jonbryce writes “The court of appeal in England has ruled that companies should be granted patents for ‘complex’ software products. In this particular case, Symbian had written something that makes mobile phones run faster. The court case has received very little attention because of the bank crisis, but it can be appealed to the House of Lords and then the European Court of Justice.”
A new “beautification engine” uses a mathematical formula to alter the original form into a theoretically more attractive version. Developed in Israel the software creates a prettier you while maintaining similarity to the original form.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/fashion/09skin.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&ref=fashion&oref=slogin
CurtMonash writes “As I predicted a week ago, it looks as if the third quarter was ugly for software vendors, due to the economic crisis. SAP said ‘The market developments of the past several weeks have been dramatic and worrying to many businesses. These concerns triggered a very sudden and unexpected drop in business activity at the end of the quarter.’ My old acquaintance John Treadway, who used to work in Sybase’s financial services vertical unit, reports that things are even worse than that in the financial services industry, Wall Street and retail banks alike. So now what? Well, IT is a huge part of capital spending, and at enterprises that have to cut back capital spending, IT is going to get hurt. On the other hand, high-growth companies — Web businesses, analytic services providers, etc. — may try to power through the downturn. And the more directly an IT project affects near-term profits, the more likely it is to survive.”
“…this product is not protected in any way, allowing you, the user, the greatest ease of use…” We’ve come a long way from then to Spore.
http://i35.tinypic.com/s2unfc.jpg
On Tuesday night StumbleUpon is changing the way users interact with the service, ditching the need for a software-based browser toolbar in place of a small frame that loads on top of the Web site you’re on. Users with the toolbar installed will still be getting the same experience, but the idea is that anyone can begin stumbling without having to
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10055044-2.html
Who said community pressure doesn’t work with big companies? Apple has announced in a note titled “To Our Developers” that it has removed the non-disclosure agreement for iPhone developers, stating it placed “too much of a burden” on iPhone developers. The NDA was one of the two major problem points among iPhone developers, so the community has responded in a way that can only be described as rejoicing.
The non-disclosure agreement was put in place when the software development kit for the iPhone was still in the developmental beta stages, something that is everything but uncommon. However, when the SDK went final, the NDA was still there, severely hindering a free exchange of information and experience among iPhone developers - which is not a good thing for a relatively young platform.
Apple is relatively direct when it explains why the NDA was put in place:
iPhone developers appear to be quite happy with the removal of the NDA. Ars kept an eye on several of the developers’ Twitter feeds (someone has to do the dirty work) and the responses are positive.
However, the removal of the NDA doesn’t solve the other major problem with iPhone development, namely the fact that Apple rejects applications because of seemingly nonsense reasons. Only time will tell if the end of the NDA soothes the community enough so that the storm of criticism starts to lose steam.
Apple last week began testing iPhone Software v2.2 beta 1, the next software update for the iPhone and iPod touch that will deliver, among other things, subtle interface changes to Safari and a new version of the company’s App Store application.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/09/29/next_iphone_software_update_to_deliver_safari_app_store_tweaks.html
darien writes “Last night Symantec hosted a round-table discussion on the topic of consumer devices in the workplace. John Brigden, Symantec’s senior VP for EMEA, pointed out that regardless of the policies businesses may lay down, individuals will always try to use their favorite gadgets and websites at work. Reminds me of when I worked in IT support: no matter how many times we told users they weren’t allowed to install ICQ, or to connect their personal laptops to the corporate network, they insisted on doing it. Frequently they even asked us to help them do it.”
rickthewizkid writes “Recent updates to the iTunes software allow blind users to access the program without assistance. From the article: ‘The new software — which transforms the written information on an iTunes-linked computer screen into speech or Braille — stemmed from an agreement between Apple, the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer company, the National Federation of the Blind and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.’” It’s not just the actual iTunes app, though; the article notes that this update makes iTunes U useable as well.
A security hole in Adobe Systems Inc software, used to distribute movies and TV shows over the Internet, is giving users free access to record and copy from Amazon.com Inc’s video streaming service.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080926/wr_nm/us_web_video_adobe
