NVIDIA's GTX 680 tested in SLI and multi-display modes, loses some of its lead

Just hours after our review round-up of the new GeForce GTX 680 graphics card yesterday, a Dutch site has managed to test multiple cards in different (but invariably exorbitant) SLI modes. One of the strange things we learned during our hands-on was that SLI is complicated by NVIDIA's GPU Boost technology, which causes individual cards in the same chassis to run at different clock speeds depending on their load and temperature. Fortunately, Hardware.info reports no problems with SLI whatsoever, but it also concludes that the GTX 680 doesn't scale quite as well as AMD's Radeon HD 7970 in this type of niche setup. That changes if you throw down even more money on a 5760 x 1080 triple-display rig, in which case NVIDIA takes the lead in some games, but loses in others -- leaving the two rivals closer than the single-card reviews we looked at yesterday. 

Rdio inks deal to license UK music, but doesn't offer up a visit date

One of those other music subscription services has inched towards British shores, announcing a licensing deal with PRS for Music, a not-for-profit organization representing around 85,000 songwriters and music publishers. The San Francisco-made music service has already launched across Europe, the US and Brazil, but still remains out of reach for Brits. While it's far from a confirmation of intent, the service might have plans to jump across to the land of royalty, Rich Tea biscuits and RPattz pretty soon.

Facebook bought 750 patents from IBM

The patent war between Facebook and Yahoo may be only just starting.

A new report says Facebook has acquired 750 patents from computer-systems giant IBM. The news comes shortly after Yahoo sued Facebook for patent infringement over 10 of its software patents.

A "person with knowledge of the transaction" tipped the news toBloomberg Businessweek, though the deal hasn't been made public yet.

Compared to other tech companies, Facebook's arsenal of patents is rather meager: The company has just 56 patents compared with the thousands stockpiled by the likes of Microsoft and Apple.

However, the report says, Facebook has applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for at least 500 more. Apparently it didn't want to wait for those to be approved and chose to take a shortcut in stocking up its patent portfolio.

The lawsuit from Yahoo, which has recently had a wholesale change in management and is expected to announce layoffs, likely provided the motivation.

See also: Tech industry scorns Yahoo over Facebook patent suit

Many tech companies are now using patents strategically to both generate revenue and discourage competition. For example, Google licenses many patents from Microsoft in the making of the Android platform, which provides a steady cash flow for Microsoft.

In other cases, such as the many patent lawsuits between Apple and Samsung, patents are used to shut competitors out of entire regions (though that's rarely the outcome).

IBM has been friendly in selling patents to younger tech companies in the past. In January, Google bought 217 patents from the IBM, including one for a "semantic social network."

Reps from Facebook didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. An IBM rep declined comment.

What do you think of Facebook's patent grab? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Sharp intros underwhelming RW-T110 Gingerbread tablet with NFC, not much else on board

Last year, we saw Sharp bust out an array of 7-inch Android slates, including that NFC-packing RW-T107. Now, the Japanese company is adding a slightly larger member to the family, dubbed RW-T110. This 10.1-inch Gingerbread slab (sorry, Ice Creamers) is sporting a 1GHz TI OMAP processor alongside 1GB of RAM, 8GB of onboard storage, a 1280 x 800 display as well as an NFC chip. Additionally, the biz-oriented slate is powered by a 6,240mAh battery, which promises to get you up to nine hours of continuous video payback time. The RW-T110 will be hitting Japanese shelves on March 27th, and while there's no info on whether Sharp plans to launch it in other markets, we doubt you'll miss this run-of-the-mill "Big Pad."

PSA: ICS customer guide now available for Samsung Galaxy S II owners

Now that Ice Cream Sandwich has (finally) begun rolling out for the Galaxy S II, Samsung has decided to put together a little guidebook to help its European customers get started. It's actually more PowerPoint than book, but it's just as informative as you'd expect, offering a full rundown of everything GT-I9100 users will need to know before making the jump. The folks over at Coolsmartphone were kind enough to put it all into a pocket-sized PDF

Samsung's WiFi-laced DV300F camera now available, priced at $200

After having launched in January, Samsung's WiFi-enabled DV300F camera officially hit the market today, according to a fresh announcement from the Korean manufacturer. As the latest addition to theDualView line, this 16 megapixel shooter features a 25mm wide angle lens with 5x optical zoom, and boasts a three-inch main LCD, along with that 1.5-inch front-facing display. The latter is specifically designed to make self-shots a bit easier to manipulate, but it also features some extra kids games in "Children Mode," to help keep the little ones at bay. And of course, there's onboard WiFi connectivity, allowing users to instantly upload shots to Picasa and Facebook, and an extra "Smart Face Recognition" function. According to Samsung, the device is now available on a "global basis," for a price of ₩299,000, or about $266. For more details, check out the full, but choppily translated PR, after the break.

