| TiVo co-founder, CTO Jim Barton resigns Mar 17th 2012, 17:51  Co-founder of TiVo and CTO Jim Barton has long outlasted our deathwatch, but his time as an executive at the DVR maker quietly came to an end this week according to documents filed with the SEC. CEO Tom Rogers thanked Jim for his "commitment to innovation" in a statement, and the filing indicates he will stick around as a $25,000 per month consultant in "patent matters and litigation" among other things -- nice work if you can get it -- until March 15, 2015, but his reason for stepping down is unspecified. As Multichannel News notes, Barton was working with fellow co-founder Mike Ramsay (who left in 2007) at Silicon Graphics on a project for Time Warner when they had the idea for the DVR and eventually founded TiVo in 1997. That early movement may not have resulted in dominance over pay-Tv provided DVRs, but some favorable legal settlements and successful partnerships like its deal with Virgin Media mean he's leaving the company with its prospects looking a bit better than they did back in the dark days of '05.
[Thanks, David]
TiVo co-founder, CTO Jim Barton resigns originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 13:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  Multichannel News, TiVo | Email this | Comments | | US Navy LASR research facility builds robots, not ray guns Mar 17th 2012, 17:24 The US Navy announced a new robotics research facility this week located within the existing Naval Research Laboratory's main site in Washington D.C. The Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research, or LASR, was created to support NRL research in "robotics and autonomous systems of interest to the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Department of Defense," wrote LASR director Alan C. Shultz, mentioning that a familiar sounding autonomous firefighting robot would be among the lab's projects. The new facility is kitted out with a litany of realistic environmental simulation bays, allowing NRL scientists to pit their research against the elements with ease. Researchers will also have access to machine shops stocked with 3D printers and other goodies, a power and energy lab, a sensor lab and what Shultz calls the "world's largest space for real-time motion capture." Sounds great, at least as long as the research projects never get ahold of a certain Navy-funded AI report. Check out Shultz' official statement at the White House blog link below. US Navy LASR research facility builds robots, not ray guns originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 13:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  Information Week | White House blog, LASR | Email this | Comments | | Final ITC ruling affirms Motorola Mobility didn't violate Apple's patents Mar 17th 2012, 16:38 The preliminary decision already determined that, in this case, Motorola Mobility hadn't violated any of Apple's patents with its Droid series, and now a final review has affirmed those initial findings. While this might not be a massive turn up for the books, it does close the doors on at least one big name patent dispute. That said, Apple can appeal to the Federal Circuit, and given that it has done before, it's likely the iPad maker will do so here. But, for now at least, it's cork popping time over in Libertyville. Final ITC ruling affirms Motorola Mobility didn't violate Apple's patents originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink FOSS Patents | ITC(PDF) | Email this | Comments | |
