Facebook rolls out new privacy tool

Facebook began calling on users to get a better grip on their online privacy by dictating who sees what in profiles at the world’s leading social networking service.

All of Facebook’s more than 350 million members will be required to refine settings with a new software tool that lets them specify who gets to be privy to each photo, video, update or other piece of content uploaded to the website.

“We care so much about this that we will require people to go through it to get access to the service,” Facebook vice president of global communications, marketing and public policy Elliot Schrage told AFP.

“The idea is to evolve, to give users better control of with whom they share when they share.”

The change promises to help Facebook users prevent embarrassing images or overly revealing updates from being seen by business acquaintances, bosses or others not part of inner circles of online friends.

“You will have the opportunity to customize even individual pieces of content when you upload a picture or a video,” Schrage said.

“If you want to share a photo with just your family, you could do that as well. It is much more straightforward.”

The new privacy tools let Facebook members pre-determine accessibility to profile content in categories designated “Friends,” “Friends of Friends,” “Everyone” and “Customized.”

Facebook members can select a privacy setting for each post by using lock icons next to “share” buttons on profile pages.

“It is going to be far more intuitive for users,” Future of Privacy Forum director Jules Polonetsky said of the Facebook privacy control change.

“When we post something is when we think of whom we want it to go to, and this is the first time we will be able to do that.”

Regional networks—geographical community groupings that Facebook recently eliminated—led members to unwittingly share profile content with as many as millions of users, according to Polonetsky.

“Facebook has balanced more sharing with less of a chance people won’t realize who they are sharing with,” Polonetsky said.

This is the first time Facebook users will be able to make “decisions on the fly” about individual posts and updates, he added.

The new tool stems from a revamped privacy policy unveiled earlier this year and is not connected with any advertising or revenue-making scheme, according to Facebook.

“We hope users will recognize this is an unprecedented approach to engaging them around the issue of privacy and control,” Schrage said.

“No service or site has ever asked their users to go through this process; it is privacy by design.”

Facebook is braced for complaints given that changes at the social networking service routinely trigger protests in the community.

“We will have people who will love what we’ve done and embrace it, and we will have people distressed and concerned by it,” Schrage predicted, adding that Facebook appreciates how passionate its members are about the service.

“We focus on patterns of use afterward, and what we found is when we make changes it is followed by substantially greater involvement on the site and growth,” he said.

The new privacy controls also limit the visibility of content created by minors, definded as users under the age of 18.

Even if a minor selects “Everyone,” the information they share will be restricted to their “Friends”, “Friends of Friends” and school or work networks.

Apple hits back against Nokia in patent row

Apple, maker of the iconic iPhone, hit back in a legal row with Nokia and countersued the Finnish telecom giant, alleging it had breached 13 Apple patents.

Apple accused Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, of infringing the patents held by the Cupertino, California company.

“Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours,” Apple vice president Bruce Sewell said in a brief statement.

The move came after Nokia in October accused its US rival of infringing 10 Nokia mobile phone technology patents with the iPhone.

According to Nokia, the patents cover “wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption and are infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced in 2007.”

Ilkka Rahnasto, deputy head of Nokia’s legal department, accused Apple at the time of “attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation.”

Apple countersued in federal court in the eastern state of Delaware, where Nokia filed its complaint against Apple.

Nokia is trying to buoy a sinking position in the mobile telephone market by getting its hands on iPhone technology and charging “exorbitant” fees for patented technology allegedly intrinsic to industry standards, Apple charged.

Apple denied infringing on Nokia patents and rejected the notion that technology at issue in the Finnish firm’s lawsuit is essential to any industry standard.

“Nokia’s demands appear to be driven by declines in its own mobile phone business,” Apple said in a 79-page counterclaim filed with the court.

“Nokia has been attempting to use its allegedly standards-essential patents to help regain what Nokia has lost in the marketplace.”

Nokia posted its first quarterly loss in a decade in October amid falling sales. Analysts said the poor results were partly due to the growing popularity of the iPhone and Research in Motion’s Blackberry over Nokia models.

