In a move designed to increase the appeal of Windows operating systems to makers of mobile and embedded systems, Microsoft announced yesterday it is extending intellectual property protection it offers to device makers using its Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded operating systems. Microsoft is now offering to foot the entire legal bill if OEM partners using those operating systems are sued for patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, or other intellectual property claims in every country in which Microsoft distributes and markets those operating systems.
The move comes as a much-publicized, multi-year patent dispute between BlackBerry maker RIM and patent holding company NTP comes to a head, causing many companies to re-examine and renew their patents. Firms are now viewing technology partnerships with other companies not only on their technical and marketing merits, but also in terms of intellectual property risk exposure. If including a technology could expose a maker to patent or intellectual property suits, the partnership may not be worth pursuing, even if those claims never hold up in court.
Microsoft’s offer to pay the bills for any intellectual property disputes regarding Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded is intended to ease partners fears about including those operating systems in their devices, and give the Microsoft operating systems a leg up against competition from Linux and other embedded systems which offer no such litigation protection. “This program enables our OEM and distributor partners to select Windows Embedded and Windows Mobile with even more confidence than ever,” said Suzan DelBene, VP of Microsoft’s Mobile and Embedded Devices Division. “We stand behind our software and partners, and this protection is the best assurance for device-makers using Windows Embedded or Windows Mobile to build amazing devices people won’t want to live without.”
Microsoft had previously offered litigation protection to its OEM partners, but the amounts were capped based on the partners’ business volume with Microsoft. In June 2005, Microsoft also removed caps on litigation protection it would offer PC makers hit with intellectual property suits resulting from their use of Microsoft software.
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.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.