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Google drops Microsoft patent claims

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 09 Januari 2013 | 23.58

9 January 2013 Last updated at 07:37 ET

Google has ended one patent war with Microsoft over video compression technology used in the Xbox 360.

The firm had also argued that Microsoft was using its wi-fi innovations.

Google has now asked the US International Trade Commission, which handles patent disputes, to withdraw both claims.

It had previously said in court that Microsoft should pay up to $4bn (£2.5bn) a year to use its connectivity and video coding patents.

Microsoft had argued that the patents, which belong to the Motorola Mobility Unit owned by Google, were only worth about $1m (£623,000) per year to use because the technology they related to is so essential to the tech industry as a whole.

Licence fees

Google countered that the two firms should have tried to negotiate a deal based on the starting point of a 2.25% royalty demand, which it described as "the only logical starting point" since it had agreed other licences on this basis.

Had the dispute gone ahead, a jury would have been asked to rule over whether that royalty fare was too high.

Microsoft's refusal to discuss a deal on these terms prompted Motorola to file lawsuits in the US and Europe last year, seeking to block several Microsoft products from sale on the basis that its rights had been infringed.

In May 2012, Google succeeded in winning an injunction against Microsoft in Germany, allowing it to impose a sales ban there against the Xbox 360 games console, Windows 7 system software, Internet Explorer browser and Windows Media Player.

But another judge overruled the ban.

A Microsoft spokesman said another row over licensing terms for these patents is ongoing. That row will be decided in a US district court rather than by the ITC.

Price of patents

"It's noticeable that in the last two to three years the pace of product development has slowed down because everyone is terrified of patent disputes," Chris Green, tech analyst at DMG Europe, told the BBC.

Mr Green added that many large companies were investing too much time and money in patent disputes.

Google has yet to comment.


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Poorest pupils lack home internet

4 January 2013 Last updated at 08:16 ET By Judith Burns BBC News education reporter

More than a third of the poorest children do not have the internet at home and a similar number do not have a computer, official figures suggest.

A new breakdown of Office of National Statistics (ONS) data also showed that children from the wealthiest homes all had internet and computer access.

Campaigners say this 'digital divide' can harm poor pupils' education.

Valerie Thompson of the E-Learning Foundation says children without home internet "lose out big time".

She said, at the most basic level, lack of a home internet connection or a computer could mean that children struggled to research homework or complete coursework and were unable to access school websites which allow pupils to submit work digitally and receive feedback from teachers.

Poor access

"These new statistics show the digital divide is still a major issue for this country's young people.

"Poverty is clearly a factor in poor access to digital learning technologies and poor performance at school. The link between the two cannot be ignored."

The latest ONS Family Spending Survey, published last month, analysed the income and expenditure of more than 11,000 households across the UK. The data was collected in 2011.

The charity, E-Learning Foundation, extracted the data on computer ownership and internet access for families with children aged under 18.

Overall, most children (89%) can get on to the internet via a computer at home but according to E-Learning Foundation this figure masks a divide between rich and poor.

The data shows that while 99% of children in the richest 10% of households can access the internet via a computer, this dropped to 57% in the poorest 10% of households with children.

In the poorest households 29% had no computer, 36% had no internet and 43% had no internet connection via a computer.

According to the E-Learning Foundation this translates to a total of 750,000 school age children living in households with no internet, and some 650,000 without a computer.

'Teenagers and Technology'

A book from Oxford University's Department of Education, published this month, highlights the ways in which teenagers without an internet connection feel shut out from their peer group and disadvantaged in their studies.

The authors of Teenagers and Technology also found that parental fears about teenage time-wasting on social network sites were often unfounded with the benefits using digital technologies outweighing perceived risks.

Continue reading the main story

I had to write a story about heaven and I tried to write it in school but it was bell gone and I have a lot of things that I could write and I was angry that I haven't got a computer because I might finish it at home when I've got lots of time to do it. "

End Quote Sharon, 15 'Teenagers and Technology' Routledge

A 15-year-old interviewed for the book commented "It was bell gone and I have a lot things that I could write and I was angry that I haven't got a computer because I might finish it at home when I've got lots of time to do it."

And a 14-year-old boy talked about how much harder it was to complete coursework without a home computer: "People with internet can get higher marks because they can research on the internet."

He added that he felt cut off from friends because of being unable to access social networks: "My friends are probably on it all day every day and they talk about it at school".

Co-author Rebecca Eynon said: "Behind the statistics, our qualitative research shows these disconnected young people are clearly missing out both educationally and socially."

