Tech News Stop - Sharing by Wasim Akhtar

::::Microsoft wins ruling against Motorola over texting::::

<div class="custm_img_blk"><img src="http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1337999853_temp.jpg" border="0" width="300" height="200" align="left" /></div>A German regional court ruled in a hearing on Thursday that Motorola Mobility(GOOG.O) infringed Microsoft(MSFT.O) patents by offering the option on its mobile phones to send a longer text in a batch of several messages."We're pleased the court agreed today that Motorola has infringed Microsoft's intellectual property, and we hope Motorola will be willing to join other Android device makers by taking a license to our patents," Microsoft said in a statement, referring to Google's Android operating system for mobile phones.Motorola, which was recently bought by Google, said: "We expect a written decision from the court on June 1 and upon review, will explore all options including appeal."The two companies are fighting each other in courts across the globe, as are several other makers of devices including Apple (AAPL.O), over the intellectual property of software features offered in the latest smart phones and gadgets.In another case, the same regional court in the city of Munich on Thursday rejected a complaint by Microsoft against Motorola Mobility's use of a software feature called programme localisation.Motorola Mobility, in turn, is currently suing Microsoft in the U.S. over features in the Xbox gaming console.

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::::Theyâ€˜re here. Theyâ€˜re geeks. Get used to it::::

<div class="custm_img_blk"><img src="http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1337999772_temp.jpg" border="0" width="300" height="200" align="left" /></div>Turns out, geeks are inheriting the earth.Thanks to ubiquitous consumer electronics and the prominence of technology executives like Facebook Inc's(FB.O) Mark Zuckerberg and the late Steve Jobs of Apple Inc(AAPL.O), it's no longer an insult to be called a geek.The geek -- broadly speaking, the tech-obsessed, socially-awkward type who spends more time online than offline -- is more respected than ever, according to a survey by Modis, the technology staffing arm of Adecco SA (ADEN.VX), the world's biggest staffing company.Most Americans -- 51 percent -- now consider geeks professionally successful, up from 31 percent a year ago, Modis' annual "Geek Pride" survey found. More people also consider geeks to be extremely intelligent: 54 percent say so, up from 45 percent last year.The survey is Modis' way of marking Geek Pride Day, held each year on May 25th, the anniversary of the release of the first "Star Wars" movie in 1977."When you talk about a geek, you used to think of the guy in the back of the room, pocket protector with a bunch of pens in it, the white shirt, the high pants, very socially inept," said Modis President Jack Cullen."Today, when I think of geeks, I think of Steve Jobs. One guy has redefined the geek concept. You could put Zuckerberg in the same category."Pop culture has had a big hand in the mainstreaming of geek. Popular U.S. television shows like "The Big Bang Theory" and "Glee" make geeks cool, while stories based on comic books, such as "The Avengers," dominate the movies.Much of the shift is generational."Millennials, every year, have more and more visibility and these are people who were born with technology," Cullen said. "For the millennials it's all about openness. 'Find me. I'm eating a taco right now.' It's such a different view of the world."Millennials are people in their 20s and 30s who became adults around the turn of the millennium.Once pejorative, the word "geek" is now synonymous with "aficionado.""Dork," however, is still a negative, Cullen said.

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::::Citi unit lost $20 mln in Facebook IPO - source::::

<div class="custm_img_blk"><img src="http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1337999701_temp.jpg" border="0" width="300" height="200" align="left" /></div>Citigroup Inc's(C.N) Automated Trading Desk had trading losses of about $20 million from Facebook Inc's(FB.O) botched initial public offering on Nasdaq OMX Group Inc's(NDAQ.O) U.S. exchange, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Friday.The unit's losses were in addition to claims by market makers Knight Capital Group Inc (KCG.N) and Citadel Securities, which each had losses of $30 million to $35 million.UBS AG (UBSN.VX)(UBS.N), the other large market maker involved in the IPO of the social networking company on May 18, has not disclosed any losses.Nasdaq asked firms to detail estimates of losses by Monday night. After that, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority will evaluate the filings and put out a report on the matter in about four weeks, two sources said.A technical glitch delayed Facebook's market debut by 30 minutes and many client orders were delayed, giving some investors and traders significant losses as the stock price dropped.The exchange operator is facing lawsuits from investors and threats of legal action from brokers.

