D542,808 Media device (4 pages)
Design for iPod nano. This is for the outer shape of the device and does not include the scroll wheel (which is why it is shown with dashed lines).

7,218,510 Computer controlled display device (116 pages)
Related to the construction and mechanical operation of the “lamp base” iMac. This patent describes how this iMac is put together, from a mechanical perspective. Shows a few different views of a gooseneck design (Figures 23A-23F), the straight neck design (Figures 33A-33F), and a telescoping neck design (Figure 47). The claims are directed to a moveable assembly that provides at least three degrees of freedom for a display and a brake device to control the positioning of the display.

7,218,226 Acceleration-based theft detection system for portable electronic devices (12 pages)
An electronic device has an acceleration sensor, and based on the sensor output, a determination is made whether the device is being stolen. Theft can be detected by using an acceleration profile characteristic of theft. The device can determine if the acceleration were due to a shock or an impact to the device. Certain types of movements could be filtered out based on the acceleration frequency generated by the movement (see column 4, lines 28-42). A theft profile can include various acceleration changes that are likely to result during a theft (see column 4, lines 43-62 and column 6, lines 43-57).

Note: I can’t quite figure out how a thief would be profiled. I also think that this could be easily be defeated by a constant motion for a period of time. The opposite could be true – the alarm could go off if you suddenly find yourself running for the bus, and that’s not normal behavior for you.

Un-frickin’-believable.

What a cop-out. Both Karen and I were expecting some kind of conclusion to The Sopranos finale, but all we got was a fade to black. At that moment (we were watching on a delay via DVR), we both looked at each other like something was wrong with the TV or with the cable box. And since we’ve had problems before with the cable box, that wouldn’t have been all that surprising.

“Stuffing onion rings into their fat faces? That’s what we get? Bitches.” said Karen.

Allusions to The Godfather aside (that would be the gray jacket guy going into the bathroom), the ending strike me as an indecisive creator’s refusal to let his characters go. And the TV critics aren’t helping. They’re too busy trying to give a verbal blow job to David Chase. See stories from the Philadelphia Inquirer, the AP, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Entertainment Weekly. Only the Hollywood Reporter addresses the fact that some people are bothered by the ending.

I’m guessing that there’s some kind of “TV critics club”, where if one influential critic (whoever that may be) decides that they like something, then all the rest have to follow, lest they get left out or shunned. I would not call The Sopranos the greatest TV show ever. Hell, it’s not even the best show currently on HBO (the would be The Wire). At times, particularly during Seasons 3 and 4, the show just plodded along. I kept watching, hoping something would happen. Lots of psychiatric blah, blah, blah. If I want character development, I’ll watch Masterpiece Theatre.