E-Learning's Valerie Thompson said imaginative use of technology by schools could help overcome the educational disadvantages suffered by children on free school meals, a key indicator of poverty.

"Technology can underpin learning by making it more relevant and personalised," she said.

"It can also help children with special educational needs, particularly those who struggle to cope in a normal, classroom, helping them learn and complete work at their own pace.

"Technology can allow a school to deliver an education to a child wherever they are, not just in a classroom."

She called for the social housing providers such as housing associations and local authorities to install wi-fi connections for tenants, and for schools to use the government's pupil premium for disadvantaged pupils to buy laptops for the poorest.


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Laser used to shoot down drones

8 January 2013 Last updated at 06:25 ET

A laser weapons system that can shoot down two drones at a distance of over a mile has been demonstrated by Rheinmetall Defence.

The German defence firm used the high-energy laser equipment to shoot fast-moving drones at a distance.

The system, which uses two laser weapons, was also used to cut through a steel girder a kilometre away.

The company plans to make the laser weapons system mobile and to integrate automatic cannon.

The 50kW laser weapons system used radar and optical systems to detect and track two incoming drones, the company said. The nose-diving drones were flying at 50 metres per second, and were shot down when they reached a programmed fire sector.

Weather trials

The weapons system locked onto the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by using radar for a rough approximation of the location of the targets, then fine-tuned the tracking using an optical system.

The high-energy laser system was used to cut through a 15mm-thick steel girder, and to shoot out of the air a steel ball designed to mimic a mortar round.

The company has tested the laser system in a variety of weather conditions, including snow, sunlight, and rain.

Rheinmetall plans to test its laser weapons mounted on different vehicles and to integrate a 35mm revolver cannon into it.

A number of governments and defence firms are in the process of developing weapons that use or incorporate lasers. For example, Raytheon unveiled a 50kW anti-aircraft laser at the Farnborough Airshow in 2010, and in June 2012 the US Army released details of a weapon that can fire a laser-guided lightning-bolt at a target.


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French ISP ends online ad blocking

8 January 2013 Last updated at 07:59 ET

A major French internet service provider (ISP) has agreed to abandon its ad-blocking policy - seen as a swipe against Google - after a minister intervened.

Digital Economy minister Fleur Pellerin said she persuaded Free to restore full access to all content on the internet, including Google ads.

Free started blocking ads last week when it updated home router software.

It was seen as forcing Google to pay its fair share to service providers.

The French minister said: "No actor can jeopardise the digital ecosystem in a unilateral way."

Free has argued in the past that Google does not pay its way when ISPs are forced to increase investment in running services like YouTube, which take up a lot of bandwidth.

Google's AdServe online advertising software - which allows online businesses to target their audiences in exchange for a share of the advertising profits - is used on many websites.

'Cuckoo bird'

Philippe Jannet, the former president of Geste, the French online publishers association, said that when operators "see Google come in like a cuckoo bird and make profit off the internet service they provide without receiving a penny in return, it's normal that they get mad".

The move by Free - France's second biggest ISP with more than five million subscribers - would have cost Google up to one million euros every day, a source told news agency AFP.

"That's what would push the giant to speak to the little operator," he added.

Ms Pellerin said she did not have an estimate yet of the financial impact from the fallout. She has scheduled a meeting with Google about Free's actions.

A Free spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter.

Google spokesman Al Verney said: "We are aware of Free's actions and are investigating their impact."


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CES debut for Steam 'game console'

8 January 2013 Last updated at 08:57 ET

A modular PC designed to let users to play Steam games on their TV has been unveiled at CES.

Codenamed "Piston", the prototype, developed by Xi3 Corporation and funded by Valve, was unveiled at the CES trade show in Las Vegas.

The set-top box will allow users to access thousands of gaming titles through an integrated system, a statement said.

Plans for the living room-friendly console emerged early last month.

"Today marks the beginning of a new era for Xi3," said Jason Sullivan, founder and chief executive of Xi3, in a statement.

"This new development stage product will allow users to take full-advantage of their large high-definition TV displays for an amazing computer game experience," he added.

"As a result, this new system could provide access to thousands of gaming titles through an integrated system that exceeds the capabilities of leading game consoles, but can fit in the palm of your hand."

Despite the grapefruit-sized device being on show on both Valve and Xi3's stands at CES no details of its internals have been given. Other Xi3 computers are based around dual core Intel chips and use solid state storage.

Valve, best known for the Half-Life, Left4Dead and the Steam online game store has long been known to be working on a console or set-top box that puts PC-based titles onto a TV. It is not yet clear if Piston is the hardware gaming gadget that will bring that project to fruition.


