The Little App Factory seems to have a big problem on their hands. The company received a letter from Baker & McKenzie, representing Apple, asking that The Little App Factory change the name of one of their most successful applications. Why? It has the word iPod in it.

iRip (formally known as iPodRip) was originally written in 2003 at the MacHack developer conference in order to fulfill an obvious problem with the iPod. Basically, iRip lets your copy and transfer your songs from iPod and iPhone to your computer. The app itself has been downloaded more than five million times, and has helped users transfer more then one billion songs to their computer.

The Little App Factory CEO John Devor emailed Steve Jobs regarding the issue. Amazingly, Jobs replied.

The original email:

Dear Mr. Jobs,

My name is John Devor and I’m the co-owner of a small Mac shareware company named The Little App Factory and a long-term Apple customer and shareholder. I doubt you’re aware but we recently received a letter from a law firm working on Apple’s behalf instructing us that we had violated several of Apple’s trademarks in our application iPodRip and asking us to cease using the name and Apple trademarks in our icons.

We have been distributing iPodRip since 2003 with the aim of providing a method to recover music, movies and photos from iPods and iPhones in the event of a serious hardware failure on their Mac which leads to data loss. Our goal has been to provide the highest quality product coupled with the highest quality service in a bid to resolve some of the angst that is generated by such an ordeal; service befitting of an Apple product. In this department we think we have succeeded as we have approximately 6 million customers, many Apple employees, music artists and other notable people in society. In fact I’d argue that our customer service is the best of all competing applications in our niche as many of them are scams and frauds that leave Apple customers with a terrible taste in their collective mouths. We fear very much that tens of thousands of Apple customers looking to recover their own music and having heard of our product via word-of-mouth or otherwise, will instead find a product produced by one of our competitors, and will wind up the victim of a scam (one closely-named competitor charges a hidden monthly fee, for instance).

It is quite obvious that we mean Apple no harm with the use of the name iPodRip, or of the inclusion of trademarked items in our icons, and in fact I believe that we have been providing an excellent secondary service to Apple customers that has potentially caused you many repeat clients. In fact, we are quite aware that Apple support and store staff have recommended our software on numerous occasions as far back as 2004 so we have felt that we were doing something right!

With this in mind, we are in desperate need of some assistance and we beseech you to help us to protect our product and our shareware company, both of which we have put thousands upon thousands of hours of work into. Our company goal is to create Mac software of the highest quality with the best user experience possible. I myself dropped out of school recently to pursue a path in the Mac software industry, and you yourself have been a consistent inspiration for me.

If there is anything at all you can do with regards to this matter, we would be most grateful.

Best,

John Devor

And Steve’s reply?

Change your apps name. Not that big of a deal.

Steve

Sent from my iPhone

So, not wanting more legal problems then already needed with Apple, The Little App Factory changed iPodRip to iRip, and also have been forced to remove the iPod icon in Evom, an app that lets you convert and transfer movies from your computer and the web.

Earlier this year, The Little App Factory acquired RipIt, a popular Mac app that lets you archive DVD’s directly to your Mac.

Disclaimer: Jeremy Kessel has a J.D., but is still waiting for his (July 2009) California Bar Exam results. Thus, he is not (yet) a licensed attorney. Barry L. Cohen, who also shares some insights below, is a licensed attorney. Regardless, this post is not meant as legal advice or analysis and should not be construed as such.

As many of you are aware, Nokia filed a lawsuit against Apple last week in the Federal District Court in Delaware. Nokia’s complaint alleges that Apple has infringed on 10 of Nokia’s patents for various, “fundamental” GSM, UMTS and wireless LAN (WLAN) technologies. In particular, the patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption. Nokia believes that all 10 patents have been infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced back in 2007.

