Apple Vs Samsung, Vs S3 Graphics, Vs Motorola Updates.

FOSS patents ahve put together a nice summaries about the on going patent wars between Apple and three rivals, Motorola, S3 Graphics, Samsung.
There seem to be strange developments in Australia in Apple VS Samsung case with matters I do not understand. But Samsung seem to be looking for settlement, at least for now. In the USA, Samsung is getting some support from Verizon and T-Mobile. iPhone 5 does not seem to make much difference, looks like. I like to see what APple has against those very attractive Android phones from Sharp, Panasonic and Dell that Softbank, the Japanese iPhone seller, is bringing out.
In Florida, the court denied Apple's request to stay the Apple vs Motorola Mobility case. Apple wanted to wait till Motorola Mobility was acquired by Google. Apple has a similar request in Wisconsin.
In the case of S3 Graphics vs Apple, there is a new twist. ATI is telling that it is the rightfull owner of the patents that S3 is using against Apple! Strange!
Read about all these at FOSS Patents.

IBM Overtakes Microsoft In Value, For The First Time In 15 Years!

Even though the Big Blue was THE tech company, it lost to Microsoft in market value, after Microsoft managed to beat it in the personal computer market.
Now IBM after 15 years has managed surpassing Microsoft, with market share of $211.4 Billion. Current market share of Microsoft stands at $211.3 Billion.
Apple which passed Microsoft last year stands at the top with $356.8 Billion and is the most valuable company in the world today.

Samsung Buys Android Protection From Microsoft!

In a bizarre acknowledgment of Android IP holes, and without waiting for Google protection, Samsung has gone and signed a deal with Microsoft. According to the agreement, "Microsoft will receive royalties for Samsung’s mobile phones and tablets running Android" and Samsung will also work on Windows phones.
The major issue with this news is that it looks like Android ODMs are for themselves, rather than teaming up to be a force.
Microsoft press release;

REDMOND, Wash — Sept. 28, 2011 — Microsoft announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., to cross-license the patent portfolios of both companies, providing broad coverage for each company’s products. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will receive royalties for Samsung’s mobile phones and tablets running the Android mobile platform. In addition, the companies agreed to cooperate in the development and marketing of Windows Phone.

“Microsoft and Samsung see the opportunity for dramatic growth in Windows Phone and we’re investing to make that a reality,” said Andy Lees, president, Windows Phone Division, Microsoft. “Microsoft believes in a model where all our partners can grow and profit based on our platform.”

“Through the cross-licensing of our respective patent portfolios, Samsung and Microsoft can continue to bring the latest innovations to the mobile industry,” said Dr. Won-Pyo Hong, executive vice president of global product strategy at Samsung’s mobile communication division. “We are pleased to build upon our long history of working together to open a new chapter of collaboration beginning with our Windows Phone “Mango” launch this fall.”

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

MS

Court Orders Third Mediation Talk Between Google And Oracle

Judge William Alsup, the federal judge presiding over Oracle vs Google case ordered case statements from both parties with three deadlines. FOSS Patents think that while still hoping for a settlement between the parties, (Court is bringing two parties together on October 1st for the third settlement talks), judge has not given up on October trail date. You can find much more detail about the statement and the case at FOSS Patents, follow the link at the end of the post.

First order is asking Oracle for;

"By NOON ON SEPTEMBER 29, 2011, counsel for Oracle America, Inc. shall submit a case management statement listing each patent claim it will actually assert at trial and shall explain why the total number of such claims is consistent with prior representations made to the Court. In stating the claims to be tried, counsel must remember that any claim not asserted will be deemed foregone as to all accused matters."

The second is towards Google;

"By NOON ON OCTOBER 3, 2011, counsel for Google Inc. shall state separately as to each such claim the full extent to which counsel concede any such alleged infringement but for any issues of invalidity and shall specify, claim by claim, any and all invalidity defenses to be asserted at trial."

And the third is regarding the reexamination of Oracle patents and stay of the case.

"By NOON ON OCTOBER 4, 2011, both sides shall update the Court on the status of each re-examination pending for each such claim and shall explain why the case should not be stayed in whole or in part until the re-examinations are completed. Counsel are expected to honor their full duty of candor as officers of the court."

With all the judges work towards a settlement, which seem not to be working, case looks like ready for trial. If it will be stayed or not will be the next juicy bit of information.
You can find FOSS Patents post on the issue here. All the court statements above came here via FP as well.

SDSC Cloud, World;s Largest Academic And Research Data Storage Service From San Diego Supercomputer Center.

