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BetaNews.Com (5 non lus)

Motorola sues Apple, claiming infringement of 18 patents

Publié: octobre 6, 2010, 11:29pm CEST par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Motorola subsidiary Motorola Mobility sued Apple on Wednesday, claiming the Cupertino company infringed on 18 patents it holds covering a range of wireless technologies. The suit was filed in two US District courts: one in the Northern District of Illinois and the other in the Southern District of Florida.
Among the technologies covered are those related to GPRS and 3G, as well as 802.11 wireless Internet. Other functions that the patents cover include technologies which have become staples of the iPhone including multi-device synchronization, proximity sensors, and location based services.
"After Apple's late entry into the telecommunications market, we engaged in lengthy negotiations, but Apple has refused to take a license. We had no choice but to file these complaints to halt Apple's continued infringement," Motorola Mobility's intellectual property chief Kirk Dailey said in a statement.
Apple declined to comment on the suit.
Motorola also filed complaints with the International Trade Commission in an attempt to have the group look into Apple's use of the patents in question, and possibly asking for an injunction to bar the importation of any Apple product that includes technology which infringes on Motorola's patents.
The ITC is also handling the spat between Apple and Nokia, in which both companies have sued each other over infringement and have similarly asked for injunctive relief. Kodak has also asked the ITC to look into the possibility of patent infringement of its own patents dealing with the previewing of images.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
In the name of privacy, Facebook revamps groups, dashboard, data portability

Publié: octobre 6, 2010, 8:55pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

As more people put more sensitive information on Facebook, it's becoming increasingly important to give users better ways to control who sees that data and how it's used. At a press conference in Palo Alto today, Mark Zuckerberg and company unveiled three big enhancements to the way users interact with their Facebook accounts, with the underlying theme of privacy.
First, users can now download everything they've ever posted on Facebook, including all correspondences between friends, all photos and video they've been tagged in, and their friends list as a single zipped file.
Second, a new dashboard in the privacy settings menu gives users a better look into how third-party applications and connected sites use personal data. With over 1,000,000 Facebook connect services active today, it is not uncommon to log into a site using your Facebook ID once and never use it again. This dashboard lets users know exactly with whom they're sharing.
Third, a completely revamped Facebook Groups for collaborative sharing, chatting, and event planning with smaller, more controlled groups in mind. This is the biggest change of the three, and the one which Facebook executives spent the most time discussing today.
"We've long heard that people would find Facebook more useful if it were easier to connect with smaller groups of their friends instead of always sharing with everyone they know. For some it's their immediate family and for others it's their fantasy football league, but the common concern is always some variant of, 'I'd share this thing, but I don't want to bother 250 people. Or my grandmother. Or my boss," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said today.
The groups that have already been created aren't going anywhere, and the old system of group creation and maintenance will not change for them. However, these kinds of groups can no longer be created.
Some new features of Groups include: group chat, a simultaneous real-time Facebook chat; shared notepad for collaborative document creation and editing within a group; and Mailing list-style notification options which can be subscribed to or blocked depending on what each group member prefers, and a group privacy setting. The group privacy setting includes "Open," which makes both group members and all the group's content public; "Closed," which leaves members public, but all the content private; and "Secret," in which members and content are both private.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Cisco unveils Google chat-compatible video conferencing product for HDTVs

