Technology News and Gadgets Updates: 03/22/11

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Android e-reader violates our patent: Microsoft

Microsoft accused Taiwan electronics colossus Foxconn and US book seller Barnes & Noble of using its patented technology in e-readers running on Google-backed Android software.

Taiwan-based Inventec Corporation was also targeted in Microsoft's legal filings with the US International Trade Commission and a federal court in Washington state where the software giant has its headquarters.

"By bringing this case, we are protecting our investments on behalf of our customers, partners and shareholders -- just as other companies do," Microsoft deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez said in a blog post.

"Our firm view remains, however, that licensing is the best way forward for the industry."

The legal filings assert that the bookseller's Nook e-reader and Nook Color tablet violate Microsoft patents.

Patents at issue include being able to page through onscreen windows using tabs and to annotate text without altering digital documents, according to Gutierrez.

Engineers invent lens for 3D microscope

Engineers have designed a lens that enables microscopic objects to be seen from nine different angles at once to create a 3D image.

Other 3D microscopes use multiple lenses or cameras that move around an object; the new lens is the first single, stationary lens to create microscopic 3D images by itself.

Allen Yi, associate professor of integrated systems engineering at Ohio State University, called the lens a proof of concept for manufacturers of microelectronics and medical devices, the Journal of the Optical Society of America A reports.

"Using our lens is basically like putting several microscopes into one microscope," said postdoctoral researcher and study co-author Lei Li, according to an Ohio statement.

"For us, the most attractive part of this project is we will be able to see the real shape of micro-samples instead of just a two-dimensional projection," said Li.

Facebook bans 20,000 underage users a day

Facebook has revealed that about 20,000 children are kicked off the social networking site every day for lying about their age to join the site.

The social networking giant admitted it had to do more to stop young people using Facebook, as it revealed about a third of Australia''s population uses the site every day, reported the Herald Sun.

The chief privacy adviser of Facebook, Mozelle Thompson, said many Australian children under the age of 13 were trying to access the site by lying about their age.

"It''s something that happens on a regular basis," the Courier mail quoted Thompson as saying.

Globally, about seven million children who lie about their age are blocked from the site each year.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Lenovo launches new range of high performance PCs

Computer maker Lenovo India today announced a new range of high performance personal computers for 2011 based on the second generation intel core processors , making it the first PC manufacturer in the country to introduce PCs powered by Intel's 'Huron River platform'.

The new PCs launched on this platform offer higher performance, smoother functioning, a superior visual experience and enhanced responsiveness to users' computing demand, the company said.

Unveiling the company's new consumer notebooks, Rajesh Thadani, Director-Consumer Business Unit, HSB Lenovo India, said, "Our new notebooks offer superior features such as accutype keyboards, brush finish metallic looks, HD LED backlit screen to customers in India".

The Z series notebooks have been enhanced with features such as stylish full metal brush finish, sharper images and Lenovo Enhanced experience 2.0 for Windows 7 to deliver faster boot up and shutdown times, faster application performance, smarter power and all-day battery life, he said.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Z570, a mainstream, multi-media graphics rich notebooks, offers richer experience while the Lenovo G570, an entry level featured packed notebook, offers ease of computing, the company said.

HCL hopes staff who left Japan can return in weeks

India's HCL Technologies hopes 170 of its staff who had left quake-hit Japan will be able to return to the country within weeks if the situation there continues to improve.

HCL, along with other Indian technology companies including Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies , are relocating Japan-based staff elsewhere partly due to fear of radiation from the failed Fukushima nuclear reactor.

"We are very hopeful as the situation unfolds that they will be able to return in the next couple of weeks or so, or even earlier," Shami Khorana, global head of sales and marketing at HCL, told Reuters.

He said HCL's revenue from Japan was relatively small. The company generates around 59 per cent of its sales from the Americas.

Over 1000 HCL engineers are working on Japanese projects but only 265 of that total are on site in Japan.

Opera unveils new mobile browsers

Opera Software unveiled on Tuesday new versions of its Mini and Mobile wireless browsers, improving tablet support and features like scrolling, zooming and sharing.

The new versions feature a share button, so you can easily post, tweet, or share info on Facebook , vKontakte or My Opera, the company said.

Opera is the world's most used mobile browser ahead of Apple , Nokia and Google's Android, controlling 21.6 per cent of the market in March so far, according to Web analytics firm StatCounter .

The iPhone, Nokia and Android browsers all have 15 to 19 per cent market shares.

Apple sues Amazon.com over APP STORE trademark

Apple Inc has sued Amazon.com Inc in a bid to stop the online retailer from improperly using Apple's APP STORE trademark, according to a court filing.

The lawsuit, filed in a California federal court late last week, said Amazon has improperly used Apple's APP STORE mark to solicit software developers throughout the United States.

Apple has applied to register the APP STORE trademark in the United States, a bid which Microsoft opposes. The matter is currently before a trademark trial and appeals board, according to the lawsuit.

"We've asked Amazon not to copy the APP STORE name because it will confuse and mislead customers," Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said on Monday.

Amazon.com did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Amazon is unlawfully using the APP STORE trademark in connection with what Amazon calls the "Amazon Appstore Developer Portal," along with other instances like ads for a version of Angry Birds, the popular mobile game.

