte ROM, and ROM space got more scarce as development proceeded and the system grew. Eventually, it was clear that we’d never be able to fit bitmaps for Mr. Macintosh into the ROM, but I wasn’t willing to give up on him yet.
I made the software that displayed the menus look at a special low memory location called the “MrMacHook”, for an address of a routine. If the routine is present, it’s called with parameters that let it draw in the menu box, and it returns a result that tells the menu manager if it did anything. Using this, an application or system module could implement Mr. Macintosh (or perhaps his evil twin) if they saw fit. I’m not sure if anybody ever actually implemented Mr. Macintosh or used the “MrMacHook” for something worthwhile.
I would have loved to see a Mr. Macintosh in OS X, what awesome thing to be able to say – your computer houses a mythical man. Is it bug, is it a glitch? No it’s Mr. Macintosh!
Thank you for reading Amazing Apple Anecdote: The Mythical Mr. Macintosh from MacTrast. Why not follow us on Twitter and fan us on Facebook?
View full post on MacTrast
Apple may ditch Google Maps in iOS 6, but can Apple do it better?
May 11th
I don’t think I’ll find much resistance for saying that Google Maps offers the best map interface for any device you happen to be using. Well, if that device is an iPhone, with the next release of iOS you may found yourself using a map app by Apple, not Google. Can Apple offer something better?
View full post on DVICE
Apple to Court: “Samsung Ruined Evidence”
May 11th
Apple has dealt another blow to Samsung in their endless legal battle. Apple says Samsung purposefully destroyed documents that would have been advantageous to Apple’s position.
Apple is requesting the judge to instruct the jury as follows…
Network World reports:
In effect, Apple wants the Judge to instruct the jury as follows:
1. Samsung had a duty to preserve relevant evidence, failed to do so, and acted in bad faith in failing to meet its legal duty.
2. The jury may infer that documents Samsung failed to produce would have been advantageous to Apple’s position.
3. If the jury finds Samsung liable for infringement, they may presume that the infringement was “intentional, willful, without regard to Apple’s rights.”
The motion Apple filed in the Northern District of California claims Samsung intentionally destroyed documents it was obligated to hand over. Saying it was “spoilation of evidence” on a grand scale.
iMore: “Samsung’s ad hoc, unmonitored email “preservation” methods have resulted in the irretrievable loss of unknown volumes of relevant emails. For example, Judge Grewal recently compelled the deposition of Won Pyo Hong, the head of Samsung’s Product Strategy Team, in part due to an email in which Dr.Hong “directly orders side-by-side comparisons of Apple and Samsung products for design presentations.” Apple and the Court cannot possibly know how many more emails Dr. Hong sent or received that would have supported Apple’s claims that Samsung copied Apple products had they not been deleted. The same is true for the many other Samsung witnesses who produced only a handful of emails, or none at all.”
It appears this isn’t the first time the Samsung has destroyed evidence. According to Apple’s lawyers, the company was previously sanctioned in another case for such behavior.
Both parties will present their arguments pertaining to Apple’s motion on June 7 (Apple) and May 15 (Samsung).
Samsung is walking a fine line here. They run the risk of wearing thing the patience of the judges in the case. Samsung has previously received sanctions for dragging their feet in presenting requested evidence.
Thank you for reading Apple to Court: “Samsung Ruined Evidence” from MacTrast. Why not follow us on Twitter and fan us on Facebook?
View full post on MacTrast
Foxconn Chief Confirms Apple HDTV, Preparations Already Underway
May 11th
Speculation about Apple’s fabled television set has been rampant ever since Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography revealed that Jobs claimed he’d “cracked the idea,” but up until now, the Apple television set has been nothing more than a myth.
During a press conference in Shanghai this week, however, the Apple HDTV rumors just moved one step closer to reality. China Daily (via BGR) reports that in the press conference, Foxconn CEO Terry Gou revealed that Foxconn is already “making preparations” for Apple’s television, which he refers to as the “iTV”.
Gou said Foxconn is making preparations for iTV, Apple Inc’s rumored upcoming high-definition television, although development or manufacturing has yet to begin.
iTV reportedly features an aluminum construction, Siri, and FaceTime video calling
Foxconn’s recent 50-50 joint venture factory with Sharp in Japan is one of the preparations made forthe new device, Gou added.
While manufacturing for the television has not begun yet, Gou has provided some insights into what may go into the device, claiming that their recent partnership with Sharp will product the LCD technology use in the HDTV’s display – something which had been rumored in the past as well.
Of course, Gou’s comments may simply mean that Foxconn is preparing just in case Apple wants to manufacture a television, rather than stating that it is a sure thing. Even so, a mention from Foxconn’s CEO is interesting, to say the least.
Previous reports have claimed that the Apple TV may look similar to Apple’s Cinema Displays, and include features such as Siri integration and facial recognition.
Thank you for reading Foxconn Chief Confirms Apple HDTV, Preparations Already Underway from MacTrast. Why not follow us on Twitter and fan us on Facebook?
View full post on MacTrast
