The One Laptop Per Child project suffered a blow this week, with Chief Technology Officer Mary Lou Jepsen quitting the nonprofit to start a for-profit company to commercialize technology she invented with OLPC.
Jepsen, who joined OLPC as its first employee in 2005 after Nicholas Negroponte started the effort, will pursue an opportunity to chase after "her next miracle in display technology," OLPC said in an e-mail sent on Sunday.
Jepsen was responsible for hardware and display development for the rugged and power-saving XO laptop, designed for use by children in developing countries. Though the laptop has struggled to find buyers, it has been praised for its innovative hardware features and environmentally friendly design.
Her last day with the organization is Dec. 31, though she will continue consulting with OLPC, according to the e-mail. Dec. 31 is also the end of OLPC's Give One Get One program, in which two XO laptops can be purchased for about US$400, with a user getting one laptop and the other being donated.
Satisfied that XO laptops were shipping in volume, Jepsen noted in an e-mail that she was starting a for-profit company to commercialize some of the technologies she invented at OLPC.
"I will continue to give OLPC product at cost, while providing commercial entities products they would like at a profit," Jepsen wrote in an e-mail.
"I believe that the work I led in the design of the XO laptop is just the first step in changing computing," she wrote.
Powered by solar power, foot pedal or pull-string, the laptop doesn't rely on an electrical outlet to run, making it useful for situations where power is unreliable or unavailable. The laptop's specially designed lithium-ferro phosphate battery consumes between 2 watts to 8 watts depending on usage, compared to 40 watts on commercial laptops depending on usage.
The laptop's battery lasts up to 21 hours because of custom-designed, efficient power-saving features implemented at the hardware and software level. Batteries in commercial laptops may explode at high temperatures, while XO's batteries can run and recharge in temperatures around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), Jepsen said in earlier interview.
OLPC is also designing a cow-powered generator that works by hooking cattle up to a system of belts and pulleys.
For connectivity, the laptop has mesh-networking features for Internet access.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
AOL to end support for Netscape browser
An historic name in software will effectively pass into history in February as AOL discontinues development and active support for the Netscape browser, according to an official blog.
AOL will keep delivering security patches for the current version of Netscape until Feb. 1, 2008, after which it will no longer provide active support for any version of the software, according to a Friday entry on The Netscape Blog by Tom Drapeau, lead developer for Netscape.com. The Netscape.com Web site will remain as a general-purpose portal.
Netscape was the original mass-market Web browser and helped to popularize the Internet in the mid-1990s, but it has long taken a back seat to Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Firefox itself traces its roots back to Netscape software that was made into open source. The Mozilla Foundation was founded in 2003, with support from AOL, and has released successive versions of Firefox while AOL continued to develop Netscape on top of the same platform, Drapeau wrote.
Groups within AOL have tried and failed to revive Netscape Navigator and gain market share against Internet Explorer, according to the blog entry.
"AOL's focus on transitioning to an ad-supported Web business leaves little room for the size of investment needed to get the Netscape browser to a point many of its fans expect it to be," Drapeau wrote. "Given AOL's current business focus ... we feel it's the right time to end development of Netscape branded browsers, hand the reins fully to Mozilla and encourage Netscape users to adopt Firefox," Drapeau wrote.
The Mosaic Netscape browser was posted for downloading in 1994 by Mosaic Communications, which later changed its name to Netscape Communications. That company kicked off the dot-com boom with its hugely successful initial public offering in August 1995 and was acquired by AOL in 1999. But Internet Explorer, introduced in 1995, eventually dominated the browser market. Microsoft's bundling of its browser with Windows operating systems was a key issue in antitrust lawsuits filed against it in 1997.
As of this month, Netscape had only 0.6 percent of the browser market, which was still dominated by Internet Explorer with more than 77 percent, according to Web application and analytics firm Net Applications. Firefox was gaining, however, with market share just over 16 percent.
Users will still be able to download old versions of Netscape from an archive, currently located here, though they will not be supported by AOL, Drapeau wrote.
AOL will keep delivering security patches for the current version of Netscape until Feb. 1, 2008, after which it will no longer provide active support for any version of the software, according to a Friday entry on The Netscape Blog by Tom Drapeau, lead developer for Netscape.com. The Netscape.com Web site will remain as a general-purpose portal.
Netscape was the original mass-market Web browser and helped to popularize the Internet in the mid-1990s, but it has long taken a back seat to Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Firefox itself traces its roots back to Netscape software that was made into open source. The Mozilla Foundation was founded in 2003, with support from AOL, and has released successive versions of Firefox while AOL continued to develop Netscape on top of the same platform, Drapeau wrote.
Groups within AOL have tried and failed to revive Netscape Navigator and gain market share against Internet Explorer, according to the blog entry.
"AOL's focus on transitioning to an ad-supported Web business leaves little room for the size of investment needed to get the Netscape browser to a point many of its fans expect it to be," Drapeau wrote. "Given AOL's current business focus ... we feel it's the right time to end development of Netscape branded browsers, hand the reins fully to Mozilla and encourage Netscape users to adopt Firefox," Drapeau wrote.
The Mosaic Netscape browser was posted for downloading in 1994 by Mosaic Communications, which later changed its name to Netscape Communications. That company kicked off the dot-com boom with its hugely successful initial public offering in August 1995 and was acquired by AOL in 1999. But Internet Explorer, introduced in 1995, eventually dominated the browser market. Microsoft's bundling of its browser with Windows operating systems was a key issue in antitrust lawsuits filed against it in 1997.
As of this month, Netscape had only 0.6 percent of the browser market, which was still dominated by Internet Explorer with more than 77 percent, according to Web application and analytics firm Net Applications. Firefox was gaining, however, with market share just over 16 percent.
Users will still be able to download old versions of Netscape from an archive, currently located here, though they will not be supported by AOL, Drapeau wrote.
Preview: Will CES 2008 live up to the iPhone?
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has a tough job ahead of him when he kicks off the keynote speeches at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2008 in Las Vegas next week.
He'll be hard pressed to make sure CES outshines the Macworld Conference & Expo. Last year, Steve Jobs stole the technology-world spotlight at Macworld when he announced the iPhone. It overshadowed everything at CES and has been as big a hit as everyone thought it would be. He's on tap to speak again at Macworld this year and rumors say Apple could reveal anything from its own ultramobile PC to an online movie rental service.
What will Gates announce? Last year, rumors of the iPhone, and poor scheduling with the two shows running at nearly the same time, prompted some people to skip part of CES to hear Jobs's speech at Macworld. At least this year the scheduling is better, with Macworld starting just after CES ends. But what Microsoft rumors are there? Vista Service Pack 1? Internet Explorer 8? The Xbox 360 might get motion-sensored game controllers so it can compete with Nintendo's Wii? Yawn.
Details on the rumored next-generation Windows OS, code-named 7, might be interesting, but since Vista is still new for most people, it's hard to guess what a new Windows OS might look like. The most exciting Microsoft rumors today are corporate, not product; namely that the software giant might buy Yahoo, or Bloomberg.
CES officially runs Jan. 7 - 10 in Las Vegas, but Gate's keynote is on Sunday, Jan. 6. The show is one of the largest technology expositions in the world, with companies displaying thousands of gadgets to an estimated 150,000 attendees. The Macworld expo is from Jan. 14 - 18 in San Francisco.
There have been a few disconcerting signs that CES might not be so hot this year. One is the fact show promoters are pushing out lists of sports stars, actors and other celebrities who will be on hand at the show, including Yoko Ono, race car driver Danica Patrick, actor Michael Douglas, world champion Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz and singer Mary J. Blige.
Certainly, there are so many new and improved gadgets at CES every year that companies have to find ways to stand out. More than 2,700 companies will be jostling to show off their wares at CES in venues that take up several huge buildings including the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Sands Expo and Convention Center and most of the meeting rooms in The Venetian and other resort hotels.
But does CES need celebrity power to take the place of hot gadgets? So far, there are only a few known trends and product announcements on the horizon for the show.
Mobility is a major theme this year due to strong sales of laptop PCs, which people are starting to favor over desktops. The notebook computer market is growing at a 30 percent a year clip, compared to single-digit growth for desktops.
Motorola is expected to show off new handset and other products at CES, while Yahoo is said to be previewing new mobile technologies, which may possibly counter Google's Android. Some companies may even show off Gphones made with the Google software. Rumors say that Taiwan's HTC has handsets it has designed for Google's software, and is currently tweaking and perfecting the devices.
Companies are also expected to show off satellite technology for mobile TV, and HDMI (high definition multiple interface) technology to let users connect HD (high definition) video cameras and cameras to their HD TV for high-definition display.
There will also be laptop computers with huge hard drives, 500G-bytes to 1T-byte (terabyte), as well as a number of new ultramobile PCs and smartphones on display.
