c m y k c m y k

Sony haltssales of PS3 jailbreak. Technomics

Facebooksued overwhetherteens can‘like’ ads.

Boston Consultingto help inrevampingMphasiS.

DDCC 15Bengaluru ●● Monday ●● 30 August 2010

Paul Allen’s firm sues Silicon Valley giants

US chipmaker Inteland Infineon arelikely to announce

an agreement on the futureof the German chipmaker'swireless business thisweekend, three peoplefamiliar with the mattersaid.

The deal is likely to hap-pen within the next twodays, the people toldReuters on Friday, addingtalks were close to conclu-sion but could hinge on adetail.

It was not clear whetherthe deal would involve asale of the whole unit, gen-erating more than 1 billioneuros ($1.27 billion), orjust a stake in the business.

Both Infineon and Inteldeclined to comment.

Infineon shares weredown 3.9 percent at 4.475euros by 1416 GMT,recouping some of the loss-es they posted after Intelwarned that its third-quar-ter revenue would fall shortof expectations.

Intel shares were largelyflat at $18.182.

Based in Neubiberg nearMunich, Infineon said ear-lier this month it was inadvanced talks with inter-ested parties about thefuture of its mobile chipunit, which had annual rev-enue of 917 million eurosin Infineon's 2008/2009fiscal year and now gener-ates around 30 percent ofthe company's total rev-enue.

The business had beenloss-making for years butInfineon Chief ExecutivePeter Bauer, who took thehelm in mid-2008, man-aged to turn the unitaround.

It ranks No. 5 in thechipset industry, far behindsector giants Qualcomm,Texas Instruments andBroadcom, and supplieschips to top manufacturerssuch as Nokia, LG andApple.

Getting access to Infi-neon's mobile chips wouldhelp Intel expand in thebooming smartphone mar-ket.

Intels’Atom mobile chipstook the low-cost, no-frillsnetbook market by stormbut are rarely found insmartphones where otherchipmakers dominate.

“Infineon would makeIntel an instant heavy-weight (in the mobilespace) and buy them three,four years in R&D(research and develop-ment),” IDC analyst FlintPulskamp has said.

In addition, Infineoncould use the money toinvest in its other business-es: automotive, industrialand chip card security.

— Reuters

Infineon, Intel likely tofinalise deal

SANGEETHA CHENGAPPA

DC| BENGALURU

Aug. 29: Indian art andhandicraft is widely appre-ciated all over the the world.Nearly 10 per cent of the 23million artisans across thecountry,however abandonthe pursuit of traditionalcraft handed to them overgenerations every 7-10years. To save the rich her-itage of Indian handicraftfrom becoming extinct, ateam of motivated young-sters with diverse workexperience ranging from IT,hospitality, ManagementConsulting, Design andLuxury Management decid-ed to quit their cushy jobsand launch an online mar-ketplace that connects con-noisseurs of art from aroundthe world with an eclecticcollection of ancient, mod-ern and contemporary Indi-an art & handicraft fromartisans across the country.

Aporv.com was launchedon June 5th, (World Envi-ronment Day), received27,000 page views in thefirst 60 days and already has500 dedicated fans on popu-lar social networking sites.The categories of handcraft-ed products on offer rangefrom home décor, jewellery,handbags to gift items, natu-ral silk stoles, sarees andhand-embroidered bed-sheets that are pricedbetween Rs 95 to Rs 9,900.“Aporv is Sanskrit for‘unique’ and we make it aunique experience as eachhandcrafted product is soldas a story rather than for itsface value. Every craft holdssecrets, myths and fablesthat have become a part of itthrough generations.Webring these stories to con-noisseurs of handcraftedproducts” said Sudip Dutta,Founder & CEO,aporv.com.

The zoom-in feature on thesite allows one to see close-ups of products. One canread the story of the product

— where it comes from,ingredients that go intomaking it and a link to theartisan who makes it. “Ifyou click on the black pot-

tery teaset on aporv.com,you will find that it is knownas Longpi Ham pottery,which originates from theThangkhul Naga tribes of

Manipur, is made up of hardserpentine rock and was tra-ditionally used by noblefamilies of Manipur to cookand serve meat dishes dur-

ing marriages and festivals.We have unusual pieces ofof wood marquetry, createdexclusively for Aporv by amaster craftsman, Vasantfrom Mysore, who masteredthe craft from his father.Marquetry is the art of creat-ing decorative designs andpictures by skillfully utiliz-ing the wood grain, figureand colours of thin veneersand sometimes other materi-als such as shell or ivory”said Sudip.

