electronic devices

In a patent drama just getting under way, Nokia has added a new twist in its case against Apple. On Tuesday, Nokia said it filed a new complaint against the iPhone maker for infringing on its patents in virtually all of Apple's mobile phones, portable music players, and computers.

Back in the old days, judges warned jurors to stay away from newspapers and dictionaries and not to discuss their case around the family dinner table or with friends.

Those were the good ole days, judges and lawyers say.

The days before Google, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, Wikipedia and MapQuest opened up the world for all to see, and before BlackBerries and iPhones became an ubiquitous part of everyday life.

Two weeks ago, a domestic-violence victim in California tracked down a juror in her boyfriend's trial through MySpace to try to convince her to acquit the man.

The final assault on a class-action settlement that would expand Google Inc.'s already vast digital library has been delayed until next week.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin extended the deadline until 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) Tuesday for protesting or supporting the landmark deal that revolves around Google converting millions of copyrighted books so they can be read on computers and other electronic devices.

The Obama administration on Thursday put new restrictions on searches of laptops at U.S. borders to address concerns that federal agents have been rummaging through travelers' personal information.

The long-criticized practice of searching travelers' electronic devices will continue, but a supervisor now would need to approve holding a device for more than five days. Any copies of information taken from travelers' machines would be destroyed within days if there were no legal reason to hold the information.

Business software maker Oracle Corp. said Thursday it has received the Justice Department's approval to move forward with its $7.4 billion acquisition of former dot-com-era star Sun Microsystems Inc.

The deal still needs the go-ahead from the European Commission.

Clearance by the Justice Department had been held up over questions about the licensing of Java, a programming language that Sun invented that now runs on more than 7 billion electronic devices around the world, including cell phones and personal computers.

Like that gadget you use as a phone, music player, Web browser and camera?

For Olympic fundraisers, it's a headache.

The dizzying pace of technological change is creating sticky issues for the International Olympic Committee. To put on the games, the IOC relies heavily on big money sponsors who are willing to shell out tens of millions of dollars because each is the only company making a certain type of product allowed to wrap itself in the Olympic rings.

Panasonic gets audio/video, Samsung gets wireless communication, Acer gets computers -- and so on up to 12 top-tier sponsors.

The Palm Pre has a large touch screen, slide-out keyboard and fast Web browsing. Palm also likes to point out the smartphone's ability to link to iTunes, Apple's music and media store.

But Apple wants to make sure the iPhone is the only cell phone that can do that. So it changed its software to block the Pre's access to iTunes.

Irvine [Calif.]-based Lantronix Inc., a maker of networking gear for industrial uses, is looking to connect with customers through a social networking advertising campaign.

The company, which makes small electronic devices that allow vending machines, thermostats, retail terminals, ATMs and other machines to be accessed via the Internet or other computer networks, is looking to LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs to promote its brand online.

Yesterday afternoon I spoke to Tod Arbogast, Dell’s Director of Sustainable Business. Our conversation turned to the issue of whether or not a culture which consumes PCs at the rate that we do can ever really be sustainable. In other words, as I put it to Tod – 100 years from now, how on earth are we going to continue manufacturing computers (just as an example) for all the billions of people who are going to be using them?

The majority of modern-day electronics use a variety of potentially toxic chemicals, like arsenic, lead and mercury. While those chemicals are safely contained within pour electronic devices, if disposed of improperly into a landfill, they can leach those toxins into the ground and water table.