Reorganize Team

It's time to reorganize the AznSpot (AsianLoad) Team. Starting now everyone will be stripped from their current positions/titles and a new team will be created. The reorganization is part of an operation to improve AznSpot and make things more efficient. Not that the current moderators were incapable. All of you have done an awesome job so far. We just want the best people in the right places.

All current moderators as well as new moderators are invited to (re)submit their moderator applications.
GoTo: http://aznspot.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=165409



~super admin/ dM
http://aznspot.com/forums
http://www.asianload.com


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Samsung shows Sony-inspired iPhone mockup

The latest in the Apple-Samsung legal drama: according to court documents filed by Samsung, Cupertino has indirectly ripped off Sony for its handset’s aesthetics by adopting the Japanese giant’s design language. The Galaxy maker points to a 2006 Businessweek interview with Sony’s product designers Takashi Ashida and Yujin Morisawa in order to establish prior art and prove that Sony’s design philosophy influenced the iPhone’s original design direction.



The iPod Godfather Tony Fadell apparently showed the Businessweek article to Apple’s late CEO Steve Jobs and design chief Jony Ive who then allegedly approved use of some of the ideas outlined in the interview for early iPhone mockups…

An excerpt from the Businessweek interview, describing Sony’s design philosophy:

The Sony spirit is about being original, not a copy. We generally don’t rely on surveys, because we’re always trying to make something that’s never been done before.

Not relying on surveys sounds very much Apple-like.

When Sony opened its first design center in 1961, the color theme was black and silver. The idea was to do away with excessive ornamentation. We’re continuing that tradition.

Samsung’s argument: Apple borrowed the simplified design that Sony first used for the Walkman NW-A1200 music player that designer Yujin Morisawa created by getting rid of the buttons and doing away with excessive ornamentation.

Of note here is Steve Jobs’ disdain for physical buttons. Asked to detail how much Apple’s iPod influenced Morisawa’s design for the Walkman NW-A1200, he responded:

When I started this project, that was my concern. I looked at the first Walkman [which debuted in 1979]. Then I thought, “How can I give shape to the music?” Music doesn’t have shape; it’s flowing. I was listening to music and waving my hand in the air. I thought there shouldn’t be an end to its lines. So I started drawing a round shape, and I kept moving the line.

My team had shown me their sketch: It was a square with a screen and buttons. Most other players have a screen and buttons. My first mock-up didn’t have buttons. I didn’t want buttons. With any digital-music player, the hard disk drive and chips are similar.

I thought, “How can we make the layout different?” I knew what would go inside, so I could start the design from the outside. I knew how big the hard disk drive would be, how many chips there would be.

John Paczkowski, writing for the Wall Street Journal-owned AllThingsD blog, cited Samsung’s trial brief which asserts that Apple stole the iPhone’s design from Sony:

Right after this article was circulated internally, Apple industrial designer Shin Nishibori was directed to prepare a “Sony-like” design for an Apple phone and then had CAD drawings and a three-dimensional model prepared.

Confirming the origin of the design, these internal Apple CAD drawings prepared at Mr. Nishibori‘s direction even had the “Sony” name prominently emblazoned on the phone design, as the below images from Apple‘s internal documents show.

Apple’s Sony-inspired iPhone mockup can be seen at the top of the article. Note that floating this mockup internally is not necessarily problematic in and of itself.

This, however, could be:

Soon afterward, on March 8, 2006, Apple designer Richard Howarth reported that, in contrast to another internal design that was then under consideration, Mr. Nishibori‘s “Sony-style” design enabled “a much smaller-looking product with a much nicer shape to have next to your ear and in your pocket” and had greater “size and shape/comfort benefits.”


Furthermore, Nishibori later confirmed in his deposition testimony that his Sony-inspired iPhone mockup “changed the course of the project that yielded the final iPhone design”. Samsung is leveraging this fact to instill the notion that there is enough prior art available to weaken Apple’s legal position. Samsung’s legal brief reads:

Samsung has used the very same public domain design concepts that Apple borrowed from other competitors, including Sony, to develop the iPhone.

Wow, this is getting more and more interesting.

Samsung previously asserted that Apple would have sold zero iPhones if it hadn’t been for its patented technology pertaining to wireless standards.

Court documents also show that Google tried to influence its partner Samsung not to copy the iPhone so much. Another ruling by a U.K. court today has it that Apple won’t be required to post free adverts for Samsung on its website and in British newspapers (saying the Galaxy tablets didn’t copy the iPad’s design) until at least October.

The high-stake Apple-Samsung lawsuit is scheduled to begin July 30.



Source: idownloadblog, theverge

FBI submits incomplete evidence in Megaupload's Kim Dotcom extradition case

The FBI has sparked a debate amongst the lawyers in Kim Dotcom's extradition hearing by submitting just 40 pages of emails out of the 22 million stored on Megaupload's servers.



