The Court of Appeal in The Hague has ruled that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is sufficiently different from Apple's European design patent that the tablet can remain on sale in the Netherlands.
Samsung welcomed Tuesday's ruling, which affirmed an August 2011 ruling that the design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is distinctive and does not infringe Apple's intellectual property rights, a spokesman said via email. The ruling again demonstrates that Apple's products simply do not warrant the intellectual property protections that it believes they should have, he added.
One of Apple's core legal claims against Samsung is that its rival copied the design of Apple's products. Apple has argued that it's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging.
Getting courts to agree with that has been difficult for Apple. After early Apple victories in Germany and Australia, Samsung tablets have become available in both countries.
But the patent battle between the two companies continues. Last week, the district court in Mannheim, Germany, decided that Apple did not infringe on a patent asserted by Samsung against the iPhone and iPad.
Also, Apple last week filed a new lawsuit in Düsseldorf, Germany, aimed at 10 models in Samsung's Galaxy family of smartphones.
Apple didn't respond to questions about Tuesday's ruling.
Samsung welcomed Tuesday's ruling, which affirmed an August 2011 ruling that the design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is distinctive and does not infringe Apple's intellectual property rights, a spokesman said via email. The ruling again demonstrates that Apple's products simply do not warrant the intellectual property protections that it believes they should have, he added.
One of Apple's core legal claims against Samsung is that its rival copied the design of Apple's products. Apple has argued that it's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging.
Getting courts to agree with that has been difficult for Apple. After early Apple victories in Germany and Australia, Samsung tablets have become available in both countries.
But the patent battle between the two companies continues. Last week, the district court in Mannheim, Germany, decided that Apple did not infringe on a patent asserted by Samsung against the iPhone and iPad.
Also, Apple last week filed a new lawsuit in Düsseldorf, Germany, aimed at 10 models in Samsung's Galaxy family of smartphones.
Apple didn't respond to questions about Tuesday's ruling.
The world's largest social network Facebook has some bad news for you: in the coming days, you won't have that option any longer to shun Timeline.
Facebook announced in a blog post today that Timeline will be brought to all of the social network's 800 million users "over the next few weeks." Upon getting Timeline, users will have seven days to preview what's populated before it's automatically pushed live. Users that edit what they want people to see before that seven-day window can push the feature live sooner.
Facebook introduced Timeline at its F8 conference in September. The update is a dramatic departure from current user profiles, and includes all items a person has shared on the social network since they joined. At his company's F8 conference, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the feature is "a way to tell all the important stories from your life on a single page."
Aside from displaying a prominent "cover photo" at the top of the user's profile and basic information below it, Timeline has a right sidebar listing years in chronological order that users can click on to see what others have shared on the site. Timeline also includes a map for people to input where they've been around the world.
So, why is Timeline suddenly a mandatory feature? It's all about timing.
Last week, the company announced the launch of additional Open Graph applications, which combine the "actions" users engage in both on the world's largest social network and off, into a single spot in their Open Graph. So, if a user is listening to a song, watching a television show, or reading a news article across the Web, it can be shared on Facebook for friends to see. Those friends can then join in and do the same. At F8, Zuckerberg said that the idea could create "a completely new class of social apps than what was ever possible before."
Facebook announced in a blog post today that Timeline will be brought to all of the social network's 800 million users "over the next few weeks." Upon getting Timeline, users will have seven days to preview what's populated before it's automatically pushed live. Users that edit what they want people to see before that seven-day window can push the feature live sooner.
Facebook introduced Timeline at its F8 conference in September. The update is a dramatic departure from current user profiles, and includes all items a person has shared on the social network since they joined. At his company's F8 conference, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the feature is "a way to tell all the important stories from your life on a single page."
Aside from displaying a prominent "cover photo" at the top of the user's profile and basic information below it, Timeline has a right sidebar listing years in chronological order that users can click on to see what others have shared on the site. Timeline also includes a map for people to input where they've been around the world.
So, why is Timeline suddenly a mandatory feature? It's all about timing.
Last week, the company announced the launch of additional Open Graph applications, which combine the "actions" users engage in both on the world's largest social network and off, into a single spot in their Open Graph. So, if a user is listening to a song, watching a television show, or reading a news article across the Web, it can be shared on Facebook for friends to see. Those friends can then join in and do the same. At F8, Zuckerberg said that the idea could create "a completely new class of social apps than what was ever possible before."
Yahoo dangled a $27 million pay package to lure its newly hired CEO Scott Thompson away from PayPal.
The struggling Internet company disclosed the details of Thompson's compensation in a regulatory filing late Friday. Thompson starts his new job after spending the past four years running eBay Inc's PayPal service, where revenue more than doubled during his tenure. PayPal took in an estimated $4.4 billion last year.
That kind of robust growth is a fuzzy memory for Yahoo Inc, a one-time internet star whose revenue has sagged as online advertising flowed increasingly to rivals Google Inc and Facebook.
