allen

Paul Allen: Gates, Ballmer tried to 'rip me off'

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has written a new book that takes aim at Bill Gates, and, according to some critics, fails to live up to reality.

According to The Wall Street Journal, which received an early copy of Allen's book, "Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft," much of the book focuses on Allen's efforts as a philanthropist and entrepreneur. Allen's personal Web site claims he has given more than $1 billion to philanthropic efforts. He is also well-known in sports circles, thanks to his ownership of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trailblazers.… Read more

The 404 788: Where we buy you a virtual girlfriend (podcast)

Scott Stein fills in for Wilson, who is spending a sick day at home trawling WebMD on his iPad. Or maybe he's at a job interview for Grand Theft Auto V. Today's show discusses a phenomenon known as "Netflix hoarding," how to buy an online girlfriend using a new service called Cloud Girlfriend, and we suggest a few April Fools' Day pranks for nerds.

Episode 788 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Pro teams form Green Sports Alliance

The newly formed Green Sports Alliance will promote eco-friendly practices for professional sports teams and their stadiums.

The alliance, announced this week, was created by team owner Paul Allen and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Allen, who co-founded Microsoft, owns the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers and co-owns the Seattle Sounders.

The Environmental Protection Agency and six pro sports leagues are endorsing the effort: Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL), the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and Major League Soccer (MLS).

Six teams, including … Read more

AMD takes a Valentine's Day swipe at Intel

Update: AMD adds some additional V-day fun with chocolate processors. See below for details.

Any holiday is an excuse for tech companies to send out little reminders to those likely to write about them, and Valentine's Day is no exception.

During the first half of today, only one V-day swag package arrived, and that was a box of Mortal Kombat candy, encased in an edible chocolate box. This was shortly followed by a somewhat more mysterious package--a single rose, wrapped in paper, hand-delivered from a local florist.

Except, this rose seemed a bit off. It was dark red, almost black, and had an odd scent. A dead rose? A poisoned flower? The only clue to its origin, a note quoting Edgar Allan Poe. Clearly some sort of teaser item for a video game, but off the top of my head, I'm not sure which one. Also--a dead rose is terrible for Valentine's Day regifting.

Finally, the guys at AMD joined the party with a ceramic mug with an I [heart] APU logo, touting the combo CPU/GPU platform known as Fusion, and currently found in laptops such as the HP Pavilion dm1.

What really made this worth mentioning was the snarky note that accompanied it. It reads:

Dear Dan, I heard that Sandy B. broke your heart and wanted to let you know that I'm here for you. Oh, and I have a cousin from Llano, Texas I'd like to introduce you to soon--I think you two will really hit it off!

XOXO, AMD Fusion APU

Paul Allen revises patent suit against 11 tech firms

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has refiled a lawsuit against several major technology companies over claims of patent infringement.

In his revised complaint filed yesterday, Allen alleges that 11 tech companies and retailers--Apple, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, YouTube, eBay, Netflix, OfficeMax, Office Depot, and Staples--are violating patents granted to him when he headed Interval Research, a small R&D firm that he started in 1992 and ran until it went out of business in 2000.

Allen initially filed the suit in August in U.S. District Court in Seattle. At the time, Allen's Interval Licensing company--which holds the patents … Read more

Paul Allen's lawsuit against Apple, Google dismissed

A patent lawsuit brought against Apple, Google, and other prominent high-tech companies by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen earlier this year has been dismissed for being too vague.

Calling the allegations in the lawsuit "spartan," U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman said in dismissing the case that Allen had until December 28 to refile the case, according to a report on the Web site of The Wall Street Journal. Allen's team said it would meet the deadline and called the judge's ruling a "procedural issue."

The lawsuit, filed by Allen's firm Interval Licensing, named … Read more

Paul Allen starts tweeting

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has started tweeting, following in the footsteps of fellow co-founder Bill Gates, who became active on Twitter earlier this year.

Allen has quietly become more active on the microblogging site in recent days, having posted several updates to his account, including a post on September 22 that he was in Hawaii working on a book and more recent updates talking about his NFL team--the Seattle Seahawks--and a brain research summit he recently attended.

David Postman, a spokesman for Allen, said the @paulgallen account has been registered for a while, but was formerly private and not really … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Ep. 1298: Forking tired of Android forks (Podcast)

On today's show, Google does us a solid in the ham-filtering department, we wonder whether Paul Allen might have waited too long to sue the Internet, or whether this is just the beginning, and we speculate whether seven inches is, in fact, the perfect size after all. Plus, Internet vigilantes on the loose! --Molly

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Buzz Out Loud Ep. 1297: Facebook wants to own your face (Podcast)

We're back from our BOL summer vacation, only to find that Paul Allen is trying to patent-troll the Internet out of existence, Netflix seems to have finally put BlockBuster out of existence, and Foursquare ain't going down without a fight. Oh, and Donald Bell gives us his predictions for Apple's Sept. 1 event. --Molly

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Paul Allen sues Apple, Google over patents

Updated 12:09 p.m. PDT with additional information and background and at 12:42 p.m. PDT with comment from the plaintiffs.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen fired a patent shot across the bow of several prominent technology companies Friday, suing Apple, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and others over patent claims.

Allen's firm Interval Licensing filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that the above companies, as well as AOL, eBay, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, and Staples, are violating patents he received for several Internet technologies while leading Interval Research, now out of business. The case was filed in U.… Read more