Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Samsung Galaxy Tab ban is on hold

The ban on the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 across Europe has been temporarily lifted while a court looks at whether the original ruling was appropriate.

The ban was brought in in Germany following a patent dispute with Apple. It accused Samsung of "slavishly" copying the design of its iPad.

But questions were raised over whether the Dusseldorf court had the right to instigate an EU-wide ban.

The ban still holds in Germany.

The Netherlands was always exempt as Apple sought to pursue broader claims there, largely because the country's ports are where many technology companies import their goods into the EU.

The overturning of the ban was originally reported by Webwerld, a Dutch IT news site.

Apple 'overreaching'

Patent law blogger Florian Mueller confirmed that the Dusseldorf court where the injunction was lodged had lifted the ban until a court hearing later this month.

"Apart from the immediate commercial benefits that this provides to Samsung, it's an unpleasant situation for Apple," he wrote.

Should the court really find that the Dusseldorf court didn't have personal jurisdiction over a Korean company, this would reinforce a lot of peoples' impression that Apple's enforcement of design-related rights is, even though understandable to a certain degree, overreaching in some areas."

Apple is also facing accusations that the document that helped it gain the original injunction on sales of the Galaxy Tab in Europe appears to misrepresent the device's similarity to the iPad.

A side-by-side comparison of the two tablets features a "squashed" picture of the Galaxy Tab, making it look identical in size and shape.

There are currently a huge number of patent disputes among smartphone and tablet makers.

The Galaxy's Australian release has been delayed because of a similar lawsuit.



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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Rural broadband to be rolled out

Rural areas in England and Scotland have been allocated nearly �363m to improve their broadband connections.

Cumbria gets one of the largest shares of the �530m pot, with over �17m to cope with its 96.2% notspots.

By contrast, London gets nothing as it assumed that private investment will cover all parts of the capital.

The strategy represents a change of course for the government which originally asked individual counties to bid for money.

Local authorities and residents can decide how the money should be spent.

County councils and private enterprise partnerships will be put in charge of broadband rollouts in their areas, and will be required to draw up delivery plans and find additional funding from elsewhere.

It will be up to the Scottish government how to use the money in Scotland.

Wales and Northern Ireland have already been given their share of the �530m broadband fund which was set aside from the TV licence fee.

The government hopes that by allocating money instead it will speed up the process.

It has pledged to make the UK the best place in Europe for broadband by 2015.

Up to one third of UK homes will not get fast broadband services from the big commercial players without government subsidy.

This is because the number of people living in rural areas versus the cost of creating a next-generation broadband do not represent a good return on their investment for players such as BT and Virgin Media.

So for example Northumberland has 71% of premises that will not be reached by commercial projects. It has been allocated over �7m.

Berkshire, with only 8% of notspots, gets �1.4m.

But some have questioned whether the �530m will be enough to fill in the gaps.

Malcolm Corbett heads up the Independent Networks Cooperative Association (INCA), which aims to co-ordinate community broadband projects around the UK.

He lives in Suffolk, which has been allocated �11.6m.

"That equates to around �70 per house or business while the cost of fibre is �1,000 per premise so there is a disparity between what the government is putting in and what it will actually cost to provide a future-proofed solution," he said.

He welcomed the new urgency from government.

"There had been pressure from MPs who were saying not much was happening and that, in part, is why they changed the process from councils bidding for money to allocating it. I think that makes a lot of sense," he said.

The Countryside Alliance welcomed the investment but doubted whether it would be enough to propel the UK to the top of the broadband league tables.

"Today's announcement will only ensure 90 per cent of our homes and businesses will have access to superfast broadband by 2015.

"In other European countries, such as Denmark, they only have 1% of homes outside the reach of ADSL, WiMAX or fibre-optic broadband coverage," it said in a statement.



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Third of teachers 'cyberbullied'

More than a third of teachers have been subject to online abuse, according to a survey conducted by Plymouth University.

The majority of the abuse - 72% - came via pupils but over a quarter was initiated by parents.

The majority of teachers claiming online abuse were women.

Much of the abuse is via chat on social networks but the study also found that many were setting up Facebook groups specifically to abuse teachers.

In some cases, people posted videos of teachers in action on YouTube while others put abusive comments on ratemyteacher.com.

In total, 35% of teachers questioned said they had been the victim of some form of online abuse. Of these, 60% were women.

