Apple's Legal victory over Samsung : Nokia,Microsoft likely to gain

The US Jury’s  landmark decision on  Apple-Samsung  lawsuit  this Friday took a decisive turn by slapping Samsung  1.05 billion $ fine and providing whatever Apple wished in this latest set of patent infringement case . A billion dollar + payment  to Apple and the possibility of  injunction against the sales of  infringing Samsung Tablets and Smartphones.

 

This verdict is one of the  50 + lawsuits that these two tech giants are embroiled in 10 countries across the Globe.  Impact of this litigation will not adversely affect Samsung’s  burgeoning  Global  sales of smartphones  as it doesn’t apply outside US and doesn’t apply to new Samsung devices like Samsung Galaxy 3,Galaxy Note 10.1 etc and also ,1 billion $ fine is a meager  1.5 % of Samsung’s Electronics annual revenue. Though it has challenged the verdict by taking this case a step forward  to a court in Washington which specialises in patent appeals and  vowed to fight in US Supreme court ,if necessary.

 

The patent enfringement ensuing between these  tech giants is mainly on two fronts :- Software and  Design.

On software, Samsung infringe :

(i)                Apple’s bounce-back effect when a user tries to scroll beyond the end of a list or image.

(ii)               Apple’s pinching and zooming scroll feature.

(iii)            Apple’s tap-to-zoom feature.

 

On design,  Samsung infringed:

(i)                Apple’s iPhone’s face, screen and speaker slot.

(ii)              the ornamental design and shape of the iPhone’s face, rounded corners and bezel.

(iii)            the icon arrangement on the home screen.

 

The detailed  perspective of  these patent violations and it implication for both the companies and its consumers can be understood by the video below:

 

 

 

Immediate reaction to Apple’s legal victory over Samsung was felt in stock prices and market capitalization of its competitors in capital markets across the world. Samsung’s share plummeted by 7.7 % wiping out 12 billion $ market value of this South Korean giant with Google sitting down on the same side with shares closing 1.4 % down at 699.22 $.

 

 

On the bullish side ,Apple stocks surged  by 1.9 % closing at 675.68 $ adding 12 billion $ to its market cap standing at 633.38 billion $ (World’s most valuable company).The potential beneficiary to this historic court ruling was Microsoft ,Nokia and Blackberry who will be the alternatives to Android platform plagued now by legal suits.

 

Nokia (betting on its revamped Windows mobile platform )rose 7.7 per cent to close at 2.68 euros in Helsinki. The stock is down 29 per cent this year. Microsoft climbed less than 1 per cent to $US30.69 in NASDAQ(biggest stock exchange for technology stocks).

 

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion gained 1.9 per cent to $US7.07 in NASDAQ, the first rise after falling for 10 consecutive sessions .RIM might lose out on harnessing this opportunity now as their new range of touch-only smartphones will release only in Q1 2013.

 

On the longer term ,this  legal verdict will be definitely impact the future design and features of  the smartphones ecosystem as it affects the position of a company financial stability and its positioning towards its consumer as a brand and service.

 

Android platform might face a dearth of developers in near future as it is maligned with its present legal complications  and  developers might start a shift of choice and application development for Microsoft and Nokia’s strategic partnership for mobile platform to challenge Apple and Samsung market dominance.

Mobile manufacturers will need to take design and software development with  utmost importance without flouting international patent laws and might find it difficult to launch new products and service in response to ban imposed by courts favouring a more innovative company. Consumers will be affected by higher prices which is passed on by mobile manufacturers due to high R&D costs in  complying stringent norms and will be limited by diversity of phones and tablets that the market has to offer.

 

London 2012 Olympics - A Retrospective Look

London 2012, was a major international multi-sport event, celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that took place in London, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012.

The results of this Global sporting spectacle was in lines of the expectations of the experts and institutions all over the World with US emerging as the winner with total 104 medals ( 46 G,29S ,29B) ,China 2nd with 87 medals( 38G, 27S ,23S) and Great Britain achieved its highest tally of gold medals since 1908, finishing third in the medal table with 65 Medals(29G ,17S,19B).

The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games  used  a mixture of new venues, existing and historic facilities, and temporary facilities, some of them in well-known locations such as Hyde Park and other facilities were reused in their Olympic form,while others were  Horse Guards Parade.Some of the new facilities were reused in their Olympic form,while others were resized or relocated with the total cost of financing at 9.3 billion euros. A bird's eye view of the Olympic Park below.