This brings up the question: Why wait until now, Nokia, to sue Apple? Clearly, without speaking directly to Nokia’s legal team, all of the following is pure (albeit educated) conjecture. Nonetheless, with intellectual property (i.e. copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets) becoming increasingly important and relevant to (technology) companies around the globe, it is worth taking a few minutes to explore some of the possible motives/strategies behind Nokia’s latest legal muscle flexing.

As I am not yet a licensed attorney (I find out next month), we turned to Barry L. Cohen, Esq., who specializes in commercial and business litigation and intellectual property litigation and licensing at Thorp Reed & Armstrong, for his thoughts on the Nokia v. Apple matter at large. According to Mr. Cohen, because Nokia has been successful in licensing the patents at issue with dozens of other companies, the Finnish company most likely felt confident that it would be able to reach an agreement with Apple as well. When the negotiations reached an impasse, Nokia was essentially left with no other choice but to pursue legal recourse.

Filing the lawsuit against Apple is most likely, at least in part, a deliberate strategy to put more pressure on Apple to agree to the terms that Nokia has requested with regards to licensing the patented technologies. Because the 10 patents at issue include “fundamental” cellular technologies, the lawsuit may also have been motivated by some (or many) of the other companies who are already paying licensing fees to Nokia and want Apple to do the same.

Alright, now that we have explored (somewhat superficially) why Nokia has prompted the suit against Apple, this in turn leads to another question: Why would Apple refuse to license the technologies if they are imperative for the operation of its iPhone? Again, without speaking directly to Apple, we can only speculate. It is possible that Apple has licensed similar technologies from Ericsson (who, along with Nokia and Qualcomm hold some of the largest mobile technology patent portfolios in the world), thereby eliminating the need to license the patents at issue from Nokia. Or alternatively, Apple may believe that it is not infringing or that Nokia’s patents should be invalidated. However, considering that some 40 other mobile companies have licensed these key patents, this is extremely unlikely (possibly even impossible, depending on which company holds what patents).

According to Mr. Cohen, it is more likely a money issue. The longer that Apple goes without paying licensing fees, the cheaper Apple can sell its iPhone and the bigger market share it can build up. Alternatively, Apple may not have wanted to pay or could not agree on the amount of the royalty rate that Nokia was requesting. Given the scale (i.e. millions of devices), even a tiny discrepancy in price could result in hundreds of millions of dollars, going one way or the other.

Regardless of the actual motivation behind the lawsuit, considering that less than 1% of cases go to trial, it is most likely that Nokia is using the suit as a bargaining chip. Both companies, whether they actually like it or not, can afford to see cases like this through to the end, as the legal costs, even in the mutltiple millions of dollars, are relatively insignificant in the big picture for Nokia and Apple. Rather, suing Apple will provide Nokia more leverage in obtaining some variety of settlement (i.e. receiving royalties for its patents), and on the flip side, might even help Apple save a few bucks if a third-party mediator is brought in to help resolve the dispute.

Some may argue that Nokia is a total hypocrite, given its recent expensive and drawn-out legal clash with fellow mobile big shot, Qualcomm. But, as Mr. Cohen points out, Nokia is clearly no dummy (yup, that is a legitimate legal term). Nokia has clearly weighed the pros and cons of filing the lawsuit and what it will mean to their licensing strategy. Whether or not the strategy works, will depend in part on Apple, who is also not a fool.

Finally, I do not believe (as John does) that this suit was directly motivated by Nokia’s recent financial struggles. As someone who has studied intellectual property and has a general sense of the value that a company’s IP assets hold, I agree with Mr. Cohen and everyone else who thinks that this is ultimately a negotiation. Nokia is an enormously powerful mobile technologies company. Sure it is facing increased competition from the likes of Apple, HTC, Samsung, etc, but I do not believe this lawsuit signifies some sort of last gasp, or in the words of John (no disrespect, of course), a “mercenary approach, [a way to] cash in on some of the iPhone’s success.” For better or for worse, this is the new way of the technology road. Companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing and obtaining IP assets, and at the end of the day, they will continue to do whatever it takes (i.e. sue each other on an endless merry-go-round) to protect and enforce their IP rights.

