Apple's $1bn anti-competition trial might collapse
A court case against Apple, which
could see the company facing
damages of $1bn, might collapse.
Lawyers for Apple have raised a last-
minute challenge saying new evidence
suggested that the two women named as
plaintiffs may not have purchased iPod
models covered by the lawsuit.
The case is considering whether the
hardware giant abused its dominant
position in the digital music market.
The lawsuit covers iPods purchased
between September 2006 and March 2009.
During that period Apple used software
that meant only rights-protected music
purchased from its iTunes store could be
played on its devices.
Serial number
Lawyers representing both consumers and
businesses claim that the restrictions
meant Apple could inflate the prices of
iPod in an anti-competitive manner. They
are seeking $350m in damages, which
could be tripled under US competition laws.
But after lead plaintiff Marianna Rosen
testified on Wednesday, Apple lawyers
checked the serial number on her iPod
Touch and found it was purchased in July
2009.
The other main plaintiff, Melanie Wilson,
also bought iPods outside the relevant
timeframe, they indicated.
"I am concerned that I don't have a
plaintiff. That's a problem," Judge Yvonne
Gonzalez Rogers said at the end of the
trial's third day of testimony in Oakland,
California.
Lawyer Bonny Sweeny said that her team
was checking for other receipts. She
conceded that while Ms Wilson's iPod may
not be covered, an estimated eight million
consumers are believed to have purchased
the affected devices.
The case has been rumbling on for years
and offers a fascinating insight into the
early days of the digital music business.
At the start of the millennium, the big
record labels were terrified that illegal
copying of digital music could ruin their
businesses.
Rivals frustrated
To help placate them, Apple created digital
rights management software known as
FairPlay but early versions of it were
easily cracked by music pirates.
The software also frustrated rivals such
as RealNetworks, who found that music
from its digital music store could not be
played on iPods.
In response, RealNetworks announced a
similar technology - Harmony - which
allowed music purchased from the
RealPlayer music store to be played on
iPods.
It led Apple chief executive Steve Jobs to
famously accuse the firm of adopting the
"tactics and ethics of a hacker to break
into the iPod".
By 2007 Apple's software had got more
sophisticated and restrictive.
In the trial it emerged that, between 2007
and 2009, if an iPod owner tried to sync
their device with iTunes and had music
from another digital store on the device,
they would receive an error message
telling them to restore their iPod to
factory settings. This effectively wiped all
non-iTunes music from the device.
Apple maintained at the trial that the
software and restrictions were necessary
to protect users from malicious content
and hackers.
If the case continues it will hear video
testimony from Steve Jobs, filmed shortly
before his death.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers is currently
considering her options and has asked
both sides to file written arguments as to
how they think the trial should proceed.
On 12/7/14, ogunlowo joseph <ogunlowojoseph@gmail.com> wrote:
> Gangnam Style hit music video by
> South Korean singer, PSY, has exceeded
> YouTube's view limit, prompting
> YouTube to upgrade its counter.
> The video which was released in 2012,
> was announced to be its most watched
> ever and has been viewed more than
> 2,147,483,647 times. YouTube has now
> changed the maximum view limit to
> 9,223,372,036,854,775,808, or more
> than nine quintillion.
> On December 1, YouTube posted a
> statement saying: "We never thought a
> video would be watched in numbers
> greater than a 32-bit integer… but
> that was before we met Psy."
> Meanwhile, how do you say
> 9,223,372,036,854,775,808? That's
> over a quadrillion, over a trillion, and
> over a billion.
>
>
> On 12/4/14, Joseph Ogunlowo <ogunlowojoseph@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Kim K has been named the "Most Searched
>> Person of 2014″, beating last year's winner,
>> Beyonce. 2014 was definitely the year of the 34
>> year old reality star with buzz-worthy events like
>> her wedding to Kanye, her Vogue cover and
>> most recently her 'break the internet' naked pics
>> for Paper magazine.
>> Beyonce comes second, while Miley Cyrus and
>> Katy Perry come 3rd and 4th respectively. See
>> the top ten most searched personalities of 2014
>> after the cut...
>> 1. Kim Kardashian
>> 2. Beyonce Knowles
>> 3. Miley Cyrus
>> 4. Katy Perry
>> 5. Justin Bieber
>> 6. Joan Rivers
>> 7. Jennifer Lopez
>> 8. Kendall Jenner
>> 9. Kaley Cuoco
>> 10. Robin Williams
>
>
>> On 12/3/14, Joseph Ogunlowo <ogunlowojoseph@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> At the Pioneers Festival in Vienna, a
>>> Slovakian startup called AeroMobil unveiled
>>> the thing that we have all been dreaming
>>> about since we saw that first episode of the
>>> Jetsons while still wearing diapers: The first
>>> flying car. It's here. It's real. And it's
>>> spectacular.