Yahoo has promised better times under three new CEOs in less than five years, only to frustrate investors each time. They've been especially disenchanted since the company squandered an opportunity to sell itself to Microsoft Corp for $47.5 billion, or $33 per share, in May 2008. The stock hasn't traded above $20 in more than three years, with the shares closing Friday at $15.52. The last time it closed above $33 was 2006.
Thompson, 54, is highly regarded in internet circles, although some analysts question whether he is the right fit for Yahoo because he has no experience in online content or advertising, the company's financial lifeblood.
Yahoo offered Thompson a deal that includes a $1 million salary and a bonus of up to $2 million this year. Yahoo is guaranteeing to pay him $1 million of the bonus; the remaining $1 million will hinge on Yahoo's financial results this year.
Thompson also will receive stock incentives valued at $22.5 million. The stock awards could be worth more or less, depending how Yahoo's long-slumping shares fare under Thompson's leadership.
To top it off, Yahoo is paying Thompson $1.5 million to offset money he forfeited by leaving PayPal. A $6.5 million chunk of the stock awards are also meant to offset some of the compensation Thompson would have gotten at PayPal, according to the filing.
Thompson received a $10.4 million compensation package at PayPal in 2010. It included a $645,000 salary. EBay hasn't yet revealed how much it paid Thompson last year.
Unless more money and stock is added later in the year, Yahoo won't be paying Thompson as much as his predecessor, Carol Bartz, who was hired three years ago and fired four months ago. Tim Morse, Yahoo's chief financial officer, had been running Yahoo since Bartz's ouster.
Bartz's compensation package during her first year on the job was valued at $47.2 million. Much of that, though, included stock incentives that haven't become as valuable as the original calculations envisioned because the company's shares remained in a funk during Bartz's regime. Bartz's salary was $1 million, like Thompson's.
Now that Yahoo has a new CEO, it may be looking to replace some of the directors on its 10-member board to placate unhappy shareholders. The company, which is based in Sunnyvale, California, has hired the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. to hunt for possible replacements, according to a story published Friday on The Wall Street Journal's website. The story quoted unnamed people familiar with the matter.
Much of the shareholder anger has been aimed at Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and co-founder Jerry Yang, who both played central roles in rebuffing Microsoft's takeover attempt. The Journal's story didn't identify which Yahoo board members might be replaced.
The struggling Internet company disclosed the details of Thompson's compensation in a regulatory filing late Friday. Thompson starts his new job after spending the past four years running eBay Inc's PayPal service, where revenue more than doubled during his tenure. PayPal took in an estimated $4.4 billion last year.
That kind of robust growth is a fuzzy memory for Yahoo Inc, a one-time internet star whose revenue has sagged as online advertising flowed increasingly to rivals Google Inc and Facebook.
Yahoo has promised better times under three new CEOs in less than five years, only to frustrate investors each time. They've been especially disenchanted since the company squandered an opportunity to sell itself to Microsoft Corp for $47.5 billion, or $33 per share, in May 2008. The stock hasn't traded above $20 in more than three years, with the shares closing Friday at $15.52. The last time it closed above $33 was 2006.
Thompson, 54, is highly regarded in internet circles, although some analysts question whether he is the right fit for Yahoo because he has no experience in online content or advertising, the company's financial lifeblood.
Yahoo offered Thompson a deal that includes a $1 million salary and a bonus of up to $2 million this year. Yahoo is guaranteeing to pay him $1 million of the bonus; the remaining $1 million will hinge on Yahoo's financial results this year.
Thompson also will receive stock incentives valued at $22.5 million. The stock awards could be worth more or less, depending how Yahoo's long-slumping shares fare under Thompson's leadership.
To top it off, Yahoo is paying Thompson $1.5 million to offset money he forfeited by leaving PayPal. A $6.5 million chunk of the stock awards are also meant to offset some of the compensation Thompson would have gotten at PayPal, according to the filing.
Thompson received a $10.4 million compensation package at PayPal in 2010. It included a $645,000 salary. EBay hasn't yet revealed how much it paid Thompson last year.
Unless more money and stock is added later in the year, Yahoo won't be paying Thompson as much as his predecessor, Carol Bartz, who was hired three years ago and fired four months ago. Tim Morse, Yahoo's chief financial officer, had been running Yahoo since Bartz's ouster.
Bartz's compensation package during her first year on the job was valued at $47.2 million. Much of that, though, included stock incentives that haven't become as valuable as the original calculations envisioned because the company's shares remained in a funk during Bartz's regime. Bartz's salary was $1 million, like Thompson's.
Now that Yahoo has a new CEO, it may be looking to replace some of the directors on its 10-member board to placate unhappy shareholders. The company, which is based in Sunnyvale, California, has hired the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. to hunt for possible replacements, according to a story published Friday on The Wall Street Journal's website. The story quoted unnamed people familiar with the matter.
Much of the shareholder anger has been aimed at Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and co-founder Jerry Yang, who both played central roles in rebuffing Microsoft's takeover attempt. The Journal's story didn't identify which Yahoo board members might be replaced.
Wipro Technologies, announced the launch of 'Wipro SprintHR', a cloud-based platform offering Oracle Fusion Human Capital Management (HCM) modules.
