I applaud T-Mobile’s efforts to make their way into the already crowded iPhone and iPad space. But this iPad rollout just strikes me as ham-handed:

T-Mobile CEO John Legere tweeted today to clarify his company’s free 200MB monthly plans for iPads on its network. He reiterated that “everyone” gets 200MB of free data with no strings attached.

Earlier today, customers trying to buy iPads on T-Mobile were told they would have to pay a $10 monthly fee to access the “free” data, contradicting an offer from last week.

That is a sure way to squander any good-will gained. If your plan is to buy your way into the market using the iPad data plan as a loss-leader, then get the word out to your staff, make sure everyone is on the same page.

I’ve mentioned the Sony QX smart lens before, but this is an actual review.

The Cyber-shot DSC-QX100 is the high-end version of Sony’s newly released iPhone-compatible wireless camera accessories, packing in a Carl Zeiss lens at an attractive price point. Like the low-end QX10, it’s a forward thinking device with a great deal of potential that remains held back by shaky software.

I hope the limitation is, indeed, software-specific and not some form of hardware/networking latency. Software problems can always be fixed.

Before, it would take 10 or more seconds for the PlayMemories application to establish a connection with a QX camera and begin shooting. Now, that connection time is closer to 5 seconds. While this is a big improvement, we don’t feel it’s enough, though Sony may be hampered by the limitations of Wi-Fi Direct.

I sure hope it’s not an inherent limitation of their networking model. I really love this concept and want it to succeed.

Blender is an open source 3D modeling program that runs on Mac OS X as well as on Linux and Windows. Blender is free to download. You can support the Blender project by making a donation on the Blender site, or by buying books and DVDs via the site.

The headline links to an excellent, free tutorial created by Vicki Wenderlich. If you’ve ever thought about designing in 3D, this is a terrific place to start.

Ever since I posted on Twitter about looking for a keyboard for my iPad Air, I’ve had a lot of suggestions for Logitech and Zagg. I saw these Belkin ones tonight and thought I’d post those too.

John Gruber:

But Motorola — a wholly-owned Google subsidiary — has filed patent lawsuits against Apple all over the world. Just one month ago Apple finally put an end to an 18-month injunction that prevented iCloud users in Germany from getting push notifications for email — because of a patent lawsuit filed by Google.

I’m in total agreement with Gruber on this one. Like most people, I hate these stupid patent trolls, but too many people are trying to make Google seem like a victim here. They’re not.

Kirk McElhearn brings up some interesting points in his thoughts for Apple to bring an iPod Pro to market.

Matthew Panzarino:

Parsons confirmed the percentage, but said that the differential between the prices of the iPad and the prices of the Samsung tablets that were included in the survey was large enough to “more than offset” the score in the other four categories. Parsons says that the price category contributed to a full two-point difference between Apple and Samsung.

B U L L S H I T!

There’s no way it explains the tablet numbers.

The artwork is very impressive.

Watch the video and then go check out Keira Rathbone’s site.

Yes!

Allyson Kazmucha has a look at a number of alternatives to Apple’s built-in Calendar app.

Kids around the world are signing up for the Hour of Code, an effort by code.org to demystify the art of programming, to bring more young folks into the field. Their mantra is “Every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science.”

The official video, shown below, features people like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerburg, Jack Dorsey, Ruchi Sanghvi, and many many more. A worthy cause.

You can order online and check for in-store pickup availability. If your model is available, Apple will send you a text when your iPad is ready for pickup.

When Canadian telecom Nortel went bankrupt in 2009, there was a bidding war between Google and a consortium called Rockstar Bidco for more than 6,000 Nortel patents. Rockstar, which is owned by Microsoft, Apple, RIM, Ericsson, and Sony, won the auction for $4.5 billion.

This afternoon, Rockstar filed suit against Google for patent infringement. You can read the complaint here.

From the complaint:

On August 1, 2000, United States Patent No. 6,098,065 (the “‘065 patent”) was duly and legally issued for an invention entitled “Associative Search Engine.” Rockstar is the assignee of the ‘065 patent and has granted an exclusive license to NetStar, who holds all rights and interest in the ‘065 patent. A true and correct copy of the ‘065 patent is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

Google has infringed and continues to infringe the ‘065 patent by its manufacture, use, sale, importation, and/or offer for sale of systems, methods, products, and processes for matching search terms with relevant advertising and/or information based on those search terms and other user data, including but not limited to Google’s process of receiving search requests from a user, using its search engine to generate search results based at least in part on the search request, selecting—through Google’s AdWords and/or any other products, methods, systems, or services Google uses to store and choose relevant advertising—a relevant advertisement based on the search request and/or user data, and providing the search results together with the particular advertisement to the user; and additionally Google’s systems, methods, products, and processes of using other user data aside from the search request to help select the search result and/or advertisement; and additionally and alternatively its contributing to and inducement of others to manufacture, use, sell, import, and/or offer for sale infringing systems, methods, products, and processes in the manners described above. Google is liable for its infringement of the ‘065 patent pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 271.