Perhaps surprisingly, 26% of the abuse came from parents.

"This parental abuse is something we haven't come across before," said Prof Andy Phippen, the author of the report.

"Sometimes they are abusing other children at the school as well. Schools need to clamp down on it, or it will increase in prevalence," he warned.

Human costs

The cases of children suffering online bullying have been well-documented but the issue of teachers being abused is less well-known.

But it is a growing problem. The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said that it receives calls every week from teachers who believe they have been cyberbullied.

The study took testimony from more than 300 professionals in an anonymous internet-based survey and followed up with a handful of in-depth interviews.

Many of these revealed the human cost such cyberbullying was having.

One teacher said: "I eventually had a breakdown in the summer holiday needing an emergency doctor to be called out - as I had become suicidal.

"I had intensive support from the mental health unit via my GP, a new telephone guidance service that really helped me plus medication which was a great help, and still is."

The guidance service referred to is the Professional Online Safety Helpline, a new initiative from the Safer Internet Centre.

In another testimony, a teacher was falsely accused of "inappropriate behaviour" towards a pupil.

New route

"I was questioned by the police on one single occasion and released without charge, caution or reprimand... I also ended up in the care of a psychologist to help me deal with the loss of self-worth, depression and the urge to commit suicide," the teacher said.

For Prof Phippen the phenomenon illustrates a shift in how parents and children address issues at school.

"It seems to a subset of the population the teacher is no longer viewed as someone who should be supported in developing their child's education, but a person whom it is acceptable to abuse if they dislike what is happening in the classroom," said Prof Phippen.

"Clearly some people are viewing social media as a bypass to the traditional routes (head teacher, board of governors) of discussing dissatisfaction with the school," he added.

Facebook offers tips for teachers and promises to respond to reports of individual harassment within 24 hours.

"These online discussions are a reflection of those happening offline," said a Facebook spokesman.

"But while you can't report a conversation outside the school gates or easily stop a person sending abusive, anonymous emails, Facebook have worked hard to develop reporting mechanisms that enable people to report offensive content they are concerned about."



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Google deal boost for phone firms

Shares in Asian makers of Android mobile phones have risen, after Google said it would buy Motorola's handset business for $12.5bn (�7.7bn).

The agreement is expected to give the likes of HTC and Samsung Electronics a greater degree of protection against possible patent disputes.

Shares in Samsung rose more than 4%, while HTC shares were 2% higher on Tuesday.

Google is the primary developer of the Android software for mobile devices.

However, because many companies own related patents, the internet giant is open to being sued by rivals.

Its purchase of Motorola Mobility gives Google ownership of 17,000 mobile patents, with thousands more pending.

That means mobile phone makers that license Android software may now receive more protection against future patent lawsuits.

"We welcome the news of today's acquisition, which demonstrates that Google is deeply committed to defending Android, its partners, and the entire ecosystem," HTC chief executive Peter Chou said in a statement.

Besides HTC and Samsung, other companies that use the software include Sony Ericsson and LG Electronics.

So-called contract equipment manufacturers, which make phones for brands other than its own, also received a boost from the Google deal.

Shares in Taiwan's Foxconn rose by more than 14% while Compal Communications jumped by more than 7%.



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Monday, August 15, 2011

Google to buy Motorola Mobility

Internet giant Google has announced a deal to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5bn (�7.7bn).

A joint statement said the boards of both companies had unanimously approved the deal, which should be completed by the end of this year, or early in 2012.

Earlier this year, Motorola split into two separate companies.

Mobility develops and manufactures mobile phones, while Motorola Solutions covers wider technologies for corporate customers and governments.

The price of $12.5bn, or $40 per share, represents a 63% premium on the closing share price of Motorola Mobility on Friday, the joint statement said.

The deal would allow Google to "supercharge" its Android operating system, the company said.

It added that it would continue to run Mobility as a separate business.

'New opportunities'

"Motorola Mobility's total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies," said Larry Page, Google's chief executive.

Sanjay Jha, his counterpart at Mobility, said: "This transaction offers significant value for [our] stockholders and provides compelling new opportunities for our employees, customers and partners around the world."

The deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

Motorola was once one of the world's most successful mobile phone manufacturers, but has fallen behind the likes of Apple, Samsung and HTC in recent years.

Many of its handsets already use Google's Android operating system.