It is available as a SaaS (software-as-a-service) model and is designed to help enable enterprise customers transform their HR processes, Leveraging its strong relationship with Oracle and co-development experience on Oracle Fusion Applications, Wipro SprintHR helps significantly reduce cost and deployment timelines, claims Wipro official
Based on Wipro's rapid deployment framework for cloud applications, Wipro SprintHR is a productised service that helps customers configure the functional scope while deploying this solution, with little impact on business continuity, it said.
It is available as a SaaS (software-as-a-service) model and is designed to help enable enterprise customers transform their HR processes, Leveraging its strong relationship with Oracle and co-development experience on Oracle Fusion Applications, Wipro SprintHR helps significantly reduce cost and deployment timelines, claims Wipro official
Based on Wipro's rapid deployment framework for cloud applications, Wipro SprintHR is a productised service that helps customers configure the functional scope while deploying this solution, with little impact on business continuity, it said.
For the first time in recent years, the number of short-term US visas given to Indian professionals has declined, giving credence to complaints that America is making it difficult for software companies such as Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services to send employees to their biggest market.
Approvals for L-1 visas, on which Indian software companies rely to send their most skilled professionals on assignments to the United States, were 28% lower at 25,898 in 2011, data from an independent public policy think tank based in the US show. On the other hand, such visa approvals rose by 15% for applicants from the rest of the world, leading to concerns that India is singled out for attention.
"This shows an enormous gap in visas issued as well as approval/denial rates between posts in India and the rest of the world, raising policy questions as to whether this great disparity is the result of a conscious policy at US posts in India," the National Foundation for American Policy wrote in its report.
Most people in the software industry believe there is a deliberate policy of discrimination against Indians but they are wary of voicing their opinion publicly for fear of antagonising the American government.
About 25,000-35,000 Indians travel to the US every year to work on assignments for software companies. Up to 40% of work permits are usually under the L1 category meant for professionals with specialised skills such as project management.
India's $70-billion IT services sector is facing increased scrutiny from US immigration officials and other federal authorities, especially after an American employee of Infosys accused the company of abusing short-term work permits issued under B1 visa category to do software code writing.
The US has also doubled visa fees under the H1 and L1 categories that most Indian companies use. The Indian government has been urging the US, which accounts for more than half of Indian IT exports, to ease up on visa rejections but it does not appear to be making much headway.
Already facing an uncertain economic environment, companies such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro are now being forced to adopt technologies such as telepresence to compensate for the presence of an expert at the customer's site.
For Indian technology companies competing for contracts in the US, every visa denial counts, and can mean loss of business. An executive at a mid-sized company cited the example of a million-dollar short-term project which it lost to a local competitor because it was not able to get its employee an L-1 visa. The rival got the job done through an Indian expert based in the UK.
Approvals for L-1 visas, on which Indian software companies rely to send their most skilled professionals on assignments to the United States, were 28% lower at 25,898 in 2011, data from an independent public policy think tank based in the US show. On the other hand, such visa approvals rose by 15% for applicants from the rest of the world, leading to concerns that India is singled out for attention.
"This shows an enormous gap in visas issued as well as approval/denial rates between posts in India and the rest of the world, raising policy questions as to whether this great disparity is the result of a conscious policy at US posts in India," the National Foundation for American Policy wrote in its report.
Most people in the software industry believe there is a deliberate policy of discrimination against Indians but they are wary of voicing their opinion publicly for fear of antagonising the American government.
About 25,000-35,000 Indians travel to the US every year to work on assignments for software companies. Up to 40% of work permits are usually under the L1 category meant for professionals with specialised skills such as project management.
India's $70-billion IT services sector is facing increased scrutiny from US immigration officials and other federal authorities, especially after an American employee of Infosys accused the company of abusing short-term work permits issued under B1 visa category to do software code writing.
The US has also doubled visa fees under the H1 and L1 categories that most Indian companies use. The Indian government has been urging the US, which accounts for more than half of Indian IT exports, to ease up on visa rejections but it does not appear to be making much headway.
Already facing an uncertain economic environment, companies such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro are now being forced to adopt technologies such as telepresence to compensate for the presence of an expert at the customer's site.
For Indian technology companies competing for contracts in the US, every visa denial counts, and can mean loss of business. An executive at a mid-sized company cited the example of a million-dollar short-term project which it lost to a local competitor because it was not able to get its employee an L-1 visa. The rival got the job done through an Indian expert based in the UK.
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales on Monday asked school students to finish their homework early as he detailed the plan to shut down the website on Wednesday to protest against a controversial anti-piracy bill that the US senate is debating.
"Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday," Wales said on his Twitter page.
"I am just starting to do press interviews about the upcoming blackout of Wikipedia...This is going to be wow. I hope Wikipedia will melt phone systems in Washington on Wednesday. Tell everyone you know," he wrote. Wales said that visitors to the Wikipedia's English website will see a message telling them that the website has been shut for 24 hours to protest the anti-piracy laws called Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA).
For last few months there has been a fierce debate over SOPA in US. While organizations like Motion Picture Association of America believe that laws like SOPA, which has several drastic provisions, including blocking websites at DNS level, are needed to fight piracy, web companies like Google and Facebook say that SOPA will stifle innovation and hit freedom of speech.
