Apple landed a U.S. patent Tuesday for a “fusion keyboard” featuring “individually depressible mechanical keys having a touch sensitive area located on their surface,” Patent and Trademark Office records for patent number 9,041,652 show. “One or more of the depressible mechanical keys can be multi-purpose keys capable of being depressed to multiple levels,” says the patent, which was applied for in September 2011 listing John Elias, of Townsend, Delaware, and Steven Martisauskas, of San Francisco, as the inventors. Under the invention, the touch-sensitive mechanical keyboard “can receive key depression input, touch event input, or combinations thereof at the same time,” the patent says. The keyboard can “further include a processor for distinguishing detected touch events from detected key depressions,” it says. “The processor can generate a key depression command or a touch event command in response to the detected touch events and key depressions.” Apple representatives didn’t comment.
SHANGHAI -- Evoking a connected future where “everything that consumes electricity computes and communicates,” Intel Senior Vice President Kirk Skaugen outlined the present and future of Intel-powered devices and solutions during a keynote Monday at CES Asia. Channeling the Moore’s Law principle of company co-founder Gordon Moore, Skaugen spoke of the PC being the “incubator” for technologies that “waterfall” to smaller and smaller devices as a result of miniaturization, increased processing power and “halved” manufacturing costs.
SHANGHAI -- CEA President Gary Shapiro made what was likely his most acrobatic entrance to a CES keynote ever -- albeit virtual -- when a computer-generated version of Shapiro sprinted down the streets of Shanghai on a large screen Sunday performing flips and other athletic feats before jumping through a portal and “landing” real time on stage at the DaGuan Theatre at the Jumeirah Hotel in Shanghai. “I’m sorry I’m running a little bit late but I was playing around with one of Intel’s RealSense videogames this morning and somehow got caught inside the digital world,” Shapiro told CES attendees from a video before landing on stage to introduce keynoter and Audi CEO Rupert Stadler at the inaugural CES Asia.
AT&T told the FCC the results of the AWS-3 auction and comments in the proceeding offer the same conclusion: designated entity rules “are no longer serving their intended purposes or beneficiaries -- small businesses and new entrants in the wireless market” -- and are in need of “substantial reform.” Current DEs said none of the comments so far proves that sweeping changes to the program are necessary. Questions about the DE program have been raised since Dish Network bought $13.3 billion worth of spectrum for $10 billion through two DEs. Dish has said repeatedly it didn't violate FCC rules (see 1505190046).
AT&T told the FCC the results of the AWS-3 auction and comments in the proceeding offer the same conclusion: designated entity rules “are no longer serving their intended purposes or beneficiaries -- small businesses and new entrants in the wireless market” -- and are in need of “substantial reform.” Current DEs said none of the comments so far proves that sweeping changes to the program are necessary. Questions about the DE program have been raised since Dish Network bought $13.3 billion worth of spectrum for $10 billion through two DEs. Dish has said repeatedly it didn't violate FCC rules (see 1505190046).
Dish Network defended its bidding practices in the AWS-3 auction, in a letter Monday to Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless, the designated entities (DEs) employed by Dish to indirectly capture the second-most AWS-3 spectrum of any player in the auction at discounted prices (see 1501300051), defended their participation in the auction in filings at the FCC. Dish is “confident” that it and its DEs “followed the rules” of the AWS-3 auction when they bought $13.3 billion worth of spectrum for $10 billion, saving more than $3 billion in discounts, Dish CEO Charlie Ergen said 10 days ago on an earnings call (see 1505110035).
Dish Network defended its bidding practices in the AWS-3 auction, in a letter Monday to Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless, the designated entities (DEs) employed by Dish to indirectly capture the second-most AWS-3 spectrum of any player in the auction at discounted prices (see 1501300051), defended their participation in the auction in filings at the FCC. Dish is “confident” that it and its DEs “followed the rules” of the AWS-3 auction when they bought $13.3 billion worth of spectrum for $10 billion, saving more than $3 billion in discounts, Dish CEO Charlie Ergen said 10 days ago on an earnings call (see 1505110035).
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of May 11-17:
Longtime designated entity Council Tree defended the DE program in comments filed in response to an April FCC public notice further exploring revised rules in the aftermath of the AWS-3 auction. On May 11, AT&T and small carriers proposed revisions to the DE program, which would recast it to provide limited bidding credits to small carriers rather than traditional DEs (see 1505110048). The AWS-3 auction raised a new set of questions about the role of DEs in auctions after Dish Network used two DEs to attempt to buy $13.3 billion worth of licenses for $10 billion (see 1501300051)
Longtime designated entity Council Tree defended the DE program in comments filed in response to an April FCC public notice further exploring revised rules in the aftermath of the AWS-3 auction. On May 11, AT&T and small carriers proposed revisions to the DE program, which would recast it to provide limited bidding credits to small carriers rather than traditional DEs (see 1505110048). The AWS-3 auction raised a new set of questions about the role of DEs in auctions after Dish Network used two DEs to attempt to buy $13.3 billion worth of licenses for $10 billion (see 1501300051)