News in brief related to Information Technology.
China hands over US DVD pirate
BEIJING - China on September 28 expelled one of two Americans convicted of selling pirated DVDs on the Internet and handed him over to US police. Randolph Guthrie III, 38, was one of two Americans convicted in April in Shanghai. He was sentenced to up to two-and-a-half years in prison and ordered to pay a 500,000 yuan ($60,000) fine. Fellow American Cody Thrush received one year in jail and a 10,000 yuan fine. Prosecutors said that Guthrie sold pirated discs via US-based commercial Website eBay.com and Russian-based threedollardvd.com.
China and the US lauded the bust as an exemplary case of Sino-American cooperation in the fight against piracy. However, according to experts, China produces some 70 percent of the world's counterfeit goods. Andy Yu, US attaché of the Beijing-based immigration and custom enforcement office refused to say whether the two men had fair trials in China, but said that they would have fair trials in the United States.
Germans, Taiwanese developing DRAM memory chips
MUNICH, Germany - German semi-conductors giant Infineon said on September 29 that it had agreed with Taiwan-based partner Nanya Technology to extend their cooperation in the development of DRAM memory chips. The two companies will jointly develop advanced 60-nanometer production technologies for 300-millimeter wafers, starting in September 2005.
Gaming group 888 floats in London
LONDON - Trading in shares in 888 Holdings, the Gibraltar-based online gaming group, began in London on September 29 after it placed one-quarter of its capital with institutional investors. 888 priced its initial public offering at 175 pence per share, valuing the group at 590 million pounds Sterling ($1.04 billion), the company said in a statement. Full trading starts on October 4.
Following the flotation the Israeli cofounders Aaron Shaked and his brother Avi, and Shay Ben-Yitzhak and his brother Ron will own 70 percent of the group, while management and employees will retain a 5-percent stake. More than 20 million people across 150 countries are registered to use 888's portfolio of Websites that also includes Casino-on-Net, Reef Club Casino and Pacific Poker.
Hi-tech beer mat says it is time for a refill
PARIS - German inventors have devised an interactive beer mat that can be used for pub games and tell the barman when it is time for a refill. The device, created by computer scientists Andreas Butz of the University of Munich and Michael Schmitz of Saarland University, comprises a small, flat base plate with a traditional cardboard beer mat on top.
The plate conceals a pressure sensor and acceleration sensor that react to the weight of the glass and to the position and movement of the beer mat on the base plate. The sensors relay this data by radio link to the bar, where the signal is interpreted by a computer. The inventors believe that the gadget could be used as a voting device - for instance to judge the performance of a karaoke singer or to give an opinion on referee decisions on big-screen matches in sports bars.
Dell launches high-end consumer products
NEW YORK, NY, USA - Dell on September 28 took the wraps off of an anticipated new line of computers, services and digital televisions aimed at higher-end consumers willing to pay a premium for their technology products. Dell's new desktop PCs include three XPS models that start at $1,099 and a new notebook that comes with a $2,699 price tag. The company also showed off its new high-definition televisions, a 50-inch plasma model for $3,799 and a 32-inch LCD television for $1,799.
The higher-priced products counter Dell's traditional of cutting prices on its PCs through its low-cost direct sales. In August Dell reported second-quarter sales that fell short of Wall Street estimates, and partly blamed the situation on lower costs of its PCs.
Apple to replace iPod nano screens after complaints by users
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA - Complaints that iPod nanos scratch and crack with irksome ease has prompted Apple Computer to offer to replace defective screens on the music players, company officials confirmed on September 28. Sales have been strong and complaints about scratching rife, since the nano model was unveiled by the Silicon Valley company three weeks ago at a theatrical press conference in San Francisco.
"My dog's chew toys get less scratches than using my nano for three hours in my pocket," Jarad Spatola wrote in one of many online discussion groups excoriating Apple for evidently using flimsy material in the product. Ironically, Apple president Steve Jobs introduced the nano by plucking it from the coin pocket of his jeans at the September 7 press conference. Anyone with a nano with a defective screen should contact "Apple Care" and "we will replace it", Tom Neumayr of Apple said.
Infineon says plant closure to cost $120mn
MUNICH, Germany - The planned closure of Infineon's factory in Munich-Perlach will cost the German semi-conductors giant more than €100 million ($120 million), a company spokesman said on September 28. The sum would cover the cost of layoffs, the dismantlement of the factory and the transfer of part of the production facilities to another site in Regensburg. Earlier this month Infineon had said that rival chipmaker X-Fab had decided not to buy the aging computer chip plant because the factory's economic and structural deficits were "insurmountable".