SDSC's Academic Cloud Storage offers a new and unique storage service to any educational and affiliated industry through an object-based storage system. SDSC cloud storage provides a highly scalable solution with flexible access methods and enhanced sustainability. Since there are no data transfer costs, the SDSC Cloud provides exceptional performance compared to other industry offerings, utilizing 10GB connectivity at a very low cost, $3.25 per 100GB per month. (See more information in the press release)
Any size or number of files can be stored on SDSC’s Cloud, and are instantly replicated by an infrastructure of multiple servers which continuously scan the system to ensure file integrity. With the option to add off-site replication, users can achieve unparalleledfile durability.
Customizable permissions allow users to effortlessly and instantly share data with other cloud clients or publicly via HTTP or API integration.
Technical Information;

• Initial 5.5PB Raw Storage
• 10Gb Arista Connected – Up to 8GB/s aggregate I/O
• OpenStack based with Rackspace and S3 APIs
• AES 256-bit encryption available

Usage and Applications

HPC Compute data staging and Storage,
Backups, including SDSC Commvault back services
Application integration using supported APIs
Web Application and site hosting
Streaming Data services, images/videos
Data collections and published data sets

Press Release;

SDSC Announces Scalable, High-Performance Data Storage Cloud

Web-based System Offers High Durability, Security, and Speed for Diverse User Base

SDSC Cloud

The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego, today announced the launch of what is believed to be the largest academic-based cloud storage system in the U.S., specifically designed for researchers, students, academics, and industry users who require stable, secure, and cost-effective storage and sharing of digital information, including extremely large data sets.

"We believe that the SDSC Cloud may well revolutionize how data is preserved and shared among researchers, especially massive datasets that are becoming more prevalent in this new era of data-intensive research and computing," said Michael Norman, director of SDSC. "The SDSC Cloud goes a long way toward meeting federal data sharing requirements, since every data object has a unique URL and could be accessed over the Web."

SDSC's new Web-based system is 100% disk-based and interconnected by high-speed 10 gigabit Ethernet switching technology, providing extremely fast read and write performance. With an initial raw capacity of 5.5 petabytes – one petabyte equals one quadrillion bytes of storage capacity, or the equivalent about 250 billion pages of text – the SDSC Cloud has sustained read rates of 8 to 10 gigabytes (GB) per second that will continually improve as more nodes and storage are added. That's akin to reading all the contents of a 250GB laptop drive in less than 30 seconds.

Moreover, the SDSC Cloud is scalable by orders of magnitude to hundreds of petabytes, with aggregate performance and capacity both scaling almost linearly with growth. Full details about the new SDSC Cloud can be found online.

Conceived in planning for UC San Diego's campus Research Cyberinfrastructure (RCI) project, the initiative quickly grew in scope and partners as many saw the technology as functionally revolutionary and cost effective for their needs. At launch, users and research partners include, among others, UC San Diego's Libraries, School of Medicine, Rady School of Management, Jacobs School of Engineering, and SDSC researchers, as well as federally-funded research projects from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes for Health, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

"The SDSC Cloud marks a paradigm shift in how we think about long-term storage," said Richard Moore, SDSC's deputy director. "We are shifting from the 'write once and read never' model of archival data, to one that says 'if you think your data is important, then it should be readily accessible and shared with the broader community.'"

"UC San Diego is one of the most data-centric universities in the country, so our goal was to develop a centralized, scalable data storage system designed to meet performance, functionality, and capacity needs of our researchers and partners across the country, and to evolve and scale with the needs of the scientific community," said Dallas Thornton, SDSC's division director of cyberinfrastructure services. "Developing this resource in-house atop the OpenStack platform allows for highly-capable and flexible, yet extremely cost-effective solutions for our researchers."

OpenStack is a scalable, open-sourced cloud operating system jointly launched in July 2010 by NASA and Rackspace Hosting, which today powers some of the largest public and private cloud computing services using this scalable and proven software.

Durability and Security
Data stored in SDSC's new cloud is instantly written to multiple independent storage servers, and stored data is validated for consistency on a round-the-clock basis. "This leads to very high levels of data durability, availability, and performance, all of which are of paramount importance to researchers and research organizations," said Ron Joyce, SDSC's associate director of IT infrastructure and a key architect of the system.

The SDSC Cloud leverages the infrastructure designed for a high-performance parallel file system by using two Arista Networks 7508 switches, providing 768 total 10 gigabit (Gb) Ethernet ports for more than 10Tbit/s of non-blocking, IP-based connectivity. The switches are configured using multi-chassis link aggregation (MLAG) for both performance and failover.