Apple reported record quarterly sales of 7.4 million iPhones in October.

Nokia made agreements to let its patented technology be crafted into industry standards and now has a “hold-up” power that it “abusively seeks to wield,” Apple argued in court paperwork.

If the technology is critical to standards, Nokia is betraying a commitment to license it on “fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms,” Apple maintained.

Along with demanding steep royalties, Nokia is insisting on “grantbacks” that permit the company to use Apple technology, the iPhone maker said in legal documents.

Nokia is already using Apple smartphone technology without permission, the California firm charged.

“This attempt by Nokia to leverage patents previously pledged to industry standards is an effort to free ride on the commercial success of Apple’s innovative iPhone while avoiding liability for copying the iPhone and infringing Apple’s patents,” Apple said in its filing.

Apple is asking the court to award it unspecified financial damages and dismiss the suit filed by Nokia.

Nokia told AFP that it is studying Apple’s claim “and will respond in due course.”

Amazon.com debuts international Kindle e-reader

Amazon.com on Tuesday announced it is releasing an international version of the Kindle and trimming prices of the coveted electronic book readers.

Kindle models designed to synch with telecom networks in countries around the world are priced at 279 dollars (US) and basic Kindles tailored only for use in the United States had prices trimmed 40 dollars to 259 dollars.

“For the first time ever, Kindle is available for sale outside the US,” Amazon founder Jeff Bezos told AFP as he provided a glimpse of the international model in Cupertino, California.

“Now, Kindle will work in a hundred countries. With Kindle you can be in France and get an English-language book within 60 seconds.”

International Kindles can be ordered online at amazon.com/kindle but shipping won’t start until October 19.

“We have millions of customers around the world that buy English-language books from us,” Bezos said.

“Our vision for Kindle is every book ever printed, in print or out of print, in every language available within 60 seconds. For now, it is English.”

Amazon has teams working on digitizing books in languages other than English, so its stock of works for electronic reading is “really like 99 percent English,” Bezos said.

Kindle has become the top selling item at Amazon.com since its US launch two years ago. It is also the most “gifted and wished for” thing on Amazon’s virtual shelves, according to Bezos.

Google widens lead over Bing and Yahoo!: Hitwise

Experian Hitwise on Tuesday reported that Bing and Yahoo! online search engines lost ground in the United States in September while Google inched ahead slightly.

Google handled 71.08 percent of all US Internet searches in the four weeks ending October 3, while Yahoo! and Bing accounted for 16.38 percent and 8.96 percent respectively, according to Hitwise.

Ask.com was the biggest winner, with its share of US searches climbing 8 percent to 2.56 percent in September as compared with August.

Microsoft’s Bing saw its share of the US online search market dip 5 percent in the month-to-month comparison, while the number of searches at Yahoo! was down 3 percent, Hitwise reported.

Google last week rolled out search engine refinements as Microsoft continues an aggressive campaign to lure people to Bing.

The Internet giant’s modifications include tools that let people limit online searches to only serve up results from the past hour, or by specific date ranges.

Google users can choose to be shown search only results from blogs, news, or Web pages that they have visited or those they haven’t visited.

The Bing search engine Microsoft launched in May was designed to intuitively understand what people are seeking on the Internet and challenge online king Google.

The US software colossus described Bing as a “Decision Engine” aimed at online shoppers trying to make buying decisions, plan trips, research health matters or find local businesses.

Bing posted a slight increase in its share of the US search market in August, a third month in a row of modest gains, according to online tracking firm comScore.

Yahoo! and Microsoft, after months of negotiations, unveiled a 10-year Web search and advertising partnership in late July that set the stage for a joint offensive against Google.

Under the agreement, Yahoo! will use Microsoft’s search engine on its own sites while Yahoo! will provide the exclusive global sales force for premium advertisers.

Microsoft is integrating messages from prominent users of wildly popular micro-blogging service Twitter into results generated by Bing.

IT to generate 5.8 million new jobs by 2013

Information technology will be an employment machine, generating 5.8 million new jobs in the coming four years, according to International Data Corporation (IDC) research released on Sunday.

