November 30, 2009
Apple sues power adapter knockoff maker
ZD Net
Jim Dalrymple writes that Apple is suing Media Solutions Holdings over realizing the company is allegedly making knockoffs of its power adapter products.
“Apple filed the lawsuit against Media Solutions Holdings in the California Central District Court on Monday, according to InformationWeek. Apple claims the power adapters violate a patent the company holds on the design of its own adapters. The power adapters in question come with Apple’s MacBook and MacBook Pro line of notebooks. Apple also sells the adapters separately for $79 from its online and retail stores.”
More evidence of the coming collision between home broadband and the smart grid
ZD Net
Heather Clancy offers her predictions on the technology trends that may make headway in 2010.
“One trend I believe will pick up steam in 2010 is technologies and alliances that bring the current home broadband infrastructure and the emerging smart grid infrastructure closer together. After all, as more homes embrace high-speed Internet access (wired OR wireless), it makes sense that smart meters and other smart grid devices communicate via what is already in place. Here are some of the consumer-level applications that will be possible: remote management of thermostats from an Internet browse, iPhone or other mobile phones … (and) automation applications that, for example, would let you set up thermostat configurations for your air-conditioning or heating systems.”
The cloud computing battleground takes shape. Will it be winner-take-all?
ZD Net
Dion Hinchcliffe writes about vendors in the cloud computing market space.
“It’s unclear how the cloud computing vendor landscape is going to shape up. Everyone is in early days yet with only Amazon with anything approaching operational maturity, with Google and Force.com vying for the lower end of the enterprise. Making long-term decisions isn’t a good idea in this environment, though using cloud computing tactically does make good sense at this point, especially if you’re experimenting with private cloud technology that will likely translate well to public clouds. The bottom line: The cloud computing wars are just beginning and the stakes are enormous as an estimated $350 billion to a $1 trillion dollar new business and technology market heats up.”