Microsoft sued over Live Tiles in Windows 8

Surface brings out the patent trolls 

 

A US company is suing Microsoft is over its use of Live Tiles in Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.

A company called SurfCast has filed the suit over its patent #6,724,403 which is all to do with how content is organised and displayed.
"The present invention comprises a graphical user interface which organizes content from a variety of information sources into a grid of tiles, each of which can refresh its content independently of the others.
"The grid functionality manages the refresh rates of the multiple information sources," the patent reads.

Familiar

It sure sounds a lot like Live Tiles – and Surfcast is after recompense for any Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 8, Windows 8 and Windows RT device using them.
But Microsoft's been showing off bits and pieces on device homescreens using its dynamic tiles since Windows Phone 7 launched in October 2010; why is Surfcast suddenly all up in Microsoft's grill over it now?
It's all to do with the Microsoft Surface and the potential payout that Windows 8 will afford, given that Windows Phone hasn't exactly made anyone a bundle.
Surfcast also says Microsoft is encouraging other companies to infringe its patent by urging devs to build app tiles for the Windows Store and allowing manufacturers to sell Windows 8 and Windows Phone devices.
We don't expect to see this result in multiple years' worth of litigation between the two companies a la Samsung vs Apple – as The Verge suggests, Microsoft will likely settle with Surfcast out of court and we can all move on.

SmartGlass to share Windows 8 release date

Xbox 360 about to go multiscreen

October 26 will be a busy day for tech fans as Microsoft's SmartGlass app hits as the Windows 8 hardware goes on sale.
The free app transforms your tablet or phone into a second screen for the Xbox 360, and will be available on Windows 8 and Windows RT from October 26.
It'll be coming to Windows 8 PCs, Windows RT tablets, Windows Phone 8 handsets and iOS and Android devices eventually, but iOS and Android users may face a wait of several months.

Dashboard

SmartGlass will work with the new Xbox 360 dashboard (which is currently rolling out to all Xbox Live users) and offer web browsing as well as a place to track your gaming facts and figures
As well as the stat attack, SmartGlass actually allows you to use your tablet or phone as part of certain games – titles like Forza Horizon and Ascend have already integrated the external devices.
SmartGlass can also act as a remote for when you're watching films through your console, streaming other content from the internet or using the newly-launched Xbox Music service. 

Windows 8 App Contest

Just days ago Microsoft held an official event showing off the BETA version of upcoming Marketplace. At this event there was a focus on pricing, scheduled launch of the beta for Windows App Market, and most notably the announcement of an official “First App Contest”.
Essentially the program is designed in order to lure developers into developing top notch apps in order for their app to be one of the first apps featured on the store. So what is Microsoft looking for out of these apps? The eight finalists will be chosen based on the app that has the best use of the METRO UI and provides an overall excellent Windows 8 experience.
We also know that these developers are using “Windows Developer Preview” for their hard work developing these early apps. I’ve commented on more than one occasion that WDP is really rather stable for a pre-BETA, but this actually makes a lot of sense now that I think about it.
It is stable because Microsoft planned to not have the store out until the BETA arrived, but by the time the Beta did arrive they wanted a selection of apps to properly show off the store. This may seem as a bit of a “duh” factor, but honestly I never really thought about it a whole lot.
So we know that for x86 development users will be using Windows Developer Preview, but what about ARM?
Part of the rules behind submitting apps has to do with either making one app that works on both x86/ARM or creating two apps for each version of the processor. In other words, you can’t just develop an app for x86 or ARM, Microsoft wants every app to work with x86 and ARM. I’m really glad to hear this, as it will keep the market from being further fragmented.
While I’m glad for the requirement for ARM and x86, this makes you wonder how developers participating in this program can know for sure that their x86-designed apps will also work with ARM since there is no ARM version unless you are lucky enough to have a developer slate already?
The idea from what I gather is that if you are chosen as a finalist you will be given a ‘special build’ of Windows to finalize your app for the market. This is likely a special slate running the ARM version of Windows BETA (not Windows Developer Preview).
Those who chose to participate in the contest has the chance to win the following:

• A Samsung Windows Developer Tablet.
• One year of Windows Azure for free.
• A two-year subscription to the store to continue improving your apps.

Finalists will be notified on January 15^th , and those the final round will begin which runs from January 16^th to February 3^rd.
Overall, for those who like tinkering with App development, this program is a pretty cool incentive, especially the Samsung Slate. The slate in question runs about $1200-$1400 on eBay just for the hardware alone. The special slate you receive will also include a keyboard and dock, too.