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Google Unifies Media, Apps Into Google Play
eldavojohn writes "Google has just announced Google Play to merge their existing solutions for music, movies, books and apps in the new cloud based storage system promising that you will never have to worry about losing or moving them across devices ever again. You'll be able to store 20,000 songs for free. The region breakdown is: 'In the U.S., music, movies, books and Android apps are available in Google Play. In Canada and the U.K., we'll offer movies, books and Android apps; in Australia, books and apps; and in Japan, movies and apps. Everywhere else, Google Play will be the new home for Android apps.'"
It's worth pointing out that all of this functionality is already available. There is nothing new here except the name and an icon. Not even an interface change. Much ado about nothing.
-1 overrated isn't the same thing as "I disagree".
Yes, but that's hardly the same thing. It did that by getting them from the corresponding apps on your Mac when you synced the phone. It didn't pull them out of thin air, which is what "Cloud" is all about. It also didn't work unless you had a Mac. You used to need a computer to make your smartphone work. Now the Smarthphone IS the computer--or it least it can be if you're the minimalist sort.
Then go with a zero-knowledge provider like SpiderOak. All of the data is encrypted on their servers. Your password is encrypted before it even leaves your computer. (If you lose your password, your recovery option is "I'm fucked".)
Moreover, even if the feds came knocking on their door, all they could say is that you have x gigs of data on this particular server. The company can't even view your files, no matter how much they (or law enforcement, or a court) might want to.
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
really? a windows user with an iPhone would have all their contacts synced with the iPhone?
As of iOS 2.0, yes. Using either CalDav+IMAP or Exchange ActiveSync you could sync your calendar and email fine with an original iPhone in 2008.
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No, they sued Amazon for trademark infringement when Amazon opened the Android Appstore, claiming that "App Store" was trademarked by Apple, and complaining that Amazon's use of the mark was infringing.
There was no patent on "having an electronic store." There was no suit over "having an electronic store." It was a trademark dispute, in which Apple basically said "They should have to call it something else without using the phrase "App Store." Amazon went live with their Android Appstore anyway, and Microsoft has also filed a challenge on the trademark, claiming it was too generic to be a legitimate trademark.
The most recent I've heard, a few months back, the case is still working it's way through the federal courts.
Silly lawsuit? Probably. But the USPTO granted them the trademark in the first place, so I'm inclined to believe that the USPTO deserves a fair share of the blame for the waste of the lawsuit, also.