Microsoft to unveil Windows 8 late February

Microsoft to unveil Windows 8 operating system
Tech giant has one target in sight – the iPad
Designed to work with PCs and mobile devices

MICROSOFT will pull the covers off Windows 8 – a radical rethinking of the operating system that runs most of the world’s computers. And it has one clear goal in sight: The iPad.
The software giant will talk about the forthcoming release on that date and hold what is essentially a massive public beta of the next-generation operating system, an overhaul intended to stress the growing importance of tablet computers and smartphones to the overall world of technology, reported Fox News.

Users will most likely be able to download the software for free that day, though Microsoft refused to confirm when it would be available.

The new operating system boasts a completely revamped user interface Microsoft calls “Metro.”

It will run on top of the conventional interface and is intended to work not just with the world’s hundreds of millions of Windows computers but also with the emerging mobile devices that have taken consumers by storm.

The new interface will display applications as tiles for quick and easy access, while also allowing them to toggle back to a classic Windows look.

Other user interface changes already unveiled include a new “lock screen” for the operating system that gives far more information at a glance than the current iteration of Windows and pervasive touch input controls – yet another a signal that Microsoft will be focused on devices that emphasize touch.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/technology/microsoft-to-unveil-windows-8-late-february/story-e6frfro0-1226266981680#ixzz1lrYWQ3bt

Space Systems/Loral accused of illegally using technology from a rival provider

THE company providing two satellites as part of the Government’s high-speed broadband network has been accused of illegally using technology from a rival provider.
The Federal Government today announced it would spend $620 million on the satellites from California-based Space Systems/Loral to deliver high-speed broadband to the most remote three per cent of Australia by 2015.
But the company has been accused of using technology from satellite broadband provider ViaSat Inc, SpaceNews reports.
ViaSat Inc. has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in a California court, but the two companies are said to have agreed to resolve the matter out of court and will defer legal proceedings pending negotiations.
John Celli, president of SS/L, told news.com.au the lawsuit will have no effect of the NBN project as none of the intellectual property listed in the complaint will be used for Australia.
“NBN Co and Space Systems/Loral share a commitment to excellent performance and the highest quality service,” Mr Celli said.
“We’re delighted to play a part in helping to deliver much-needed high-speed broadband services to communities in regional and remote areas.”
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the Ka-band satellites will be built in California and launched six months apart in 2015.
Senator Conroy said no Australian companies could have built the satellites. There were only five companies in the world which could – three in the United States and two in Europe.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/technology/space-systemsloral-accused-of-illegally-using-technology-from-a-rival-provider/story-e6frfro0-1226265939824#ixzz1lmhucKr1

Mobile broadcast ruling prompts ALP to consider copyright changes

• Lauren Wilson

• February 09, 2012 12:00AM

JULIA Gillard has declared her government will “urgently consider” options to ensure copyright laws are working effectively.

The Prime Minister’s announcement comes after the Federal Court ruled that Optus could allow its customers to watch sporting matches on mobile services moments after they were screened on free-to-air television.

The decision has sparked fear among sporting codes that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of intellectual property has been rendered worthless. Telstra recently agreed to pay $153 million for the online broadcast rights of the AFL for the 2012-16 seasons.

Ms Gillard said yesterday she had already had discussions with representatives from the sporting codes and was open to considering their push to change current laws to protect their copyright.

“We have said to them, and I am very happy to say publicly, that we will urgently consider options here,” she said.