Artisans get their due forevery work of art or craftthat they produce and haveaccess to a global market fortheir masterpieces as Aporvpartners with Self HelpGroups, NGOs and artistswho are national award win-ners as well as freshers topromote their work. “Dyingcrafts get a fresh lease of lifeand art lovers get authentichandcrafted products with astory attached to each. Wealso partner with designersto combine the ancient artform with new designs”added Sudip. All the prod-ucts come with a certificateof authenticity from a panelof experts in Aporv. Cus-tomers can evaluate and rateproducts based on skills,uniqueness, aesthetics andcraft form. “We offer a no-questions-asked, 7-dayreturn policy if customersare not satisfied and under-take personalised packagingand messaging for cus-tomers in case of gifting.Shipping cost of productsvary from Rs 50 to Rs 350”said Sudip, who is confidentof breaking even in 18-24months. The self fundedcompany is now ready forthe second phase of expan-sion to ramp up its sales andmarketing, logistics andwarehousing facilities.While 50 per cent ofAporv’s customers are fromIndian cities, 32 per cent areNRIs from the US who giftto friends and family in India and the restare from the UK.

Intel reduces its 3rd-quarter sales forecast New York, Aug. 29: Thechip maker Intel said Fridaythat it was cutting its salesforecast for the third quarter,evidence that a sluggisheconomy was putting adamper on the back-to-school shopping season.

Intel is the world’s biggestprovider of microprocessorsfor PCs and a bellwether forthe broader technologyindustry.

In a statement Friday, Intelsaid it was seeing “weaker-than-expected” demand forconsumer PCs in maturemarkets,” like the UnitedStates and Europe.

The warning comes a littlemore than a month afterIntel reported its biggestquarterly profit in a decade.But those results werefueled by a rebound in tech-nology spending at corpora-tions, many of which heldoff replacing older comput-ers during the recession.

Home computer purchasesare another matter. Uncer-tainty about jobs is keepingconsumer spending incheck.

Intel said it now expectedrevenue of $10.8 billion to$11.2 billion in the thirdquarter, compared with aprevious forecast of $11.2billion to $12 billion.

Analysts surveyed byThomson Reuters expected$11.5 billion.

Intel is scheduled to reportresults on Oct. 12 and plansto update its fourth-quarterand full-year outlook then.

Intel’s downgrade of its

guidance was not entirely asurprise. Many investorssimply did not believe thatIntel would be able to hit thehigher numbers because ofsignals from other PC indus-try suppliers that PC saleswere collapsing.

Those concerns were themain reason Intel’s stockhad fallen about 13 percentsince Intel issued its originalguidance on July 13.

After the companyreleased its revised outlook,its shares rose 19 cents, or1.05 percent, to $18.35.

Last week, the PC makersDell and Hewlett-Packardalso raised red flags aboutwhat was normally a robustseason for sales.

Brian T. Gladden, Dell’schief financial officer, saidthat the back-to-schoolshopping season had been“a little weaker than wewould have expected.”

— AP

Exquisite Indian handicraftsare now just a click away

Intel said it wasseeing “weaker-than-expected”demand forconsumer PCs inmature markets.

Superbug ‘bugs’our healthcare

A dose of IT

A dose of IT

Kapil Khandelwal is a leading healthcare andICT expert. Kapil@KapilKhandelwal.com

DAN LEVINE

SAN FRANCISCO

Aug. 29: A company linkedto Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen is suing11 major corporations,including Apple, Googleand Facebook, accusingthem of infringing on tech-nology patents.

Interval Licensing isasserting four patentsagainst a cluster of defen-dants, including also AOL,eBay, Facebook, Netflix,Office Depot, OfficeMax,Staples, Yahoo and Google'sYouTube, according to thesuit.

Google, Facebook andeBay said they will fight theaccusations by Interval,which owns a portfolio oftechnology patents but doesnot manufacture. Apple,AOL, Office Depot, Netflixand OfficeMax declined tocomment. The remainingcompanies did not respondto requests for comment.

Experts say companies thatlack production but utilizeold patents to make broadinfringement claims tend toraise red flags. But the law-suit points out Allen's deephistory with Google, includ-ing early funding offounders Sergey Brin and

Larry Page, a likely attemptto distinguish this lawsuitfrom other opportunisticpatent litigation, Stanfordprofessor and IP litigatorMark Lemley said.

“It's usually an indicationeither that the patents areinvalid, or they’re over-claiming them,” said Lem-ley, whose law firm repre-sents Google and Netflix inunrelated matters.

“Part of what’s going onhere is the plaintiffs aregoing out of their way to say,‘Hey, look, we’re reallyimportant people. We’re realinnovators.”

Allen, the 37th-richest per-

son in the world accordingto Forbes, co-founded Inter-val Research in 1992 todevelop communicationsand computer technology.The company, whichemployed more than 110

scientists and engineers atone point, filed patents overseveral years covering Inter-net search and display inno-vations, according to thelawsuit.

Interval Licensing nowowns those patents.

Allen, who has been treat-ed for non-Hodgkin’s lym-phoma, in July pledged mostof his estimated $13.5 bil-lion fortune to philanthropyafter his death. He co-found-ed Microsoft in 1975 withBill Gates but resigned as anexecutive in 1983 as heovercame a first bout withcancer.

In the suit filed in the U.S.

District Court for the West-ern District of Washington,Interval is seeking damagesand a halt to the alleged vio-lations of patents it saidwere fundamental to e-com-merce and search.