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Samsung fights Euro tablet ban

Samsung has been given a court date to challenge the European sales ban on its Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Its case will be heard in Düsseldorf on 25 August, as the company bids to overturn an international injunction brought by Apple.

The iPad maker claimed that Samsung's tablet devices "slavishly" copy its product designs.

Apple is also attempting to obtain an injunction in the Netherlands, the only European country not currently covered.

A decision on the EU embargo is expected within a couple of weeks of the German court hearing.

Currently, Samsung is banned from importing, promoting or selling its flagship tablet device across most of the European Union.

However, a number of retailers continue to offer the Galaxy Tab 10.1 for sale as the injunction does not cover third parties that still have stock.

Dutch action

The nature of the legal action in the Netherlands is understood to be somewhat broader, although it still relates to the Galaxy Tab.

There, Apple claims that Samsung not only copied its designs, but that it infringed a number of specific patents, relating to its touch-screen interface and photo-management software.

Patent-dispute blogger Florian Mueller, speculated that the Dutch case may be of particular significance because of Rotterdam's importance to Samsung as a key seaport for importing its goods into Europe.



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Electric speed team 'will try again'

Sir Malcolm Campbell's grandson has vowed to return to the beach where his own son failed to smash the UK land speed record for an electric car.

Joe Wales was trying to break the 137mph record held by his father Don when Bluebird Electric hit a pothole at Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshire.

The car was damaged but the 19-year-old driver escaped with mild whiplash.

His father Don said: "The important thing is Joe is fine... I don't know if I could have done any better."

Joe Wales was aiming to become the fourth generation of his family to break a world speed record.

"Start Quote

He's broken his dad's car - how does any son cope with breaking his dad's car?"

End Quote Don Wales Record-breaking driver

His great-grandfather Sir Malcolm Campbell and great-uncle Donald Campbell held world speed records on land and water, while great-great-grandfather Malcolm made his first record attempt on Pendine Sands in 1924.

Joe's father Don Wales, 50, from Addlestone, Surrey, was also attempting to break his own record, set in 2000.

But his own record bid had to be aborted after the car's suspension was damaged during Joe's run.

Don Wales was able to joke about the incident saying: "He's broken his dad's car - how does any son cope with breaking his dad's car?

"We're bitterly disappointed but the important thing is that Joe is fine," he added.

'Learn from it'

"Visibility on the course in a low car is actually quite bad - despite it being a really sunny day when you're in a low car for some reason it becomes almost impossible to see where you're going properly."

"This is Joe's first go on Pendine and I think in hindsight maybe I should have gone first.

"But the team decided Joe should go first to get his first record.

"I'm afraid that with the vibrations on the sand and the poor visibility, he just lost his way.

"I'm not going to blame Joe in anyway whatsoever. We need to learn from it and get some bigger markerposts, and if you have any doubts about running on the beach, not do it.

"I would like to come back to Pendine - it's a fabulous place. But I've always said it's a place you need to treat with respect."

"We've tried our best - we've come up short but we're here to live another day."



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Friday, August 12, 2011

China finds 22 fake Apple stores

A total of 22 fake Apple stores have been uncovered in one Chinese city.

Authorities in Kunming began searching out the copycats after pictures of one convincing replica were circulated on the web.

An early search found five fake stores, two of which were shut down for trading without a licence.

Now, according to Chinese trade officials, 22 have been found unlawfully using Apple's brand and logo.

The investigation into unauthorised Apple stores in Kunming was brought about when an American living in the city published a blog post describing a visit to one such shop.

Describing it as a "beautiful ripoff", BirdAbroad revealed how far the owners had gone to copy the decor and ambience of a real Apple store.

Staff also wore the same colour T-shirts as real Apple staffers, and sported lanyards of the same design.

The blog post was widely shared around the world and prompted Chinese trade officials in Kunming to take action.

The Administration for Industry and Commerce in Kunming said its investigation had unveiled a slew of stores violating Apple's registered trademarks.

The shops have been told to stop using the logos as Chinese laws prohibit copying the "look and feel" of another company without permission.

It is not clear whether the shops being reprimanded were selling legitimate Apple products or those bought on the grey market.

The Kunming retail watchdog said it would step up its monitoring efforts and set up a hotline through which the public can report unauthorised Apple shops they find.



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Hypersonic test aircraft 'lost'

The US military lost contact with an unmanned hypersonic test aircraft shortly after its launch, defence officials have said.

The Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) - capable of reaching any target in the world in less than an hour - began a test flight from atop a rocket on Thursday.

Contact was also lost with a similar craft during the first mission.

The HTV-2 is designed to travel at 13,000mph (21,000km/h).

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), which is funding the HTV-2 programme and overseeing the tests, said the small craft was capable of reaching speeds of Mach 20.

The aircraft took off using a Minotaur IV rocket from Vanderberg Air Force Base in California early on Thursday.

Engineers programmed the HTV-2 to launch from the edge of space, separate from its rocket and crash into the ocean.

No information was available on whether the goals of the mission were achieved.

Re-entering Earth's atmosphere

Darpa said the HTV-2 would be subject to temperatures in excess of 3,500F (2,000C) if it reached its intended speed during its test flight.

The agency had previously said the craft would re-enter the earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.

The first test flight of a HTV-2 ended with the craft crashing into the Pacific after the military lost contact with the glider nine minutes into the flight.

But the first glider's flight still managed to return 139 seconds of aerodynamic data at speeds between 17 and 22 times the speed of sound, DARPA said.

The HTV-2 programme "informs policy, acquisition, and operations decisions for future Department of Defense Conventional Prompt Global Strike programmes", Darpa said on its website.

At HTV-2 speeds, flight time between New York City and Los Angeles, which are roughly 2,500 miles (4,000 km) apart, would be less than 12 minutes.

The Atlantis shuttle, launched in July, travelled around Earth's orbit at a similar speed of about 17,500mph (28,000kp/h).



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Tattoo hope in patient monitoring

An "electronic tattoo" could herald a revolution in the way patients are monitored and provide a breakthrough in computer gaming, say US scientists.

They used the device, which is thinner than a human hair, to monitor the heart and brain, according to a study in the journal Science.

The sensor attaches to human skin just like a temporary tattoo and can move, wrinkle and stretch without breaking.

Researchers hope it could replace bulky equipment currently used in hospitals.

A mass of cables, wires, gel-coated sticky pads and monitors are currently needed to keep track of a patient's vital signs.

Scientists say this can be "distressing", such as when a patient with heart problems has to wear a bulky monitor for a month "in order to capture abnormal but rare cardiac events".

Solar cells

With the tattoo, all the electronic parts are built out of wavy, snake-like components, which mean they can cope with being stretched and squeezed.

There are also tiny solar cells which can generate power or get energy from electromagnetic radiation.

The device is small, less than 50 micrometres thick - less than the diameter of a human hair.

The sensor is mounted on to a water-soluble sheet of plastic, so is attached to the body by brushing with water, just like a temporary tattoo.

It sticks on due to weak forces of attraction between the skin and a polyester layer at the base of the sensor, which is the same force which sticks geckos to walls.

In the study, the tattoo was used to measure electrical activity in the leg, heart and brain. It found that the "measurements agree remarkably well" with those taken by traditional methods.

Researchers believe the technology could be used to replace traditional wires and cables.

Smaller, less invasive, sensors could be especially useful for monitoring premature babies or for studying patients with sleep apnoea without them wearing wires through the night, researchers say.

Prof Todd Coleman, from the University of Illinois, said: "If we want to understand brain function in a natural environment, that's completely incompatible with studies in a laboratory.

"The best way to do this is to record neural signals in natural settings, with devices that are invisible to the user."

The device was worn for up to 24 hours without loss of function or skin irritation.

However, there are problems with longer-term use, as the skin constantly produces new cells, while those at the surface die and are brushed off, meaning a new sensor would need to be attached at least every fortnight.

'Electronic skin'

When the tattoo was attached to the throat, it was able to detect differences in words such as up, down, left, right, go and stop.

The researchers managed to use this to control a simple computer game.

John Rogers, professor in material science and engineering at the University of Illinois, said: "Our goal was to develop an electronic technology that could integrate with the skin in a way that is invisible to the user.

"It's a technology that blurs the distinction between electronics and biology."

Prof Zhenqiang Ma, an electrical and computer engineer at the University of Wisconsin, argued that the technology could overcome issues with bulky sensors.

"An electronic skin will help solve these problems and allow monitoring to be simpler, more reliable and uninterrupted.

"It has proved to be viable and low-cost in this demonstration which will greatly facilitate the practical clinical use of the electronic skin."



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