Samsung is expected to unveil a 31-inch to 40-inch OLED TV (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode television set) that uses less than half the electricity of a comparable-sized LCD TV (liquid crystal display) and is only 4.3-millimeters thick, far easier to mount on a wall than LCDs, which are five to ten times larger.
This year, green is gold at CES. Companies are clamoring to become known as environmental allies with less-toxic or more power-efficient PC gear. Expected products range from a PC made from corn by Fujitsu to a laptop PC from Asustek that uses bamboo for its casing. The Fujitsu PC uses plastics made from bio-degradable products, including castor beans and, its U.S. publicist says, corn. Does that really make the casing bio-degradable? In the end, the company will have to prove the casings do break down, and how long it takes. If it can't, then hopefully Fujitsu will be a good corporate citizen and offer a free-recycling program to buyers.
Other companies are expected to show off energy-efficient components such as microprocessors, memory chips, batteries and other gear, as well as full systems including servers, PCs, laptops and more.
Automotive electronics will be more prominent at this year's CES. And it's more than GPS (global positioning system) devices (of which, there will be many). Rick Wagoner, chairman and CEO of General Motors (GM), will give a keynote speech at CES, purportedly about new technology for cars.
Electronics have found their way into more parts of cars, including orchestrating how hybrid cars use different power sources such as gas and electricity. Other car technologies include software to allow you to tell your car to turn on the radio or answer the phone, such as Sync, so you can keep your hands on the wheel.
There will be plenty of new stuff to check out at CES. But we'll have to see if it can beat out the Macworld expo for this year's technology spotlight.
He'll be hard pressed to make sure CES outshines the Macworld Conference & Expo. Last year, Steve Jobs stole the technology-world spotlight at Macworld when he announced the iPhone. It overshadowed everything at CES and has been as big a hit as everyone thought it would be. He's on tap to speak again at Macworld this year and rumors say Apple could reveal anything from its own ultramobile PC to an online movie rental service.
What will Gates announce? Last year, rumors of the iPhone, and poor scheduling with the two shows running at nearly the same time, prompted some people to skip part of CES to hear Jobs's speech at Macworld. At least this year the scheduling is better, with Macworld starting just after CES ends. But what Microsoft rumors are there? Vista Service Pack 1? Internet Explorer 8? The Xbox 360 might get motion-sensored game controllers so it can compete with Nintendo's Wii? Yawn.
Details on the rumored next-generation Windows OS, code-named 7, might be interesting, but since Vista is still new for most people, it's hard to guess what a new Windows OS might look like. The most exciting Microsoft rumors today are corporate, not product; namely that the software giant might buy Yahoo, or Bloomberg.
CES officially runs Jan. 7 - 10 in Las Vegas, but Gate's keynote is on Sunday, Jan. 6. The show is one of the largest technology expositions in the world, with companies displaying thousands of gadgets to an estimated 150,000 attendees. The Macworld expo is from Jan. 14 - 18 in San Francisco.
There have been a few disconcerting signs that CES might not be so hot this year. One is the fact show promoters are pushing out lists of sports stars, actors and other celebrities who will be on hand at the show, including Yoko Ono, race car driver Danica Patrick, actor Michael Douglas, world champion Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz and singer Mary J. Blige.
Certainly, there are so many new and improved gadgets at CES every year that companies have to find ways to stand out. More than 2,700 companies will be jostling to show off their wares at CES in venues that take up several huge buildings including the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Sands Expo and Convention Center and most of the meeting rooms in The Venetian and other resort hotels.
But does CES need celebrity power to take the place of hot gadgets? So far, there are only a few known trends and product announcements on the horizon for the show.
Mobility is a major theme this year due to strong sales of laptop PCs, which people are starting to favor over desktops. The notebook computer market is growing at a 30 percent a year clip, compared to single-digit growth for desktops.
Motorola is expected to show off new handset and other products at CES, while Yahoo is said to be previewing new mobile technologies, which may possibly counter Google's Android. Some companies may even show off Gphones made with the Google software. Rumors say that Taiwan's HTC has handsets it has designed for Google's software, and is currently tweaking and perfecting the devices.
Companies are also expected to show off satellite technology for mobile TV, and HDMI (high definition multiple interface) technology to let users connect HD (high definition) video cameras and cameras to their HD TV for high-definition display.
There will also be laptop computers with huge hard drives, 500G-bytes to 1T-byte (terabyte), as well as a number of new ultramobile PCs and smartphones on display.
Samsung is expected to unveil a 31-inch to 40-inch OLED TV (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode television set) that uses less than half the electricity of a comparable-sized LCD TV (liquid crystal display) and is only 4.3-millimeters thick, far easier to mount on a wall than LCDs, which are five to ten times larger.
This year, green is gold at CES. Companies are clamoring to become known as environmental allies with less-toxic or more power-efficient PC gear. Expected products range from a PC made from corn by Fujitsu to a laptop PC from Asustek that uses bamboo for its casing. The Fujitsu PC uses plastics made from bio-degradable products, including castor beans and, its U.S. publicist says, corn. Does that really make the casing bio-degradable? In the end, the company will have to prove the casings do break down, and how long it takes. If it can't, then hopefully Fujitsu will be a good corporate citizen and offer a free-recycling program to buyers.
Other companies are expected to show off energy-efficient components such as microprocessors, memory chips, batteries and other gear, as well as full systems including servers, PCs, laptops and more.
Automotive electronics will be more prominent at this year's CES. And it's more than GPS (global positioning system) devices (of which, there will be many). Rick Wagoner, chairman and CEO of General Motors (GM), will give a keynote speech at CES, purportedly about new technology for cars.
Electronics have found their way into more parts of cars, including orchestrating how hybrid cars use different power sources such as gas and electricity. Other car technologies include software to allow you to tell your car to turn on the radio or answer the phone, such as Sync, so you can keep your hands on the wheel.
There will be plenty of new stuff to check out at CES. But we'll have to see if it can beat out the Macworld expo for this year's technology spotlight.
SCO bumped off Nasdaq
The SCO Group has been removed from the Nasdaq Stock Market because the company declared bankruptcy in September.
The stock market delisted SCO and suspended trading of its shares (SCOX) at the beginning of trading on Thursday, SCO said in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Nasdaq had told the company in September that it would be delisted, and SCO's subsequent appeal of that determination was turned down.
SCO has been waging an expensive legal battle against IBM for years, claiming the company inappropriately used copyrighted SCO Unix code as part of its support of the Linux operating system. SCO suffered a major loss in that case in August when a federal judge ruled that Novell, not SCO, owned the Unix copyright. In September, the Lindon, Utah, company said the ruling might cost it $30 million and that it had just $10.4 million in cash.
In October, SCO said it had a "potential" buyout offer for $36 million from JGD Management, a company affiliated with investment firm York Capital Management. That deal would have to be approved by the bankruptcy court.
The stock market delisted SCO and suspended trading of its shares (SCOX) at the beginning of trading on Thursday, SCO said in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Nasdaq had told the company in September that it would be delisted, and SCO's subsequent appeal of that determination was turned down.
SCO has been waging an expensive legal battle against IBM for years, claiming the company inappropriately used copyrighted SCO Unix code as part of its support of the Linux operating system. SCO suffered a major loss in that case in August when a federal judge ruled that Novell, not SCO, owned the Unix copyright. In September, the Lindon, Utah, company said the ruling might cost it $30 million and that it had just $10.4 million in cash.
In October, SCO said it had a "potential" buyout offer for $36 million from JGD Management, a company affiliated with investment firm York Capital Management. That deal would have to be approved by the bankruptcy court.
Hackers quickly move to exploit Bhutto assassination
Within hours of yesterday's assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, malware makers exploited the breaking news to dupe users into downloading attack code, security researchers said Friday.
Searches for news about Bhutto's killing and the ensuing chaos in Pakistan listed sites pimping a bogus video coder/decoder (codec), said analysts at McAfee Inc., Symantec Corp. and WebSense Inc.
For instance, WebSense found such a site simply by using "benazir" to search on Google. Meanwhile, McAfee quickly located 10 sites hosted on Blogger.com, Google Inc.'s blog service, that were spreading the fake codec.
The sites use the well-worn tactic of promising a video -- in this case one of Bhutto's assassination -- but telling Windows users that they need to install a new high-definition video codec, the program that decodes the digital data stream, to view the clip. Naturally, the so-called codec is no such thing, but is instead rigged code that downloads a variant of the Zlob Trojan horse, a back door that can infect the compromised PC with a wide range of other malware.
"Even death isn't sacred to some," said Symantec researcher Vikram Thakur in a post to the company's security response blog.
