If you’ve purchased an Amazon Kindle e-book within the past couple of years, you might be eligible to receive a credit as part of an antitrust settlement reached in April. Yes, this is the same settlement that was reached between the Department of Justice and book publishers Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers and Simon & Schuster.

Once the settlement is approved by the court, publishers will provide Amazon with money that will then be refunded to buyers of eligible e-books.

The armada of hardware designed to popularize Windows 8 is starting to surface and one thing is certain: Form factors are going to be critical for Microsoft's latest operating system and the upgrade cadence.

As most tech watchers know, Microsoft launches Windows 8 on Oct. 26. The ambitious effort is Microsoft's attempt to bridge multiple screens---PCs, tablets and smartphones. Meanwhile, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer now sees itself as a device and services company.

In other words, Microsoft is getting ballsy and is going the high-risk, high-reward route with Windows 8. The catch here is that the best hardware for Windows is largely unknown. In previous Windows upgrade cycles, the path was simple: Buy a new PC, get Windows and you're finished. Now you have to choose between the following:

Convertibles: These hybrid tablet and laptop contraptions. Sony has one. Lenovo has a few. And others will roll out. 

Motorola Mobility has won a patent infringement case brought by Microsoft in Germany.

Microsoft has been attacking Google through its Motorola Mobility subsidiary for some time, but has come up short in Mannheim. Motorola was found not to have infringed Microsoft's patent that covers the ability for applications to work on multiple handsets.

Motorola had lost three cases against Microsoft over alleged patent infringement, with Microsoft winning the right to order bans on the sale of some smartphones in Germany. However Microsoft was unable to add a fourth straight victory and was quick to tell journalists that the loss will not affect the sales injunctions it won in the three previous court cases.

Microsoft's temporary, or "pop-up," stores will open Oct. 26 and will sell the Surface tablet, according to the company's website.

And in all but a few cases, Microsoft will go toe-to-toe with Apple: 29 of the 32 stores are located in the same mall or shopping center that houses an Apple retail store.

The 32 stores in the U.S. and Canada were first announced last month. The temporary outlets will be open only during the holiday season, and are not permanent locations like the two-dozen brick-and-mortar Microsoft retail stores already in operation.

On its website, Microsoft now lists all its stores, including the pop-ups. Checks of the latter show that they will all open Oct. 26, the day Microsoft officially starts selling Windows 8 and Windows RT-powered Surface tablets.