NewsFactor Business

Apple Files Patent for Mobile Social Networking

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:27:29 -0500

Apple is tapping into the social arena with plans to launch a social-networking application. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company has filed a patent with the U.S. Patent & Trade Office describing a social-network application dubbed iGroups.

The application for patent, made available on Thursday, reveals that Apple is working on an ad-hoc social network that would enable users to communicate with one another without using a central access point or mobile-device networks such as Bluetooth's personal area network (PAN) or piconet (an ad-hoc computer network that links a group of devices using Bluetooth technology).

Instead, iGroups would enable users to use the Bluetooth-enabled devices to communicate by setting the devices to a Token Exchange mode.

Targeted Content

While set in this mode, all device owners or group members within a geographic range of one another would be able to broadcast and receive tokens. Tokens can be exchanged using a communication link within limited range.

The tokens received by members are stored locally on the device or sent to a trusted service operating remotely on a network such as Apple's MobileMe.

"In some implementations, the tokens can be stored with corresponding time stamps to assist a trusted service in matching the tokens with tokens provided by other devices," writes Apple in its patent application. "The trusted service can perform an analysis on the tokens and time stamps to identify devices that were colocated at the geographic location at a given contact time, which can be determined by the time stamps."

Members would then be able to set up accounts with the service by registering through a portal or web site managed by the trusted service.

User interfaces, filters and search engines would let users search and manage groups. The groups can be used with various applications, including calendars, address books, e-mail, and instant messaging.

Apple...

Secure PowerPoint Presentations Against Theft

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:18:45 -0500

LockLizard is pleased to announce a new approach to PowerPoint security: delivering high level copy protection for PowerPoint presentations enhanced by converting to Flash (SWF) format.

New PowerPoint protection features include encryption and DRM controls that prevent PowerPoint presentations from unauthorized copying, modifying, sharing, screen grabbing, printing, saving and unauthorized distribution, all without the use of passwords. Publishers can also expire and revoke presentations at any time.

"Existing password based protection systems are known to be flawed, and have had their day," says Charles Richmond, Flashguard's product manager. "There are hundreds of password crackers on the Internet (many free of charge) that will break the password protection on many formats, PowerPoint being just one, in seconds. PowerPoint password security only provides a mere fig leaf of protection and should not be used for any commercial purposes.

Also, by converting PowerPoint to Flash you also get the advantages of adding both MP3 audio and MP4 video (PowerPoint only allows you to embed a link to an external MP3/MP4 file), and SWF files (PowerPoint forces you to enable insecure ActiveX), to your PowerPoint presentations all within a single file. Thus you can get much more functionality and security by this approach."

LockLizard Flashguard has significant appeal to training course providers, who can now take realistic steps to protect what is very expensive development work for them before distributing it electronically. So trainers can afford to develop, or transfer many more courses that achieve the potential for user interaction than was possible with the more static approaches in both PowerPoint and PDF presentations. And without giving them away.

Using Flashguard, publishers can now achieve realistic control over who views their secure PowerPoint presentations, how long they can be viewed (for a certain number of days, a number of views, a...

SunGard Addresses Five Myths About Business Continuity

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:12:36 -0500

Without a business continuity program in place, even a minor disruption to systems, facilities or other key resources can potentially halt operations, impact customers or harm the financials of an organization, according to SunGard Availability Services.

"It is essential for organizations to understand how an unplanned outage would impact their business and know the steps they need to take to respond effectively," said William Hughes, director, Consulting Services BC/DR practice, Center of Excellence, at SunGard Availability Services. "You have to take a holistic view of not only threats to availability but also threats to your business continuity program's continued viability."

"A business continuity program should be built around realistic situations and assumptions, and incorporate preventive and reactive measures. It also should have a built-in means to drive continual improvement and focus beyond just continuity planning -� also addressing organizational awareness and preparedness. Some organizations, unfortunately, may have misplaced confidence in their preparedness which could lead to weaknesses being exposed at the worst possible time -� during a business outage or disaster," said Mr. Hughes.

In advance of Business Continuity Awareness Week, which takes place March 22 to 26, SunGard Availability Services explores five business continuity myths and the lessons organizations can learn from them. The business continuity myths are:

It's all about natural disasters. While natural disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, garner the bulk of attention, industry research shows power failures, IT hardware, software and network outages and human error are much more likely to cause business disruption. The lesson for organizations is they need to be prepared for all potential causes of business disruption. More often than not, it will be a "quiet catastrophe" related to hardware or process failure that, over time, generates the most significant threat to your business continuity.

We have a plan, so we are ready. Creating...

Court Airs Dirty Laundry from Viacom-Google Battle

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:39:45 -0500

The Viacom-Google battle over YouTube's alleged copyright infringement has been going on mostly behind the scenes for years. But court documents made public this week shed some light on the unfolding drama.

