Samsung has been banned from selling three models of its Galaxy smartphones in a number of European countries.
The preliminary injunction was handed down by a court in the Netherlands after Apple filed a claim for patent infringement.
It claimed that Samsung had copied technology owned by Apple relating to the way photos are displayed on mobile devices.
The embargo is due to come into effect in seven weeks.
A district court in the Hague upheld Apple's claim concerning one specific patent - EP 2059868 - which outlines an interface for viewing and navigating photographs on a touchscreen phone.
However, the judge rejected several other patent issues, as well as Apple's claim that Samsung had stolen many of its design ideas.
Despite the impending embargo, Samsung welcomed the ruling. In a statement, the company said: "Today's ruling is an affirmation that the Galaxy range of products is innovative and distinctive.
"With regard to the single infringement cited in the ruling, we will take all possible measures including legal action to ensure that there is no disruption in the availability of our Galaxy smartphones to Dutch consumers."
The statement continued: "This ruling is not expected to affect sales in other European markets."
23 August 2011Last updated at 22:18 ETBy Jane WakefieldTechnology reporter
A BBC crowd-sourcing survey into the state of mobile Britain suggests that 3G has some way to go before it offers comprehensive coverage across the UK.
Despite operator claims of 90% or more 3G coverage, there are still many notspots, including in major towns and cities, according to the map.
Those testers able to receive a data connection only got a 3G signal 75% of the time.
For nearly a quarter of the time they had to rely on older 2G technology.
2G is typically around ten times slower than 3G "mobile broadband".
Mobile coverage has become a huge issue as people rely increasingly on their smartphones to surf the web and send email as well as making phone calls.
Last month the BBC invited people to download an app that would collate the 3G coverage their Android handsets were getting.
The experiment aimed to offer a snapshot of coverage.
Industry first
44,600 volunteers took part, providing testing firm Epitiro with some 1.7 million hours worth of data from around the UK.
"The BBC has undertaken a crowd-sourcing survey that is well beyond any scale seen by the mobile industry in this country or any other," said Gavin John, chief executive of Epitiro.
"Over 44,000 volunteers from the Shetland Islands to the Isles of Scilly participated with 42 million locations tested from every county in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland."
"For the first time consumers have the means to see 3G coverage precisely where they live, work and travel," he added.
Operators too were broadly pleased by the initiative.
O2 said it "welcomed the crowd sourcing experiment", but added that more detail - for example signal quality - would have been useful.
"The issue of coverage is no longer about covering the land mass to meet a percentage target, but about depth and quality of experience," said an O2 spokesman.
"The results don't show the 'experience' on each network - for example, speed or the ability to hold a connection. Simply having coverage does not guarantee a good service."
Everything Everywhere - the parent company of Orange and T-Mobile - said it "was a step in the right direction" for offering consumers transparent information about coverage.
"It is a little too early to tell how much it tallies with our own maps or how we would use the information," said James Hattam, director of service management at Everything Everywhere.
Three was concerned that the picture painted by the map was driven as much by the number of people from each operator taking part as by actual coverage.
"Three has the UK's largest 3G network, but as a newer operator with fewer customers, is necessarily less well represented on this map at a local level," said Phil Sheppard, director of network strategy at Three UK.
If our 3G survey has shown anything it's this - for many thousands of people the quality of their mobile phone signal is of great importance and they are thirsty for more information.
What's striking is that while overall coverage is pretty good, it's still far more patchy than the maps provided by the mobile operators would suggest.
My own experience this week shows that in the centre of a major city, on a major inter-city rail route, in a village in rural Oxfordshire, you cannot rely on getting a good 3G signal.
We know the mobile networks - and Ofcom - will be studying the map with interest. With the 4G auction coming up next year, the challenge for the mobile industry and the regulator is to show that they can improve speeds across the network while ensuring that those people who are in notspots now are not left even further behind in the future
The results suggest that the performance of different operators varies enormously from region to region.
Windsor Holden, an analyst with Juniper Research, homed in on West Sussex.