>>> According to Venturebeat, the company
>>> took the wraps off AeroMobil 3.0, the latest
>>> iteration of its flying car that has been in
>>> development for almost 25 years.
>>> "We believe personal transportation is about
>>> to change forever," said AeroMobil chief
>>> executive Juraj Vaculik at a press
>>> conference. "We think it's time to make
>>> transportation more emotional and more
>>> personal."
>>> The car was designed by Stefan Klein,
>>> founder and head of the Department of
>>> Transport Design at the Academy of Fine
>>> Arts in Slovakia. Klein had been tinkering
>>> with the concept as far back as 1989.
>>> Image
>>> The car needs very little runway to take off,
>>> and it can be refueled at any standard gas
>>> station when the wings are retracted.
>>> AeroMobil believes it will be attractive for
>>> countries that don't have billions of dollars
>>> to spend building a modern transportation
>>> infrastructure.
>>> The body is built from advanced composite
>>> materials that keep it lightweight but also
>>> durable. Under the hood, it has autopilot
>>> and an advanced parachute deployment
>>> system. The cockpit can carry two people,
>>> and in the air the flying car can reach top
>>> speeds of 200 km/h. It has a 27-foot
>>> wingspan and is 19.7 feet long.
>>> No word on the price tag.
>
>>> On 12/3/14, ogunlowo joseph <ogunlowojoseph@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> According to reports Angelina Jolie's black
>>>> SUV car slipped on a wet road, slid into the
>>>> curb with extreme force, popping two tires,
>>>> almost causing the driver to lose control of
>>>> the vehicle.
>>>> The actress was heading home in a
>>>> chauffeured black SUV from Writers' Guild
>>>> Theater, when the car hit the curb.
>>>> According to an eyewitness (who spoke ti
>>>> X17 Online): "The car slammed into the
>>>> curb at a significant speed. Angelina must
>>>> have wondered if they hit another car. It
>>>> was pretty bad -- the tire exploded and it's
>>>> amazing nothing worse happened to the
>>>> car. I wouldn't be surprised if she has
>>>> whiplash."
>>>> Angelina reportedly stayed in the car after
>>>> the incident and was later picked up, not
>>>> by Brad pitt, but by another driver from the
>>>> same car service.
>
>>>> --
>>>> Posted By ogunlowo joseph to entertainment,investing,education on
>>>> 12/03/2014 10:47:00 am
>
>
>
>
> --
> Posted By ogunlowo joseph to entertainment,investing,education on
> 12/07/2014 01:50:00 am
>
could see the company facing
damages of $1bn, might collapse.
Lawyers for Apple have raised a last-
minute challenge saying new evidence
suggested that the two women named as
plaintiffs may not have purchased iPod
models covered by the lawsuit.
The case is considering whether the
hardware giant abused its dominant
position in the digital music market.
The lawsuit covers iPods purchased
between September 2006 and March 2009.
During that period Apple used software
that meant only rights-protected music
purchased from its iTunes store could be
played on its devices.
Serial number
Lawyers representing both consumers and
businesses claim that the restrictions
meant Apple could inflate the prices of
iPod in an anti-competitive manner. They
are seeking $350m in damages, which
could be tripled under US competition laws.
But after lead plaintiff Marianna Rosen
testified on Wednesday, Apple lawyers
checked the serial number on her iPod
Touch and found it was purchased in July
2009.
The other main plaintiff, Melanie Wilson,
also bought iPods outside the relevant
timeframe, they indicated.
"I am concerned that I don't have a
plaintiff. That's a problem," Judge Yvonne
Gonzalez Rogers said at the end of the
trial's third day of testimony in Oakland,
California.
Lawyer Bonny Sweeny said that her team
was checking for other receipts. She
conceded that while Ms Wilson's iPod may
not be covered, an estimated eight million
consumers are believed to have purchased
the affected devices.
The case has been rumbling on for years
and offers a fascinating insight into the
early days of the digital music business.
At the start of the millennium, the big
record labels were terrified that illegal
copying of digital music could ruin their
businesses.
Rivals frustrated
To help placate them, Apple created digital
rights management software known as
FairPlay but early versions of it were
easily cracked by music pirates.
The software also frustrated rivals such
as RealNetworks, who found that music
from its digital music store could not be
played on iPods.
In response, RealNetworks announced a
similar technology - Harmony - which
allowed music purchased from the
RealPlayer music store to be played on
iPods.
It led Apple chief executive Steve Jobs to
famously accuse the firm of adopting the
"tactics and ethics of a hacker to break
into the iPod".
By 2007 Apple's software had got more
sophisticated and restrictive.
In the trial it emerged that, between 2007
and 2009, if an iPod owner tried to sync
their device with iTunes and had music
from another digital store on the device,
they would receive an error message
telling them to restore their iPod to
factory settings. This effectively wiped all
non-iTunes music from the device.
