Rocket Report: Northrop backs Firefly and names its rocket; Xodiac will fly no more

Welcome to Edition 7.46 of the Rocket Report! As I write this, the date is May 29. From a meteorological standpoint, “spring” ends in fewer than three days. Summer lasts from June 1 through August 31. Consider this a public service announcement for launch companies targeting “spring” and “summer” launches for various missions.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Xodiac rocket makes its final flight. Originally built by Masten Space Systems, the suborbital Xodiac rocket had flown 175 successful missions before a flight from Mojave, California, on Wednesday. But now, it will fly no more. “While the vehicle remained within its planned flight envelope, it detected an anomalous condition and commanded a flight termination,” said Astrobotic, which acquired Masten a couple of years ago. “This resulted in a rapid descent and caused a loss of the vehicle upon impact with its launch pad.”

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Ask Engadget: How do I set up an Xbox for my kid?

Q: My question is how best to set up an Xbox for my kid. I want to know how to control use time and whether I should use my email to set up. – Guillermo from Utah

A: You’re in luck! Console parental controls have come a long way from the days of hiding NES systems (or their controllers) from unruly kids. Microsoft, in particular, has made it very easy through its Xbox Family Settings app for iOS and Android, which supports Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One systems. Once you’ve added your kids to your Xbox family group, you’ll be able to manage and see reports of their playtime, restrict access to specific content, require parental approval for purchases and sort incoming friend requests. In typical Microsoft fashion, though, setting up Xbox family accounts can be a bit confusing, so let’s go over it step by step.

Xbox Family Settings App
Microsoft

How to set up an Xbox for your child

  1. Turn on your Xbox and sign in with your Microsoft account.

  2. Press the Xbox button on your controller, and head to Profile & system > Settings > account > Family settings > Manage family members.

  3. Choose Add to family > Add new.

  4. Unfortunately, Microsoft requires an email address for new accounts. You can either entire your child’s existing email if they have one, or choose the Get a new email option to create an Outlook email address. (This may seem a bit absurd for younger children, so if you don’t want to create an email for your 6 year old, you may be better off just physically controlling access to consoles like the old days.)

  5. Next, you’ll have to verify the addition of a new family group member. You can do so by either choosing This Xbox on the next screen and entering your Microsoft account details, or selecting Their phone/PC to have an email sent to you. In either case, you’ll have to consent to the new member.

What is a Microsoft child account?

In its documentation, Microsoft says “a child account is defined as any Microsoft account that’s affiliated with an adult Microsoft account when the age of the child or teen is less than the age of majority for their country or region.” These accounts are broken into “Child” and “Teen” categories, which specify age ranges between eight and 12, and 13 to 17. Microsoft notes there can be differences depending on location, like in South Korea where teen accounts range from 13 to 18.

Xbox Series X
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

Are there any issues with Microsoft child accounts?

As useful as the Xbox Family app and child accounts may seem, they can also lead to problems while playing Minecraft, according to comments on Reddit. Reddit user “Microdad_” said they weren’t able to gift a game to their child’s account, they had to deal with a buggy website to allow them to play Minecraft and after all of that trouble their child still can’t play in their realm. User “Electronic_Ocelot825” encountered similar issues, replying, “You are spot on. I go through same [sic] crap and it drives me to the point where I am furious.”

Have a tech question you’d like Engadget to answer?

As tech reporters, the Engadget staff is always answering questions from readers, friends and family about electronics, software, gaming, big tech policies and more. So we decided to write down our answers. This question came from a coworker from Yahoo, Engadget’s corporate parent. If you’ve got a tech-related question you’d like us to answer for you, please email ask@engadget.com.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/ask-engadget-how-do-i-set-up-an-xbox-for-my-kid-110022860.html?src=rss

How did DT Swiss develop its new gravel suspension fork?

A gravel suspension fork from Canyon Bicycles and DT Swiss was spotted earlier this spring, and it has since been officially launched and tested by journalists. 

The F 132 One fork was on display at the Unbound Gravel brand expo ahead of the race this weekend. BikeRadar spoke with a DT Swiss engineer to hear the backstory of the fork’s development. 