Wales also said that ComScore estimates around 25 million people visit the English website of Wikipedia every day.
When Wikipedia shuts down, it will join tens of other websites that will shut down on Wednesday as part of their protest against SOPA. These include Reddit, a website housing an influential web community that curates news, Cheezburger network, a collection of websites that host immensely popular LOLcat memes, BoingBoing, a popular blog, Craiglist, Mozilla, Minecraft and several other websites related to video games. There are reports that Google and Facebook may join the blackout.
On Saturday, White House joined the debate saying that certain provisions of SOPA could harm the web. "Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small...We must avoid creating new cybersecurity risks or disrupting the underlying architecture of the Internet," said the note prepared by three senior officials, including Aneesh Chopra, the US chief technology officer. "Our analysis of the DNS filtering provisions in some proposed legislation suggests that they pose a real risk to cybersecurity and yet leave contraband goods and services accessible online."
Reports claim that after the White House made its stance clear, SOPA has put on hold by the US senate. But Wales said on Twitter that even if SOPA is dead, PIPA remains a threat. "SOPA is crippled now. PIPA is still extremely dangerous," he wrote.
"Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday," Wales said on his Twitter page.
"I am just starting to do press interviews about the upcoming blackout of Wikipedia...This is going to be wow. I hope Wikipedia will melt phone systems in Washington on Wednesday. Tell everyone you know," he wrote. Wales said that visitors to the Wikipedia's English website will see a message telling them that the website has been shut for 24 hours to protest the anti-piracy laws called Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA).
For last few months there has been a fierce debate over SOPA in US. While organizations like Motion Picture Association of America believe that laws like SOPA, which has several drastic provisions, including blocking websites at DNS level, are needed to fight piracy, web companies like Google and Facebook say that SOPA will stifle innovation and hit freedom of speech.
Wales also said that ComScore estimates around 25 million people visit the English website of Wikipedia every day.
When Wikipedia shuts down, it will join tens of other websites that will shut down on Wednesday as part of their protest against SOPA. These include Reddit, a website housing an influential web community that curates news, Cheezburger network, a collection of websites that host immensely popular LOLcat memes, BoingBoing, a popular blog, Craiglist, Mozilla, Minecraft and several other websites related to video games. There are reports that Google and Facebook may join the blackout.
On Saturday, White House joined the debate saying that certain provisions of SOPA could harm the web. "Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small...We must avoid creating new cybersecurity risks or disrupting the underlying architecture of the Internet," said the note prepared by three senior officials, including Aneesh Chopra, the US chief technology officer. "Our analysis of the DNS filtering provisions in some proposed legislation suggests that they pose a real risk to cybersecurity and yet leave contraband goods and services accessible online."
Reports claim that after the White House made its stance clear, SOPA has put on hold by the US senate. But Wales said on Twitter that even if SOPA is dead, PIPA remains a threat. "SOPA is crippled now. PIPA is still extremely dangerous," he wrote.
A hacker who goes by the name of 'Yama Tough' threatened on Saturday to release next week the full source code for Symantec Corp's (SYMC.O) flagship Norton Antivirus software.
"This coming Tuesday behold the full Norton Antivirus 1,7Gb src, the rest will follow," Yama Tough posted via Twitter.
In the past week Yama Tough has released fragments of source code from Symantec products along with a cache of emails. The hacker says all the data was taken from Indian government servers.
"This coming Tuesday behold the full Norton Antivirus 1,7Gb src, the rest will follow," Yama Tough posted via Twitter.
In the past week Yama Tough has released fragments of source code from Symantec products along with a cache of emails. The hacker says all the data was taken from Indian government servers.
Facebook wants you to listen to music with friends — even if you’re not in the same room.
The social network announced a new feature Thursday called “Listen With” that gives users a chatroom in which to share songs. They get to DJ the tunes they are streaming via services such as Spotify and Rdio.
Real-time sharing from such services was introduced with Open Graph in September. Users can already see in that chat sidebar what friends are listening to, and click on those songs to play them, but they don’t have the option to listen together in a unified virtual environment.
The new feature, as Facebook’s introductory blog post puts it, makes it so “when your favorite vocal part comes in you can experience it together, just like when you’re jamming out at a performance or dance club.”
The feature will start rolling out within the next few weeks. To use it, look for a music note in your chat sidebar. This shows who is listening to music. When you hover over someone’s name, you’ll see a “Listen with x” button that plays the song through whatever service your friend is using. When your friend chooses a new song, you’ll continue to hear what they hear.
Multiple people will be able to listen in on one friend’s music, and the entire group will be able chat together. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a lot like Turntable.fm without the avatars or the “awesome” button.
The social network announced a new feature Thursday called “Listen With” that gives users a chatroom in which to share songs. They get to DJ the tunes they are streaming via services such as Spotify and Rdio.
Real-time sharing from such services was introduced with Open Graph in September. Users can already see in that chat sidebar what friends are listening to, and click on those songs to play them, but they don’t have the option to listen together in a unified virtual environment.
