palm

Former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein calls sale to HP 'a waste'

Nearly three years after Palm sold itself to Hewlett-Packard, the mobile device maker's former chief executive expressed regret about the deal, calling it "a waste."

When asked if there was something he have done differently with the rollout of the WebOS mobile operating system, Jon Rubinstein told Fierce Wireless in a story published Tuesday that the HP acquisition spelled the end for Palm's mobile OS. And if he had known then what he knows now, Rubinstein said, it's very unlikely he would have agreed to the deal.

"Talk about a waste," said Rubinstein, … Read more

Ex-Palm chief joins Qualcomm's board

Qualcomm has added a former mobile chief to its board, naming Jonathan Rubinstein as a new director.

Rubinstein brings more than 30 years of experience in the mobile, computing, and consumer electronics industries, the chipmaker said, most notably as CEO of Palm. Rubinstein joined the company as executive chairman in 2007 and took over the role of CEO from June 2009 until it was bought by Hewlett-Packard in 2010.

Rubinstein then continued at HP, most recently leading product innovation for the personal systems group after the company largely wound down Palm's operations. Earlier in his career, Rubinstein ran Apple'… Read more

Apple pays $10M to license Palm, other patents

Apple may once have called Palm's patents essentially worthless, but it doesn't seem to think that anymore.

The company reportedly spent 1 billion yen, or $10 million, to license patents from Access Co., a Japanese company that makes software for mobile devices, set-top boxes, and other products. Access acquired PalmSource, the owner of the Palm operating system, in late 2005.

A Google translation, via the Japanese-language Macotakara blog, notes the agreement was signed on March 31 and covers smartphone patents from Palm, PalmSource, Bell Communications Research, and Geoworks.

We've contacted Apple and Access and will update the … Read more

The 404 1,241: Where we rip from the rich and seed to the poor (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- The first call from a cell phone was made 40 years ago today.

- The Verge interviews Marty Cooper, father of the cell phone.

- Recalling 1993: Step back 20 years in NYC's past.

- Catching up with the TV show release group responsible for recording, distributing torrents.… Read more

The 404 1,236: Where we're hidden in plain sight (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Cell phone towers disguised as trees are a puzzling attempt at aesthetics.

- You know you're rich when you have the luxury of turning down an iPad.

Bathroom break video: ASMR keyboard raindrops… Read more

The 404 1,209: Where we chalk it up to cosmic coincidence (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Fiery meteor explodes over Russia's Ural Mountains; 1,100 injured as shock wave breaks windows.

- Watch asteroid 2012 DA14 fade out via streaming video.

- Iceland wants to ban Internet porn.

- Chubby Checker in a twist over an old app.

- One Direction's new toothbrush streams sound vibrations through your teeth.… Read more

Chubby Checker in twist over app that checked, um...

A lot of apps are designed by boys.

Because a lot of boys are quite linear, they design largely with boys in mind.

Boys then buy these apps, which are often based on relatively puerile forms of humor and behavior, for which boys are quite renowned.

However, occasionally boys design with girls in mind. And therein lies disaster.

One such disaster has affected Chubby Checker's pants. For he has them in a twist about an app that's called, well, Chubby Checker. (Must I explain the derivation?)… Read more

Apple, Google, and the e-mail trail in the no-poaching case

Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe, and other companies had agreements in place during the mid-2000s not to steal employees from each other and other technology players, court documents suggest.

A series of e-mails posted today by The Verge point to a paper trail of apparent non-poaching agreements among a variety of companies.

The revelation follows a civil lawsuit filed in 2011 by five workers against Apple, Google, and others alleging that the companies purposely tried to keep down wages through non-poaching agreements.

The civil suit is being weighed by Judge Lucy Koh to determine if it can move forward as a class action suit, … Read more

Forget passwords. Your palm could be key to security

Passwords could become a thing of the past if new technology from Intel makes its way to laptops and mobile devices, Reuters reports.

The traditional security method, even when linked to different verification methods, remains an exploit that cybercriminals can pursue. Connectivity online often means that users will keep to the same password, or similar variants -- and once one account is breached, that information can be used to tap into financial information, online payment systems, or sensitive work documents.

But if Intel's prototype "Client-Based Authentication Technology" is successful, biometrics may be the latest defense against cyberattacks.… Read more

School cafeteria's palm scanner is 'mark of beast,' says parent

Technology is taken for granted by those who design it, grow up with it, or worship it as if it's a digital deity.

Yet not everyone believes that, for example, giving 24-Hour Fitness your fingerprint in order to lose a little blubber is such a natural, safe act.

Take certain parents at Moss Bluff Elementary School in Louisiana. Their arms are raised up high in celestial fright at the school's heathen attempts to introduce a palm scanner into the cafeteria.

As KPLC-TV reports it, the parents see the devil in the details.

Mamie Sonnier, a very concerned parent, … Read more