Why Canyon chose to work with DT Swiss

Freddy Ovett's Canyon Grail gravel bike with DT Swiss F 132 One suspension fork.
Freddy Ovett is dealing with a months-long injury and won’t be racing Unbound, but his Canyon Grail featuring a DT Swiss F 132 One fork is on display. Ryan Simonovich / Our Media

The project began in 2021 when Canyon approached various suspension manufacturers with their desire to develop a suspension fork for gravel bikes

“We were the ones where they really had the feeling that they could give the right inputs, that the co-development would work,” said Philipp Keller, suspension testing engineer at DT Swiss. 

2.2 inch tyre in Canyon and Dt Swiss F 132 One gravel suspension fork.
Ovett is using a 2.25in tire here, but DT Swiss doesn’t recommend more than a 52mm tire with their new fork. Ryan Simonovich / Our Media

Canyon and DT Swiss wanted to develop a fork that was more gravel specific than offerings from other brands, not just a miniature mountain bike fork. Keller said small bump sensitivity is crucial in gravel riding and racing, and that’s what the new fork is designed around. 

“For gravel, your main obstacle that you ride over are small rocks, so therefore you really need a fork that is sensitive on the first few hits, the really small bumps and vibrations,” Keller said. “That is really the point where we try to optimise the fork for exactly this sensitivity, because that’s the main part about the gravel fork, where you need the traction and also the comfort when you’re doing your hours on gravel.” 

Settling on suspension travel

DT Swiss F 132 One gravel suspension fork.
The F 132 One fork has 40mm of suspension travel. Ryan Simonovich / Our Media

The design process for the gravel suspension fork began with deciding how much suspension travel it should have. DT Swiss used its cross-country mountain bike fork to test different travel levels, and ultimately decided on 40mm. Keller said that suspension travel is a tradeoff because as the travel increases or decreases, so does the stack height of the bike. 

Gravel was and is still evolving as a discipline, but the F 132 One has design features that speak to both racers and adventure-seeking gravel riders. A remote control lockout allows racers to adjust their lockout on the fly, while optional bikepacking adaptors allow riders to strap bags on their bikes. 

Bottom of Dt Swiss Canyon F 132 One fork.
The fork’s rebound adjuster is tucked away at the bottom of the fork lower. Ryan Simonovich / Our Media

Once prototypes were made, Phillip and his team went ahead with stress testing the forks. 

“We destroyed a lot of them just to make sure they hold up to the task that they are developed [for], which is quite versatile,” he said. 

The ‘one’ in the fork’s name refers to DT Swiss’ top tier of products, while the 132 refers to 32mm stanchions used for the fork. 

The fork is now only available for purchase with a Canyon Grail, but it will be available for purchase à la carte next year. 

Out of Sight VR Review-In-Progress: A Sight to Behold

Out of Sight’s “second-person” perspective proves it’s already a great fit for VR, even with more polish to come.

We all know VR is at its best when you can immerse yourself in the experience, but sometimes immersion doesn’t necessarily mean taking on the role of the protagonist. Occasionally, the games that take advantage of the player as an observer in the world can help ground things even more than if we see things through the character’s eyes. Out of Sight VR takes this train of thought to its inevitable conclusion.

The Facts

What is it?: An atmospheric puzzle horror game, where you are Sophie’s eyes as you help her escape her fate.
Platforms: Steam, PlayStation VR2, Quest
Release Date: Out Now (Steam Early Access), Q4 2025 (PlayStation VR2, Quest)
Developer: Flat2VR Studios, The Gang
Price: $24.99

Within moments, Out of Sight VR makes it clear that something isn’t quite right in this mansion – and Sophie wants to make a break for it before it may be too late. Unfortunately for her, she’s blind as a bat – yet for some reason, tonight her Teddy Bear can see for her. As her bear, you’re her one and only lifeline to freedom. The result is a fascinating and engaging horror game where you’re not the one in danger.

A young girl holding onto a device on a wall

Out of Sight is a game all about perspective. When you’re being straddled, the game controls almost in first-person – only betrayed by the fact you can quite clearly see Sophie clinging to you for dear life if you look down. Since Sophie can’t pick up or interact with objects with you in her grasp guiding her along the way, you have to request to be placed down on marked blankets for her to solve puzzles. This, of course, presents some problems.

