By Paul Thomson :: 8:26 PM
Microsoft’s Bing Maps received a major update that features more detailed imagery of the ocean floor.
New bathymetry data for Bing’s maps is based on data gathered from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. The map update also introduces new base satellite data from TerraColor with a higher resolution (15 meters per pixel), and new high-resolution satellite imagery that covers almost 14,000,000 square kilometers.
The ocean floor bathymetric imagery allows Bing Maps users to get a clearer view of the relief of the ocean floor. Topography of the ocean floor is represented by color shading (a range of dark blues to light blues) that indicate changes in ocean depth.
By Gilbert Falso :: 4:07 PM
Apple today has lost a ruling in a major ongoing patent dispute with rival Samsung Electronics.
A federal judge in California has thrown out a $450 million jury award for Apple, and ordered that a new trial be held to ascertain damages awarded against Samsung over a number of smartphone technologies.
By Cynthia Herbert :: 2:02 PM
The ongoing feud between Dish Network and CBS over Dish’s new commercial-skipping technology in its Hopper product
Dish and CBS made the news in January following the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) when CBS subsidiary CNET was forced to pull Dish’s Hopper from its awards categories. CNET has planned to award the “Best of CES” title to Dish’s Hopper With Sling device when CBS stepped in and quashed the honor. Much controversy ensued with claims from journalists about CBS not being able to be unbiased during the editorial process. One CNET writer resigned after the fray.
Yesterday, actress Kaley Cuoco, who stars on the CBS television show The Big Bang Theory, Tweeted a sponsored Tweet to her followers that endorsed Dish’s Hopper device. Because CBS is embroiled in a lawsuit against Dish over the technology, CBS ordered Cuoco to remove her Tweet. She did comply with their order, but not before thousands of her followers clicked on the link, according to a representative from Dish.
In addition to CBS, other networks including ABC, NBC and FOX are also suing Dish over the Hopper service.
A screenshot of Cuoco’s Tweet is below.
By Gilbert Falso :: 1:40 PM
Facebook sent a memo to the press today, inviting them to its headquarters next week for the unveiling of changes to the Facebook News Feed.
The event will happen at Facebook’s Menlo Park, Calif. headquarters on March 7th at 10AM pacific time. No details have been given, but Facebook has been known to make changes that the way pages and news streams behave on user pages. It is unknown if these new changes will be display-related, algorithm-related, or a mix of both.
In January, a TechCrunch reporter claimed to have viewed a new version of Facebook’s feed that showed an increased amount of white space with larger photo tiles featuring overlaid text.
As with all changes to Facebook’s news feed, it is expected that users will react quickly and negatively to any changes proposed. But we will have to wait and see for sure.
By Cynthia Herbert :: 1:29 PM
Rovio, the company behind Angry Birds, is working with Dreamworks to release a video game to support the upcoming movie launch of The Croods.
Game launch is set for March 14, two day before Rovio’s Angry Birds Toons premiers, and one week before the theatrical release of The Croods.
The Croods game will be available on both iOS and Android, and will take place during the same fictional “Croodaceous period†as the movie, and features the Croods crew “breaking out of the Stone Age with the use of a new r-evolutionary tool: the IDEA!â€
The movie will come to theaters on March 22, and stars Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, and Emma Stone. The Croods are the world’s first family, and the movie follows them as they embark on a journey and discover the new world outside their cave.