Magnetic scans could detect liars
CHARLESTON, SC, USA - A Medical University of South Carolina study says that with the right software a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine could one day be used also as a lie detector by mapping blood flow in the brain during moments of deception. Doctors use MRI to help discover tumors and spinal-cord injuries.
The study said that using the new software, expected to be on the market by next year, detecting a liar would be as quick and easy as matching a suspect's fingerprints. The study found functional MRI machines to be more than 90 percent accurate at detecting deception, compared to polygraphs, which range from 80 percent to "no better than chance" at finding the truth, the researchers said.
BenQ to keep Infineon as supplier
FRANKFURT, Germany - BenQ, the Taiwan-based consumer electronics group that is buying the mobile phone handsets business of German group Siemens, will keep semi-conductors giant Infineon as a long-term supplier, the chairman of BenQ said in a newspaper interview published on September 28.
Analysts had speculated that BenQ could switch to Taiwan suppliers to cut costs once it had completed its acquisition of Siemens's handsets business. Siemens, the former parent company of Infineon, agreed in June to offload its loss-making mobile phone handsets division to BenQ in a deal scheduled to come into effect at the beginning of October.
Sanyo warns of big loss, accelerates job cuts
TOKYO - Ailing Japanese electronics maker Sanyo said on September 28 that it expects to post a net loss of 140 billion yen ($1.24 billion) in the financial year to March and will accelerate job cuts. It is the second time in six months that Sanyo has raised its net loss projection, having forecast in March a net loss of 121 billion yen owing to a global slump in digital camera sales. Sanyo also said that it would achieve by the end of January two-thirds of its planned 14,000 job cuts. Sanyo said in July that it would cut 15 percent of its workforce over the next three years and refocus on eco-friendly technologies.
Women 'not barred' from night shifts at call centers
NEW DELHI - An Indian state minister dismissed on September 27 a report that women had been banned from working in call centers at night, saying that the practice was fine as long as employers guaranteed their safety. Birender Singh, minister for labor and employment in the northern state of Haryana, told NDTV news channel that some call centers based in the state were being monitored but there was no blanket ban on women working night shifts.
A report in the Times of India on September 27 said that authorities in Haryana had issued notices to call centers telling them to abide by a 1958 state law that prohibits women from working night shifts. Haryana state generates a sizable chunk of the more than $5 billion that India earns every year from call center work outsourced from countries including the United States and Europe.
Hollywood hails first conviction for camcording movies
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA - A camcorder-toting moviegoer has become the first person convicted under a new US law cracking down on the clandestine videotaping of Hollywood films, the movie studios' lobby group said on September 27. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) hailed the conviction in San Francisco on September 26 of Curtis Salisbury, who pleaded guilty to two charges under the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005.
Salisbury, who could face a fine of up to $250,000 as well as up to five years in jail, admitted using his handheld video recorder in a movie theater to copy the 2005 films Bewitched and The Perfect Man. He then uploaded the theatrical releases to a computer network for Internet distribution, according to the MPAA. Hollywood's major movie studios, which are represented by the MPAA, claim that piracy cost the industry around $3.5 billion in lost revenues in 2004, not including illegal online file-swapping.
FIFA warns over Internet 'phishing' scam
GENEVA - FIFA on September 27 warned that its name is being abused in an Internet scam involving "phishing", the illegal use of account holders' details, obtained and generally used online. World football's governing body said that unsolicited, official-looking e-mails were being sent worldwide claiming that the recipient had won a lottery and requesting their bank account details to receive the payment.
"FIFA is concerned because these lotteries claim to be organized on behalf of, or in association with, FIFA," as well as the German organizers of the 2006 World Cup and their South African counterparts for the 2010 tournament. FIFA said that the public should treat such lottery e-mails with "extreme caution" and refrain from handing over personal and financial details.
Microsoft to make Belgrade one of five global research centers
BELGRADE - Microsoft has chosen the Serbian capital Belgrade as the base for one of its five global development centers, the US software giant said on September 27. "The Belgrade development center will be directed by Bodin Dresevic, a Serb and veteran of Microsoft who left Serbia 16 years ago and succeeded in persuading the company's directors to invest in Serbia," said Dejan Cvetkovic, the head of Microsoft's Serbian operations.