PC Specs Used

While we had no noticeable performance issues, it’s worth noting that I was using top of the line hardware with a Ryzen 7 9800x3D and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090. This was good for 90FPS on a Quest 3 via Godlike Virtual Desktop settings, and maxed out in-game. While we foresee the game still running well on weaker hardware, optimizations are still a key concern for the team through Early Access.

You can find the minimum requirements and recommended specs on the Steam page.

While Sophie won’t be able to see in front of herself when Teddy is placed down, the game shifts into something of an isometric perspective. This happens during puzzle rooms, where Sophie will have to push, climb and activate switches to progress. Early in the game, Teddy gains access to an ability that allows you to stare at certain locks, to destroy them – usually requiring Sophie to flip some switch to get them within your sight. During these segments, the game plays out in a sort of isometric perspective from whichever perch you’ve placed Teddy at. Teddy himself doesn’t do much the majority of the time; but since Sophie can only see what he sees, it’s imperative that you ensure he can give you a good enough view of the room.

Things start out simple enough, but before long you’ll be taking advantage of Teddy’s unique perspective in a myriad of ways. To unlock a gate, you’ll need to set several levers to the right position. Yet, the “correct position” isn’t immediately obvious; you’ll have to send Teddy on a little expedition to get a peek at how exactly the lock works. Maybe you’ll have to fiddle with a set of contraptions to scoop up a new vantage point for your bear, so you can juggle knowing where to go, while still being able to reach your one and only hope. While things never get too difficult, the puzzles remain interesting enough. It makes good use of the game’s shifting perspectives to feel engaging.

As far as horror goes, Out of Sight VR is squarely within the “atmospheric” category. Although there aren’t too many jump scares, what the game does have in spades is some excellent spooky vibes, which is certainly enhanced by being played in VR. Whether it’s hearing or seeing something just out of the corner of your eyes, or forgetting to look down leading to some instant regret.

In-between puzzle rooms you’ll find some light stealth segments; sometimes you’ll need to evade the gaze of Sophie’s caretakers, while others will have you avoiding mousetraps, dangling bells and the like that might alert someone to your presence. With either, you’ll regularly be darting in and out of the walls as you slowly progress through the mansion. Visually, the game looks rather stunning, even if many of the areas do look overly similar at times.

Comfort

Out of Sight VR has a handful of comfort features, though some of them aren’t immediately obvious what they do. You can use either smooth or snap turning, and you can choose how strong of vignetting you want during the game. There’s also a toggle for additional comfort features, though what those actually entail isn’t made clear. Movement is currently handled via artificial stick-based locomotion.

One thing that’s probably important to note is that while Out of Sight works quite well in VR – it’s not exclusive to it. This means that the game itself doesn’t quite feel as seamlessly VR as a game built for the ground up may feel; in fact, it does very much feel like you could play the entire game with a standard, non-VR controller. More or less, the only tracked movements right now are being able to shift Teddy’s arms, but this doesn’t do anything for the actual gameplay. However, this is something that the team has singled out as a target to be changed with additional control modes by the full release.

Out of Sight VR – Final Verdict

Though it’s in Early Access for now, Out of Sight VR is still a complete game that takes about three hours or so for a complete playthrough. While it’s certainly on the shorter side, the game makes great use of its run time, and can easily be completed in a single session if you so choose.

The current state of the game is still quite good, and very enjoyable – we’re interested to see how the game evolves, maybe to see exactly how those additionally planned control modes work out in the long-run. Stay tuned for our final impressions later this year, once Flat2VR Studios feels confident that Out of Sight VR is ready for its final 1.0 release.


UploadVR uses a 5-Star rating system for our game reviews – you can read a breakdown of each star rating in our review guidelines. As a review-in-progress, this is currently unscored, and we’ll revisit this review at full release.

