As if we needed any further convincing of the wonderful potential of flexible displays, a Japanese company called SEL has developed a high-resolution screen that can be rolled to a tight four-millimeter radius, allowing it to wrap around the edge of a smartphone while still working.
Today in international tech news: German journalists are told to stay away from Google and Yahoo; Rand Paul wants President Obama to address Vatican snooping suspicions; Vietnam plans to create its own Silicon Valley-ish atmosphere; and Swedish children are apparently annoyed with their parents' device usage.
The German Federation of Journalists advised members to quit using Google and Yahoo because those providers are vulnerable to U.S. and British intelligence agencies.
Citing "scandalous" reports, the warning implored journalists to look elsewhere for both "research and digital communication."
While there has been no shortage of scandalous reports lately -- last week, for instance, news broke that the U.S. had monitored phone calls of German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- the union's announcement was likely prompted by Wednesday's article in The Washington Post detailing how the NSA had tapped into communications links used by Google and Yahoo.
The U.S. was in cahoots with Britain's GCHQ intelligence agency, the Post report said.
Given its history, Germany is particularly touchy about surveillance and boasts some of the strictest data-protection laws in the world. As a testament to its anti-snooping mindset, German telecoms have taken to touting their email services as NSA-proof.
Republican Senator Rand Paul introduced a resolution calling on President Obama to address the "serious allegations" that the U.S. "monitored the calls of Pope Francis or the conclave selecting the Pope."
Paul, a Presbyterian, was likely worked up about an article in Italy's Panorama magazine that claimed the NSA eavesdropped on nearly 50 million Italian phone calls between December 2012 and January 2013. (That is, for what it's worth, the same time period during which the NSA is accused of executing rampant eavesdropping within France.)
The U.S. intelligence operation in Italy is believed to have intercepted communications going into and out of the Vatican.
The Vietnamese government is backing an initiative -- dubbed "Silicon Valley Vietnam," or SVVN -- designed to foster tech innovation in the country.
By plopping down US$400,000, the government hopes to develop entrepreneurship, provide seed money, support IPOs and more. Vietnam has reportedly invited experts from Silicon Valley to advise on the nationwide program.
Things will get kicked off with a pair of startup accelerators, one in Hanoi, the other in Ho Chi Minh City.
As The Register points out, Vietnam's propensity to intervene in the goings-on of the Web could hamstring the project. A few months ago, the country launched Decree 72, a new censorship law, and then this week, a 30-year-old was placed under house arrest for what was deemed unacceptable Facebook behavior.
About one-third of children living in Swedish cities have complained that their parents are too preoccupied with phones and devices, according to a survey by YouGov, a UK-based market research firm.
The survey polled 521 people and asked if they had received complaints from their kiddos about device usage. The tykes had indeed complained at a 33 percent clip.
The survey also suggests 20 percent of parents had at some point lost sight of their children because they were distracted by their phones.
"Dickensian" is one of those literary modifiers that's overused. But before I officially retire this ruined adjective (or exile it to Australia, as Dickens himself would have done), I want to give it one final outing, because no other word will do. Here goes: Donna Tartt's grand new novel, The Goldfinch, is Dickensian both in the ambition of its jumbo, coincidence-laced plot, as well as in its symphonic range of emotions. The Goldfinch far exceeds the expectations of those of us who've been waiting on Tartt to do something extraordinary again, ever since her debut novel, The Secret History, came out in 1992. Hell, I feel like I've been waiting for a novel like this to appear not only since I read The Secret History, but also since I first read David Copperfield.
There's a lot of Copperfield in Tartt's hero, Theo Decker, who's 13 years old at the start of this story, which he narrates in retrospect as an adult. Young Theo lives with his adored beautiful mother in Manhattan. (His dad, a shiftless actor and gambler, has deserted them — and good riddance, too.) Unfortunately, Theo is not as pure as David Copperfield was as a boy; in fact, on the most fateful morning of his life, Theo and his mother have an appointment at his prep school to discuss his suspension for smoking on school grounds — or maybe it's for stealing (Theo is guilty of that crime, too). But what Theo will ultimately spend the rest of his life atoning for is the death of his mother. It wasn't his fault. Adults will assure him: It was "a terrible accident, rotten luck, could have happened to anyone." "[I]t's all perfectly true," Theo admits, "and I don't believe a word of it."
Donna Tartt's other works include The Secret History and The Little Friend.
Bruno Vincent/Getty Images
Donna Tartt's other works include The Secret History and The Little Friend.
Bruno Vincent/Getty Images
What happens is that on the way to the school appointment, Theo and his mom take shelter from a sudden thunderstorm by ducking into The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Theo's mom studied art and she steers him over to one of her most beloved paintings: It's called The Goldfinch and it's an actual painting done in the mid-17th century by a teacher of Vermeer's named Carel Fabritius. Theo half-listens to his mother's lecture on the glories of this painting of an alert yellow bird "chained to a perch by its twig of an ankle"; then, just as they're moving off to the dreaded school appointment, a terrorist bomb explodes in The Met. Theo's mother is killed and life as he knew it is shattered.
As in The Secret History and her second, less successful novel, The Little Friend, which centered on an unsolved murder, Tartt plays here with the conventions of the suspense thriller. In the aftermath of the explosion, Theo comforts a dying man who gives him a ring and points to the small painting of The Goldfinch, lying in the rubble out of its frame. Theo takes custody of both objects and they lead him on a baroque coming-of-age adventure that includes a season in hell in Las Vegas with his deadbeat dad, brushes with the Russian mob, unrequited love, excessive teen drug use and the discovery of a place almost like home in a New York antique shop — an old curiosity shop, if you will — run by an open-hearted mensch named Hobie, who becomes Theo's guardian. I have, by the way, only taken us halfway through this 700-plus-page novel.
