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Monday, July 2, 2012

China court: Apple pays $60M to settle iPad case

FILE - In this Feb. 28, 2012 file photo, a man walks by an advertisement of Apple's iPad 2 in Shanghai, China. Apple has agreed to pay China's Shenzhen Proview Technology $60 million to settle a dispute over ownership of the iPad name, a court announced Monday, July 2, 2012, removing a potential obstacle to sales of the popular tablet computer in the key Chinese market. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Visitors look at computer products near advertisement for Apple's iPad tablet computer at an Apple store in Beijing, China, Monday, July 2, 2012. Apple agreed to pay $60 million to settle a dispute in China over ownership of the iPad name, a court announced Monday, removing a potential obstacle to sales of the popular tablet computer in the key Chinese market. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A woman walks near the Apple logo outside an Apple store in Shanghai, China on Monday July 2, 2012. Apple agreed to pay $60 million to settle a dispute in China over ownership of the iPad name, a court announced Monday, removing a potential obstacle to sales of the popular tablet computer in the key Chinese market. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT

BEIJING (AP) ? Apple has paid $60 million to settle a dispute in China over ownership of the iPad name, a court announced Monday, removing a potential obstacle to sales of the popular tablet computer in the key Chinese market.

Apple's dispute with Shenzhen Proview Technology highlighted the possible pitfalls for global companies in China's infant trademark system. It also posed a challenge for the communist government, which wants to attract technology investors to develop China's economy.

Apple Inc. says it bought the global rights to the iPad name from Proview in 2009 but Chinese authorities say the rights in China were never transferred. A Chinese court ruled in December that Proview still owned the name in China. Proview, which is struggling financially, asked Chinese authorities to seize iPads in an apparent effort to pressure Apple to settle.

"The iPad dispute resolution is ended," the Guangdong High People's Court said in a statement. "Apple Inc. has transferred $60 million to the account of the Guangdong High Court as requested in the mediation letter."

China is Apple's second-largest market after the United States and the source of much of the Cupertino, California-based company's sales growth.

Proview hoped for more money but felt pressure to settle because it needs to pay debts, said a lawyer for the company, Xie Xianghui. He said Proview sought as much as $400 million and might still be declared bankrupt in a separate legal proceeding despite the infusion of settlement money.

"This is a result that is acceptable to both sides," Xie said.

The dispute centered on whether Apple acquired the iPad name in China when it bought rights in various countries from a Proview affiliate in Taiwan for 35,000 British pounds ($55,000). The December court ruling said Proview, which registered the iPad trademark in China in 2001, was not bound by that sale, even though it was part of the same company.

The settlement should be good news for both Apple and its customers because it clears a potential obstacle for the company to start selling the new iPad 3 in China, said You Yunting, a lawyer for the DeBund Law Office in Shanghai.

"It is a good deal for Apple, because sales of iPads, which are in great demand, can compensate for this $60 million cost," You said.

Apple has yet to announce a China release date for the iPad 3 but the country's telecommunications equipment certification agency approved the tablet in May.

The case gave Chinese authorities a chance to show that their courts could impartially resolve intellectual property disputes but also raised the possibility that technology investors might be put off by a negative outcome for Apple. Chinese regulators said Proview clearly owned the mainland name rights under Chinese rules.

Without a formal ruling, it will be hard for companies to draw lessons about how Chinese courts will handle such disputes in the future, said Stan Abrams, an American lawyer who teaches intellectual property law at Beijing's Central University of Finance and Economics.

"It's such an atypical case," he said. "Certainly, the details and specifics of this kind of commercial dispute aren't going to give us any long-term lessons."

The outcome reflects Chinese courts' preference for encouraging adversaries in commercial disputes to settle instead of pushing for a ruling, Abrams said. He said the relatively small size of the settlement by Apple's standards suggested Proview gave in, possibly under pressure from either its creditors or the court.

All of Apple's iPads are made in China by Foxconn Technologies Group, which employs more than 1 million people in sprawling factories. Brazil's government says Taiwan-based Foxconn plans to open factories there to produce iPads and other products.