"This network configuration allows us to unshackle extreme-scale/extreme-performance storage from individual clusters and instead make data available at unprecedented speeds across our university campus and beyond," said Philip Papadopoulos, SDSC's division director of UC systems. "In addition to incredibly fast data transmission speeds, our goal was to build a high-performance storage system right from the start that was completely scalable to meet the evolving needs and requirements of the campus, as well those within industry and government."

The environment also provides high-bandwidth wide-area network connectivity to users and partners thanks to multiple 10Gb connections to CENIC (Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California), ESNet (Energy Sciences Network), and XSEDE (Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment). This allows huge amounts of data, such as sky surveys or mapping of the human genome, to be rapidly transported simultaneously to/from the SDSC Cloud.

In addition to large storage capacity and high-speed transmissions, the SDSC Cloud provides:

* Cost advantages: Standard "on-demand" storage costs start at only $3.25 a month per 100GB of storage, and there are no I/O networking charges. A "condo" option, which allows users to make cost-effective long term investment in hardware that becomes part of the SDSC Cloud, is also available. Users will soon have the option to have additional copies of their data stored offsite at UC Berkeley, one of SDSC's partners in the project.
* Anywhere, anytime accessibility and wide compatibility: Every data file is given a persistent URL, making the system ideal for data sharing such as library or institutional collections. Access permissions can be set by the data owner, allowing a full spectrum of options from private to open access. The HTTP-based SDSC Cloud supports the RackSpace Swift and Amazon S3 APIs and is accessible from any web browser, clients for Windows, OSX, UNIX, and mobile devices. Users can also write applications that directly interact with the SDSC Cloud.
* Enhanced security: Users set their own access/privacy levels. Users know and can coordinate precisely where their data is stored in the cloud, including replicated copies. In addition, a HIPAA and FISMA compliant storage option launches on October 1st in partnership with the Integrating Data for Analysis, Anonymization and SHaring (iDASH) program at UC San Diego, a National Center for Biomedical Computing (NCBC) project funded in 2010 under the NIH Roadmap for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.

Working in Tandem with Other SDSC Storage Systems
The SDSC Cloud is configured to work in tandem with other innovative storage technologies at the supercomputer center. One is the Data Oasis system, a Lustre-based parallel file system designed primarily for high-performance, low-latency scratch and medium-term project storage, ideal for researchers conducting data-intensive operations on SDSC's Triton, Trestles, and Dash high-performance computing (HPC) systems.

SDSC's Data Oasis is currently capable of speeds of 50GB/s, meaning that researchers can today retrieve a terabyte of data – or one trillion bytes – in less than 20 seconds. By early 2012, Data Oasis will be expanded to serve SDSC's Gordon, the first supercomputer within the HPC community focused on integrating large amounts of flash-based SSD (solid state drive) memory. As Gordon enters production in January 2012, SDSC will double the speed of Data Oasis to 100GB/s, making it one of the fastest parallel file systems in the academic research community. While Data Oasis is used for in-process HPC storage, the SDSC Cloud is designed to accommodate any storage needs either prior to or afterward, delivering durable, secure storage that can be shared within SDSC or across the country with ease.

About SDSC
As an Organized Research Unit of UC San Diego, SDSC is considered a leader in data-intensive computing and cyberinfrastructure, providing resources, services, and expertise to the national research community including industry and academia. Cyberinfrastructure refers to an accessible and integrated network of computer-based resources and expertise, focused on accelerating scientific inquiry and discovery. SDSC supports hundreds of multidisciplinary programs spanning a wide variety of domains, from earth sciences to biology to astrophysics to bioinformatics and health IT. With its two newest supercomputer systems, Trestles and the soon-to-be-launched Gordon, SDSC is a partner in XSEDE (Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment), the most advanced collection of integrated digital resources and services in the world.

Media Contacts:
Jan Zverina, SDSC Communications, 858 534-5111 or jzverina@sdsc.edu
Warren R. Froelich, SDSC Communications, 858 822-3622 or froelich@sdsc.edu
Related Links:
SDSC: http://www.sdsc.edu/
SDSC Cloud: http://cloud.sdsc.edu
UC San Diego: http://www.ucsd.edu/
Arista Networks: http://www.aristanetworks.com/
OpenStack: http://www.openstack.org/

S3 Graphics Goes After Apple With Two Patents Related New ITC Complaint And A Federal Lawsuit

Soon to be part of HTC, S3 Graphics, sued Apple over two patents in new IYC Complaint and Federal lawsuit yesterday. The rift of Apple vs HTC is getting complicated and larger everyday.
Goth the complaint and the lawsuit revolves around two patents owned by S3. S3 targets iPhone and iPads among other devices in the lawsuit;