The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics was held on 27 July and called "Isles of Wonder". Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle was its artistic director, with the music directors being the electronic music duo Rick Smith and Karl Hyde of Underworld.

The Games were officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

 Months before Olympic flame lighting ceremony was done in a traditional Olympic style in Olympia,Greece on 10 May,2012.

The Olympic Cauldron was lit  at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games by a  group of young athletes nominated by British Olympic champions.

In total  4,700 Olympic and Paralympic medals have been produced by the Royal Mint at Llantrisant.They were designed by David Watkins (Olympics) and Lin Cheung (Paralympics).Virtually all the gold, silver and copper was mined in Salt Lake County, Utah in the U.S. Each medal weighs 375–400 g (13.2–14.1 oz), has a diameter of 85 mm (3.34 in) and is 7 mm (0.27 in) thick, with the sport and discipline engraved on the rim. The value of the materials in the gold medal is about $644, the silver about $330, and the bronze about $4.71 on the current market price.

The grandest highlight of the games was Michael Phelps ,US swimmer becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals.

British Olympic athlete Mo Farah clinching his twin Gold feat of 5,000 metre and 10,000 metre title.

Athletics became the centrestage of attention and action with  South African double amputee runner  Oscar  Pistorious  events of 100m ,200m ,400m & 4 * 100 m titles ,stupendous performance by British atheletes ,records smashed  by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt in all the events he had the competition with perfect lead and new Olympic records in the making.

Oscar Pistorius aka Blade Runner left behind a memory and inspiration to every athlete and spectator spellbound by his dedication and sporting spirit with which he dealt his atheletic events.

Usain Bolt became the first sprinter to retain all three sprinting gold medals at consecutive Olympics.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei entered female atheltes for the first time ,meaning every country has sent a female competitor to at least one Olympic Games.Sarah Attar ,the 1st Saudi field and track athelete in the Olympics.

Andy Murray ,the British tennis player winning Gold medal beating numero uno of tennis Roger Federer easily in the finals and becoming the  biggest reasons for host Britons to cheer about the London Olympics.

Hot favourites Russia winning the synchronised swimming gold mainitaning their total domination of this game in Olympic history.

India's Olympic campaign ending with 6 medals ,2 silver and 4 bronze medals doubling up the last Beijing medals tally .Amazing achievement by any scale for the Indians to proud of.

Era of Chinese domination in diving came to an end with world diving champion Qiu Bio beaten by American David Boudia.

Gabby Douglas becoming the first African-American to win Gold in women's all around Gymnastics event.

Perhaps ,on the downside there were some sad moments and happenings ,most talked about  among them being South Korean fencer Shin-a-Lam crying after losing a chance at the Gold.

This Olympics also symbolised a cohesion of World sporting fraternity with hardly any stray events of fights ,quarrels between sportspersons or any doping scandals throughout the event schedule.

Equestrian events dominated by European giants (Germans & Britons).

North Korea`s Kim Un Guk broke the world record in men`s 62 kg category weight-lifting on the way to win gold

Apart from the dazzling sporting events, there was the advent of interactive Google Doodle which ruled the hearts of every Olympic enthusiast whether it was basketball ,atheletics etc with Facebook wall posts and tweets galloping the internet space in no time .

Well every good thing/phenomenon needs to come to an end.So was it. The closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics was held on 12 August 2012.

 The ceremony featured a flashback fiesta to British music with The Who along with other prominent Musicians and Celebrities finishing out the performance.

The ceremony also included a handover of the Olympic flag by Boris Johnson ,Mayor of London ,to Eduardo Paes ,Mayor of Rio de Janiero ,the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

   Bye London ,the sucessful hosts of Olympics 2012.

So catch the next level of Global sporting exuberance in 2016 at Brazilian city of Rio de Janiero with the Olympic flag already reaching the  host city this week.

Google Fiber - The Next Chapter of Internet

Google has launched its own ultra-high-speed internet service – offering lightning-fast speeds of 1 gigabit per second in Kansas, Missouri,USA.


The service uses optical fibre to deliver speeds far in excess of traditional web services – offering speeds faster than almost anywhere else on Earth.It will let users download unlimited Internet data at the speed of 1000 megabits per second for $70 per month.