It is only the third such development center that the American company has opened in emerging markets around the world after China and India and fifth overall including the United States and Ireland. The center will focus on developing technology for tablet PCs - notebook-like devices that enable users to operate computers by writing on digital touch-screens.
China defends new Internet restrictions
BEIJING - China on September 27 defended new restrictions on online news content, saying that every country regulates the Internet. "Any country in the world will regulate the Internet and the media in accordance with law," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular briefing. The new rules issued on September 25 by the State Council, China's cabinet, require Internet operators to re-register their news sites and police their sites for content that can "endanger state security" and "social order". China's online population has grown rapidly in recent years from just 620,000 in 1997. With more than 100 million users now, it is the world's second largest Internet market after the United States.
LG to build new electronics plant in Poland
SEOUL - South Korea's LG Electronics said on September 27 that it would build a $103-million plant in Poland to produce refrigerators and liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions. LG Electronics said that the plant would turn out 500,000 refrigerators and 3.5 million LCD televisions a year from 2011. LG Philips is a joint venture between LG Electronics and Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands.
Mideast broadband groups forge alliance
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Two business groups in the Middle East have signed a deal to advance broadband development in the Arab world. The cooperation agreement was signed at a conference in Dubai late last week by the Arab Broadband Internet Forum and Arab Business Forum for Information and Communication Technology (ABFICT).
No specific projects or goals were announced; however, the alliance will focus on business applications. "We will work together to present different projects to international sponsors, develop and advance digital systems applications and broadband Internet, and boost the distribution and use of Arabic Internet products and services," said ABFICT chairman Abdel Danish.
Hollywood says it shut down Swedish film piracy Website
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA - Hollywood's top film association, the Motion Picture Association (MPA), said on September 26 that it had succeeded in shutting down a Swedish Website alleged to have pirated over 15,000 movies and television episodes. MPA announced the shutdown of "BlueCrap", described as "a highly trafficked Internet 'warez' server used to swap movies, television programming and other copyrighted materials". According to MPA BlueCrap released over 15,000 copyrighted movies and television episodes over the past two years, making it one of the highest ranked underground pirate servers in Europe. The massive server allowed for a movie to be transferred in less than 10 seconds.
MPA said that BlueCrap was operated by an individual nicknamed "Swemike" and was the "exclusive domain of a select group of pirates, including seven well-known movie and television piracy gangs". The trade group maintains that piracy excluding online file-sharing cost the industry $3.5 billion in 2004 and that the figure might hit $5.4 billion in 2005.
Mideast's biggest IT fair opens in Dubai
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The Middle East's largest information technology fair opened in the emirate of Dubai on September 25, with a record number of participants reflecting the booming IT industry in the region, organizers said. The five-day GITEX 2005 show, now in its 25th year, features 2,724 exhibiting companies from 61 countries at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center. Dubai, one of the seven members of the United Arab Emirates, has blazed the way forward for IT in the Middle East, setting up Dubai Internet City and engaging in many other lavish projects in a bid to become the region's e-capital.
Greece studies satellite spyware against illegal migrants, homes
ATHENS - Equally concerned by illegal immigrants crossing the Aegean Sea and by unregulated home building across the country, the Greek government is considering employing satellite technology to keep an eye on both problems, a leading Greek daily reported on September 24. The public order ministry is examining proposals for a network of 12 lightweight satellites to both monitor Greece's borders and defend its forests, Kathimerini daily reported, citing a ministry source. If equipped with the appropriate technology, the satellites could also help seismological research and oil surveys, the newspaper said. Greek authorities annually catch hundreds of would-be migrants trying to enter the country. While luxury villas are a common sight in forested areas previously ravaged by fires, which are themselves a frequent occurrence in Greece during summer.
VASCO brings security line to Middle East
BRUSSELS - VASCO Data Security is partnering with a Dubai firm to offer its network security products in the Middle East. VASCO said that it would work with Online Distribution Limited to market its Digipass and VACMAN Middleware to customers seeking authentication capabilities for e-commerce. "We see authentication being adopted increasingly as a security technology to guard against the numerous threats plaguing networks today," said VASCO's Keith Rich. Digipass is only sold through distributors and other established re-sellers.
I.T. Briefs
TOOLBAR
To add a comment,
Please log in:
Don't have an account?
Register now to comment on stories and stay up to date on important events and issues in the Middle East with our newsletter.