Skype is Suing Ebay

Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis have filed a lawsuit against Ebay, current owner of most of the shares of Skype.

Ebay confirmed its previously announced sale of Skype earlier this month, with the intention of turning over 65% of the company to investors of the Silver Lake Partners group. Ebay’s original intention was to simply buy-out Skype, pay-out its partners, and sell off the company to the investment group. However, a new development has put a crack in the sale.

The owners are claiming a Terms of Service violation based on the idea that Ebay revealed the technology powering the Skype service and technology. The suit is officially filed by the founders’ own company Joltid, the brains behind the Skype code. The company is looking for $75 million per day in damage payments. The numbers stem from Skype counting each download as copyright infringement, which estimates into costs of about $27 billion per year, as calculated by Mashable.

Skype has been known for their lawsuits as in the suit filed in the original sale of the company to Ebay. Whether or not the suit will go through profitably for the founders remains to be seen. From my own personal reasoning, I have to wonder if Skype really intends to try and back a figure that outrageous.

What do you think about these developments? Share your thoughts and opinions below.

Artificial Retina Allows the Blind to See

Blindness is a rampant disease caused by many varying factors, however, scientists are working on a solution in the artificial retina.

With about 3.3million Americans over the age of 40 suffering from blindness or near-blindness (and about 160million worldwide), a cure for blindness could be the holy grail.

The artificial retina is a series of surgically implanted electrodes responding to a camera on the bridge of the nose and a wrist-mounted video processor. Thanks to this technology, Barbara Campbell, 56, can distinguish burners on her stove while making a grilled cheese sandwich.

The New York Times writes about this technology:

Scientists involved in the project, the artificial retina, say they have plans to develop the technology to allow people to read, write and recognize faces.

Advances in technology, genetics, brain science and biology are making a goal that long seemed out of reach — restoring sight — more feasible.

There have been several other technological attempts at curing blindness, including the first ever Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprothesis, where lamina tissue is cut from a tooth, grown in the patient, and then implanted in the eye to improve vision. This technique is used with the most sever optically challenged patients.

The idea of a cure for blindness is becoming less like science fiction everyday. More information about the recent developments in technology helping the blind can be found at The New York Times.

Kill IE 6 – The Google Chrome Framework

Have you ever tried opening your favorite websites in Internet Explorer 6 and found that they simply aren’t compatible anymore? Perhaps you’ve rolled out a new design and seen a drop in traffic from IE users because they cannot access the same frameworks as you can. It gets irritating, huh?

Pretty much every developer and designer on the planet hates I.E. 6. Nevertheless, the widely used browser must be supported somehow, right? Well, Google has come to the rescue with the introduction of the Google Chrome Framework. The basic idea behind Google Chrome is that Internet Explorer users who download the plugin can step into the new age of the internet without switching browsers. Google explains:

With Google Chrome Frame, developers can now take advantage of the latest open web technologies, even in Internet Explorer. From a faster Javascript engine, to support for current web technologies like HTML5’s offline capabilities and <canvas>, to modern CSS/Layout handling, Google Chrome Frame enables these features within IE with no additional coding or testing for different browser versions.

The plugin works by feeding off a new meta tag developers will need to include on their webpages. When the tag is detected, the framework will switch to Chrome’s own rendering web-kit, and more websites will become compatible with Internet Explorer. The plugin also includes a working testing protocol which uses the prefix cf:http://yourwebsite to test whether or not the page will render within Internet Explorer. So far, the only known issues with the current test versions are messed up printing and an invisible downloads progress window.

Google Chrome Framework looks to be an exciting development in uniting developers and users. For more information on the developing part of the framework, check out the developer’s guide.

Apple Rolls Out the New Ipod Nano

With the last installation of the Ipod Nano from Apple, we saw a sexy selection of colors with curves to match. Now, with new polished aluminum and a larger screen, the New Nano looks amazing. The adjusted shape fits readily within the user’s palm, and the new finish is more scratch-proof than the second generation unit.

This time around, Apple’s taken its fun-sized MP3 player to a new level by including a video recording device within the new Nano. The new video features allows you to rotate the device sideways and record video with a decently clear picture and quality audio recording. The video recorder includes 15 special effects such as motion blur and x-ray. Users can connect the device to their computers and upload videos to a facebook or youtube account. The new video feature is highly anticipated and looks to be an impressive addition to the Ipod.

In addition to the new recording mode, the new Ipod Nano now includes a built-in FM radio, Genius Mix functionality, and even a pedometer for those looking to track their fitness progress. Ipod Nano users can also buy the Nike Ipod shoes and Nike sports kit to sync with the new nano and track your running progress.

The new FM tuner is another awesome feature introduced in the new Ipod Nano. The FM tuner allows you to view the name of both the artist and the song that is currently playing. Even more, the FM tuner includes a live pause feature to stop songs as they’re streaming, and a new tagging system that allows you to save the song information if you want to download it later. Pretty sweet, huh?

The new Nano also boasts an amazing interface with landscape and portrait modes. Rotating the Ipod will put it into landscape mode, and bring coverflow to the screen for music browsing. Just remember, the volume cannot be adjusted in landscape mode because of the interface.

The third generation Ipod Nano comes in nine brilliant colors and retails at $149 for 8gigs and $179 for 16gigs. It’s highly recommended for those looking to pick up a new Ipod with a few extra features and a sleek design.