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) Apple faces lawsuit over iTunes, iPod, more
ZapMedia Services is suing Apple over its iPod-iTunes concept, claiming it had invented the process two years before the first iPod was sold. According to AppleInsider, the original ZapMedia has since closed its doors. ZapMedia Services is enacting the lawsuit on behalf of the former company, which comes 18 months after it began to shop for investors. Until recently, ZapMedia Services held on to but a single patent, and now carries two.The first patent, entitled "System and method for distributing media assets to user devices via a portal synchronized by said user devices", revolves around the concept of iTunes and the iPod. The second patent, "System and method for distributing media assets to user devices and managing user rights of the media assets", resembles Apple's iTunes store structure. More>>
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) MS proposes end-to-end trusted computing
Microsoft today suggested a major change to Internet technology that it claims could dramatically improve the security of users online. Nicknamed End-to-End Trust, the system would take the existing philosophy behind the company's existing Trustworthy Computing for PCs and extend it to the whole Internet. Devices, data, and software would incorporate a "trusted stack" of code that authenticates the user at every step of a transaction online.The technique would more readily protect against identity theft and also ensure that content using the system is legitimate and keep private data away from public view, Microsoft says. The Windows developer argues that its proposed system would be open in its creation and has set up an open forum to discuss the merits of the system rather than designing the system solely on its own. More>>
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) Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 12th Sep 2006 18:08 UTC
Apple held a special event for the press today. Most of the event was about iPods; prettier colours, bigger capacities, you know the drill. For the really interesting stuff, you had to sit out the whole thing: Apple gave us a sneak peek of a product coming in 2007. In Q1 2007, Apple will release a settop box, half the size of the Mac Mini, to which you can stream content. It has a built-in power supply, USB, ethernet, 802.11 'wireless component video', optical audio, HDMI ports, and old RCA stereo audio ports. It sports a Front Row-like interface, and can be controlled using the Apple remote. Its codename is 'iTV'; a different name will be chosen. It will work with iTunes on Macs and PCs, and it will cost USD 299. Update: Eugenia and I both blogged about the product announcements. Eugenia loves the gapless playback, and I miss adherence to industry standards. More>>