People sue Apple over ‘overheating’ iPads

(ArsTechnica) — Three iPad users claim that because the iPad will shut itself off after remaining in direct sunlight for long enough, it fails to meet the promises Apple made about using the device as an e-book reader.

The group has filed a federal class-action lawsuit in the Northern California district to “redress and end this pattern of unlawful conduct.”

When the iPad’s operating temperature reaches a critical level, it will force itself to shut down and display a message warning the user to let the device cool down before trying use it again. This warning is the same that iPhones and iPod Touches give before shutting down when they overheat, often after being left in direct sunlight.

The lawsuit alleges that the iPad “does not live up to reasonable consumer’s expectations created by Apple insofar as the iPad overheats so quickly under common weather conditions.” Apple lists the iPad’s operating temperature as 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C), so it’s not hard to see that using it out in the hot sun can quickly heat up the device over the maximum temperature.

The plaintiffs seem to take particular issue with Apple claiming that “reading on the iPad is just like reading a book.” This claim is patently false, according to the lawsuit, because a real book can be used in “the sunlight or other normal environmental conditions” without shutting off.
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BP to emerge ‘smaller and wiser’

BP will emerge from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill crisis a smaller and wiser company, according to the man who is due to take over the reins.

Bob Dudley, currently in charge of BP’s clean-up operation, will replace Tony Hayward as chief executive in October.

Mr Dudley described the oil spill as a terrible tragedy from which the company and the industry would learn a lot.

Earlier, BP reported a record $17bn (£11bn) loss, having set aside $32bn to cover the costs of the spill.

The loss for the three months to June was the largest quarterly loss recorded by a British company.

“[BP] will be smaller and financially, it will grow,” Mr Dudley told ABC’s Good Morning America programme.

“We are going to share our learnings from this, it’s no doubt going to change the oil and gas industry all around the globe as a result of it.”
‘Not negligent’

Mr Hayward, who is leaving by mutual consent, is likely to retain a role within the company. BP plans to nominate him as a non-executive director of its Russian joint venture, TNK-BP.
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BP boss Hayward to get immediate £600,000 pension

BP chief executive Tony Hayward will get an immediate annual pension worth about £600,000 ($930,000) when he leaves in October, the BBC has learned.

Mr Hayward is to stand down after sustained criticism of his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil leak.

However, a BP source said he would be nominated for a non-executive position at the firm’s Russian joint venture.

BBC business editor Robert Peston said that the pension entitlement was “bound to be hugely controversial”.
‘Honour contract’
BP pension scheme rules say that those who joined before April 2006 can take the pension at any point from age 50. Mr Hayward is 53.

He will also receive a year’s salary plus benefits worth more than £1m.

Mr Hayward’s pension pot is valued at about £11m and he will keep his rights to shares under a long-term performance scheme which could – depending on BP’s stock market recovery – eventually be worth several million pounds.
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Baidu profit doubles in record quarter

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — While Google struggles with the Chinese market, local search giant Baidu is soaring to new heights. Baidu said Wednesday that its earnings doubled in the most recent quarter as its sales hit a record high.

Baidu reported net income of 837.4 million yuan ($123.6 million) for the quarter ended June 30, up 119% from a year earlier. Sales rose 74% to 1.9 billion yuan ($282.3 million).

Investors are taking note: Baidu now has a market capitalization of $25.5 billion — comfortably ahead of Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) and edging close to eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500).

Baidu (BIDU) split its stock 10 to 1 in May, just weeks after the company said that its profit had more than doubled since January. That’s when rival Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) first announced that it was considering leaving China. In March, Google moved its servers out of mainland China and said it would stop censoring its search results in the country.
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Boeing’s Dreamliner to launch by 2011, CEO says

Farnborough, England (CNN) — Fans of Boeing’s much anticipated Dreamliner may have to wait a while longer before the aircraft is available for commercial use, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes said Monday.

Speaking to CNN’s Richard Quest at the Farnborough Airshow, he said: “The airplane is flying exactly like we thought it would fly. It is possible that this airplane could slip in in the first few weeks of 2011.”

The Boeing Dreamliner made its international debut at the Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire, UK on Monday after a two-year delay.

First unveiled in 2007, the Dreamliner’s maiden flight was originally scheduled for August the same year, but technical glitches delayed its launch.

