3 Technology Link |
- Samsung, Sharp in LCD price-fixing settlement
- SugarSync
- Two accused of luring robbery victims with fake iPad ad on Craigslist
- China cuts 2012 rare earths export quota
- Suit filed in US over Twitter feed in test case
| Samsung, Sharp in LCD price-fixing settlement Posted: 29 Dec 2011 10:35 AM PST Samsung, Sharp in LCD price-fixing settlement
The settlement stems from antitrust claims brought by the attorneys general of eight US states and private class action suits, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement. It was the latest development in an ongoing price-fixing case over LCD screens that has already seen firms from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan agree to pay US fines totaling more than $890 million. LCD screens are used in computer monitors, television sets and other devices. According to Schneiderman, the eight companies — Samsung, Sharp, Chi Mei Innolux, Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Epson Imaging Devices, HannStar Display and Hitachi Displays — agreed to pay over $538 million to settle antitrust claims brought on behalf of consumers and government entities. Five of the companies agreed to pay an additional $14 million to settle civil fines and penalties, he said. “This price-fixing scheme manipulated the playing field for businesses that abide by the rules, and left consumers to pay artificially higher costs for televisions, computers and other electronics,” Schneiderman said. The settlement calls for the companies to pay up to $37 million in compensation to state governments and other public entities. Another $501 million will be available to compensate consumers residing in 24 states and the US capital Washington who purchased products containing LCD panels between 1999 and 2006. Share and Enjoy• Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn • Digg • Delicious • StumbleUpon • Reddit • Google Buzz • FriendFeed • MySpace • Add to favorites • Email • Print • PDF | |||
| Posted: 29 Dec 2011 10:29 AM PST SugarSync
Freemium file-syncing service. Generous space given with free account: 5GB. Unlimited bonus space for referrals. Can sync any existing folder or file (no need to move items to a magic folder). Apps for every major OS.
No drag-and-drop from desktop to file manager (drag-and-drop into synced folders only). Some odd functionality when deployed across multiple desktops.
File synchronization service SugarSync offers more cloud storage space with a free account than any of its rivals and is even more intuitive than its biggest competitor, Dropbox. SugarSync shows a few quirks here and there, as all syncing services seem to, but it is still the very best we’ve tested. File synchronization is a utility that every modern computer user needs. Perhaps the best known service is Dropbox, an excellent tool with a few quirks, but having now spent a good deal of time with SugarSync, I can’t imagine recommending any other service as a first option. SugarSync has improved steadily over the last few months and now offers a free 5GB account to anyone who signs up. SugarSync makes sense because it’s dead simple—even more so than Dropbox—and is available on every major platform: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian. A Linux client is in beta. While I still adore Dropbox and will emphasize that it’s still worthy of our Editors’ Choice insignia, SugarSync does a few things just slightly better and deserves more praise. SugarSync also gives you more space with a free account (5GB compared to Dropbox’s 2GB) and unlimited bonus space for referrals. A paid account also costs less: SugarSync charges $14.99 per month for 50GB whereas Dropbox charges $19.99 per month for 50GB. Other solutions exist, too, such as the more business focused SafeSync for Business from Trend Micro, which doesn’t have a free option, and Syncplicity, which like Dropbox starts you off with only 2GB of space for free and is a little more difficult to manage, I found. As simple as SugarSync is, anyone new to file-synchronization needs to heed a few warnings. First, take two minutes to learn what file synchronization is and what it means. Synchronization is not the same as back-up, so you should not use it to free up space on your hard drive. When you “sync” something from your computer, don’t then delete it! SugarSync Local The installer also creates a SugarSync icon in your system tray that you can click to open the SugarSync Manager application, where you can change your synchronization options and manage backed-up files. You can also right-click on any folder or file at any time to add it to SugarSync—there’s an option directly in the menu that appears. Things can get confusing when you install SugarSync on a second machine, however. I set up SugarSync on a Mac first, then added it to a Windows XP machine. Installing the software took no time at all. Launching the file manager was also no problem. When I tried to drag and drop files into the SugarSync file manager, though, it didn’t work. I tried uploading using drag-and-drop a few more times to no avail. Seeing as I wasn’t getting anywhere, I turned to a button at the top of the file manager “Add Sync