Time is now

Microsoft sued Motorola on Friday claiming that the company's Android-powered phones infringed on nine patents held by the software giant. According to a statement by Microsoft deputy general counsel Horacia Gutierrez, the alleged infringements centre on the way Motorola's phones synchronize email,
calendars, contacts and meetings, and in the way it notifies the user of changes in signal strength and battery power.

Microsoft said it filed the action at the International Trade Commission and the US District Court in Washington.

"We have a responsibility to our customers, partners and shareholders to safeguard the billions of dollars we invest each year in bringing innovative software products and services to market," Gutierrez said.

"Motorola needs to stop its infringement of our patented inventions in its Android smartphones."

Microsoft did not name Google, which makes the Android operating system, as a party to the suit. Earlier this year Microsoft reached a software licensing agreement with another Android phone maker, HTC.

The action came as Microsoft prepares to launch its Windows Phone 7, which it hopes will rival Android and the iPhone in the smartphone market.

LIU Xiaobo, a vocal champion for greater democracy and human rights protection in China, has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
The 54-year-old, who was previously jailed for his involvement in the 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy protests, was sentenced in December to 11 more years in prison for subversion - a punishment that earned international condemnation.

Liu was arrested in late 2008 after co-writing Charter 08, a widely circulated petition that called for political reform in the Communist-ruled nation.

The bold manifesto, which has been signed by more than 10,000 people since it went online, calls for the protection of basic human rights and the reform of China's one-party system.

"The government opposes (giving the Nobel Peace Prize to him) because they fear that it will draw more attention to Liu Xiaobo and to China's situation (on democracy and human rights)," his wife Liu Xia said earlier this week.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225936172151

It is Hollywood calling for actor Anil Kapoor as the actor has bagged a role in Tom Cruise starrer 'Mission Impossible 4'.
"At this point I can only say that have been contacted for 'Mission impossible 4' and I have said yes for the role," Kapoor said refusing to divulge details about his role. The actor is reportedly playing a baddie alongside 'The Girl With Dragon Tattoo' actor Michael Nyqvist, who plays the main villain.
Apart from Kapoor, other major stars roped in for the fourth installment include 'Hurt Locker' actor Jeremy Renner as Cruise's partner, Paula Patton, Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg
Kapoor, who shot to international fame with his role of a television quiz show host in Danny Boyle's Oscar-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire', will play an important role in the action franchise.

American popular pornstar Tera Patrick is set to shoot in Indonesia for a horror flick, a year after the government banned Japanese porn movie actress Maria Ozawa from entering the country.
Film producer KK Dheeraj said Patrick would star his movie along with local actresses Catherine Wilson and Angel Lelga.
Dheeraj, however, has refused to unveil Patrick's itinerary during her stay in Jakarta for the shooting.
"I cannot tell you about it. It remains a secret," Dheeraj said Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com.
The producer was also tightlipped about the movie's premiere.
"I am not going to disclose the date. It's coming soon," he said.
Ozawa, better known as Miyabi, failed to shoot her no-nudity comedy movie "Menculik Miyabi" (Kidnapping Miyabi) after outraged religious groups opposed her visit.
There have been no reports of such an unruly response to Patrick's planned trip to predominantly Muslim Indonesia, a secular country which criminalizes pornography.

Federal and state prosecutors in New York brought charges against a ring of international cyber-criminals who used computer viruses to break into bank accounts. Among them were four New York students, including 21 year Kristina Svechinskaya, who is being groomed as the next Anna Chapman by the NY dailies.

Back in June the feds broke up a ring of Russian spys living in New York and New Jersey. The papers had a field day with Anna Chapman, a spy who spent time on the NY tech scene. "She may have been a true Cold Warrior, but Anna Chapman is red-hot in the sheets," wrote the Daily News. "The flame-haired Russian hottie accused of being a deep-cover mole in the U.S. was a wild woman in the sack, her ex-hubby says."

Online photos of Kristina Svechinskaya had potential, as did her outfit at the arraignment — calf-high boots and skin-tight jeans. Unfortunately, wrote the Daily News, "Several who were arraigned in federal court Thursday looked young and frightened, a far cry from the sexy glamour shots they posted on websites."

Daily Intel thinks Svechinskaya's name is too difficult for her to become a real breakout star like Chapman. Tech Observer would like to point out, however, that while Chapman accomplished nothing during her tenure as a spy, Svechinskaya and her cohorts managed to steal $3 million from U.S. bank accounts.

8:50 AM

Google Instant was announced on Wednesday at a Google search event. It has been better known as streaming search, up until now, that is. Since its release today, users have been mostly giving nothing but good reports on the new search function.

Google Instant is the newest Google search feature which basically pulls up search results as you type. It allows you to perform your searches much more quickly, and it also enables you to see a lot more search results.

