MICROSOFT LOSES PATENT INFRINGEMENT CASE, MUST PAY $290 MILLION

We've diligently followed the Microsoft v. i4i Limited Partnership patent dispute as it wound its way through the courts, and now comes the day of reckoning: by a unanimous decision, the US Supreme Court has upheld the patent-infringement finding against Redmond. For those of you just catching up, MS had been taken to court by Toronto-based i4i over a portfolio of XML-related patents, patents it had already offered to license to the software behemoth.

In court, Microsoft claimed it had not infringed and that the patents were invalid; a 2009 Texas court disagreed and awarded $200 million in damages. A subsequent appeal failed. Oh, and the government sided with i4i. Today's Supreme Court verdict upholds the lower courts' decisions: Microsoft Word is an infringing product, and the company now owes $290 million. The finding likely won't affect consumers, as the offending versions of Word are now obsolete. Still, $290 million isn't chump change, even for the world's largest software company.

ADOBE FINDS ANOTHER CRITICAL FLAW IN FLASH

Adobe has found yet another serious security flaw in Flash. The vulnerability affects all platforms, including Android, though only attacks on Windows have been seen in the wild so far. Just like last month's exploit, this one is spreading via malicious .swf files embedded in Office documents, only this time it's Word instead of Excel being targeted (a hacker's gotta keep it fresh, after all). Once again Reader and Acrobat are also vulnerable, but attacks can be thwarted using Reader's Protected Mode.

OFFICE 2011 FOR MAC ARRIVES

Microsoft announced this morning that Office 2011 for Mac is now available.  The software suite features a number of enhancements including the return of Visual Basic scripting.

In addition to Word, Excel and Powerpoint, which are pretty much the standards for company word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, the suite also includes a new version of Outlook.  Outlook is a combination email, calendar and contact management application.  This new version of Outlook for Mac can now connect to Microsoft Exchange enterprise email servers, allowing corporate Mac users the same abilities as Windows users and help cut down on the number of email software supported by IT departments.

Additionally, Office 2011 supports Microsoft's online collaboration tools such as Windows Live SkyDrive, Microsoft SharePoint, and Microsoft Office Web Apps. Office 2011 users and Office 2010 users on Windows can simultaneously edit documents from any location with an Internet connection. The return of VBA scripting means complex documents with special forms, macros, and other features from Windows colleagues will be completely accessible. And, new photo editing and layout tools also make it easier to create visually rich documents without having to rely on other apps.

General manager for the Office for Mac team, Eric Wilfrid, noted that about three-quarters of all Mac users install and use Office. "Some people choose Windows, and some people choose Mac. That conflict tends to get a lot of attention, but I deal in the reality that there are customers who love their Macs and also love using Office," he said. "The vast majority of Mac customers [are] counting on Microsoft for a critical piece of their computing needs."

Office 2011 for Mac comes in three editions: Home & Student, Home & Business, and Academic. The Home & Student edition includes Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and includes license keys for up to three computers. Home & Business also includes the new Mac version of Outlook. The Academic version includes all four suite applications for a discounted price with a limited academic license.

Office 2011 for Mac is available to purchase today from Apple, Amazon, Best Buy, MacMall, or directly from Microsoft. Home & Business has a suggested retail price of $149.99, Home & Business is $279.95, and the Academic bundle is $99.95 (though some schools have arranged for special pricing from Microsoft). [Geek]

BARNES AND NOBLE INTRODUCES PUBIT!

Barnes and Noble has launched Pubit!, the service that allows individuals to upload their epic works of words and sell as an ebook on B&N's website, hopefully for a profit.  Writers need only have their work in TXT, RTF, HTML or Microsoft Word format and upload it to the site.  Pubit! (that exclamation point is annoying) will take your file and render out a nice clean ebook, within 72 hours.  It will place that ebook on B&N's website ready for download.

Your ebook will be available for the Nook and all the Nook apps that are out there for the iPhone, Android, Blackberry, PC, Mac, etc.  You can price your tome from $1 up to $200.  Anything selling for less than $10 will net the writer 65% and anything over $10 they will get 40% with no hidden fees or costs.

Pubit! will compete with Amazon's own Digital Text Platform (DTP). [Gizmodo]