Oh, U.S. Senate. Just when we thought you had turned your collective attention to the plethora of incredibly important issues to tackle (read: healthcare, 2 wars, global warming, education, etc), you go and pass the Safe Prisons Communications Act of 2009.

The Act, or SPCA09 as we like to call it around here, provides state governors and/or the Federal Bureau of Investigation the power to have cellular signals blocked (or jammed, as the kids like to say) inside prisons. Why do they need this authority? Well, apparently smuggled cell phones have become quite an issue in our lovely prison system. This has in turn created increased security threats, i.e. allowing inmates to conduct crimes from the comfort of their cell (zing!).

More specifically, SPCA09 allows prisons to petition the FCC to use jamming devices so long as they don’t cause interference with legitimate communications. Luckily for the rest of us, the Act also requires the FCC to be fairly specific about where and how signals can be blocked, so law enforcement officials won’t, in theory, be able to overly abuse this new “power.” Nothing is set in stone yet, well, at least until the bill is ratified by the House and signed by the Pres.

[via Phone Scoop and WSJ]

[Image via Jordan Rudess' site]

MG Siegler wrote about iTunes 9 a few weeks ago on TechCrunch, with the possibility of app organization, but it’s all up in the air right now.

Overall, Movement is very cool. It provides a tool that many iPhone and iPod Touch users want, but under a cost of jailbreaking your iPhone or iPod Touch. Movement is developed by indie Mac developer Jeff Stieler.

(Thanks to Zain Memon for the screenshots)

The Bodega storefront also gives users links to press articles and blog postings, so they can see what writers have to say about the app. Bodega lets users purchase directly from developers as well. If the application is a paid app, you can download a free trial for most applications. If you are a developer, and would like to be included in the Bodega Store, IDFusion Software has setup a developer area with all the information needed. Currently, there are over 160 applications in the store now.

Bodega also uses the same ratings and reviews principal that the iTunes App Store uses, making it a more interactive feel. Bodega also serves are your license manager — users can save their receipts in the application, making reinstallation a hassle-free process.

I suppose “easily subverted” is a bit hyperbolic, since you need to be willing to buy a couple parking meters from eBay, own and know how to use an oscilloscope, and put together some custom circuit boards. Most of that puts this attack squarely outside of my abilities. Nonetheless, enterprising hackers have examined and found weaknesses in the electronic parking meters used around San Francisco. Pre-paid cards keep track of how many times they’ve been used, so most of the logic is in the card: when the number of uses exceeds the dollar value assigned to the card, it’s no longer valid. You have basically two choices: put a super high dollar value on the card, or simply ignore the meter’s instruction to record a new use. Either way the result is the same: you can park for free!

I suspect there are a number of easy ways for this attack to be foiled but they’ll all cost money, which means that the parking meter companies will be hesitant to implement them. And really, what was so wrong with the old fashioned meters that they needed to be digitized?

Via Hack-A-Day.

According to the Survey, Americans sent over 1 Trillion text messages in 2008, almost triple the number (363 million) from 2007. That works out to roughly 3.5 billion txts per day, or almost 13 messages per wireless user (the survey reports that there are “more than 270 million wireless users” in the US) per day.

When you factor in the increasing popularity of smartphones (iPhone 3G, T-Mo G1, BlackBerry Storm, yadda, yadda), Twitter’s pop culture explosion, and the extra 15 million new wireless subscribers in ‘08, among other factors, all of a sudden 13/per doesn’t really seem all that staggering.

Even so, we’ve officially entered the Age of Trillions (stimulus package, anyone?). Gone are the days when Billions (yes, with a capital B) seemed unfathomable. But alas, I digress. Here are a few more fun facts:

[W]ireless revenues showed impressive year-to year gains, as wireless data service revenues for the year 2008 rose to more than $32 billion. This represents a 39% increase over 2007, when data revenues totaled $23.2 billion. Wireless data revenues for 2008 amounted to nearly 22% of all wireless service revenues, and represent what consumers spend on non-voice services.