Apple has also asserted a claim of unfair competition, and is seeking to enjoin Amazon from using the APP STORE mark.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Apple Inc v. Amazon.com Inc, 11-1327.
Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Zynga hopes to get you hooked even more

Beware if you're among the hordes who wonder where the time went after becoming absorbed in online games such as 'FarmVille' and 'CityVille'. Zynga, the hot Internet startup that created those ever-engrossing pastimes, is introducing another reason to goof off.

The lure this time is RewardVille ," a show of appreciation aimed at getting players even more absorbed in their online farms, cities, crime rings and poker games. The program unveiled a week ago doles out game points and credits that can be used to buy more virtual goodies on Zynga's existing games. It's the latest attempt to deepen people's attachment to Zynga's strangely addictive world at a time attention spans are becoming more fickle. Several entertainment options now bombard people on an array of digital devices.

Zynga's success in capturing people's free time so far has been remarkable - and profitable, according to the privately held company's executives.

Its games are simple, but getting ahead requires time and dedication. In CityVille ," for example, players start with a simple plot of land, roads and buildings. They can add businesses, farms and landmarks through lots of faithful dragging and clicking of the mouse. They can invite friends to play and send them virtual gifts.

All games are free to play, but players can pay real money - a few coins or dollars at a time - to buy special items or reach a higher level of play more quickly. Since CEO Mark Pincus launched the San Francisco startup in 2007, Zynga has attracted about 250 million game players - most of whom connect on Facebook's even larger Web hangout. Zynga's audience is somewhere between the population of the US and Indonesia, the world's third and fourth most populous countries. Zynga has grown so fast that it already has 1,500 employees and recently moved into a larger headquarters, which can accommodate several hundred more workers.

France fines Google for Street View privacy breach

France's privacy watchdog has handed down its largest fine ever against Google for improperly gathering and storing potentially sensitive data from Wi-Fi networks for its Street View application .

Monday's 100,000 ($141,300) fine sanctions Google for collecting personal data _ including e-mails, web browsing histories and online banking details _ from 2007 to 2010 through its roaming camera-mounted cars.

The fine by privacy watchdog CNIL is the first against Google over the data-gathering, which 30 countries have complained about.

At least two other European countries are considering fines, while some others have ruled against penalizing Google. Google Inc. has apologized and says it will delete the data.

Ending Software Technology Parks of India scheme to adversely impact Indian IT

In the budget, IT's golden goose - Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), the most successful Indian scheme copied by a number of foreign governments - was squashed prematurely . While India started its liberalisation process in 1992 with attractive tax incentives for the IT sector, the Chinese had instituted similar incentives for manufacturing in 1978.

Thirty years later, in spite of conquering the manufacturing sector, China continues with its tax incentives. India's decision to end the tax incentive signals the impending decline of Indian IT.

In 1978, when China was in dire straits, Deng Xiaoping went to the US to plead for more foreign currency. China had depleted all its foreign currency reserves and did not even have enough dollars to buy return tickets for Deng's delegation. The Chinese People's Bank, with just 80 employees at its head office, was the only financial institution in the country with no linkages to the outside world.

But thereafter, China liberalised and announced incentives for manufacturing and SEZs. It reduced tax rates from 55% to 25%. For manufacturing, the policy provided for zero tax for two years and just 12.5% tax for another three years. Thirty years later, China has reserves of almost $3 trillion. Its manufacturing sector at over $2,500 billion is 12 times bigger than India's . In spite of this stupendous achievement , China continues with all its tax incentives till date.

With the world recognising Chinese supremacy in the manufacturing sector, we find the "Made in China" label on almost everything we see. Indians have even found it cost-effective to worship Ganesh idols manufactured in China. Today, China is in a position to charge higher prices for their products without affecting their business, because no country will be able to respond in the short run.

AT&T, T-Mobile deal to benefit Indian IT vendors

Indian outsourcing vendors like Infosys, Cognizant and Tech Mahindra are set to gain new projects worth hundreds of millions from AT&T's acquisition of T-Mobile, as the two telcos seek to integrate their systems and lower their operational costs.

While Tata Consultancy Services , Infosys, Wipro and Tech Mahindra count AT&T among their top customer, multinational rival Cognizant counts both AT&T and T-Mobile among its key clients. Infosys too works with both the telcos, people familiar with recent outsourcing decisions taken by AT&T and T-Mobile said.

New outsourcing projects after AT&T receives necessary regulatory approvals could include integration of billing and customer systems apart from consolidation of other operational support systems. "We are still watching this; as of now, it's business as usual. But consolidation and M&A is a good news for IT business, there are always systems to be stitched together," said a top official at one of the companies working with a US-based telecom customer.

Over past few years, Indian outsourcing vendors have seen business from telecom customers come down as telcos such as BT Plc trimmed their budgets and chose to work with more vendors at lower rates. BT, which once was Infosys' top customer contributing some $300 million every year in revenues is now down to almost $100 million a year.

Outsourcing experts said Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Cognizant are set to benefit from this consolidation. "TechM does huge amount of business with AT&T . It is definitely going to be a plus. TechM was also planning to enter into T-Mobile. In fact, T-Mobile released an Infra RFP some days back.

Pages

Tuesday, March 22, 2011