Google fined $5m over Linux patent row

A judgement by a Texas jury against Google could have major implications for the search giant and the open source world said experts.

The internet titan was found guilty of infringing a patent related to the Linux kernel and fined $5m (£3.2m).
The software is used by Google for its server platforms and could also extend to its Android mobile platform.
The kernel is at the core of the open-source operating system meaning this verdict could be far-reaching.
The case resulted in a victory for a firm called Bedrock Computer Technologies which has also sued Yahoo, MySpace, Amazon, PayPal, Match.com and AOL.
"The amount of the fine is not what makes this an important issue," intellectual property activist Florian Mueller told BBC News.
"This is a modest amount considering Google is probably the largest scale Linux user in the world.
"The implication here is really that there is a huge number of Linux users who will be required to pay royalties if this patent holder knocks on their doors in the US. This is definitely a major impediment to the growth of Linux and makes companies, including Google, that rely on open source code particularly vulnerable to patent threats."
That is also the view of other industry watchers who expect a flood of lawsuits against companies who rely on open source code.
"Those looking to cash in on buried patents need only spend time poring over code and looking for infringements," said Christopher Dawson of technology blog ZDNet.

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Yahoo buys TV sharing app IntoNow

Yahoo has announced a deal to buy TV-sharing start-up company IntoNow as part of its plans to increase its social media presence.

The financial terms of the deal, including price, were not disclosed.
IntoNow's software allows users to identify TV shows and share them with friends using mobile internet.
Amid falling revenue and profits, Yahoo is looking to expand into the mobile internet market, and to increase video advertising on the site.
"Relying on social channels as a means for discovering content - whether it's on a PC, mobile device, or TV - is rapidly on the rise," said Bill Shaughnessy at Yahoo.
"IntoNow's technology combines the ability to check-in to what a consumer is watching, engage in conversations, and find related content."
The application is integrated with Facebook, Twitter, iTunes and Netflix.
Launched in January this year, California-based IntoNow is led by Adam Cahan, a former executive at Google and Viacom's MTV.
Last week, Yahoo reported profits of $223m (£137m) for the first three months of 2011, down from $310m last year.
However, the figure was better than analysts had expected.

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Officials in Iran say they have found a computer virus designed to target the country's government institutions.

The malicious software - dubbed Stars - was capable of inflicting minor damage, according to the head of Iran's civil defence organisation.
If the reports are accurate, it would be the second major attack in a year.
The recently discovered Stuxnet worm is thought to have been created to take control of equipment used in Iran's nuclear programme.
It would take some time to establish Stars' intended purpose, said Gholam Reza Jalali, military head of the Iranian Passive Defence Organisation.
"The Stars virus has been presented to the laboratory but is still being investigated," he said.
"No definite final conclusions have been reached."
Mr Jalali revealed that the virus could have been "mistaken for executive files of governmental organisations", but gave no indication about who might be behind the attack.
Stuxnet
Last week, the same official suggested that Stuxnet was the work of the United States and warned that it could have caused large-scale accidents and loss of life.
Stuxnet first came to light in July 2010. Analysis by security firm Symantec showed that, while it could be transmitted via the internet, it was designed to infect specific types of industrial controllers.

story source: www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology

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The Army's first smartphone? Android, of course