Viacom filed suit against Google in 2007 for allegedly allowing users to upload more than 100,000 videos clips containing copyrighted Viacom content, including parts of shows from MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon. The suit, which seeks $1 billion in damages, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Now the court is making documents public. Revelations include a Google claim that Viacom employees posted clips on YouTube and complained about YouTube hosting them. The documents also reveal Viacom's unsuccessful bid for YouTube in October 2006. Google won the bidding wars and paid $1.65 billion for the video-sharing site.

"Google beat out Viacom, and Viacom has had sour grapes ever since," said Ilan Barzilay, a litigator at Seyfarth Shaw in Boston. "As far as immediate impact on these things on the lawsuit, this isn't going to mean much. The parties are filing motions and the court will be addressing issues on summary judgment. The court may or may not ultimately decide the case on summary judgment or may cue it up for trial, which would be a circus."

Built on Infringement?

As Viacom sees it, YouTube was "intentionally built on infringement." In a published statement, Viacom said there are countless internal YouTube communications demonstrating that YouTube's founders and its employees intended to profit from that infringement.

"By their own admission, the site contained 'truckloads' of infringing content and founder Steve Chen explained that YouTube needed to 'steal' videos because those videos make 'our traffic soar'," Viacom said. "Google bought YouTube because it was a haven of infringement. Google knew that YouTube's popularity depended on infringing materials, with several...

Google Says Viacom Illegally Uploaded YouTube Videos

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:33:03 -0500

A back-and-forth battle is brewing between Internet search giant Google and media giant Viacom. Both companies are taking aggressive legal shots against each other after Viacom filed a copyright claim against Google's YouTube service.

Google has fired back, saying Viacom illegally uploaded videos to YouTube, according to documents filed with U.S. District Court in New York.

In 2007, Viacom took action against YouTube, alleging the company infringed on its television network, including MTV, Comedy Central, Black Entertainment Television, and others. Viacom also contended videos infringed on movies owned by its Paramount Pictures subsidiary.

Sour Grapes

The clash between the two giants came after Viacom failed to acquire YouTube for $1.65 billion. Viacom, according to court documents, also attempted to create a content-sharing partnership with YouTube, but after months of negotiations Google announced it was acquiring YouTube. Viacom also offered to be a copurchaser, according to Google.

Google acquired the Internet video service in October 2006 and said it believes Viacom is taking legal action out of desperation and after repeatedly trying to purchase YouTube.

The search giant also charged that Viacom went so far as to hire more than a dozen marketing agencies to upload its content to YouTube. As a result, Viacom wasn't able to tell which content was uploaded with or without authorization and had to eliminate nearly 500 claims from its complaint, Google said.

Authorized Content

The fight over whether YouTube is a hands-off provider is critical to fending off charges of copyright infringement, according to Ilan Barzilay, a partner with Seyfarth Shaw LLP.

"The copyright laws allow Internet service providers and similar entities a 'safe harbor' for infringement allegations," he said. "If the provider doesn't knowingly allow or assist acts of infringement, it won't be held liable for the acts of its users."

The intent of this protection is to relieve providers of...

North Americans Pay the Highest Prices for Mobile Apps

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:53:36 -0500

Mobile applications are one of the fastest-growing segments of the high-tech economy, with some analysts estimating an $11 billion industry by 2014. A report by the Yankee Group projects that U.S. consumers this year will spend $1.6 billion downloading apps that make mobile devices more fun or useful.

But Americans and Canadians are paying a premium for that luxury. A study released Wednesday found that, on average, users in the U.S. and Canada pay more than five times more for apps than users in other parts of the world, accounting for 50 percent of global app revenue.

Top Dollar

The technology and strategy consulting firm Chetan Sharma analyzed figures from developers, carriers and equipment manufacturers to come up with the data for Getjar, which is believed to be the second-largest app seller after Apple.

It found that North Americans on average shell out $1.09, the highest sum in the world, for apps that sell elsewhere for less than 20 cents.

Chetan Sharma's research found that Europeans generally pay less than 80 cents for apps, while the lowest average sales prices (ASP) were, in descending order, in South America, Asia, and the Middle East/Africa. All those consumers pay less than 20 cents, the study said.

"It is evident that the business models required for the emerging markets will be quite different than the western markets, as the market economics and dynamics are quite different," the study says. "For the emerging markets, it is a volumes game. While the ASPs will be smaller, if an overall strategy is executed well, the volume of data usage and app downloads can make up for the smaller per-unit revenues (either from paid downloads or advertising)."

Chetan Sharma noted that while smartphones are less common outside the U.S., "application downloads in emerging markets can actually exceed downloads on smartphones in western...

HTC Vows To Fight an Apple Lawsuit

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:00:59 -0500

HTC Corp., the Taiwanese cell phone maker sued by Apple for patent infringement, said Thursday it will defend itself against charges that it lifted iPhone technology.

In his first public comment on the suit, HTC chief Peter Chou said the company "disagrees with Apple's actions," though he did not go into specifics.

Apple says HTC's phones -- several of which use Google Inc.'s Android mobile operating software -- infringe on 20 of its patents. The patents cover technology like iPhone two-finger screen recognition, which allows users to perform multiple functions on the gadget.