As ingenious as Tartt's plot is, this novel would be but a massive scaffolding feat, were it not for her uncanny way with words. Here's Theo, as an adult, telling us about a feverish dream he had of his mother:
"[S]he came up suddenly beside me so I saw her reflection in a mirror. At the sight of her I was paralyzed with happiness; ... [S]he was smiling at me, ... not a dream but a presence that filled the whole room ... I knew I couldn't turn around, that to look at her directly was to violate the laws of her world and mine; ... our eyes met in the glass for a long moment; but just as she seemed about to speak ... — a vapor rolled between us and I woke up."
Like the goldfinch in the painting he can't bring himself to relinquish, Theo is chained, forever yearning for the mother he lost on that terrible day in the museum. His loneliness is the realistic emotional constant in this crowded, exuberantly plotted triumph of a novel. And if that ain't "Dickensian," I don't know what is.
Sci-fi epic Ender's Game is poised to win the North American box-office race this weekend with a solid $25 million or more opening, hoping to reverse a disturbing downturn in movie adaptations of young-adult books. Overseas, the film has already opened in the U.K., where it is doing softer-than-expected business.
The big headline internationally this weekend will be Disney and Marvel Studios' sequel Thor: The Dark World, which began rolling out Wednesday in the U.K., France and a handful of other markets, grossing north of $8 million and pacing ahead of the first Thor. On Thursday and Friday, Thor 2, with Chris Hemsworth returning in the title role, opens in a number of other major markets before hitting theaters in North America on Nov. 8.
Ender's Game, a co-production between Summit Entertainment, OddLot Entertainment and Digital Domain, will need to do substantial business worldwide in order to make up its $110 million budget. The action-adventure is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Orson Scott Card, whose anti-gay comments have riled many (though he has said Ender's Game isn't a YA property, it has been made widely available in schools).
Directed by Gavin Hood, Ender's Game stars Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, HaileeSteinfeld and AbigailBreslin. The film should be boosted by a run in Imax theaters.
Outside of the Hunger Games and Twilight film franchises, YA properties have struggled at the box office. This year, The Host, BeautifulCreatures and Mortal Instruments: City of Bones all flopped.
Set in the near future, Ender's Game revolves around a young boy (Butterfield) who is recruited by the military to stop an alien race from destroying the world.
Ender's Game is a sizeable gamble for GigiPritzker's OddLot, which financed much of the movie and dispatched sister company Sierra/Affinity to sell the movie internationally. Last weekend, Ender's Game debuted at No. 5 in the U.K. with just under $2 million, but the film could make up ground as it continues to roll out in additional foreign markets.
Relativity Media and Reel FX's animated 3D pic Free Birds is getting an early jump on Thanksgiving by rolling out now. The movie -- about a pair of turkeys who travel back in time to prevent their kind from becoming the traditional holiday meal -- should benefit from being the only new family entry in the market and hit $20 million in its debut (Entertainment One is distributing in Canada), although Relativity insiders are expecting a figure more in the $16 million to $19 million range. The voice cast is led by Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson and Amy Poehler.
Free Birds, costing $55 million to make, marks Relativity's first foray into the animation business. The company could use a box-office win after suffering a string of disappointments.
CBS Films' sexagenarian comedy Last Vegas, the weekend's third new nationwide entry, is looking at a more modest opening in the $14 million range. Directed by Jon Turteltaub, the film's high-profile cast -- Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline -- should result in strong legs, however. A geezer version of The Hangover, Last Vegas stars four friends in their 60s who travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. Mary Steenburgen also stars.
Older moviegoers rarely rush to see a film on its opening weekend. CBS Films believes Last Vegas will serve as strong counterprogramming throughout the month. In August 2012, Hope Springs, starring Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones, opened to a modest $14.7 million on its way to earning $63.5 million domestically and a hearty $114.3 million globally.
The specialty box office sees a number of high-profile debuts, including awards contender Dallas Buyers Club, which Focus Features opens in six theaters in New York and Los Angeles, and Diana, the biopic of Princess Diana starring Naomi Watts. Entertainment One is opening Diana in 38 markets.
Dallas Buyers Club has drawn raves for its performances by Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto.
Universal also releases Richard Curtis' romantic fantasy-comedy About Time, starring Rachel McAdams opposite Tom Hollander, in the U.S. From Working Title Films, About Time is only opening in 175 theaters domestically. Overseas, the film has grossed $32 million from 40 markets, with 17 countries still left to go.
On the documentary side, Tom Donahue's acclaimed documentary Casting By -- which laments the fact that casting directors are snubbed by the Academy Awards -- opens in one theater to New York. In a rare letter to Hollywood that appeared in the The Hollywood Reporter timed to the film's opening, Woody Allen extolled the work of the casting director he has worked with over the years.
Animal personalities are more like humans than first thought, according to Deakin University study
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
30-Oct-2013
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Contact: Mandi O'Garretty mandi.ogarretty@deakin.edu.au 61-352-272-776 Deakin University
A Deakin University study has found for the first time that, just like humans, un-predictability is also a consistent behavioural trait in the animal world.
Animals are known to show consistent individual differences in behaviour, which is often referred to as them displaying 'personality'. In contrast to previous research into these predictable aspects of behaviour, this latest study has shown for the first time that some individual animals, just like humans, are consistently more un-predictable than others over time.
Un-predictability is a known and accepted aspect of human behaviour much like we've always viewed predictable aspects of personality. However, until now it has never been studied in animals.
"We all know someone who is notoriously unpredictable happy, friendly, supportive one day and grumpy and unhappy the next. My experience is that those people tend to be extroverts. Even though I don't know what to expect of them, I am often torn between liking them because they are easy to talk to and fun to be with, and disliking them for their volatility," said Associate Professor Peter Biro, a behavioural ecologist with Deakin's School of Life and Environmental Sciences and lead researcher on this study.
