Enough of this Patent War Nonsense..

Regardless of my personal feelings toward any of these latest smartphone companies like Apple/Samsung etc.. I think this is high time that they sit together and resolve or dismiss these patent war non-sense. Instead of focusing on patent war they better focus back on innovation and new development and make some good progress in technology and its usability. Both of them are great companies and have enough potential to grow beyond their own dreams. Pie is too big. there is place for everyone in it.

Even though, personally I am of Apple camp on device loyalty and kind of agree with their Patent claims.. but I hate them for initiating this patent war with Samsung and other companies. This is ridiculous and if they don't stop it soon.. my hatred can overcome the love for their devices and force me to change to Android camp.. Even though, I know that I will miss my iPhone or hate clumsiness of Android.. but still I will switch to Android to make a point.. and who knows.. after using couple of months, I may start liking Android so much that I may simply become Android camp person forever ;-) Android is not that bad either and they have cleaned it up a lot already to make it work like a charm..

I honestly don't want to hear such news about patent war anymore.. DONE.. Done..

APPLE LOSES IN JAPAN

An about-face in phone wars

Patent claims rejected as Samsung shows that battle is far from over

By Hiroko Tabuchi

New York Times

TOKYO — A Japanese court Friday rejected patent claims made by Apple against Samsung, a victory for the South Korean company after its crushing defeat in the United States last week and a reminder of the global scope of the patent war between the two technology giants.

With a judge in South Korea having handed down a split decision in a patent case earlier, Apple and Samsung remain neck-andneck in legal disputes spanning almost a dozen countries.

For both companies, Japan makes up a far smaller proportion of sales than the all-important U.S. market. But the Tokyo ruling suggests that despite Apple’s victory in a San Jose federal courtroom — which included a $1 billion judgment against Samsung — jostling between the two companies for the upper hand in the fast-growing smartphone and tablet segments is just beginning. 

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TOMOHIRO OHSUMI/BLOOMBERG NEWS

Apple iPhones, left, and Samsung Galaxy smartphones sit side by side at an electronics store in Tokyo. After its huge defeat of Samsung in the U.S., Apple lost its patent lawsuit in Japan.

The Tokyo District Court ruled that Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and tablets did not violate an Apple patent on technology that synchronizes music and videos between gadgets and servers. 

Apple had sued Samsung in Tokyo last year in a case that sought 100 million yen, or $1.3 million, in damages. 

Apple has filed other patent suits in Japan against Samsung, including one alleging the South Korean company copied Apple’s signature “bounce back” effect when a user scrolls to the end of a list on the iPhone and iPad. Apple has also asked for an injunction that would prevent Samsung from shipping some Galaxy smartphones to Japan. Samsung, as in other countries, has countersued Apple in Japan, saying both the iPhone and iPad infringe Samsung patents. 

In a statement, Samsung Electronics, based in Suwon, South Korea, said the ruling had validated its claims that it had not copied Apple. 

“Samsung has strongly asserted that its technology is altogether different and does not infringe on Apple patents. The ruling recognizes the legitimacy of Samsung’s assertions and is highly valid,” it said. 

Apple representatives could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Still wildly popular, Apple hardly needs a lift in Japan. Its iPhone was the top-selling smartphone in Japan in 2011, while Samsung’s Galaxy series trailed in the No. 5 spot — behind smartphones made by Sharp, Fujitsu and Sony Mobile, according to the MM Research Institute, based in Tokyo. Globally, Samsung is the largest smartphone-maker. 

But even in Japan, the operating system used by Samsung and other smartphone-makers, Android from Google, has grown steadily, posing a collective challenge to Apple. Android captured 58 percent of the Japanese market, compared with the 38 percent market share claimed by Apple’s iOS in the first quarter of 2012, according to the global research firm Nielsen. 

Many analysts see Apple’s suits against Samsung as a proxy battle against the Android platform, which Apple developers have derided as being an iOS copy. 