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Anger at Nigeria free phone plan

8 January 2013 Last updated at 13:45 ET

A Nigerian opposition party has condemned a government scheme to give 10 million mobile phones for free to farmers.

All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) General Secretary Tijani Tumsa said the plan was a "mischievous vote-catching exercise" for the 2015 elections.

Last week, the agriculture minister said the phones would help farmers "drive an agriculture revolution".

Akinwumi Adesina said their purchase would be financed through a tax.

He denied reports that the government had already set aside $400m (£249m) to buy the phones.

Mr Tumsa told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme the scheme was a ploy by the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) to "connect" with voters in rural areas in the build-up to elections.

Continue reading the main story

Our goal is to empower every farmer"

End Quote Akinwumi Adesina Agriculture minister

He said he doubted the plan would boost the farming sector.

"You are just creating business for the telecom companies. You are not impacting on agricultural production in Nigeria, unless the purpose is to have more phone coverage," Mr Tumsa added.

Defending the scheme, Mr Adesina said Nigeria had the highest number of mobile phones in Africa - an estimated 110 million - but many Nigerians in rural areas did not have them.

"Our goal is to empower every farmer. No farmer will be left behind," Mr Adesina said in a statement.

"We will reach them in their local languages and use mobile phones to trigger an information revolution which will drive an agricultural revolution."

He said five million of the 10 million phones would be given to women.

A government agency, the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), would help finance the scheme through a tax, he said.

"We intend to work with existing mobile operators in Nigeria through a public-private partnership," Mr Adesina said.

"Agriculture today is more knowledge-intensive and we will modernize the sector, and get younger entrepreneurs into the sector, and we will arm them with modern information systems."


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Nokia's India factory in tax raid

8 January 2013 Last updated at 21:34 ET

Finnish phone maker Nokia has become the latest foreign telecommunications company to face tax issues in India.

The firm's Chennai factory, one of its largest manufacturing facilities, has been raided by Indian tax officials.

According to some media reports, officials said they were looking to recover tax payments totalling as much as 30bn Indian rupees ($545m; £340m).

Nokia said that it always observes "applicable laws and rulings in the countries where we operate".

It added that it was fully cooperating with authorities "to ensure they get the necessary information to help in their inquiry".

Nokia's shares fell more than 6% to 3.07 euros in Helsinki after news of the tax raid emerged.

India is one of the fastest growing mobile phone markets in the world and is key to Nokia's future growth. The firm has been present in India since 1995 and is one the market leaders.

It set up the Chennai factory in 2006, and the unit produces various models, including smartphones targeted at consumers in emerging markets.

Vodafone dispute

The raid on Nokia comes just days after Indian tax officials asked the UK's Vodafone to pay more than $2bn in back taxes.

The demand is the latest twist in a legal tussle that has been going on for more than five years, and has drawn criticism from foreign investors and analysts.

They complain that India's tax regime is causing confusion and may deter foreign firms from trying to develop the domestic market.

For its part, India has previously said that it will look at ways of clarifying its tax laws.


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'Cyber-attack risk' to UK forces

8 January 2013 Last updated at 22:23 ET
James Arbuthnot

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Committee chairman James Arbuthnot: "We say there needs to be more attention paid to resilience and recovery"

UK forces are at risk of an attack on their information technology because of government complacency, MPs have said.

The Defence Select Committee said the threat that cyber-attackers posed could "evolve at almost unimaginable speed" and called for rapid action to protect national security.

The committee said the British military's reliance on IT could leave it fatally compromised.

The Ministry of Defence said it had a range of contingency plans in place.

Military response

The committee's report said the threat could have "serious consequences for the nation's security".

Continue reading the main story

It is our view that cybersecurity is a sufficiently urgent, significant and complex activity to warrant increased ministerial attention"

End Quote James Arbuthnot Defence committee chairman

References were made to the "urgent" need for the Ministry of Defence to develop a strategy and contingency plans.

Committee chairman James Arbuthnot described cyberspace as "a complex and rapidly changing environment".

He added: "It is our view that cybersecurity is a sufficiently urgent, significant and complex activity to warrant increased ministerial attention."

The report warned that much more needed to be done to identify the type or extent of cyber-attack that would warrant a military response.

"We are concerned that the then-minister's responses to us betray complacency and a failure to think through some extremely complicated and important issues," the MPs said.

They called on the MoD to make the development of rules of engagement for cyber-operations an urgent priority.

"It is not enough for the armed forces to do their best to prevent an effective attack," they said.

'Sophisticated attacks'

However, Defence Minister Andrew Murrison said the government was investing £650m over four years on the National Cyber Security Programme.