"There are substantial differences in Chichester where, for example, O2 has poor coverage to the west while Vodafone has issues in the east," said Mr Holden.
"There is probably a correlation to their base station configurations. When these networks were rolled out there was not the attention paid to planning and so networks aren't as efficient as they should be."
The map underlines the need for people signing up to mobile broadband to research coverage in their local area, according to Michael Phillips of Broadbandchoices.co.uk.
He warned that the quality of 3G data services across the UK still varied widely.
"Mobile broadband swings between where fixed broadband was from 1998 to 2003, but many people are expecting the same speeds for their smartphones as they get at home," he said.
"The reality is that 3G is a good service in major cities but it is failing to deliver on trains and in the countryside."
Among the worst places for mobile coverage are the UK's road and rail networks.
"A whole stretch of the A3 has little or no coverage and there are substantial blackspots when people are travelling," said Juniper Research's Windsor Holden.
"Mobile's key advantage is that you should be able to use it anytime and anywhere and that is not the case at the moment. There is no reason why coverage could not be improved in these areas," he said.
Train journey
The BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones took a train from Cardiff to London to test the quality of service for commuters.
The government has recently offered a cash injection to boost the roll-out of next-generation fixed broadband in rural areas.
Ofcom's Communications Consumer Panel last month called for a similar strategy to tackle mobile notspots.
It recommended that the upcoming 4G mobile auction should be used as an opportunity to upgrade the UK's mobile infrastructure.
"Effective mobile communication is essential, and we need intervention to improve services. The decision by tens of thousands of people to take part in the survey demonstrates how significant coverage is to people's everyday lives," said panel member Colin Browne.
Next steps
It is important to note that the BBC's map is a crowd sourced snapshot of coverage rather than a scientific test.
Measuring mobile coverage is complex and the signal that someone receives depends on a number of factors, including whether they are indoors or outdoors, what time of day they are using the phone and what handset they have.
Drive-by tests conducted by Ofcom in Devon recently revealed that often feature phones were a better option for those wanting to just make a phone call in rural areas.
A total of 270 models or variants of smartphones and tablets variants were used in the BBC study, including six varieties of HTC handset and Samsung's popular Galaxy handsets.
The data collected is by far the most comprehensive to date, although it is not the only experiment of its kind.
Opensignalmaps offers a similar service. It has been collecting coverage data since December 2010.
Its 30,000 users have mapped 10 million locations. Their results suggest that 3G is only available 48% of the time.
Opensignalmaps has pinpointed North Humberside as the area with the worst coverage - a total of 75 notspots.
"Looking at our map most of the big cities are well served by 3G, but it's clear that 3G coverage is still a massive issue anywhere outside major cities," said map creator Brendon Gill.
Comparing operators has been difficult for consumers up to now because they all measure their networks in different ways.
O2 thinks that projects such as the BBC's map might offer a better answer.
"We would like to see these types of initiatives shape the future of customer experience measurement," said a spokesman.
Everything Everywhere's James Hattam said he hoped Ofcom would develop the map further.
"If the sample size was increased and Ofcom took it on then it could be a really useful tool in the industry," he said.
Facebook has announced a major revamp of how users control their privacy on the site.
Among the changes, items posted online will each have their own sharing settings determining who can see them.
It is the latest in a long line of attempts by Facebook to streamline how members manage their personal information.
In the past, the social network has been criticised for seeming to bury privacy settings in obscure menus.
Now when users are tagged in a posting - such as a photograph or video - they will have the option to confirm or remove their identity before it appears on their profile.
It is hoped the safeguard will eliminate the problem of malicious tagging, which is often used by cyberbullies who add other people's names to unpleasant images.
Other changes include:
In line controls - each item on a user's wall has individual privacy options, such as public, friends and custom
Tag takedown - the ability to remove tags of self, ask the person who tagged you to remove it, or block the tagger
Universal tagging - users can tag anyone, not just Facebook friends. Other person can choose not to accept the tagged post on their profile
Location tagging - geographic locations can be added in all versions of Facebook, not just mobile app
Profile view - the option to see how others view your profile is added above the news feed
Facebook's vice president of product, Chris Cox said that the arrival of another privacy refresh didn't necessarily mean the old system was confusing.