The patent war between Apple and Google has brought a debate about the future of technological innovation — one that intensified after the nine-member jury in California ruled in Apple’s favor Aug. 24. The jury said Samsung smartphone and tablet products violated Apple’s patents protecting designs and functions, including the rectangular shape and rounded edges of the iPhone. 

Some experts say such rulings will force smartphone-makers to focus on innovating rather than copying, while others say designers could now be stifled by the need to second-guess constantly whether new designs or functions violate other companies’ patents. 

Meanwhile, Japanese electronics- makers have figure d littl e in the smartphone patent wars, underscoring how negligible a threat they currently pose to either Apple or Samsung in the sector. 

Samsung, the world’s largest seller of smartphones, and Apple, the world’s second-largest, together control a little more than 50 percent of the global smartphone market, the research firm Strategy Analytics said in July. 

Japanese smartphone-makers like Sharp and Fujitsu, on the other hand, have little presence beyond Japan’s shores. 

Helicopter Drone??

Very soon we will have wars like video games.. Why not even "Soldier Drone" or you may want to call him/her a Robot (soooo old tech..).. This Chopper is just for logistics only.. yet.. I am sure, it will have guns loaded on it as well.. Good job prospects for Video Game players.. or may be US Military should buy out Wii/xBox-360.. or at least hire their top notch developers to usage/control of these devices in field..

Bad news is that all this is being done to enable more destruction of beautiful mother nature.. silver lining is that ultimately, it will result in lesser human casualties.. ultimately.. hopefully on both sides of the war.. and winner will be the best Video game player with latest and greatest video game consoles... (sorry about linking such a fun thing like video games to such a dreaded and catastrophic thing like war..).

Here is detailed news from our local mercury news..

U.S. testing helicopter drone

Pilotless aircraft can be used to haul cargo inwar zones

By Slobodan Lekic

Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S. military is testing a revolutionary new drone for its arsenal, a pilotless helicopter intended to fly cargo missions to remote outposts where frequent roadside bombs threaten access by road convoys. Surveillance drones for monitoring enemy activity and armed versions for launching airstrikes have become a trademark of America’s wars in Afghanistan, Iraq. But this is the first time a helicopter version designed for transport has been used operationally. Two pilotless models of the Kaman K-MAX helicopters and a team of 16 company technicians and eight Marines are conducting a 6-month evaluation program for the new craft at Camp Dwyer, a Marine Corps airfield in the Garmsir district of southern Helmand Province.

The craft have flown 20 transport missions since the inaugural flight Dec. 17, said Maj. Kyle O’Connor, the officer in charge of the detachment. They have delivered nearly 18 tons of cargo, mainly thousands of Meals Ready to Eat and spare parts needed at the forward operating bases.

“Afghanistan is a highly mined country and the possibility of improvised explosive devices is always a problem moving cargo overland in a convoy,” O’Connor said.

“Every load that we can take off of a ground convoy reduces the danger and risk that our Marines, soldiers, and sailors are faced with,” he said. “With an unmanned helicopter, even the aircrew is taken out of harm’s way.”

The Marines from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 lead the missions and deliver the cargo into combat drop zones, while contractors operate and maintain the two aircraft.

The craft’s onboard computer uploads the mission plans, enabling them to fly on autopilot. But an operator at base control monitors progress and can step in and override the autopilot for manual operation if any problems occur, or if the drone must be redirected in mid-flight.

The K-MAX is the latest in a series of Kaman synchronized twin-rotor helicopters dating from the 1950s. The unusual arrangement, with two side-by-side pylons on the helicopter’s roof supporting counter-rotating blades, results in exceptional stability while hovering and allows pinpoint cargo delivery.

During the Vietnam War, a previous Kaman model, the two-pilot HH-43 Huskie, flew more rescue missions than all other aircraft combined because of this unique hovering capability.

The piloted version of the K-MAX helicopter first appeared in the 1990s, and the pilotless prototype was unveiled in 2008.

