| Microsoft patent application details branded web browser frame Mar 15th 2012, 17:01 Originally filed in the halcyon days of 2010, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has just published a web browser-centric patent application from the fine folks in Redmond. Microsoft's "Branded Browser Frame" app details a "computer-readable storage media" that can be specifically executed (presumably by surfing over to a website that's capable of handling said execution), and then used to present a varying interface based on what the underlying instructions are telling it to do. According to the independent claims put forth, we're told about a "control layout area... wherein one of the selected controls comprises a website-branded control that serves as a website's homepage button, and a navigation control that provides an input field." In lay terms, that sounds a lot like a browser function that would enable many of the typical graphical elements we see atop our URL bars today to be adjusted and dynamically tweaked based on inputs from whatever address it was currently on. We aren't putting words in the applicant's mouth, but we're envisioning a top bar in Internet Explorer that turns red and features DVDs as the forward and back buttons when surfing over to Netflix.com (perhaps a stretch, but you catch the drift). IE9 does a bit of that color changing today, but it's possible that more is in store. Naturally, it'll take some time to see if this here app is actually granted, and it's possible that it'll look / function quite differently in its final form, but there's no doubt that someone at Microsoft is dreaming about a sexier (if not more sellable) browser bar. Microsoft patent application details branded web browser frame originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  US Patent & Trademark Office | Email this | Comments | | DARPA envisions disposable SeeMe satellites for on-demand reconnaissance Mar 15th 2012, 16:33 A new project from DARPA could successfully bring satellites to the same throwaway status as paper cups and Charlie Sheen's income ( #winning). At $500,000 a pop, the orbitals would hardly be chump change, but the Pentagon insists these airborne systems could provide reconnaissance within 90 minutes of deployment and would deliver valuable tactical information to areas not covered by current satellites. Known as SeeMe, the systems would be launched in groups of 24 -- which equates to a $12 million cluster -- and would remain in orbit for 60 to 90 days, at which point they'd burn up upon atmospheric re-entry. Currently, DARPA is seeking contractors that can manufacture the systems rapidly at low costs, which can also "develop advanced technologies for optics, power, propulsion and communications to keep size and weight down." It's said to further discuss the project at a March 27th event known as Proposers' Day. In the meantime, we're going to hit the junkyard and see what we can cobble together. DARPA envisions disposable SeeMe satellites for on-demand reconnaissance originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  BBC News | DARPA | Email this | Comments | | Samsung, LG and Pantech, among others, fined $40 million in Korean price fixing scam Mar 15th 2012, 16:08  The truth in advertising is that there is none -- it's mostly all smoke and mirrors. But sometimes those illusory promises have real-world criminal intent behind them, like this latest ruling from the Korean government's corporate regulator. In a decision handed down earlier today, that governing body found mobile phone makers LG, Samsung and Pantech, in addition to operators KT, SK Telecom and LG Upius guilty of price fixing. In what's been framed as a case of consumer fraud, the OEMs reportedly inflated the associated costs of handsets, which were then marketed with supposed discounts by the colluding carriers. Collectively the group's been ordered to pony up about 45.3 billion won (or $40.2 million) in fines, with the largest of those penalties belonging to Samsung at 14.2 billion won (about $12.6 million) and SK Telecom at 20.2 billion won (about $18 million). Adding further insult to this public injury is the FTC, which has taken the extra step of imposing sales restrictions that are intended to prevent the involved parties from committing future infractions. Check out the source below for the full scoop on this corporate back-scratching.
Samsung, LG and Pantech, among others, fined $40 million in Korean price fixing scam originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Unwired View | Korea Times | Email this | Comments | | iFixit begins surgery on new iPad Mar 15th 2012, 15:27 Need something to keep you occupied as you wait in line for the latest iPad? What better way to wile away the time waiting for its 8AM release in your part of the world than watching someone else tear apart their brand new tablet? iFixit has already managed to get its hands on the "resolutionary" new product with help from some time zone trickery, and is digging into the slate as we speak. The site has only posted the above image at present, but we'll hit you with the link as soon as we get it. Stay tuned. Update: And it begins! Check out the source link below to follow all of the fun. Looks like the site got its hands on a 4G model, courtesy of a store in Melbourne, Australia. So far there's nothing super shocking inside -- it's packing that dual-core A5x processor and a 9.7-inch display, which looks like it may have been crafted by Samsung, according to the site. iFixit begins surgery on new iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | iFixit | Email this | Comments | |