This is going to get messy.

I love these guys. These are the only drum loops I buy and have for years. I just picked up Double Bass Mania V and Double Bass Mania VI Doom Metal tonight.

I Put a Spell on You:

While this piece of ridiculousness was ostensibly given to John for his birthday, I’m now delighted to reveal that this present was given for my own secret benefit as well. Before I explain, there are some facts you need to know.

As we get older, hopefully our pranks on friends get subtler and more mature. Paul Kafasis of Rogue Amoeba just pulled a great prank on John Gruber of Daring Fireball.

Deadspin:

You should probably go ahead and not watch this if you’re squeamish. Yes, the tooth was part of a bridge, so the pain might have been minimal, but self-dentistry is never pleasant.

Now that’s a good old tough Canadian hockey player!

NPR:

As of Tuesday, Michael Erb was the No. 1 customer reviewer on Amazon. He has reviewed everything from doorbells to travel mugs to toothbrushes.

As Erb has risen up the ranks among Amazon reviewers, the stream of free stuff has grown because manufacturers have started sending stuff directly to him to review.

This feels really shady particularly because Amazon doesn’t identify “paid” reviewers.

The Nexus 5 and Kit Kat software are designed to make it easier to use Google’s search engine and other services to learn about a person’s habits and needs so it can display helpful information. Google Inc.’s virtual assistant, Google Now, also engages in richer dialogue with Nexus 5 users.

C R E E P Y

Alek’s Controllable Halloween Decorations:

Use the three halloween webcams for a live view of a buncha halloween decorations & lights and also CONTROL them – heck, you can even inflate or deflate the giant Frankenstein & Homer Simpson – D’OH!

All three webcams are online from 1800 to 2200 MDT (GMT-6) which is when you can turn stuff on & off and “entertain” the neighbors.

Ignore the spectacularly ugly web design and just think of all the tech this guy has installed.

Rian van der Merwe:

Apple would look at that data and say, “let’s cut the bottom 200 commands.” Microsoft looked at it and said, “We’re going to need a bigger ribbon.”

Rian makes some good points in his article, but the highlighted portion above sums up my thoughts on Microsoft.

Passengers will eventually be able to read e-books, play games, and watch videos on their devices during all phases of flight, with very limited exceptions. Electronic items, books and magazines, must be held or put in the seat back pocket during the actual takeoff and landing roll. Cell phones should be in airplane mode or with cellular service disabled – i.e., no signal bars displayed—and cannot be used for voice communications based on FCC regulations that prohibit any airborne calls using cell phones. If your air carrier provides Wi-Fi service during flight, you may use those services. You can also continue to use short-range Bluetooth accessories, like wireless keyboards.

Nice article from John Moltz. I think Microsoft’s biggest problem is its lack of vision—they don’t have a next big thing in their arsenal.

Admittedly small things in such a large OS, but these are the types of details that Apple thinks about.

Wow. Just wow.

In movie buff circles, there’s an ongoing trivia question that is getting close to an answer: “Who is the first actor to appear in three trilogies?”

There were plenty of near misses. Christopher Lee is in seven Hammer Dracula films, and three Lord of the Rings films (the Extended Cuts, anyway) but only two of three Star Wars prequels. Emilio Estevez made three Mighty Ducks movies, but the Young Guns and Stakeout franchises stalled at two. And so on.

Don’t want to spoil this. If you are interested in such minutia, read the article (I found it fascinating). Then try your hand at this question:

Who is the only actor to star (not necessarily appear) in 3 separate billion dollar franchises? Feel free to tweet me (@davemark) if you think you have it.

Seven years ago, Intellectual Ventures paid $750,000 for a patent. They are now suing Symantec and Trend Micro for infringing the patent for about $310 million.

The two companies are asking a federal judge to bar IV from seeking such large licensing fees on the grounds that a patent acquired for so little couldn’t possibly be worth so much. That’s on top of more traditional arguments that Symantec and Trend Micro do not violate IV’s patents in the first place.

In court filings and at a hearing in August, Symantec and Trend Micro lawyers argued that the law prohibits IV from calculating such a high royalty. A patent license is, by definition, less valuable than outright ownership of a patent, Symantec and Trend Micro lawyers said.

If this argument succeeds, this will change the game for patent trolls, especially if the Supreme Court allows defendants in patent battles to recover attorney fees.