Shenzhen Proview Technology is a subsidiary of LCD screen maker Proview International Holdings Ltd., headquartered in Hong Kong.

A Hong Kong court ruled in July that Proview and the Taiwan company both were "clearly under the control" of the same Taiwanese businessman, Yang Long-san, and had refused to take steps required to transfer the name under the agreement. The judge said the companies acted together "with the common intention of injuring Apple."

However, that judgment had no automatic force in the mainland case because Hong Kong, while Chinese territory, has a separate legal system.

Apple also ran into a trademark dispute before it launched the iPhone in 2007.

Cisco Systems Inc., the maker of networking hardware, had owned the trademark since 2000 and used it for a line of Internet-connected desk phones. After Cisco sued, the companies reached an undisclosed settlement and the phone launch went off as planned.

The dispute came amid complaints Beijing is failing to stamp out rampant unlicensed Chinese copying of goods ranging from music and Hollywood movies to designer clothing and pharmaceuticals.

But unlike "trademark squatters" who register names of products already sold abroad and then demand foreign companies pay for the Chinese rights, Proview registered the iPad name long before Apple planned its tablet computer.

"The only thing companies really should take form this case is, be careful when you do transactions, be careful with your contracts," Abrams said. "Be careful you're doing it the right way or you could pay a lot for your mistakes."

___

AP researcher Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-07-02-AS-China-Apple-iPad-Dispute/id-baf6bc3ace0e4dd5884d4c27eb656c29

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Oldest DNA Recovered From 7,000-Year-Old Skeletons In Spain

An anonymous reader writes "Researchers published a paper in the current issue of Current Biology detailing their analysis of DNA from 7,000-year old cavemen in northern Spain. From the article: 'The bones of the two young adult males were found in a cave in the Cantabarian mountain range in 2006 by a handful of explorers, 4,920 feet above sea level. The cold atmosphere is what preserved the DNA in the remains of the two bodies. The cavemen lived during the Mesolithic period and were hunter-gatherers, as determined by an ornament one of the skeletons was holding. They have named the two skeletons Bra?a1 and Bra?a2 after the Bra?a-Arintero site in which they were discovered. They were in near-perfect condition.'"

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/Sfw26pE9a9k/oldest-dna-recovered-from-7000-year-old-skeletons-in-spain

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Miami rapper Pitbull may head to Alaska

FILE - This April 26, 2012 file photo shows rapper Pitbull smiling after accepting the award for the Song of the Year by a male performer during the Latin Billboard Awards in Coral Gables, Fla. KMXT reports that Walmart will send the Miami rapper, whose real name is Armando Christian Perez, to its store which gets the most "likes" on its Facebook page. A writer for the Boston Phoenix thought it'd be funny to send Pitbull to the most remote Walmart possible, and is encouraging people to "like" the Walmart in Kodiak. It seems to be working. The Kodiak Walmart had over 35,000 "likes" Monday, more than five times the town's population. Other Walmarts in Alaska lag with about 600 "likes" apiece. The promotion runs through the middle of the month. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, file)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) ? Miami rapper Pitbull might soon be chilling out in Alaska.

In a marketing deal, Walmart will send Pitbull, aka Armando Christian Perez, to the store that gets the most "likes" on its Facebook page.

Right now, the leading candidate is Kodiak, Alaska. And there might be a reason.

A writer for The Boston Phoenix newspaper thought it'd be funny to send Pitbull to the most remote Walmart possible, and is encouraging people to "like" the Walmart in Kodiak.

It seems to be working.

The Kodiak Walmart had more than 35,000 "likes" Monday, more than five times the town's population.

Kodiak has a significant lead in the contest to land Pitbull, but actual numbers weren't immediately available, Walmart spokeswoman Sarah Spencer said.

She says other Walmart shoppers have until July 16 to like their local stores and pull ahead of Kodiak.

"I know Pitbull is hoping his Miami Walmart shoppers start liking their Facebook page," she said.

