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Tag: live tiles

  • Windows 8 Is Already Bringing Out The Patent Trolls

    Every new technology brings with it the risk of patent litigation. It’s an unfortunate reality that we must face. Windows 8 may have a broken a record, however, as its already on the receiving end of patent litigation after being available for less than a week.

    Prior Smart reports that SurfCast, a Portland-based OS development company, has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft over its Live Tiles technology in Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.

    So what does SurfCast’s patents cover? A “system and method for simultaneous display of multiple information sources.” The first patent was granted to them in 2004. The company’s own Web site says just as much in their description.

    SurfCast designs Operating System technology and has four issued patents with additional applications pending.

    SurfCast designed a new concept referred to as ‘Tiles’.

    Tiles can be thought of as dynamically updating icons. A Tile is different from an icon because it can be both selectable and live — containing refreshed content that provides a real-time or near-real-time view of the underlying information.

    Tiles can provide dynamic bookmarking — an at-a-glance view of the current status of the program, file, or content associated with it.

    Tiles enable people to have all their content, applications, and resources, regardless of whether on their mobile device, tablet, computer, or in their Cloud — visualized persistently — dynamically updating.

    That sure sounds a lot like Live Tiles, and the concept art from both SurfCast’s and Microsoft’s patents look remarkably similar. To be honest, SurfCast may actually have a case. It all depends on their arguments if Microsoft decides to fight this.

    SurfCast names the entire line of Windows 8 software and hardware in its suit. Microsoft may have to pay a pretty penny if the lawsuit moves forward in court. The company may just settle out of court though.

    It is strange that SurfCast has waited this long to bring its suit forward. Microsoft has been talking Live Tiles since Windows 8 was introduced and its own patent for Live Tiles has been around since April 2011. It’s also strange that SurfCast, despite having its own patent for Tiles since 2004, has not done a single thing with said patents.

    It’s in these cases that patents for non-existent products should be reviewed and terminated. Patents should only be protected when the technologies detailed within them are used in actual products. Cybersquatting is punishable by law, so why is patent squatting tolerated?

    [h/t: The Next Web]

  • Windows 8 Gets The Start Button Back With This App

    A lot of people, including yours truly, don’t like Windows 8 all that much. Most of our frustration comes from the fact that the newest OS forces you to boot into the Metro Windows 8 UI. It also got rid of the start button because Microsoft wanted to save space. Well, a new open source app will make all your Windows 8 troubles go away.

    The app is called Classic Shell, and it does as the name suggests. It allows users to insert the Start button back into the desktop on Windows 8. There are other apps that do the same thing, but this one gives you a choice. Users can choose between a variety of start menus including the classic Start menu from the mid-90s.

    In even better news, Classic Shell is also able to prevent Windows 8 from booting into the new UI. In my experience, I’ve found the new UI to only slow down my PC. Eliminating it from the boot process will only be a good thing.

    There are some people who enjoy Windows 8 and its Live Tile UI, but a lot of people also hate it. It’s unfortunate that Microsoft seems to be completely ignoring their customers that hate the UI that Windows 8 is forcing upon them. There should have been an option from the beginning that allows desktop users to just stick with the classic interface without having to interact with the Live Tiles.

    Until Microsoft reverses course and actually starts caring about desktop users, apps like this are going to be our best bet. We can only hope that Microsoft won’t try to shut down these apps that provide a necessary for us curmudgeons that don’t want anything to do with Microsoft’s vision of “progress.”

    You can download the latest version of Classic Shell over at Sourceforge. If you’re feeling helpful, you can contribute to the open source project to make it even better.

    [h/t: The Register]

  • Windows Phone 8 Start Screen Is A Living Ecosystem Of Delight

    The iPhone was pretty cool when it launched. Apps were revolutionary and it changed how we interact with mobile devices. Android took it one step further by having Live wallpapers and widgets that move and delight with flashing colors. Surprisingly, Windows Phone 8 differentiates itself and looks awesome at the same time.

    Microsoft revealed Windows Phone 8 today and it’s actually really cool. If you’ve seen the Windows 8 Metro desktop environment, then you should have an idea of what to expect with the mobile version. It still has the same live tile-based home screen that we see in Metro, but it’s far more alive than the name suggests.

    It’s hard to explain without actually seeing it, so check it out. We’ll compare notes after the video:

    So let’s first look at the actual function of the new start screen. Users will be able to customize the size of the live tiles to their liking. A large tile will display a preview of a new message whereas a medium sized tile will display the number of messages plus an emoticon getting happier as it receives more messages. The small tile will simply display a number next to a speech bubble. These kind of notifications will apply to every app and change depending on the size.

    Once you move past the functionality, it looks like live tiles will be a lot of fun. As much as I hate Metro on desktops, I absolutely adore it on mobile platforms. It was built for mobile and Microsoft really nailed the simplistic blocky design that really sets it apart from the other platforms.

    The redesigned live tiles are obviously a major selling point of Windows Phone 8. It’s too bad that Windows Phone 7 users can’t upgrade to 8 without buying a new phone. Thankfully, Microsoft isn’t that heartless and cruel. They will be providing the new live tiles in the Windows Phone 7.8 update coming out later this year.

    Microsoft just keeps on showing that they know how to design a sexy piece of software (and hardware). They only face one tiny problem – the entrenched power of iOS and Android. Will a pretty start screen be able to draw users away from the mobile juggernauts? Well, they almost have swayed me away from Android, so who knows?