The new feature, as Facebook’s introductory blog post puts it, makes it so “when your favorite vocal part comes in you can experience it together, just like when you’re jamming out at a performance or dance club.”
The feature will start rolling out within the next few weeks. To use it, look for a music note in your chat sidebar. This shows who is listening to music. When you hover over someone’s name, you’ll see a “Listen with x” button that plays the song through whatever service your friend is using. When your friend chooses a new song, you’ll continue to hear what they hear.
Multiple people will be able to listen in on one friend’s music, and the entire group will be able chat together. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a lot like Turntable.fm without the avatars or the “awesome” button.
Microsoft Corp Bing search engine now ranks second behind Google in the Internet's most lucrative market.
Bing and Microsoft's other websites fielded 2.75 billion search requests in the U.S. during December, catapulting in front of Yahoo Inc. for the first time in the jockeying for runner up to Google Inc., according to statistics released Wednesday by comScore Inc.
Analysts have expected Microsoft and Yahoo to flip-flop their positions in Internet search since they announced a partnership in July 2009. The 10-year agreement has enabled Yahoo to save money by relying on Microsoft to provide the bulk of its search technology.
Microsoft wanted the deal so it would have billions more search requests to analyze each year, giving it a better chance to learn about people's tendencies and preferences.
Pursuing Google has come at a huge cost for Microsoft, which still makes most of its money from the Windows operating software and other software it sells for personal computers. Microsoft's online division, which is anchored by Bing, has suffered operating losses of about $7 billion since June 2008.
Even though it leans heavily on Microsoft's technology, Yahoo hasn't totally abandoned search. It still offers some unique features within its results in hopes of persuading more people to search on its website instead of going directly to Bing. The main reason: Yahoo still gets 88 percent of the ad revenue from searches conducted on its website and receives nothing from queries entered on Bing
Bing and Microsoft's other websites fielded 2.75 billion search requests in the U.S. during December, catapulting in front of Yahoo Inc. for the first time in the jockeying for runner up to Google Inc., according to statistics released Wednesday by comScore Inc.
Analysts have expected Microsoft and Yahoo to flip-flop their positions in Internet search since they announced a partnership in July 2009. The 10-year agreement has enabled Yahoo to save money by relying on Microsoft to provide the bulk of its search technology.
Microsoft wanted the deal so it would have billions more search requests to analyze each year, giving it a better chance to learn about people's tendencies and preferences.
Pursuing Google has come at a huge cost for Microsoft, which still makes most of its money from the Windows operating software and other software it sells for personal computers. Microsoft's online division, which is anchored by Bing, has suffered operating losses of about $7 billion since June 2008.
Even though it leans heavily on Microsoft's technology, Yahoo hasn't totally abandoned search. It still offers some unique features within its results in hopes of persuading more people to search on its website instead of going directly to Bing. The main reason: Yahoo still gets 88 percent of the ad revenue from searches conducted on its website and receives nothing from queries entered on Bing
Public data released by NASA's Kepler mission allowed a team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena to identify three of the smallest planets ever detected that orbit a star beyond the Earth's sun.
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology used the data--combined with follow-up observations from the Palomar Observatory near San Diego and the W.M. Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii--to discover three planets that are 0.78, 0.73 and 0.57 times the radius of the Earth orbiting a single star called KOI-961.
The smallest of the three--called "exoplanets" because they orbit stars--is about the size of Mars, according to NASA.
The newly discovered planets take less than two Earth days to orbit around their star, a red dwarf with a diameter one-sixth of the Sun, making it 70% larger than Jupiter.
The verification of the three planets follows several notable discoveries for Kepler in the last two months. In December, the mission identified the first planet in the habitable zone of a star like the Sun, Kepler-22b, which is 2.4 times the size of the Earth.
Later that month, the Kepler team also unveiled the discovery of the first planets the size of Earth orbiting a sun-like star outside our solar system--Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f.
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology used the data--combined with follow-up observations from the Palomar Observatory near San Diego and the W.M. Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii--to discover three planets that are 0.78, 0.73 and 0.57 times the radius of the Earth orbiting a single star called KOI-961.
The smallest of the three--called "exoplanets" because they orbit stars--is about the size of Mars, according to NASA.
The newly discovered planets take less than two Earth days to orbit around their star, a red dwarf with a diameter one-sixth of the Sun, making it 70% larger than Jupiter.
The verification of the three planets follows several notable discoveries for Kepler in the last two months. In December, the mission identified the first planet in the habitable zone of a star like the Sun, Kepler-22b, which is 2.4 times the size of the Earth.
Later that month, the Kepler team also unveiled the discovery of the first planets the size of Earth orbiting a sun-like star outside our solar system--Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f.
Nokia declared war in the US smartphone market with a Microsoft-powered handset tailored to take on Apple iPhones and Google-backed Android devices.
Microsoft chief executive Steven Ballmer joined Nokia boss Stephen Elop to reveal the Finland-based mobile phone titan's plans to hit the US market in coming months, with a Lumia 900 smartphone designed for the media-gobbling habits.