Folders” and selected the appropriate options, and that worked. It wasn’t a problem in the end, but I falsely assumed drag-and-drop from the desktop to the file manager would sync folders. It doesn’t. The installer once again prompts you to select folders to back up to the server and make available to other machines, but only the Magic Briefcase syncs automatically. If you want to sync to computer No. 2 any folder you selected for backing up from your first machine, the process is not intuitive: You have to open the SugarSync Manager on the second machine, select the folder from a list of available folders, then click the option to “Replicate this folder on this computer.” File Management and Sharing The tree-structured list of computers also includes entries for Magic Briefcase, Mobile Photos, Web Archive, and Deleted Files. Mobile Photos lists any photos you’ve dragged into a Mobile Photos folder the installer created in your My Photos folder, and these photos are instantly visible through the SugarSync mobile client. The Web Archive is a window into which you can drag files when you want to back them up to the server. If you use SugarSync’s client for mobile phones, you can select the folders that will be listed in the mobile client so you can download and view them from the SugarSync server when needed. The files aren’t automatically synced to your phone but are available on demand. You can also use the mobile client to tell the server to send the file to any email. One feature that comes in handy on the road is the ability to edit files via the Web. Sign into the SugarSync site, select a file from the online file manager, and choose “Edit with WebSync.” If you’re on a Windows machine, you should see a prompt that asks if you want to download the Java WebStart Launcher. If you answer yes, a Java window opens on your computer, and the selected file opens for editing in the PC’s default application for that file type (such as Word for DOC files). It’s a bit elaborate, but it works. Like its rival products, SugarSync has a sharing option that lets you send friends and colleagues a Web address where they can view a folder’s contents. You can specify that your colleagues can either view only or view and edit files, and you can require that they enter a code to be able to access the folder’s contents. Sweet, Sweet Syncing Spec Data
 SugarSyncSugarSync is a cloud-based file-sycing service that can mirror any files you choose on the cloud to make them accessible to you from remote locations.  SugarSyncSugarSync couldn’t be easier or more straightforward to use. You can select (right-click) any file or folder on your computer and add it to your SugarSync account.  SugarSyncSugarSync’s file manager gives you desktop access to manage your file syncronization needs.  SugarSyncWhen setting up SugarSync, icons are used to identify the different computing devices you use to acces or store your files.  SugarSyncIf you use iTunes, SugarSync will detect the program and offer to syncronize your music to the cloud.  SugarSyncThe “Magic Briefcase” is a SugarSync feature that gives you a quick way to add files to your account. Share and Enjoy• Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn • Digg • Delicious • StumbleUpon • Reddit • Google Buzz • FriendFeed • MySpace • Add to favorites • Email • Print • PDF | |||
| Two accused of luring robbery victims with fake iPad ad on Craigslist Posted: 29 Dec 2011 10:07 AM PST Two accused of luring robbery victims with fake iPad ad on CraigslistPolice have arrested two men who are suspected of robbing people at gunpoint after luring them to a restaurant parking lot with fake ads on Craigslist. Anthony Paige, 17, of Crowley, Texas, and Kentha McDowell, 30, of Fort Worth, Texas, each face a charge of aggravated robbery. Bond for McDowell was set at $35,000, and bond for Paige was set at $50,000. Paige and McDowell were arrested in connection with the robbery of three men who arrived at a restaurant parking lot Nov. 30 in Fort Worth expecting to buy an iPad, a police report said. When the three men met the sellers, the suspects refused to meet inside, the report said. The men told police that the suspects pulled a gun on them and took cash and personal items and then drove away, the report said. An arrest warrant was issued for McDowell. Officers surrounded his house on East Mulkey Street about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and arrested him without incident. About the same time, officers saw Paige go into his grandparents’ house next door, and he was arrested him as well, police said. Share and Enjoy• Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn • Digg • Delicious • StumbleUpon • Reddit • Google Buzz • FriendFeed • MySpace • Add to favorites • Email • Print • PDF | |||
