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Software patent litigation worth watching
One of the big threats to open-source software is patents; it’s becoming increasingly impossible to create software without violating one. A case currently in front of the United States Court of Appeals, In re Bilski, offers some hope that the patent madness will be reined in. OStatic has the details about the case — and why you should care.
Brighter Screens, Better Planet
Screens, from your massive HDTV to your iPhone, are increasingly filling our lives with an omnipresent glow. And VCs are increasingly funding the companies behind the technology that promises to not only help screens get better and brighter but more energy efficient. LED maker Luminus says it has raised a whopping $72 million for its PhlatLight LED products, which are primarily used for flat-panel displays, while Dutch display maker Liquavista said it’s raised $12.6 million in a Series B round. Earth2Tech has the full story.
Overheard at SXSW
Overheard at The Google Open Social Happy Hour on Monday night: “Looking at the people here, it’s like I came all the way to Austin only to see the same people I see in San Francisco.”
Google Creates Giant SSN Database
Earlier this month, Google announced a pilot program with the Cleveland Clinic to store patients’ medical records online. Privacy and security concerns were raised, notably that Google doesn’t have to abide by confidentiality rules that govern doctor-patient relationships dictated by HIPAA. However, Google’s plan to put patients in control of their own records and make those records transferable is a useful one, especially to anyone who has filled out four or five paper forms every year at three or four different doctors. As for the very real privacy concerns, medical records aren’t too secure, anyhow. And think about the synergies created by storing medical records online combined with the genetic data provided by Google-backed 23&Me.
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Technology-News
Tesla IPO Likely in 2009
Tesla is starting to get serious about its second line of cars with an electric sedan code-named White Star. To help get it to market, Silicon Valley’s electric car company is also planning an IPO, which it tells Earth2Tech is likely to happen in 2009.
Facebook Privacy Practices Probed by the Brits
Ah, Facebook. It’s just one thing after another for the social networking site: The BBC reports today that Facebook is being investigated by a British governmental agency for keeping user data in its servers even after users delete their accounts. The launch of its Beacon advertising program raised significant privacy concerns and made Facebook the target of scathing criticism here at home, but across the Atlantic, they really know how to put unruly tech companies in their place.
Britney, Euro iPhone, WiMAX in Japan, & AOL Dial-down
Britney Spears might have bombed at the MTV Video Awards, but she has proved to be da bomb for Viacom (VIAB), making visitors out of water cooler gossipers.
Will French, Brits and Germans fall for Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone? T-Mobile (Germany)and O2 (UK) think so, and Orange is hoping they will. And you want to know where they will launch next? Just look for places where EDGE networks are thriving.
Time Warner (TWX) is looking to sell AOL dial-up business and become a ad-supported company. Finally!
KDDI of Japan is starting a new company - Wireless Broadband Planning K.K. (WBPK) to bid on one of two WiMAX licenses in the 2.5Ghz band to be awarded by the Japanese regulator, the MIC, by end 2007. Intel Capital is an equity partner of KDDI. MIC doesn’t allow 3G license-holders to bid for a license. This is a workaround. Softbank and eAccess; NTT DoCoMo and ACCA Networks are other two teams in the race.
Despite the rise of legal P2P, it seems the TV networks are still wary of the technology. We looked for the shows and didn’t find much.