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::::Tech Mahindra revenue up 3%::::

<div class="custm_img_blk"><img src="http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1337886699_temp.jpg" border="0" align="left" /></div> Telecom-focused IT company Tech Mahindra on Wednesday reported a 3% increase in its revenues for the year ended March 31, to $1.15 billion, thus beating street expectations which were predicting a dip in its revenues due to the flailing telecom sector globally.  The company's board elevated Mahindra Satyam CEO CP Gurnani, as the new Managing Director of Tech Mahindra, which will be subject to government's approvals. The company suffered a 2% drop in its revenues from the December quarter due to the shutdown of Indian operations of its two telecom clients Etisalat DB and STel, as their 2G licences were cancelled by the Supreme Court.  Tech Mahindra invoked the bank guarantee of Rs 200 crore of Etisalat DB, as their contract was pre-maturely terminated. Tech Mahindra's net profit increased 63% to $230 million, backed by a part of profits from Mahindra Satyam, which it acquired three years ago.  The company expressed its concern on the telecom sector, which contributes 98% to its revenues. The company counts Alcatel Lucent, British Telecom, Motorola as clients. "Because of the global distress, most telcos are trying to reduce their IT spends," said Vineet Nayyar, current Vice Chairman, MD and CEO of Tech Mahindra.

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::::4G services: Bharti Airtel to acquire 49% stake in Qualcomm::::

<img src="http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1337886579_temp.jpg.pagespeed.ce.9bizkm3RG3.jpg" border="0" alt="Image" align="left" /> Sunil Mittal led Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced that it will acquire 49 per cent stake in Qualcomm's Inc's fourth-generation (4G) broadband venture in the country for $165 million.  Bharti Airtel will buy a 26 per cent stake held by two Indian partners in the Qualcommbroadband venture and the remaining by subscribing to fresh equity, the company said in statement.  The company plans to take full control of theBWA entities by 2014. Qualcomm expects to provide technical assistance to Bharti in connection with network architecture and optimization, infrastructure and device testing, as well as continuing to develop and support the underlying technology and the LTE TDD ecosystem.  The deal will give Bharti access to four telecoms zones, including the lucrative Delhi and Mumbai cities, where it does not have its own 4G airwaves.  Bharti, which won 4G airwaves in just four of 22 telecom zones - Kolkata, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra, has said it would like to have a nationwide 4G broadband network. The company recently launched commercial 4G networks in Kolkata and Bangalore cities.  Shares of Bharti Airtel provisionally closed at Rs 297.75, up 5.6 percent on the Bombay stock Exchange. It hit an intraday high of Rs 301.50 and a low of Rs 281.  Commenting on the partnership Sunil Mittal, Chairman Bharti Airtel said, "We are delighted to partner with Qualcomm, who shares our commitment to the government's agenda of broadband for all."  "One of our key objectives has been to include a strong partner in the Indian venture with the scale, experience and resources to deploy LTE TDD networks. We are pleased to have Bharti's participation and support in this effort," said Dr Paul E Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm.  Qualcomm, which was embroiled in a dispute with the telecoms ministry, was granted the 4G airwaves this month, nearly two years after it won them in the auction. The ministry cut the usage period of the airwaves by 18 months.  Qualcomm, which spent nearly $1 billion to buy 4G radio airwaves in a 2010 Indian state auction, had sold a total 26 percent stake to Indian companies Global Holding Corp and Tulip Telecom for about $58 million to comply with the sector's foreign holding rules.  The venture's equity value was about $223 million and enterprise value, which includes debt, was more than $1 billion in 2010 when it entered into the stake sale agreements with the two Indian companies.  Qualcomm, which is pushing for the deployment of LTE (long-term evolution) broadband technology in India, has previously said it is looking at one or more operator partners in the India broadband venture.  Reliance Industries, controlled by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, is the only company to have 4G airwaves in all 22 telecoms zones in India. Reliance is yet to start commercial services.

