SloanBowman

Small business software firm 37Signals has created a proof-of-concept whiteboard as an iPad web app and made it available for free to anyone. It’s called Chalk and is available at chalk.37signals.com. It’s really simple but quite handy. I just added it to my iPad’s home screen and I look forward to using it. There’s some HTML5 and some advanced CSS in the app. There are more powerful alternatives available online, but if you don’t already use one of them - why not give this one a try? Check out the screencast demo below.

See more at www.readwriteweb.com

Noah gets a hands-on demo of Windows Phone 7. Final software running on prototype hardware. Makes iPhone look old (!!!). Live from Mobilize 2010.Read more at www.phonedog.com

According to an administrator on Sprint’s official forums, the company will be releasing a software update for the Epic 4G to address issues with data speeds being capped. The thread, titled “3G Upload Capped,”  has well over 500 replies. The administrator’s response is as follows: Good news – an update will be released tomorrow 9/30.  It will be rolled out over a 4 day period so not everyone will get it on day 1. I will have the standard MR information (fixes included, rollout schedule, etc) available tomorrow morning and will post it in a new featured thread. Hopefully this will squash he data speed issue that Epic 4G users have been reporting. Read more at www.boygeniusreport.com

A federal appeals court said Friday that software makers can use shrink-wrap and click-wrap licenses to forbid the transfer or resale of their wares, an apparent gutting of the so-called first-sale doctrine.

The first-sale doctrine is an affirmative defense to copyright infringement that allows legitimate owners of copies of copyrighted works to resell those copies. That defense, the court said, is “unavailable to those who are only licensed to use their copies of copyrighted works.” (.pdf)

“If that’s right, then not only don’t you own the software you buy, but any copyright owner can simply recite the magic words and effectively outlaw libraries, used bookstores, and DVD rentals, among other things,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation, wrote in a February blog post while awaiting the court’s decision.

Timothy Vernor, the seller, who purchased at least four copies of the software from a company that was required to dispose of the software under a licensing agreement, re-posted the sale and his eBay account was terminated after Autodesk complained. Litigation ensued.

The first-sale doctrine of 1909, in its current form, allows the “owner of a particular copy” of a copyrighted work top sell or dispose of his copy without the copyright owner’s authorization. “The first sale doctrine does not apply to a person who possesses a copy of the copyrighted work without owning it, such as a licensee,” the court noted. Read more at www.wired.com