The ongoing Megaupload saga continues, with arguments over what evidence Kim Dotcom will be allowed to see in order to prepare his defense. A New Zealand judge has ordered the FBI to copy 150TB of potential evidence that they seized from the Megaupload servers they seized, though it’s still unclear as to how much of the data Dotcom will be given access to. Now, it appears that the FBI has “cherry-picked” just 40 pages of evidence out of some 22 million emails stored on the cyberlocker site’s servers; they intend to hand over these 40 pages before an extradition hearing, sparking a heated disagreement between the prosecutors and Dotcom’s defense lawyers that could delay that hearing.

The head of Dotcom’s legal team has said that the summary document is inadequate; the legal team is being forced to argue their case with “their hands tied behind their backs.” The Crown Prosecutor for New Zealand, however, has said that having all the information for a hearing that merely determines whether or not Dotcom can be tried in the US is unnecessary. If the case does indeed proceed to an American court, this issue will be argued again, delaying any trial even further.

The Department of Justice has suffered some major criticism for their handling of the case against the eccentric Dotcom; the criticism stems from many areas, including the use of illegal search warrants in order to secure the evidence for the case as well as their refusal to return non-infringing material to the Megaupload users. The Department of Justice is still charging Dotcom with running what they call an “international organized criminal enterprise,” though at this rate an actual trial is still a long way off.



Source: vr-zone

Megaupload User Asks Court To Order Return Of His Data

Months after the Megaupload raids and arrests, the fate of the data stored on the site’s 1,103 seized servers is still unclear. Many Megaupload users want their accounts returned because they contain irreplaceable information, but they have been waiting in vain. Today the EFF has filed a motion on behalf of Megaupload user Kyle Goodwin, which demands that the court finally comes up with a solution.

In the wake of the January shutdown of Megaupload, many of the site’s legitimate users complained that their personal files had been lost.

Behind the scenes Megaupload negotiated with the Department of Justice and other parties to allow these users to temporarily access their files. When these negotiations failed last month the court was asked to provide a solution, but in response it instructed the parties to reach an agreement on their own.

However, a month has passed and absolutely no progress has been made on the issue according to a document filed today by the EFF.

Representing Kyle Goodwin, a sports reporter who used Megaupload to store work-related files, the EFF has filed a motion in which it demands that the court finds a workable solution for the return of his data. Goodwin already requested the court to assist in a document filed early April, but he is tired of waiting.

According to the motion, the seizure of the data and domains violate the constitutional rights of many innocent Megaupload users.

“In seizing domain names and executing the search warrant at Carpathia, the government took constructive possession of third parties’ data, then abandoned the data under circumstances in which it was both inaccessible and potentially subject to destruction,” the motion reads.

“It is equally obvious that the seizure and continued denial of access violates Mr. Goodwin’s constitutional rights. Under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, the government was obligated to execute the searches and seizures in a manner that reasonably protected the rights of third parties to access and retrieval.”

The motion also emphasizes that this request is not just about a single Megaupload user, there are many more who find themselves in a similar position.

“To be clear, however, there is more at stake here than Mr. Goodwin’s data. The government also seized the property of an unknown but significant number of other people along with Mr. Goodwin’s property. If the Court does not act, all of those people also face years of deprivation, if not permanent loss.”

The EFF further points out that the government has gone too far in its actions.

“What is worse, the government’s procedure and legal posture in this case appears to reflect a broader disregard for the effects its increasing use of domain and other digital seizure mechanisms can have on the innocent users of cloud computing services.”

The motion concludes by asking the court to appoint an independent third-party to investigate the exact requirements and options for a user data retrieval.

Aside from asking the court to come up with a solution for Megaupload users, the EFF suggests that the court should prescribe procedures and standards on how similar data seizures should be handled in the future.


Source: ☆´¯`¤itzjohn¤´¯`... & Torrentfreak

Rumor: Samsung Galaxy Tab 11.6 with 2560x1600-pixel screen to be announced tomorrow

Just as Apple release their third-generation iPad, new rumors are surfacing that the official announcement of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 11.6 might happen as soon as, well, tomorrow! The new tablet is said to sport an insane 11.6-inch screen with a resolution of, what for it, 2560x1600. Blowing Apple's 2048x1536 resolution right out of its tree.



The rumor is based on an "unnamed source" close to the matter, who has confirmed to Pocket-link that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 11.6 will be announced tomorrow at an event in Texas. Samsung had mentioned earlier that it will be making a "special announcement" at the event in question tomorrow, so let's cross those fingers and toes, ladies and gentlemen.

Samsung would most likely feature the Galaxy Tab 11.6 with their Exynos 5250 chip, sporting a dual-core 2GHz processor, which is built on the more power-efficient, 32nm-based technology. This would definitely be a one-up for Samsung, to rub the salt in the wound of Apple. Just when I was coming to the point where I thought I'd get myself the new Asus transformer Trinity 700... maybe I'll have to get the new Samsung Pad ?

So, while we’d probably be as happy as anyone to see the rumor come out true, we have to advise against taking it too seriously.



Thanks Source #1 Source #2