14
April
2009
|
19:55 PM
America/Los_Angeles

Newswatch: AOL and Yahoo in the courtroom? Seven patents under review. - Reuters

Wednesday 8am Silicon Valley news report:

AOL asks court to rule Yahoo patents not violated -Reuters


According to the complaint, attorneys for Yahoo have alleged in emails and letters sent over the past several years to AOL and Quigo that up to seven Yahoo patents are being infringed.



US mulls stiffer sentences for common Net proxies _AP


The U.S. Sentencing Commission is to vote Wednesday on a series of amendments to the sentencing guidelines, which heavily influence the sentences that judges hand down. The amendment in question would treat the use of proxies as evidence of "sophistication" in planning certain types of crimes, from embezzlement to forgery and other types of fraud.


AT&T Chief Looks to Keep iPhone, Deepen Wireless Push -WSJ


Keeping the iPhone away from rivals and finding the next hit devices, such as smart phones and multimedia handheld tablets, are among the challenges the 48-year-old CEO faces as he shifts AT&T's energy away from the crumbling U.S. landline phone business and into the wireless market...


California's new power source a solar farm -SFGate


Sometime before 2016, Solaren Corp. plans to launch the world's first orbiting solar farm. Unfurled in space, the panels would bask in near-constant sunshine and provide a steady flow of electricity day and night. Receivers on the ground would take the energy - transmitted through a beam of electromagnetic waves - and feed it into California's power grid.


State wants to pull plug on energy-guzzling TVs -SFGate


The energy commission wants to place "artificial energy-use limits on televisions," said Doug Johnson, senior director of technology policy for the Consumer Electronics Association, which represents most television-makers.


EBay plans IPO for Skype in 2010 -Siliconvalley.com


EBay said it intended to complete the IPO in the first half of 2010, but that the timing would depend on market conditions.


Intel says PC sales improving; profit beats Street -SFGate


The optimistic comments were notable because Intel was the first technology company to report earnings for the first three months of 2009. However, Intel let investors down by not giving specific revenue guidance. It's not yet clear whether people are buying significantly more PCs, or whether Intel is mainly benefiting from computer makers replenishing their chip inventories...


Silicon Valley CEOs braced for tough year -MercuryNews


"The mood certainly reflects the economy," said Carl Guardino, president and CEO of SVLG, an advocacy group of 290 Silicon Valley CEOs, 148 of whom responded to the group's sixth annual business climate survey. But he noted that in keeping with expectations of long-term growth, the chief executives worried about several issues affecting the quality of life here.


Yahoo Is Said to Plan More Layoffs -NYTimes


The layoffs could affect several hundred employees and may be announced as early as Tuesday when Yahoo reports first-quarter financial results, said these people, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because the plan is confidential.
A Yahoo spokesman, Brad Williams, declined to comment, citing a company policy not to discuss rumors and speculation.


Media Executives Plan Online Service to Charge for Content -NYTimes


As the company envisions the system, a non-paying reader on a magazine or newspaper site would reach a certain point and see a page asking for payment — the Journalism Online system, operating within the publication’s Web site. But a reader who wanted a subscription to multiple sites would go directly to the new company’s own site.


Intel Says PC Sales ‘Bottomed Out’ in Quarter -NYTimes


In advance of the earnings report, Wall Street analysts said they were particularly interested in Intel’s gross profit margins. The gross margins were 46 percent, several percentage points above what analysts expected, but a number that is decidedly low by historical standards for Intel.


E.U. to Sue Britain Over Internet Privacy -NYTimes


Regulators sent a first legal warning to Britain on Tuesday, asking it to explain or change the way it interprets EU rules, because it currently allows interception when it is unintentional or when a tracker has 'reasonable grounds' to believe that consent was given.


Koret Museum Days 2009: Bay Area Museums Offer Free Mother’s Day Admission -BusinessWire


The Mother’s Day event marks the second time that Koret has hosted Koret Museum Days, offering free admission on Mother’s Day to Bay Area museum-goers. In 2004, a similar event in celebration of the foundation’s 25th anniversary drew 55,000 visitors to 13 participating museums, inspiring a trend in corporate philanthropy-supported free weekend admission.


Apple Store SoHo Meet the Filmmaker -StudioDaily


The Tribeca Film Festival is coming up and Apple just published the schedule for accompanying Apple Store SoHo events. The schedule includes "Meet the Filmmaker" talks with some impressive writers, directors, producers, and actors.


A Geek Love Story -Newsweek


Psychologists say people use avatars to explore sides of themselves they aren't ready to share with the real world. Often, the lure is wish fulfillment.


New York Times, Funny Or Die contend for Web awards -Reuters


The Webby Awards are in their 13th year and have been called "the Oscars of the Internet" for spotlighting online excellence from a wide range of sources, from viral videos to activist Web sites.


Is Twitter evil? -msnbc


Heavy reliance on a rapid stream of info snippets through television, online feeds and social networks may cut down on the time required for feelings of admiration or compassion to sink in fully, the researchers said.