"Until now, un-predictability has only been studied extensively in humans, where it has been linked to learning, ageing, and to certain diseases that produce erratic behaviour due to fluctuations in brain chemicals.
"The results of this new study shed light on another important aspect of animal personality that has previously not been considered."
Working with Dr Bart Adriaenssens at the University of New South Wales, Dr Biro observed the behaviour of adult male mosquitofish over 132 days. They found that the behaviour of some individuals was consistently more predictable in a given context than others. Mosquitofish were used for the study because they are widespread and easily sampled from ponds in and around cities.
"We observed that individuals differed in their average levels of activity, but also differed in variability about their average activity," Dr Biro explained. "Some individuals chose to be active, others chose to be sedentary, some were consistent in their chosen level of activity, others not. But, we found no association between activity levels and predictability.
"What this tells us is that the fish differed in how un-predictable they were, and that this un-predictability is a consistent attribute over time.
"We believe that un-predictability might represent a form of behavioural flexibility that facilitates learning, or makes animals un-predictable to predators or competitors. Some have even referred to this phenomenon as representing 'free will' in animals. Our study, having confirmed that un-predictability is a trait, now sets the stage for further studies to test for this phenomenon in other species, and to tease out the causes and consequences of this behavioural variation."
###
The results of this study are published in the November issue of The American Naturalist, one of the world's premier peer-reviewed publications in ecology, population biology, evolution, and conservation research.
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Animal personalities are more like humans than first thought, according to Deakin University study
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
30-Oct-2013
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Contact: Mandi O'Garretty mandi.ogarretty@deakin.edu.au 61-352-272-776 Deakin University
A Deakin University study has found for the first time that, just like humans, un-predictability is also a consistent behavioural trait in the animal world.
Animals are known to show consistent individual differences in behaviour, which is often referred to as them displaying 'personality'. In contrast to previous research into these predictable aspects of behaviour, this latest study has shown for the first time that some individual animals, just like humans, are consistently more un-predictable than others over time.
Un-predictability is a known and accepted aspect of human behaviour much like we've always viewed predictable aspects of personality. However, until now it has never been studied in animals.
"We all know someone who is notoriously unpredictable happy, friendly, supportive one day and grumpy and unhappy the next. My experience is that those people tend to be extroverts. Even though I don't know what to expect of them, I am often torn between liking them because they are easy to talk to and fun to be with, and disliking them for their volatility," said Associate Professor Peter Biro, a behavioural ecologist with Deakin's School of Life and Environmental Sciences and lead researcher on this study.
"Until now, un-predictability has only been studied extensively in humans, where it has been linked to learning, ageing, and to certain diseases that produce erratic behaviour due to fluctuations in brain chemicals.
"The results of this new study shed light on another important aspect of animal personality that has previously not been considered."
Working with Dr Bart Adriaenssens at the University of New South Wales, Dr Biro observed the behaviour of adult male mosquitofish over 132 days. They found that the behaviour of some individuals was consistently more predictable in a given context than others. Mosquitofish were used for the study because they are widespread and easily sampled from ponds in and around cities.
"We observed that individuals differed in their average levels of activity, but also differed in variability about their average activity," Dr Biro explained. "Some individuals chose to be active, others chose to be sedentary, some were consistent in their chosen level of activity, others not. But, we found no association between activity levels and predictability.
"What this tells us is that the fish differed in how un-predictable they were, and that this un-predictability is a consistent attribute over time.
"We believe that un-predictability might represent a form of behavioural flexibility that facilitates learning, or makes animals un-predictable to predators or competitors. Some have even referred to this phenomenon as representing 'free will' in animals. Our study, having confirmed that un-predictability is a trait, now sets the stage for further studies to test for this phenomenon in other species, and to tease out the causes and consequences of this behavioural variation."
###
The results of this study are published in the November issue of The American Naturalist, one of the world's premier peer-reviewed publications in ecology, population biology, evolution, and conservation research.
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Staying slim in the midst of Halloween indulgence, Buberry model Rosie Huntington Whiteley went to the gym for a workout in Studio City, CA today (October 31).
The British babe looked great, wearing a gray shawl over a black tee and sexy yoga pants, sporting a pair of blue and bright green running treads.
In related news, the 26-year-old revealed that she was not always exulted for her angelic good looks, saying in an interview with MailOnline, "I was teased about the way I looked at school. I got teased because of my lips. I used to get called t*t lips – because I had big lips but no breasts. And then I was called Kipper Lips."
She continued, saying, "There was a big group of girls that was Devon’s answer to Mean Girls, and they would storm the bathrooms shouting, "I’m going to f****ing deck you, Lips! See you on the school bus. And boys didn’t really go out with me."
The notion of bring-your-own devices is common at most companies; according to research firm estimates, two-thirds to three-quarters of all companies now allow people to use their own mobile devices for work, meaning at least for email access. We should expect companies to allow the same for PCs, right?
Bring-your-own PCs have been around as long as there have been PCs -- aka the home computer. People have been taking work home with them (that's why all those lost USB sticks and CDs end up causing embarrassing breach notifications) and accessing email from home since the mid-1980s. That's BYOPC, even if it's been widely ignored in official IT circles.
But today's BYOPC means something else: employees buying their own PCs for use for work as well as for personal needs. Some organizations have been experimenting with that BYOPC notion for years, in fact. It's been driven mainly by executive-level employees who want to use a Mac, which few companies historically allowed outside of specific functions like marketing or development. Those initial exceptions sometimes translated into a more programmatic experiment.
Those experiments typically were about choosing your own PC from an approved list, as well as getting greater admin rights or flexibility, such as the ability to install your own software, often at the price of providing your own tech support. Many companies, especially tech firms like Cisco Systems, Intel, IBM, and BT, have adopted choose-your-own programs and provided flexibility in terms of personal software and usage for employees who travel a lot.
