Court rejects Samsung’s latest appeal in Apple case

Without comment, the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Samsung’s bid to reconsider a previous ruling largely backing Apple — leaving the U.S. Supreme Court as the only legal option left for Samsung to try to overturn hundreds of millions of dollars in damages it now owes Apple in their ongoing patent feud.

Good. Make the scumbags pay already.

Apple’s self-driving car

In May, engineers from Apple’s secretive Special Project group met with officials from GoMentum Station, a 2,100-acre former naval base near San Francisco that is being turned into a high-security testing ground for autonomous vehicles.

Very interesting.

Apple’s diversity numbers

Tim Cook:

Diversity is critical to innovation and it is essential to Apple’s future. We aspire to do more than just make our company as diverse as the talent available to hire. We must address the broad underlying challenges, offer new opportunities, and create a future generation of employees as diverse as the world around us. We also aspire to make a difference beyond Apple.

Great progress.

The one hour mix

Graham Cochrane is doing a series a videos showing users how to mix a song. I always like watching these types of videos—every audio engineer has their own way of doing things, but I usually pick up a tidbit from everyone.

The Dalrymple Report with Merlin Mann: A Crow, a Weedwhacker, and a Little Dog

Jim and Merlin talk about beta software, bass players, and how to minimize stress while traveling.

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uBlock, a Ghostery alternative

To be clear, I haven’t used this, but a reader wrote and said it’s very fast and does the same thing as Ghostery. It’s always good to have an alternative.

Native flight tracking support in iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan

…when iOS 9 beta detects a flight number, in this case Delta #2182, it transforms the text into an actionable link connected to data pulled from an offsite server. A long press on said link brings up options to preview flight information or copy text.

This is a great little added feature.

Setlists app for iOS

Catalog your repertoire. Prompt your lyrics live on stage. Keep everyone in sync. If you perform live on stage, alone or with a group, Setlists will make you a better professional. Forget carrying around heavy binders of paper and writing up tonight’s set on a napkin with a Sharpie.

Great looking app. I’ll be using this one.

Rite Aid to accept Apple Pay

Rite Aid announced today that all of the Company’s nearly 4,600 stores nationwide will begin accepting mobile payments, including Apple Pay and Google Wallet, starting Saturday, August 15.

The significance here is that Rite Aid was a supporter of CurrentC. Clearly that didn’t work out so well for them.

BMW looks at whether Google’s Alphabet infringes trademark rights

BMW on Tuesday said it was looking into whether Google infringed any trademark rights after the Silicon Valley-based group set up a new company called Alphabet, which is also the name of a BMW subsidiary.

“We are examining whether there are any implications over trademarks,” a BMW spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The spokeswoman said there were currently no plans to take legal steps against Google.

Google’s new OS for the Internet of things

Sundar Pichai, Google’s senior vice president of Chrome and App, said the company developed Brillo, a stripped down version of Android that will run on battery-powered connected devices and Weave, a communications standard that will let developers build programs that allow these connected devices to communication.

Does this mean malware can now infest your home?

Pad & Quill: Quality leather bags and Apple Watch Bands [Sponsor]

From Kari (Mrs PQ):

Pad & Quill is passionate about designing and crafting unique leather bags, accessories and cases for Apple products. We employ the best leathers, canvas and various materials to make products that are beautiful, functional, durable and ageless. Our craftsmen exemplify the heart and soul of our company and we celebrate their skill by inviting each artisan to sign each Leather Bag or Apple Watch Bands as it is completed for you, our customer.

Nokia planning mobile comeback

Now Nokia boss Rajeev Suri is planning a comeback. He must wait until late 2016 before he can consider re-entering the handset business – after a non-compete deal with Microsoft expires – but preparations are underway.

The company has already dipped its toe into the consumer market; it has launched an Android tablet, the N1, which went on sale in January in China and days ago unveiled a “virtual-reality camera” – heralding it as the “rebirth of Nokia”.

Like many of us, I was a longtime Nokia user, before the company dropped the ball and then kicked it away. I fear for their new business if the plan is to enter an already crowded market with another Android device.

Switchers

Horace Dediu:

It’s much more likely that Apple converts existing smartphone users while Android converts first-time users.

Brilliant.

Addressing iPhone growth

Ben Bajarin tackles upgrades, Android switchers, and China in addressing Wall St. concerns over how much growth is left for iPhone.

Tesla is burning through cash

The Silicon Valley automaker is losing more than $4,000 on every Model S electric sedan it sells, using its reckoning of operating losses, and it burned $359 million in cash last quarter in a bull market for luxury vehicles. The company on Wednesday cut its production targets for this year and next. Chief Executive Elon Musk said he’s considering options to raise more capital, and didn’t rule out selling more stock.

Elon is an interesting guy. He set some aggressive goals for the company that Wall Street isn’t convinced he can meet.

Samsung’s fingerprint sensors aren’t as secure as iPhone’s TouchID

Samsung closed the gap with Apple when it launched a touch-based fingerprint sensor in the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge, but a recent report claims that fingerprint sensors that are used in Android smartphones are not as secure as TouchID fingerprint sensor used in the recent iPhones.

Samsung’s implementation isn’t as good as Apple’s? Shocking.

Gibson as a consumer company

A very thorough article at The Tennessean about Gibson, a company we know that sells guitars, but is turning into a consumer electronics company.

Google, Samsung to issue monthly Android security fixes

Google Inc and Samsung Electronics Co will release monthly security fixes for Android phones, a growing target for hackers, after the disclosure of a bug designed to attack the world’s most popular mobile operating system.

Sounds a lot like the weekly security updates Microsoft did (do?) for Windows.

Samsung Vice President Rick Segal acknowledged that his company could not force the telecommunications carriers that buy its devices in bulk to install the fixes and that some might do so only for higher-end users.

Then what’s the point?