Other hackers are relying on the news of Bhutto's assassination to draw users to sites that forgo the codec angle and instead conduct drive-by attacks, said Rahul Mohandas, a security analyst at McAfee's Avert Labs unit. "There are a plethora of sites which attempt drive-by installations when unsuspecting users visit search-engine results for 'Benazir Bhutto,'" said Mohandas in a post to the Avert Labs blog this morning. "Many of these compromised pages have malicious scripts, which point to the 3322 domain. These pages contain obfuscated variants of the MS06-014 exploit, which is perhaps one of the most popular of all the exploits we see on a daily basis."
MS06-014, issued in April 2006, patched a critical vulnerability in an ActiveX control that is part of Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC), which are packaged with Windows XP and Server 2003.
Shilling bogus codecs is a popular pastime of attackers. The technique has been used to plant malware on PCs from singer Alicia Keys' MySpace page, for example, and was the vector used by hackers who went after Macs last month.
Searches for news about Bhutto's killing and the ensuing chaos in Pakistan listed sites pimping a bogus video coder/decoder (codec), said analysts at McAfee Inc., Symantec Corp. and WebSense Inc.
For instance, WebSense found such a site simply by using "benazir" to search on Google. Meanwhile, McAfee quickly located 10 sites hosted on Blogger.com, Google Inc.'s blog service, that were spreading the fake codec.
The sites use the well-worn tactic of promising a video -- in this case one of Bhutto's assassination -- but telling Windows users that they need to install a new high-definition video codec, the program that decodes the digital data stream, to view the clip. Naturally, the so-called codec is no such thing, but is instead rigged code that downloads a variant of the Zlob Trojan horse, a back door that can infect the compromised PC with a wide range of other malware.
"Even death isn't sacred to some," said Symantec researcher Vikram Thakur in a post to the company's security response blog.
Other hackers are relying on the news of Bhutto's assassination to draw users to sites that forgo the codec angle and instead conduct drive-by attacks, said Rahul Mohandas, a security analyst at McAfee's Avert Labs unit. "There are a plethora of sites which attempt drive-by installations when unsuspecting users visit search-engine results for 'Benazir Bhutto,'" said Mohandas in a post to the Avert Labs blog this morning. "Many of these compromised pages have malicious scripts, which point to the 3322 domain. These pages contain obfuscated variants of the MS06-014 exploit, which is perhaps one of the most popular of all the exploits we see on a daily basis."
MS06-014, issued in April 2006, patched a critical vulnerability in an ActiveX control that is part of Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC), which are packaged with Windows XP and Server 2003.
Shilling bogus codecs is a popular pastime of attackers. The technique has been used to plant malware on PCs from singer Alicia Keys' MySpace page, for example, and was the vector used by hackers who went after Macs last month.
Saudi blogger arrested, held without charges
Saudi Arabian officials have reportedly detained a blogger whose writing has criticized religious extremism in the country, according to the two press freedom groups and a regional human-rights organization.
Blogger and IT professional Fouad Ahmed al-Farhan, 32, was taken into custody on December 10, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on Wednesday. His Arabic-language site now has a "Free Fouad" banner in English across the top.
In a letter sent to friends shortly before his arrest, al-Farhan wrote that he had been told that the interior ministry was investigating him and would pick him up within two weeks. At the time he described the worst case as being jailed for three days, but he was still being held without charge as of Friday, according to Joel Campagna, Middle East program coordinator for the CPJ in New York.
Al-Farhan's blog promotes political reform and bears the tagline, "Searching for freedom, dignity, justice, equality, Shura and all the remaining Islamic values which are missing," along with a dedication to his daughters, according to a report on the website of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information. Some of his more critical commentary has dealt with the question of religious extremism, Campagna said. Al-Farhan also recently posted a blog item criticizing ten well-known personalities who have close ties to the Saudi royal family, he said.
The Saudi government heavily censors Internet content, both political criticism and pornography, Campagna said. Contentious news or political commentary sites are frequently blocked.
There have been previous incidents of online writers suffering retaliation. In 2006, Saudi journalist Rabah al-Quwai’, who had criticized religious extremism, was held for 13 days. In order to obtain his release he had to confess to having denigrated Islamic beliefs, and promise to would defend Islamic values in his future work, the CPJ reported.
Reporters Without Borders Thursday released a statement calling for al-Farhan's release; its current list of "13 Internet Enemies" includes Saudi Arabia.
Research into Internet content filtering by the OpenNet Initiative shows substantial blocking activity by the government of Saudi Arabia. The group says that filtering content for political reasons is the common denominator across the Middle East.
The CPJ last year detailed Saudi media censorship in its report, Princes, Clerics and Censors.
Blogger and IT professional Fouad Ahmed al-Farhan, 32, was taken into custody on December 10, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on Wednesday. His Arabic-language site now has a "Free Fouad" banner in English across the top.
In a letter sent to friends shortly before his arrest, al-Farhan wrote that he had been told that the interior ministry was investigating him and would pick him up within two weeks. At the time he described the worst case as being jailed for three days, but he was still being held without charge as of Friday, according to Joel Campagna, Middle East program coordinator for the CPJ in New York.
Al-Farhan's blog promotes political reform and bears the tagline, "Searching for freedom, dignity, justice, equality, Shura and all the remaining Islamic values which are missing," along with a dedication to his daughters, according to a report on the website of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information. Some of his more critical commentary has dealt with the question of religious extremism, Campagna said. Al-Farhan also recently posted a blog item criticizing ten well-known personalities who have close ties to the Saudi royal family, he said.
The Saudi government heavily censors Internet content, both political criticism and pornography, Campagna said. Contentious news or political commentary sites are frequently blocked.
There have been previous incidents of online writers suffering retaliation. In 2006, Saudi journalist Rabah al-Quwai’, who had criticized religious extremism, was held for 13 days. In order to obtain his release he had to confess to having denigrated Islamic beliefs, and promise to would defend Islamic values in his future work, the CPJ reported.
Reporters Without Borders Thursday released a statement calling for al-Farhan's release; its current list of "13 Internet Enemies" includes Saudi Arabia.
Research into Internet content filtering by the OpenNet Initiative shows substantial blocking activity by the government of Saudi Arabia. The group says that filtering content for political reasons is the common denominator across the Middle East.
The CPJ last year detailed Saudi media censorship in its report, Princes, Clerics and Censors.
Firmware issues delay release of Optimus Maximus keyboard
The Optimus Maximus keyboard developed by Russian designer Artemy Lebedev has been delayed once again, this time by problems with the device's firmware.
Art Lebedev Studio had expected the first Optimus Maximus keyboards to ship in late December, but the release date has been pushed back to late February. He blamed the delay on a chip that powers the customizable keyboard.
"We have chosen a Philips processor that fully satisfied all our requirements. But as it is new as a product for Philips, they still experience some problems with the processor and we are compelled to work with draft documentation," Lebedev wrote this week in a blog post.
Customers who have already paid and can't wait to get their hands on the keyboard, which has a tiny, customizable OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screen on each key, can opt to receive a keyboard before the firmware issue is resolved. These keyboards already have "basic functionality," such as the ability to switch images displayed on the keys, but Lebedev said upgrading the firmware later on could be difficult for many users.
"If you do not have professional skills you may run into troubles installing and updating software," he wrote.
The OLED screens used in the Optimus Maximus' 113 keys can be customized by users, allowing the keys to change depending on what language a user is typing in, or which application is being used. Users can also change the font and color of the letters displayed on each key.
Lebedev began taking orders for the Optimus Maximus in May, with each keyboard priced at US$1,564.
In November, Lebedev announced plans to offer several additional versions of the Optimus Maximus that have fewer keys equipped with OLED screens and therefore cost less.
The cheapest of these versions, priced at $427, has just one customizable key: the space bar. A version with 10 customizable keys costs $599 and one with 47 customizable keys is priced at $999.
Lebedev plans to show off the Optimus Maximus keyboard at the CES show in Las Vegas next month.
Art Lebedev Studio had expected the first Optimus Maximus keyboards to ship in late December, but the release date has been pushed back to late February. He blamed the delay on a chip that powers the customizable keyboard.
"We have chosen a Philips processor that fully satisfied all our requirements. But as it is new as a product for Philips, they still experience some problems with the processor and we are compelled to work with draft documentation," Lebedev wrote this week in a blog post.
Customers who have already paid and can't wait to get their hands on the keyboard, which has a tiny, customizable OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screen on each key, can opt to receive a keyboard before the firmware issue is resolved. These keyboards already have "basic functionality," such as the ability to switch images displayed on the keys, but Lebedev said upgrading the firmware later on could be difficult for many users.
"If you do not have professional skills you may run into troubles installing and updating software," he wrote.
The OLED screens used in the Optimus Maximus' 113 keys can be customized by users, allowing the keys to change depending on what language a user is typing in, or which application is being used. Users can also change the font and color of the letters displayed on each key.
