Legislation banning cell phone use while driving a car was intended to reduce the number of crashes on the roads, but a new study by the Highway Loss Data Institute indicates that the laws may not be fulfilling their purpose. When comparing the frequency of collision insurance claims made in states that enacted a ban against cell phone use to those that didn't, a study shows that claim rates remain similar.

The HLDI looked at the collision claims per 100 vehicles in three areas that had banned all cell phone usage while driving—California, Connecticut, and the District of Columbia—and compared them with surrounding states (for example, Connecticut was compared to Massachusetts and New York). The study grouped the states in this way to account for the differences in the economy, miles driven, and seasonal effects.

Apple released a beta of the iPhone OS 3.2 SDK to developers last week so they can get a jump on making existing or new apps ready for the iPad. That version of the iPhone OS is made specifically for the iPad, and, as developers comb through the APIs, resources, and function calls, they are finding references to capabilities Steve Jobs never mentioned during the device's unveiling.

We have already heard about how the Contacts app contains a full UI for taking photos, suggesting some kind of camera hardware was at least considered during the design stage of the iPad. Details of what appears to be a fairly complete video conferencing or video calling implementation are also contained within iPhone OS 3.2. Sources for Engadget turned up references to functions for accepting or declining a video conference, mirror-imaging a video feed (useful for webcams), and running a video call full-screen or within a pop-over view.

It's a good time to be in the patent litigation business, it seems, as "non-practicing entities" are regularly receiving higher damages in patent cases than companies that are actually selling products and services. That's according to a new report on patent litigation from PriceWaterhouseCoopers, which examined 1,400 patent cases in order to get a feel for the current landscape. Even though patent reform is a big talking point in government right now, it's clear that the upper hand currently belongs to those who aren't making products.

Non-practicing entities—NPEs, also known as patent trolls—have gotten more than double the awards for their patent cases than practicing entities over the last 14 years, according to the consulting firm. Between 1995 and 2008, awards to NPEs ranged from $2.2 million to $10.6 million with a median at about $4.4 million. When narrowed down to just the last seven years, the difference in awards was more than triple in favor of NPEs—the median was at $12 million for NPEs, compared to $3.4 million for practicing entities.

Microsoft Tag, whose slogan is "Linking real life with the digital world," is another stab at digital scanners that aim to connect printed materials with online content. The advantage of Microsoft Tag, which first began as a Microsoft Research project and was unveiled at CES 2009, over previous digital scanner attempts is that it doesn't require a special device. It's simply software that you can load on your cell phone; the phone's camera is used for scanning the bar code and the digital content shows up on the phone, provided your phone is online. Microsoft Tag can run on devices from basic Java phones to smartphones, including Windows Mobile devices, BlackBerrys, and iPhones.

Over the past year, the tags have started showing up in magazines, newspapers, yellow pages, and public transportation tickets, though they can also be placed on business cards, directly on products, and even on large billboards. The tags can link to anything on the Web: be that additional information on a product, interactive content, or just a company's website. CNET has a video up that demonstrates exactly what the technology is all about:

The rise of digital media has led to many a battle between the old guard—record labels, television networks, movie studios, and book publishers—and the companies that sell their wares to the public. The latest skirmish between the two erupted over the weekend when Amazon temporarily stopped selling all books published by Macmillan, telling customers only that they were available through third parties.

On Thursday, Macmillan CEO John Sargent met with Amazon representatives to discuss the pricing of the publisher's titles on the Kindle e-book reader. Negotiations didn't go so well, with Sargent wanting to exercise absolute control over the prices of e-books sold through Amazon. According to the New York Times' sources, Macmillan wanted Amazon to raise prices from $9.99 to $15.

Apple introduced its newest product on Wednesday—the iPad—suggesting that it fits in a space between an smartphone and a laptop. Both of those products typically have an integrated camera, so many folks were left scratching their heads when the iPad had none. Evidence buried within the iPad SDK suggests that Apple was ready to include one, but we're wondering if its omission even matters to most consumers. Our feeling is that, despite the complaints, that lack of a camera won't affect the iPad's popularity or usability.

Screenshots of the Contacts application running in the iPad Simulator (part of the developer tools Apple released yesterday) reveal that Apple included a full interface to take a photo to add to new or existing contacts. If a contact doesn't have a photo, you can click the blank space to add one. The user is then presented with the option to "Choose Existing Photo" or to "Take Photo." Choosing "Take Photo" brings a pop-over to preview and take a picture. The apparent completeness of the feature suggests that Apple was prepared for the iPad to include camera hardware—if not in the current iteration, then perhaps in a future one.