French MPs Vote To Scrap Low-Emission Zones

sinij shares a report from the BBC: France’s National Assembly has voted to abolish low-emission zones, a key measure introduced during President Emmanuel Macron’s first term to reduce city pollution. So-called ZFEs (zones a faibles emissions) have been criticized for hitting those who cannot afford less-polluting vehicles the hardest. A handful of MPs from Macron’s party joined opposition parties from the right and far right in voting 98-51 to scrap the zones, which have gradually been extended across French cities since 2019. […]

The low-emission zones began with 15 of France’s most polluted cities in 2019 and by the start of this year had been extended to every urban area with a population of more than 150,000, with a ban on cars registered before 1997. Those produced after 1997 need a round “Crit’Air” sticker to drive in low-emission zones, and there are six categories that correspond to various types of vehicle. The biggest restrictions have been applied in the most polluted cities, Paris and Lyon, as well as Montpellier and Grenoble. The BBC notes that while the abolition is expected to pass France’s Senate, it must still be included in a broader bill approved by the lower house in June and cleared by the Constitutional Council, which isn’t guaranteed.


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Order now: The UK’s only official Tour de France Race Guide

The build-up to the 2025 Tour de France has begun! Be among the first to secure the UK’s only Official UK Tour de France Race Guide, available now with free UK delivery. Order today to receive it in time for this year’s race.*

Only £12.99 including free delivery! Order your copy today.

Inside the official 2025 Tour de France race guide:

  • The only official 204-page race guide
  • Mont Ventoux special edition magazine – the supplement for this year’s TDF Guide focuses on one of the Tour’s most iconic climbs.
  • Official Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift double-sided, A2 wallchart
  • Exclusive beer mats showcasing last year’s GC, points and mountain winners.

Only £12.99 including FREE delivery! Order your copy today!

Please note your copy will be dispatched when available from 22 May 2025.

T&Cs: Please note the Official Tour de France Race Guide 2025 is only available in the UK. All orders are non-refundable. Please allow up to 21 days for delivery

Scientists Have Clear Evidence of Martian Atmosphere ‘Sputtering’

For the first time, scientists have directly observed atmospheric sputtering in action on Mars — an erosion process driven by solar wind ions that may have played a major role in the planet’s atmospheric and water loss. ScienceAlert reports: The only spacecraft with the equipment and orbital configuration to make these observations is NASA’s MAVEN. The researchers carefully pored over the data collected by the spacecraft since it arrived in Mars orbit in September 2014, looking to find simultaneous observations of the solar electric field and an upper atmosphere abundance of argon — one of the sputtered particles, used as a tracer for the phenomenon. They found that, above an altitude of 350 kilometers (217 miles), argon densities vary depending on the orientation of the solar wind electric field, compared to argon densities at lower altitudes that remain consistent.

The results showed that lighter isotopes of argon vary, leaving behind an excess of heavy argon — a discrepancy that is best explained by active sputtering. This is supported by observations of a solar storm, the outflows of which arrived at Mars in January 2016. During this time, the evidence of sputtering became significantly more pronounced. Not only does this support the team’s finding that argon density variations at high Martian altitudes are the result of sputtering, it demonstrates what conditions may have been like billions of years ago, when the Sun was younger and rowdier, undergoing more frequent storm activity. The findings have been published in the journal Science Advances.


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Is Fintevex the Underrated Crypto CFD Platform of 2025?

Not every platform that offers crypto CFDs is actually built with crypto traders in mind. Some are just forex-first platforms adding tokens to ride the wave. Others overpromise and underdeliver with clunky apps, bad liquidity, or hidden fees.

But in early 2025, a growing number of active crypto investors are quietly migrating to Fintevex — and not because of flashy bonuses or referral schemes.

So what’s pulling them in?

We took a look.

Clean, Fast, No Nonsense — and Built for Volatility

Crypto moves fast. Your platform has to move faster.

Fintevex seems to get this. Execution speed is solid (under 1 second in our tests), spreads are clearly stated before every trade, and the layout is refreshingly focused — no popups, no social feeds, no distractions.

You can:

  • Trade top assets like BTC/USD, ETH/USDT, SOL/USD
  • Open and close positions instantly
  • Set stop-loss, take-profit, and margin alerts
  • Use up to 1:5 leverage on crypto CFDs

It doesn’t reinvent crypto trading — it just gets out of the way so you can focus.