That would require some heavy lifting, with one Miami location sitting tight with 45 "likes" Monday.

"He's definitely coming to Kodiak if Kodiak wins," she said.

It would be the rapper's first visit to Alaska.

Pitbull, who is touring Europe, seems to be taking the contest in good nature. "Wherever the fans want to have a party, I will be there," he said in an emailed statement sent Monday from Austria.

Kodiak Island is about 225 miles southwest of Anchorage. It's home to the nation's largest Coast Guard base, and the island is known for its Kodiak brown bear population.

That fact wasn't lost on Pitbull, who tweeted Saturday: "I hear there's bear repellant at Kodiak, Alaska (at)walmartspecials."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-07-02-People-Pitbull-Alaska/id-45e13e5109db436c89f47139e14bdd2c

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Rwanda gorillas prosper despite guerrillas next door

Baby gorillas roll around as their mothers tuck into juicy plant shoots: mountain gorillas are highly endangered, but the 27 members of the Agashya family are well protected.

The dense misty forests of the Virunga mountain chain straddling Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo are home to over half of all mountain gorillas, but the jungles also host rebel fighters across the border into Congo.

Yet despite the threats, the population of these threatened primates has been rising for the past decade.

The total world population is estimated at 790, 480 of whom live here in the Virungas, the remainder in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

The positive trend, which comes in spite of protracted unrest on the Congolese side of the border, is largely due to progress made in curbing poaching, Rwandan authorities say.

Poaching "is declining every year" largely due to awareness campaigns in local communities, according to Telesphore Ngoga, who heads the conservation department at Rwanda Development Board.da

"There is no longer a situation where baby gorillas are poached," he said.

Augustin Basabose, acting director at the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP), says that while poachers no longer really target the gorillas per se, they do still get caught in snares set for other wildlife such as antelopes.

Eating the mountain apes is taboo here, but they were previously targeted, with their hands used for grim trophies, while baby gorillas were seized for private illegal zoos.

Basabose is one of 20 people chosen by the Rwandan authorities this year to name 19 babies and one adult in the annual gorilla naming ceremony, which was first held in 2005.

Attended by members of the international community based in Kigali, but not by the primates themselves, the naming is supposed to create awareness about the need for mountain gorilla conservation and to promote tourism.

Tourism here is an important foreign currency earner, having brought in some $250 million in 2011.

A foreign visitor not resident in the region pays $750 for a permit to spend one hour in the company of the primates.

Once inside the park, a ranger welcomes the day's visitors -- never more than eight per group of habituated gorillas -- to guide them through the undergrowth lining the steep and slippery path.

The guide reminds the visitors of the rules to be obeyed while they observe the gorillas in the forests.

If an ape comes too close the visitor must move back, both out of prudence -- as the primates tower over the visitors and can weigh as much as 200 kilograms (440 pounds) -- and in order to respect their environment.

"We want to keep them as wild as possible," explained the guide, Francis Bayingana.

He is armed with a Kalashnikov rifle -- but more in case the group encounters an aggressive buffalo, than because of the security situation on the other side of the border.

The Congolese flanks of the Virunga mountains have been hard hit by the recent wave of violence on that side of the border.

In May army mutineers "crossed the park to arrive in the gorilla sector," said Emmanuel de Merode, director of the DR Congo's Virunga national park.

The Congolese park has been closed to tourists for the past several weeks, Merode said, adding that three rangers were killed in May, when they were ambushed on a road where they were protecting civilians.

In early June two other rangers received bullet and bayonet wounds, and the gorilla sector patrols in Congo were suspended.

Since then rangers have not managed to re-establish contact with two of the park's six gorilla families, who have taken refuge "in inaccessible zones," Merode added.

However, on the Rwandan side of the mountains, it is business as usual.

The only recent change of note is that joint patrols of Rwandan and Congolese rangers have come to a halt. At the end of the last such patrol the DRC rangers had difficulty making it back to their homes because of the fighting.

Some observers wonder if the gorillas in DRC will not cross over the border to escape the fighting.