Lebedev began taking orders for the Optimus Maximus in May, with each keyboard priced at US$1,564.
In November, Lebedev announced plans to offer several additional versions of the Optimus Maximus that have fewer keys equipped with OLED screens and therefore cost less.
The cheapest of these versions, priced at $427, has just one customizable key: the space bar. A version with 10 customizable keys costs $599 and one with 47 customizable keys is priced at $999.
Lebedev plans to show off the Optimus Maximus keyboard at the CES show in Las Vegas next month.
Warner to offer music via Amazon without DRM
Amazon.com has added songs from Warner Music Group to the range it sells as MP3 files without DRM (digital rights management), the companies said Friday.
The online retailer launched its music download service in September and now offers 2.9 million songs without copy prevention technology, including tracks from Warner, EMI, Universal and 33,000 independent record labels -- although it has still not won over Sony BMG, the only one of the music majors still insisting on the use of DRM.
Warner said it also planned to offer album bundles including exclusive tracks through the Amazon service.
The move is a blow to Apple's iTunes Store, which has only persuaded EMI and a handful of independent labels to let it offer their tracks in the DRM-free iTunes Plus format it launched in May. The rest of the songs available through iTunes come with digital limitations on where they can be played, or how many times they can be burned to a CD.
Three formats dominate the market for online music sales: MP3 and AAC, which are both open formats, and WMA, a proprietary format owned by Microsoft.
MP3 files do not include provision for DRM: music recorded in that format will play on most digital music players, many mobile phones, and in software readily available for all the major operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, opening up a huge potential market to Amazon and to other online music stores such as eMusic dealing in unprotected MP3 files.
AAC is the format Apple chose for its iTunes Store. Most of the 6 million tracks in its catalog come wrapped in a proprietary DRM layer called FairPlay, although EMI and independents such as Sub Pop, Nettwerk, IODA and The Orchard also allow it to offer higher quality AAC recordings without DRM. The DRM-encumbered tracks will play on authorized iPods, iPhones, PCs and Macs -- but won't play on digital music players from other vendors. Unprotected AAC files will also play on many mobile phones, PCs running Linux with the appropriate software, and even Microsoft's Zune digital music player.
WMA files without DRM will play on PC or Macs using Windows Media Player, and some phones and digital music players -- although typically not on the same ones that play AAC files. Microsoft has also introduced a range of DRM systems enabling online stores to sell locked WMA files -- and later abandoned some of them, leaving a certain amount of confusion and doubt about whether devices and songs branded "PlaysForSure" really will play for sure.
Industry executives expect initiatives such as iTunes Plus and Amazon MP3, which remove the DRM locks placed on music downloads by an earlier generation of music services, will encourage consumers to buy more music.
Warner believes that giving consumers the assurance that the music they purchase can be played on any device they own will only encourage more sales of music, it said Friday.
It may also persuade music-buyers to look at other brands of digital music player such as the Zune range from Microsoft, ending Apple's dominance of that market segment.
With the locks off the music, Apple also faces the prospect of a price war with Amazon, which offers 1 million of its MP3 tracks for just $0.89, compared to the $0.99 Apple charges for all its tracks. Before the launch of Amazon MP3, Apple also charged a $0.30 premium for tracks in the iTunes Plus format, which is recorded at a higher quality than the DRM-encumbered versions. Other Amazon tracks sell for $0.99.
The online retailer launched its music download service in September and now offers 2.9 million songs without copy prevention technology, including tracks from Warner, EMI, Universal and 33,000 independent record labels -- although it has still not won over Sony BMG, the only one of the music majors still insisting on the use of DRM.
Warner said it also planned to offer album bundles including exclusive tracks through the Amazon service.
The move is a blow to Apple's iTunes Store, which has only persuaded EMI and a handful of independent labels to let it offer their tracks in the DRM-free iTunes Plus format it launched in May. The rest of the songs available through iTunes come with digital limitations on where they can be played, or how many times they can be burned to a CD.
Three formats dominate the market for online music sales: MP3 and AAC, which are both open formats, and WMA, a proprietary format owned by Microsoft.
MP3 files do not include provision for DRM: music recorded in that format will play on most digital music players, many mobile phones, and in software readily available for all the major operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, opening up a huge potential market to Amazon and to other online music stores such as eMusic dealing in unprotected MP3 files.
AAC is the format Apple chose for its iTunes Store. Most of the 6 million tracks in its catalog come wrapped in a proprietary DRM layer called FairPlay, although EMI and independents such as Sub Pop, Nettwerk, IODA and The Orchard also allow it to offer higher quality AAC recordings without DRM. The DRM-encumbered tracks will play on authorized iPods, iPhones, PCs and Macs -- but won't play on digital music players from other vendors. Unprotected AAC files will also play on many mobile phones, PCs running Linux with the appropriate software, and even Microsoft's Zune digital music player.
WMA files without DRM will play on PC or Macs using Windows Media Player, and some phones and digital music players -- although typically not on the same ones that play AAC files. Microsoft has also introduced a range of DRM systems enabling online stores to sell locked WMA files -- and later abandoned some of them, leaving a certain amount of confusion and doubt about whether devices and songs branded "PlaysForSure" really will play for sure.
Industry executives expect initiatives such as iTunes Plus and Amazon MP3, which remove the DRM locks placed on music downloads by an earlier generation of music services, will encourage consumers to buy more music.
Warner believes that giving consumers the assurance that the music they purchase can be played on any device they own will only encourage more sales of music, it said Friday.
It may also persuade music-buyers to look at other brands of digital music player such as the Zune range from Microsoft, ending Apple's dominance of that market segment.
With the locks off the music, Apple also faces the prospect of a price war with Amazon, which offers 1 million of its MP3 tracks for just $0.89, compared to the $0.99 Apple charges for all its tracks. Before the launch of Amazon MP3, Apple also charged a $0.30 premium for tracks in the iTunes Plus format, which is recorded at a higher quality than the DRM-encumbered versions. Other Amazon tracks sell for $0.99.
Court of appeals hands Google a patent setback
Google's browser toolbar is back in court on patent infringement charges, after a U.S. court of appeals overturned part of a lower court decision. Google's AdSense contextual advertising service, though, is in the clear.
Hyperphrase Technologies filed suit against Google in April 2006, alleging that Google's AdSense and the AutoLink function of its toolbar infringed claims in four Hyperphrase patents relating to the contextual linking and presentation of information. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin rejected the allegations in a summary judgement in Google's favor, and Hyperphrase appealed.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the parts of the summary judgement relating to AdSense, and some of the claims against AutoLink, but overturned the part of the ruling dealing with AutoLink's alleged infringement of two of the patents. It remanded the case to the district court to be reexamined.
AutoLink parses Web pages for text fragments in certain formats, and transforms them into links to Web pages it deems appropriate. For instance, it will link publication International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs) to a corresponding listing on Amazon.com's bookstore, or link package tracking numbers to pages showing delivery status. It will similarly process U.S. street addresses and U.S. vehicle identification numbers.
In its ruling, the court of appeals found that the district court had considered an inappropriate interpretation for "data reference," one of the terms used in the patent claims to describe the way a link is made between a fragment of text and an element in a database. The court of appeals remanded the case to the district court to determine whether AutoLink infringed the patents under the new interpretation it suggested.
Some have likened AutoLink, introduced in early 2005, to an earlier initiative from Microsoft called Smart Tags, which sought to add links determined by Microsoft to certain keywords appearing on Web pages viewed through its Internet Explorer browser. The feature, included in beta versions of the browser bundled with Windows XP, was roundly rejected by users for the control it gave Microsoft over the appearance of Web pages, prompting the company to remove the feature from production versions in June 2001. However, it left the function in its Office XP productivity software suite, released in May 2001, where it became the subject of another patent lawsuit brought by Hyperphrase. Microsoft won a summary judgement in that case in 2003.
In Wednesday's ruling on the Google-Hyperphrase case, the court of appeals upheld the judgement of the district court regarding AdSense. The way AdSense infers the topic of a Web page to associate it with keywords that may not appear on the page, and link those keywords to advertisements, did not constitute use of a "data reference" in the sense of the Hyperphrase patents at issue, the district court had found, and the court of appeals agreed.
Google issued a statement saying it was "very pleased" that the court decided AdSense did not infringe any Hyperphrase patents. "We continue to believe the remaining claims in the lawsuit are without merit, and will vigorously defend against those claims," Michael Kwun, Google's managing counsel for litigation, said in the statement.
The company's latest quarterly financial report warns that is subject to intellectual property rights claims, and may face more in the future. Such cases are costly to defend and could require it to pay damages or prevent it from using certain technologies
One such case, brought by Northeastern University in Boston and by Jarg, a company in Massachusetts that develops distributed search technologies, charges Google with infringing a patent for a method of breaking database queries into fragments and distributing them to multiple computers to get search results faster. Google has until Jan. 11 to file a response in that case.
