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OCTOBER |
Newsletter |
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Issue
47 |
Included in this months issue:
Microsoft Overturn Word Sale Ban
New Microprocessor Runs On Thin Air
There's no shortage of ways to perform calculations without a standard electronic computer. But the latest in a long line of weird computers runs calculations on nothing more than air.
The complicated nest of channels and valves (see image) made by Minsoung Rhee and Mark Burns at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, processes binary signals by sucking air out of tubes to represent a 0, or letting it back in to represent a 1.
A chain of such 1s and 0s flows through the processor's channels, with pneumatic valves controlling the flow of the signals between channels.
By Colin Barras
Microsoft Overturn Word Sale Ban
Microsoft has overturned a ban on it selling its flagship Word software, imposed after a patent dispute.
The block was imposed by a Texan court following a ruling that its use of formatting language XML in Word 2003 and 2007 infringed patents.
Under the ruling Microsoft was ordered to pay Canadian patent owner i4i $290m (£177m) damages and also told to stop sales of the relevant versions of Word.
The ban on sales was due to come in to force in mid-October.
Taken from BBC Technology News
UK Music Videos Back On YouTube
YouTube has struck a deal with the Performing Rights Society (PRS) to re-enable viewing of premium videos in the UK.
Under pressure from the music industry, YouTube attempted to remove copyrighted material from its UK servers six months ago, with limited success.
The PRS, which represents music creators and performers and makes sure they get paid whenever their music is played in clubs, pubs and shopping centres, has secured an undisclosed sum thought to be in the tens of millons of pounds to keep Paul McCartney in gold-plated lawn furniture until 2012.
Taken from V3.co.uk
Samsung Hopes To Launch OLED Laptops Next Year
Samsung is hoping to launch OLED-equipped laptops by the third quarter of next year. According the company's head of worldwide sales and marketing, Kyu Uhm, Samsung is the largest OLED screen manufacturer. Uhm added that Samsung will adopt OLED displays as soon as they are commercially available for laptops.
By Matthew DeCarlo
Consumers to Spend Big on TVs And Smartphones
Even a global recession can't come between Americans and the high-tech gadgets they love. Consumers of all ages and family situations are purchasing high-definition TVs, network gear, and smartphones at a breakneck pace, according to a study released on Sept. 2.
Already, half of U.S. adults are gamers; almost three-quarters of American households have a broadband Internet connection; and nearly half of those households own an HDTV, with 10 million units sold in 2008, according to the report by Forrester (FORR). Over the next five years, nearly 39 million additional U.S. households are expected to be in the market for their first high-definition set, and more than 30 million homes will add network connectivity, Forrester says, based on mail-in surveys from nearly 48,000 U.S. and Canadian households.
By Cliff Edwards
Indian Outsourcing Market Picks Up
Indian outsourcers are starting to hire again on a major scale, in a sign that the IT downturn may have passed.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said that it plans to hire 25,000 people this year, acknowledging the end of a slowdown for Indian outsourcers that started with the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September.
Taken from V3.co.uk
Fly-By-Wireless Set For Take-Off
Shedding pounds isn't just a preoccupation of dieters, it is a prime concern for aircraft builders too. In a bid to cut weight to the minimum they are considering the controversial move of getting rid of the huge quantity of copper wiring used in modern planes and replacing it with a series of wireless networks.
Users of Wi-Fi may be forgiven for wondering if this is wise. Reliability is not one of the defining characteristics of existing wireless networks, so employing them to operate a plane's flight systems might seem a little risky. But if they can be made robust, such "fly-by-wireless" networks have the potential to improve reliability and possibly even make flying a little less environmentally damaging.
By Duncan Graham-Rowe
EBay's Skype Sale Looks Like a Win-Win
EBay Chief Executive Officer John Donahoe says there's no downside to his company's plan to sell most of its Skype division. "EBay was able to have its cake and eat it, too," he says.
So far, he's not getting much argument. In a deal announced Sept. 1, eBay (EBAY) will sell a controlling share of the Internet-calling service to a group of investors led by private equity firm Silver Lake for $1.9 billion in cash and $125 million in short-term debt. The sale values Skype at $2.75 billion, not far below the price eBay paid for the business in 2005, and higher than the value recently placed on Skype by some Wall Street analysts.
By Douglas MacMillan
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