"I don't think the old controls were bad. I just think the new ones are much better," he told BBC News.
"The goal is just to make [the settings] more inline and more immediate, just right there in the profile."
Mr Cox also played down suggestions that Facebook might be improving its privacy controls as it prepares to extend access to children under 13 - something its founder Mark Zuckerberg has said he would like to see.
"This change is really just about the people that are on Facebook today and the new users who just joined today and making it easier for them.
"This really is not in any way about the under-13 experience," said Mr Cox.
He promised there would not be any unexpected changes to users' privacy settings during the changeover process.
Existing users will retain their current default sharing settings.
The first time new Facebook members share a piece of content, their default suggestion will be public - which replaces the "everyone" setting. If users select another option, that will become their default in future.
The new privacy options will begin to be rolled out across the site from Thursday 25 August.
CCTV that can automatically monitor criminal behaviour and track suspects is being developed by UK scientists.
Researchers at Kingston University have created a system that uses artificial intelligence to recognise specific types of behaviour, such as someone holding a gun.
The technology is capable of following a person across multiple cameras.
Privacy campaigners warned that it might be used to target groups such as political protesters.
However, the developers insisted that their invention would allow police to focus on law breakers and erase images of innocent civilians.
The technology works by teaching a computer to recognise specific types of public behaviour, known as "trigger events".
"In riot situations, it could be people running - a crowd might converge in a certain place," said Dr James Orwell of Kingston University
"If somebody pulls out a gun, people tend to run in all sorts of directions. These movements can be detected."
When an event is triggered, the software collates video footage from before and after the incident to record a full history of the suspect's movements.
"If a window was smashed and shop looted in a town centre street, the technology would trace back to see who smashed the window and then retrace his steps to see when and where he entered the town centre.
"The technology would also trace where the man had gone after leaving the scene," said Dr Orwell.
The study is part of the ADDPRIV project - a European collaboration to build a surveillance solution that acknowledges wider privacy concerns.
A key element of the system is the automatic deletion of surplus video data.
"There is a mainland European resistance to CCTV - tight controls on how long you can keep data," explained Dr Orwell.
"This project addresses it by saying 'This is the event - let's wrap up everything that's relevant, then delete everything else.'
"We're seeking to use surveillance to help control society, while avoiding the Big Brother nightmare of everybody being seen all the time," he added.
Charles Farrier from anti-surveillance campaign group No CCTV believes that excessive security powers would leave the system open to abuse.
"Merely saying 'We promise we won't track innocent people' isn't good enough," said Mr Farrier.
"If you've got a state-run camera system and the state wants it triggered on, say, peace activists, then they won't be bound by the same rules as everyone else."
Radio antennas that can be sewn directly onto clothes have been developed by US researchers.
The team from Ohio State University created a prototype using plastic film and metallic thread.
The scientists reported in an IEEE journal that the system's range is four times greater than that of a conventional antenna worn on the body.
The technology could potentially be applied in a number of fields, but is primarily designed for military use.
"Our primary goal is to improve communications reliability and the mobility of the soldiers," said Chi-Chih Chen, one of the researchers.
"But the same technology could work for police officers, firefighters, astronauts - anybody who needs to keep their hands free for important work."
Multidirectional
The idea of hiding antennas is not new. The mobile phone industry moved away from external aerials in favour of those concealed inside handsets.
But while most manufacturers have managed to incorporate the antennas without much trouble, Apple ran into problems.
When the iPhone 4 was released last summer, some owners reported reception issues.
The phone's casing, which is made of stainless steel, also serves as its antenna.
Users discovered that - by gripping the handset - their skin short-circuited a gap in the aerial, causing signal strength to drop.
This has not been a problem for the Ohio State University team, as the prototype antenna is first embedded into plastic film, which is then sewn onto fabric - using an ordinary sewing machine.
To make sure the signal is strong and the antenna is multidirectional, the scientists place several antennas onto a piece of clothing - at the front, back and on both shoulders.