Other highlights of the survey include: wireless customers using more than 2.2 trillion minutes in 2008, an increase of 100 billion minutes from 2007, and record-breaking six-month wireless service revenues of more than $75 billion with annual service revenues reaching $148 billion by year-end 2008.

Citing the phone’s “limited computing power,” Nokia has decided to pull the gaming plug on the N73 before someone gets terribly hurt disappointed.

Now back to your regularly scheduled mobile news programming…

The iPhone 3.0 Announcement has come to an (abrupt) end. So how did Apple fare according to our Scorecard? Well, as you can see there is still room for improvement, but slighty better than expected – 75 out of 120 possible points. Here is the specific point breakdown:

• Background Apps? No. = 0
• Push? Yes. = 10
• Copy, Cut, and Paste? Finally!  = 20
• MMS? Yup. = 15
• Video Recording? Uh, nope. = 0
• Bluetooth enhancements? Yes – 5 for stereo, 2.5 for “BT Bonjour.” = 7.5
• Flash? Negatory. = 0
• Landscape? All over the joint! = 10
• Tethering? Sorta – up to the carriers. = 7.5
• 8 things we can’t stand? Bonus points for Search! = 5
• Grand total = 75 / 120

It can be done, but not by the end user, and not for free. If you take it into your local Apple store (with an appointment) it’ll be a same day process. If you ship it in, expect a 3-4 week delay. Either way, it’s going to cost you $179 to get it done. Ouch.

[via MacRumors]

D-Link states that the NVR will work with most currently-available cameras, and are motion activated, and use a differential technology to allow you to look for the point when an object disappears, or when motion is detected. Seems like quite a cool bit of tech to me.

They will available in 1Q 2009, and the DNS-726-4 will support 4 cameras, and be priced at $699.99, while the DNS-722-4 will support one camera, and be priced at $399.

Here’s the full press release:

D-Link Boosts Small Business IP Surveillance Options; Offers New Network Video Recorder (NVR) Family

New DNS-722-4 & DNS-726-4 Based on Company’s 2-Bay Network Attached Storage (NAS) Technology

LAS VEGAS, NV–(Marketwire – January 6, 2009) – (South Hall Rm. S218) — D-Link, a worldwide leading network solutions provider for consumers and business, today unveiled a new Internet-based surveillance product line — the network video recorders (NVR) — designed with advanced features and compact size to meet the camera monitoring needs of consumers, small office/home office (SOHO) users and small-to-medium businesses.

Debuting at the Consumer Electronics Show, which runs through Sunday here, the DNS-722-4 and DNS-726-4 are based on D-Link’s proven 2-bay network attached storage (NAS) device technology. The DNS-726-4 NVR Pro version works with D-Link as well as Axis, Sony and Panasonic network cameras.

Both are standalone serial ATA RAID NVRs that feature a security lock, 24/7 recording with a PC, friendly graphical user interface (GUI) for multiple camera management and direct access for viewing live video or playing back recorded data through the Internet from anywhere at anytime.

One of the most powerful features of the cameras is flexible event management. The NVRs can monitor all camera "triggers" from motion detection or digital input interface. The DNS-726-4 can centrally control the digital output, email and recording of all networked cameras. For example, if camera 1 detects motion, the NVR can trigger camera 2 to record, camera 3 to emit light, and camera 4 to turn to the preset position.

An event log keeps track of log pages by date for easy look up, and multiple contact lists can be created for event notification.

Both new D-Link NVRs boast intelligent playback features, such as:

– Smart Search – users can save time searching through recorded data. The NVR’s intelligent search function quickly retrieves data by finding a selected area on the video and setting the search criteria (motion detected, object missing, focus lost, camera occlusion, etc.). The DNS-726- 4 will display the list and play from the event timeframe.