"Gorillas are sensitive to the sound of bullets and do move from one country to another in search of food," said Basabose, who was unable to say whether such movements have been observed recently.

Rwandan conservationists say that in 2005 a gorilla family did cross into Rwanda from DRC and has been here ever since. They speculate that it might have been in order to escape instability in eastern DRC.

Back in the park, the Agashya family has finished its break. The head of the family, an imposing silverback, tells everyone -- visitors included -- that it's time to leave.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rwanda-gorillas-prosper-despite-guerrillas-next-door-055745221.html

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Sunday, July 1, 2012

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Seeks to Expand in North Eastern States

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Self Hypnosis Weight Loss - How Can You Lose Weight

Stupid things you do with a smartphone -- and how to fix them

20 hrs.

Adam Dachis , Lifehacker

Your smartphone can be your second brain, but it can also turn you into a person with no sense of direction, poor social skills and next to no privacy. Fixing these problems is easy, but first you need to know about them. Here are all stupid things you're doing with your smartphone.

Stupid Thing #1: You're overreliant on your smartphone, causing you to forget?important numbers and directions
A lot of people think your smartphone is making you stupid. That's not true, but you may occasionally rely on it to a fault???or at least to the detriment of self-sufficiency. Rely too much on turn-by-turn GPS and you'll never learn how to get anywhere yourself. You probably can't recall more than a few of your contacts' phone numbers, which is fine until your phone's dead and it's an emergency. While you can't be expected to recall every little bit of data that crosses your path, you can benefit a lot by storing certain things directly in your gray matter. If you want to use your smartphone intelligently, it needs to be a supplement???not a replacement???for the tasks you should be able to complete on your own.

To fix this problem, it may be time to reprogram your memory. You're not used to retaining information your smartphone can provide, so you have to start taking the time to remember the information you request. When you receive driving directions, look through them a few times, repeat them aloud and remember them as you make your trip. You can always reference them again at a stoplight if you forget a turn or two, but making the effort to remember is the important thing. This way you'll be able to make the same trip again without the need to look up directions at all. After enough trips in the same city, you'll just know where you are without the aid of your phone.

When it comes to your to-do lists and phone numbers, don't just store them in your phone. Write them down on paper, with an actual writing implement. The act of writing can actually improve your ability to learn, so you'll get more out of the process. On top of that, look at phone numbers before you dial them and say them as you dial to help you remember them. An easy fix is simply replacing your favorite contacts' names with their numbers. Thoroughly look at your to-do list at the top of each day so you know what you need to get done, rather than just referencing the list whenever you need a new task. Having your tasks in your memory will help make you more productive because you'll be able to plan what you want to do and when quite a bit better. There's nothing wrong with having this information in your phone, but a good chunk of it ought to be in your brain as well.

Stupid Thing #2: You won't pay $1 for a great app
There are a ton of great, free apps for smartphones, but sometimes there's a better app for a small price???a price many won't pay. Take Sparrow for example. You get a free mail client with your iPhone, and it's not half bad. Sparrow, on the other hand, is amazing???especially if you're a Gmail user. It's currently priced at $2, and that's a barrier to entry for many people in spite of high praise from friends and people all over the web. When Apple started their app store, and Google followed with theirs, we entered a world where software became very inexpensive. It's not unusual to want to avoid paying for it because we know there are so many great options available for free. But sometimes, it's worth it.

Look at it this way: sometimes you'll pay $15 for a meal you could make yourself for $5. You do this because the $15 meal is going to taste better and you won't have to spend time making it. The same goes for apps: sometimes you should spend a few dollars to get something awesome that will save you time and effort???or that's just really fun. If you're concerned about overspending, set a monthly app budget. Not only will you have a better, more functional smartphone, but you'll be supporting the developers who work hard to bring you great things. It's a win-win.

