Month: June 2018

Comcast Enters Bidding War for Fox, Disney Ups Offer

Comcast’s $65 billion cash bid for 21st Century Fox has forced Disney to up their offer for the film and television studio’s assets.Before Comcast’s bid, Fox has already stated they were happy with Disney’s $52.4 billion all stock offer, and Comcast’s …



Comcast's $65 billion cash bid for 21st Century Fox has forced Disney to up their offer for the film and television studio's assets.

Before Comcast's bid, Fox has already stated they were happy with Disney's $52.4 billion all stock offer, and Comcast's bid did not alter Fox's preference for a deal with Disney. That deal, had it been accepted, would give Fox shareholders a 25% stake in Disney. 

Regardless, Disney felt an improved bid was necessary and has now upped the bid to $71.3 billion, although the new bid will be a mixture of stock and cash.

Fox has stated the new Disney deal "is superior to the proposal" submitted by Comcast.

Comcast's bid is seen as a response to AT&T's $85 billion proposed acquisition of Time Warner.

On the other hand if Disney succeeds in its bid to buy Fox, it would allow Disney to acquire movie and distribution rights to Marvel properties that are currently with Fox, including the X-Men and Fantastic Four series. Fox also owns distribution rights for the original Star Wars movie, despite Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm.

Disney is also planning to launch its own streaming platform, and having Fox's library of titles would greatly enhance its potential streaming offering.

[via Wall Street Journal, Media Play News]

Comcast Enters Bidding War for Fox, Disney Ups Offer

Comcast’s $65 billion cash bid for 21st Century Fox has forced Disney to up their offer for the film and television studio’s assets.Before Comcast’s bid, Fox has already stated they were happy with Disney’s $52.4 billion all stock offer, and Comcast’s …



Comcast's $65 billion cash bid for 21st Century Fox has forced Disney to up their offer for the film and television studio's assets.

Before Comcast's bid, Fox has already stated they were happy with Disney's $52.4 billion all stock offer, and Comcast's bid did not alter Fox's preference for a deal with Disney. That deal, had it been accepted, would give Fox shareholders a 25% stake in Disney. 

Regardless, Disney felt an improved bid was necessary and has now upped the bid to $71.3 billion, although the new bid will be a mixture of stock and cash.

Fox has stated the new Disney deal "is superior to the proposal" submitted by Comcast.

Comcast's bid is seen as a response to AT&T's $85 billion proposed acquisition of Time Warner.

On the other hand if Disney succeeds in its bid to buy Fox, it would allow Disney to acquire movie and distribution rights to Marvel properties that are currently with Fox, including the X-Men and Fantastic Four series. Fox also owns distribution rights for the original Star Wars movie, despite Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm.

Disney is also planning to launch its own streaming platform, and having Fox's library of titles would greatly enhance its potential streaming offering.

[via Wall Street Journal, Media Play News]

Himo: Xiaomis E-Bike mit 12-Zoll-Rädern kostet rund 230 Euro

Das chinesische Unternehmen Xiaomi hat ein kleines Elektrofahrrad vorgestellt, das mit nur 12 Zoll großen Rädern ausgerüstet ist und unter dem Schreibtisch Platz findet. Eine Akkuladung soll das Pedelec 50 km weit bringen. (Elektroauto, Technologie)

Das chinesische Unternehmen Xiaomi hat ein kleines Elektrofahrrad vorgestellt, das mit nur 12 Zoll großen Rädern ausgerüstet ist und unter dem Schreibtisch Platz findet. Eine Akkuladung soll das Pedelec 50 km weit bringen. (Elektroauto, Technologie)

Betriebssystem-Update: iOS 11.4 soll Akkus zu schnell leeren

Apples aktuelles Betriebssystem iOS 11.4 soll bei manchen Anwendern den Akku von iPhones und iPads übermäßig strapazieren. Einige Nutzer haben die Beobachtung gemacht, dass dies nur in WLAN-Netzen mit 5 GHz der Fall sei. (iOS 11, Apple)

Apples aktuelles Betriebssystem iOS 11.4 soll bei manchen Anwendern den Akku von iPhones und iPads übermäßig strapazieren. Einige Nutzer haben die Beobachtung gemacht, dass dies nur in WLAN-Netzen mit 5 GHz der Fall sei. (iOS 11, Apple)

