Apple Sued Over iPad Patent Infringement

By Dan Hope, TechNewsDaily Staff Writer 

With the public release of the Apple iPad looming, Elan Microelectronics, a Taiwanese chipmaker, is suing Apple, claiming many Apple products infringe on its multitouch patents. 

Elan has asked the International Trade Commission (ITC) to ban imports of the iPhone, iPod Touch, MacBook, Magic Mouse and even the yet-to-be-released iPad.

"We have taken the step of filing the ITC complaint as a continuation of our efforts to enforce our patent rights against Apple's ongoing infringement. A proceeding in the ITC offers a quick and effective way for Elan to enforce its patent," the company said in a statement.

Elan says it owns patents covering "touch-sensitive input devices with the ability to detect the simultaneous presence of two or more fingers," which is exactly what these Apple products do. Apple has not released a formal response to the lawsuit yet.

This isn't the first time Elan has sued over its mutltitouch patent. Two years ago it sued Synaptics in a similar case. Synaptics ended up entering a licensing deal with Elan, but it's not a foregone conclusion that Apple will do the same thing since Apple is no stranger to prolonged legal battles.

There is also an element of irony in Apple being sued for multitouch patent infringement because the company recently brought a similar suit against smartphone maker HTC. Apple said HTC phones with the Android operating system infringed on over 20 Apple patents, including some that had to do with multitouch interfaces.
The lawsuit won't affect sales of pre-ordered iPads slated to go on sale this Saturday, many of which have already shipped.

Source:  http://newscri.be/link/1058559

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Better media links help China, India

BEIJING - Strengthened media cooperation between India and China will help improve understanding and promote more beneficial bilateral ties between the two countries, officials from both sides proposed on Tuesday. 

"China and India are enjoying a relationship which is deepening and broadening," S. Jaishankar, the Indian ambassador to China, said at the 2010 India-China Development Forum in Beijing. Jaishankar noted in his speech that both nations had witnessed some controversial and negative media coverage about each other last year, but said it was "no use blaming each other". 

Jaishankar proposed a shift in China's focus from various media debates in India to the evaluation of the result brought about by these voices. 

"Our media coverage will be more positive if we promote our relationship, and of course, a more efficient interpretation and dialogue is needed for such progress." Wang Chen, minister of the State Council Information Office, also noted the importance of the media, as direct communication between the two peoples was limited. 

"China and India together account for almost half of the world's populationmore intensified media coverage by both countries about our progress and efforts is much needed," he said. Wang proposed that both countries report in a more positive and all-round manner, as well as cover mutual achievements. 

"We hope the media will become the window of understanding for both sides," Wang said. 

"Although both Chinese and Indian media have made great strides in recent years, the Western media still had the upper hand. China and India get to know each other through Western media outlets such as CNN and BBC, which somehow lead to misunderstanding. The media cooperation should be enhanced between the two countries." A media cooperation committee was also proposed during the forum. 

Zeng Jianhua, executive director of the Department of Asian, African and Latin American Affairs at the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs said such a panel would help China and India put aside differences due to their different political and cultural backgrounds, and seek a common ground for mutual development.

By Hu Haiyan and Ai Yang (China Daily)  Updated: 2010-03-31 07:48

Source: http://newscri.be/link/1058551

Greenpeace: Cloud Computing Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Triple

BY Ariel Schwartz

As cloud computing-fueled devices like the iPad grow in popularity, so will associated greenhouse gas emissions, according to Greenpeace's "Make IT Green" report. The report, which dubs 2010 the Year of the Cloud, offers up a disturbing statistic: Cloud computing greenhouse gas emissions will triple by 2020.

The increase in emissions makes sense. As we increasingly rely on the cloud to store our movies, music, and documents, cloud providers will continue to build more data centers--many of which are powered by coal. Facebook, for example, recently announced that is building a data center in Oregon that will be powered mostly by coal-fired power stations, much to the chagrin of groups like Greenpeace.

The solution to the cloud computing problem is fairly obvious. Greenpeace explains in its report, "Companies like Facebook, Google, and other large players in the cloud computing market must advocate for policy change at the local, national, and international levels to ensure that, as their appetite for energy increases, so does the supply of renewable energy." As we've noted before, companies like IBM, Google, and HP have already begun to make strides in cutting data center energy use. But there is still plenty of work to be done--as it stands, the cloud will use 1,963.74 billion kilowatt hours of electricity by 2020.

Source: http://newscri.be/link/1058493