Remains of the Day: Crash course

Macworld - Acer takes a page from Apple's playbook--well, more like a slide or two from its presentation deck--while Microsoft's hyperbole engines are still firing on all cylinders. And CES becomes the place to launch your products off a short pier. The remainders for Monday, January 9, 2012 have their ups and downs--but mostly downs.

Acer iCloud Alternative Promotion Blatantly Borrows Apple Images (Cult of Mac)

Maybe you've heard about this new online service that lets you sync your data between a single company's tablets, smartphones, and computers. Of course you have--it's AcerCloud! Complete with its new PicStream feature, which lets you take photos on your mobile device and have them backed up to your other devices. Hey, at least the company remembered to Photoshop its own devices into Apple's Keynote presentation.

The Critics Rave ... for Microsoft? (New York Times)

In a Times article, a Microsoft manager compared the pain of reinventing the company's mobile operating system from scratch to that experienced by famed hiker Aron Ralston when he had to cut off his own arm after it was trapped beneath a boulder.

And yet, Redmond remains puzzled as to why James Franco won't return its calls about The Windows Phone 7 Story.

The 'CES curse?' Gadget show has poor record (Associated Press)

According to an AP story, CES is apparently becoming known mainly as an event where companies announce products that end up flopping. Or, in other words, it's the tech equivalent of Red Bull Flugtag.

An iPad Is Dropped From The Edge Of Space - And Still Works? (Forbes)

Speaking of crashing and burning, case maker G-Form has demonstrated its new Extreme Edge protective case by dropping a sheathed iPad from the upper stratosphere. Though the video shows the iPad surviving the crash, there's plenty of dispute over whether or not the stunt is real. Regardless, I think this will be pretty handy next time one of the astronauts on the ISS accidentally drops their iPad out the window.

Chinese authors sue Apple for copyright infringement: report (Reuters)

The China Written Works Copyright Society has sued for $1.9 million in a Beijing court, alleging that the iBookstore provides copyright-infringing material. Oh how the tables have turned, Apple.

Angry iPhone users bring antitrust class action against Apple (The Register)

As long as we're on the legal circuit, four U.S. consumers have filed a class action lawsuit against Apple, arguing that the launch of the iPhone exclusively on AT&T was anticompetitive, and that the company's restrictive behavior continues in its App Store's policies. Also, the plaintiffs would like Apple to know that the company really hurt their feelings.