Ersatzteillager: Daimler macht aus Kohlekraftwerk automobilen Akkuspeicher

Daimler hat in Elverlingsen einen Akkugroßspeicher mit 8,96 MW Leistung in Betrieb genommen. Dort werden Akkus für den Elektrosmart bevorratet, die vor ihrem Einsatz im Auto für die Primärregelleistung genutzt werden. (Mercedes Benz)

Daimler hat in Elverlingsen einen Akkugroßspeicher mit 8,96 MW Leistung in Betrieb genommen. Dort werden Akkus für den Elektrosmart bevorratet, die vor ihrem Einsatz im Auto für die Primärregelleistung genutzt werden. (Mercedes Benz)

Piper is a DIY computer kit that teaches kids coding and electronics skills

If you’re looking for a cheap computer that your kid can use to play Minecraft, it doesn’t get much cheaper than a $35 Raspberry Pi (which can run Minecraft). But if you’re looking for something a little more elaborate, there’s …

If you’re looking for a cheap computer that your kid can use to play Minecraft, it doesn’t get much cheaper than a $35 Raspberry Pi (which can run Minecraft). But if you’re looking for something a little more elaborate, there’s a cottage industry of DIY educational computer kits based around the Raspberry Pi. A few […]

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Upcoming “Cheza” Chromebook is a 2-in-1 tablet with Snapdragon 845

There are Android smartphones with Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chips, and soon there will be Windows laptops and tablets powered by the same processor (or one very much like it anyway). So what’s next? A 2-in-1 Chromebook with a detachable keyboard, …

There are Android smartphones with Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chips, and soon there will be Windows laptops and tablets powered by the same processor (or one very much like it anyway). So what’s next? A 2-in-1 Chromebook with a detachable keyboard, apparently. About Chromebooks spotted Chromium source code commits pointing to an upcoming device that matches […]

The post Upcoming “Cheza” Chromebook is a 2-in-1 tablet with Snapdragon 845 appeared first on Liliputing.

Air Force certifies Falcon Heavy, orders satellite launch for 2020

“I want to thank the Air Force for certifying Falcon Heavy.”

Enlarge / The Falcon Heavy rocket took off at 3:45pm ET Tuesday, Feb. 6, with all 27 engines firing. (credit: Trevor Mahlmann for Ars Technica)

When SpaceX debuted the Falcon Heavy rocket in February, one of the biggest questions concerned who, exactly, would use the large booster and its 27 engines. Now we have an answer: the US Air Force, which on Thursday announced that it had selected the Falcon Heavy to launch its Air Force Space Command-52 satellite.

The military launch is presently scheduled to occur in September 2020 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Air Force will pay $130 million for the mission, which is higher than the standard rate for a Falcon Heavy launch due to the military's mission assurance requirements.

SpaceX has several other missions set for the Falcon Heavy before then, but this represents a big step for the company, as it means the Air Force has certified the rocket after just a single test flight. The Air Force Space Command-52 satellite flight is believed to be the first time that the Falcon Heavy rocket has competed head-to-head with a United Launch Alliance rocket for a military mission, and obviously it came out on top.

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Why the Supreme Court’s software patent ban didn’t last

How one court brought software patents back from the grave.

Enlarge / Under the Federal Circuit appeals court, patent law swung from software patent skepticism in the 1970s to extreme permissiveness in the 1990s, then started to swing back toward skepticism with stricter Supreme Court oversight. (credit: Federal Circuit Historical Society / Aurich Lawson)

Forty years ago this week, in the case of Parker v. Flook, the US Supreme Court came close to banning software patents. "The court said, 'Well, software is just math; you can't patent math,'" said Stanford legal scholar Mark Lemley. As a result, "It was close to impossible in the 1970s to get software patents."

If the courts had faithfully applied the principles behind the Flook ruling over the last 40 years, there would be far fewer software patents on the books today. But that's not how things turned out. By 2000, other US courts had dismantled meaningful limits on patenting software—a situation exemplified by Amazon's infamous 1999 patent on the concept of shopping with one click. Software patents proliferated, and patent trolls became a serious problem.

But the pendulum eventually swung the other way. A landmark 2014 Supreme Court decision called CLS Bank v. Alice—which also marks its anniversary this week—set off an earthquake in the software patent world. In the first three years after Alice, the Federal Circuit court, which hears all patent law appeals, rejected 92.3 percent of the patents challenged under the Alice precedent.

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