Publié: octobre 6, 2010, 7:49pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Network hardware company Cisco today introduced umi telepresence, its first HD video conferencing product designed for consumer televisions.
Consumers now have access to the TelePresence technology humorously product-placed on NBC's 30 Rock last year; Cisco umi includes an HD camera and a broadband-connected console that users hook up to their television. Once the unit is connected, they can then make video calls to other umi users or Google video chat users, record video postcards for Facebook and YouTube, or manage contact lists and profiles via remote control. When users receive a video call or message when they're away from their TV, they can receive text message alerts that a video message awaits them. Video messages can be checked on remote PCs as well as on the console.
Unfortunately, with high definition video conferencing comes two drawbacks: high bandwidth requirements, and a high price.
Verizon has been testing the service over its FiOS network, and expects to launch it to consumers when the devices ship later this year.
"We plan to be the first service provider to offer Cisco umi to our customers, delivering an amazingly clear and lifelike experience that brings family and friends into your living room," said Eric Bruno, vice president, of consumer product management at Verizon today.
Market Research firm Strategy Analytics today said the live video chat requires broadband with a minimum upload speed of 1.5Mbps, which only about one-third of US households currently have.
As for price, Cisco says it will cost $599 for the unit, and carry a monthly fee of $24.99 for unlimited umi calls, video messaging and video storage. Umi is available for pre-order today directly from Cisco, and will be available through bestbuy.com on October 18, with general availability on November 14.
"While video calling is the most obvious application, its utility is very limited," said Ben Piper, Service Director at Strategy Analytics. "We see an opportunity for Cisco to team with private industry to position umi as a business to consumer offering, subsidized by Financial Services, Health Care, Retail, and Education. That's when we'll see the really exciting applications start to surface, and the network's 'critical mass' begin to evolve."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Trouble sorting out Microsoft's project codenames? Check this out

Publié: octobre 6, 2010, 5:05pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

With such a large catalog of software and solutions, it's often a task remembering the names of Microsoft's products, especially when they are prone to changing as new versions come out. Unreleased products and betas are a whole other affair altogether.
Fortunately, Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft expert over at ZDNet and author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era, has released the latest Whitepaper that sorts out all of Microsoft's currently known project codenames called All About Microsoft: CodeTracker.
This monthly document lists all of Microsoft's upcoming products and technologies alphabetically by codename and includes product descriptions, expected release dates, and latest development milestones each project has achieved.
With nearly 150 codenames in use, Foley's whitepaper is an indispensable reference tool for Microsoft customers to find out what's in development in Redmond, and what's recently been killed. We highly recommend giving it a look.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Motorola unleashes salvo of new Android phones

Publié: octobre 6, 2010, 6:39am CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

At CTIA Enterprise and Applications 2010 in San Francisco today, mobile phone maker and major Android supporter Motorola unveiled six new Android smartphones that will be available at different points later this year. In typical Motorola fashion, each device offers a unique selling point to make it stand out in the Android marketplace.
Flipside This QWERTY slider features a unique large trackpad on the front panel beside the 3.1" touchscreen. It runs a 720MHz processor and Android 2.1, and will be available for $99 on AT&T.
Spice This touchphone is designed for one-handed use, so it features a shorter chassis, has Motorola's Backtrack trackpad on the rear, and a portrait QWERTY keyboard. There was no announcement of Spice coming to the U.S., but Motorola mentioned that the device will be launching in Brazil.
Citrus Similar to the Spice, the Citrus is designed for one-handed use and features a Backtrack trackpad, but no QWERTY keyboard. Verizon Wireless will be getting this touchphone, and though pricing has yet to be announced, it is expected to be an entry-level device based upon its modest specs.
Bravo This 3.7" touchphone is bound for AT&T. Running on an 800MHz TI OMAP processor, and equipped with a 3.2 megapixel camera, Bravo will be available for $129.99 this holiday season. It is the most powerful of the three new Android devices AT&T will be getting from Motorola.
Flipout Like the Charm, Flipout features a 2.8" square screen and square keyboard, but it has a corner hinge which lets the device be folded over. This will be available with AT&T on October 17 and will cost $79.99.
Droid Pro
As the "Droid" billing suggests, this one is bound for Verizon Wireless, and it is the second QWERTY candybar phone that Motorola has made, and it definitely will appeal to BlackBerry users. With a 3.1" HVGA touchscreen, a 1GHz TI processor, 2GB of onboard memory with microSD support up to 32GB, Android 2.2, and mobile hotspot capability, supporting up to five devices, the Droid Pro is the highest-end device Motorola has unveiled this time around.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010