The price and release date for Lumia 900 was not disclosed, but it will be offered exclusively on the latest generation 4G LTE network of US telecom giant AT&T.
Sporting a 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack display with a resolution of 480 x 800, Nokia Lumia 900 will come with 8 megapixel AF camera with Carl Zeiss optics, 720p video recording at 30fps and 1 megapixel front facing camera.
Powered by 1.4 GHz Scorpion processor, the phone will include 16GB internal memory and 512MB RAM. For connectivity, Lumia 900 will offer support for 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi, LTE, Bluetooth v4.0 and NFC.
Lumia 900 runs on Windows Phone 7.5 Mango mobile software and will tap into the growing trove of hip, fun, or functional mini-applications for handsets based on Microsoft's latest mobile software.
"We believe the industry has shifted from a battle of devices to a war of ecosystems," Elop said.
"Clearly there are strong contenders on the field in this war of ecosystems," he told a room packed with press on the eve of the opening of CES expo in Las Vegas.
"With Lumia, we are establishing beachheads in countries and we will push forward with sales, marketing and successive products."
Nokia in October introduced the Lumia line, which Elop described as the "first real Windows phones."
In a presentation loaded with war metaphors, Elop said that Nokia had used Lumia models to establish "beachheads" in Europe, India, and Hong Kong.
The company planned to start the US invasion on January 11 with a Lumia 710 model that will be priced at $49 when bought with T-Mobile service contracts.
"The work Nokia is doing around Windows phone and this third ecosystem is really going to pay off," Ballmer said, caressing a sleek Lumia 900 touchscreen handset.
"When you pick it up and love and touch and feel your Lumia," he continued making a playful 'mmmmm' sound that drew laughs, "it really is quite fantastic."
Microsoft chief executive Steven Ballmer joined Nokia boss Stephen Elop to reveal the Finland-based mobile phone titan's plans to hit the US market in coming months, with a Lumia 900 smartphone designed for the media-gobbling habits.
The price and release date for Lumia 900 was not disclosed, but it will be offered exclusively on the latest generation 4G LTE network of US telecom giant AT&T.
Sporting a 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack display with a resolution of 480 x 800, Nokia Lumia 900 will come with 8 megapixel AF camera with Carl Zeiss optics, 720p video recording at 30fps and 1 megapixel front facing camera.
Powered by 1.4 GHz Scorpion processor, the phone will include 16GB internal memory and 512MB RAM. For connectivity, Lumia 900 will offer support for 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi, LTE, Bluetooth v4.0 and NFC.
Lumia 900 runs on Windows Phone 7.5 Mango mobile software and will tap into the growing trove of hip, fun, or functional mini-applications for handsets based on Microsoft's latest mobile software.
"We believe the industry has shifted from a battle of devices to a war of ecosystems," Elop said.
"Clearly there are strong contenders on the field in this war of ecosystems," he told a room packed with press on the eve of the opening of CES expo in Las Vegas.
"With Lumia, we are establishing beachheads in countries and we will push forward with sales, marketing and successive products."
Nokia in October introduced the Lumia line, which Elop described as the "first real Windows phones."
In a presentation loaded with war metaphors, Elop said that Nokia had used Lumia models to establish "beachheads" in Europe, India, and Hong Kong.
The company planned to start the US invasion on January 11 with a Lumia 710 model that will be priced at $49 when bought with T-Mobile service contracts.
"The work Nokia is doing around Windows phone and this third ecosystem is really going to pay off," Ballmer said, caressing a sleek Lumia 900 touchscreen handset.
"When you pick it up and love and touch and feel your Lumia," he continued making a playful 'mmmmm' sound that drew laughs, "it really is quite fantastic."
Acer unveiled the world's thinnest laptop computer as an array of "ultrabook" rivals prepared to debut this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The Taiwan-based computer titan will begin shipping Acer Aspire 5 models in the second quarter of this year, with prices to be disclosed in coming weeks.
"That S5 is quite significant," analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies said after the Acer press event.
"It looks like the thinnest and lightest, and it sets the bar for the rest of the ultrabook vendors," he continued.
The Aspire S5 has a 34-cm (13.3-inch) screen and is 15 mm at its thickest point. The ultrabook weighs slightly less than 1.35 kg (three pounds).
"We are committed to evolving this technology," said Acer chief executive J.T. Wang. "By the second quarter of this year we will have four models of ultrabook and more to come."
Ultrabooks powered by Windows 8 will be released by Acer after Microsoft releases the new version of its computer operating system later this year, according to Wang.
He estimated that ultrabooks would make up at least 35 per cent of the Acer product line by the end of this year.
Since Aspire S5 is Windows based it is not likely to be a direct challenge to MacBook Air laptops, which have been winning converts to the sleek machines powered by Apple software, according to Bajarin.
"The real battle is not with Apple, it is with all the other vendors coming out with Windows ultrabooks," Bajarin said.
"Apple will still do great with MacBook Air, but in the Windows world it is great news that five years after Apple set the tone the industry is finally getting something equal," he continued.