Mobile Performance That Keeps Up With the Market

Fintevex’s mobile platform is one of the better ones we’ve used for crypto CFD trading. It’s lightweight, responsive, and has enough functionality for on-the-go execution.

You can monitor positions, check charts, and make decisions in real time without lag — which matters when markets are moving fast at 2 a.m.

Fees That Don’t Sneak Up on You

No commissions. No deposit or platform fees. Just spreads.

And those spreads? Competitive.

  • BTC/USD: Tight compared to most CFD brokers
  • ETH and SOL pairs also trade well during peak hours
  • No hidden costs buried in the fine print

You’ll still want to check your margins and overnight fees on long holds — but at least it’s all upfront.

Security That Meets the Crypto Standard

Security is often where “crypto-friendly” brokers fall short. But Fintevex includes:

  • Two-factor authentication (2FA)
  • Device verification
  • Encrypted data
  • Negative balance protection

They’re not waving around buzzwords like “blockchain-native,” but they do deliver what most crypto traders actually care about: protection + reliability.

Want details? Their full security breakdown is available on their site.

The Crowd’s Getting Louder — Quietly

We’ve seen more mentions of Fintevex in private Discord groups, Telegram chats, and Reddit threads in early 2025. It’s not trending. It’s not viral. It’s just being used — by traders who care more about performance than marketing.

What’s Missing?

  • No deep altcoin list (yet) — major pairs only
  • No staking or wallet functionality (this is CFDs, not spot)
  • Limited long-term education resources for crypto-specific strategies

Still, if your focus is short-term trading and risk-managed positioning — this might be what you need.

Final Word: Quietly Becoming a Go-To for Crypto CFDs

Fintevex isn’t the loudest name in crypto trading. But maybe that’s a good thing.

For crypto traders who care more about speed, security, and solid margins than flashy dashboards, this platform is starting to look like a practical, no-BS option in 2025.

No gimmicks. Just trades that work.

‘E-Tattoo’ Could Track Mental Workload For People In High-Stake Jobs, Study Says

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Whether it is doing sums or working out what to text your new date, some tasks produce a furrowed brow. Now scientists say they have come up with a device to monitor such effort: an electronic tattoo, stuck to the forehead. The researchers say the device could prove valuable among pilots, healthcare workers and other professions where managing mental workload is crucial to preventing catastrophes. “For this kind of high-demand and high-stake scenario, eventually we hope to have this real-time mental workload decoder that can give people some warning and alert so that they can self-adjust, or they can ask AI or a co-worker to offload some of their work,” said Dr Nanshu Lu, an author of the research from the University of Texas at Austin, adding the device may not only help workers avoid serious mistakes but also protect their health.

Writing in the journal Device, Lu and colleagues describe how using questionnaires to investigate mental workload is problematic, not least as people are poor at objectively judging cognitive effort and they are usually conducted after a task. Meanwhile, existing electroencephalography (EEG) and electrooculography (EOG) devices, that can be used to assess mental workload by measuring brain waves and eye movements respectively, are wired, bulky and prone to erroneous measurements arising from movements. By contrast, the “e-tattoo” is a lightweight, flexible, wireless device.

The black, wiggly path of the e-tattoo is composed of a graphite-based conductive material, and is attached to the forehead using conductive adhesive film. Four square EEG electrodes, positioned on the forehead, each detect a different region of brain activity — with a reference electrode behind the ear — while rectangular EOG electrodes, placed vertically and horizontally around the eyes, provide data about eye movements. Each of the stretchable electrodes is coated in an additional conductive material. The e-tattoo, which is bespoke and disposable, is connected to a reusable flexible printed circuit using conductive tape, while a lightweight battery can be clipped to the device. The device is expected to cost less than $200 and be accompanied with an app to alert the user if their mental workload is too high.