Stupid Thing #3: Your phone notifies you about everything
Your phone's notification system is like a dog trainer and you are, unfortunately, the dog. When you're notified all the time, you become accustomed to constantly pulling out your phone to see what just happened. It's gotten so bad for some people that people feel their phone vibrating when it's not. If you've ever checked your phone because you thought it vibrated but it turned out nothing happened at all, you've probably enabled too many notifications.

I've set my phone to silent most of the time and simply check it periodically to see if there's anything new I need to know about. This works well for me. I've yet to miss anything urgent. That said, it's not a solution for everybody. Chances are you either need notifications as they happen for work, or you?simply prefer to be more up-to-date. In that case, you just need to prune your notifications so you receive the stuff you consider important and ignore the stuff you can look at later. For the most part, this means editing each app's notification settings and keeping them on if they're important, turn off vibration if they're unimportant, and turn them off if they're useless. This will minimize your daily distractions and help you avoid checking your phone every second of the day.

Stupid Thing #4: You're distracted by your smartphone while driving
Texting while driving is more dangerous than driving drunk. You've no doubt heard that before, and you probably still send text messages from your car???or at least check out that last notification???while it's rolling down the road. Chances are you know this is bad, but the desire to send that text overrides your better judgment in the moment. While you'd most likely be better off not using your smartphone at all, it is possible to drive safely while using your phone???at least in small ways. The key is to keep your eyes???and your focus???on the road.

Realistically, you're always going to have distractions in the car that are going to hurt your focus. Keeping those distractions to a minimum will help you drive more safely. This means using voice control to change a song or send a text message while operating a moving vehicle, and both iOS and Android have comprehensive voice control features. If you're on an older iPhone without Siri, Vokul can bridge the gap. If you're an Android user who wants a personal assistant like Siri, you have plenty of options. Voice control is a much better way to control your smartphone without taking your eyes or your focus off the road, but it still qualifies as a distraction. Your best bet, if you just have to change that song or send a text message, is to do it at a stoplight. Because you're using voice control you'll be able to keep an eye on the light to know when it changes, but you won't need your full attention because the vehicle isn't moving. If you live by those rules, you'll have a lot less to worry about.

Stupid Thing #5: You don't monitor your privacy settings
Your smartphone retains a lot of personal data, and this points to two privacy issues. First, if your phone is stolen, the thief has easy access to your data. Second, apps on your phone may be tracking a little more information than you want. Both problems are very simple to fix.

To resolve the stolen phone problem, secure your smartphone with a password and enable remote wipe. This way no one can easily access your personal data, and you can destroy that data remotely if you've got something particularly sensitive.

To keep your phone from tracking you in unwanted ways, schedule a regular privacy audit once a month. (You should do this on the web and on your computers, too, by the way.) This is easy (albeit a bit limited) on the iPhone, as you can just open the Settings app and tap Location Services to enable or disable app access. (In iOS 6, these settings will be in a new Privacy tab that will allow you to toggle various types of information an app can access.)

Managing your privacy on Android is a little more complicated, but you also have greater control. First, you'll want to make sure your phone isn't running Carrier IQ?a program that's capable of tracking and reporting a massive amount of data without your knowledge. Second, an app called Privacy Blocker can perform that privacy audit for you. It'll take a look at the apps installed on your Android and give you an overview of the data they're collecting. If an app is overreaching, delete it.

Stupid Thing #6: You neglect other people in favor of your smartphone
Social media may be intended to bring us together, but it's equally skilled at keeping us apart. When spending time with other people, you can't exactly interact with them when you're using your smartphone???it's that pesky multitasking myth. Your phone's a device intended to keep you connected to people you care about. When you're with them, it's best to put the smartphone away. Solving the problem is often that simple.

If you're easily distracted, however, turn off alerts and notifications. If other people you're with are constantly checking their phones, politely ask them to save it for later. Technology is awesome, but it's often addictive. It's always with you, unlike people. So separate your smartphone and your human time. It's a better way to stay connected.

There you have it. A few simple fixes and you're back to using your phone for good.?

More from Lifehacker:

Source: http://www.gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/technology/gadgetbox/stupid-things-you-do-smartphone-how-fix-them-854049

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