Google, Apple using 'spy planes' to create maps

With competition heating up between Google and Apple to take powerful satellite images, the tech giant Google and Apple have now deployed military grade 'spy planes' that could even photograph sunbathers in their back gardens. 

The companies are racing to produce aerial maps so detailed they can show up objects just four inches wide. 

Google admits it has already sent planes over cities while Apple has acquired a firm using spy-in-the-sky technology that has been tested on at least 20 locations, The Daily Mail reports. 

According to the paper, Apple's military-grade cameras are believed to be so powerful they could potentially see into homes through skylights and windows. 

The technology is similar to that used by intelligence agencies in identifying terrorist targets inAfghanistan. 

Google will use its spy planes to help create 3D maps with much more detail than its satellite-derived Google Earth images. 

Meanwhile, the move has outraged campaigners, who say the technology is a sinister development that brings the surveillance society a step closer. 

The paper quoted Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch, as saying that privacy is at a risk of being sacrificed in a commercial 'race to the bottom'. "The next generation of maps is taking us over the garden fence," Pickles said. 

"You won't be able to sunbathe in your garden without worrying about an Apple or Google plane buzzing overhead taking pictures," he added.

Source:TOI

Delhi court asks Home ministry to serve summons to Google, Facebook

The Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) was asked by a Delhi court to get its summonses served to various foreign-based social networking websites, including Facebook and Google, accused of promoting class enmity and undermining the national integrity. 

The court asked MHA that the summonses issued against the websites should be returnable by September 22. 

"Let the accused (social networking websites) be summoned through the assistance of the MHA, Government of India. The summonses shall be returnable on September 22," Metropolitan Magistrate Jay Thareja said. 

These websites named in the complaint filed by Vinay Rai includes -- Facebook, Orkut,YouTube, Yahoo, Blogspot, Google and Microsoft. 

Besides this, the court discharged two accused websites, Shyni Blog and Exbii after the complainant's counsel S P M Tripathi told the court that they do not want to proceed with the complaint against the two websites as their addresses have not been found despite all efforts. 

"In view of the statement made by the advocate for the complainant, the complaint is dismissed against accused Exbii and Shyni Blog," the magistrate said. 

The court, on the last date of hearing, had told Rai to come out with the modalities of serving the summonses to the foreign-based websites. 

As the day's proceedings began, advocate Tripathi said they could send the summonses served to the websites through courier service.
Source:TOI

Facebook, Microsoft looking for office space in Manhattan

Facebook and Microsoft are shopping for more office space in Manhattan, sources say, underscoring New York's stature as a must-have location for top tech companies who need to be "book-ended" on both the west and east coasts. 

Facebook, based in Menlo Park, California, has browsed several locations in the city including the former New York Times Building at 229 West 43rd Street, two people familiar with the search said. 

The social-networking company's New York staff is primarily in sales, although there are also some marketing and engineering personnel in the city. Last year, Facebook said it planned to hire more engineers in New York. 

Facebook, which currently occupies about 40,000 square feet of office space at 335 Madison Avenue near Grand Central Station, is shopping for 100,000 square feet to 150,000 square feet of office space, one source familiar with the matter said. 

Microsoft, also has looked at the former Times building and at a new building at 51 Astor Place, two sources said. Microsoft is looking for about 200,000 square feet, the source said. It currently occupies 174,000 square feet at 1290 Avenue of the Americas near 52nd Street, another source said. Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, based in Redmond, Washington, declined to comment, as did Facebook. 

It is unclear how far along either company is to committing to a new location and they could opt to stay at their current New York offices.

Facebook is still sending out requests for proposals. It signed a 15-year lease at 335 Madison in December 2010.

Microsoft's lease expires in 2014, two sources said. New York, chiefly Manhattan, is a growing incubator for technology. In the fourth quarter of 2011 it ranked No. 2 behind California as the top destination for technology venture capital funding, according to CB Insights data.

In the last five years, information technology jobs in the city have increased nearly 29 per cent to 52,900, according to a report issued last month by the Center for an Urban Future. The report identified 486 digital startups created in New York since 2007 that have received angel, VC or other outside funding.

Many of those companies are located south of 34th Street in Manhattan's Midtown South office market, the New York home of internet search and advertising powerhouse Google.

Source:TOI

Online retailer US LuxeYard enters Indian market

US-based e-commerce site LuxeYard, best known for flash sales or heavy discounts for limited periods of time, is entering the booming Indian e-commerce market. The company has tied up with serial entrepreneur Sashi Chimala who will launch a local venture that LuxeYard plans to buy after two years. 

"This reverse-acquisition model eliminates the risk and uncertainty of expansion into a new market ," said Steve Beauregard, chief operating officer, LuxeYard. 

"This model has been tried by traditional retailers, but we are the first e-commerce company to try this," he said. Chimala, who has a strong track record of launching new ventures, will develop the business in India for two years by selling fashion, home furnishings and decor via the flash sale model. 

"We will raise $1 million in the first round and $5 million in six-seven months to scale up the business," he said. In two years, Chimala will sell back the business to LuxeYard, which he says, will also provide an exit route to investors. 

Chimala earlier founded beverages chain Qwiky's Coffee and was also a part of the founding teams of technology start-ups Covansys and Indigo Technologies in the US. He has prior experience in retailing in India having helped set up two retail start-ups PayPod.com, an ad server and ad network solution targeted towards ethnic online consumers, and Knibble.com, aggregators of online casual games. LuxeYard, which offers heavy discounts of as much as 70% on products in the US, works on membership basis. The company will adopt the same model in India. "Since a flash sale lasts just a few days, items get sold out very fast. This is how our brand partners are able to offer deep discounts and yet, make their margins," Beauregard said. 

