Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has dropped the patent suit hammer on Apple, Google, Facebook, AOL, eBay, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo, and YouTube, accusing them of violating his lab’s innovations in internet commerce. According to the Wall Street Journal:

For Mr. Allen, the lawsuit marks new terrain. He is aggressively going after companies, including many of Silicon Valley’s biggest names, that he thinks are violating technology that was developed at his Interval Research Corp., a Palo Alto, Calif., lab and technology incubator he financed with about $100 million during the Internet bubble.

Here are the patents in question:

• Patent #507 "Browser for Use in Navigating a Body of Information, With Particular Application to Browsing Information Represented By Audiovisual Data."
• Patent #657 "Attention Manager for Occupying the Peripheral Attention of a Person in the Vicinity of a Display Device."
• Patent #314 "Attention Manager for Occupying the Peripheral Attention of a Person in the Vicinity of a Display Device."
• Patent #682 "Alerting Users to Items of Current Interest."

Google has responded with:

"This lawsuit against some of America's most innovative companies reflects an unfortunate trend of people trying to compete in the courtroom instead of the marketplace. Innovation — not litigation — is the way to bring to market the kinds of products and services that benefit millions of people around the world."

And Facebook says:

We believe this suit is completely without merit and we will fight it vigorously

What do you think, pure patent trolling or does Paul Allen deserve compensation?

[Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch]

Paul Allen sues Apple, Google, Facebook, puppy dogs, all things good and decent (not Microsoft) is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Japan’s ancient sport of sumo has embraced Apple’s iPad this week when the sumo association handed out 60 devices to the 51 “stables” the wrestlers belong to. The sumo association figures since the wrestlers fingers are too big for a normal cell phone and then throw in the fact that some wrestlers in the past had missed information sent by fax or telephone they could use the iPad to promote better communication.

The sumo association first made the decision to purchase iPads in a attempt to make amends after the sport faced various scandals over the combatants ties with gangsters and illegal gambling, match-fixing and hazings. The sport faced public criticism for their poor investigations into the scandals which was partly due to the lack of communication between sumo leaders.

[Telegraph]

Apple’s iPad proves to be the perfect fit for a sumo wrestler is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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The TiPb forums are naturally a great place to talk, commiserate, celebrate, get help, and offer advice to your fellow iPhone users. In order to create a new thread of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is easy and free so if you haven't already head on over and register now!

• Are you having any issues using your Bluetooth headset with you iPhone 4? Some of our forum members are reporting poor sound quality at times. Poor headsets or iOS 4.0.2 software issue? You be the judge.

• There are so many hot topics being discussed in our iPhone Jailbreak and Unlock forum, be sure to check them out.

• We know it’s pretty far off but what would you like to see added, hardware wise, in the next generation of the iPhone?

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iPhone 4 Bluetooth woes, Jailbreaking/Unlocking, Next generation iPhone, iPhone/iPod/iPad accessories – From the Forums is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Qualcomm, which makes both the CDMA chipsets used by Verizon and Sprint, and a new hybrid GSM/CDMA chip that could be used on all 4 US networks, is looking for a little iPhone-related help:

“The iPhone has no secret for you?” the job listing posted earlier this month reads. “Well, that’s what you think… join us and develop the most challenging product of your life!”

The listing has since been pulled but in today’s Google-cached world, there’s no taking it back.

So is this just another random factoid that ultimately means nothing, or yet another sign we may soon see an iPhone on Verizon? (Or at least on some CDMA-related network, somewhere?)

[AppleInsider]

CDMA/Verizon chip-maker looking for iPhone expert? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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It’s still that guitar, it still has no text, it still just sits there, taunting us, a clue with indecipherable meaning, and now Apple is splashing it in grand, glorious form at Yerba Buena center in preparation for it’s annual special music event coming September 1.

[@Wired via 9to5Mac]

Apple unveils posters for Sept. 1 iPod/iTunes special event is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Back in July we saw an Apple labeled 1.5″ touchscreen and wondered if it would be for a tiny, multitouch nano. Now some new cases, purportedly for the same device, makes us wonder much the same again.

Would it run iOS? Could it, with a screen that small? You could fit, what, 2×2 icons for a grid of 4 apps total? Web browsing probably wouldn’t be included, but could it have ports of all the usual nano music, photos, video, and other assorted functionality?

Apple has scaled up iOS on the iPad, and is rumored to be doing that again with Apple TV/iTV but would it work as well scaled down for the iPod nano?

We’ll find out in a few days.

[iLounge]

Will the next iPod nano be a little square? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Apple announces annual special music event for Sept. 1, Jobs says iOS 4 on iPhone 3G is getting fixed, More on LiquidMetal, and Facebook releases 3 updates in a week. And what does that guitar mean anyway? This is iPhone live!

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