₦airaland Forum

nwani oma: Thanks for the suggestion we will feature more tech deals from Tigerdirect and techbargain. If there is any particular item or items that interests u, drop us a hint and we would keep an eye out for them.

puskin: Now....YES.....before......like day before yesterday.....NO.

miteolu: WHICH OF THE OBAMAs?

The jury in the Apple/Samsung patent case decides that Samsung must pay Apple $1 billion for mobile tech patent infringements.

Samsung must pay Apple $1.05 billion for infringing several of its patents in Samsung smartphones and tablets, a federal court jury decided on Friday.

The verdict ending a landmark trial between the two companies is a complex one, involving numerous products and company subsidiaries. But in most instances the jury found products of the Korean company and two of its U.S. subsidiaries infringed Apple's patents.

The verdict can be seen overall as a big win for Apple, although the Cupertino-based maker of the iPhone and iPad was awarded less than half of the $2.75 billion in damages it was seeking.

Immediately following the reading of the verdict, the court went into recess to allow lawyers to review the verdict and raise any questions they have before the jury is dismissed.

David Steel, Samsung's senior vice president for North America Strategic Marketing, was sitting in court to hear the verdict, ticking off the jury's findings one by one. He ignored a reporter's request for comment as the court went into recess and left the courtroom.

The complex case included several claims by Samsung that Apple had infringed on its patents, but the jury found none of those claims to be valid.

"Zero," the jury forewoman said when reading out the damages Samsung would get from Apple.

The verdict was read out before a packed courtroom of reporters, attorneys and other observers. Because of its complexity, Samsung's lawyers asked the judge to keep the jury in the courtroom for 30 minutes after the verdict was read out, to sort out any possible inconsistencies in their decision.

When the court reconvened, two apparent errors were raised. Both concerned damages awarded for products that were not found to have infringed Apple's patents. They amounted to a little over $2 million, however, so made barely a dent in the total award.

The verdict came in after the nine-person jury at the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, had been deliberating for less than three days. That was faster than many observers had expected, given the number of issues the jury had to decide on.

The verdict form included some 700 questions, related to various products and company subsidiaries.

Background
Apple and Samsung have been fighting the closely watched battle since early last year, when Apple accused Samsung of violating a handful of its design and technology patents related to the iPhone. Samsung shot back soon after, saying Apple had violated some of its own technology patents.

Observers had expected the jury to deliberate for longer. They had not asked a single clarification question since they began their deliberations Wednesday morning. On Thursday they asked to extend their deliberations by an extra hour each day, which some thought to be a sign that they thought they would need a lot of time to reach their verdict.

In hindsight, they may simply have wanted to get their work finished before the weekend.

In related legal news, the U.S. International Trade Commission also found largely in Apple's favor Friday, saying that it had not violated three patents in a complaint filed by Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility. That left one Motorola patent, for a sensor-controlled UI, that it sent back to a judge for investigation.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/261436/federal_jury_decides_largely_in_apples_favor_samsung_hit_with_1_billion_in_damages.html#tk.hp_new

Earlier this week, Microsoft announced that Windows 8 had hit the Release To Manufacture milestone. Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky revealed the exciting news on the official Building Windows 8 blog, proudly announcing, "This means our next milestone will be the availability of exciting new models of PCs loaded with Windows 8 and online availability of Windows 8 on October 26, 2012."

However, it seems Sinofsky forgot to take into account unofficial milestones -- while the next official milestone will be the release, Sinofsky never accounted for the inevitable leaking of the final RTM build that almost always seems to slide in between RTM and retail launch. For Windows 8, this milestone was reached rather quickly. The Verge reports that an Enterprise version of Windows 8 is now available widely across various file sharing sites.

Microsoft has said it's not discussing the leak, but it's worth mentioning that this version that's available, Windows 8 Enterprise N, doesn't come with Windows Media Player. Those not downloading this version will have to wait a bit longer for the OS. While general release is set for October 26, Microsoft is releasing the final version of Windows 8 via MSDN on August 15. This will allow select audiences, including developers, IT professionals access to the RTM.

A few others will also be getting early access to Windows 8. Microsoft said earlier this week that IT pros testing Windows 8 in organizations will also have access on August 15 (this time via TechNet subscriptions), while customers with existing Microsoft Software Assurance for Windows will be able to download Windows 8 Enterprise edition through the Volume License Service Center (VLSC) on August 16. August 16 will also see access to Windows 8 for Microsoft Partner Network members, while Microsoft Action Pack Providers (MAPS) will have to wait until August 20.

If you're not among any of those groups, we'll see you on October 26 for the general release. Also expected to launch that day are Microsoft's Windows 8 Surface tablets, which were announced back in June and put Microsoft in direct competition with its hardware partners.

News of this leak comes hot on the heels of rumors that Microsoft has been forced to change the name of its Metro UI because of a patent dispute. It's thought Redmond will announce the move to a new brand this week.

Source:http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Windows-8-Final-Build-Leaked-RTM-Windows-8-Enterprise-N,16612.html

acidtalk: It is so sad how our educational system has deteriorated. A friend invited me to come and help him with the test given to applicants for various positions in his company.
The whole vacant positions were for B.Sc Holders in different fields like Engineering, Business Administration, Economics, Geology and so many others.

A total of 67 people were present for the test and believe it or not, only 3 people actually knew the difference between the below words.

Thought - Taught
Mood - Mode
Sight - Site
Course - Curse
Suit - Suite
Fill - Feel
Hear - Ear
Browse - Surf
Rain - Reign


More than Half of them kept on typing in short forms thinking they were chatting with their Blackberry or Facebook friends.

How bad will things like this keep happening amongst our so called educated youths and graduates especially?

gulfer: I ask, why was a Naval officer dismissed and jailed for the same offence in 2010? I remember that particular incident at the Anthony end of the BRT lane, could it be because he assaulted the LASTMA officer?

erniok: This info is all over the net except on FBI site. So how trustworthy is it?

Pope Benedict XVI has approved the elevation and appointment of Bishop Alfred Adewale Martins as the new Archbishop of Lagos.

He is to replace Anthony Cardinal Okogie, who is retiring after attaining the mandatory age of 75.

Pope Benedict XVI on Friday elevated Bishop Martins (formerly of Abeokuta Diocese) to the Metropolitan See of Lagos.

The Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria said in a statement that Okogie would act as the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Lagos until Martins installation.

The statement reads, “Bishop Alfred Adewale MARTINS Appointed Archbishop of Lagos His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has today, Friday 25th May, 2012, appointed as Archbishop of Lagos, His Lordship, Most Rev Alfred Adewale MARTINS. He replaces His Eminence, Anthony Cardinal Okogie who retired having attained the canonical age of 75. Until his appointment, Bishop Alfred Martins was the Bishop of Abeokuta Diocese.

“At the same time the Pope appointed His Eminence Anthony Cardinal Okogie as the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Lagos until the installation of the newly appointed Archbishop.

Martins was born on Jun 1, 1959 and ordained as a priest on Septemebr 18, 1983.

He was appointed Bishop of Abeokuta on October 24, 1997 and ordained on January 24, 1998.

The date for the installation of the Archbishop-elect is yet to be announced.
Cardinal Okogie, who is highly respected across Nigeria, tendered his resignation from the pastoral governance of the See of Lagos to Pope Benedict XVI on on May 25, 2012.