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- Google adds IBM patents as it looks to future
- Smart way of saving lives in natural disasters
- Sky light sky bright – in the office
- Nigerians held in India over ‘phishing’ scam: police
- BlackBerry maker vows privacy safeguard amid probe
| Google adds IBM patents as it looks to future Posted: 04 Jan 2012 01:21 PM PST Google adds IBM patents as it looks to future
 Google's patent shopping bill has so far run into billions of dollars
It has acquired 187 patents and 36 applications, adding to the 1,000 it purchased from IBM last summer. The latest patents include a system for “using semantic networks to develop a social network”. Google has spent billions building its technology rights portfolio, including a $12.5bn (£7.7bn) deal for Motorola Mobility. The California-based company has been actively bolstering its patent catalogue in the face of lawsuits from key competitors such as Apple and Microsoft. Among the patents acquired in this latest deal is US Patent 7,865,592which relates specifically to social networking sites, allowing “identifying common interests between users of a communication network”. Vicki Salmon, the chair of the litigation committee of the UK Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, believed this might be a nod that Google was moving from protecting existing technology and beginning to plan for the future. “When you start you have to play catch-up,” she told the BBC. “When you’ve finished playing catch-up and you’ve got yourself in a stronger position, you then can begin to look forward.” Other patents included a method for using web-based applications across additional devices, and an intriguingly titled computer phone. Neither Google nor IBM would comment on the deal when approached by the BBC. ‘Get real’ Last year, Google accused its competitors of buying up what it called “bogus patents” in order to slow the development of its Android operating system. However, the company now appears to have succumbed to the same approach as it adds the IBM patents to a portfolio that also includestechnology for driverless cars. “Although you can object to a lot of cost of inconvenience by virtue of people enforcing their patents, the patent system still exists,” Piers Strickland, a lawyer specialising in mobile telephone patent litigation, told the BBC “In order to engage with that you’ve either got to take licences from from people’s patents, and/or aggressively increase your bartering position by buying patents. “I think they’ve realised that they just had to get real, and understand that you can’t just ignore the system.” Google’s agreement to buy Motorola Mobility, announced in August last year, includes 24,500 patents, many of which could be used to defend the use of features on its Android mobile operating system. The purchase is currently being reviewed by competition regulators. ‘Turf war’ Google’s Motorola move came off the back of losing out on buying the 6,000-strong patent portfolio of bankrupt telecoms firm Nortel. It was outbid by a consortium of companies including Apple, Microsoft and Blackberry manufacturer Research in Motion. “The reality is that you’ve got a fairly vicious turf war going on between the different operating systems,” explained Ms Salmon. “People want to be in there, and they want their platform established and people to be using them.” Google is just one of many technology companies involved in patent lawsuits which seek to slow down competition or strike lucrative licensing fee settlements. On Wednesday, US mobile operator AT&T was forced to pay Tivo – the digital video recorder specialist – $215m plus additional undisclosed monthly licensing fees. The fee will vary depending on AT&T meeting growth targets for digital video recording customers until 2018. “No matter which projections you take, they all involve AT&T paying us significantly higher revenue than $215m,” Tivo chief executive Tim Rogers said. Share and Enjoy• Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn • Digg • Delicious • StumbleUpon • Reddit • Google Buzz • FriendFeed • MySpace • Add to favorites • Email • Print • PDF |
| Smart way of saving lives in natural disasters Posted: 04 Jan 2012 12:38 PM PST Smart way of saving lives in natural disasters
