WiFi Hotspot Operators Beware of Patent Lawsuits
"Wi-Fi hotspot operators must pay $1,000 a year, or face a lawsuit from a patent enforcement firm.
"Acacia Technologies Group says it is enforcing a patent it says covers the methods that wireless ISPs, WLAN aggregators and other Wi-Fi networks use to redirect users to a common login Web page. The company claims it owns the technology behind gateway page redirection.
"The Newport Beach, Calif.-based company is sending out information packets to Wi-Fi operators informing them of the patent claim and including a licensing agreement. Companies have 30 days to ask questions, sign the licensing pact, or prove to Acacia that the wireless operator is not infringing the patent."
Ed Sutherland. Hotspot Operators Face Patent Lawsuits. InternetNews.com. Oct. 8, 2004.
See also:
Nancy Gohring. Hotspot Operators Face New Patent Fee Demand. WiFi Networking News. Oct. 5, 2004.
Google Announces New Book Search Service
"Google has quietly launched a new search technology to help publishers sell books online, a fast-growing market dominated by Internet retailer Amazon.com.
"Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin will host a press conference on Thursday to demonstrate the technology at the Frankfurt Book Fair, an important showcase if the Internet search engine is to recruit the heavyweights of the book publishing industry.
"The new service, dubbed Google Print, will be incorporated into Google search queries. From launch, users will see book excerpts alongside ordinary Google Web page search results. The book excerpts will carry a link to buy the book from a choice of online book retailers."
Jeffrey Goldfarb. Google Launches Amazon-Style Book Search Business. Reuters. Oct 6, 2004.
See also:
Danny Sullivan. Google Print Opens Widely to Publishers. SearchEngineWatch. Oct. 6, 2004.
Associated Press. Google Expands Book Search, Making More Content Available. San Jose Mercury News. Oct. 6, 2004.
Keith Regan. Search Wars: Google, Snap, Amazon Arm for Battle. E-Commerce Times. Oct. 6, 2004.
Microsoft CEO Claims iPod Music is Stolen
"It’s official. All iPod users are music thieves – according to Microsoft CEO Steve ‘Monkey Boy‘ Ballmer.
"The most common format of music on an iPod is ‘stolen’," he told reporters in London today, according to a Silicon.com report.
"Ballmer conveniently ignores not only that there are many non-Apple music players out there, on which there are probably as many, if not more ‘stolen’ songs."
Tony Smith. Most Songs on iPods ‘Stolen’ – Microsoft CEO. The Register. Oct. 4, 2004.
See also:
John Lettice. iPod Owners Very Honest, Not Thieves At All, says MS. The Register. Oct. 8, 2004.
Could CALEA Extend to the Internet?
"The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) was passed in 1994 to make it easier for the feds to listen in to everyone’s phone calls. The law forced phone companies to design their digital networks with special backdoors for government surveillance.
"There was a single saving grace – CALEA did not apply to the Internet.
But now, all of that could change. Under pressure from the Department of Justice (DoJ) and federal law enforcement, the FCC is gathering comments on a proposal to expand CALEA to cover broadband Internet access providers and Voice over IP (VoIP) telephony companies."
Electronic Frontier Foundation. A Government-Mandated Backdoor For Every Network. Deep Links. Oct. 6, 2004.
Washington State Launches America�s First Government Digital Archives
"Yesterday, Washington state made 2.4 million records available online – many for the first time – as part of what officials said was a crusade to rescue endangered history.
"The state now has an online archive of records, including birth, marriage, death, census and military information, free for anyone to see from a personal computer.
"This is the stuff of government,’ said Secretary of State Sam Reed, who led the project. ‘This is what makes it work. People need to have access to it.’
"Known as the Washington State Digital Archives, the government project is online at: www.digitalarchives.wa.gov."
Kim Peterson. State’s Online Archive Rescues Records From History’s Dustbin. Seattle Times. Oct. 5, 2004.
See also:
Washington Secretary of State. Secretary of State, Microsoft, EDS Rescue Endangered History. Oct. 4, 2004.
Record Industry Using Net to Extend Reach
"When R.E.M.’s ‘New Adventures in Hi-Fi’ was released, music buyers yawned — it was the start of a steady decline in U.S. album sales for R.E.M. as hip-hoppers and pop divas eclipsed the band.
"The record industry itself didn’t do much better, as sales overall shrank from its halcyon days of routine multi-platinum hits. Record labels are quick to blame Internet piracy; many fans point to high CD prices instead.
"In 2004, both R.E.M. and the record industry are turning to the Internet to reverse their fortunes.
"Today, the band releases its 13th major album, ‘Around the Sun’ — but for hundreds of thousands of fans, there’s no suspense. They’ve already listened to the entire album for free on the Internet over the past two weeks, and with the band’s label’s encouragement."
Frank Ahrens. Record Labels Aim for Net, Hope to Score. WashingtonPost.com. Oct. 5, 2004.
(Editor�s Note: The Post allows free access to their stories on the Web for 14 days before sending the stories to the paper�s fee-based Archives.)
Sony Ericsson Predicts Slow Growth for Mobile Devices
"Japanese-Swedish mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson said on Tuesday it expects slower growth in the global handset market next year.
"Replacement sales in rich markets, which has powered the market this year as consumers are trading in their old phones for new models with color screens and built-in cameras, may not be such a major force next year, said Miles Flint, president of the three-year-old joint venture between Sony and Ericsson.
"The phone market will be dominated by current models, although 2005 will be the first year of volume sales of handsets that can work on third generation (3G) networks, for fast multimedia services like video telephony and song downloads."
Santosh Menon. INTERVIEW: Sony Ericsson Chief Sees Slower Growth. Reuters. Oct. 5, 2004.
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