U.S. - Programming Blog

Posts Tagged ‘U.S.’

21 Jan 2010

With rumours still flying left and right as we close in to Apple’s expected Tablet announcement next Wednesday, perhaps the most sought-after missing piece is still its name. Could it be iGuide, or iSlate?

Maybe — but it looks like iPad is definitely a strong contender as well, according to the Mac News Network. Apple has filed for a trademark on that name in Canada, Europe, and Hong Kong, but in the U.S. that trademark is already tied up by Fujitsu. The Japanese corporation has an existing product using that name: a handheld device used by workers in retail.

Yet while Fujitsu first filed for the trademark in 2003, at some point they stopped responding to the US Patent and Trademark Office’s requests for additional information. The USPTO never awarded the official trademark and ended up declaring the name “abandoned” in April 2009.

Although Fujitsu began pursuing the iPad trademark again last June, Apple has reportedly filed at least three requests to extend the deadline for presenting opposition to Fujitsu’s claim. The company now has until February 28 to submit evidence, potentially positioning itself as the rightful owner of the iPad trademark. Launching an actual product under the iPad name before that date may strengthen Apple’s legal claim to the mark, leading to logical speculation that iPad is the chosen forerunner for the tablet’s name.

What’s your favorite name for the still-mythical Apple Tablet? Place your bets now, people!

[img credit: TGR]

Tags: apple, Apple Tablet, fujitsu, gadgets, iguide, ipad, iSlate, trademarks

Go to Source

(2) Comments
Tags: Apple Tablet, Canada, Europe, Fujitsu, hong kong, ipad, mac news network, name, patent and trademark office, product, tablet fujitsu, trademark, U.S., US, us patent and trademark office

YouTube Debuts Movie Rentals

In: web resources

21 Jan 2010

If “Pants on the Ground” remixes and burning banana suits aren’t your thing, don’t fret, there’s a whole new reason to use YouTube: movie rentals.

The Google-owned video site debuted online movie rentals today on a very limited basis, allowing users to rent five different flicks from the Sundance Film Festival using their Google Checkout accounts. The company says “a small collection of rental videos from other U.S. partners across different industries, including health and education, will be made available in the weeks ahead.”

Last year, it was reported that YouTube was in talks with movie studios to offer rentals of major motion pictures, creating what would be dubbed an instant Netflix killer. This is far from that, but represents what could become a massively important part of YouTube’s future. Don’t forget — the site is also continuing to push ahead with HD and making its content big screen-friendly.

Slowly, but surely, we expect YouTube to continue in this direction, and other moves like introducing live sports and streaming full-length films offer just a hint of what’s to come from the video site over the next few years. For more on that, see: YouTube Is the Top Social Media Innovation of the Decade.

Reviews: YouTube

Tags: trending, video, youtube

Go to Source

(1) Comment
Tags: Don, google checkout, length films, media innovation, movie, new reason, Pants, site, sundance film festival, U.S., video, YouTube

Quix Reinvents the Bookmarklet

In: web resources

21 Jan 2010

This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.

Name: Quix

Quick Pitch: Quix is an extensible bookmarklet, allowing access to all your bookmarklets, across all browsers, while maintaining them in one spot.

Genius Idea: Think of Quix as a command-line of sorts for your web browser. The bookmarklet makes it possible to quickly and easily do stuff like search Google, shorten links, and send stuff to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Posterous all from any browser — including Mobile Safari.

Check out this screencast that gives a two-minute overview of Quix:

Inspired in part by Shaun Inman’s Shortwave, Quix is a utility made for people trying to increase their web productivity. Check out the list of help commands to see all the stuff Quix can do. Plus, you can add your own functionality, which makes this really killer for web developers.

What we like about Quix is that it is cross-browser. You can use it in Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Chrome, on a Mac or PC. For users who love browser plugins but loathe the memory usage and performance slowdowns that can come with them, Quix might just be a godsend. As a Mac user, I love the integration with some of my favorite Mac apps.

If you’ve ever doubted the power for Javascript, play with Quix. It’s free and it’s web-geek nirvana!

Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

Entrepreneurs can take advantage of the Azure Services platform for their website hosting and storage needs. Microsoft recently announced the “new CloudApp()” contest – use the Azure Services Platform for hosting your .NET or PHP app, and you could be the lucky winner of a USD 5000* (please see website for official rules and guidelines).”