According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India, non-travel e-commerce , which is 30% of the total industry now, is estimated to grow ten- fold to about $6 billion by 2015. "As the prices offered are up to 70% of list prices, we feel this would be very attractive to the Indian market," said Beauregard.

He declined to disclose the specific terms of the deal, but said the model involves pre-agreed performance metrics including targets for revenue, member registrations and acquisition of new vendors or brand partners. "By partnering with Sashi's team, we get to eliminate the learning curve and enter the market immediately ," he said.

Source:TOI

Apple-Google patent trial pushed

A federal judge canceled a scheduled June 11 trial between Apple and Google's Motorola Mobility unit over patents related to mobile phones and tablet computers, and expects to dismiss the case because neither can prove damages. 

In a "tentative" order, US Circuit Judge Richard Posner in Chicago on Thursday said each company's case should be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought up again. 

He said neither Apple nor Motorola Mobility had enough admissible evidence of damages to withstand dismissal. 

Posner also said to grant injunctions against infringements "would impose costs disproportionate to the harm to the patentee and the benefit of the alleged infringement to the alleged infringer and would be contrary to the public interest." 

The judge said he expects to more fully explain his reasoning in a written opinion within one week. Posner normally handles appeals, rather than cases in trial court. 

"We are pleased by the Illinois trial court's tentative ruling today dismissing Apple's patent claims and look forward to receiving the full decision," Google said in a statement. Apple declined to comment. 

The trial, which would have been before a jury, would have been the first between the companies since Google last month bought Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.

It is one of many lawsuits worldwide pitting Apple, whose iPhone is the world's most popular smartphone, against Motorola Mobility, whose parent produces the Android operating system.

In 2012, the iPhone is expected to capture more than 20 per cent of the global smartphone market, while 61 per cent of smartphones will use the Android system, International Data Corp said on Wednesday.

Apple had sued Motorola Mobility for alleged infringements of four patents, but a May 22 ruling by Posner scuttled its damages claims on two of those patents. Motorola Mobility had sued over one patent.

Apple is based in Cupertino, California, and Google is based in Mountain View, California.

The case is Apple et al vs Motorola et al, US District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 11-08540.

Source:TOI

Apple may block Samsung Galaxy SIII sales in US

An Apple lawyer said the iPhone and iPad maker may seek a legal order stopping the launch of Samsung Electronics's Galaxy S III phone in the United States later this month. 

At a hearing on Thursday in a San Jose,California federal court, Apple attorney Josh Krevitt said the company could file for a temporary restraining order against Samsung as early as Friday. 

"Once sales are made, the harm is irreparable," Krevitt said. 

However, US District Judge Lucy Koh said she has many other cases. If Apple decides to seek a restraining order, it would likely delay a July trial date over different Samsung phones, as well as the Galaxy Tab 10.1. 

"I cannot be an Apple v. Samsung judge," Koh said. 

Apple sued Samsung for patent infringement last year, accusing the South Korean electronics maker of "slavishly" copying the iPhone and iPad. Samsung denies the claims and countersued. 

Apple's comments on Thursday came a day after Samsung Electronics, the world's largestsmartphone vendor, expanded its CEO's role to include oversight of corporate strategy across the entire Samsung Group - a conglomerate of more than 80 companies. 

Choi Gee-sung, 61, spearheaded Samsung's ascension to smartphone and TV leadership and his elevation signals that the storied South Korean conglomerate is grooming its next leader. Apple filed papers this week seeking to ban Samsung's new Galaxy S III, along with the Galaxy Nexus. Samsung has already booked over 9 million preorders of the Galaxy S III, which is set to be sold by carriers in the United States on June 21, Apple said in its court filing. 

Samsung, however, argued that Apple should not be allowed to seek such a fast injunction against the Galaxy S III. 

Samsung attorney William Price also said the technology covered by Apple's patents - such as auto-correcting typed text - are not responsible for sales of Galaxy phones. 

"There is no advertising or marketing on these features at all" by Apple, Price said. 

Samsung's Galaxy products run on the Android operating system, developed by Google. In addition to Samsung's legal team, several Google attorneys attended the hearing before Koh on Thursday. 

Apple has also accused Google's Motorola Mobility unit of infringing its iPhone patents. However, a Chicago-based federal judge on Thursday tentatively scrapped a trial between those two that had been scheduled to begin next week. 

"Neither party can establish a right to relief," Judge Richard Posner wrote. 

In California, Koh did not rule from the bench on Thursday on Apple's request for an injunction on the Nexus. 

The Samsung case in US District Court, Northern District of California is Apple vs Samsung Electronics et al, 12-cv-630.

Source:TOI

HTC first dual-SIM smartphone, Desire V

HTC has announced a new dual-SIM smartphone, HTC Desire V. HTC Desire V runs on Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. 

The two SIM card slots on the Desire V each support GSM/GPRS and HSPA respectively. The device sports a 4-inch WVGA resolution display, it has a 5 megapixel rear camera with LED flash, no front facing camera and includes Beats Audio technology. 

Desire V is powered by a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. The storage can be further expanded up to 32GB via a microSD card. 

For connectivity, it supports Wi-Fi and 3G. 

The device was announced in Ukraine, however, it is expected to eventually become available in the Indian market.
Source: TOI