Hyperphrase Technologies filed suit against Google in April 2006, alleging that Google's AdSense and the AutoLink function of its toolbar infringed claims in four Hyperphrase patents relating to the contextual linking and presentation of information. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin rejected the allegations in a summary judgement in Google's favor, and Hyperphrase appealed.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the parts of the summary judgement relating to AdSense, and some of the claims against AutoLink, but overturned the part of the ruling dealing with AutoLink's alleged infringement of two of the patents. It remanded the case to the district court to be reexamined.
AutoLink parses Web pages for text fragments in certain formats, and transforms them into links to Web pages it deems appropriate. For instance, it will link publication International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs) to a corresponding listing on Amazon.com's bookstore, or link package tracking numbers to pages showing delivery status. It will similarly process U.S. street addresses and U.S. vehicle identification numbers.
In its ruling, the court of appeals found that the district court had considered an inappropriate interpretation for "data reference," one of the terms used in the patent claims to describe the way a link is made between a fragment of text and an element in a database. The court of appeals remanded the case to the district court to determine whether AutoLink infringed the patents under the new interpretation it suggested.
Some have likened AutoLink, introduced in early 2005, to an earlier initiative from Microsoft called Smart Tags, which sought to add links determined by Microsoft to certain keywords appearing on Web pages viewed through its Internet Explorer browser. The feature, included in beta versions of the browser bundled with Windows XP, was roundly rejected by users for the control it gave Microsoft over the appearance of Web pages, prompting the company to remove the feature from production versions in June 2001. However, it left the function in its Office XP productivity software suite, released in May 2001, where it became the subject of another patent lawsuit brought by Hyperphrase. Microsoft won a summary judgement in that case in 2003.
In Wednesday's ruling on the Google-Hyperphrase case, the court of appeals upheld the judgement of the district court regarding AdSense. The way AdSense infers the topic of a Web page to associate it with keywords that may not appear on the page, and link those keywords to advertisements, did not constitute use of a "data reference" in the sense of the Hyperphrase patents at issue, the district court had found, and the court of appeals agreed.
Google issued a statement saying it was "very pleased" that the court decided AdSense did not infringe any Hyperphrase patents. "We continue to believe the remaining claims in the lawsuit are without merit, and will vigorously defend against those claims," Michael Kwun, Google's managing counsel for litigation, said in the statement.
The company's latest quarterly financial report warns that is subject to intellectual property rights claims, and may face more in the future. Such cases are costly to defend and could require it to pay damages or prevent it from using certain technologies
One such case, brought by Northeastern University in Boston and by Jarg, a company in Massachusetts that develops distributed search technologies, charges Google with infringing a patent for a method of breaking database queries into fragments and distributing them to multiple computers to get search results faster. Google has until Jan. 11 to file a response in that case.
Scorecard: what came true, what didn't in 2007
With more than 2,000 consumer electronics companies fighting for the attention of 140,000 attendees at International CES, the competition to get noticed is fierce. Companies will parade their newest and hottest products and promise starry-eyed consumers and journalists imminent release dates for their gadgets, while the more daring keynote speakers give their predictions for the year ahead. Sometimes they're spot-on -- but other times they're way off the mark, as this look back at the class of 2007 shows.
The show kicked off in a big way with the unveiling by Sharp of its monster 108-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) TV. The set represented the biggest flat-panel TV developed -- a title it still holds today -- and came without a price but with the promise of availability during 2007. But wealthy consumers are still waiting. Sharp said recently that it is still working on plans for a commercial launch for the TV set.
There was a lot of noise at the show about both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. The battling high-definition video disc camps both claimed an advantage over the other and asserted that 2007 would be break-out year when their respective format left the rival in the dust. A year on and not much has changed. Consumer indifference and confusion over the formats has led many to stay away, while prices have collapsed leaving some wondering if any of the participants will ever be able to make money on either technology.
One man who called the status quo was H.G. Lee, president of LG Electronics. Speaking at a news conference where he unveiled a dual-format machine from LG he predicted that both formats would be around for a good while longer and observed, "The growth of this exciting new technology and industry is slower than it could be." So top marks to Lee, but that's perhaps not much consolation. While he was right about the immediate future of both formats, his company's relatively expensive dual-format player wasn't the hit he hoped.
LG wasn't the only company trying to solve the format battle. Warner Bros. introduced its Total Hi Def disc that has a Blu-ray Disc layer on one side and an HD DVD layer on the other. The disc generated a lot of excitement because it would insulate consumers from the risks of backing the wrong format -- so it was a disappointment when Warner threw in the towel on the format before the year was out.
CES often serves as a launch pad for new technologies. The results were mixed for two of those shown at CES 2007.
Samsung came to CES 2007 with A-VSB, a mobile digital TV broadcasting system that offers a robust signal and fewer drop-outs to receivers on the move, and comes with a low installation price tag of a few tens of thousands of dollars per TV station. A-VSB also came with an aggressive roll-out schedule that would have put it on-air by the end of 2007 -- but as the year turns there's still no sign of commercial service.
Things weren't so bad for Sony. It wowed visitors with prototype TVs based on new OLED (organic light emitting diode) screens. With a bright, rich and dynamic picture they were among the highlights of the show. Sony made good on its commercialization plans and put the set on sale in Japan on Dec. 1, where it sold out almost immediately despite the ¥200,000 price tag. Sony is expected to unveil U.S. launch plans at CES 2008.
With CES 2008 only days away now, the class of 2008 are putting the finishing touches to their announcements, predictions and promises. The show is continuing to grow, so companies will need to make a bigger splash to catch the attention of attendees and media: In a year from now we'll know who stuck their necks out too far in the race to claim the CES headlines.
The show kicked off in a big way with the unveiling by Sharp of its monster 108-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) TV. The set represented the biggest flat-panel TV developed -- a title it still holds today -- and came without a price but with the promise of availability during 2007. But wealthy consumers are still waiting. Sharp said recently that it is still working on plans for a commercial launch for the TV set.
There was a lot of noise at the show about both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. The battling high-definition video disc camps both claimed an advantage over the other and asserted that 2007 would be break-out year when their respective format left the rival in the dust. A year on and not much has changed. Consumer indifference and confusion over the formats has led many to stay away, while prices have collapsed leaving some wondering if any of the participants will ever be able to make money on either technology.
One man who called the status quo was H.G. Lee, president of LG Electronics. Speaking at a news conference where he unveiled a dual-format machine from LG he predicted that both formats would be around for a good while longer and observed, "The growth of this exciting new technology and industry is slower than it could be." So top marks to Lee, but that's perhaps not much consolation. While he was right about the immediate future of both formats, his company's relatively expensive dual-format player wasn't the hit he hoped.
LG wasn't the only company trying to solve the format battle. Warner Bros. introduced its Total Hi Def disc that has a Blu-ray Disc layer on one side and an HD DVD layer on the other. The disc generated a lot of excitement because it would insulate consumers from the risks of backing the wrong format -- so it was a disappointment when Warner threw in the towel on the format before the year was out.
CES often serves as a launch pad for new technologies. The results were mixed for two of those shown at CES 2007.
Samsung came to CES 2007 with A-VSB, a mobile digital TV broadcasting system that offers a robust signal and fewer drop-outs to receivers on the move, and comes with a low installation price tag of a few tens of thousands of dollars per TV station. A-VSB also came with an aggressive roll-out schedule that would have put it on-air by the end of 2007 -- but as the year turns there's still no sign of commercial service.
Things weren't so bad for Sony. It wowed visitors with prototype TVs based on new OLED (organic light emitting diode) screens. With a bright, rich and dynamic picture they were among the highlights of the show. Sony made good on its commercialization plans and put the set on sale in Japan on Dec. 1, where it sold out almost immediately despite the ¥200,000 price tag. Sony is expected to unveil U.S. launch plans at CES 2008.
With CES 2008 only days away now, the class of 2008 are putting the finishing touches to their announcements, predictions and promises. The show is continuing to grow, so companies will need to make a bigger splash to catch the attention of attendees and media: In a year from now we'll know who stuck their necks out too far in the race to claim the CES headlines.
Report: Apple to offer Fox movie rentals
Apple and News Corp. have signed an agreement to offer Twentieth Century Fox movies for rent through the iTunes Music Store, the Financial Times reported Thursday.
Users would be able to download the latest Twentieth Century Fox movies from iTunes and view them for a limited time, the Financial Times reported, citing "a person familiar with the situation."
