There's not much upon which I agree with the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). So, consider me a little surprised (and somewhat suspicious) that the group has filed an amicus brief suggesting that the East Texas docket is handling too many patent cases and hasn't transferred cases that clearly should be transferred. This is a similar issue to a ruling we recently noted at the appeals court level pushing for easier transfer of cases to more convenient locations. While it's nice to see the AIPLA come out and basically admit that patent holders have been forum shopping and abusing the court system to get favorable rulings, the cynic in me says that they're doing this as a way to tell Congress that patent reform isn't needed (since forum shopping is one aspect of patent reform under consideration).

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One of the recurring themes of our site is convergence (makes sense, with a name like Mashable). I could give at least thirty examples of convergence between two or more different mediums or services that have been mentioned in the last couple of days or so, but one that hasn’t really been talked about is the merging of analogue and digital. This is the domain of Emma Cott, who is doing this not really as programmer or as a Web 2.0 startup in the traditional sense, but as a fashion designer.

The concept is simple, and is based around the technology known as QR codes. As an American, I was only marginally aware of what these things were, having seen them on packing slips and such in the past, but I’ve seen them discussed here and there before. Essentially, what they are, I’ve found out, is a barcode like system that encodes everything (numbers, alphanumeric characters and even binary data) into this little box-like code. It’s designed so that you can take a quick snapshot with the grade camera that typically comes on a mobile phone.

The mashup part comes in where you have a number of options in getting your apparrel from the site - you can pick which social network you wish to showcase, and your ‘motivation’ (that is to say, dating, marketing, selling, etc), and it will generate the QR code, put a bit of message around it, and smack it on a Spreadshirt for you to immediately purchase.

Simple, but interesting, and in Japan and parts of Europe, maybe even useful. I don’t think the QR code craze has hit America quite as hard as it has hit there (and Stan, our European editor tells me that where he is, it isn’t a thing of familiarity for the culture), but it easily could, it looks like, as the mobile software to interpret the codes are freely available.

Sure, it may be gimmicky, and it may be a bit of a simple hack, but it worked for me. I’ve got a shirt headed my way instructing all who see it to “Follow Me,” with the QR code underneath containing my Twitter profile.

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Words cannot do justice to what you’re about to see. Our favorite dude with two 30 inch LCDs and a lot of LED lights in his room, Chris Pirillo, has had….an incident. He might not be able to do the live stream any more. I’m at a loss for words here, I’ve spent my year’s supply of napkins, I’ve been playing Leonard Cohen’s late works all morning…it’s just so sad to see a legend like Chris go offline.

You can see Chris’ shocking testimony in the video below.

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Filed under: Cellphones

April 14th -- just like we expected, that's the date T-Mobile subscribers will gain access to the WiFi totin' BlackBerry Pearl 8120. Unlike AT&T's offering, that's WiFi for voice and data thanks to T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home service. EDGE data, 2 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, 3.5-mm headphone jack, SureType keyboard, and microSD / SDHC expansion for your multimedia round out the specs quite nicely. Now all we need is the price, right T-Mob?

 

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Filed under: Cellphones

April 14th -- just like we expected, that's the date T-Mobile subscribers will gain access to the WiFi totin' BlackBerry Pearl 8120. Unlike AT&T's offering, that's WiFi for voice and data thanks to T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home service. EDGE data, 2 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, 3.5-mm headphone jack, SureType keyboard, and microSD / SDHC expansion for your multimedia round out the specs quite nicely. Now all we need is the price, right T-Mob?

 

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What it does

Newgrounds.com is a site that brings together the best new homemade Flash movies and games. Members submit their Flash projects to the site, where other users can view the games and videos and provide feedback. The projects with the most favorable ratings are placed high in the rankings where Newgrounds.com visitors can easily find them, while the worst of the worst earn the “BLAM!” title and are deleted. The next-to-the-worst may receive the coveted “Turd of the Week” award (there are awards for good things too). There is also an Audio Portal, where musicians can post any original music they would like to see included in games or movies, and Flash programmers can find free music to use in projects. There are other tools and opportunities for collaboration provided, including a forum and private messaging system. You can add your favorite artists or projects to your Favorites page, and there are several “secrets,” which are simply additional features provided to members as a reward their work on and participation in the site.

In their own words

“Newgrounds is a website for people who love to make Flash games and movies and those who love them. The focal point of NG is the Flash Portal, where users submit their homemade games and movies so that other users may view and critique them. We also offer resources for artistic collaborations such as an Audio Portal where musicians can submit their music to be used freely in games and movies.”

Why it might be a killer

According to Newgrounds.com, the site is already seeing about 500,000 unique visitors each day. The site is likely appealing to programmers because it’s a free way to get lots of views and feedback, as well as a site for collaboration. Non-programmers can still enjoy the site for all the original videos and games constantly being added.

Some questions

Is there anything in place to help protect the many videos, games, and audio clips posted from unauthorized copying or use? Will some Flash authors be frustrated by the limits on file size upload and how many files may be uploaded per day?

Updates


 » original news

Filed under: Gaming

Aside from planning to axe 400 jobs as part of Sega Sammy's most recent "turnaround efforts," the outfit will also be closing the doors to its Korean subsidiary. Currently, Sega Korea is "handling the domestic distribution and sales of video game software, as well as the operation / sales of amusement facilities and machines," and reportedly, the closure will be executed in the name of "global business optimization." As it stands, there's no set date for the branch's dissolution, but just in case your smile wasn't turned upside-down already, the company also stated that it would discontinue the development of a ginormous $330m arcade complex slated for construction in Yokohama, Japan -- if you couldn't guess, that one's being shuttered so the firm can "focus its efforts on its core business to improve its performance" in short order. Seriously though, what the hell kind of company would spend $330m on arcade, anyway?

[Via Joystiq, image courtesy of USMC]

 

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Filed under: Gaming

Aside from planning to axe 400 jobs as part of Sega Sammy's most recent "turnaround efforts," the outfit will also be closing the doors to its Korean subsidiary. Currently, Sega Korea is "handling the domestic distribution and sales of video game software, as well as the operation / sales of amusement facilities and machines," and reportedly, the closure will be executed in the name of "global business optimization." As it stands, there's no set date for the branch's dissolution, but just in case your smile wasn't turned upside-down already, the company also stated that it would discontinue the development of a ginormous $330m arcade complex slated for construction in Yokohama, Japan -- if you couldn't guess, that one's being shuttered so the firm can "focus its efforts on its core business to improve its performance" in short order. Seriously though, what the hell kind of company would spend $330m on arcade, anyway?

[Via Joystiq, image courtesy of USMC]

 

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Sir Richard Branson has announced on the Google Blog Virgle, a joint Google/ Virgin project to establish permanent human settlement on Mars.

Sir Richard writes:

Larry Page, Sergey Brin and I feel strongly that contemporary technology is sufficiently advanced to make such an effort both successful and economical, and that it’s high time that humanity moved beyond Earth and began our great, long journey to explore the stars and establish our first lasting foothold on another world…In the years to come, we’ll be sending up a series of spaceships carrying (along with the supplies and tools needed to build the new colony) what eventually will be hundreds of Mars colonists, or Virgle Pioneers — myself among them.

Virgle is currently taking applications on its site here. The official site also includes a 100 year plan for Mars Settlement and a statement explaining the benefits of the project being Open Source.

Update: there’s also a YouTube competition and official video channel. Page and Brin explain:

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0