It is hoped the smartphone technology could potentially not only help save lives but could also ease the financial and emotional burden on aid organisations. The largest system developed by Dr Gavin Brown and his team Peter Sutton and Lloyd Henning in the Machine Learning and Optimisation group at The University of Manchester is the REUNITE mobile and web platform. In the aftermath of a major disaster, aid workers typically interview people who have become separated from their families. These records are normally stored in paper form, which can be lost, damaged or illegible. Although there are systems set up to solve this issue – such as the public search facilities set up by charities such as the Red Cross – there is no universal system to provide this vital task. REUNITE records the initial interview using the smartphone, and uploads these onto a central server. These can then be accessed by trusted aid workers via computer away from the scene, who gather as much information as they can by liaising with other users in a similar manner to a social network, before passing details onto aid workers on the ground. The interviews would be quickly transcribed into a web-searchable format which could be downloaded by relief workers on the ground, which can then relay the massage to survivors. The unlimited amount of web users, called a ‘crowd’, would be a trusted network of individuals who access the information via an encrypted uplink – which would address any issues of confidentiality. As part of the same research, Dr Brown has also created software called ‘Where’s Safe’, which quickly identifies safe areas for people to go to in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. Designed to replace the emergency radio broadcast system, which does not reach a large amount of people, the software allows people to find their nearest safe point simply by sending an SMS message. Dr Brown’s third software solution is HeightCatcher – an innovative tool which can quickly calculate infants who are suffering from malnutrition and work out what quantity of fluids they need. Levels of malnutrition are measured by Body Mass Index (BMI), which is calculated by a person’s age, height and weight. The information is entered on a smartphone, which instantly calculates what food or fluids the child needs. Dr Brown hopes the inventions could be of huge significance to victims of disaster as well as aid workers. He said: “Our results have demonstrated that mobile intelligent systems can be deployed in low-power, high-risk environments, to the benefit of all involved. “We believe the refugee aid community will be a strong beneficiary of such technology over the next few years.” Share and Enjoy• Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn • Digg • Delicious • StumbleUpon • Reddit • Google Buzz • FriendFeed • MySpace • Add to favorites • Email • Print • PDF |
| Sky light sky bright – in the office Posted: 04 Jan 2012 12:35 PM PST Sky light sky bright – in the office
 The dynamic luminous ceiling gives office staff the pleasant feeling that they are working under the open sky. © Fraunhofer IAO
As the wind swiftly blows clouds across the sky, the light is in a constant state of change. The feeling of spaciousness and freedom we experience outdoors is exactly what researchers from the Stuttgart-based Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO (Germany) replicate indoors: a luminous ceiling that extends across the entire room simulates lighting conditions which resemble those produced by passing clouds – conveying the impression that you are sitting outdoors. The innovative luminous ceiling, which was developed by the Fraunhofer researchers in close collaboration with their partners at LEiDs GmbH, consists of 50cm by 50cm tiles. "Each tile comprises an LED board with 288 light emitting diodes (LEDs)," states Dr. Matthias Bues, head of department at the IAO. "The board is mounted on the ceiling. A diffuser film in matt white is attached approximately 30cm beneath the LEDs and ensures that the individual points of light are not perceived as such. This diffuser film creates homogenous lighting that illuminates the room throughout." The researchers use a combination of red, blue, green and white LEDs in order to produce the full light spectrum. This combination makes it possible to generate more than 16 million hues. What's more, the white LEDs are more energy efficient than the colored lights, which keeps the energy costs to a minimum. The main focus in developing the virtual sky was to simulate natural lighting conditions on a cloudy day. To achieve this goal, the researchers carefully examined natural light to find out how – and how quickly – the light spectrum changes when clouds move across the sky. "The LEDs allow us to simulate these dynamic changes in lighting in a way that is not directly obvious to the naked eye. Otherwise the lighting might distract people from their work. But it does need to fluctuate enough to promote concentration and heighten alertness," says Bues. The results of a preliminary study indicate that users find this dynamic lighting to be extremely pleasant. The study involved ten volunteers who carried out their daily work over the course of four days under these lighting conditions with a lighting surface of 30cm by 60cm. Throughout the first