weekly

The Apple-Samsung patent infringement trial is on fire, with the presiding judge applying much of the heat.

Tension appeared to peak this week when U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh began yelling at Apple for trying to book too many witnesses in its last few hours.

"I am not going to be running around trying to get 75 pages of briefings for people who are not going to be testifying," Koh told Apple's lawyer Bill Lee.

"I mean come on. 75 pages! 75 pages! You want me to do an order on 75 pages, (and) unless … Read more

Every Thursday Apple reveals a new free app of the week. Some apps are likely to be used a lot, such as last week's free app, 360 Panorama. Other apps, like this week's Kayak Pro, may not sound like something you're going to use today, or even in the near future, but you should download it anyway. Why? As pointed out on Reddit, and then by The Next Web -- because it's free.

If you're not going to use the app right away, delete it from your iOS device. There's no point in letting … Read more

Too busy professing your love to "NASA Mohawk Guy" this week to keep up with Crave? Look this way, starry-eyed Mars watchers, and catch up on what you missed.

- Mohawk man wasn't the only part of the Curiosity story that had us curious. Do you think the rover will find signs of life? And why on earth (and the Red Planet) does the rover have measly 2MP cameras?

- As Lego turns 80, it seems no major modern news event can escape being Lego-ized.

- Evolta stackable battery lets you build a tower of gadget power.

- Got home-networking questions? We got home-networking answers. … Read more

Apple is using Samsung's own words against it in their high-stakes patent-infringement trial.

Apple pointed to an internal Samsung document highlighting the weaknesses of the Galaxy S1 compared with the iPhone as further evidence that Samsung has copied its work. The document, a "relative evaluation report" on the Galaxy S1 and iPhone published in March 2010 and unearthed by Apple, highlights where Samsung's flagship phone fell short of the iPhone.

Apple will draw on this document as proof that Samsung actively compared its products against the iPhone, and made strides to better mimic the blockbuster device. … Read more

Too busy decorating your new disaster-zone shipping container to keep up with Crave this week? Have a seat on your Cat Tunnel Sofa and take a moment to catch up on what you missed.

- Google Nexus 7 teardown reveals more hits than misses.

- Stop-motion Batman video stars action figures as actors. Eerie.

- Even eerier? A 3D-printed replica of your fetus.

- Ever start a sentence by saying "hashtag"? Stop that right now, says Eric Mack.

- Our gold-medal comic Low Latency goes to the Olympics. … Read more

It's been another brutal and busy week for Facebook, which saw its stock dip below $20 a share for the first time since its May IPO. And the bleeding just won't stop.

Facebook closed on Thursday just above $20 a share -- almost half the debut price. This despite Facebook's latest wave of selling, which began when Zynga spooked investors with its lousy earnings report last Wednesday and continued with Facebook's own unspectacular earnings. And word that some big boys have dumped the stock hasn't helped. The Wall Street Journal reported that Fidelity, one of … Read more

Too busy snoozing away in your Podtime Sleeping Pod this week to keep up with Crave? Wake up, sci-fi sleepyhead. It's time for our weekly roundup.

- What would the London Olympics be without a double-decker bus that does pushups?

- There are bargain bikes. And then there are $9 cardboard bargain bikes.

- Looking for a sub-$300 monitor? Some good choices.

- Mind your penmanship! It's back to school with Google Handwrite.

- Or you could just write with your eyes. … Read more

Apple disappointed Wall Street this week but enticed iPhone 5-eager consumers.

During its third fiscal quarter, which ran through June 30, Apple reported revenue of $35 billion and earnings of $8.8 billion, or $9.32 per share. Wall Street was expecting Apple to pull in earnings of $10.35 a share on revenue of $37.2 billion.

Apple sold 26 million iPhones during the quarter, which was down from the 29 million Wall Street expected, though up 28 percent from the same quarter last year. Apple broke its previous sales record of 15.43 million iPads, selling 17 million … Read more

We start our look at the week past by extending heartfelt condolences to the victims of yesterday's horrendous Aurora, Colo., shooting, and to their loved ones. We know many of our readers have been looking forward to the opening of "The Dark Knight Rises" for weeks -- if not months -- and this senseless tragedy floats serious clouds over an event that should have been a pure geek joyfest.

In other news we covered this week:

• DARPA found a way to fight fire with sound.

• Meet Sony's new Walkman lineup.

• Is this a Canon mirrorless camera? Maybe, maybe not.

• Dear Marissa Mayer, Please fix Flickr. XXOO, the Internet. … Read more