As part of the agreement, Twentieth Century Fox will use Apple's FairPlay digital rights management technology in future DVD releases, marking the first time someone other than Apple has used the technology, the report said. Using this technology would allow users to copy movies from a DVD onto an iPod, it said.
The deal between Apple and Twentieth Century Fox will "likely" be announced on January 14 at the Macworld conference, the Financial Times said.
Besides Twentieth Century Fox, Apple is holding similar talks about online movie rentals and FairPlay with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount and Warner Bros., the Financial Times said.
Apple, which saw its share price top US$200 for the first time on Wednesday, currently offers some movies from Walt Disney and other studios on iTunes, but these are only available for purchase, not for rent.
Users would be able to download the latest Twentieth Century Fox movies from iTunes and view them for a limited time, the Financial Times reported, citing "a person familiar with the situation."
As part of the agreement, Twentieth Century Fox will use Apple's FairPlay digital rights management technology in future DVD releases, marking the first time someone other than Apple has used the technology, the report said. Using this technology would allow users to copy movies from a DVD onto an iPod, it said.
The deal between Apple and Twentieth Century Fox will "likely" be announced on January 14 at the Macworld conference, the Financial Times said.
Besides Twentieth Century Fox, Apple is holding similar talks about online movie rentals and FairPlay with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount and Warner Bros., the Financial Times said.
Apple, which saw its share price top US$200 for the first time on Wednesday, currently offers some movies from Walt Disney and other studios on iTunes, but these are only available for purchase, not for rent.
Panasonic to unveil thinnest Blu-ray Disc drive at CES
Panasonic has developed a Blu-ray Disc drive for laptop computers and plans to unveil it at January's Consumer Electronics Show, the company said Thursday.
The drive is 9.5 millimeters high, which is a standard height for many slim-line laptop optical disc drives. By squeezing the drive down to this height it should be easier for laptop makers to fit into their standard machines without the need for a redesign of the computers.
Panasonic has already begun offering samples of the drives to laptop makers with the hope that the companies will build it into new PCs.
The drive supports 2X writing to single-layer BD-R (write-once) and BR-RE (rewritable) discs and 1X writing to dual-layer discs. Reading of both Blu-ray Disc formats is at 2X. Additionally the drive can read BD-ROM discs, read and write to DVD-RAM, DVD-/+R, DVD-/+RW, CD-R/RW discs and read both DVD-ROM and CD-ROM. Panasonic didn't disclose a price for the drive.
Blu-ray Disc is competing with HD DVD to become the de facto replacement for DVD. In the video market both offer a high-definition picture and audio quality well above that of DVD but most consumers have stayed away from both formats until a clear winner emerges in the format battle. In the PC market, the high cost of drives and plummeting cost of hard-disk drive storage has also meant that both formats remain relatively unused.
Between the two, Blu-ray Disc has the advantage in terms of capacity. A single-layer BD-R disc can accommodate 25G bytes of data while a single-layer HD DVD-R can hold 15G bytes but the difference isn't so simple. However despite Blu-ray Disc's superior capacity the blank media is also more expensive than HD DVD media.
Panasonic is scheduled to hold a news conference at CES in Las Vegas on Jan. 6 at which the drive is expected to be unveiled.
The drive is 9.5 millimeters high, which is a standard height for many slim-line laptop optical disc drives. By squeezing the drive down to this height it should be easier for laptop makers to fit into their standard machines without the need for a redesign of the computers.
Panasonic has already begun offering samples of the drives to laptop makers with the hope that the companies will build it into new PCs.
The drive supports 2X writing to single-layer BD-R (write-once) and BR-RE (rewritable) discs and 1X writing to dual-layer discs. Reading of both Blu-ray Disc formats is at 2X. Additionally the drive can read BD-ROM discs, read and write to DVD-RAM, DVD-/+R, DVD-/+RW, CD-R/RW discs and read both DVD-ROM and CD-ROM. Panasonic didn't disclose a price for the drive.
Blu-ray Disc is competing with HD DVD to become the de facto replacement for DVD. In the video market both offer a high-definition picture and audio quality well above that of DVD but most consumers have stayed away from both formats until a clear winner emerges in the format battle. In the PC market, the high cost of drives and plummeting cost of hard-disk drive storage has also meant that both formats remain relatively unused.
Between the two, Blu-ray Disc has the advantage in terms of capacity. A single-layer BD-R disc can accommodate 25G bytes of data while a single-layer HD DVD-R can hold 15G bytes but the difference isn't so simple. However despite Blu-ray Disc's superior capacity the blank media is also more expensive than HD DVD media.
Panasonic is scheduled to hold a news conference at CES in Las Vegas on Jan. 6 at which the drive is expected to be unveiled.
EMC will buy Document Sciences for $85M
Storage company EMC has agreed to buy Document Sciences, a developer of software for personalizing mailshots and other communications. The acquisition will allow EMC to extend its offering in the field of transactional content management, which it sees as the fastest-growing part of the enterprise content management market. It plans to incorporate Document Sciences into its content management and archiving division.
Using xPression, Document Sciences' flagship application, companies can automate the creation and delivery of personalized communications such as brochures and contracts. The data can be drawn from CRM (customer relationship management), ECM (enterprise content management) and ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems, it said.
Automating the processes can save companies money or speed deals along, Document Sciences said. It has more than 500 customers using its software, it said.
Document Sciences and EMC have been partners since 2004, when Document Sciences signed an agreement to integrate its xPression software with EMC's Documentum platform.
Acquiring Document Sciences will allow EMC to further its goal of delivering systems for handling business problems end to end, it said.
The xPression software could be useful for companies building transaction-intensive consumer financial applications such as new account enrollment, wealth management, brokerage and claims processing.
The acquisition, for US$85 million [M] in cash, already has the approval of the companies' boards of directors. Subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of regulators and Document Sciences' shareholders, the companies expect to close the deal by the end of March.
EMC went on a buying spree in 2003, buying Legato and Documentum and has added around 20 companies since then, including security and encryption company RSA Security, virtualization specialist Rainfinity, and other companies such as Acartus, Captiva and Internosis.
Using xPression, Document Sciences' flagship application, companies can automate the creation and delivery of personalized communications such as brochures and contracts. The data can be drawn from CRM (customer relationship management), ECM (enterprise content management) and ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems, it said.
Automating the processes can save companies money or speed deals along, Document Sciences said. It has more than 500 customers using its software, it said.
Document Sciences and EMC have been partners since 2004, when Document Sciences signed an agreement to integrate its xPression software with EMC's Documentum platform.
Acquiring Document Sciences will allow EMC to further its goal of delivering systems for handling business problems end to end, it said.
The xPression software could be useful for companies building transaction-intensive consumer financial applications such as new account enrollment, wealth management, brokerage and claims processing.
The acquisition, for US$85 million [M] in cash, already has the approval of the companies' boards of directors. Subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of regulators and Document Sciences' shareholders, the companies expect to close the deal by the end of March.
EMC went on a buying spree in 2003, buying Legato and Documentum and has added around 20 companies since then, including security and encryption company RSA Security, virtualization specialist Rainfinity, and other companies such as Acartus, Captiva and Internosis.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Samsung hits back at Sharp with US, Japan complaints
Samsung Electronics has replied to a patent-infringement lawsuit filed against it by Sharp by lodging complaints of its own with the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Tokyo District Court, it said Thursday.
Samsung filed the U.S. complaint on Dec. 21 and alleged that Sharp's LCD products infringe upon four of its U.S. patents. The patents were not detailed in Samsung's statement. It asked the trade regulator to launch an investigation into the complaints and, as is typical in such cases, block Sharp from importing into the U.S. products that contain the LCDs in question. Such products could include TVs, monitors, laptop PCs and cell phones.
The ITC will now examine the complaint and decide whether to move forward with a formal investigation.
Samsung followed the U.S. complaint with a complaint lodged in Tokyo on Wednesday in which it alleged that LCD televisions sold by Sharp in Japan incorporate LCD modules that infringe upon two of Samsung's Japanese patents. As in the U.S. complaint, Samsung asked the court to halt manufacturing and sales of the infringing products in Japan.
On Dec. 12, Sharp filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Samsung in the Seoul Central District Court. The lawsuit alleges the LCD modules and televisions manufactured and/or sold by Samsung in South Korea infringe upon three Sharp patents. The Korean patents concern technology that allows high brightness and high-speed response as well as a wide viewing angle, Sharp said in a statement at the time.
The lawsuit was the second filed by Sharp against Samsung.
On Aug. 6, Sharp filed a suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging LCD modules manufactured by Samsung and LCD TVs, computer monitors and mobile phones that incorporate the modules infringed on its U.S. patents: 4,649,383, 5,760,855, 6,052,162, 7,027,024 and 7,057,689.
Samsung said Thursday that it is also pursuing lawsuits against Sharp in Delaware and Texas.
