Tech Roundup: Nov 11, 2012

A 'quietly brilliant' move

Enemy's enemy is my friend:

Apple and Samsung might be fighting all over but in a surprise strategic move, Apple and Taiwanese manufacturer HTC have struck a global settlement of their patent disputes under a 10-year patent licensing deal. The agreement covers both current and future patents held by each company.

The Taiwanese handset maker is already struggling to compete against Apple and Samsung and continuing the legal battle can only harm its financial prospects in the long run. For Apple, a win over HTC in the courts may not be a big one like Samsung as the former has lesser sales numbers and its devices bear no obvious similarities with Apple's iconic designs. In a win-win situation, HTC now has the immunity which Samsung lacks and Apple can set its sights firmly on the Korean manufacturer!

Maths can be physically painful:

Have you ever felt learning Maths to be difficult? Is solving Calculus giving you headaches? If so, this Canadian study can prove insightful. Researchers have found that anxiety about the subject can trigger certain regions in the brain associated with physical pain such as a stomach ache. Read the full story from Wired here.

Hello, interplanetary internet:

NASA and European Space Agency have come up with a new communication protocol called Disruption-Tolerant Networking that could possibly allow contact with astronauts stationed in other planets. In a test drive conducted late last month, ISS Commander Sunita Williams used this mechanism to control a rover in Germany. "The DTN is similar to the internet on Earth, but is much more tolerant to the delays and disruptions that are likely to occur when data is shuttling between planets, satellites, space stations and distant spacecraft. The delays can be due to solar storms or when spacecraft are behind a planet," reports the BBC.

Apple's apology fiasco:

No one would have thought a ruling by the UK court asking Apple to put up a simple notice (or ad) on its UK website that the Samsung Galaxy Tab hadn't infringed on Apple's design patents could turn out to be a gigantic failure. After redactions and Reddit users complaining the 'apology link' of being hidden from direct view, the UK court has ordered Apple to pay all the legal expenses incurred by Samsung for putting up misleading ads related to the lawsuit. Had Apple been large-minded enough to graciously accept the court order, this blunder could have been easily averted.

FLA soft on Apple and Foxconn?

While Foxconn has admitted that it's struggling to meet the tough demands of iPhone 5, the company and Apple along with Fair Labor Organization has come under harsh criticism from Economic Policy Institute. The EPI has stated that the work conditions at Foxconn is far from satisfactory and that it continues to hold back pay and push employees to work long hours. This contrasts with an investigation by Fair Labor Organization back in August which revealed that Foxconn was making progress with respect to its worker practices. EPI further notes that while this may have been the case during their assessment period, these improved practices were not continued when iPhone 5 production was ramped up to meet customer demands. "The paramount issue remains whether Apple will ever choose to apply its legendary business prowess and spirit of innovation, and its enormous financial clout, to the goal of protecting the basic human rights of the people who make those products," the EPI report reads.

Google's Nexus 7 is in India:

Asus has finally announced the availability of Nexus 7 in India. The cheap Android tablet is however not so cheap in India and is priced at Rs. 19,999 against the original price of Rs. 11,000 ($199) in the US. The question now is whether people in India would buy the tablet given the fact that the iPad mini could be priced at about a similar price range (it can at max be sold at the price of iPad 2, not more than that). But since the mini is not yet officially launched, Nexus 7 is sure to get some early adopters.

Apple iPad mini with er.. Retina Display:

Ever since Apple iPad mini went sale, one thing that was on many a people's mind was its first weekend sales numbers and as expected, Apple has confirmed that it has sold 3 million iPads (both mini and the new new iPad or the iPad 4 for clarity sake!). While most of the 3 million is expected to be the iPad minis, there is already a new rumor doing the rounds. Chinese display maker AUO seems to be working on a 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution display for the next iPad Mini. Yes, that would be the iPad mini with Retina Display. With the mini flanked by Retina Display devices (the iPhone 5 and the iPad) on either sides, the move was obvious from the beginning. But still it's just a rumor. Still!