That approach to PC flexibility is likely to grow. But not strict BYOPC, says Chriz Hazelton, a mobile analyst at 451 Research. He notes several reasons why BYOPC is not a natural follow-on to BYOD.
BEIJING (AP) — From his temporary home on a friend's sofa, Yin Yusheng hopes to craft a new kind of journalism in China, where the industry is widely seen as state-controlled and corrupt. He wants to make his readers the boss — and that includes paying his salary.
Once users pledge 5,000 yuan ($800) — half his monthly pay when he worked for a business daily — he takes a story up. He has completed one piece since beginning his experiment in crowdfunding in September, appealing to those who are "tired of the praises sung by the state-run media."
Journalism in China is held in low esteem by many members of the public, not just because virtually all media is state-controlled and toes the government line, but also because of dirty practices dating back to the 1990s. Journalists regularly demand money from companies or individuals not to report a negative story about them, and expect a "red envelope" with cash to report a positive development or to turn up at a press conference.
Yin, who lost a reporting job at a magazine earlier this year when it changed from a weekly to a monthly, wants to be beholden only to the news-reading public, and is testing whether crowdfunding from online donations can give him a stable income.
In an online mission statement, he says crowdfunding can make a product successful, save a company and bring donations to the weak and vulnerable. "In the same way, it can give us the truth," he writes.
There already are several self-styled citizen journalists in China publishing online reports on their own websites. Yin said he wants to bring a professional standard to this kind of reporting and thinks colleagues in the industry may follow his lead because such reporting "enjoys a little more sliver of freedom" than working in the state-controlled industry.
Yin, 43, has advertised his story ideas on China's two largest microblogging sites and the online marketplace Taobao.
The crowdfunded investigative piece he has completed was about Chen Baocheng, a Beijing reporter detained during a protest over a land demolition in his hometown. Yin's pitch attracted the required funding within 24 hours. A week and a half later, he uploaded the finished piece onto two Twitter-like microblogging sites, Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo.
State media stories on the case tended to focus on police and lawyers' reactions, but Yin's vivid report was based on more than 20 interviews with police, lawyers, witnesses, local officials and some of those who had been detained. Some reports alleged that Chen doused an excavator operator in gasoline, but Yin's report found that he had arrived only after others had already poured the fuel.
Yin also tweets from the scene. "I am on the scene, meaning you are on the scene as well," his promise to readers goes.
His plan came from discussions with friends who, like him, entered print journalism from backgrounds in computer science or online media, and who began to see the Internet's power to usurp traditional media.
"We began to ask ourselves the question: Why do we have to confine ourselves to one specific media outlet? Many of us had already become quite influential, so publishing an article online might have more public impact," he said in an interview at a Beijing cafe.
In the U.S. and Europe, journalists and activists have used crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter to find money for one-off creative projects, like a first book or a documentary. A number of sites also have experimented with such financing for journalists in the past few years, especially in the United States, said George Brock, a journalism professor at City University London.
"I don't think it's going to be the central plank or pillar of a new business model for journalism, but the experiments that have been done in it have shown that projects that catch people's imagination, whether they be Web or print or film, really can raise money," Brock said.
Yin set his limit at 5,000 yuan, which is also slated to cover his expenses, in hopes of discouraging the notion that a big spender could control his agenda. He uploaded details on the 1,955 yuan he spent covering his first report, including photos of bus and train tickets and other receipts.
He is saving money by staying in a friend's apartment, which he says might also make it more difficult for officials to track him down.
He risks becoming a target in the government's intensified crackdown on online expression. In recent months, China's leaders have clamped down on what they call online rumors and efforts to erode the rule of the Communist Party through lies and negative news. Their targets have included celebrity bloggers that call attention to social injustices.
Even if the government does not detain Yin, it could scrub his reports from the Internet.
"The key point here is the distribution question" and whether Yin's reports will be censored, said David Bandurski, a researcher with the China Media Project at Hong Kong University. "All Internet is China is in a recent period of extreme intensification of control and he's dealing — presumably if he's doing investigations — with sensitive issues."
___
Follow Louise Watt on Twitter at twitter.com/louise_watt
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- As sweat dripped through his dreadlocks after a spirited workout on Thursday, Daniel Straus declared himself a happy man.
"Fight week is awesome," the American Top Team fighter said. "I live for this s---. I love to compete."
Straus, who challenges Pat Curran for the Bellator featherweight title on Saturday's main card at Long Beach Arena, hasn't fought for more than a year.
"To be out for so long, it sucks. To know that you're supposed to be doing one thing, .... I've been waiting and itching for my time to fight."
The Cincinnati native has been out of action, but that doesn't mean he's been out of the headlines. In a tumultuous late-winter span, Straus first had to pull out of the originally planned April 4 date against Curran due to a broken hand suffered in training. Then he was arrested in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and charged with driving with a suspended license and possession of marijuana, synthetic cannabis, and ecstasy.
The 29-year old Straus eventually reached a plea deal in order to receive probation and stay out of prison.
The way Straus sees it, the adversity he faced this year will only make him stronger as he goes to meet Curran.
"I just rolled with the punches," Straus said. "My hand held up through rehab, I dealt with my issues and kept pursuing my dream I'm here for. I'm here to be a world champion. Ups and downs don't bother me, ins and out don't bother me."
What did bother him, though, was the way his arrest was portrayed.
"It wasn't me just in the car," Straus said. "It didn't come out in the media because nobody knew that. So they didn't know it wasn't solely me. But that wasn't how it came out. It was heartbreaking to see how it did come out and how people portrayed it. I kind of took offense to the fact that no one came to me and asked me my side. Everyone just wanted to run and report what they read somewhere else. No one ever came and got it out of my mouth. That was heartbreaking."
