Never would I have thought that a court battle would happen over farts. It seems that the developer of the VERY lucrative “iFart Mobile” is taking other fart app developers to court over “pulling the finger”.

My team and I came up with the idea for an iPhone fart application in summer of 2008. We knew it would be a hit. We just needed to develop it.

We took great pride in developing iFart Mobile. It was more than another iPhone application. It was a true entertainment machine with a unique interface. It didn’t LOOK like an iPhone app.

When we submitted the application to Apple, it was put “in review”. We were surprised because we had heard that Apple had rejected similar apps in the past.

So the app sat in review for several months. On December 12th, I received notification that iFart Mobile had gone live in the app store. I believe there were two or three other apps that went live that day.

The post continues to say how the developer of iFart Mobile integrated reviews and testimonials about his app. However another company “Air-o-matic” has taken umbrage with the term “pull my finger” that he used and has begin to put pressure on iFart saying they have rights to the phrase “pull my finger”.

Be proactive and ask a Federal judge in Colorado to rule that “pull my finger” is a common phrase that cannot have claim of trademark.
I have opted for option #3. Air-O-Matic, Inc. is being served with a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment today.
I was willing to negotiate with them, but I will not be harrassed into paying them money just because our application was more popular and sold more units than theirs.
By rejecting my offer to discuss with them, we have incurred a loss of precious time and resources, not to mention legal fees. I intend to receive recompense.

I’m VERY interested to see how this will work out!

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Envious of the new multitouch MacBooks? Here is how you enable four finger gestures on your older MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. Please note this is only for the MacBook Pro’s and MacBook Airs which already had the three finger swipe. The older one’s have different hardware and it won’t work.

To be able to use the four finger swipe, you need 10.5.6, the latest version of Leopard. You can get it from software update. When you have installed it, repair your disk permissions, using Disk Utility(/applications/utilities). Then, go to /system/library/extensions/ and find the file named AppleUSBMultitouch.kext

Delete it, it will probably ask for your administrator password. If you have a MBA. Put the unzipped file in your system/library/extensions/ folder. Click the Authenticate button, and enter your administrator password. Then, this is KEY, go to Disk Utility(/applications/utilities) and repair permissions on your system volume. Once that is done, restart, and enjoy! You can change the options in System Preferences, Trackpad.

Download this file is you have a MacBook Pro or this file if you have a MacBook Air.

YouTube today made the announcement that they are allowing the download of videos stored on their servers.

We are always looking for ways to make it easier for you to find, watch, and share videos. Many of you have told us that you wanted to take your favorite videos offline. So we’ve started working with a few partners who want their videos shared universally and even enjoyed away from an Internet connection.

Many video creators on YouTube want their work to be seen far and wide. They don’t mind sharing their work, provided that they get the proper credit. Using Creative Commons licenses, we’re giving our partners and community more choices to make that happen. Creative Commons licenses permit people to reuse downloaded content under certain conditions.

We’re also testing an option that gives video owners the ability to permit downloading of their videos from YouTube. Partners could choose to offer their video downloads for free or for a small fee paid through Google Checkout. Partners can set prices and decide which license they want to attach to the downloaded video files (for more info on the types of licenses, take a look here).

Well, I think its great that YouTube is coming up with a way to more legitimately allow video downloads (and monetize it) but there are already scripts available that allow the downloading of YouTube content (both the high quality and HD versions).

For reference the code to download high quality videos is:
javascript:if(document.location.href.match(/http:%5C/%5C/%5Ba-zA-Z%5C.%5D*youtube%5C.com%5C/watch/))%7Bdocument.location.href='http://www.youtube.com/get_video?fmt=18&video_id='+swfArgs%5B'video_id'%5D+'&t='+swfArgs%5B't'%5D%7D

and the code to download HD videos are:
javascript:if(document.location.href.match(/http:\/\/[a-zA-Z\.]*youtube\.com\/watch/)){document.location.href='http://www.youtube.com/get_video?fmt=22&video_id='+swfArgs['video_id']+'&t='+swfArgs['t']}

(Or just drag these two links to your browsers bookmark bar YouTube HQ Download and YouTube HD Download)

Why anyone would use YouTubes paid method is beyond me.

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At first blush this seems perfect to add some value to the PS3.

Sony is promising PlayStation 3 hybrid game/movie Blu-ray Discs this year, as it seeks to broaden the console’s consumer appeal.

As the PS3 is no longer one of the cheapest Blu-ray players on the market—high-definition set-tops are now $250 and under—Sony wants to emphasize the $399 console’s ability to play games as well as movies.

Further, Sony Computer Entertainment executives figure the available 50GB capacity of Blu-ray discs could give PS3 a creative edge over other videogame formats. (For comparison, the maximum capacity for Xbox 360 discs is considered to be 9GB, and disc room is even less for Nintendo’s Wii.)

A PS3 videogame, typically taking up 30GB to 40GB of Blu-ray Disc space, features richer graphics and skill complexity over Xbox 360 and Wii games, according to Sony. But that strength is proving not advantageous enough for PS3, which has been trailing the Xbox 360 and Wii in sales. The most recent third-quarter sales of the PS3 declined from its performance during the same frame the prior year.

Wow, that didn’t take long. Satellite conglomerate XM Sirius is rumored to file bankruptcy within days.

This doesn’t look good. The Times is reporting that Sirius XM, home to Opie and Anthony, “has been working with advisers to prepare for a possible bankruptcy filing.” Of course, that’s different from OH MY GOD THEY’RE GOING BANKRUPT RIGHT NOW, but it’s not a good sign.

The satrad company has been working with some fancy bankruptcy lawyers, and it’s possible that a Chapter 11 filing could happen in the next few days.

The Times also notes a subplot: this could be a ploy to get EchoStar, which recently bought a boatload of the company’s debt, to make a formal bid for the company.#

Uh, Oh!

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Get your Bull hunting fingers ready and take all your medication to avoid dysentery – Oregon Trail is heading to the iPhone. Sadly it’s not a port of the legacy game we have come to love – its been modernized – but its a start!

On IGN today, they posted a handful of screen shots of the game — and little else. No info. No release date. Nothing. Enough to get me excited though!

No word on when the game will be available in the App Store, but the fact that it’s in the works should build excitement among many folks eager to get back on the wagon.

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Ok, I’m stuck!

I’m trying to move my iTunes library from a Mac to a Windows Vista PC.

I edited the XML file and broke the iTunes library – I don’t get a rebuild.

I just copied the iTunes library from the Mac to the PC and added .itl – No luck.

Any ideas? Help! The library is about 40,000 songs.

This one is for all those people who wish there could be two of them in the world.

A Japanese company called Little Island will create a robotic likeness of you that you can order it around and use it to read your RSS feeds and make VoIP calls. How? it has a built in network aware Windows XP computer.

But to add a little to the creep factor the “mini me” is voice commanded but will also respond to you in a synthesized version of your voice. Priced at nearly $2,000 but that is far cheaper then cloning, right?

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As a side note, for $2k a doll they could have designed a better website. MS Paint anyone?!

Hey bargain hunters if you crave the uber sexiness of the Jawbone noise canceling headset eCost has a deal for you! For $29.99 you get a new Jawbone (just shipped in OEM – aka boring – packaging).

Get while the getting is good!

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I’m sure this isn’t the first time you have seen a Simpsons clock, but this is certainly the coolest I have seen. Not only is the second hand a Duff beer bottle, Homers eyes follow the second hand as it moves around the clock.

Available for £14.96 or roughly $21.

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