Google to pledge not to favour Motorola
Google will pledge to license on fair and reasonable terms the patents it acquires through buying Motorola Mobility, said a person familiar with the matter, in a bid to allay regulatory and users’ concerns.
The world No.1 Internet search engine will send a letter to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and other global bodies with the promise, the person said.
The non-profit ETSI, which has members from 62 countries, produces standards for telephony and Internet technologies globally.
“Since we announced our agreement to acquire Motorola Mobility last August, we’ve heard questions about whether Motorola Mobility’s standard-essential patents will continue to be licensed on FRAND (fair and reasonable) terms once we’ve closed this transaction. The answer is simple: they will,” said a Google spokesman.
Standards-setting agencies typically require members to offer licensing access to their standards or patents on such terms.
Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt told reporters in November last year that the group would not favour US handset maker Motorola once it had completed the acquisition.
The European Commission, which acts as competition regulator in the European Union, is reviewing the deal and is scheduled to decide by February 13 whether to clear it.
Google unveiled the $US12.5 billion acquisition in August last year to boost its patent portfolio and compete better with mobile rivals such as Apple. US antitrust regulators are also reviewing the acquisition.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Rex Merrifield and Jon Loades-Carter)

Disguise your iPhone as old Apple products

re an Apple fan feeling nostalgic for the days of your old iMac or classic iPod, you might want to snatch up one of these retro cases for your iPhone.

(Credit: Schreer Delights)

Schreer Delights offers a set of iPhones designed to look like old Apple products, including the iMac G3, Power Mac G4, and first-gen iPod. We particularly like the old-school Macintosh model, which includes such details as vent grooves and an SCSI port.
Compatible with the iPhone 4 and 4S, the cases give you access to the smartphone’s ports and camera. Schreer Delights says the graphics are printed deep into the case’s surface, so they won’t fade, peel, or chip.
That said, we suspect the folks in Cupertino may have something to say about the unauthorized use of their intellectual property, so if you fancy one of these cases, you might want to grab one soon. Each case costs $44.95.
(Via Core 77)

Google said to be readying cloud-based storage service

Google is reportedly getting ready to take on Dropbox with its own cloud-based storage service.
The service–called Drive–is in response to the growing use of mobile devices to access personal files stored on the Internet, according to a Wall Street Journal report that cites unidentified people familiar with the matter. Drive will allow users to upload photos, documents, and videos to Google servers for sharing with others and later retrieval, the sources said.
Drive, which is expected to launch in the coming months, will be free for most consumers and business, with a premium service offered for those who want to store a large amount of files, the paper reported.
Google representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dropbox has experienced meteoric growth since the cloud-based storage service was founded in 2007. The service, which allows users to upload content and then access it from any Internet-connected device, announced last November that it already had 45 million users. In late October, the companylanded $250 million in funding, a huge amount compared with what most startups raise these days.
Targeting businesses as well as individuals, the company provides 2 gigabytes of storage for free, a 50GB plan for $9.99 a month, and a 100GB plan for $19.99 a month.
The new service would join Google Music, a service that takes advantage of Google search technology as well as its ability to tap the tastes of a user’s friends to recommend songs. Launched last November, the service allows users to upload their entire music libraries to Google’s servers, but uploads are limited to music files, while rival Amazon also allows documents, pictures, and videos to be uploaded.

Facebook’s Saverin agreed to sell shares to Russian firm in 2010

Thanks to his depiction in the blockbuster film “The Social Network,” Eduardo Saverin is one of the social network world’s most famous co-founders. But is he now feeling a pinch of seller’s remorse after getting rid of some of those uber-valuable founders shares?
Amid a batch of new financial documents released today, Facebook disclosed that Saverin cut a side deal to sell a chunk of his shares to Digital Sky Technologies in 2010. In an attachment to its updated prospectus, Facebook reported that Digital Sky, a Russian-based investment firm, and Saverin were involved in the transfer of shares as part of what it described as the “Saverin Agreement.” It’s unclear how many shares Saverin sold or what price he received.

In the original S1 filed last week, Facebook revealed that Digital Sky and its affiliates now owns 5.4 percent of the company’s outstanding shares. But back on February 19, 2010, Digital Sky and a related party were said to own 8.2 percent of Facebook’s outstanding stock.
While pre-IPO estimates of Facebook were already in the tens of billions in 2010, they have since climbed to as much as $100 billion.

Publisher’s Summary

In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of “outliers”–the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.
Brilliant and entertaining, Outliers is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.
©2008 Malcom Gladwell; (P)2008 Hachette Audio