Google to buy Modu patents, hopefully leave Nokia alone

It took complete failure to do it, but it looks like Modu founder Dov Moran finally found that new source of capital he went hunting for last November. In an effort to pay back creditors and unpaid wages, the firm's patent portfolio is slated to be snatched up by Google for roughly $4.8 million. What's Mountain View going to do with a mess of ultra-lite modular phone patents? It didn't come up, but we wouldn't be too surprised if it had something to do with its Danger-powered hardware wing and Android Open Accessory. Putting Modu to rest hasn't phased 'ol Dov, though; Israeli news source Calcalist reports that he's already invested three million smackers in a mysterious new start up -- about which Moran remains tight lipped. Goodnight, Modu; we'll always remember you as the audacious underdog who had the brass to tell Nokia to say their prayers.

BGR

Calcalist

Cisco phasing out FlipShare: 30 days to save your videos

Many Flip fans are already sporting black arm bands with little red spots in honor of the dying brand, and the New York Times reports there's more bad news coming. Starting May 12th, all videos uploaded to FlipShare will expire 30 days after they've been posted. This applies to videos you've already uploaded as well --- so you've got till June 11th to follow the lead of Google Video users and back up your collection of clips before they disappear into the digital ether. The FlipShare service will continue to live on for another two and a half years, if you don't mind the one month limit, but clearly Cisco wants users to move on with their video-sharing lives. Check out the more coverage link for instructions on how to export your videos, and let's have one more moment of silence for the tiny camcorder that could... at least until it couldn't.

New York Times