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::::Microsoftâ€˜s social network So.cl now open to all::::

<img src="http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1337886342_temp.jpg.pagespeed.ce.O_G00biv0w.jpg" border="0" alt="Image" width="200" height="150" align="left" /> Microsoft has opened up its So.clsocial networking service to the general public, which lets users share and comment on interesting search results and connect with "like-minded" people.  It is targeted at students and had earlier been restricted to invitees at universities and schools in the US.  The service integrates with Facebook and is being pitched as an "experiment" rather than a rival to other networks.  Microsoft revealed that the product was developed by its Fuse Labs unit as a "research project... focused on the future of social experiences and learning."  Members are invited to create "collages of content" using the firm's Bing search engine technology and external links, which they can, then share with others.  Users can then identify people who are interested in the same topics, monitor their associates' feeds and take part in "video parties" during which members watch online videos together, commenting on them via chat function.  Members can sign in using their Facebook login details, however, their So.cl activities do not show up on Facebook's pages unless the option is activated.  The move to open up the service to the general public was taken over the weekend with little fanfare, prompting some analysts to speculate that Microsoft only had limited ambitions for the project.  "The fact that So.cl is targeted at students echoes Facebook's beginnings and has made many assume it is a Facebook clone," the BBC quoted Eden Zoller, principal analyst at technology consultants Ovum, as saying.  "But So.cl is, as Microsoft stresses, an experiment designed to be a layer on existing social networks.  "Microsoft is being sensible in positioning So.cl in this way - the opposite approach of Google, which entered social networking all guns blazing with a full on service, and is having modest success," Zoller said.  Zoller added that the project could also help Microsoft further improve Bing's search capabilities.  A study by Comscore suggested that Microsoft had a 15.4 percent share of the US search market in April compared with Google's 66.5 percent lead.  Earlier surveys have suggested that the gap is even wider in the UK and parts of Europe.

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::::Sony launches Xperia U, Xperia P, Xperia Sola in India::::

<div class="custm_img_blk"><img src="http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1337886123_temp.jpg" border="0" align="left" /></div><div id="storydiv"><div class="Normal" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px">Sony Mobile Communications has officially launched three new Xperia smartphones in the country: Xperia U and P, and Xperia Sola. The smartphones were initially unveiled at the Xperia S launch last month.  Sony Xperia U has a 3.5 inch scratch-resistant TFT touchscreen with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels and is powered by a 1 GHz STE U8500 dual-core processor. The smartphone runs onGoogle Android 2.3 operating system (upgrade to Android Ice Cream Sandwich promised). There's a 5 megapixel camera with auto focus, 16x digital zoom and LED flash. The phone has 8 GB internal memory and 512 MB RAM. The smartphone is priced at Rs 17, 399.  Sony Xperia P is powered by a 1 GHz U8500 dual-core processor. It sports a 4-inch scratch-resistant TFT touchscreen with a resolution of 960x540 pixels. It runs on Google Android 2.3 OS (upgrade to Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich promised). There's an 8 megapixel camera with auto focus, 8x digital zoom, LED flash. The phone offers internal phone storage of 16GB, and 1 GB RAM. The Sony Xperia P is priced at Rs 26,799.  Sony Xperia Sola is powered by a 1 GHz dual-core processor. The smartphone has a 3.7 inch scratch-resistant TFT touchscreen The phone's 5 megapixel camera has auto focus and LED flash. There's 8 GB internal storage with microSD memory card slot expandable up to 32GB. Sony Xperia Sola is priced at Rs 20,449.</div></div>

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