Apple maintained at the trial that the
software and restrictions were necessary
to protect users from malicious content
and hackers.
If the case continues it will hear video
testimony from Steve Jobs, filmed shortly
before his death.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers is currently
considering her options and has asked
both sides to file written arguments as to
how they think the trial should proceed.
On 12/7/14, ogunlowo joseph <ogunlowojoseph@gmail.com> wrote:
> Gangnam Style hit music video by
> South Korean singer, PSY, has exceeded
> YouTube's view limit, prompting
> YouTube to upgrade its counter.
> The video which was released in 2012,
> was announced to be its most watched
> ever and has been viewed more than
> 2,147,483,647 times. YouTube has now
> changed the maximum view limit to
> 9,223,372,036,854,775,808, or more
> than nine quintillion.
> On December 1, YouTube posted a
> statement saying: "We never thought a
> video would be watched in numbers
> greater than a 32-bit integer… but
> that was before we met Psy."
> Meanwhile, how do you say
> 9,223,372,036,854,775,808? That's
> over a quadrillion, over a trillion, and
> over a billion.
>
>
> On 12/4/14, Joseph Ogunlowo <ogunlowojoseph@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Kim K has been named the "Most Searched
>> Person of 2014″, beating last year's winner,
>> Beyonce. 2014 was definitely the year of the 34
>> year old reality star with buzz-worthy events like
>> her wedding to Kanye, her Vogue cover and
>> most recently her 'break the internet' naked pics
>> for Paper magazine.
>> Beyonce comes second, while Miley Cyrus and
>> Katy Perry come 3rd and 4th respectively. See
>> the top ten most searched personalities of 2014
>> after the cut...
>> 1. Kim Kardashian
>> 2. Beyonce Knowles
>> 3. Miley Cyrus
>> 4. Katy Perry
>> 5. Justin Bieber
>> 6. Joan Rivers
>> 7. Jennifer Lopez
>> 8. Kendall Jenner
>> 9. Kaley Cuoco
>> 10. Robin Williams
>
>
>> On 12/3/14, Joseph Ogunlowo <ogunlowojoseph@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> At the Pioneers Festival in Vienna, a
>>> Slovakian startup called AeroMobil unveiled
>>> the thing that we have all been dreaming
>>> about since we saw that first episode of the
>>> Jetsons while still wearing diapers: The first
>>> flying car. It's here. It's real. And it's
>>> spectacular.
>>> According to Venturebeat, the company
>>> took the wraps off AeroMobil 3.0, the latest
>>> iteration of its flying car that has been in
>>> development for almost 25 years.
>>> "We believe personal transportation is about
>>> to change forever," said AeroMobil chief
>>> executive Juraj Vaculik at a press
>>> conference. "We think it's time to make
>>> transportation more emotional and more
>>> personal."
>>> The car was designed by Stefan Klein,
>>> founder and head of the Department of
>>> Transport Design at the Academy of Fine
>>> Arts in Slovakia. Klein had been tinkering
>>> with the concept as far back as 1989.
>>> Image
>>> The car needs very little runway to take off,
>>> and it can be refueled at any standard gas
>>> station when the wings are retracted.
>>> AeroMobil believes it will be attractive for
>>> countries that don't have billions of dollars
>>> to spend building a modern transportation
>>> infrastructure.
>>> The body is built from advanced composite
>>> materials that keep it lightweight but also
>>> durable. Under the hood, it has autopilot
>>> and an advanced parachute deployment
>>> system. The cockpit can carry two people,
>>> and in the air the flying car can reach top
>>> speeds of 200 km/h. It has a 27-foot
>>> wingspan and is 19.7 feet long.
>>> No word on the price tag.
>
>>> On 12/3/14, ogunlowo joseph <ogunlowojoseph@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> According to reports Angelina Jolie's black
>>>> SUV car slipped on a wet road, slid into the
>>>> curb with extreme force, popping two tires,
>>>> almost causing the driver to lose control of
>>>> the vehicle.
>>>> The actress was heading home in a
>>>> chauffeured black SUV from Writers' Guild
>>>> Theater, when the car hit the curb.
>>>> According to an eyewitness (who spoke ti
>>>> X17 Online): "The car slammed into the
>>>> curb at a significant speed. Angelina must
>>>> have wondered if they hit another car. It
>>>> was pretty bad -- the tire exploded and it's
>>>> amazing nothing worse happened to the
>>>> car. I wouldn't be surprised if she has
>>>> whiplash."
>>>> Angelina reportedly stayed in the car after
>>>> the incident and was later picked up, not
>>>> by Brad pitt, but by another driver from the
>>>> same car service.
>
>>>> --
>>>> Posted By ogunlowo joseph to entertainment,investing,education on
>>>> 12/03/2014 10:47:00 am
>
>
>
>
> --
> Posted By ogunlowo joseph to entertainment,investing,education on
> 12/07/2014 01:50:00 am
>
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