These work together, along with an integrated computer control device, to sense body movement and switch to the optimal antenna.
Currently, the technology would cost about $200 (�120) per person to implement, according to the developers. Once it is in mass production, the price is expected to come down.
Libya's internet connections appear to be slowly coming back online after a six-month blackout.
The state-run internet service provider (ISP) carried a message on its website that said: "Libya, one tribe".
However, local people have reported patchy reliability with connections coming and going.
Internet traffic in Libya dropped to almost nothing in early March when Colonel Gaddafi's government pulled the plug in an attempt to suppress dissent.
With Tripoli under siege, and the rebels reportedly gaining the upper hand, the authorities' stranglehold on net connections appeared to be loosening.
Both Google's web analytics and Akamai's net monitoring service showed a spike in traffic coming from the country early on 22 August.
Akamai's director of market intelligence, David Belson, said that internet activity had increased almost 500%, although it had declined again later in the day.
Writing on the blog of internet intelligence firm Renesys, chief technology officer James Cowie said that Libya's Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing appeared to have been taken down briefly, effectively making the country's internal networks disappear from the internet.
The BGPs were later restored, although local ADSL broadband connections then became unavailable, wrote Mr Cowie.
Web monitoring companies conceded that it was difficult to know exactly what was going on inside the country to make the internet connections sporadically available.
However, it appeared that Libyans were making use of their newly restored connectivity - when available - to chronicle fast-moving events inside the country.
Groups such as the Libya Youth Movement posted Twitter messages giving regular updates on attempts to capture Colonel Gaddafi's compound.
He said he had "shredded" them to avoid their sources being compromised.
Mr Domscheit-Berg previously worked alongside Julian Assange until the pair had a high profile falling-out.
It is understood that he took the files off Wikileaks' servers at the time of his departure.
Wikileaks confirmed the claims on its Twitter feed, saying: "We can confirm that the DDB claimed destroyed data included a copy of the entire US no-fly list."
The list contains the names of individuals who are banned from boarding planes in the United States or bound for the US, based on suspected terrorist links or other security concerns.
Wikileaks' statement went on to state that Mr Domscheit-Berg had also deleted 5 gigabytes of data relating to Bank of America, the internal communications of 20 neo-Nazi organisations and US intercept information for "over a hundred internet companies."
Mr Domscheit-Berg has not confirmed those additional claims.
A statement, attributed to Julian Assange, accused the former volunteer of sabotage and attempted blackmail.
Personality clash
Daniel Domscheit-Berg worked with Wikileaks as a spokesman during 2010. Towards the end of the year, he left the organisation.
He subsequently published a book about his experiences in which he claims to have clashed with Mr Assange over his idiosyncratic running of Wikileaks.
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Daniel Domscheit-Berg spoke to the BBC's Panorama programme in February 2011
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In particular, he claims to have urged the founder to step back from his public role amid accusations of sexual misconduct.
In an interview with the BBC's Panorama programme, Mr Domscheit-Berg said he "felt that [Wikileaks] was crumbling apart because [Julian Assange] was so damn ignorant".
He also accused Mr Assange of "behaving like a child clutching on his toy."
After his departure from Wikileaks, Mr Domscheit-Berg set up a rival whistle-blowing site called the OpenLeaks project.
For SMS, the system works by sending out a mass cell broadcast (SMS-CB) to all handsets in a designated area.
3G cellphones are compelled by Japanese law to include SMS-CB technology. However, many foreign-made phones do not currently support it.
The message accompanying Apple's new feature reads: "The earthquake early warning/alert. When the setting is on, your battery life may be reduced."
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs sent an email to Japanese employees immediately after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami offering help and support if they or their families were affected by the disaster.
Shares in Hewlett-Packard have fallen sharply on news that it is buying UK software firm Autonomy and may sell its PC business.
HP's future plans also include no longer selling smartphones and tablet computers and refocusing on selling software.
HP shares fell 20% in Friday trading to $23.64.
HP's �7.1bn ($11.7bn) offer for Autonomy, accepted by Autonomy's board, is 64% above the firm's market value.
