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In February 2009, LA resident Emma Alvarado filed a lawsuit against Microsoft accusing the software giant of profiting from consumers downgrading from Windows Vista back to XP.

Alvarado's complaint says Microsoft forced customers to first purchase the new operating system, before they could downgrade to the operating system they really wanted, XP.

The case was tossed out this week.

Writes U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman: "Nowhere does she allege that she paid to downgrade or that she did not receive a copy of Vista when she freely chose to purchase her new computer with that software. That she chose to downgrade to XP without extra cost does not demonstrate that Microsoft retained a benefit without giving value. Nor does the fact that she chooses to use only one version nullify the fact that Microsoft gave her value for the bargain." If anything, "it appears that Plaintiff obtained two versions of Microsoft's operating software for the price of one," Pechman continued.

"We're pleased the Court agreed that Plaintiff's complaint failed to state a viable claim and dismissed it in its entirety," Microsoft spokesman Kevin Kutz responded.

The Examiner has reported today, and confirmed that Apple store employees will receive the iPad tablet for sales training starting March 10th.

The report says the date is confirmed by a manager in SoCal that wishes to remain anonymous.

Although the rest of the facts are not confirmed, the anticipated release date is set for March 26th, with 3G versions not available until mid-April at the least.

Commercials for the device will begin airing nationwide on March 15th, with e-reader capabilities being "emphasized."

Additionally, anyone who camps outside Apple Stores for the launch with receive "a special gift," although it is unclear whether that will be a gift card, a free e-book or something else.

BusinessInsider has posted their latest "Chart of the day," and today's shows how quickly Google's Chrome browser is taking market share from rivals Internet Explorer and Firefox.

The fast, popular browser, which has been out for 18 months and has no marketing campaign, has taken about 7 percent of the market, according to new StatCounter figures, taking share from its rivals.

In terms of growth, Chrome has grown from 4 percent in September to its current figure, while IE fell from 58 percent to 55 percent and FF fell from 31 and fractions to 31.

Safari continues to grow as well (slowly), at the expense of Opera and IE.

Last month we reported that Ubisoft had begun implementing a new DRM scheme into their PC games, making it so gamers must be always connected to the Internet, or not be able to play the game. If you are ever disconnected from the Internet, you are forced back to the main menu, losing any progress you made between save points.

Today, Softpedia is reporting that the DRM scheme has been confirmed for Splinter Cell: Conviction, Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic, Assassin's Creed 2, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands and the all new Ghost Recon games.

Says an Ubisoft rep: "It's hard for us to say, yes, from now until the day that we all die all of our games are going to include this but most will."

I can only imagine how many would-be buyers are going to be pushed to the cracked, pirated versions that Ubisoft is so desperately trying to curb.

After putting the popular browser into version 10.5 alpha just 10 weeks ago, Opera has released the final version of the browser today, with a plethora of new updates.

"Opera 10.50 is the fastest browser in almost all speed tests," says Lars Boilesen, CEO of Opera Software. We have heard the same claim from Google with their Chrome browser but I'm sure concrete data will be out later today on the matter.

Opera says the updated browser uses "a new JavaScript engine, Carakan, and a new graphics library, Vega," as a way to get the fastest speeds.

Additionally, Opera 10.5 adds "Private browsing," which allows users to use "private browsing to remove specific sites from your browsing history. Unlike other browsers, Opera 10.50 allows you to browse privately in a tab or in an entirely separate window."

Finally, the browser has Aero Glass and Peak integration and improved standards support for HTML5 and CSS3.

Download it here: Opera 10.5 at Afterdawn.

Apple has sued rival smartphone maker HTC over violation of patents related to the iPhone, accusing HTC of infringing on up to 20 patents relating to the popular smartphone's hardware and user interface.

"We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it," added Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "We've decided to do something about it."

Apple is looking for monetary damages and an injunction that will block HTC from selling phones using the infringing patents in the United States.

The complaints have been filed with the ITC, which can order HTC to halt sales, but complaints of this nature normally take months at the least and sometimes as long as decades.

HTC responded: "HTC values patent rights and their enforcement but is also committed to defending its own technology innovations," adding it did not have enough time to review all the claims.

The Associated Press plans to release an app for the Apple iPad. It will be an extension of their new AP Gateway service which is intended to be a clearing house for licensing content from AP and any member companies that choose to participate.

Although short on specifics about the app, last week's announcement did mention that it "incorporates a paid subscription model and offers AP members the opportunity to participate."

Their may be a market for paid news subscriptions if it can deliver an experience superior to existing internet sources. Unfortunately that's not what AP seems to be focusing on.

The key pieces of AP's plan will be "using some [content] to attract a broad audience while saving other content for custom experiences," and allowing AP members to "set the rights" for content they contribute.

Both of these propositions are problematic. Let's start with "saving content." What they're really talking about is limiting consumer access to certain news items unless they pay.

That may seem appealing if you're a newspaper editor, but unless there's no alternate source for a story it's also impossible. It's also a good way to send readers to a competitor.

Over the past few weeks, the rare NES game Stadium Events has grown some notoriety, selling in eBay auctions for $13,000 (opened) and later $41,300 (sealed).

Today, although it seems like a scam given the circumstances, another "sealed" copy of the game has sold for $800,200, blowing out the former (already overpriced auction sales.)

The seller only has 34 feedback and hasn't sold anything since 2007, and the auction description is written with little grace or regard for grammar, so the bidding seems shady at best.