 I was recently in Fort Knox, Kentucky, to visit my nephew in Army Basic Training, where my sister gave him a basic Tracphone so he could call home more easily.
But he might soon be getting a substantial upgrade: The U.S. Army announced that it has chosen the Android operating system to power its first smartphone.
This news comes just about when (according to the timeline set forth by Sarah Connor in "The Terminator" franchise) the world-dominating, human-exterminating computer network Skynet becomes self aware.
I'm sure that's just a coincidence.
Wired's Danger Room blog reports, "A prototype device running Android called the Joint Battle Command-Platform (JBC-P Handheld), developed by tech nonprofit MITRE, is undergoing tests."
This platform will allow soldiers to quickly and (hopefully) securely share geotagged notes about obstacles they encounter on the ground. It will also support mapping, critical messaging and other support functions.
The Army announcement explained that the JBC-P Handheld is an "Android-based smartphone framework and suite of applications for tactical operations. ... Applications will be secure and interoperable with existing mission command systems so information flows seamlessly across all echelons of the force."
Third-party developers will be building apps and services for this Army smartphone. In July, the Army will release a development kit for the platform.
The Army wants applications that share data and resources across the platform, to avoid the "stovepiping" problems that have plagued so many military and government information technology projects.
Systems integration is key: It could allow soldiers on the ground to fine-tune targeting for missiles and other munitions, as well as request specific aerial drone or satellite reconnaissance. It might also borrow from supply-chain software to manage requests for equipment and supplies. And it could support or enhance field medical treatment, as well as all kinds of in-field training.
Rather than sign up for thousands of pricey two-year wireless carrier contracts, the JBC-P Handhelds will communicate over several existing military radio networks.
When connected to the radio, the prototype device weighs about 2 pounds. That's considerably heavier than the current heftiest smartphone, the HTC ThunderBolt (6.23 ounces). Still, Wired notes that it's "way lighter than the Nett Warrior suite of sensors, computers, radios and mapping functions -- the Army's program of record for doing much of what a smartphone already does."
Battery technology and power management have been big problems for commercial smartphones. Bright displays (often necessary in full daylight) and GPS are notorious energy vampires that leave many smartphone owners hunting for outlets on a daily basis.
In the field, military smartphones would require far more power than commercial models, and they'd have to operate for much longer periods. It'll be interesting to see what battery and charging options (including possibly solar and hand-crank) are supplied with these new Army phones.
Also, military smartphones must be far more rugged than commercial models, able to withstand sand, dust, water, temperature extremes, impact, concussion and more. Microphones that don't get destroyed by loud blasts will be crucial, as will noise filtering for incoming and outgoing audio (something most commercial smartphones generally do poorly).
The Army did not specify whether the phones will come with unlimited text messaging. I hope a remote wipe service comes standard.

The opinions expressed in this post are solely those of Amy Gahran.
story source: edition.cnn.com

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Amazon fault takes down websites

Scores of well-known websites have been unavailable for large parts of Thursday because of problems with Amazon's web hosting service.

Foursquare, Reddit and Quora were among the sites taken offline by the glitch.
Amazon EC2 is the retailer's cloud computing business. It provides processing power and storage to companies that do not have their own data centres.
No reason has so far been given for the outage.
Visitors to the website of location-based social network Foursquare were greeted by an apology.
"Our usually amazing datacentre hosts, Amazon EC2, are having a few hiccups this morning, which affected us and a bunch of other services that use them.
"Everything looks to be getting back to normal now," read the statement.


story source: www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology

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iPhone sales double in 2011

The sales of iphones has nearly doubled Apple's profits in the first 3 months of 2011.
Net income for the three months to March jumped 85% on the same period a year ago, with iPhone sales of 18.65m - a rise of 113%.


Apple reported quarterly net profits of $5.99bn (£3.6bn), 95% up on the $3bn it made a year ago. Revenue was $24.67bn, a rise of 83%.
However, iPad sales have been below expectations, selling only 4.69m in the first quarter, and iPod sales also fell by 17%.
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said in a statement: "With quarterly revenue growth of 83% and profit growth of 95% we're firing on all cylinders."
Mr Jobs, who went on medical leave in January with an undisclosed illness, continued: "We will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year."

Story Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13152294

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Microsoft's Office 365 available for public testing

Office 365, Microsoft's set of business tools that includes an online-only option, opened up for a public round of beta testing on Tuesday.
The office suite includes Exchange, Microsoft Office, SharePoint and Lync Server, among other web-based productivity tools.
In conjunction with the beta release, Windows opened the Office 365 Marketplace, an online store where customers can add apps and services from Microsoft and partner companies to their accounts.
The major shift Microsoft is pushing with this round of its widely used office tools is the ability to use them via cloud computing. The most basic version of the new Office 365, as it stands, would be completely web-based, with no desktop tools required.
That service would cost $6 a month for each user.
By making the tools available remotely, Microsoft would let users access the suite from any device that's enabled to do so. (And what office doesn't want to make it easer to take your work home with you, right?).
Cloud-based computing like this has been a major push for Microsoft in recent months.
"We are betting big on the cloud with our most successful product, and we are investing heavily both in the product engineering side and the physical infrastructure side," Tim O'Brien, Microsoft's senior director of platform strategy, said last year when the company first unveiled a Web-based version of its Office software.
Office 365 was opened for closed, or invitation-only, testing last fall. Microsoft says more than 100,000 organizations signed on to put it through its paces.

Parties interested in the Office 365 beta can apply to join the beta test on Microsoft's site.

story source: www.cnn.com/2011/TECH

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