We call these stacks. Just collections of things. TRL hasn’t updated in a while. The San Francisco server has been attacked many times. Also, since many of you are wondering, Harper has NOT quit TRL. Him and I are working on a side project

This week’s stuff: Poems.

Stacks: Poems

by Gillian aka Emma Wright

_____________________________

The wind

The wind whispers my name.

the flags are vibrating

In the morning breeze.

It is trying to tell me,

Spring is on its way.

_____________________________

Death and life are quite the same.

They come and go quite like fame.

Yet when you die you wave your loved ones good bye.

You feel regret and sorrow and heave a heavy sigh

One.

One.

_____________________________

A Pretty Picture may not compare,

Just to see her standing there.

_____________________________

My hearts in peices,

As he says his last good-bye.

I had known him all my life.

Yet, this hour is the saddest,

I have ever felt with him.

One sign that an Apple product launch is pending often comes in the way of blunders by various top-level executives who may somehow be involved with the launch. Case in point: France Telecom’s deputy CEO Stephane Richard (France Telecom owns Orange) has been asked a couple of questions about the Apple tablet, to which he answered “Yes,” thus implying that the tablet will have a webcam and 3G connectivity.

The conversation has been caught on video. In it, Stephane is asked whether Apple will launch a tablet with a webcam in a couple of days, to which he answers “Yes”. He is then asked whether Orange users will be able to use it, and he again answers “Yes,” indicating that the tablet will have 3G connectivity.

Of course, this could have simply been noise in the communication channel. But it makes sense: Orange had an exclusive agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone in France, and Apple is rumored to be unveiling the fabled tablet on January 27, and launching it sometime in March. As far as rumors go, we won’t mind if this one is true.

Update: Orange is now backing away from these comments, saying in a statement that “These responses in no way reflect Orange’s confirmation of the existence of the rumoured device. The spokesperson was merely confirming that he is aware of the speculation surrounding a launch and that Orange would be delighted to have such a product were it ever to be available.” Is Orange simply trying to appease Apple for the leak, or was this an honest mistake by a bunch of overzealous tech reporters? We’ll soon find out.

While many have been fixated on when Apple will announce a new tablet product, The Wall Street Journal says it has found out when the device will actually be available to customers.

Sources have told the Journal that a 10- or 11-inch touch-screen tablet computer will begin shipping in March. Another source says that there are at least two different finishes for the device that Apple is either still deciding on or perhaps planning to charge different prices for each.

Though there’s been a lot of speculation about the tablet, there are no confirmed details yet. Industry observers are anticipating a late January announcement (January 27, according to AllThingsD) of a slate-style computer that could be used as a touch-screen e-reader and video display with wireless access for around $1,000.

Customers who placed early orders for Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-readers will get them in time for Christmas, the company said Wednesday, despite its statements to the contrary a few days ago.

Got whiplash yet?

On Friday, the retailer told some customers by e-mail that it aimed to get the device to customers by Thursday, Christmas Eve. Those who did not get the gadget in time would get an e-mail notification on Wednesday with a $100 Barnes & Noble online gift certificate, the company said.

It appears those gift certificates won’t be showing up in in-boxes, however, as the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that all B&N’s Nook shipping orders will in fact be fulfilled. “We’re pleased to tell our customers today that we’re shipping out all our orders in time,” Mary Ellen Keating, a spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble, told the paper.

Various shifts in plans have plagued the Nook since B&N officially entered the burgeoning e-reader market in late October. At that point, customers placing early preorders were told they could expect the Nook to ship by the end of November.

In November, however, the bookseller pushed that date back, telling preorder customers they could expect shipment by December 11. The company declined to say how many e-readers had been preordered.

Then, later in November 20, B&N announced on its Web site that its e-reader, a challenger to Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s Reader, is officially sold out through 2009 and customers ordering after that date wouldn’t receive the device until January 4.

Microsoft has lost an appeal in a patent case that will force it to alter Microsoft Word to avoid an injunction on sales of the product.

Microsoft lost a patent case involving a company called I4i in May, after a jury ruled that Microsoft infringed one of i4i’s patents with a custom XML feature found in Word. In August an injunction was placed on sales of Word pending the appeal, which did not go in Microsoft’s favor Tuesday.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the ruling (click for PDF) from the appeals court which upheld the lower court’s decision in its entirety. This is both a vindication for I4i and a war cry for talented inventors whose patents are infringed,” said Loudon Owen, chairman of I4i, in a statement.

The technology in question involves “any Microsoft Word products that have the capability of opening .XML, .DOCX or DOCM files (XML files) containing custom XML,” according to a copy of the injunction released in August. I4i’s Owen said at the time that his company wasn’t out to force a halt in sales of one of Microsoft’s most profitable products, and it doesn’t appear that will happen.

Microsoft said it planned to remove the feature from all copies of Microsoft Word 2007 that will be sold on or after January 11, 2010. Prior copies of Word 2007 are not affected by the injunction, and Word 2010 is being designed without the infringing technology, the company said.

“While we are moving quickly to address the injunction issue, we are also considering our legal options, which could include a request for a rehearing by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals en banc or a request for a writ of certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Kevin Kurtz, director of public affairs for Microsoft, in a statement.

The ruling also means that Microsoft is on the hook for $200 million in damages awarded by the jury as well as additional fees and interest. Reuters reported the total would reach $290 million.

I4i, unlike other high-profile patent plaintiffs of recent memory (what’s NTP up to these days?), appears to actually have a business. The company, based in Toronto, helps companies publish and organize documents created with XML, and appears to have carved out a niche in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

The patent in this case, No. 5,787,449, was issued in July 1998.