To date, Boeing has received 860 orders for the Dreamliner across the world — All Nippon Airways being Dreamliner’s launch customer with 55 orders. Boeing has said it expects a “healthy increase” in orders following the Airshow.
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Google quietly kills its once-hyped Nexus One phone

(CNN) — With the eyes of the technology world squarely on Apple’s iPhone 4, Google quietly announced it will stop selling the Nexus One, its first and possibly only foray into the smartphone world.

In a two-paragraph post on its official blog, Google’s Nexus One team said the next shipment of the phones will be the last.

“Once we sell these devices, the Nexus One will no longer be available online from Google,” according to the post.

The announcement was made Friday, the same day that Apple CEO Steve Jobs held a news conference to announce the company’s solution for reception problems with the popular iPhone 4.

Running on Google’s Android operating system, the Nexus One was released in January to mostly positive reviews from the tech blogosphere. Early users compared it favorably to the iPhone and liked the ability to buy the phone, albeit for more money, without a data plan from a particular service provider.

But sales were anemic, with the phone selling only 135,000 units in roughly the same time it took the iPhone and the Droid — Motorola’s phone that runs the Android system — to sell 1 million.
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Apple issues advice to avoid iPhone flaw

Apple has released official advice for iPhone 4 owners to overcome the problem of the device losing signal when held by the lower left corner.

Steve Jobs responded to a query about the problem from one owner by saying: “Just avoid holding it in that way.”

The official advice is to “avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band”.

Alternatively, said Apple, customers could buy a case to shield the antenna.

The iPhone 4 went on sale on 24 June, with hundreds of people queuing outside Apple’s flagship store in central London for the launch.

Many new owners reported that signal strength dropped when the phone was held.

In a statement, Apple said: “Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas.”

Steve Jobs issued his response in a message responding to an e-mail from the Ars Technica news site. Mr Jobs wrote that “All phones have sensitive areas”.
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BP forced to remove containment cap in Gulf of Mexico

Oil is gushing unhindered into the Gulf of Mexico after an underwater accident at the site of the current major leak.

BP was forced to remove its containment cap after an underwater robot bumped into the venting system, the US coast guard say.

Gas had risen through the vent that carried warm water down to prevent ice-like crystals from forming in the cap.

Without the cap, the only means of collecting the oil is a ship at the surface that sucks up oil and burns it.

BP said on Wednesday evening it had begun “operations… to reinstall the cap”, Reuters news agency reports.

BP’s Bob Dudley, who has taken over from chief executive Tony Hayward as manager of the company’s spill response, said a few hours earlier he expected the cap to be working again within a day.

Mr Hayward was strongly criticised in the US for making a series of PR gaffes after the 20 April spill.

In a separate development, two workers involved in the clean-up operation died, Coast Guard Adm Allen said.

One death, he said, appeared to have been a swimming pool-related accident, while the second one was an apparent suicide.
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BP to fund $20bn Gulf of Mexico oil spill payout

Oil giant BP is to put $20bn (£13.5bn) in a compensation fund for victims of the Gulf oil spill and will not pay shareholders a dividend this year.

Barack Obama announced the compensation deal after talks at the White House with senior BP executives.

Shortly afterwards, BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said dividends would not be paid for the rest of this year.

The payout fund is to be run by Kenneth Feinberg, a lawyer who oversaw compensation after the 9/11 attacks.

In his current role as Mr Obama’s “pay tsar”, Mr Feinberg sets salary limits for executives at firms in receipt of federal bailout funds.

Mr Obama said a $120m fund would also be set up to compensate oil industry workers.

He said he had heard growing concerns about the pace of compensation payments, and that the new fund would ensure all “legitimate” claims were paid.

“If you or your business has suffered economic loss as a result of this spill you will be able to file a claim,” the president said.
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Microsoft unveils Xbox ‘Kinect’ motion controller

Microsoft has revealed final details of its Xbox 360 hands-free motion control system, which it has rebranded Kinect.

The device, which was originally codenamed Project Natal, was showcased ahead of the opening of the E3 games expo, which starts on 15 June in LA.

Microsoft has said Kinect will hit shelves before the end of the year.

It will face competition from Sony’s PlayStation Move controller and Nintendo’s upgraded WiiMotion Plus.

Both are expected to feature at the E3 expo, which runs from 15-17 June.

Kinect was shown off at a glitzy event alongside compatible games, which support the new hands-free interface and, in some cases, the facial and voice recognition capabilities.
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