If you buy e-books, you may recall that Apple was found in violation of anti-trust rules by conspiring with publishers to fix digital book prices.

Now a federal judge has agreed with a Justice Department recommendation to end anti-trust compliance monitoring of Apple, according to Reuters.

The monitor, Michael Bromwich, was appointed by Judge Denise Cole in 2013 to a two-year term, after Cole found Apple and five publishers were colluding on pricing, in order to outcompete Amazon and other e-book rivals. Bromwich’s term ends this week, and Justice Department officials did not suggest an extension.

The Department’s recommendation was not clear cut, though. While Apple has committed to complying with most of the court-ordered restrictions, the company has repeatedly tried to undermine Bromwich, but the acrimonious relationship was not a deciding factor in the Department’s decision.

Apple would not comment on Bromwich directly, but reiterated its intention to comply with anti-trust rules.

Apple’s appeal of Cote’s decision was rejected by a New York-based federal appeals court this June. The company is weighing whether to appeal to the Supreme Court. Thirty-one states, Puerto Rico and consumers have related legal claims pending against Apple for the e-book anti-trust violations, which could cost the company $450 million.

If you enjoy the speed and efficiency of Apple products, you may have researchers at the University of Wisconsin to thank. At least that’s the conclusion of a jury that found Apple used the University’s patented processes without permission.

Yesterday, a jury in Madison Wisconsin found against Apple in a lawsuit brought by the University, according to Reuters. The jury said that the patent, which covers technology used to make computer processors more efficient, is owned by the University’s licensing arm but was used in iPhones and many other Apple products without the computer maker paying for licensing.

The trial will now proceed to determine damages Apple must pay to the UW, which some experts say could exceed $862 million. If the jury rules that Apple willfully violated the patent, the company could be hit with additional monetary sanctions.

Apple has denied that the University’s claim to the patent is valid, and took its complaint to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In April, that office rejected Apple’s claims.

The University last month launched a second case against Apple, claiming that the company’s newest chips continue to make unlicensed use of its proprietary technology. UW previously sued Intel for violating the patent, leading to a 2009 settlement agreement.

Retailers like Starbucks and Domino’s Pizza have become known for offering consumers the option of paying through the company’s own mobile apps. Now a convenience store and gas station chain is making filing-up the car more convenient, and cheaper, with its mobile offering.

Cumberland Farms operates more than 500 gas station convenience stores in the Northeast and Florida, according to Bloomberg. Even with lower gas prices, the company is offering discounts for consumers who pay for gas using the company’s new mobile-payment app.

A company spokesman said the app has been a huge success, generating $400 million in sales and attracting new customers. Since the app draws funds directly from customers’ bank accounts, Cumberland saves on credit card fees, offsetting the ten cents a gallon discount that comes with the use of the app.

App users also receive coupons for free drinks at the company convenience store, after they purchase 30 gallons of gas. Later this year, the company plans to add features that will allow customers to pre-order food from the stores and pay through their phones.

ExxonMobile currently has some locations that accept the company’s mobile payment app, and Chevron is launching their version at select locations this month.

 

 

 

When Hugh Hefner founded Playboy in 1953, he called it a sexually liberated alternative to America’s repressed, conservative culture. Now the men’s magazine is taking a step back, with a redesign intended to appease online viewing platforms that prohibit nudity.

Playboy attracts millions of readers online each month, many coming for articles on entertainment, politics, tech reviews and more, according to Wired. But with the popularity of online social sharing, the magazine has decided to abandon its core identity of nude photos for a tamer look that will no longer include any nudity.

The move follows a decision by the magazine last year to launch a “safe-for-work” site that has drawn significant numbers of readers, including millions of younger readers.

Content restrictions are common with new technologies. Facebook and Twitter both restrict nudity, the latter requiring a warning on posts with nude images. A “free the nipple” campaign aimed at Instagram has failed to move the company from its prohibitions, and Apple also tells developers that pornographic images will lead to rejection of their apps.

Given the decline of print media, Playboy’s capitulation seems inevitable. The influence of social sharing means that print content will likely end up online, so to capture that wider audience, the magazine was forced to change with the times.

It sounds too good to be true: a close-shaving razor powered by a tiny laser that whisks your beard away without irritating or damaging your skin. But the makers of the Skarp Laser Razor claim their product can do all of this and more.

Now the crowd funding site Kickstarter has heightened concerns that the project may truly be too good to be true, according to the BBC. This week Kickstarter suspended Skarp’s account, even though backers have already pledged more than four million dollars to the project.

Concerns about the feasibility of the razor were raised by Reddit users, some of whom called the concept “far-fetched.” In response, the company released a 9-minute video purporting to show the device in action.

But Kickstarter was not impressed. Their note to followers of the project stated that the company had violated Kickstarter rules that require companies to demonstrate they have working prototypes of any devices before they can solicit backers.

Skarp insists that the device works as advertised, and has moved its funding appeal to the Indiegogo crowd funding site.

Skarp is not the first device to fall flat after a promising Kickstarter campaign. The mini-drone company Zano drone was Europe’s most successful Kickstarter funding appeal, but the company has been plagued by technical problems and angry backers.

You may use Facebook for social networking, but for videos you turn to YouTube. Now the leading social network wants you to know that you can stay on their site even for your online video viewing.

Videos on Facebook are not new, but a new feature launched to a small test group of Facebook users now allows people on the social network to search and view videos without having to scroll through their news feed, according to USA Today. Even without the service, Facebook users watch about 4 billion videos a day on the site.

The new feature allows users to tap a “video” icon on Facebook which then suggests videos matched to the user’s preferences.

Facebook is also testing a “suggested videos” feature which automatically offers related videos after users watch a video on the site. This feature is currently available on iPhone and will soon be tested on Android devices.

Other new video options the company are testing involve a split screen, allowing users to watch video on one screen while continuing to monitor their news feed, and a save function that allows videos to be saved for later viewing.

Facebook is also testing new video features aimed at publishers, including video matching and other tools for Facebook pages.