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There’s a trend starting to emerge of judges wanting Apple to talk settlements with others rather than duke it out in the courtroom. Just two weeks after Apple and Samsung were steered towards talking about a potential deal, a Delaware court has ordered Apple and HTC to meet on August 28th in the hopes that they could shake hands and put an end to an increasingly hectic legal battle under the eyes of a mediating judge. Whether or not that happens is very much up in the air. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said he’s not a fan of lawsuits, but he hasn’t showed indications that he would take legal action off the table just yet. Likewise, HTC is no doubt eager to eliminate phone shipping delays stemming from Apple’s court wins, but the lack of immediate pressure and the hopes of winning countersuits might lead it to hold off. Still, if the court’s ideal vision of the world comes to pass, you could see HTC’s Cher Wang shopping in an Apple Store without staff giving her the evil eye.

[Image credit: mobile01]

Apple, HTC ordered by judge to sit down, try and make nice on August 28th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 16:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, we’ve explained to you why sensor size matters in a digital camera, but maybe you need to take it back a bit. Maybe, you’re not entirely sure how those sensors work in the first place. Well, Bill Hammack, better known as The Engineer Guy, is here to help. After breaking down LCDs and hard drives for your amusement and education, Bill has turned his attention to the CCD. The charge-coupled device is the heart and soul of many a digital camera, turning incoming photons into a charge that the impressively complex processor inside can convert into an image. What makes the CCD so impressive is it’s rather ingenious solutions to problems such as interference (no wires, just a shift register) and color reproduction (pixel-sized filters and a hue-flattening algorithm). For more, check out the video after the break.

Continue reading The mysteries of the CCD revealed (video)

The mysteries of the CCD revealed (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 19:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s a ritual: we publish a review of a laptop with a 1366 x 768 display, the best-rated comment is from someone crying out for 1600 x 900 — nay, 4K resolution. If you’re in the latter camp, you’re going to be disappointed by even this article, but for those of you who’ve merely been craving something, anything crisper than mere HD, we have some hope: Samsung is mulling the idea of a 13-inch, PLS display with a 1920 x 1080 pixel count. Earlier today a company rep told a group of reporters that the PC division is considering a 1080p panel of that size, which would be unusual, to say the least. The outfit isn’t ready to make any promises, much less commit to an ETA, though we can’t say we’d be surprised if the company made such a display for its 13-inch laptops first — after all, for instance, some of its 13-inch panels make use of IPS-like PLS technology, whereas its 15-inch ones don’t yet. We’ll let you decide if that’s even necessary — both the 13- and 15-inch Series 9 already have 1600 x 900 resolution — but suffice to say, the company has a good track record of squeezing in extra pixels when other ultraportable makers don’t.

Samsung considering a 13-inch, 1080p, PLS panel, display snobs get their hopes up originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 19:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By any means, this is certainly far from being one of the biggest changes Gmail’s ever seen — still, it’s one that’s likely to make a few tasks a wee bit easier for you. Inside the recent tweaks, Google added a new quick access trait that makes contact details — such as phone numbers — show up automatically in search results within your cherished G inbox. Additionally, the Android-maker has improved the Google+ integration (again), now allowing folks to narrow down conversations from specific Circles in the search box (you know, something like Circle: Awesome Engadget editors). Google says the changes will be rolling out over the course of the day, but in the meantime, you could always check out what exactly happens behind Gmail’s closed doors.

Google’s latest Gmail tweaks bring contact info to search results, enhanced Circle integration originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 18:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HBO subscribers currently locked out of streaming HBO Go to their connected TV devices (namely Samsung HDTVs / Blu-ray players, Roku boxes and Xbox 360s) could be in for a treat soon, as our sources indicate Time Warner Cable is preparing to announce access for its customers on all three platforms tomorrow. There’s also a few small pics of the updated menus for Xbox 360 and Roku flashing the TWC logo, as well as currently unsupported providers Bright House Networks (both), as well as DirecTV and Comcast (Roku). We’ve contacted both HBO and Time Warner Cable for comment but have not received a response yet, but we’ll keep an eye out for an expanded activation menus hitting our devices soon.

HBO Go on Roku, Samsung and Xbox opens up to Time Warner (and possibly others) tomorrow? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 18:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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