With his troubles just about in his rear-view mirror, Straus can focus on his bout with Curran. This is a rematch of a 2009 match in Illinois contested in the XFO promotion, won by Curran on a second-round knockout.
Straus views the loss as the most important learning experience of his career. Since that time, he's won 17 of 18 fights.
"I can't go to that fight, examine that fight, and try to fight him again off that fight," Straus said. "I'll lose, again. Pat can't watch that fight, examine that fight, and fight me again. He'll take the ass-whipping I got that night. We're both two different fighters from the time I first met. We've grown as people, we've grown as fighters."
In fact, he feels so much has changed since that time, there's almost no point in going back and looking at the tape of the first fight.
"It really opened my eyes as to the sport. Since that fight of won 17 of 18 fights, I went on a two-year winning streak of 12 fights. That fight changed me because going into that fight I knew I could beat Pat. And I got beat. So I started taking this sport seriously."
Curran, meanwhile, returned the sentiment.
"He's so much better, so much more of a complete fighter than he was for our first fight," Curran said Thursday. "I'm better, he's better, I'm looking at this like a brand-new challenge, not like a rematch."
Win or lose, Straus is just glad he's back doing what he loves.
"I love this sport, it's been good to me," Straus said. "Being an athlete's been good to me. Sports have always been my savior. I've always been in and out of this, in and out of that, but I've always come back to sports. It's good. I don't want to be that guy that's losing 12 in a row and fighting for a paycheck."
The Rockstar Consortium that acquired Nortel Networks' patents filed Thursday patent infringement suits against Google, Samsung, HTC and five other companies.
In a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, Rockstar and subsidiary NetStar Technologies have alleged that Google has infringed seven of the patents acquired from Nortel.
The patents, all titled "Associative Search Engine," relate to an invention used to provide advertisements based on users' search terms.
Backed by Microsoft, Apple, RIM, Ericsson and Sony, Rockstar acquired Nortel's patents for US$4.5 billion after outbidding Google in 2011.
Google later acquired Motorola Mobility last year for $12.5 billion, in a deal that aimed at ownership of Motorola's patent portfolio.
The search giant was aware of the patents-in-suit at the time of the auction, Rockstar of Ottawa, Canada, said in its complaint. "Despite losing in its attempt to acquire the patents-in-suit at auction, Google has infringed and continues to infringe the patents-in-suit."
The complaint, which asks for past and future damages arising out of Google's infringement, demands a trial by jury on all issues. Google could not be immediately reached for comment.
Rockstar and another subsidiary MobileStar Technologies have also filed a complaint against Samsung Electronics for infringement of seven other patents, including U.S. Patent No. 6,037,937 ("the '937 patent") entitled "Navigation Tool for Graphical User Interface."
Samsung Mobile Communication devices that have an operating system configured "to support Gallery, Email, Maps and Browser functionality," allegedly infringe claims of the '937 patent, according to the complaint. Samsung's Mobile Hotspot feature which allows sharing of a mobile device's data connection with other devices by turning it into a wireless access point is also alleged to infringe claims of U.S. Patent No. 6,128,298 ("the '298 patent") entitled "Internet Protocol Filter."
Rockstar has sued HTC for alleged infringement of the same seven patents that figure in the complaint against Samsung, while Asustek Computer is alleged to have infringed six of the patents.
John Ribeiro, IDG News Service , IDG News Service
John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. More by John Ribeiro, IDG News Service
The Snowden revelations have reignited a discussion about privacy — especially privacy in the digital age. That discussion will eventually, we can hope, not only reform how the government views the privacy of its citizens, but also how those citizens interact with private entities that might store massive amounts of their personal information.
It’s stunning to consider how much better informed we are as a global citizenry thanks to Snowden’s efforts and the journalists that have worked closely with him. They have carefully brought to light documents and information regarding the spying efforts of the United States government, and to a lesser degree, the British government on a scale that was previously unimaginable.
But the Snowden leaks have done more than uncover a secret world of surveillance. They are starting to drive change at the congressional level. Following revelations that the NSA taps the fiber-optic cables of the Internet, tracks the metadata of all phone calls placed in the United States, and forces technology companies to hand over user data, we’ve entered into a new era of transparency.
There are forces arrayed against this trend, however. The parts of the government that wish to remain hidden are not enjoying their time in the spotlight.
United States
In short, [NSA General Keith Alexander] is not much of a fan of free speech, an adversarial press, a transparent government, public accountability, or a great many other things that a constitutional, democratic republic requires to function.
Change is already under way. Bills in Congress are being proposed, with bipartisan and bicameral support, that would greatly curtail the legal authority, and therefore ability, of the NSA to collect as much data as it currently does.
The shifting tone in Congress — most recently and most notably the about-face of Senator Dianne Feinstein on the subject of the NSA — has been matched by a stiffly unshifting tone from the spy agencies themselves.
With its track record of being truthful already underwater, the NSA has managed to explain little in recent weeks — and complain much. It has become known that their talking points are as manufactured as their denials – there will come a time when leaning heavily on 9/11 will show weakness of argument, but we can have that talk some other time — now public, the public protestations of the NSA are becoming increasingly cardboardish.
But when the NSA and its ilk are clear, we can learn the most. And when it comes to something so intensely serious, clarity is useful. The NSA’s General Keith Alexander recently made the following set of remarks (transcription by Politico):
“I think it’s wrong that that newspaper reporters have all these documents, the 50,000—whatever they have and are selling them and giving them out as if these—you know it just doesn’t make sense.
We ought to come up with a way of stopping it. I don’t know how to do that. That’s more of the courts and the policymakers but, from my perspective, it’s wrong to allow this to go on.”
