After an interesting battle with the FCC, LightSquared, and subsequently Sprint, who had announced a plan to partner with LightSquared for 4G LTE, the company has been dealt a crippling blow. The FCC has suspended a waiver granted to them in 2010, that would allow them to build-out their LTE network. The waiver was revoked over concerns that the spectrum used by LightSquared would be dangerously close to navigational GPS, and that it could affect up to 75% of GPS signals.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, in a letter,

What does LightSquared have to say about all of this? Hit the break.

---

cnet:FCC suspends LightSquared waiver over GPS interference

rss comments (0) permalink

---

Microsoft has made a bold move this week, announcing the end of an era; the most inappropriate branding in the tech industry. For the past 20 years, Microsoft has used a flag to denote its Windows line of products, but it didn't used to be that way and won't be that way much longer.

Paula Scher, from the Pentagram design agency, asked the Windows team a very simple, but important question:

Indeed. So, how do you solve that problem? You return to Windows origins, as so much of the consideration for Windows 8 and the Metro UI in general has done, and re-imagine the original logo with a modern flare. The new logo features live tiles, the foundation for the Metro interface, arranged to form a window. When compared against the existing Windows logo, it seems a huge departure, but when compared against the original Windows logo, everything over the last 20 years seems to be the departure from the sane.

Hit the break to see the new logos side-by-side, along with the current Windows logo.

---

Windows Team Blog:Redesigning the Windows Logo

rss comments (0) permalink

---

As if Kodak doesn't have enough trouble on its own, Apple has asked the bankruptcy court for permission to sue the struggling company, again. Apple believes that Kodak's importing of some products, including printers and digital cameras, infringes on patents held by Apple.

While this is not the first time Apple and Kodak have gone head-to-head in court, it is certainly the most interesting. First, Apple wants to bar the importing of products Kodak has announced it will no longer manufacture. While we all know Apple is a company known for suing instead of innovating, it would seem that trying to block the import of non-existent product would be a waste of time, granted the printers will still exist.

Secondly, what patents could Apple possibly hold on digital imaging that the inventors of digital imaging could possibly be infringing on? Kodak has been involved in digital imaging since before Steve Jobs was openly involved with fruit. How could Apple believe they hold a patent on the technology? I guess only time will tell, if this case is allowed to go to court.

---

Reuters:Apple seeks court permission to sue Kodak

rss comments (0) permalink

---

It has been an interesting week at Google. Last week, it was discovered that there were two security flaws in Google Wallet. This week, the laughably-easy to exploit issue was addressed by the search giant quickly and publicly.

It started with Google shutting down provisioning of pre-paid cards, the important step in stealing a user's information, until they were able to find and fix the issue. Google has issued a hotfix to prevent re-provisioning of existing pre-paid cards and restored access to pre-paid cards in general.

To find out what Google said about the issue and find details on the "fix," hit the break.

---

The Washington Post:Google Wallet security bug fixed

rss comments (0) permalink

---

This week, a few new vulnerabilities were discovered in Google Wallet. The first requires that the device be rooted to allow someone near you to enable the stealing of a Google Wallet PIN. That exploit is about as easy to take advantage of as the last one we discussed, so we won't go into a lot of detail.

For those who do not know, Google Wallet allows for payment through a Citi Mastercard, a gift card or a Google prepaid card. The Google card allows you to tie any other form of payment, credit or debit from any company, as the funding method, allowing for payment through virtually any card. This third payment method, plus Google's tendency to not think before they act, are what allow a thief access to your money.

To find out how and hear Google's response, hit the break.

---

PCWorld:Google Wallet Flaw Allows Digital Pickpocket

rss comments (0) permalink

---