Ball In Seoul Court In Apple vs Samsung Battle

 As Samsung Electronics is poised to appeal the latest decision from a German court to ban the sale of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the European Union, all eyes are on the next phase of the patent battle.

How the Seoul Courts rule shell be key in the legal drama between Samsung and Apple, according to industry watchers.

 "The Korean Court has its job cut out for it on this one, as? Evidence aside? Neither Apple nor Samsung will be pleased with whatever the results end up to be," said one industry expert, declining to be identified.

 Experts also pointed out that the borders between Smartphone Software? Android, iOS and Windows Phone7? Are so blurry that it will be strong to distinguish who infringed on what. Even the legal procedures are complicated for the Apple vs. Samsung case, as each side has suits filed against the other.

 On Aug. 12, the Seoul District Court held a preliminary hearing based on the lawsuit filed by Apple Korea against Samsung. This followed a first hearing that opened to hear Samsung's case. Another hearing is scheduled for Aug. 19 with Samsung in the plaintiff's seat once again, to be followed by a Sept. 23 hearing when Apple will be the plaintiff.

 Apple claims that Samsung has infringed on both its design and technology. Samsung has been fighting back with countersuits, accusing Apple of illegally "borrowing" its communications technology.

 During last week's hearing, Apple reportedly upped the ante against Samsung, armed with images and other evidence to prove that Samsung's Galaxy S smartphone copied Apple's iPhone. Apple also fiercely criticized Samsung for its tablets as well, including the Galaxy Tab 10.1 that earlier this year hit store shelves, expected to pose stiff competition for Apple's iPad.

 Not to be outdone, Samsung retaliated with material to support its argument that Apple does not have exclusive rights, as most of the technology has already been out there for a while. Apple's victory in Germany will hardly be a plus for Samsung, but industry watchers noted that Apple also will not walk away unscathed from this particular suit.

"It's not one of the second-tier players that Apple is up against. Its competition is Samsung, now a global player in its own right with one of the best legal teams in the world and the money to employ the best attorneys in the market, so Samsung will not go down easy," said another individual close to the matter who chose to remain anonymous.

To compete against Kim & Chang, the powerful local law firm representing Apple, Samsung has engaged Yulchon another dominating law firm.

 "Apple is also taking the risk of looking bad because the lawsuits and the disputes coincide with when Samsung released its next generation Smartphones and tablet PCs, and just before Apple launches its new lineup," he added.

The countdown to the presentation of the iPhone 5 has begun, whereas an upgraded iPad 2 also is expected to be rolled out before the year's end.

England Riots: Hackers Hit Blackberry Over Police Help

Team Poison has endangered to release company information if Blackberry discloses user data
A hacker group has attacked Blackberry's website after that company said it would assist police investigating riots in the UK.
Team Poison defaced the official Blackberry blog, posting a message that threatened the firm with retaliation if it handed over data to authorities.
Blackberry's instant messaging service is believed to have been used by some looters to plan their movements.The firm has promised to co-operate with police and the Home Office.
In its statement, Team Poison said that it did not overlook innocent people or small businesses being attacked in the riots.
However, it added: "We are all for the rioters that are attractive in attacks on the police and government."
The group argued that if Blackberry gave subscriber information to police, it could direct to the wrong people being targeted.
"Innocent members of the public who were at the wrong place at the wrong time and owned a Blackberry will get charged for no cogent reason at all," said Team Poison's statement.
It threatened to release employee information, including names, addresses and phone numbers of Blackberry staff.
UK laws mean police can request data from individuals' mobile phones when that information narrated to criminal activity. The procedure is governed by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.

Toyota's Latest Safety Technology

 Toyota has launched its latest safety technology, including collision avoidance assistance, adaptive headlights and a steering wheel which detects health problems in the driver.

The focus of the new technology is the protection of pedestrians and older drivers, in response to figures gathered in Toyota’s home country of Japan which shows more than half of traffic deaths are of people over 65, and that more pedestrians are killed in vehicle related accidents than occupants.

One of the technologies is called ‘Pre-crash safety,’ or PCS, and is designed to brake if there is an obstacle ahead and the driver fails to do so, on their own will.

It’s being developed to help steer the car out of the way of stationary obstacles or away from the edge of the road if the driver goes off track.