| China cuts 2012 rare earths export quota Posted: 29 Dec 2011 10:05 AM PST China cuts 2012 rare earths export quotaChina announced a cut Tuesday in its rare earths export quota as it tries to shore up sagging prices for the exotic metals used in mobile phones and other high-tech goods. China accounts for 97 percent of rare earth output and its 2009 decision to curb exports while it builds up an industry to create products made with them alarmed foreign companies that depend on Chinese supplies. In its latest quota, the Commerce Ministry said exporters will be allowed to sell 10,546 tons of rare earths in the first half of 2012. That is a 27 percent reduction from the quota for the first half of 2011. China’s export restrictions have strained relations with the United States theEuropean Union, Japan and other governments that have called on Beijing to remove its curbs and make its intentions clear. Despite production and expor curbs, rare earths prices in China have tumbled as U.S. and European economic woes dent demand for its exports. The government ordered its biggest producer to suspend output for a month in October to shore up prices. But the restrictions have made rare earths much mor expensive abroad, giving Chinese makers of products that use them a price advantage and foreign manufacturers an incentive to shift operations to China. In a sign of unusually weak demand, the Commerce Ministry said actual Chinese exports of rare earths in 2011 totaled 14,750 tons for the first 11 months of 2011 – the equivalent of just 49 percent of the total annual quota. In another possible move to tighten control over exports, the ministry’s announcement Tuesday said only 11 companies will be allowed to sell abroad. That is down from 26 companies given licences for the first half of 2011. Rare earths are 17 elements including cerium, dysprosium and lanthanum that are used in manufacturing flat-screen TVs, batteries for electric cars andwind turbines. They also used in some high-tech weapons. The United States, Canada and Australia also have rare earths but stopped mining them in the 1990s as lower-cost Chinese ores flooded the market. Surging demand has prompted ccompanies in Canada, California, India, Malaysia, Russia and other other countries to develop rare earths mines, some of which are expected to start producing by 2015. Prices in China have fallen sharply since August, declining by 45 percent for neodymium oxide, by 33 percent for terbium oxide and by 31 percent for lanthanum oxide, according to Lynas Corp., an Australian rare earths producer. Its figures showed an equally striking gap between prices in China and abroad, with lanthanum oxide costing triple the Chinese level on global markets, neodymium more than twice as much and terbium oxide near twice as much. Share and Enjoy• Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn • Digg • Delicious • StumbleUpon • Reddit • Google Buzz • FriendFeed • MySpace • Add to favorites • Email • Print • PDF | |||
| Suit filed in US over Twitter feed in test case Posted: 29 Dec 2011 10:03 AM PST Suit filed in US over Twitter feed in test case
Noah Kravitz, of Oakland, California, worked as a product reviewer and videoblogger for South Carolina-based PhoneDog from 2006 to 2010, according to the lawsuit filed in the US District Court for Northern California. While working for PhoneDog, Kravitz attracted 17,000 followers to his Twitteraccount @PhoneDog_Noah, according to the suit, which was filed in July but has attracted media attention following an article about it in The New York Times. The suit alleges that when Kravitz “suddenly resigned” in October 2010 he was asked by PhoneDog to relinquish the account but he declined to do so and “merely changed” his Twitter handle to @noahkravitz. The suit claims that Kravitz now works for a rival company, TechnoBuffalo, and is using his Twitter account to “discredit PhoneDog.” PhoneDog is seeking damages from Kravitz of $340,000 based on a value of $2.50 per Twitter follower, or $42,500 a month for the past eight months. Kravitz told The New York Times that he had left PhoneDog on good terms with an agreement that he would “tweet on their behalf from time to time.” Eight months later, however, the company filed suit against him, a move Kravitz told the newspaper was retaliation for his claim to 15 percent of PhoneDog’s gross advertising revenue. In a statement to the Times, the company said: “The costs and resources invested by PhoneDog Media into growing its followers, fans and general brand awareness through social media are substantial and are considered property of PhoneDog Media. “We intend to aggressively protect our customer lists and confidential information, intellectual property, trademark and brands,” it said. Henry Cittone, an intellectual property lawyer, told the Times the case will “establish precedent in the online world, as it relates to ownership of social media accounts. “We’ve actually been waiting to see such a case as many of our clients are concerned about the ownership of social media accounts vis-a-vis their branding,” Cittone said. Share and Enjoy• Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn • Digg • Delicious • StumbleUpon • Reddit • Google Buzz • FriendFeed • MySpace • Add to favorites • Email • Print • PDF |
South Korea’s Samsung, Japan’s Sharp and five other Asian firms have agreed to a $553 million settlement for illegally fixing liquid crystal display prices, New York state’s attorney general said Tuesday.
| You are subscribed to email updates from 3 Technology Link To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment