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Apple’s day at the Supreme Court

Before the Supreme Court, the issue at stake was not whether Samsung infringed on the patents, but instead how much the Korean company should pay based on a law that allows a patent owner to receive a competitor’s “total profit.” Should that profit be for the entire value of the smartphone, as an appeals court ruled, or only for profits attributable to the copied design?

Samsung designed their phones to completely copy Apple’s iPhone, from top to bottom. They need to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

Planet Earth II trailer

The first Planet Earth was a incredible visual feast. The trailer for the sequel looks just as amazing.

Billings Pro: Simple time-tracking and invoicing for the Mac, iPad, iPhone & Apple Watch [Sponsor]

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Thanks to Marketcircle, makers of Billings Pro for sponsoring The Loop this week.

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Apple responds to Dash controversy with proof

Controversy erupted last week when Apple [cancelled the account of a popular developer app called Dash. Apple told the developer “they found evidence of App Store review manipulation,” an accusation the developer denied, but Apple has proof. […]

Lawsuit claims Yahoo discriminates against men

A Yahoo Inc media executive fired from the internet company last year has filed a lawsuit claiming a job review process implemented by Chief Executive Marissa Mayer was used to cut men from executive ranks and lay them off illegally, court papers showed.

It’s not often you hear about this type of lawsuit.

Supreme Court to hear Apple, Samsung case on Tuesday

After five years of litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Tuesday in the bitter patent dispute between the world’s two top smartphone manufacturers over the amount Samsung should pay Apple for copying the iPhone’s distinctive look.

There is absolutely no doubt that Samsung stole everything it could from the iPhone. They should pay up and stop stealing.

The quest to make a true blue M&M

Really interesting article about the industry’s search for natural alternatives for the colors found in many of our favorite foods.

Court reinstates Apple victory over Samsung

The court said that there was substantial evidence for the jury verdict related to Samsung’s infringement of Apple patents on its slide-to-unlock and autocorrect features, as well as quick links, which automatically turn information like addresses and phone numbers into links.

It’s obvious that Samsung blatantly stole this from Apple. Time to pay up for your thieving behavior, Samsung.

VCs Confess Their Biggest Regrets

There are some big regrets here. Bessemer Venture Partners seem to have passed up on every good idea that ever came along in the history of tech.

Judge questions Airbnb in SF rental law case

At a hearing in San Francisco federal court on Thursday, U.S. District Judge James Donato said he was “concerned” with Airbnb’s position because the San Francisco statute targets only bookings processed by Airbnb, not what the company publishes on its website.

Basically, the law would require Airbnb to verify that the person renting the property was registered with the city. Airbnb is saying that it is the responsibility of the person to follow the law and they are providing a publishing service.

Twitter shares plunge after Google, Disney, Apple would not bid

Twitter shares plunged on Thursday, a day after technology website Recode reported that Alphabet’s Google and Disney would not bid for the social network and Apple was unlikely to be a suitor.

The stock fell 19% on the news. Twitter is in a tough spot—they have a ton of users and everyone recognizes the brand, but they can’t make a profit.

Google logs 2 million miles in self-driving cars

Google’s self-driving vehicles are mastering complex situations on public roads, from cars going the wrong way to bicycles darting in front of traffic, as the technology company strives to win the high-profile race to achieve full vehicle automation, executives said on Wednesday.

These are the types of situations that worry me the most about self-driving cars—normal everyday traffic accidents. Good to see Google is focusing on what may appear to be mundane incidents.

Samsung acquires Viv, a firm created by Siri’s co-creater

Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Thursday it is acquiring U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) platform developer Viv Labs Inc, a firm run by a co-creator of Apple Inc’s Siri voice assistant program.

Samsung said in a statement it plans to integrate the San Jose-based company’s AI platform, called Viv, into the Galaxy smartphones and expand voice-assistant services to home appliances and wearable technology devices.

Viv looks to be a pretty robust system. Impressive move.

Replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 catches fire on plane

Southwest Airlines flight 994 from Louisville to Baltimore was evacuated this morning while still at the gate because of a smoking Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. All passengers and crew exited the plane via the main cabin door and no injuries were reported, a Southwest Airlines spokesperson told The Verge.

More worryingly, the phone in question was a replacement Galaxy Note 7, one that was deemed to be safe by Samsung.

People, get rid of this shit now and keep the rest of us safe.