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A K-MAX pilotless freight helicopter transports cargo in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Two of the helicopters have flown 20 transport missions since Dec. 17 in southern Afghanistan.

JUSTIN M. BOLING/ ASSOCIATED PRESS 

West on the way to Japan - Part Three-Final

Finally, we come to other side of Atlantic.. North America.. Surprisingly.. there are three very different major countries with different kind of economies..

Starting with Canada.. I guess "All is Well" in that part of north west.. Canada's conservative (as compared to its southern partners) economic policies coupled with sudden burst of energy related activities are giving boom time to the country.. and it is prospering like anything we are yet to see in west.. However, due to sever weather conditions, only very few brave people are willing to relocate to Canada despite several great incentives over there.. I think we all agree that Canada is not going to be Japan any time soon.. Except if Crude oil prices comes to less than $40/barrel.. Which is highly unlikely.. in case that happens, we will re-visit this country later..

Then comes the biggest fish in the West.. our dear beloved (or equally hated by many as well) United States of America.. Which has been biggest and strongest growth driver for long time in wild wild west.. Several things were on US side.. At least from beginning of twentieth Century.. Starting with great minds.. excellent democracy.. abundant resources.. very limited population.. relatively easy immigration policies.. almost none or very few direct hostile attacks... lot of hostile activities in rest of the world...  US took full advantage of all these and many other opportunities.. Very well executed and results were terrific.. It resulted in great infrastructure and US become super power of twentieth century..

But at the dawn of twenty first century (or even earlier) things started declining.. and multiple factors combined to accelerate this decline.. I would say most important was or still is... outlook and thinking of mass population..

if entire population starts following up mob phycology and starts following and taking dumb decisions.. then only GOD save us.. (but only if GOD exists??). It all started with blind wars in middle east and Afghanistan... wars without well defined objectives.. On one hand funds are being cut in schools and teachers are being laid off to save couple of million dollars a year.. on the other hand couple of billion dollars are being spent every day as if it is simple change... Even after spending more than trillion of dollars on these wars.. we are still not sure if we achieved anything or simply created more hatred and fanatism against US.. at the same time sacrificing limited resources on at this crucial juncture on these wars instead of schools and infrastructure of the nation..

At the same time, I would be very cautious and will be clear.. a decade of decline is very short time on overall scheme of things.. There is still lot of good things which can still take back this country to its glory days.. more importantly.. lot of those good or great things doesn't exist in rest of the developed world and even in many of so called emerging economies.. If US can bring its act together we still can change the course and bring things back to normal..

Coming back to Comparison with Japan.. USA is almost exactly opposite of Japanese thinking and culture.. US society is based on consumption.. consumption beyond our means..  However, Japan is more purely driven by exports, savings, manufacturing, work and work and work and work.. In Software engineering terms, if US is R&D/Innovation and development then Japan is QA and Support (oops.. it didn't fit that well..). Though I feel that Japan was hurt more by Chinese manufacturing where as US was hurt more by Indian IT.. I guess, I am not making much sense.. so I will stop now on this.. but lastly, I feel if current condition of US can be compared to any one.. then it has to be UK.. UK was King of nineteenth century and it ultimately lost its prestige and wealth in Wars.. US is almost on same path.. unless we change our course fast enough and focus on our internal situation.. but challenge is that all the economies of world are so tightly integrated that if one country sinks.. it will sync rest of the world as well..

On internal issues.. Any country is on definitive course of decline and demise if their congress takes few minutes to pass budget/grants for wars/army and debates for weeks/months for grants to cash strapped schools and universities.. or sometime they never pass as well.. How bad congress can get when they can't even agree on cuts/spending of 10-15 million dollar where as result of that itself is loss of more than thirty million dollars per day.... loss of payroll and different projects.. What a bunch of morons!!! How careless they can be.. Had it been any organization, all these morons should have been fired or made to work late night till they figure solution to this petty problem.. These kind of examples show how bankrupt a country is..  and what is more to come..  enough of blah blah..