It’s somewhat difficult to tally just how much the general managed to get wrong in two short statements, but let’s try. He’s wrong that the documents are being sold; they are not. Stopping “it” would mean stopping the free press, in essence overriding the First Amendment. That’s not a good idea. He’s correct that it would be up to “courts and the policymakers” to gut free speech in the country, but he’s wrong in that it is not “wrong to allow this to go on.”
In short, the general is not much of a fan of free speech, an adversarial press, a transparent government, public accountability, or a great many other things that a constitutional, democratic republic requires to function.
Let’s look at just how bad an idea it would be to follow his advice.
If we did not allow newspapers, blogs, Twitter users, writers and readers of all shapes and sizes and sorts to publish what they might, and learn what they will, then we would not know that the NSA was tapping the data connections between Yahoo and Google data centers in foreign countries. Why foreign countries? Because the rules that guide the NSA are looser in foreign countries, and so it can do what it can’t in the United States. What we have learned is plain: If there is data, the NSA wants to tap, collect, store, and then analyze it at will.
Given the history of privacy, and the historical backing of the Fourth Amendment, this isn’t much in line with the American Experiment. To then prevent the American citizenry from finding out that their legal protections were being hollowed out not good, and the general is wrong.
Britain
Across the pond, this is a bit more explicit. Here’s The Guardian, in August [emphasis mine]:
I received a phone call from the centre of government telling me: “You’ve had your fun. Now we want the stuff back.” There followed further meetings with shadowy Whitehall figures. The demand was the same: hand the Snowden material back or destroy it. I explained that we could not research and report on this subject if we complied with this request. The man from Whitehall looked mystified. “You’ve had your debate. There’s no need to write any more.”
During one of these meetings I asked directly whether the government would move to close down the Guardian’s reporting through a legal route – by going to court to force the surrender of the material on which we were working. The official confirmed that, in the absence of handover or destruction, this was indeed the government’s intention. Prior restraint, near impossible in the US, was now explicitly and imminently on the table in the UK.
The last sentence is key, as it describes a process by which what is fit and not fit to be published is determined before publication. In August The Guardian stated that such a thing was “near impossible” in the United States. And yet, General Alexander recently called for “a way of stopping it,” again with “it” being the reporting about the Snowden documents. Alexaner continued: “It’s wrong to allow this to go on.” So, the general is calling for prior restraint, which has long been a firewall between censorship and the public learning what it might.
There are fresh threats from the British government, however, that also bear telling. Here’s current Prime Minister David Cameron on the continued leaks (via The Guardian):
We have a free press, it’s very important the press feels it is not pre-censored from what it writes and all the rest of it. The approach we have taken is to try to talk to the press and explain how damaging some of these things can be and that is why the Guardian did actually destroy some of the information and disks that they have. But they’ve now gone on and printed further material which is damaging.
I don’t want to have to use injunctions or D notices or the other tougher measures. I think it’s much better to appeal to newspapers’ sense of social responsibility. But if they don’t demonstrate some social responsibility it would be very difficult for government to stand back and not to act.
Sadly, his government has already taken to smashing laptops of journalists and threatening prior restraint. He has now introduced new legal methods as potential tools to increase pressure. Also, there is a certain sliminess to the comment that the press “feels it is not pre-censored from what it writes.” There is a large gap between that and the press in fact being free to write whatever it wishes.
Hell No
It’s plain that the governments of the United States and Britain would prefer it if we knew nothing of their surveillance activities. With that in mind, we now do, and they want to stop the continued leaks.
But as we are seeing from congressional activity in the United States, the leaks are producing change. Which is precisely what the NSA and GCHQ do not want. Tough. If to get their way they think for a moment we are willing to give up the right to free expression, thought and writing, then they can go to hell.
TORONTO (AP) — Calls for the resignation of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford intensified after police said they had obtained a video that appears to show him smoking a crack pipe, discovered in a massive surveillance operation of a friend who is suspected of supplying the mayor with drugs.
Police said they did not have enough evidence to file charges against the mayor, who had claimed the video didn't exist and vowed not to resign, repeating the pledge Thursday.
Voters could have the final word on the strange career of the populist mayor whose travails have captivated and embarrassed Canadians for months. Ford has promised to run for a second term next year.
"I have no reason to resign," Ford told reporters with a smile, as his office welcomed visitors to check out its Halloween decorations Thursday.
The embattled mayor, who has been the butt of jokes on U.S. late night television, said he couldn't defend himself because the affair is part of a criminal investigation involving an associate, adding: "That's all I can say right now."
Ford faced allegations in May that he had been caught on video puffing from a glass crack pipe. Two reporters with the Toronto Star said they saw the video, but it has not been released publicly. Ford maintained he does not smoke crack and that the video did not exist.
Ford was elected mayor three years ago on a wave of discontent simmering in the city's outlying suburbs. Since then he has survived an attempt to remove him from office on conflict-of-interest charges and has appeared in the news for his increasingly odd behavior.
But the pressure ramped up on Thursday with all four major dailies in the city calling on Ford to resign.
Cheri DiNovo, a member of Ontario's parliament, tweeted: "Ford video nothing to celebrate Addiction is illness. Mayor please step down and get help?"
Police Chief Bill Blair said the video, recovered after being deleted from a computer hard drive, did not provide grounds to press charges against Ford.
Blair said the video of the mayor "depicts images that are consistent with those previously reported in the press."
"As a citizen of Toronto I'm disappointed," Blair said. "This is a traumatic issue for citizens of this city and the reputation of this city."
Blair said the video will come out when Ford's associate and occasional driver, Alexander Lisi, goes to trial on drug charges. Lisi now also faces extortion charges for trying to retrieve the recording from an unidentified person. Blair did not say who owned the computer containing the video.
Blair said authorities believed the video is linked to a home in Toronto, referred to by a confidential informant as a "crack house" in court documents in Lisi's drug case.
