A federal jury in San Diego has ordered Microsoft to pay some $1.52 billion in damages to Alcatel-Lucent SA for violating two patents related to converting audio to the MP3 digital music format on computers.
The suit involves MP3 playback technology which has shipped with Windows since 2003. The MP3 compression technology was jointly developed by Germany’s Fraunhofer and the former Bell Laboratories, although the first MP3 encoding product came from Fraunhofer in 1994. The former AT&T spun Bell Labs off into Lucent Technologies back in 1995; Alcatel acquired Lucent in April 2006.
The computing and consume electronics industry have been operating under the assumption that executing a technology license with Fraunhofer needed to include MP3 technology in their products—and Fraunhofer has certainly been content to let them think so. However, since acquiring Lucent, Alcatel has developed a contrary opinion, and targeted Microsoft with MP3 patent violation charges as part of a larger patent dispute which covers everything from stylus input, video search technology, and the Xbox 360 gaming console.
In a statement, Microsoft deputy corporate counsel Tom Burt says Microsoft paid $16 million to Fraunhofer, the “industry recognized licensor,” before ever including MP3 playback capability in Windows, and will ask the judge to throw out the ruling; if the judge declines, Microsoft plans to appeal. Burt also notes possible implications of the judgement: “We are concerned that this decision opens the door for Alcatel-Lucent to pursue action against hundreds of other companies who purchased the rights to use MP3 technology from Fraunhofer.”
The $1.52 billion figure is based on sales of Microsoft Windows operating systems with MP3 technology since 2003.
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.