"certain electronic devices and components, [for example], the Apple iPhone, iPad, an[d] iPod Touch mobile devices, Apple Mac desktop and notebook computers, alone or in combination with associated system and application software sold or distributed by Apple"

and the ITC complaint is covering;

"Electronic Devices with Graphics Data Processing Systems, Components Thereof, and Associated Software"

The patents involved in the case are;

U.S. Patent No. 5,945,997 on "block- and band-oriented traversal in three-dimensional triangle rendering" (applied for by S3 in 1997)
U.S. Patent No. 5,581,279 on "VGA controller circuitry" (applied for by Cirrus Logic in November 1993, granted by the USPTO in December 1996 and sold to S3 in 1998;

Again FOSS Patents explain this incident and more. More meaning all the existing case

Cablevision Did Not Violate Verizon's Set-Top Box Patents

ITC, the U.S. International Trade Commission has terminated the review of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ)'s complaint against the set-top models used by Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC).

Earlier an ITC judge ruled that Cablevision had violated U.S. Patent No. 6,381,748, which describes an "Apparatus and methods for network access using a set-top box and television," from among five Patents Verizon sighted.

The ITC, informed via a notice (PDF) issued Wednesday, about termination of the review and also found Cablevision not to be in violation. The ITC cited the results of another case involving the patent in question. A judge in that case, argued in a Virginia court between Verizon and ActiveVideo Networks Inc. (one of Cablevision's video technology vendors), invalidated two Verizon patents, including the '748 patent.

It is possible that Verizon appeal the ITC's decision.

Via Lightreading

Samsung Counter Sues Apple In Australia, Plans To Appeal German Injunction.

Looks like there will not be any calm between the patent battle between Apple and Samsung. After suing Apple in France for Samsung UMTS (3G) patent violations, Samsung has counter-sued Apple in Australia, where Apple seek to stop sales of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Samsung announced on Saturday that it has filed a case against Apple in Australia for it's violations of multiple mobile patents.

"To defend our intellectual property, Samsung filed a cross claim for Apple's violation of Samsung's wireless technology patents," Samsung Electronics spokesman Nam Ki-yung said.

Samsung has also filed an appeal against a recent court ruling in Dusseldorf, Germany. where it upheld the ban of the sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany.

Apple and Samsung are involved in court cases all over the world and analysts believe that the two companies would come in to a technology sharing agreement.

260MW, Is What It Takes To Power Google!

Google has given us a bunch of firsts over the years and now has become the first Internet giant to let us know how much power it uses. Those servers, computers and everything else uses 260MW continuously.
With all the major companies in the world, Google has stepped up to reveal how much energy it needs to run it's engines, big and small. In addition to providing you and me with mind blowing numbers, these figures also shed light on how much the the massive expansion of Internet is affecting the global power usage, thus helping policy makers and other people involved in understanding the facts.
The 260MW power used by Google in it's entirety is enough to power a small city of about 200,000 homes and most of this energy is used in it's data centers. This is after all the efforts Google has employed to reduce power usage. Like custom build data centers that uses various methods to increase efficiency.
Google's Data center in Finland uses sea water to cool it's innards cutting down on electricity usage. Over all, according to a professor at Stanford University, J.Koomey, Google is relatively energy efficient and uses only 1% of electricity for it's data centers worldwide. Google owns about 3% servers world wide.

It has abother side as well, companies hosting their email with GMail, or in the cloud, saves and as much as 80% energy efficient than running an in house system.
Google also reported that it uses as much as 25% energy from renewable sources and plans to increase it to 30% this year.
Official Google Blog: How our cloud does more with less

ITC To Review S3 Graphics VS Apple! Will HTC Have A lever Here?

ITC, United Stated International Trade Commission has issued a notice of a Commission determination to review the initial determination made investigating S3 Graphics' patent infringement complaint against Apple by a Administrative Law Judge.
While the investigation, initial determination found some of the claims to be valid and some not now it is back to the point one as the commission has decided to review the case in it's entirety and either party could gain.
If S3 Graphics, gain, HTC which is in the process of acquiring S3 Graphics will have some leverage against Apple in it's Android patent case, even though S3 Graphics case is only involved in Macintosh computers, not iOS devices.
According to FOSS Patents, depending on the outcome, it could benefit HTC but nothing is clear cut as there are pathways for Apple to by pass the infringements, if there are any.
ITC (PDF) via FOSS Patents

Oracle, Google Willing To Discuss Settlement In Court - Google Android Lawsuit

The federal Judge presiding over the Oracle Android law suit has requested both the parties, Oracle and Google settle in court and today was the last day to submit a reply.and Oracle has already responded, well before the deadline.Perhaps playing the upper hand that Oracle feels that it has;

Oracle President Safra Catz, and Thomas Kurian, Executive Vice President of Oracle Product Development.will represent Oracle and Andrew Rubin, Senior Vice President, Google Mobile and Kent Walker, Vice President and General Counsel of Google will represent Google.
Google also requested a magistrate Judge who is not involved with the case to be the mediation judge.

