Apple's chief patent lawyer exits, says report
Apple's top patent lawyer will soon exit the Cupertinian mothership, according to reports. As is usual with such high-profile departures, the question arises: did he jump, or was he pushed?The imminent departure of Richard "Chip" Lutton was reported on Tuesday by Reuters, citing the ever-loquacious "sources familiar with the situation".If Reuters is correct and Lutton is, indeed, about to depart, an argument could be made that he may have been a victim of Apple's recent patent-infringement settlement with Nokia – the end of a patent fight that had been going on since 2009.With Apple agreeing to pay royalties plus an undisclosed – and likely quite lumpy – lump-sum payout to the Finnish phonemaker, it's not likely that Lutton was the toast of One Infinite Loop's executive water cooler crowd.
Terrorists are harnessing hi-tech communications, government warns
Britain is failing to prosecute enough terrorists and the security services are struggling to obtain intelligence because of the sophistication of modern communications, the government has disclosed. A new counter-terrorism strategy also warned that foreign countries continue to harbour fugitives who are well known to the intelligence agencies but operations overseas are hampered by human rights legislation. The “Contest” strategy warns that the ability of the police, MI5 and MI6 to intercept communications across the internet will decline unless action is taken. Terrorists are increasingly using technology, including Google Earth and Street View to plan attacks, along with more sophisticated encryption devices, according to the new strategy. They are also planning to launch cyber-attacks it adds. The report says the security services are continuing to identify far more people engaged in terrorist-related activity in this country than we can successfully prosecute and convict.
Google+ has '10 million users'
Google+ could be on the brink of reaching 10 million users after just two weeks, according to one researcher. Paul Allen, the founder of Ancestry.com, has estimated the number of users on the service and predicts that Google+ is about to welcome its 10-millionth member, if it hasn’t already. Mr Allen based his analysis on data about surname popularity from the US Census Bureau. In a post on Google+, he wrote: “By using a sample of 100-200 surnames, I am able to accurately estimate the total percentage of the US population that has signed up for Google+. Then I use that number and a calculated ratio of US to non-US users to generate my worldwide estimates.” Google has not yet released official usage figures for the service, though anecdotal evidence suggests that demand has been high and some of the most popular users of the service are already being followed by tens of thousands of people. Despite some criticisms, Google’s social network has been well received. In a recent post on Google+, Vic Gondotra, Google’s senior vice-president of social, said: “Lots of criticism for Google+. We are listening and working to address. Stay tuned for changes this week.”
Confusion and Costs Make 4G a Hard Sell
Even though most smartphone users are technically twice-removed from true 4G data service, a new survey shows many think they already have it.The new Retrevo Gadgetology study shows many iPhone and BlackBerry owners are under the false impression they already have 4G phones. This is despite the fact that neither line currently supports 4G. Retrevo also notes that there are several Android 4G phones currently available, but probably not owned by all 29% of Android owners who say they have one. Further confusing the matter is the fact that the level of service carriers are currently rolling out and promoting as 4G is not anywhere near true 4G as defined by the International Telecommunications Union. The ITU is a UN agency that tries to keep a handle on a number of things, including standards for radio and satellite telecommunications--Verizon, AT&T and Motorola are among the big names designated ITU "sector members."
Wales to get £57m to improve broadband service
90% of Welsh homes and businesses to get superfast broadband accessible Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced that Wales is to receive £56.9m from the UK government's £530m broadband investment fund. Wales' share includes the £10m pledged by Chancellor George Osborne earlier this year. Last week, Communications regulator Ofcom had published an interactive broadband map of the UK to show how different places are faring with respect to broadband coverage. Wales had been largely marked in red by the watchdog, the colour assigned to places having the worst broadband provision. The areas surrounding Wales are better off in the map.
HTC Pushes Gingerbread For Desire Z Smartphone
Taiwanese handset manufacturer HTC has announced that they will start pushing Gingerbread to yet another old favourite, the Desire Z, one of the very rare Android handsets that comes with a proper slide-out QWERTY keyboard. HTC wrote on its Facebook page earlier today: "Thanks to everyone whos [sic] been patiently waiting for the Gingerbread update for Desire Z," adding that they are in the last stages "of testing and plan to start rolling out the update over the air in the coming weeks". They also said it may take a while for the update to reach everyone across every network in the UK, and that they hope it will be available by the end of the month. HTC did not say which version of Gingerbread would be available but we suspect that it will be v2.3.4.
Microsoft gives glimpse of Windows Server 8
Microsoft has given a peek into Windows 8 Server, the successor to Windows Server 2008 R2 and companion to the tablet-tastic Windows 8 client. The company is reported Tuesday to have boasted Windows 8 Server will pack more than 100 new features. Speaking at its Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), however, Microsoft seems to have zeroed in on just one: the new Hyper-V it's positioning as an enabler of cloud computing when used to virtualize server operating systems and applications in your data center. Microsoft's teaser came in the shadow of virtualization giant VMware's vSphere 5 launch in San Francisco, California, on the same day.
Branded phone app goldrush fails to arrive
A Deloitte report has revealed that the gold rush for branded applications has failed to materialise despite a large number of branded applications being published to all smartphone platforms. Based on apps published on the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry platforms by a range of large consumer brands, Deloitte said that less than 20 per cent of the applications examined had even been downloaded enough to consider in the firm's survey."Brands view apps as a golden opportunity to communicate directly with consumers and in a more meaningful, long term manner. When brands get it right, the returns can be huge," said Deloitte media partner Howard Davies. Deloitte didn't appear in the slight bit interested in why consumers were turned off by branded applications but rather said that firms needed to look to advertising partners to deliver "personalised advertising" via location based services in order to "make the most from apps."
Microsoft's Ballmer: 'Come on in, the cloud's lovely - just don't forget to retrain'
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer encouraged the company's partners today to build software and services for the web on the software giant's technology.Speaking at Microsoft's annual Worldwide Partner Conference, Ballmer pressed partners to move with the company to cloud-delivered technology. That's key for the company, whose fortunes have been built by creating a massive partner network, in its effort to combat web-generation rivals such as Google, VMware, and Salesforce.com."The cloud is where things are going and we want you to come with us," Ballmer said to 15,000 conference attendees at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in a speech that was streamed online. "You are going to have to continue to remap and retrain yourselves."
Sony 3D Experience launches for Bravia smart TVs
Sony has opened its new 3D Experience video on demand streaming service for its line of Bravia LCD smart televisions. The Japanese giant has confirmed that a 3D service offering the latest movie, sport and games highlights in 3D has arrived for sets that have the Bravia Internet Video service. "The service will be available from 13 July to owners of 3D capable LCD TVs featuring Bravia Internet Video, immediately after purchase and without registration, with plans to expand to Sony's 3D capable Blu-ray Disc Player and Blu-ray Disc Home Theatre System," confirmed Sony. "It will initially launch in six countries: the UK, Germany, France, the U.S. and Canada."
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