The Internet search giant had received 3,900 registrations for Google Fiber as on Sunday, with users having another 41-days to pre-order. The installations will begin in September.

After building a infrastructure of the network, in July of 2012, Google announced pricing for Google Fiber.

The service will offer three options. 

• These include a free broadband internet option, a 1Gbps internet option for $70 per month and a version that includes television service for $120 per month .

Salient features of this revolutionary Broadband Internet service are :

 ·  The internet service include 1 terabyte of Google Drive service and the television               service includes a 1 terabyte DVR recorder in addition to the Google Drive service.

·        The DVR will record up to eight live television shows simultaneously. The television options also includes a Nexus 7 tablet that will act as a remote control for the system.

·        There is no cap on the internet speeds. Users are offered unlimited downloading  and uploading data consumption with 1Gbps upload and download speed either way.

• ·        In addition, television service will also stream live program content on iPad and Android tablet computers.

• ·        Google Fibre targeted at Home users only. Neighborhoods that receive the service will be selected through demand from Kansas City area residents and Google has set up a website to pre-register for the service.

       There is no market consensus on how Google will expand these services globally with its variants as per the country and geography catered. But , this unique internet service is an alluring propostiton for Netizens of today with the value and service offerings .

  

World's 1st Virtual Store opens in South Korea

World’s first Virtual shopping centre has opened in Korea and is directed to cater for smartphone users.

All the shelves are displayed are  LCD screens .Users chooses to touch the desired item on the LCD screen and checkout at the counter in the end to have all ordered items packaged in bags.

Another variant of this incredible shopping technology is scanning of barcodes of products to order from the smartphone app.

Customers  simply scan the barcode with their smartphone (after downloading the app) and the item is placed in their online shopping cart. Once they’ve paid, they simply drive home and the items they bought are delivered to them right away. They can even schedule a later delivery if they aren’t going straight home. If you’ve purchased a product in the past and you simply want to order it again, you don’t have to physically visit the virtual store. You can just go into your smartphone app and order it via the product’s barcode.

The Video below explains the above concept in an excellent fashion

Shoppers scan barcodes of products which are displayed at the Homeplus store located in a Seoul subway station. Featuring about 500 items including food, electronics, office supplies and toiletries. 

According to a spokeswoman for Homeplus..."You place an order when you go to work in the morning and can see the items delivered at home when you come home at night.")

The Major advantage  of this process is that consumer doesn’t need to wait near the virtual store to place the order.

Suppose  you want to order replacements of a bottle of water that you have in your hand, you don’t have to stop by the subway station's store. You just have to scan the bottle’s barcode with the Homeplus app., and then the products are delivered later to home or office.

This revolutionary technology is expected to challenge and spread across various developed countries with high smartphone usage and internet density providing innovative and mesmerizing shopping experience for the insatiable appetite of the 21^st century shopaholics.

The Dark Knight Rises - Horizon of Expectations

The Dark Knight Rises is inarguably one of the most highly anticipated and talked about Movie in year 2012. I have been a huge Batman fan  long before Christopher Nolan (Director of this epic trilogy ) could manage it  picturise to the general audience on the big screen. Although Hollywood is never allergic to revisiting a successful franchise (see "The Amazing Spider-Man"), Nolan has said this is the last Bat trip for him .

Here’s what Nolan had to say:

          “We feel a tremendous challenge and responsibility to finish our story. We have to give the audiences something they haven’t seen before, but also fulfill their expectations of what they enjoyed in the first two films. That’s the tricky balance.

“With a sequel there is always the challenge of trying to meet or indeed exceed expectations. And some of those are based on the size, scale and world of the film. We traveled to many different places because we wanted to give it a broader canvas.”

Storyline

Despite his tarnished reputation after the events of The Dark Knight, in which he took the rap for Dent's crimes, Batman feels compelled to intervene to assist the city and its police force which is struggling to cope with Bane's plans to destroy the city.

Too Big to Fail

It would hard to go much bigger. About half of the 160-minute film was shot in the IMAX format (as opposed to 28 minutes of "The Dark Knight").

