A daily digest of IT news, curated from blogs, forums and news sites around the web each morning. We highlight the key commentary and demystify the real story.
Mark Zuckerberg's archnemeses, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss -- who claim to have invented Facebook -- have finally admitted defeat. They've given up in their quest to have the Supreme Court rule that Facebook pulled the wool over their eyes in the 2008 settlement. But now they've found some other reason to sue Facebook. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers roll their eyes.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: Vi Hart, proving Pythagoras using origami...
John Ribeiro reports:
The twins, who claimed that they ... not Zuckerberg, came up with the idea ... settled in 2008 ... [for] US$65 million ... [but] subsequently ... said they were misled by Facebook about the value of the company.
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Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and ... Divya Narendra ... said in a filing through their lawyers ... that "after careful consideration" they would not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. ... [They] did not give a reason for deciding not to appeal.
Emil Protalinski snorks:
Last month, Jerome Falk Jr., the twins attorney, said they would appeal ... to the United States Supreme Court ... the last possible option. ... Zuckerberg can breathe easy now, and his enemies have to deal with the terrible tragedy of figuring out how to spend $65 million.
Alexia Tsotsis posits that it's now worth much more:
After vowing that they would challenge [the] ruling by the 9th Circuit Court and take their case ... to the Supreme Court ... the Winklevosses have just given up. ... Meaning they will take the original settlement, which is ... now worth considerably more than $65 million.
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In 2004 [they] accused Facebook CEO and fellow student ... Zuckerberg of ripping off their CONNECTU idea. ... Facebooks reaction ... Weve considered this case closed for a long time, and were pleased to see the other party now agrees.
Frank Watson counts on his fingers:
The settlement was $20 million in cash and $45 million in ... stock. ... I guess the increased value of that stock may have [influenced] the decision; [it] could be worth over $200 million.
Mike Masnick dishes:
[In] their case ... they complain about how they settled for "only" $160 million for building a company that ... wasn't very popular. ... I'm not sure who ... but it appears that someone finally sat them down and explained to them how the Supreme Court works ... and it's finally dawned on them that this would be a good time to take the money ... and say, "thank you."
Hang on a minute; Jessica Guynn thinks we're missing a trick:
The Winklevosses ... still plan to pursue another legal tack.
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In April, they asked a federal court ... to look into their claims that Facebook ... hid instant messages from them. ... That request had been suspended. ... "That part of the case will begin now," said ... the Winklevosses' attorney.