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Terasic Atum A3 Nano Integrates Altera Agilex 3 FPGA

Terasic has introduced the Atum A3 Nano on Crowd Supply, offering a compact FPGA development board based on Altera’s Agilex 3 series. It provides a capable platform for embedded applications requiring high-speed logic and moderate compute performance. Measuring just 85 mm by 70 mm, the board features the Agilex 3 A3CZ135BB18AE7S FPGA, delivering 135,110 logic […]

Amazon Taps Xbox Co-Founder To Develop ‘Breakthrough’ Consumer Products

Amazon has launched a new innovation-focused team called ZeroOne, led by Xbox co-creator J Allard, to develop breakthrough consumer products across hardware and software. CNBC reports: The ZeroOne team is spread across Seattle, San Francisco and Sunnyvale, California, and is focused on both hardware and software projects, according to job postings from the past month. The name is a nod to its mission of developing emerging product ideas from conception to launch, or “zero to one.” […] The new group is being led by J Allard, who spent 19 years at Microsoft, most recently as technology chief of consumer products, a role he left in 2010, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was a key architect of the Xbox game console, as well as the Zune, a failed iPod competitor.

Allard joined Amazon in September, and the company confirmed at the time that he would be part of the devices and services team under Panos Panay, who left Microsoft for Amazon in 2023 to lead the group. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed Allard oversees ZeroOne but declined to comment further on the group’s work. The job postings provide few specific details about what ZeroOne is building, though one listing references working on “conceiving, designing, and bringing to market computer vision techniques for a new smart-home product.” Another post for a senior customer insights manager in San Francisco says the job entails owning “the methodology and execution of concept testing and early feedback for ZeroOne programs.” “You’ll be part of a team that embraces design thinking, rapid experimentation, and building to learn,” the description says. “If you’re excited about working in small, nimble teams to create entirely new product categories and thrive in the ambiguity of breakthrough innovation, we want to talk to you.”

Amazon has pulled in staffers from other business units that have experience developing innovative technologies, including its Alexa voice assistant, Luna cloud gaming service and Halo sleep tracker, according to Linkedin profiles of ZeroOne employees. The head of a projection mapping startup called Lightform that Amazon acquired is helping lead the group. While Amazon is expanding this particular corner of its devices group, the company is scaling back other areas of the sprawling devices and services division.


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Intel Wins Jury Trial Over Patent Licenses In $3 Billion VLSI Fight

A Texas jury ruled that Intel may hold a license to patents owned by VLSI Technology through its agreement with Finjan Inc., both controlled by Fortress Investment Group — potentially nullifying over $3 billion in previous patent infringement verdicts against Intel. Reuters reports: VLSI has sued Intel in multiple U.S. courts for allegedly infringing several patents covering semiconductor technology. A jury in Waco, Texas awarded VLSI $2.18 billion in their first trial in 2021, which a U.S. appeals court has since overturned and sent back for new proceedings.

An Austin, Texas jury determined that VLSI was entitled to nearly $949 million from Intel in a separate patent infringement trial in 2022. Intel has argued in that case that the verdicts should be thrown out based on a 2012 agreement that gave it a license to patents owned by Finjan and other companies “under common control” with it. U.S. District Judge Alan Albright held the latest jury trial in Austin to determine whether Finjan and VLSI were under the “common control” of Fortress. VLSI said it was not subject to the Finjan agreement, and that the company did not even exist until four years after it was signed.


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Intel Wins Jury Trial Over Patent Licenses In $3 Billino VLSI Fight

A Texas jury ruled that Intel may hold a license to patents owned by VLSI Technology through its agreement with Finjan Inc., both controlled by Fortress Investment Group — potentially nullifying over $3 billion in previous patent infringement verdicts against Intel. Reuters reports: VLSI has sued Intel in multiple U.S. courts for allegedly infringing several patents covering semiconductor technology. A jury in Waco, Texas awarded VLSI $2.18 billion in their first trial in 2021, which a U.S. appeals court has since overturned and sent back for new proceedings.

An Austin, Texas jury determined that VLSI was entitled to nearly $949 million from Intel in a separate patent infringement trial in 2022. Intel has argued in that case that the verdicts should be thrown out based on a 2012 agreement that gave it a license to patents owned by Finjan and other companies “under common control” with it. U.S. District Judge Alan Albright held the latest jury trial in Austin to determine whether Finjan and VLSI were under the “common control” of Fortress. VLSI said it was not subject to the Finjan agreement, and that the company did not even exist until four years after it was signed.


Read more of this story at Slashdot.