2010年4月28日 星期三

HTC Gains Access to Microsoft Patents

HTC Gains Access to Microsoft Patents



Cellphone maker HTC Corp. signed a licensing deal to use Microsoft Corp.'s patents in handsets powered by Google Inc.'s Android software, as another big rival steps up legal pressure on Google in the mobile business.

Microsoft believes Android infringes on a range of the company's patents covering user interfaces and other aspects of mobile operating systems. Under the deal, HTC of Taiwan will pay Microsoft an undisclosed amount to use the software giant's intellectual property in phones running Android.

"We have consistently taken a proactive approach to licensing to resolve IP infringement by other companies, and have been talking with several device manufacturers to address our concerns relative to the Android mobile platform," Horacio Gutierrez, deputy general counsel of intellectual property and licensing for Microsoft, said in a statement.

A spokesman for Google declined to comment.

The Microsoft deal is another sign of the growing legal pressure competitors are putting on Google, a company that has seen impressive growth in its share of the mobile market in recent months. Apple Inc. has sued HTC over 20 hardware and software patents it alleges the handset maker is illegally using in its Android phones in what many see as an indirect attack on Google. HTC has said it will fight Apple's allegations.

"The big guys are using their patents to align their interest and stake their claims in the marketplace," said Mark Kesslen, an intellectual property lawyer for Lowenstein Sandler PC.

An HTC spokeswoman said the company "licenses technology from a variety of companies as a standard practice" in the mobile industry. "This is no different," she said.

The share of Android-based smartphones in use by U.S. consumers leapt to 9% in February from 4% in November, according to comScore Inc. Apple's iPhone remained nearly flat during that period at 25% of the market, while phones using Microsoft software fell to 15% in February from 19% in November.

While HTC makes Android phones, it's also one of Microsoft's most important mobile partners. HTC is expected to be an important handset partner for Microsoft as it seeks to turnaround its mobile business with the launch of a new operating system, Windows Phone 7, this holiday season.

HTC manufactures the high-profile Google phone, dubbed Nexus One, and is also behind other Android devices like Sprint Nextel Corp.'s Evo and the recently announced Droid Incredible, which many consider Verizon Wireless's latest flagship device. Verizon Wireless is jointly owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC.

2010年4月16日 星期五

The goats are baaaahk!

2010年4月16日星期五

The goats are baaaahk!


Jack McKenna
TechCrunch.com
Thursday, April 15, 2010; 4:19 PM

Google is bringing the goats back this year to keep the grass cut and to provide an excellent opportunity to show that they care about the environment. We made fun of them last year, and even tried to get PETA all riled up about goat's rights. Mostly because it seems the transportation and feeding of the goats sort of offsets the carbon savings from mowing the lawn, making this all a big PR stunt. But MG managed to get three posts out of it, including video with the goats. Sadly he's currently on vacation in Japan, so this will likely conclude our breaking Google goat coverage until next year. Our only hope is that Google eventually genetically engineers the goats to be all black in honor of Earth Day.

The goats are baaaahk!

4/15/2010 04:29:00 PM
Last year, in our quest to minimize our carbon footprint (and keep people on their toes), we turned to an unlikely solution for mowing an overgrown field: goats. More than 200 goats from California Grazing have once again arrived at our Mountain View headquarters where they’ll stay for over a week chomping away on grassy goodness. The cost of bringing in the goats is comparable to hiring lawn mowers for the same job and the green benefits are clear: the goats eliminate mower emissions, reduce noise pollution, restore plant species and fertilize while grazing.

Don’t worry, we’re not going to be in the business of chèvre anytime soon, but in the meantime we’re having a lot of fun watching our new colleagues.

2010年4月10日 星期六

409 2010

yy 拿到一套兩冊胡適逝世紀念的史語所專刊 真有紀念價值

參加Michael 的出巡 (反正 是看到胡女士的 信息"......根據氣象預報
明天氣溫回升放晴
我已委請維昭組「青春正妹團」
周六下午
推輪椅帶麥克兄去附近的玉成公園小小遠足
晒晒太陽,嗅聞青草和泥土的氣味……"
參加者除劉黎兒大作家和大政論家林濁水等等 充滿活力
我只要是要跟Michael 說 出院 好好寫鄭南榕傳的劇本
還要說 日本那千冊千夜的同行 以前是在醫院弄他的第1053夜
不過 採取完全放空也好
(20人之中 一家族佔4人 5歲的小妹妹獻上她水果便當 據Micro說 因為比院內食物更spicy 所以他胃口難得小開 他家還請大家吃雜糧味的米香--真不好意思 忘掉名字
我們還聽台大四年級的某君報告檳榔西施 "過肩摔"的新聞分析.........)

有機會參加李敏勇先生的新書發表 在誠品信義店 上次來時是數年前新開幕
我到場已滿座 立聽李師人引他最敬愛的Joseph Brodsky (JB/1940–1996)
詩人要干預政治 直到政府不干預文壇
他又說
I. Berlin 同意JB的說法 有些知識是詩人可以貢獻的


會場隔壁就是現代文學 有本台灣小說史論
購書環境的確不錯 不過我沒什欲望買書

網誌存檔