The suit, filed earlier this month, served as a warning to rivals that Apple Inc. is ready to aggressively defend its technology amid intensifying competition in the smart phone market. Phones based on Google's Android software have emerged as a major threat.

In his statement Thursday, Chou avoided addressing Apple's claims directly. He said, "HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done."

He added, "We will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible."

McLaren To Build High-Performing Sports Cars

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:26:59 -0500

Formula One car maker McLaren unveiled plans on Thursday to build a range of commercial sports cars in Britain, using race technology to take on other high-end European manufacturers such as Ferrari and Porsche on the highways.

McLaren is banking on renewed spending after the global economic downturn to bolster demand for its first offering, the MP4-12C, which will go on sale in late 2011 with a hefty price tag of between 125,000 ($191,127) and 150,000 pounds.

"Following any recession, there's a resurgence," McLaren Automotive Chairman Ron Dennis said at the company's headquarters -- and new factory site -- in Woking. "We intend to catch that wave."

"Our volumes are very much linked to how we see the recovery," he added.

The company aims to make up to 1,000 of the 12C cars next year, with up to 40 percent being sold in North America.

It will compete with the Ferrari 458 Italia, priced at around 170,000 pounds, and Mercedes SLS AMG at around 145,000 pounds.

McLaren's investment in a 40-million pound production facility south of London, due to begin work on the first car next spring, is also a boost for Britain's waning car manufacturing sector.

"At a time when the U.K. is rebalancing the economy away from the past two decades' over-concentration on financial services, we stand alongside other high-tech manufacturing and engineering companies, committed to securing Britain's global leadership, and securing a sustainable economic future," Dennis said.

This is not the first time McLaren has built a road car, but it is the first time the company has made its own vehicle in the "core sports car" market, defined as selling for 125,000-200,000 pounds.

McLaren built its first road car, the McLaren F1, 15 years ago, but only 107 were built, of which 64 were road cars and the rest racing cars.

The company said the MP4-12C...

CEO Shakeup at Barnes & Noble

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:47:22 -0500

Barnes & Noble changed CEOs Thursday, elevating the president of its Web site to lead the company, a surprise move that highlights the importance of digital books to the bookseller's future.

The company said former CEO Steve Riggio will stay on as vice chairman and be actively involved with the company.

New CEO William Lynch helped launch the company's electronic book store and oversaw the introduction of its electronic book reader, the Nook. The company is counting on the technology to boost sales and ward off intense competition from online retailers, discount stores and rival e-readers such as Amazon.com's Kindle.

The impending launch of Apple's Ipad tablet computer is also crowding the e-reader field. Barnes & Noble, which offers its e-reader software across a host of platforms including laptops and most mobile devices, said last week it will also make it compatible with the Ipad.

Lynch, 39, has served as president of Barnes & Noble's Web site since February 2009.

"In just a year, he has put our e-commerce business back on its fast-growth track and has helped us quickly establish the company as a major player in the rapidly growing e-book and digital content arena, securing important partnerships with major technology companies," Steve Riggio said of his successor in a call with analysts.

Lynch said he will work to develop both retail and online businesses.

"Although the stores will be just a part of the offering, they will remain a key driver of sales as we expand our multichannel relationships with our customers," he said during the call.

Barnes & Noble is under pressure from shareholders as sales at its stores flag. Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle has blamed company management.

In February, Barnes & Noble blocked an attempt by Burkle, whose Yucaipa Cos. holds a 19 percent stake in the company, to amass more shares.

Steve Riggio is...

Verizon, AT&T, Google in a Broadband Speed Race

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:00:21 -0500

The race to provide ultrafast broadband is on. In May, Cleveland will become a test bed for a service, spearheaded by Case Western Reserve University, that lets residents of more than 100 homes download data at about 1 gigabit per second. In February, Google said it plans an ultra-high-speed broadband network covering as many as 500,000 users. "The purpose of this project is to experiment and learn," Google said in a blog introducing the idea. "Network providers are making real progress to expand and improve high-speed Internet access, but there's still more to be done." The U.S. government's National Broadband Plan, released on Mar. 16, also urges that speedier broadband be more extensively deployed.

The plans by Google and Case Western may add to pressure on the largest broadband providers such as Verizon Communications, AT&T, and Comcast to accelerate their own deployments and could create a windfall for the makers of networking equipment, analysts say. "Pre-Google announcement, it would have been five years" before such speeds became common, says John Mazur, a principal analyst at Ovum, a telecom market researcher. "Post-Google announcement, it could be sooner."

A download speed of 1 gigabit per second [Gbps] is 20 times faster than top speeds Verizon offers consumers and more than 256 times faster than the speeds available to the average broadband subscriber. Broadband providers are trying to meet a surge in demand for video and other services delivered over networks, sometimes wirelessly. Global data traffic may increase fivefold by 2013, according to Cisco.

Government Goals

The National Broadband Plan proposes that the Defense Dept. make 1 Gbps connections available on select military bases. It also wants American schools, hospitals, and government buildings to have access to such connections by 2020. The plan outlines measures designed to create more broadband providers through auctions of airwaves needed...