The prosecutor in the Lisi case released documents Thursday showing they had rummaged through Ford's garbage in search of evidence of drug use. They show that they conducted a massive surveillance operation monitoring the mayor and Lisi following drug use allegations.
The documents show that friends and former staffers of Ford were concerned that Lisi was "fuelling" the Toronto mayor's alleged drug use.
The police documents, ordered released by a judge, show Ford receiving packages from Lisi on several occasions.
"Lisi approached the driver's side of the Mayor's vehicle with a small white gift bag in hand; he then walked around to the passenger side and got on board," reads one document dated July 30, 2013. "After a few minutes Lisi exited the Escalade empty handed and walked back to his Range Rover."
Another dated July 28 says Lisi "constantly used counter surveillance techniques" when he met with Ford that day.
On August 13 documents say Lisi and Ford met and "made their way into a secluded area of the adjacent woods where they were obscured from surveillance efforts and stayed for approximately one hour."
Ford recently vouched for Lisi in a separate criminal case, praising his leadership skills and hard work in a letter filed with the court. The letter was part of a report prepared by a probation officer after Lisi was convicted of threatening to kill a woman.
Ford said previously that he was shocked when Lisi was arrested earlier this month, calling him a "good guy" and saying he doesn't abandon his friends.
The documents also say that Ford met Lisi through Payman Aboodowleh, a volunteer football coach at Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School, where Ford coached the team while also serving as mayor. He told police he was "mad at Lisi because he was fuelling the mayor's drug abuse," the document says.
Ford's controversies range from the trivial to the serious: Walking face-first into a TV camera. Falling down during a photo op while pretending to play football. Being asked to leave an event for wounded war vets because he appeared intoxicated, according to the Toronto Star. Being forced to admit he was busted for marijuana possession in Florida in 1999, after repeated denials. Making rude gestures at Torontonians from his car.
"The mayor has said there wasn't a video," Toronto councilor Paula Fletcher said. "He has said there is a conspiracy against him. With Chief's Blair's press conference I think that's put to rest."
Councilor Joe Mihevc said he continues to be shocked by the "depth and revelations that are coming out."
"The mayor has to come clean and do it as soon as possible," Mihevc said. "He needs to talk honestly about his use of illicit drugs."
Everything you need to know before choosing your perfect iPad Air and Retina iPad mini color, capacity, carrier, and more!
There's a lot to consider before you buy or upgrade to a new tablet, even a new iPad. What's more important, portability or productivity? Can you live with an older, cheaper model or do you really need a newer, more expensive version? Which color, what capacity, and if you want cellular data, on which carrier? There's never been more to choose from, which means it's never been harder to choose!
Enter iMore's 2013 iPad buyers guide. We'll go over all the details, all the options, and help you decide on which iPad is perfect for you. And if you've already decided, just bookmark, email, Facebook, or Tweet this so we can help your friends and family and you can get on with enjoying your new iPad!
Since Steve Jobs first unveiled it at a special event in 2010, the iPad has improved steadily in one way or another. The iPad 2 was thinner, lighter, and faster. The iPad 3 got a Retina display and LTE. The iPad 4 went Lightning. The iPad mini dropped back to iPad 2 tech, but in a much smaller form factor. The above chart shows the evolution of the iPad from the original to the latest Retina iPad mini and iPad Air, including pricing and capacity at launch. While what you paid for it when you got it might vary, you can check your current model and see how it compares to the ones available now.
iPad Air and Retina iPad mini: Should you upgrade?
When a new iPad hits the market - or two iPads, as is the case right now - one of the hardest decisions we face is whether or not to upgrade from and original iPad, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad mini, or iPad 4 to the latest and greatest. If you have unlimited funds, you can just buy everything, all the time. Most of us don't, however, so we need to check out the new features of the iPad Air or Retina iPad mini, see how they compare to what we already have, and decide if the difference is worth the price of an entirely new device, a price that starts at $399 and $499 and goes well up from there. So, is there enough value to justify the cost?
How to sell - and get the most money for! - your old iPad before upgrading to an iPad Air or Retina iPad mini
If you plan on upgrading to an iPad Air or Retina iPad mini, selling your old iPad is a no brainer. Apple products hold their resale value very well. If you've taken good care of your iPad, you should have no problem finding it a new home and putting some cash in your pocket while doing it. Selling the old really does help you afford the new. If you're not sure how to sell, or if you just want to make sure you get the most money, or save yourself the most time and effort, possible, here's everything you need to know!
iPad vs. Galaxy vs. Nexus vs. Kindle vs. Surface: Which tablet should you get?
Apple has flipped the tables - er, tablets - and not only managed to cram a 2048x1536 display into the 7.9-inch Retina iPad mini, but managed to cram a full-sized 9.7-inch display into the new iPad Air. But is either of them to right tablet for you? While everyone here at iMore certainly believes the iPad is still the best tablet for most people, most of the time, there are rare exceptions where an alternative tablet might suit your specific needs better. The iPad may have the best overall user experience, the highest quality apps and games, the widest range of services, the biggest selection of accessories, and the best customer support, but there are also things the iPad doesn't offer that other tablets do, like subsidized hardware pricing, digitizer support, Microsoft compatibility, or simply no Apple about them. How do you know which one is for you?
iPad Air vs. MacBook Air: Which Apple portable should you get?
Apple now has two products designated as "Air", the MacBook Air, updated last June with the latest generation Intel Haswell processors, and the brand new iPad Air, introduced in October with a custom Apple A7 chipset. Both are ultra light, super thin, and incredibly long lasting, but one has a keyboard and runs OS X and the other a multitouch and iOS 7. Both can be absolutely killer on a plane, in an office, or around the house. But which one is better for you?
iPad Air vs. Retina iPad mini vs. iPad 2 vs. iPad mini: Which iPad model should you get?
