pool

A group of wireless-industry companies -- including AT&T, Clearwire, and HP -- have agreed to a patent pool that could mean fewer lawsuits over the use of LTE technology, Via Licensing Corporation announced today.

The technology-licensing company said it hopes more companies will join the program. In addition to AT&T, Clearwire, and HP, the initial companies contributing their patents to the pool are DTVG Licensing, KDDI, NTT DoCoMo, SK Telecom, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, and ZTE.

The LTE patents are so-called "frand," or standard-essential patents, which are technologies required to be licensed on "fair, … Read more

Packed into a simple interface, the game Pool! comes with limited playing options, but it will become the favorite time waster of those who like playing 8-ball in real life. No stunning effects here, just simple pool playing.

At first launch, pool players won't be surprised by the limited play option available and the lack of a Help file. The explanation is simply that you don't need any help, as the game is a no-brainer. Players can choose whether they play the game against the computer or a friend, and Options are limited to just enabling and disabling … Read more

Some things don't make sense. At least to one's eyes.

So when I saw the YouTube video I've embedded, I wondered whether it could possibly be real. Yet this purports to be a pool table on a cruise ship in rough water.

The poster claims that this pool table was a cruise ship called "Radiance of the Seas" on its way back from New Zealand last December.

I went to the Royal Caribbean site to check whether this might be true. And, indeed, there I found the boast that this is the first self-leveling pool … Read more

LAS VEGAS--One of the gadgets getting a little buzz here at CES is a spherical wireless waterproof speaker that floats in your pool.

It's called the Splash 100 and comes from Behringer, a German pro-audio company, which is surprising considering it will retail for a mere $99 when it comes out later this year.

We didn't get a chance to hear it yet (alas, the demo model didn't have sound) but it will allegedly have a 230-foot range (via a 900MHz RF signal) and deliver 3.5 hours of sound from its rechargeable battery.

Adding printers to OS X is a fairly straightforward process in which you go to the Print & Scan (or Print & Fax) system preferences and click the plus symbol in the printer list to add a printer. In many offices or even homes, printers may be available in separate locations, which you can add to your printer list so they will be available for your system. With multiple printers installed, you can select the desired one from the Printer drop-down menu when you invoke the print command in a program.

This setup is a fairly standard way of managing … Read more

Gameplay Pool Break features four main billiards modes: Pool, Snooker, Carrom, and Crokinole, each with their own variations (such as 8-ball in pool or Snooker 6-Reds) and table options. All of the modes feature options to either play solo, against the computer (appropriately named Droid), and network play. Pool Break Pro also includes manuals to explain the basics of each game for those new to the world of billiards.

Features Graphically, this game is gorgeous for an Android game. Pool Break simulates a full 3D environment with four scenes to choose from. Although the game runs extremely well, options are … Read more

Bet my 10-in-1 Swiss Army Knife that we're all multifunctional gadget geeks at heart, particularly when it's oh-so-cleverly conceived. So watch the video of this amazingly cool outdoor terrace, called the Mutandor, which can convert into--ready for this?--a swimming pool.

You'll probably never tire of showing this one off to your guests just for the priceless expressions on their faces. That's not all. Extreme Exclusive has eight other surprises with the Mutandor, which it says can serve as windscreens, a party hall, podium, pool cover, pool with movable pool floor, and more. Customized by Extreme … Read more

Daredevil Dave is a funny, quirky, stunt-based arcade game that offers limited gameplay but lots of heart.

The game's personality and humor--surely inspired by premillennial celebrity weirdo Super Dave Osborne--is evident from the main menu and the tutorial, as you play a self-absorbed and proudly reckless (but still somehow lovable) motorcycle daredevil, portrayed with pop-up cartoons and hyperbolic voice-over.

The game has 18 levels in all, ranging from more-conventional stunts involving trucks and flaming hoops to utterly ridiculous situations with lava, sharks, helicopters, and bombs. In each stunt, your goal is to hit the landing ramp as precisely as … Read more

When March Madness rolls around for college basketball fans, you can be the first person with a pool bracket ready to use thanks to this nicely designed app.

Turbo Tourney launches a colorful but functional window with a complete tournament ready to fill in. Adding schools to the pairings is a snap, although the method isn't initially intuitive--instead of entering names directly into the main display, you must first click an icon on the toolbar to pop up a box with all the pairings. The box includes drop-down lists with all the regions and school names, so entering is … Read more