Acer also announced plans to launch a free service that will let users of its computers store video, photos, music, and documents in the internet "cloud" and access files from any Windows 8 or Android software powered gadgets.
"We believe Microsoft will take care of Windows devices; Google will take care of Android devices, and Acer will take care of in between," Wang said.
"We will make Windows work very well with Android and other platforms too."
Bajarin described Aspire S5 as the first viable Windows equivalent of popular MacBook Air laptops built by California-based Apple.
Acer Cloud appeared to be a Windows version of the Apple's freshly-launched iCloud service that lets people access their content from iPads, iPhones, iPods, and Macintosh computers, according to the analyst.
The Taiwan-based computer titan will begin shipping Acer Aspire 5 models in the second quarter of this year, with prices to be disclosed in coming weeks.
"That S5 is quite significant," analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies said after the Acer press event.
"It looks like the thinnest and lightest, and it sets the bar for the rest of the ultrabook vendors," he continued.
The Aspire S5 has a 34-cm (13.3-inch) screen and is 15 mm at its thickest point. The ultrabook weighs slightly less than 1.35 kg (three pounds).
"We are committed to evolving this technology," said Acer chief executive J.T. Wang. "By the second quarter of this year we will have four models of ultrabook and more to come."
Ultrabooks powered by Windows 8 will be released by Acer after Microsoft releases the new version of its computer operating system later this year, according to Wang.
He estimated that ultrabooks would make up at least 35 per cent of the Acer product line by the end of this year.
Since Aspire S5 is Windows based it is not likely to be a direct challenge to MacBook Air laptops, which have been winning converts to the sleek machines powered by Apple software, according to Bajarin.
"The real battle is not with Apple, it is with all the other vendors coming out with Windows ultrabooks," Bajarin said.
"Apple will still do great with MacBook Air, but in the Windows world it is great news that five years after Apple set the tone the industry is finally getting something equal," he continued.
Acer also announced plans to launch a free service that will let users of its computers store video, photos, music, and documents in the internet "cloud" and access files from any Windows 8 or Android software powered gadgets.
"We believe Microsoft will take care of Windows devices; Google will take care of Android devices, and Acer will take care of in between," Wang said.
"We will make Windows work very well with Android and other platforms too."
Bajarin described Aspire S5 as the first viable Windows equivalent of popular MacBook Air laptops built by California-based Apple.
Acer Cloud appeared to be a Windows version of the Apple's freshly-launched iCloud service that lets people access their content from iPads, iPhones, iPods, and Macintosh computers, according to the analyst.
India's top software exporters can be expected to report a bump in margins, aided by a weak rupee, while ekeing out revenue growth to meet expectations in an uncertain business environment.
For Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies, which all turn in their earnings report cards for the September-December quarter this month, the mini currency bonanza will provide some short-lived cheer before they redouble efforts to win orders, possibly triggering a price war.
The rupee, the worst-performing Asian currency, has fallen more than 15% against the dollar, and this is expected to result in a margin boost of up to 300 basis points. Revenue growth for the top four IT services providers in sequential terms is expected to be within the projected range of 3-5%.
"We would have been happier if we had pure business reasons to cheer about, but for now, the rupee is the White Knight," the chief executive of a large software company said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because his company is in the mandatory 'silent period' ahead of the announcement of results. "With pressures of wage hikes and no clear improvement in rates, it could have been a lot worse otherwise," he added.
In addition to an uncertain business climate, software exporters are also being delivered pinpricks by the US government. Companies are finding that it is becoming tougher to send professionals on projects to the US because the country is issuing far fewer work permits than earlier while making the process cumbersome.
Among the top-tier firms, Infosys has been most vocal about the environment for doing business, saying clients are delaying decisions.
The Bangalore-based company will be the first to report earnings on January 12. Chief Financial Officer V Balakrishnan has warned investors already that his company may not achieve the upper-end growth forecast of 17.1-19.1% for the financial year ending March 2012.
The rest have been more sanguine, observing that there are no red flags to worry about yet. With the rupee weak and orders not easy to come by, companies are expected to quote lower rates to build volumes. This, in turn, could result in a full-blown price war.
"You suddenly feel that with the currency lever, sales can get a little more aggressive on pricing," the CEO of another top tech firm told ET. By offering customers lower rates for more work, companies can ensure volume growth even during an uncertain environment, he added.
Cognizant, Wipro and HCL could be the ones cutting prices most aggressively, ploughing the benefits from currency gains into an effort to gain volumes, brokerage house CLSA wrote on Tuesday.
"Predatory pricing by competitors will likely force price leaders like Infosys to also lower pricing. In this backdrop, we do not see a structural upward re-set of margins for the industry even if the rupee were to remain steady at current levels," its analysts Nimish Joshi and Arati Mishra wrote. CLSA expects Infosys to sustain its 29.5% margin despite losing its 10-15% pricing premium.
The brokerage expects Infosys, which has a higher proportion of revenues from the US than rivals, to gain more because of a weak rupee. It elevated Infosys to 'outperform' from 'hold.'