Update: We've received word that U.S. pricing has been announced as well, with the DV300F hitting stateside shelves for $199.99. That model, along with the $229.99 WB150F, are shipping now.

All of those Kinect-enabled Xbox 360 video apps Microsoft has been promising since last year's dashboard update continue to slowly leak out, and the latest is the BBC iPlayer. Already long available on the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3, UK gamers finally have access to the catalog of titles on any major console they choose. The Xbox 360 supports HD streams and, of course, voice and gesture control courtesy of that little add-on, however unlike many of the services on Microsoft's box, this one is available to all users with or without an Xbox Live Gold subscription. Platforms that are next up for iPlayer's blessing? Sky AnyTime+ is confirmed for later this year while a Windows Phone 7 is reportedly being developed. Check after the break for a couple more shots of the interface, plus a video demo for users on the appropriate side of the pond.

Intel's empire-building in non-PC markets could almost be considered Napoleonic, were it not so inherently rational. Having given us the lauded Medfield SoC for smartphones and tablets, it has now announced its next-gen processor for cable boxes. Nicknamed "Berryville", the dual-core Atom CE5300 is loaded up with integrated 2D/3D graphics, hyperthreading, virtualization and ultra-realistic car chases, which Intel hopes will allow Pay TV providers to offer smarter services, like gaming, home security and home automation. Can't let ARM have all the fun now, can we?

BBC iPlayer app finally launches for all UK Xbox 360s

All of those Kinect-enabled Xbox 360 video apps Microsoft has been promising since last year'sdashboard update continue to slowly leak out, and the latest is the BBC iPlayer. Already long available on the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3, UK gamers finally have access to the catalog of titles on any major console they choose. The Xbox 360 supports HD streams and, of course, voice and gesture control courtesy of that little add-on, however unlike many of the services on Microsoft's box, this one is available to all users with or without an Xbox Live Gold subscription. Platforms that are next up for iPlayer's blessing? Sky AnyTime+ is confirmed for later this year while a Windows Phone 7 is reportedly being developed. Check after the break for a couple more shots of the interface, plus a video demo for users on the appropriate side of the pond.

Sonos' new controller apps now available for kicking out those jams

Remember those revamped Sonos apps the company teased last week? Now they can be yours whenever you choose to update the software on your OS X or Windows computer. As well as a refreshed user interface, you'll get unified search, drag-and-drop functionality and one-touch party mode -- although it turns out, that last one doesn't suddenly make a party appear in your house. Shame, that.

Oracle's final damage claim against Google well under $100 million

My, my, my, how the mighty have fallen. In this case, the mighty is the roughly $6 billion Oracle initially sought in its suit against Google. By September of last year that number had dropped to a comparatively paltry $2 billion, which was still too high for presiding Judge William Alsup. Now that has plummeted precipitously, with Oracle's new starting figure sitting at $32.3 million. Of course, the final total for the damages will likely be higher than that, but we'd be mighty shocked if the ultimate settlement was even close to $100 million. Google's own estimates put the valuation at between $37.5 million and $46.6 million -- a far cry from the $100 million starting point Alsup had suggested in July of last year. Now all that's left is for this sucker to actually go to trial. Hit up the source to read the full filing.

Google adds spam explanation to Gmail, steers clear of enlightenment

Why is this message in spam? It's a question we find ourselves asking our Gmail boxes almost daily, when messages that really should have made it through to the inbox end up in electronic purgatory instead. So why does Google's algorithm choose to filter certain legitimate messages, while letting the vast majority arrive unscathed? The answer can now be found atop each message filed as spam, presented with the simplest of explanations, that generally fails to provide any actual insight as to the email's assigned delivery. Such worthless gems as "It's similar to messages that were detected by our spam filters," "It contains content that's typically used in spam messages" or "Many people marked similar messages as spam" now await you above each note -- seemingly assigned just as casually as the emails themselves. 

Xperia Neo L will be Sony's first ICS phone, but only for China?

While your Xperia might not have gotten its planned Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade just yet, Sony's come clean on its first phone to wield Google's latest straight from the factory: the Xperia Neo L. Appearing on the company's Chinese website, we wouldn't expect a redux of the mostly 2011 hardware to go on a world tour anytime soon. Those buying will be treated to a 4-inch FWVGA (854 x 480) screen that's a smidge bigger than the original yet still carries a 1GHz worth of Snapdragon coupled to 512MB of RAM. Unlike the archetype, though, the camera gets downgraded to a 5 megapixels in the rear while retaining the same VGA shooter in the front. Naturally there's no word on price or availability, but at least for diehard fanboys can have their ice cream and eat it too