VIA to manufacture 2 USB 3.0 controllers with easy Windows 8 built in support

The VIA Labs VL805 and VL806 USB 3.0 Host Controllers have been announced. Motherboards and PCI cards sporting these chips will automatically install in-box drivers in Windows 8, making installation a breeze.

"The next generation single chip VIA VL805 and VIA VL806 Host controllers include enhancements for improved performance, seamless cross compatibility and interoperability, and new features such as support for USB Battery Charging and “Charging Downstream Port” which enables both fast data sync and rapid charging with compatible devices. The VIA VL805 and VIA VL806 comply with the Universal Serial Bus 3.0 Specification for Super-Speed transfers and Intel's eXtensible Host Controller Interface (xHCI) 1.0 specification and add native inbox driver support for Windows 8. VIA VL805 and VL806 host controllers are USB-IF certified and are currently shipping." - Press Release.

Apple and HTC agree to share

After years of court cases and infringement hearings, Apple and HTC have agreed to let matters drop in exchange for a 10 year sharing of patents. Lawyers across the world fear the downturn in patent dispute cases! But seriously, the joint agreement will end all of the he did, she did and let the two get back to their core businesses.

This does of course mean that Apple have to just compete with HTC in the US rather than focus on trying to keep them out of that market on legal grounds.

"The two companies, which have been locked in a series of bitter patent disputes over the last two years, agreed to a 10-year joint licensing agreement for all current and future patents from both companies, according to a brief statement issued this evening. Financial terms of the settlement were not released." - CNet.