Samsung filed the U.S. complaint on Dec. 21 and alleged that Sharp's LCD products infringe upon four of its U.S. patents. The patents were not detailed in Samsung's statement. It asked the trade regulator to launch an investigation into the complaints and, as is typical in such cases, block Sharp from importing into the U.S. products that contain the LCDs in question. Such products could include TVs, monitors, laptop PCs and cell phones.
The ITC will now examine the complaint and decide whether to move forward with a formal investigation.
Samsung followed the U.S. complaint with a complaint lodged in Tokyo on Wednesday in which it alleged that LCD televisions sold by Sharp in Japan incorporate LCD modules that infringe upon two of Samsung's Japanese patents. As in the U.S. complaint, Samsung asked the court to halt manufacturing and sales of the infringing products in Japan.
On Dec. 12, Sharp filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Samsung in the Seoul Central District Court. The lawsuit alleges the LCD modules and televisions manufactured and/or sold by Samsung in South Korea infringe upon three Sharp patents. The Korean patents concern technology that allows high brightness and high-speed response as well as a wide viewing angle, Sharp said in a statement at the time.
The lawsuit was the second filed by Sharp against Samsung.
On Aug. 6, Sharp filed a suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging LCD modules manufactured by Samsung and LCD TVs, computer monitors and mobile phones that incorporate the modules infringed on its U.S. patents: 4,649,383, 5,760,855, 6,052,162, 7,027,024 and 7,057,689.
Samsung said Thursday that it is also pursuing lawsuits against Sharp in Delaware and Texas.
2007's coolest gadgets
The end of the year provides us with the perfect excuse to look back at some of the coolest gadgets that have come out of the consumer electronics giants of east Asia in the last year. As you might expect, the continuing convergence of all sorts of products into smaller and more functional devices was a big theme in 2007. Some of the gadgets also reminded us of the importance of services that often go hand-in-hand with hardware and are a big but often forgotten part of the "cool factor" we attach to such products.
Take for example Casio's Exilim EX-S880. Like many other digital still cameras on the market it does a good job of shooting video but Casio innovated by adding in a capture mode that records videos in the format preferred by YouTube. Combined with a desktop application to upload the videos, this means that movies can be online minutes after you've shot them and with nothing more than a couple of mouse clicks.
On the hardware side, there's been plenty of impressive gadgets and we've also witnessed the birth of a completely new product category: OLED (organic light emitting diode) televisions. Several companies have been promising these for years and in the end it was Sony that made it first to market. You've got to see this TV to fully appreciate its coolness! At just 3 millimeters thick, the TV was the star of October's Ceatec show in Japan and leads off our look back at the coolest gadgets of 2007.
Without a doubt the coolest product of the year was Sony's OLED TV. First shown as a prototype at CES in January, the commercial version came along in October and didn't disappoint -- except perhaps on price. The set has an 11-inch OLED panel and is 3mm thick. OLEDs offer several advantages over LCD and PDP technology, including wider viewing angles, faster response time, and better contrast and colors. However, the technology is difficult to manufacture and the OLED material degrades over time. Sony said the XEL-1 has a viewing life of 30,000 hours, which allows a user to watch eight hours of television every day for 10 years. The television went on sale in Japan on Dec. 1 for ¥200,000 (US$1,750) and promptly sold out. It's not only a cool TV set but perhaps the first product for a few years from Sony that really makes you say "wow." After the turmoil of recent years could Sony finally have its mojo back?
Toshiba Dynabook SS RX1
It may not look very special at first glance, but pick up the Dynabook SS RX1 (called the Portege R500 in some markets) and you'll immediately realize why it was one of the coolest laptop PCs we saw all year. This 12.1-inch screen laptop weighs just 768 grams in its lightest configuration -- more than 100 grams lighter than Sony's impressive Vaio G laptop. At the computer's heart lies a 1.06GHz Intel Core2 Duo processor and on some models you'll also find 802.11n Wi-Fi. Toshiba has put a lot of work into smart design so that it's thin and light. The laptop has also shed a few grams thanks to the use of a 64G-byte solid-state disk (SSD) in place of a conventional hard-disk drive. It costs around US$2,000.
Casio YouTube digital still camera
Casio brought up the first digital cameras with a video mode optimized for YouTube: the Exilim EX-S880 and EX-Z77. Getting a clip onto YouTube is easy: Shoot it, put the camera in the dock, and click a couple of times on the PC uploader application and you're done. The EX-S880 can take 8.1-megapixel images, has a 3X optical zoom and costs about US$300. YouTube mode has subsequently made it into other Casio models. The Casio deal with YouTube gave them exclusivity until the end of the year so you can look for it in devices from other makers in 2008.
NEC Lui concept PC
Imagine most of the PC innovations you've seen in the last few years thrown together inside a single box and you start to get an idea of what the Lui from NEC is all about. The machine is a PC running Windows Vista that can also act as a home server. It has two digital HDTV tuners, so you can watch one channel while you record another. It has DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) connectivity so that programming -- live or recorded -- can be streamed to other DLNA devices over Ethernet, and it will come with a Blu-ray Disc writer so that TV shows can be copied to disc. Users outside the home can log into the server and access content in the same way Slingbox or Location Free TV works. The PC is due on the Japanese market in the first half of 2008 at a price yet to be announced. NEC is one of Japan's leading PC makers despite not being well known for PCs in all countries.
Hitachi Blu-ray Disc camcorder
The first camcorders based on an 8-centimeter Blu-ray Disc appeared in 2007 from an unlikely vendor: Hitachi. The company launched two models, the DZ-BD70 based solely on disc and the DZ-BD7H, which adds a 30G-byte hard disk drive. A single-sided 8 cm recordable (BD-R) or rewritable (BD-RE) disc can store about an hour of footage shot in full high-definition quality (1,920 pixels by 1,080 pixels). The hybrid model can store an additional four hours of high-definition video on its hard-disk drive. The cameras have a 10X optical zoom lens, a 2.7-inch widescreen monitor and a viewfinder. Additionally, the cameras can be used to take still images at up to 4.3 megapixel resolution (2,400 pixels by 1,800 pixels). The DZ-BD70 costs about US$1,299 and the DZ-BD7H about US$1,499.
Nissan Pivo 2
From Nissan at the Tokyo Motor Show came the impressive Pivo 2 concept car. Fully electric, it has a cab that can rotate through 360 degrees and can also twist its wheels around so that it can move into parking spaces sideways. Equally impressive is Pivo-kun, the robot embedded in the car's dash. Since Pivo-kun is equipped with voice recognition, the driver can ask questions like the location of the nearest parking lot. Its facial recognition has an important safety aspect: It monitors the driver's face for signs of tiredness and suggests a rest if one is needed. More than that, it provides virtual companionship to the driver and that should mean safer roads -- Nissan research shows happy drivers have fewer accidents. Look for cars like Pivo 2 on city streets around 2015.
NTT DoCoMo Raku-Raku Phone Basic
We love NTT DoCoMo's Raku-Raku Phone Basic for its lack of gadgets. Developed by Fujitsu, the handset is designed to appeal to users for whom the dizzying array of functions, features and buttons on current phones are just too much. The buttons and on-screen text are bigger than conventional cell phones and there are three dedicated speed-dial buttons. The phone includes a neat-sounding "slow voice" function that can slow the speed of the other person's voice without slowing down the conversation (it slows the speech and shortens the gaps between words to compensate) and "clear voice" which automatically adjusts clarity and the ringtone volume to match the surroundings -- now why don't all phones have that?
Samsung TPEG Cell Phone
Samsung Electronics developed a cell phone capable of receiving real-time traffic information using a new system called TPEG. The SPH-B5800 phone can receive and decode the information broadcast using the Transport Protocol Experts Group format, which was developed in Europe in the late 1990s and is already in use in South Korea. The phone updates travel information every five minutes and can also receive TV via the country's Satellite DMB system. It went on sale in South Korea at the beginning of the year for around US$600 and includes a 2-megapixel camera, 330,000-word dictionary and 2-inch color TFT (thin-film transistor) LCD (liquid crystal display) screen. It measures 96 millimeters by 46 mm by 16 mm and weighs 96 grams.
World's smallest high-def camcorder
Panasonic claimed headlines with what it said was the world's smallest camcorder. The HDC-SD7 measures 52 millimeters by 110 mm by 87 mm and weighs 350 grams. One of the secrets to its small size is the use of an SD memory card as a recording medium. The electronics and socket needed for a flash card take up much less space than a DVD or hard-disk drive. It packs three CCD (charge coupled device) sensors behind a 10X zoom lens and has a 2.7-inch widescreen LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor. It can record full HD (1,920 pixel by 1,080 pixel) MPEG4 AVC/H.264 video at a range of quality levels. At the average 9M bps (bit per second) rate, a 4G-byte SD card can hold up to 60 minutes of video. It costs about ¥140,000 (US$1,175) in Japan.
