Martha Mendoza, AP Business Writer 12:58 p.m. EDT March 30, 2014 The Apple iPhone 4s, left, is displayed next to the Samsung Galaxy S III at a store in San Francisco.(Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez AP)SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The fiercest rivalry in the world of smartphones is heading back to court this week in the heart of the Silicon Valley, with Apple and Samsung accusing each other, once again, of ripping off designs and features.The trial will mark the latest round in a long-running series of lawsuits between the two tech giants that underscore a much larger concern about what is allowed to be patented."There's a widespread suspicion that lots of the kinds of software patents at issue are written in ways that cover more ground than what Apple or any other tech firm actually invented," Notre Dame law professor Mark McKenna said. "Overly broad patents allow companies to block competition."The latest Apple-Samsung case will be tried less than two years after a federal jury found Samsung was infringing on Apple patents. Samsung was ordered to pay about $900 million but is appealing and has been allowed to continue selling products using the technology.Now, jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in another round of litigation, with Apple accusing Samsung of infringing on five patents on newer devices, including Galaxy smartphones and tablets. In a counterclaim, Samsung says Apple stole two of its ideas to use on iPhones and iPads."Apple revolutionized the market in personal computing devices," Apple attorneys wrote in court filings. "Samsung, in contrast, has systematically copied Apple's innovative technology and products, features and designs, and has deluged markets with infringing devices."Samsung countered that it has broken technological barriers with its own ultra-slim, lightweight phones."Samsung has been a pioneer in the mobile device business sector since the…

What's this new puzzle that everyone's talking about? Jefferson Graham explains, on Talking Tech. USATODAY 2:59 p.m. EDT March 28, 2014 The app 2048 has produced tons of clones.(Photo: Jefferson Graham)Story HighlightsThe 2048 app is the most downloaded app of the week2048 started as a paid puzzle game, Three'sVENICE BEACH, California -- If you haven't heard of the 2048 app yet, you will. The numbers puzzle shot to the top of the top app download chart this week, and has been the talk of the Internet.Like the Flappy Bird craze of earlier this year, it's already produced dozens of clones.The app is like Candy Crush Saga, in that you match numbers by sliding them across a board, but unlike other popular mobile games it's purely numbers based, more akin to Sudoko or KenKen than character based apps like Angry Birds.Fawn Nguyen, a middle school California math teacher, says one of her students complained this week that he didn't even have time to brush his hair in the morning, because of the app. "I've gotten hooked on it."The origin of 2048 shows many fathers and mothers. In the beginning of the year a paid puzzle game, Threes ($1.99) was released, and then a few weeks later, Gabriele Cirulli, a then 19-year-old Italian student, posted his own free, altered version of the game, as 2048 on his website, and it started getting heavy play there. Cirulli says the game attracts 5 million players weekly on his site.In a lengthy letter posted this week[1], the team behind Threes claims 2048 is nothing more than a "broken clone.""We wanted players to be able to play Threes over many months, if not years," says an excerpt of the letter. "We both beat 2048 on our first tries."App developer Ketchapp, also known for the Flappy Fish,…

Chris Anderson, 3D Robotics CEO, with an Iris Multicopter -- one the company's UAV products that retails for $750.(Photo: Martin E. Klimek, USA TODAY)BERKELEY, Calif. — The flight plan of Chris Anderson's life is filled with funky layovers. Punk rocker. Physicist. Magazine editor. Book author. Geek dad.But all those stops were just formative detours on the journey to his current role as CEO and co-founder of drone-maker 3D Robotics."I could argue that every step of my career makes sense, although from 50,000 feet it looks utterly random and insane," says Anderson, 52. "Even the punk rock phase makes perfect sense. Well, no, it doesn't make any sense at all."Anderson laughs easily and readily, often at himself. Make no mistake, he's a voluble Renaissance man who's fully aware of his accomplishments as a particle physicist (at Los Alamos National Lab) turned magazine chief (with The Economist and then Wired, which he edited for the past 12 years).But he'd rather talk about how he's the dumbest guy in the room at 3D Robotics, a mushrooming year-old garage-based operation that — thanks to some $37 million in venture capital infusions — is poised to be a leader in the coming drone economy."Being a journalist and being a CEO are similar, because as a journalist you're writing about the do-ers, and as a CEO you're empowering them and taking delight in their success," says Anderson. "I'm the worst programmer and electrical engineer here. And I should be."3D Robotics' current show pony is called Iris ($750), an insect-like drone with four upturned propellers that can be rigged with a leveling arm for a GoPro camera. The rest of the company's wares include an array of electronic brains and physical parts that allow others to build drones to suit their particular needs. The bulk of its…