“This lawsuit against someof America’s most innova-tive companies reflects anunfortunate trend of peopletrying to compete in thecourtroom instead of themarketplace,” a Googlespokesman said in anemailed statement.

“Innovation — not litiga-tion — is the way to bring tomarket the kinds of productsand services that benefit

millions of people aroundthe world.”

Interval spokesman DavidPostman said the lawsuitwas necessary to protect itsinvestment in innovation.

“We are not assertingpatents that other companieshave filed, nor are we buy-ing patents originallyassigned to someone else,”Postman said. “These arepatents developed by and forInterval.”

Facebook spokesmanAndrew Noyes said: “Webelieve this suit is complete-ly without merit and we willfight it vigorously.”

— Reuters

KAPIL KHANDELWAL

New Delhi has gota Superbugnamed after it! A

team of researchers inthe UK named a multi-drug resistant superbugafter our national capitalNew Delhi, NammaBengaluru may not alsobe spared. Our city ishost to thousands ofexpats who stay forshort period of time ormigrate to our city towork in the Bengaluruoffices of their multina-tional companies.Unlike mandatoryhealth checks that othercountries' embassiesimpose on migratingexpats from third-worldcountries like India, Iam not sure if the samemedical tests are beingrequested for expats vis-iting India. By doing itwe can be sure if for-eigners visiting NewDelhi or Bengaluru orany of our cities are car-rying the bugs andspreading it on Indiansoil or vice versa. Thiswould be one data pointour Health Ministry cancollaborate on with theExternal Affairs Min-istry in proving or disproving suchresearchers who namesuperbugs after Indiancities and provide nega-tive opinion about Indiaand its healthcare capa-bilities and medicaltourism to the world atlarge.

A superbug namedafter New Delhi is againan anti-thesis of sorts tome. Antibiotics havebeen used successfullyfor over 6 decades, butsuperbugs expressingresistance to them haveemerged and have dis-seminated through theglobal ecosystem, withor without the NewDelhi connection toreach infecting microor-ganisms, produce dis-ease, and seriouslyinterfere with therapy,allowing infections toprogress and fatalitiesdespite antibioticadministration. Theupsurge in prevalence ofsuch superbugs in thebacterial population thatcolonize and infect peo-ple globally involvestwo processes, emer-gence and dissemina-tion, in both of whichthere have been positivecontribution made fromthe developing world,where resistance is com-mon and increasing.

If we were to look atper-capita consumptionof antibiotics, India is atthe bottom of the global

list with one of thelargest drug-naïve popu-lation in the world thatthe global life sciencesmajors would like to useas subjects for their clin-ical trials. The regula-tion on prescribing anddispensing of antibioticshas a double purpose: toenhance access toantibiotic treatment andto reduce the inappropri-ate use of antibioticdrugs. Nevertheless,incentives to dispensingdoctors may lead toinefficiencies. Empiricalevidence suggests that agreater proportion ofdispensing practices isassociated with higher

levels of antibiotic usein the Western world.Hence to me the NewDelhi connection to asuperbug seems far-fetched and more of apolitical rather than sci-entific gimmick!

However, Nammacity’s health authoritiescannot be complacent.We need an automatedregistry of hospitalacquired infections thatall hospitals, whethergovernment or privatecan feed into for surveil-lance of emergence ofsuch multi-drug resist-ant superbugs.Advanced computertechnology is availableto identify hospital-associated multi-drugresistant superbugs.Hospitals should beencouraged to imple-ment such systems asempirically, these tech-nology and systems helpreduce the spread ofsuch drug-resistantsuperbugs.

The next issue to stop-ping the spread of suchNew Delhi named andstyled superbugs will beidentifying new casesearly and insisting ongood hygiene in hospi-tals: disinfecting med-ical instruments andensuring doctors andnurses wash their handswith antibacterial soap.

The only way, we canrefute the zealousresearchers in the Westis by countering themwith empirical data. ITis the solution to ensurethat this data is availablein the future!

Sudip Dutta, Founder & CEO of aporv.com, holds up a handcrafted work entitled“Tree of Life” done on stretched goat leather which has its origins in Tholu Bom-malata (leather puppetry) dating back to the Vijayanagar Empire. — OM PRAKASH

A company linkedto Microsoft Corpco-founder PaulAllen is sueing 11corporations,accusing them ofinfringing onpatents.

bITs

Microsoftappeals overi4i patent

Microsoft Corpasked the USSupreme Court on

Friday to reconsider alower court's ruling thatupheld rival i4i's patentrelated to text manipulationtechnology.

Microsoft filed a writ ofcertiorari with the court,effectively asking it to lookfor errors in the lowercourt's ruling and then tossit out.

“This issue will not bene-fit from further percolatingin the circuit” courts,Microsoft said in itsappeal.

The US Patent and Trade-mark Office upheld thevalidity of the i4i patent inApril, about three yearsafter the legal fight began.

— Reuters

The New Delhiconnection to asuperbug seemsfar-fetched andmore of apolitical ratherthan scientificgimmick!