Sony Video Walkman with TV
The year finally brought from Sony a Walkman with video support and then later in the year an upgraded model with mobile digital TV viewing and recording. It's an important addition because Apple's iPod, which is the biggest competitor for the devices, doesn't offer TV reception. The "OneSeg" TV system has proved very popular in Japan and can now be found in many portable gadgets including cell phones, laptop PCs, car navigation systems and even electronic dictionaries. The only difference between the three new Walkman devices with TV is their memory capacity. The NW-A916 has 4G bytes of memory, the NW-A918 has 8G bytes and the NW-A919 16G bytes. Compared to the last players the screen size has been increased to 2.4-inches from 2-inches. They went on sale in November and the NW-A916 costs about ¥30,000 (US$260), the NW-A918 ¥35,000 and the NW-A919 ¥45,000.
Take for example Casio's Exilim EX-S880. Like many other digital still cameras on the market it does a good job of shooting video but Casio innovated by adding in a capture mode that records videos in the format preferred by YouTube. Combined with a desktop application to upload the videos, this means that movies can be online minutes after you've shot them and with nothing more than a couple of mouse clicks.
On the hardware side, there's been plenty of impressive gadgets and we've also witnessed the birth of a completely new product category: OLED (organic light emitting diode) televisions. Several companies have been promising these for years and in the end it was Sony that made it first to market. You've got to see this TV to fully appreciate its coolness! At just 3 millimeters thick, the TV was the star of October's Ceatec show in Japan and leads off our look back at the coolest gadgets of 2007.
Without a doubt the coolest product of the year was Sony's OLED TV. First shown as a prototype at CES in January, the commercial version came along in October and didn't disappoint -- except perhaps on price. The set has an 11-inch OLED panel and is 3mm thick. OLEDs offer several advantages over LCD and PDP technology, including wider viewing angles, faster response time, and better contrast and colors. However, the technology is difficult to manufacture and the OLED material degrades over time. Sony said the XEL-1 has a viewing life of 30,000 hours, which allows a user to watch eight hours of television every day for 10 years. The television went on sale in Japan on Dec. 1 for ¥200,000 (US$1,750) and promptly sold out. It's not only a cool TV set but perhaps the first product for a few years from Sony that really makes you say "wow." After the turmoil of recent years could Sony finally have its mojo back?
Toshiba Dynabook SS RX1
It may not look very special at first glance, but pick up the Dynabook SS RX1 (called the Portege R500 in some markets) and you'll immediately realize why it was one of the coolest laptop PCs we saw all year. This 12.1-inch screen laptop weighs just 768 grams in its lightest configuration -- more than 100 grams lighter than Sony's impressive Vaio G laptop. At the computer's heart lies a 1.06GHz Intel Core2 Duo processor and on some models you'll also find 802.11n Wi-Fi. Toshiba has put a lot of work into smart design so that it's thin and light. The laptop has also shed a few grams thanks to the use of a 64G-byte solid-state disk (SSD) in place of a conventional hard-disk drive. It costs around US$2,000.
Casio YouTube digital still camera
Casio brought up the first digital cameras with a video mode optimized for YouTube: the Exilim EX-S880 and EX-Z77. Getting a clip onto YouTube is easy: Shoot it, put the camera in the dock, and click a couple of times on the PC uploader application and you're done. The EX-S880 can take 8.1-megapixel images, has a 3X optical zoom and costs about US$300. YouTube mode has subsequently made it into other Casio models. The Casio deal with YouTube gave them exclusivity until the end of the year so you can look for it in devices from other makers in 2008.
NEC Lui concept PC
Imagine most of the PC innovations you've seen in the last few years thrown together inside a single box and you start to get an idea of what the Lui from NEC is all about. The machine is a PC running Windows Vista that can also act as a home server. It has two digital HDTV tuners, so you can watch one channel while you record another. It has DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) connectivity so that programming -- live or recorded -- can be streamed to other DLNA devices over Ethernet, and it will come with a Blu-ray Disc writer so that TV shows can be copied to disc. Users outside the home can log into the server and access content in the same way Slingbox or Location Free TV works. The PC is due on the Japanese market in the first half of 2008 at a price yet to be announced. NEC is one of Japan's leading PC makers despite not being well known for PCs in all countries.
Hitachi Blu-ray Disc camcorder
The first camcorders based on an 8-centimeter Blu-ray Disc appeared in 2007 from an unlikely vendor: Hitachi. The company launched two models, the DZ-BD70 based solely on disc and the DZ-BD7H, which adds a 30G-byte hard disk drive. A single-sided 8 cm recordable (BD-R) or rewritable (BD-RE) disc can store about an hour of footage shot in full high-definition quality (1,920 pixels by 1,080 pixels). The hybrid model can store an additional four hours of high-definition video on its hard-disk drive. The cameras have a 10X optical zoom lens, a 2.7-inch widescreen monitor and a viewfinder. Additionally, the cameras can be used to take still images at up to 4.3 megapixel resolution (2,400 pixels by 1,800 pixels). The DZ-BD70 costs about US$1,299 and the DZ-BD7H about US$1,499.
Nissan Pivo 2
From Nissan at the Tokyo Motor Show came the impressive Pivo 2 concept car. Fully electric, it has a cab that can rotate through 360 degrees and can also twist its wheels around so that it can move into parking spaces sideways. Equally impressive is Pivo-kun, the robot embedded in the car's dash. Since Pivo-kun is equipped with voice recognition, the driver can ask questions like the location of the nearest parking lot. Its facial recognition has an important safety aspect: It monitors the driver's face for signs of tiredness and suggests a rest if one is needed. More than that, it provides virtual companionship to the driver and that should mean safer roads -- Nissan research shows happy drivers have fewer accidents. Look for cars like Pivo 2 on city streets around 2015.
NTT DoCoMo Raku-Raku Phone Basic
We love NTT DoCoMo's Raku-Raku Phone Basic for its lack of gadgets. Developed by Fujitsu, the handset is designed to appeal to users for whom the dizzying array of functions, features and buttons on current phones are just too much. The buttons and on-screen text are bigger than conventional cell phones and there are three dedicated speed-dial buttons. The phone includes a neat-sounding "slow voice" function that can slow the speed of the other person's voice without slowing down the conversation (it slows the speech and shortens the gaps between words to compensate) and "clear voice" which automatically adjusts clarity and the ringtone volume to match the surroundings -- now why don't all phones have that?
Samsung TPEG Cell Phone
Samsung Electronics developed a cell phone capable of receiving real-time traffic information using a new system called TPEG. The SPH-B5800 phone can receive and decode the information broadcast using the Transport Protocol Experts Group format, which was developed in Europe in the late 1990s and is already in use in South Korea. The phone updates travel information every five minutes and can also receive TV via the country's Satellite DMB system. It went on sale in South Korea at the beginning of the year for around US$600 and includes a 2-megapixel camera, 330,000-word dictionary and 2-inch color TFT (thin-film transistor) LCD (liquid crystal display) screen. It measures 96 millimeters by 46 mm by 16 mm and weighs 96 grams.
World's smallest high-def camcorder
Panasonic claimed headlines with what it said was the world's smallest camcorder. The HDC-SD7 measures 52 millimeters by 110 mm by 87 mm and weighs 350 grams. One of the secrets to its small size is the use of an SD memory card as a recording medium. The electronics and socket needed for a flash card take up much less space than a DVD or hard-disk drive. It packs three CCD (charge coupled device) sensors behind a 10X zoom lens and has a 2.7-inch widescreen LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor. It can record full HD (1,920 pixel by 1,080 pixel) MPEG4 AVC/H.264 video at a range of quality levels. At the average 9M bps (bit per second) rate, a 4G-byte SD card can hold up to 60 minutes of video. It costs about ¥140,000 (US$1,175) in Japan.
Sony Video Walkman with TV
The year finally brought from Sony a Walkman with video support and then later in the year an upgraded model with mobile digital TV viewing and recording. It's an important addition because Apple's iPod, which is the biggest competitor for the devices, doesn't offer TV reception. The "OneSeg" TV system has proved very popular in Japan and can now be found in many portable gadgets including cell phones, laptop PCs, car navigation systems and even electronic dictionaries. The only difference between the three new Walkman devices with TV is their memory capacity. The NW-A916 has 4G bytes of memory, the NW-A918 has 8G bytes and the NW-A919 16G bytes. Compared to the last players the screen size has been increased to 2.4-inches from 2-inches. They went on sale in November and the NW-A916 costs about ¥30,000 (US$260), the NW-A918 ¥35,000 and the NW-A919 ¥45,000.
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