The new instant search is getting rave reviews such as, “Google Instant is so quick and intuitive to use, that I even spent a long time just making search queries just to check out the new feature.” Google Instant is the kind of feature that we have been waiting for a long time, but it’s never been introduced. But now, finally, it has been released, and we just can’t get enough of it, literally.
How it works is you type in the the search bar at Google.com and as you type you will get the usual search suggestions, but instead of just suggestions, live search results appear as you type, when a suggestion appears in gray next to what you are typing that is what the current results are being displayed are from.
Search ads still appear, ensuring that Google won’t go out of business from this change, and the “I’m feeling lucky” option is still there, ensuring that the lucky Google users can still get what they want. The option appears next to suggestions in the drop-down.

With Google Instant, we can only wonder what’s coming next from the Search Giant. After all, with this change Google has all but crushed the possibility that Yahoo or Bing will take over as search kings. Google started out as the search giant, and it is pretty sure that it’s going to stay that way.

Sources:

He said he wanted to become famous for his political achievements. But yesterday a Tory MP was thrown into the spotlight for a very different reason – after his wife of seven years was exposed as a £70-an-hour prostitute.

Mike Weatherley, 53, was one of the new wave of MPs who came to power with Prime Minister David Cameron earlier this year.

The father-of-three took his blonde wife to functions in the run-up to the General Election, and just two months ago she was photographed visiting the Houses of Parliament.
But it was revealed by a Sunday newspaper that 39-year-old Carla has also been busy plying her trade in three different 'massage parlours', under the names Bea, Adriana and Bianca.

Kim Sharma gearing up to marry her hot Spanish boyfriend Carlos Marin and moving to Madrid, did indeed make for a beautiful picture but that’s now history.

In a shocking turn of events, the actress called off her engagement. And now, she has tied the knot with a wealthy business tycoon from Kenya, Ali Punjani.

The marriage ceremony was organised in Mombasa, Kenya, two weeks ago. A source says, “It’s a love marriage. The two were dating for a brief period. Kim felt that they should tie the knot quickly.”

Wonder if Carlos wants to comment on this. Earlier, Kim was in a relationship with cricketer Yuvraaj Singh for four years, which went down the drain somewhere in the middle of 2007.

“The marriage ceremony was attended by close friends and relatives of Kim and Ali. Kim looked very happy,” adds the source.

Bollywood weddings are indeed quite strange. Take the guest lists for instance. A few days ago, we reported on Konkona Sen Sharma’s marriage with Ranvir Shorey, where nobody but Koel Purie was invited from Bollywood.

How odd is that? Come to think of it, apparently, Kim’s best friend Preeti Jhangiani (the two actresses had made their Bollywood debut together in YRF’s Mohabattein) was not present at Kim’s wedding. Preeti might have a word or two to share with Carlos. Despite repeated attempts Kim remained unavailbale for comment.

Paris: India will get its inaugural Formula 1 race on October 30, 2011 after the sport's governing body on Wednesday decided to have a record 20 races next year.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) also said in a statement that no new team would join the series next season because none of the candidates met the requirements for entry.
The Indian Grand Prix at a circuit being built near New Delhi is due to be the 18th round of the championship on October 30 subject to the circuit passing a final inspection.
The governing body said in a statement after a meeting of its world motor sport council that the 2011 season will start in Bahrain on March 13 and end in Brazil on Nov. 27 with Abu Dhabi becoming the penultimate race on Nov. 13.
The current season is a record-equalling 19 races, with South Korea the 2010 newcomers. However, the slim hopes of the starting grid being expanded to a full capacity of 13 teams, assuming all of the existing ones remain, were snuffed out.
The FIA said a number of parties had expressed an interest but "it was considered that none of the candidates met the requirements to be granted an entry into the championship. "Consequently, the allocation of the 13th team will not be granted."
Many of the expected main contenders had already withdrawn for financial reasons but Spanish-based Epsilon Euzkadi and a joint effort involving Italy's Durango and Canada's former world champion Jacques Villeneuve had remained in the running.
A 20 race calendar has long been a desire of the sport's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone but has met resistance from teams in the past due to the extra burden imposed on mechanics and travelling employees.
Cost cutting measures have further reduced the number of staff attending races, while some test teams have been disbanded due to the ban on testing during the season.
The world motor sport council also announced steps to enable the governing body to punish Formula One drivers and other competitors in FIA series who commit motoring offences on public roads.
McLaren's 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton was fined A0 (8.7) after being stopped by police for reckless driving in a Melbourne street at this year's Australian Grand Prix.
"Competitors at FIA events must act as ambassadors for the sport, be aware their conduct on the road must be exemplary and respect road safety rules,"declared the FIA statement.
It said the international sporting code would be amended to enable the governing body to withdraw a driver's international super licence in the most serious cases.