"The UK armed forces and the equipment and assets they use are amongst the world's most modern and advanced, so of course information technology plays a vital role in their operation," he said.

"Far from being complacent, the MoD takes the protection of our systems extremely seriously and has a range of contingency plans in place to defend against increasingly sophisticated attacks although, for reasons of national security, we would not discuss these in detail."

Britain's armed forces are increasingly reliant on information and communications technology.

The committee heard evidence that entire combat units, such as aircraft and warships, could be rendered completely dysfunctional by an attack.

"Should such systems suffer a sustained cyber-attack, their ability to operate could be fatally compromised," the report stated.

The UK Cyber Security Strategy, published in 2011, identified criminals, terrorists, foreign intelligence services, foreign militaries and politically motivated "hacktivists" as potential enemies who might choose to attack vulnerabilities in British cyber-defences.

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy described the committee's criticisms as "worrying".

"Vulnerabilities must be tackled urgently and ministers must respond in detail to the demands in this report," he said.


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Work starts on replica Edsac rebuild

9 January 2013 Last updated at 02:56 ET By Mark Ward Technology correspondent, BBC News
The original Edsac computer

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The pioneering Edsac computer is being recreated by engineers

Plans to rebuild the pioneering Edsac computer are a step closer to completion as parts that will form its metal chassis start to be manufactured.

Edsac - Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator - ran its first program in 1949 and was created to help scientists at Cambridge University.

The rebuild project started in 2011 after it was found that few of the original design documents remained.

Project workers hope to have the recreated machine finished by 2015.

"In many ways, and people do not realise this, Edsac was the beginning of the computer age," said Hermann Hauser, who kicked off the whole project and made the first substantial donation towards the £250,000 needed to complete the rebuild. Cash has also come from Google and other anonymous donors.

Early work has focused on determining the parts and computational elements used in the 1949 Edsac. It was made up of more than 3,000 valves spread across a chassis made up of more than 100 steel shelves bolted to tall equipment racks.

Big thinking

With almost no original design documents remaining, rebuild volunteers have been forced to scrutinise photographs to puzzle out which bits go where, said Dr Andrew Herbert who is leading the recreation effort.

"We now understand what three-quarters of the chassis does," said Dr Herbert, "and the bits that are left are not central to the operation of the machine."

Continue reading the main story

It was the first computer that people could actually use"

End Quote Hermann Hauser

The recreation work had reached an important milestone, he said, as parts for the replica chassis started to be made. Close to Edsac's birthplace in Cambridge, Teversham Engineering has begun cutting, punching, sanding, bending and painting mild sheet steel into shelves that are the exact dimensions of those on the 1949 Edsac,

On to the shelves will be put the valves and other components that form the computational heart of the pioneering machine.

"It was the first computer that people could actually use," Mr Hauser told the BBC. "It was meant for ordinary scientists."

Most of the computers built prior to Edsac were purely experimental, said Mr Hauser. By contrast Prof Maurice Wilkes, who designed Edsac, began with the idea of making a machine that would be a workhorse for Cambridge scientists.

Science was being stunted at the time by the limitations of mechanical adding machines, said Mr Hauser.

"Edsac let scientists tackle problems that could never have been solved with mechanical calculators," he said. "It revolutionised the way a lot of Cambridge scientists thought about what they could do."

Its introduction represented the biggest step function improvement in computing power ever, said Mr Hauser. Rough estimates suggest it was about 1,500 times faster than the best mechanical hand-cranked calculator of that era, he added.

The rebuild of Edsac will be done in public at the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park.


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'Mark of the beast' pupil loses case

9 January 2013 Last updated at 06:23 ET

A Texan student who refused to wear a badge with a radio tag that tracked her movements has lost a federal court appeal against her school's ID policy.

The radio chips track attendance, which in turn helps secure school funding.

But Andrea Hernandez, 15, stopped wearing the badge on religious grounds, saying it was the "mark of the beast".

After John Jay High School suspended her, she went to court and won a temporary injunction to continue her studies at the school, without the tag.

The federal court ruling overturned that, saying if she was to stay at the school, she would be required to wear the badge. Otherwise, she would have to transfer to a new school.

The new identification policy at the Northside Independent School District (NISD) in San Antonio, Texas, began at the start of the 2012 school year.

John Jay High School is one of two schools piloting the programme, which eventually aims to equip all student badges across the district's 112 schools with radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips.

The badges reveal each student's location on their campus, giving the district more precise information on attendance.

The daily average of the attendance is related to how much funding each school receives.

But Miss Hernandez said the badge was the "mark of the beast", as described in chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation in the Bible.


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