Cognizant, which will announce its December quarter earnings during the first week of February, has proven to be among the more nimble-footed, along with TCS. The US-based company, which has a policy of reinvesting margins in excess of 20%, is expected to easily meet its forecast of 3.7% revenue growth for the December quarter.
While on the one hand IT services companies will use the extra firepower from a weak rupee to win new orders, clients will also be bargaining harder.
For Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies, which all turn in their earnings report cards for the September-December quarter this month, the mini currency bonanza will provide some short-lived cheer before they redouble efforts to win orders, possibly triggering a price war.
The rupee, the worst-performing Asian currency, has fallen more than 15% against the dollar, and this is expected to result in a margin boost of up to 300 basis points. Revenue growth for the top four IT services providers in sequential terms is expected to be within the projected range of 3-5%.
"We would have been happier if we had pure business reasons to cheer about, but for now, the rupee is the White Knight," the chief executive of a large software company said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because his company is in the mandatory 'silent period' ahead of the announcement of results. "With pressures of wage hikes and no clear improvement in rates, it could have been a lot worse otherwise," he added.
In addition to an uncertain business climate, software exporters are also being delivered pinpricks by the US government. Companies are finding that it is becoming tougher to send professionals on projects to the US because the country is issuing far fewer work permits than earlier while making the process cumbersome.
Among the top-tier firms, Infosys has been most vocal about the environment for doing business, saying clients are delaying decisions.
The Bangalore-based company will be the first to report earnings on January 12. Chief Financial Officer V Balakrishnan has warned investors already that his company may not achieve the upper-end growth forecast of 17.1-19.1% for the financial year ending March 2012.
The rest have been more sanguine, observing that there are no red flags to worry about yet. With the rupee weak and orders not easy to come by, companies are expected to quote lower rates to build volumes. This, in turn, could result in a full-blown price war.
"You suddenly feel that with the currency lever, sales can get a little more aggressive on pricing," the CEO of another top tech firm told ET. By offering customers lower rates for more work, companies can ensure volume growth even during an uncertain environment, he added.
Cognizant, Wipro and HCL could be the ones cutting prices most aggressively, ploughing the benefits from currency gains into an effort to gain volumes, brokerage house CLSA wrote on Tuesday.
"Predatory pricing by competitors will likely force price leaders like Infosys to also lower pricing. In this backdrop, we do not see a structural upward re-set of margins for the industry even if the rupee were to remain steady at current levels," its analysts Nimish Joshi and Arati Mishra wrote. CLSA expects Infosys to sustain its 29.5% margin despite losing its 10-15% pricing premium.
The brokerage expects Infosys, which has a higher proportion of revenues from the US than rivals, to gain more because of a weak rupee. It elevated Infosys to 'outperform' from 'hold.'
Cognizant, which will announce its December quarter earnings during the first week of February, has proven to be among the more nimble-footed, along with TCS. The US-based company, which has a policy of reinvesting margins in excess of 20%, is expected to easily meet its forecast of 3.7% revenue growth for the December quarter.
While on the one hand IT services companies will use the extra firepower from a weak rupee to win new orders, clients will also be bargaining harder.
(Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the Pentagon's leaner military strategy will keep up funding in surveillance and intelligence technologies, including unmanned vehicles and cyber warfare, even as the overall defense budget declines.
"We will protect, and in some cases increase our investments in special operations forces, in new technologies like (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), and unmanned systems, in space and particularly in cyberspace capabilities, and also capacity to quickly mobilize," Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon.
President Barack Obama unveiled a new defense strategy on Thursday that will shrink the U.S. armed forces at a time of tight budgets at home, but he pledged to maintain the United States as the world's dominant military power.
The new military strategy unveiled on said the Pentagon would "make every effort to maintain an adequate industrial base and our investment in science and technology."
It said the Pentagon would be "prudent with its 'seed corn,'" balancing reductions required by mounting pressure on budgets with the need to continue investing in innovative developments that could provide significant long-term payoffs.
Panetta and General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to spell out which programs would be targeted for cuts and where investments could go up.
But there were hints in the strategy document, including a focus on sustaining undersea capabilities, developing a new stealth bomber, improving missile defenses and continuing efforts to enhance the resilience and effectiveness of U.S. satellites.
"We will protect, and in some cases increase our investments in special operations forces, in new technologies like (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), and unmanned systems, in space and particularly in cyberspace capabilities, and also capacity to quickly mobilize," Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon.
President Barack Obama unveiled a new defense strategy on Thursday that will shrink the U.S. armed forces at a time of tight budgets at home, but he pledged to maintain the United States as the world's dominant military power.
The new military strategy unveiled on said the Pentagon would "make every effort to maintain an adequate industrial base and our investment in science and technology."
It said the Pentagon would be "prudent with its 'seed corn,'" balancing reductions required by mounting pressure on budgets with the need to continue investing in innovative developments that could provide significant long-term payoffs.
Panetta and General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to spell out which programs would be targeted for cuts and where investments could go up.
But there were hints in the strategy document, including a focus on sustaining undersea capabilities, developing a new stealth bomber, improving missile defenses and continuing efforts to enhance the resilience and effectiveness of U.S. satellites.