HP's PC business is the world's largest, but by the end of next year, HP computers could be sold under another company's name.
'Strong starting point'
Analysts say the move underscores Apple Computing's dominance in smartphones and tablets with its iPhone and iPad products.
"Apple single-handedly knocked HP out of the PC, smartphone and tablet business," said Gleacher & Co analyst Brian Marshall.
The new strategy means that HP, which will continue to sell servers and other equipment to business customers, will follow the path taken by IBM in 2005, sidelining PC hardware in favour of more profitable software and services.
Chief executive Leo Apotheker had big ambitions for the consumer market. He wanted HP to become "as cool as Apple", challenge the iPhones, iPads and Android smartphones of this world with his Touchpads and Pre phones.
To Mr Apotheker's credit, he quickly realised that he could not out-apple Apple.
HP is leaving the PC business with its razor-thin margins to focus on highly profitable computing for businesses instead.
This is where the purchase of UK software firm Autonomy fits in.
Companies have one big IT problem right now: how to process, store and understand the rapidly growing data deluge that is flooding in from ever more connected devices and web services.
Autonomy has been pushing hard in this field of "business intelligence" and "business analytics". It will be Mr Apotheker's challenge to integrate successfully such a big new division with HP's other software offering.
Analyst Milan Radia at Jefferies said the deal gave HP an "exceptionally strong starting point" in the enterprise software market.
"Today, software accounts for only about 2% of HP's revenue," he said. "By way of comparison, IBM's software journey only commenced in 2001 with a $1bn acquisition, followed by a series of major transactions."
Forecast trimmed
Autonomy was set up by researchers at Cambridge University and specialises in pattern-recognition technologies.
HP will pay 2,550 pence per share, compared with a closing price in London on Wednesday of 1,558p.
The implied valuation of the company is equivalent to 47 times the pre-tax profits earned by Autonomy in the 12 months to June this year.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, HP announced quarterly results that were largely in line with expectations, with revenues of $31.2bn (�18.9bn), up 1.6% from a year earlier.
HP trimmed its maximum full-year forecast from $130bn to $127.6bn, echoing a similar reduction by Dell on Tuesday.
Google is expanding its Street View service into some of the world's most remote places.
It will photograph the Amazon and Rio Negro Rivers of northwest Brazil in partnership with charity Foundation for a Sustainable Amazon (FAS).
Google will train local people to collect images, and will leave behind equipment so work continues long-term.
Pictures will be stitched together so users can explore 360-degree panoramics of the area.
FAS approached Google two years ago with the plan to digitize high-quality images from the Amazon basin to demonstrate the effects of poor global sustainability efforts and widespread deforestation on the landscape.
End QuoteMaria do Socorro da Silva MendoncaLocal resident
FAS project leader Gabriel Ribenboim said: "It is very important to show the world not only the environment and the way of life of the traditional population, but to sensitize the world to the challenges of climate change, deforestation and combating poverty."
For Google, the project represents the biggest challenge for their Street View equipment, which was first designed to work over well-maintained, modern roads.
Google's engineers will use the Street View "trike", originally developed to reach off road areas - such as Stone Henge and Kew Gardens.
"We'll pedal the Street View trike along the narrow dirt paths of the Amazon villages and maneuver it up close to where civilization meets the rainforest," Google described in a blog post.
"We'll also mount it onto a boat to take photographs as the boat floats down the river."
In addition to the street-level pictures, it will use technology developed to photograph business premises in the US to take images within buildings and community centres along the river.
Google hopes doing so will give a "sense of what it's like to live and work in places such as an Amazonian community centre and school".
The project will start in the town of Tumbira, where the California-based company has attracted much attention.
Residesnt Maria do Socorro da Silva Mendonca had never heard of Google, but is excited by the project.
"I don't know anything about the Internet," the 40-year-old mother told AP.
"I think it is wonderful because our community was never published anywhere, not even [big Brazilian city] Manaus.
"Nobody knows we are here."
Google's Street View service was launched in 2007, at first just covering a few US cities.
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