Reads the auction:
This is the Stadium Events Games NTSC which is still sealed inside the plastic wrap. In my posession here is probably the one and last SEAL brand new Stadium Events game on Earth. I nearly crap in my pants when i found out what this is worth and the rarity of this item. Well you big time collectors i think this is what you guys are waiting for and looking for. Please do not email me with Low Ball offers. Good bidding on this game and may the best bidder wins.

A new DSiWare game has been released in Japan called Rittai Kakushi E Atta Koreda (3D Hidden IMages: Found it!) and it ingeniously achieves 3D without the need for the gamer to wear glasses.

Using the front facing camera, the game can track the player's face and eyes and create a 3D effect, with the screen moving to create a sense of depth.

Because there is no need for glasses to filter light, the images should produce little to no strain on your eyes or brain.

Watch the video, it's a very impressive experience, especially for a game that only retails for 500 Nintendo points.

HackingNetflix has posted a screenshot of a new survey Netflix has issued, that asks users about their interest level in an iPhone app that would bring "Watch Instantly" streaming to the device, via Wi-Fi.

The survey reads:

Imagine that Netflix offers its subscribers the ability to instantly watch movies & TV episodes on their iPhone. The selection availability to instantly watch includes some new releases, lots of classics and TV episodes. There are no advertisements or trailers, and movies start in as little as 30 seconds. You can fast-forward, rewind, and pause or watch again. The movies & TV episodes you instantly watch are included in your Netflix membership for no additional fee.

Whenever you want to instantly watch content on your iPhone, your iPhone must be connected to a Wi-Fi network (such as one you might have at home or at work, or in public places like coffee shops, book stores, hotels, airports, etc.)

If this functionality were available, how likely would you or someone in your household be to instantly watch movies & TV episodes on your iPhone via a Wi-Fi network?

A new iPhone app is growing in infamy today, thanks to its ability to delete text messages remotely, or the ability to self-destruct messages at the users request.

Dubbed TigerText, the app lets users set a time limit for texts, and when that time limit hits, the messages deletes from your phone, the receiving phone, and the TigerText server.

The app is aimed at adulterers, sexting teens, and those who want to keep their intimate texts private.

TigerText is free for the first 100 messages, $1.49 per month for 250 messages, and only $2.49 per month for unlimited. All messages are saved on the TigerText server meaning they are never saved in your carrier's database or physically on any phone.

Moving one step closer to world domination, Google has acquired the cloud photo editing service Picnik, giving users a way to edit, crop, touch-up, and add effects to their photos, without needing a stand-alone application.

Says Google's official blog:

More than ever before, people are sharing and storing their photos online. But until recently, you had to edit your photos using client software on your computer. Today, we're excited to announce that Google has acquired Picnik, one of the first sites to bring photo editing to the cloud. Using Picnik, you can crop, do touch-ups and add cool effects to your photos, all without leaving your web browser.

We're not announcing any significant changes to Picnik today, though we'll be working hard on integration and new features. As well, we'd like to continue supporting all existing Picnik partners so that users will continue to be able to add their photos from other photo sharing sites, make edits in the cloud and then save and share to all relevant networks.

We're very impressed with the Picnik team and the product they've created, and we're excited to welcome them to Google. We're looking forward to collaborating closely with them to improve the online photo editing experience on the web. In the meantime, we encourage you to head to Picnik, import some of your photos from Picasa Web Albums, Flickr or Facebook and try your hand at photo editing in the cloud!

One of the most popular stories of the day has been the ongoing PlayStation 3 glitch which has blocked gamers from accessing the online PlayStation Network.

Sony promised a fix within 24 hours and has delivered, repairing the glitch and giving users access again to the Internet from their consoles.

The official reason for the bug was problems with the internal clock on older "fat" PS3 consoles. Affected models recognized 2010 as a leap year, which it is not.

"Having the internal clock date change from February 29 to March 1 (both GMT), we have verified that the symptoms are now resolved and that users are able to use their PS3 normally," writes Sony.

As a last resort, the company had told affected gamers to not turn their PS3s on, or risk losing data and trophies.

The European Commission has cleared the proposed merger of Orange and T-Mobile in the UK, a deal that would create the largest mobile operator in the United Kingdom. The Commission cleared the merger after Orange and T-Mobile agreed to make changes to ensure competition in the market and to give up some of the wireless spectrum that would be allocated to the new company.

"I am happy that we managed to resolve the competition issues in this case quickly in close cooperation with the Member State concerned," European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement. The Commission had raised concerns about the merger, in particular what effect it would have on 3UK, owned by Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa.

"With the merger... there will be only four players in the UK, hence the concerns about the fate of 3UK," it said," the commission said.

"In order to address the competition concerns... the parties concluded a revised agreement with 3UK which will secure its position as a competitive force on the market. The Commission concluded that the commitments offered by the parties remedy the identified competition concerns."

According to research firm Enterbrain, the ever-popular Nintendo Wii has hit the 10 million unit sold milestone in Japan this week, 170 weeks after its initial launch.

The firm says as of yesterday, Nintendo has sold 10,009,736 units in the nation.

The only console to reach the milestone faster in Japan was the PlayStation 2 which hit the figure in 131 weeks, a full 10 months quicker.

Sony's current generation console, the PlayStation 3 has 4.77 million units sold in Japan, adds the firm, with the Xbox 360 in third at 1.24 million units sold so far.