Toyota has also developed auto-dipping headlights, and is in the process of developing adaptive driving beam, which shields the high beam from oncoming drivers to reduce glare while still providing near the level of full high beam illumination.

Black-outs and heart attacks at the wheel can cause serious problems to other road users, and so a system for monitoring cardio-vascular functions through the drivers grip on the steering wheel is in development. Toyota are researching this concept with the view of potentially bringing it to market.

Pedestrian safety is being considered too, with a pop-up bonnet specially designed to reduce the risk of serious head injury, should a car strike a pedestrian. The system works by increasing the distance between the bonnet and the engine, cushioning the collision of the pedestrian.

Toyota is developing these technologies with research based on real crash data as well as in collaboration with hospitals and universities.

Android captures nearly 50% of global smartphone market

 Google Android captured 48% of the Smartphone market in Q2 of 2011, acquiring an all-time high, according to a report by market research firm Canalys.

The platform has been making big efforts during the past year, overtaking Symbian in Q4 of 2010 to become the top Smartphone platform, representing a 32.9% market share at that time.

Smartphone adoption continues to grow swiftly across the world, reaching a total of 107.7 million units shipped in Q2 of 2011, a 73% year-on-year growth.

Android was the biggest driver of Smartphone shipments in Q2, as Android-based Smartphone shipments were up 379% year-over-year, coming in at 51.9 million total units shipped. The report cites successful Android-based products from vendors such as Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, ZTE and Huawei, as a catalyst for the platform's growth.

Apple also fared well, with iOS overtaking Nokia's Symbian platform to rise from third to second place. A total of 20.3 million iPhones were shipped and Apple raked in a market share of 19%. Apple also became the world's leading individual Smartphone vendor, stripping Nokia of its long-held leadership position.

Samsung also passed Nokia, which has faced a swift decline in demand across many markets. However, Nokia is still holding vigilant position at number one in emerging markets, including Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Android captures nearly 50% of global smartphone market

 Google Android captured 48% of the Smartphone market in Q2 of 2011, acquiring an all-time high, according to a report by market research firm Canalys.

The platform has been making big efforts during the past year, overtaking Symbian in Q4 of 2010 to become the top Smartphone platform, representing a 32.9% market share at that time.

Smartphone adoption continues to grow swiftly across the world, reaching a total of 107.7 million units shipped in Q2 of 2011, a 73% year-on-year growth.

Android was the biggest driver of Smartphone shipments in Q2, as Android-based Smartphone shipments were up 379% year-over-year, coming in at 51.9 million total units shipped. The report cites successful Android-based products from vendors such as Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, ZTE and Huawei, as a catalyst for the platform's growth.

Apple also fared well, with iOS overtaking Nokia's Symbian platform to rise from third to second place. A total of 20.3 million iPhones were shipped and Apple raked in a market share of 19%. Apple also became the world's leading individual Smartphone vendor, stripping Nokia of its long-held leadership position.

Samsung also passed Nokia, which has faced a swift decline in demand across many markets. However, Nokia is still holding vigilant position at number one in emerging markets, including Brazil, Russia, India and China.

New York Police Launch System to Detect and Track Radiation

(Reuters) - The New York Police Department is launching a mobile radiation detection system equipped with location-tracking GPS technology that it says can help prevent a so-called "dirty" bomb attack.

More than 2,000 belt-mounted radiation detectors are already used by city police, this will be the first time in the United States they will be combined with GPS technology to allow central monitoring, police spokesman Paul Browne said.

If the technology is applicable in New York then it could be used elsewhere in the world.

The move comes from police, in the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001,
al-Qaeda attacks, continue a long-term project to permanently increase attention in Lower Manhattan and Midtown, home to prominent financial institutions and national landmarks.

Police see both areas as containing potentially high value targets for future attacks that could include a dirty bomb, a term used to describe a low-intensity bomb that can pollute the area around it with radioactive material.

A newly created squad of 210 officials was being assigned to the World Trade Center site and surrounding area, parts of which are still under construction, and many will have belt-mounted detectors that can send an alert to a central command center if a spike in radiation levels is detected.

"The information that the officer is reading will simultaneously be wirelessly transmitted to this coordination center, up on a map where you can see all of Lower Manhattan," Browne said. With the GPS technology, data from several officers could be used to locate the location of a stationary object or to track the direction of a moving object.