"    Oracle concurs with the Court’s view that an additional attempt at settlement of the case through mediation before a United State Magistrate Judge is warranted. Oracle has found previous efforts at settlement, including private discussions between the parties, frustrating for lack of follow-through, and believes that those efforts have not exhausted the possibilities for resolving the case.

    As suggested by the Court, Oracle considers it essential that both parties bring top-level executives. Accordingly, Oracle’s executive representatives in the mediation before the Magistrate Judge will be Safra Catz, President of Oracle Corporation, and Thomas Kurian, Executive Vice President of Oracle Product Development.

    Oracle will strive to make its representatives available as necessary and proposes that the mediation occur before the end of September. "

Here is the Google response;

Google welcomes the Court's suggestion that the parties participate in a mediation of this case before a Magistrate Judge. Google does not object to participating in a mediation before a Magistrate Judge who is not otherwise involved in this case.
Google recognizes the importance of having top executives of the parties attend the Court-ordered mediation. Google proposes that Andrew Rubin, who is Senior Vice President, Mobile and reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer, attend for Google together with Kent Walker, Vice President and General Counsel of Google. Mr. Rubin's executive responsibilities include all of Google’s mobile business, of which the Android business is a part. Mr. Rubin is knowledgeable regarding the issues in this case and he is fully empowered to resolve this matter on reasonable terms.
Google also understands from counsel for Oracle that they propose that Safra Catz and Thomas Kurian attend on behalf of Oracle -- and Google agrees with this choice. Ms. Catz is one of two Presidents of Oracle who, like Mr. Rubin, reports directly to Oracle's Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Rubin and Ms. Catz were involved in previous discussions involving the subject matter at issue in this case.

Thanks to FOSS Patents, we get to read these stuff before everyone else and I am waiting for the Google response. Might be interesting.

Oracle - Google Android Lawsuit Surfacing Interesting Facts. Open Source Java!

It is fascinating to read about this lawsuit. In an email by Android boss Andy Rubin to Google's Sergey, Larry Page and some other Googlers, reveals that Google could have had an annual Java license for $100 million and the group agreed to decline it. If ever Oracle manages to get a injunction over Android, costs of getting a new license will be million folds of the 100 million.
Another fact that coming out is the SUN proposed  a Redhat style Android distribution with Open Source Java. Yes hind sight is 20/20 but it is not too late to learn more about these facts.It IS fascinating.
Read more at FOSS Patents.

Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (H.R. 1249) Passes 93-5 In Senate.

Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (H.R. 1249) has passed the Senate as expected. The Act is slated to become a law as soon as President Obama signs it.
The act was passed earlier in the Senate and another version in the House earlier but the differences in the versions passed sent the act back to the Senate and it passed after the Senate came back from the anual recess in August.
Basically we are not getting much out of this law but all the politicians, both the sides, will get some ride on it saying it will create 200,000 new jobs. But the general understanding is it will not which has even has been answered by a survey.
PatentlyO explains this much better than I could;

To be patentable, an invention must still be new, useful, and fit within one of the statutory classifications.  The primary difference on that front will be that the inventor’s pre-filing activity becomes even less important and third-party activity just prior to the filing date becomes more important.  Innovative companies will need to rethink filing strategies to fit the new rules, but this will not normally be CEO level strategic rethinking - but instead general counsel and chief patent counsel planning. The law of patentability will be more complicated and unstable for the next decade as we go through the transition, but the dust will settle and the patent system will remain.

You can read more at PatentlyO

Tech Pier In SF, Pier 38 To Be Emptied By September 30th! America Cup Anyone?

After weeks of speculations and other stuff, San Francisco Port Authority has declared the pier to be unsafe for public.(the pic above was taken by Robert Scobble) One of our colleagues spent two good years of his life in this pier located on the San Francisco water front (map) and I have been to  Pier 38 last week.
Pier 38 houses a collection of tech companies including Automatic (Wordpress), DogPatch Labs (responsible for many startups housed here), Polaris Ventures, True Ventures, 99 Designs, EGG HAUS and a bunch more.
There are no real reasons or news yet but the fact that these companies will have to move and the question remains to where?
Perhaps Port Authority need the space for America Cup, just speculating!
Via TC