– Multiple channel playback – After selecting the desired video period, the DNS-726-4 will begin playback and display up to four simultaneous channels. The DNS-722-4 supports one channel.

– Playback speed control – Both NVRs can playback at up to 16x speeds in fast forward or fast backward modes.

– Step playback – The NVRs can playback video one frame at a time.– Video enhancement – Users can adjust the recorded video to get enhanced output for brightness, sharpness, etc. for either playback viewing, snapshots or prints.

Other key features include:

– Camera status display – Both NVRs will produce a status page to show connection, recording, frame and bit rate information for each camera. Users also can check the display to see how much recording time remain, and for easy identification, each camera’s name is shown on all video channels.

– "Always" or "Event" recording status – Users can avoid unintentional recording interruptions by checking their PC or laptop screen displays to find which recording mode activity.

Comparitively, the D-Link NVRs are the only IP surveillance recording and playback management systems that offer Power over Ethernet (PPPoE), unlimited schedule recording, dynamic DNS, four-channel support, two 3.5-inch SATA bays, four different RAID levels for backup and up to 120 frame speed performance for under $700.

Price and Availability

The D-Link NVRs will be available in the first quarter of 2009 through a network of value-added resellers, solution providers and distributors, and at the company store, www.dlinkshop.com. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) for the DSN-726-4 is $699.99, and $399 for the DSN-722-4.

Additionally, they offer the questionable services of the Geek Squad to help you learn how to use your shiny new phone. And you can take the $10 your saved and buy a cup of coffee.

The issue is, while for general cooking, you can use volume measuring. Normally, just using that one cup measure isn’t going to cause problems. However when you get into more gourmet usage of high end spices, it just doesn’t cut it. So you need to start measuring by weight.

So instead of busting out the coke scales, you can use the digital spoon. It provides accuracy up to the nearest 10th of a gram. Perfect gift for the kitchen obsessed.

[via Wired]

Another soldier is using a transmitter to do the same thing. The transmitter and iPod use a very low powered system (normally used for rescue beacons) to transmit a pro-coalition message along with Iraqi pop-music. Religious extremeists in the area have recently cracked down on the transmission of certain types of music, so the broadcasts are more then likely welcome in the area.

[via Wired]

[Image via: Bluewave on Flickr]

The analyst said that while Apple is still strong, in the short term they may find it difficult to reach sales targets on the MacBook Pro, and the ever popular iPods. He also said that it’s appearing unlikely that Apple will release a new product at MacWorld this year, which would further reduce short term gains.

Frankly, while I’m not a big shot analyst, I think he’s wrong (so there). Apple is still very strong, and while they aren’t necessarily seeing the same levels of sales they saw a year ago (for obvious reasons), they are continuing with a very diverse product line, and in the long term is looking at steadily increasing market share. They’ve got the demand — I mean, who wouldn’t to find an iPod Touch under the tree?

In any case, the shares were down only 0.05% at market close today. Take that, analysts.

To me, this seems like a great thing. Now you have a reason to buy grandpa a copy of Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Or buy grandma a DS and a copy of Age of Empires. Or just play Starcraft until you get old.

I’ve always been impressed by hardware hackers. Whether it’s a simple DIY digital picture frame, or a full-scale conversion of a gasoline car to electric, there’s something about the “can do” spirit of these guys that really impresses me. I marvel at the stuff in Make Magazine on a regular basis.

Here’s something you probably won’t find in Make, though. The OpenEEG project “is about making plans and software for do-it-yourself EEG devices available for free (as in GPL).” “It is aimed toward amateurs who would like to experiment with EEG.” And who doesn’t?!

I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know much about EEGs. According to the OpenEEG website, the real thing costs several thousand dollars. The OpenEEG parts list suggests you can build a DIY EEG for about $200. What might you do with a homebrew EEG? Neurofeedback training, experiment with brain-computer interfaces, and maybe change your personality. Just in time for the holidays!