"We're also going to be putting these in fixed locations on bridges, for example," Browne said. "Eventually you have an infrastructure of tripwires that picks up on radiation."

RISKS ARE HYPOTHETICAL

The Department of Homeland Security is contributing $192 million to the effort as a part of its Securing efforts for his citizens, Browne said, while New York has contributed $8 million.

Police in the surrounding metropolitan area were also receiving training and increasing coordination.

Brian Michael Jenkins, a security expert based at the RAND Corporation, said that although dirty bombs were easier and cheaper to make than a full-scale nuclear bomb, they still remained largely in the realm of the hypothetical.

The most notable incident using the principles behind a dirty bomb happened in 1995, Jenkins said, when Chechen rebels alerted the Russian media to a package of radioactive cesium buried in a Moscow park.

It didn't explode, nor perhaps was it meant to, Jenkins said.

"It is truly a terror weapon in that it creates a great deal of alarm," he said. "You just put the terms radioactivity and terrorism and nuclear all together and it would really cause a great deal of alarm, and that really is the danger."

He said a dirty bomb blast could kill nearby people, while the radioactive contamination it caused, depending on the material, could lead to a handful of instances of non-fatal radiation sickness. Nevertheless, he said proving the detection technology in New York was a worthwhile exercise.

The NYPD also has upgraded its network of surveillance cameras, soon to number about 2,000, with software that can raise an alert if a camera detects suspicious activity or objects, such as an unattended package or a vehicle traveling down a street in the wrong direction.

The archived video footage can also be searched to find people matching a particular physical description.

Solar Decathlon: Green Tech Chatter

Have an idea for a solar-operated house? Interested in making your house more efficient and getting to know about the latest solar technology? Then the Solar Decathalon might be the place for you. The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, coming up in September, is a program that challenges 20 teams of college students from around the world to come up with solar houses. The teams do everything from designing to construction, and the houses are judged on their cost and energy-efficiency, as well as their attractiveness and aesthetic design. There is also a European version of the competition, with the next event scheduled to take place in Madrid in 2012.

Since its introduction in 2002, the competition has been held in 2005, 2007 and 2009. This year’s event will take place in the National Mall’s West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., from September 23 to October 2. It is free and open to the public, including elementary and high-school students, and visitors are encouraged to tour the houses to learn about energy-saving practices and devices that could be used in their own homes and possibly inspire future contenders. Furthermore, the participating students gain a unique experience that prepares them for future careers in the alternative energy and green building sectors.

This week for Green Tech Chatter we have rounded up some news and information on the event, as well as brief profiles of some of the 20 participating teams. Check them out!

 

• Get to know the teams participating this year, and read about their entries, and check out photos of some of 2009′s home designs.
• The Baltimore Sun and WJLA report on “Watershed,” the University of Maryland’s 2011 entry. The University of Maryland was 2007′s Decathalon winner.
• SmartPlanet has the scoop on the entry from Belgium’s Ghent University, the
  E-Cube.
• NJ.com reports on “Team NJ,” made up of students from NJIT and Rutgers, and their 2011 entry.
• The DOE’s Energy Blog discusses the entry idea from Team New York, made up of students from the City College of New York.
• The Burlington Free Press reports on the only liberal arts college participating in the Decathalon, Middlebury College.
• If you or someone you know is interested in participating in the next Solar Decathalon, the US Department of Energy is now accepting proposals for its 2013 competition. But hurry–the deadline is November, 2011.

China Puts Information Technology at Center of Military Buildup

 China's Defense Minister says the nation must continue and diversify its military modernization while placing the development of information technology at its central part.

 The official Xinhua news agency quoted Defense Minister Liang Guanglie making the remarks late Sunday at a reception marking China's annual Army Day.

 It said Liang promised to “expand and extend” China's attentiveness for military struggle. He said the army must develop the ability to win local, information-based wars while promoting innovation in defense science and equipment development.

 Liang also called for accelerating the building of modern logistics, and intensifying the training of high-caliber and “new-type” military personnel.

 At the same time, he said China will follow a foreign policy of peace while seeking friendly interactions and cooperation with the armed forces of other countries.