copying

Microsoft hit by patent lawsuit over Skype

Microsoft's ownership of Skype has placed it in the crosshairs of a patent lawsuit.

CopyTele, a company that calls itself "specialists in patent monetization and patent assertion," launched its suit today, alleging that some of the technology used in Skype violates patents owned by its subsidiary, Secure Web Conference Corp.

In its complaint, CopyTele is asserting the infringement of two U.S patents -- "Method and apparatus for securing e-mail attachments" and "Portable telecommunication security device," both granted in 2005.

Both patents concern secure Web-based peer-to-peer communications, such as those used by Skype. … Read more

How to manually verify copied files in OS X

When you copy files from one location to another in OS X, the system should run a number of checks to validate the data and ensure that it was copied correctly; however, if you are using third-party utilities to copy a file, you might be concerned about potential corruption.

MacFixIt reader Douglas recently wrote in with such a concern.

I was wondering if there is any way to verify a copy of files from one hard drive to another? I used SuperDuper to copy one of my RAIDs to another RAID; it was 7TB of stuff and took two days … Read more

Zynga: Oh, sure we copy other people's games

There are those who adore playing Zynga's online games.

What else are they going to do? Work? Live? Love? Naked handstands in public?

Yet somehow the fascination of managing your own farm for fun has never seemed entirely entertaining to me. It's always felt like a social carbuncle.

Zynga VP Dan Porter, however, managed to entertain Wednesday night at a panel discussion in New York.

As Quartz so helpfully reports, he offered this rather beautiful nugget of joy: "Zynga is often accused of copying games, which is mostly true."

Porter was clear to explain what he … Read more

Easy DVD Converter converts or rips scenes from your DVDs

AoA Media's Easy DVD Converter can convert entire DVDs or just the parts you want, and save them in a wide range of formats, including high-quality files, widely compatible file types, and even Flash video for sharing online. It can also extract and save audio tracks from DVD movies. Easy DVD Converter is shareware that is free to try, though the trial version limits conversions to 10 minutes of video. The latest release, Version 3.0, features a new engine, and it's also compatible with Windows 8.

Easy DVD Converter's user interface is small and fairly plain, … Read more

Active ISO Burner packs a lot into a simple interface

To burn discs with your PC, you need two things. The first is a CD burner, or (better) a DVD burner, or (better still) a Blu-Ray burner. The second is disc-burning software. For the first, you're probably limited by the burner you already own, and your burner's capabilities will determine what kinds of disc you can burn, how much and what kind of data they can hold, and how long it takes to burn them. But for the second requirement, the burning tool, you have a lot more choices, and a lot of them are free. Active Data … Read more

Keep your Blu-rays and DVDs, Hollywood -- I've gone digital

It had been years since I actually bought a DVD or a Blu-ray copy of a movie. But over Christmas, I bought one. I really wanted those extra features that a physical disk provides. Why not get a Blu-ray with a digital copy, I thought, and have the best of both worlds?

Why not turned out to be because redeeming digital copies is a nightmare. Are you getting a copy for iTunes? Or for Amazon? Or whatever on earth UltraViolet is supposed to be, something that finally crashed into my awareness as a new Blu-ray owner?

The film in … Read more

When it comes to patient records, doctors guilty of the old copy-paste

Ah, the old copy/paste. Such a handy keyboard shortcut for such a wide range of applications. But would you want your doctor using it while maintaining your oh-so-personal and unique-to-you medical records?

Because chances are good that your doc does, according to new research out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Excuse me while I take a moment to summarize, rather than copy and paste, some key findings from the research.

Assistant professor of medicine and lead author Daryl Thornton and his team scrutinized 2,068 electronic patient progress reports at an ICU in Cleveland. Some 62 … Read more

Connect to your Apple gadget with CopyTrans Drivers Installer

Breaking free from the closed-in world of Apple is easy if you have the right tools. CopyTrans Drivers Installer is a good first step toward unlocking more of your Apple gadget's potential without jailbreaking it. It gives you the right tools to start using third-party downloads with your iPod, iPhone, or iPad.

Upon downloading the ZIP file you will be given two options for installing this software: automatic and manual, which is for advanced users. If you have iTunes already installed you will get an error message. Keep in mind that once you go down the road of third-party … Read more

Back up your USB drives automatically with USBFlashCopy

With USB flash drives you can back up and transfer tons of data, but what happens when you lose one? If you're like most people, that's when you think about data backups. But obviously the best time to back up your USB drive is before you lose it. That's what Imposant's USBFlashCopy is for. This portable tool automatically backs up your USB drives to your system's hard drive when you insert them. It can copy all your data or just what you tell it to. USBFlashCopy's Basic Mode is free for noncommercial use.

USBFlashCopy … Read more