What goes around comes around:

VirnetX has all the reasons to smile. It has after all managed to score a major win against Apple over a patent infringement suit concerning FaceTime. The US court found Apple to violating all the four patents in question and has ordered the company to pay $368 million in damages to VirnetX. But that's apparently not the end of the story. Buoyed by the win, the patent firm has filed a fresh case of patent infringement over the same patents but including the iPhone 5, iPad mini and the iPad 4 in its lawsuit this time around. It has also sought a permanent injunction on the said devices due to the alleged infringement. Apple in the meanwhile has asked for a re-examination of the four patents with the US Patent Office.

In another setback for Apple, a US Judge has dismissed Apple's lawsuit against Motorola over unfair licensing practices. According to Apple (and Microsoft), Google-run Motorola is demanding too high a royalty for using its standard-essential patents. The case now being dismissed, Google has welcomed the ruling, adding Motorola has long offered licensing at reasonable rates.

When rectangles can be patented:

During the US Apple-Samsung trial, Apple extensively used the trade dress claims to secure a major win against Samsung. Now that won't be necessary thanks to the US Patent Office, which has handed Cupertino a new patent (D670,286) for a rectangular device with rectangular corners. There's no doubt that Apple is beefing up its patent portfolio and let's wait and watch if we get to see this patent being used in its upcoming legal skirmishes.

In other news:

• Samsung Galaxy S III ousts iPhone 4S to become the top selling smartphone for Q3 2012.
• Apple pays $21 million to Swiss national rail operator SBB for lifting its iconic clockface design.
• Android is five years old; Ice Cream Sandwich on 25% of devices, Jelly Bean captures 3%.
• Windows 8 and RT to receive first critical security patches this Tuesday, alongside Windows XP, Vista and 7.
• Windows Phone 8 is the safest mobile platform for businesses, reports F-Secure.
• Apple loses $130 billion of its market value as its share price hits 5-month low.
• Facebook rumored to be testing reply to comments feature.
• Samsung Galaxy S III Jelly Bean update now rolling out in India.
• Google services temporarily suspended in China for around 12 hours.
• Apple iPhone 5 and fifth generation iPod Touch reportedly suffering from diagonal touch recognition issues, reports Recombu and iMore.
• Yahoo! testing a Windows tiles like home page redesign, reports AllThingsD.
• Rovio announces Angry Birds Star Wars for Android, iOS and Windows Phone; reaches #1 in US iTunes App Store within 2.5 hours.
• Microsoft Surface users report Touch Cover and audio issues; company offers free replacement.
• Wikipedia now allows registered users to upload videos.
• Google launches Free Zone in developing countries; allows access to Google Search, Gmail, and Google+ from mobile devices for free.
• China manufacturer Lenovo officially becomes the top PC maker; snatches the top spot from HP.
• MasterCard announces new credit cards with LCD screen and built-in keyboard in Singapore.
• Google's market share in the UK slips below 90% for the first time; Bing on the rise.
• Apple iTunes App store gets support for Siri.
• Macmillan English Dictionary follows the footsteps of Britannica; to go completely online.
• Instagram no longer restricted by its apps; launches web profiles for users.
• Google Chrome 23 updated to include Do Not Track feature.
• Microsoft Office suite headed to iOS and Android early next year, reports The Verge.
• President elect Barack Obama's victory tweet sparks Twitter frenzy; gets 800,000+ retweets.
• Microsoft to retire Live Messenger in favor of Skype.
• Apple's tablet share down to 50%; Samsung and Asus gain big on Galaxy Note 10.1 and Nexus 7 sales.
• Alarm clock tops the list of indispensable gizmos.
• Twitter suffers a security breach; apologizes for resetting passwords of user accounts more than necessary.

Tech Roundup is a weekly recurring feature on the latest trends in Technology.