Weekend Wrap-Up: Google is Buying Patents to Help Protect Them from Trolls; Ouya Puts Itself Up for Sale

Thanks for stopping by for this weekend’s edition of the Wrap-Up! Companies in the news this week include Google, Ouya, Microsoft, and Apple. Let’s find out why.

Google is Buying Patents to Thwart Trolls

Patent trolls are individuals/companies that don’t actually do anything with a patent; instead, they sue whoever they believe is infringing on it. Google has an interesting idea for how to deal with this problem: buy all the patents. Well, not all the patents, but Google will be accepting submissions from inventors who would like to unload some patents for cash. Google will then decide from there which to purchase. The program begins May 8 and will close on May 22.

Ouya Puts Itself Up for Sale After Failing to Restructure Debt

Oh, Ouya. The Android-powered game console held such promise, but did everything wrong right out of the gate. And now the company, after accepting a lot of investment money, has tripped a debt covenant and needs a buyer, like, yesterday. If this is the end of Ouya as we know it (and it may be), I hope the company’s failure does not dissuade future companies from attempting to innovate in the gaming space.

Microsoft Showed Off Some Cool Stuff at Build

I won’t get into the whole summary — Brian did a great job covering it here — but just know that Microsoft showed off some interesting/cool goodies at its annual Build conference. Some highlights? Showing developers how to port iOS and Android apps to Windows 10. Continuum, the feature that lets you plug your Windows Phone into a monitor and instantly have access to a Windows 10 PC desktop. Oh, and Microsoft’s new browser, previously known as Project Spartan, now called “Edge.”

Apple Watch and Tattoos Don’t Mix

Here’s a fun fact that we learned this week: the sensors on the Apple Watch don’t play nicely with tattoos. If you have “wrist detection” enabled, for instance, your Apple Watch will have trouble figuring out that it’s on a wrist, and may not unlock for you. The heart rate sensor’s readings can be thrown off by a tattooed wrist, as well. If you want to get the most out of your Apple Watch, you’ll need to fight the urge to get ink on your arm.