day, the lighting remained static. On the second day, it fluctuated gently, and on the third day the fluctuations were rapid. On the fourth day, the participants could choose which type of lighting they wanted, and 80 percent opted for the fast, dynamic lighting. A prototype of this virtual sky has now been developed that contains a total of 34,560 LEDs spanning an area of 34 square meters. At full power, the "sky" lights up with an intensity of more than 3,000 lux, but 500 to 1,000 lux is sufficient to create a comfortable level of lighting. From March 6 -10, 2012 at the CeBIT trade fair in Hannover, the researchers will be exhibiting a 2.8m by 2.8m virtual sky at the joint Fraunhofer booth in Hall 9, Booth E 02. Initial inquiries regarding the new lighting have already come in, mainly for use in conference rooms. The virtual sky currently costs approximately 1,000 euros per square meter, but this price will come down, since the more units are produced, the more cost-effective each luminous ceiling will be. Share and Enjoy• Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn • Digg • Delicious • StumbleUpon • Reddit • Google Buzz • FriendFeed • MySpace • Add to favorites • Email • Print • PDF |
| Nigerians held in India over ‘phishing’ scam: police Posted: 04 Jan 2012 12:25 PM PST Nigerians held in India over ‘phishing’ scam: police
 An Indian worker uses a laptop in Bangalore. Six Nigerian nationals have been arrested in the Indian city of Mumbai on suspicion of defrauding hundreds of people through text message and spam email scams, police said. The arrests come amid concern about an increase in India of spam -- the sending of anonymous unsolicited emails.
The group was picked up from three properties in a north Mumbai suburb on New Year’s Eve, officers said late Monday. All six have been remanded in custody until January 12 pending further investigations. The arrests come amid concern about an increase in India of spam — the sending of anonymous unsolicited emails — and “phishing”, when fraudsters obtain personal details from unsuspecting email recipients. A recent report by the Moscow-based global Internet security firm Kaspersky Lab said that more spam was sent from India than anywhere else in the world in the third quarter of last year. Experts have urged the government in New Delhi to introduce anti-spam laws and increase public awareness, as spammers, forced out of other countries due to crackdowns, can act with impunity in India. The police raid in Mumbai seized 14 laptops, 15 datacards, seven memory sticks and 23 mobile phones, as well as printers, fake documents and cash. The electronic equipment has been sent for analysis. Officers said the six are alleged to have duped recipients into handing over personal details and money by informing them they had become millionaires in a lottery. Share and Enjoy• Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn • Digg • Delicious • StumbleUpon • Reddit • Google Buzz • FriendFeed • MySpace • Add to favorites • Email • Print • PDF |
| BlackBerry maker vows privacy safeguard amid probe Posted: 04 Jan 2012 12:19 PM PST BlackBerry maker vows privacy safeguard amid probe
 Research In Motion vowed Tuesday to defend the legal privacy rights of BlackBerry users after a judicial commission in Pakistan ordered copies of smartphone communications in a scandal probe.
The Canadian firm reacted to news that a Pakistani commission was seeking records for a probe into an unsigned memo purported to ask for Washington’s help to rein in Pakistan’s military. The highly controversial memo was allegedly an attempt by a close aide of President Asif Ali Zardari to enlist the US military’s help to head off a military coup in May in Pakistan. It was made public in October by Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz. On Monday, the commission directed Pakistan government officials to obtain the BlackBerry “record of conversation” between Ijaz and a former envoy to the US accused of crafting the memo, Husain Haqqani. Haqqani resigned over the affair and the Supreme Court has stopped him from leaving Pakistan. He has denied any involvement in the scandal. Canada-based RIM, which makes the BlackBerry, said, “Like others in our industry, from time to time, we may receive requests from legal authorities for lawful access assistance.” The company statement added: “We are guided by appropriate legal processes and publicly disclosed lawful access principles in this regard as we balance any such requests against our priority of maintaining the privacy rights of our users.” Share and Enjoy• Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn • Digg • Delicious • StumbleUpon • Reddit • Google Buzz • FriendFeed • MySpace • Add to favorites • Email • Print • PDF |
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