The opening sequence -- involving a midair hijacking/kidnapping -- will likely be regarded as a classic. The vehicles are cooler and do cooler things. (The Tumbler, aka Batmobile , returns, and Catwoman gets to ride a Bat-pod.) The wreckage is more extensive. And, for good measure, there's a nuclear explosion.

Budget -  250 Million $.(Estimated)(It will be a Visual Treat for sure).

Production Houses –

Warner Bros Pictures, DC Entertainment , Legendary Pictures (All Hollywood Biggies).

Runtime – 164 Min.

SoundMix – SDDS, Datasat, Dolby Digital.(The best sound exp ever in IMAX theatres).

Plot

If you recall the last two Batman movies –Batman Begins & The Dark Knight – you might remember how things tend to go haywire everytime Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) throws a party.

Going by the trailers of TDKR it looks Bruce is entertaining a lot of people in his re-constructed manor when Selina Kyle warns him about an impending “storm”.It would be no surprise if this would be the first faceoff between the good and the bad.

A Reputation  for the visual

With "The Dark Knight Rises" -- co-written with his brother, Jonathan -- Nolan may further his reputation as a director whose plot lines exist only to serve his visual art. Bane (Tom Hardy ) and his fellow terrorists, acting like a muscle-bound Occupy Movement, attack Wall Street and its ruling 1 percenters, but their supposed anti-capitalist policies are soon exposed as a mere ploy, a means of terrorizing Gotham into submission.

But Bane believes in what he's doing. And so does Batman. Both Bane and Batman wear masks. Both their voices are distorted by their disguises. They both suffer excruciating pain (Batman has to go through major rehabilitation in "The Dark Knight Rises" before he can once again answer the Bat Signal). In some ways, you might say, they're the same guy -- which may be Nolan's mischievous last word on the whole subject.

Stunning One Liners

Remember the Joker’s Legendary Quote “ This is what happens when an unstoppable force,meets an immovable object “.

In Batman Begins , Thomas Wayne’s “ Why do we fall ? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up”.

TDKR will be of no surprise remembered with its earth-shattering dialogues/liners from the protagonists and villain.

Bane:  “Gotham, take control... take control of your city. Behold, the instrument of your liberation! Identify yourself to the world!”.

Bane to Batman - “When Gotham is ashes, you have my permission to die.”

Star studded  'Dark Knight'

Like any big Hollywood  movie, "The Dark Knight Rises" has its "stars" -- in this case, 

·        Christian Bale as Batman,

·         Tom Hardy as Bane 

Anne Hathaway as Catwoman 

·        Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the Robin-like police officer John Blake. 

But in what suggests classic Hollywood studio tradition, the film also features a wealth of name actors in character roles -- performers who can, and have, starred in their own films, and can contribute their own fan base to the "Dark Knight" pot. 
The following are just a few of the bigger names in a cast that also include

·          Juno Temple and Tom Conti.

·        Michael Caine  (Alfred Pennyworth)

·         Morgan Freeman(Lucius Fox)

·        Marion Cotillard (Miranda Tate)

·        Gary Oldman  (Commissioner Gordon)

·        Liam Neeson  (Ra's al Ghul) .

The  Surprises expected to  blow-off  the audiences Worldover  :

Nolan’s movie are known to keep its audience on its toes always ,whether it’s the adrenaline –rush of the very first visuals of the opening scene and the sensational ,awe-inspiring climaxes.

Here is the list of some obvious surprises that one can expect to see & is ruling & rumored on the internet these days :

• ·        Batman breaks one of his rules and comes out during the day.
• ·        Ra’s Al Ghul is resurrected using a Lazarus pit.
• ·        Bruce falls in love with Miranda Tate(only to be betrayed).
• ·        Someone other than Bruce Wayne dons the Batsuit.
• ·        The League of shadows has a role in “making Bane”.

·         

Box Office Mojo, one of the Internet’s most widely-used sites for financial information pertaining to movies, is predicting that Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises will make something in the neighborhood of $500 million, stopping short of overtaking records set by The Dark Knight .

But I my predictions looking at the depth and epicness of this legendary movie ,it will surely surpass the previous record collection of 1 billion $. Looking  at the stupendous TDKR premiers review and responses from the exclusive celebrity  and  technocrats  that were invited and advanced booking of tickets getting filled 6 months before its release in many countries across the World ,its an indomitable opinion that TDKR will bedazzle the World on 20 th July,2012.

EPIC !!!.