Once you're sure you're buying an iPad and now, the next step is to decide which iPad you're going to get. And this year, it's a tougher decision than ever. The new iPad Air and Retina iPad mini are identical in every way but screen size, 7.9- vs. 9.7-inches the only differentiator. If money is incredibly tight, though the old iPad 2 is a bit cheaper, and the old iPad mini, a cheaper still. No matter which one you choose, however, you'll be paying hundreds of dollars. Either a few, or a lot. So do you go with big or small, old or new? Which iPad should you get?
Silver vs. space gray: Which iPad Air and Retina iPad mini color should you get?
Unlike the pop-art inspired iPhone 5c, Apple's iPad line remains discreetly metallic when it comes to color schemes. It's not as bad as 2010, mind you, when you could have your choice of color, as long as it was black. Now you can get a silver back with white faceplate, or a space gray back with a black faceplate. And you can get either finish on either new iPad, the iPad Air or Retina iPad mini. (The space gray replaces last year's slate gray, likely because it's tougher and easier to anodize.) So which color is better for you?
16GB vs. 32GB vs. 64GB vs. 128GB: Which iPad Air or Retina iPad mini storage capacity should you get?
Apple offers four different storage sized options for the new iPad Air and Retina iPad mini, ranging from a paltry 16GB to an enormous 128GB - literally 8 times the capacity! Every step up in capacity, however, comes with a matching $100 step up in price. That might seem like a pretty straightforward bit of math, but it really isn't! Figuring out how much storage you really need, and how much you can afford is really important. It's the difference between a great experience and a lot of frustration. So what's the deal?
Speed vs. reliability vs. value: Which iPad Air or Retina iPad mini carrier should you get?
AT&T vs. Verizon vs. Sprint vs. T-Mobile in the U.S. Rogers vs. Bell vs. TELUS in Canada. Three vs O2 vs EE vs Vodafone in the U.K. And many more around the world. Then there are various discount carriers, regionals, and MVNOs. It's a mess! How do you know which carrier will give you the fastest data speeds, or the most reliable connections, or simply the best value for your money? It all comes down to where you live, work, or go to school, and what options work best in your specific area. However, there's a lot of broad generalities that can apply. Here are some of the most important, broken down by country!
Apple Store vs. other stores: Where should you buy your iPad Air or Retina iPad mini?
So now that you know what you're getting, how about where? Carrier compatibility aside, the iPad you get will be the same, but the customer service you receive can vary greatly. Also, if you have specific loyalty rewards at a certain carrier or company, that can change the deal you get.
Apple Retail: If you have an Apple Retail Store in your area, you can go there, and if it's in stock, leave with your new iPad right away. They also offer help with your purchase and will even help you get set your new iPhone up free of charge. If you're worried about protecting your investment, they can also get you setup with AppleCare, and their Genius Bar can help you with hardware problems in the future. Corny as it sounds, It's not just shopping, it's an experience. Apple Retail has the best customer service in the business and it shows. There are no discounts, however, not ever. (Though your carrier discounts can still apply.
Apple Online: If there's no Apple Retail store near you there's also Apple Online in many countries. Again, no discounts but you're dealing directly with Apple. If there are any shortages or shipping delays, you can still order and they'll get it out to you as soon as stock allows.
Carrier stores and big box retailers: If you want brick-and-morter but don't have an Apple Store nearby, your carrier will often have one or several stores in your area. If you want a cellular model, drop buy or get it shipped to you. Big box and chain retailers, everything from Best Buy to the Shack to Tesco also carry iPads. If you have loyalty points or they're just super convenient, check them out as well.
Shady operators also try to sell discount iPads, sometimes devices that aren't even really iPads but cheap -- and highly breakable -- knockoffs. It goes without saying you should avoid those. Any deal too good to be true probably is. If you save money only to end up with a phone that doesn't run iOS and may not even run on your carrier you really just wasted your money.
AppleCare+ vs. insurance vs. nothing: Which iPad Air or Retina iPad mini protection plan should you get?
If you plan on picking up a new iPad Air, a Retina iPad mini, or one of the cheaper, previous generation iPads, one of the last - but most important - things you have to decide is whether or not you'd like to get some kind of insurance to protect your investment, whether it be AppleCare+, third party, or something else. There are lots of factors that can play a part in your decision, such as how long you plan on keeping your iPad before upgrading, and how careful you are with it. Here's what you need to know!
If there's any detail you're still not 100% sure about, or any question you'd still love to get answered before you buy your brand new iPad Air or Retina iPad mini, we have fantastic information pages that are always kept up-to-the-minute, and amazing community forums filled with experts for you to talk with. Bookmark them and check back often! And once you've decided, let us know in the comments - which iPad did you get and why?
In less than 24 hours, the first UK iPad Air customers will be walking out of stores across the land with their new hotness, but for those looking for something a little more subsidized, Three might have you covered. Leaving it almost as late as possible, the carrier has announced pricing for the iPad Air and associated data plans. If you're going subsidized, then you're looking at dropping at least £119 up front.
For that, you'll get a 16GB WiFi + Cellular iPad Air with 15GB of data per month for two-years, at a monthly rate of £29. Pay £179 up front for the same iPad Air and you'll drop the monthly cost down to £25. Prices monthly remain the same and with 15GB of data for the 32GB and 64GB models, but prices up front then start from £219 and £289 respectively. And of course, these prices will include 4G LTE when Three launches it sometime in December.
If you're OK with buying your iPad Air outright – either from Apple or from Three – then you're open to a pretty good 10GB 1-month rolling contract for just £15 per month. The iPad Air will go on sale both online and in-stores at Three tomorrow, November 1. The iPad mini with Retina Display will follow later in November, though when is still anybodies guess. We'll update with pricing as and when we learn more. So, anyone buying this way?
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