IDC predicts that the IT industry will be an engine powering economies out of economic doldrums, creating more that 75,000 new businesses in the next four years and adding jobs at a rate of 3 percent annually.

“Countries that foster innovation and invest in infrastructure, education and skills development for their citizens will have a major competitive advantage in the global marketplace,” said Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.

“In this fundamental economic reset, innovative technologies will play a vital role in driving productivity gains and enabling the creation of new local businesses and highly skilled jobs that fuel economic recovery and support sustainable economic growth.”

US software colossus Microsoft sponsored the IDC research into the impact of IT in 52 countries that represent 98 percent of the global IT spending.

“IT spending growth is a good sign as we come out of the recession,” Microsoft Corporate Affairs communications manager Scott Selby told AFP.

Employment growth in IT related jobs will be three times that of overall job growth in what Selby said is a “good driver of economic growth.”

While the world has been in the gripes of a recession, it has also been in the midst of a “technology renaissance” flush with advances in software, devices, and Internet-based services, according to IDC.

IDC expects IT spending in the countries studied to grow at slightly more than three percent annually, three times as fast as the gross domestic products between now and the year 2013.

In what is good news for software powerhouse Microsoft, spending on software is predicted to grow faster than overall IT spending, rising 4.8 percent annually.

“Software is a driving force behind this IT growth,” Selby said. “IT allows us to do more with less.”

New technologies are also ushering in a new “cloud computing” paradigm in which applications are provided online as services instead of as software bought and installed on home or office machines, according to IDC.

Money saved by using software as needed “in the cloud” instead of buying, maintaining, and updating applications will likely be devoted to bringing new products or services to market faster and cheaper, according to Selby.

IDC estimates that cloud services could add 800 billion dollars in net new business revenues between the end of 2009 and the end of 2013.

“Over the past 20 years, we’ve seen transformative power in how investments in IT innovations foster economic growth,” said Robert D. Atkinson, founder of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in Washington, D.C.

“Continued innovation and investment in information technology will help jump-start recovery from the current recession and will significantly contribute to the growth of employment and new businesses.”

Emerging markets will reap the greatest economic gains from IT, according to Selby.

“Emerging markets are really going to take advantage of IT for years to come,” Selby said.

“One reason is they will be able to leapfrog and enjoy benefits of innovations like cloud computing much more quickly.”

Microsoft played up the prime role its software is playing in IT systems worldwide.

Asia's biggest IT trade fair opens in Taipei

TAIPEI : Asia's biggest information technology trade show opened in Taiwan, with the spotlight on low-priced notebook computers and an advanced broadband Internet mobile technology. The participation this year of Chinese exhibitors in the Computex Taipei -- the first time since its launch 29 years ago -- was also expected to be a highlight. During the five-day event, Taiwanese notebook PC companies were expected to showcase new netbook models, as part of efforts to stay ahead of the game. Asustek Computer Inc, known for its popular "Eee PC" family launched in 2007, said it would be demonstrating its latest items shortly after the opening of the exhibition, which the organisers say is the world's leading information communication technology procurement platform. Its rival Acer Inc, the world's number two PC vendor, behind Hewlett-Packard, said it would also be launching new netbooks. Netbook -- a portmanteau word formed from Internet and notebook -- describes a small, relatively cheap laptop computer designed for wireless communication and web access. Many weigh less than a kilogram (2.2 pounds) and can cost as little as 250 US dollars. Analysts say Taiwanese makers' strategy of concentrating on netbooks has proved to be a big success, especially as the world computer market tumbles due to sluggish demand caused by the international economic downturn. Thanks to their competitive supply chain and flexible manufacturing capabilities, Taiwan's computer makers are expected to take a 60 percent share of the global netbook market in 2009. Worldwide demand for netbooks is expected to more than double this year to 32 million units from 13 million units last year. At the same time, the overall information communication technology industry is forecast to contract by nine percentage points, according to Taiwan's private think tank Topology Research Institute. "The emergence of netbook... brings new growth opportunities to matured markets," it said. The other big talking point of the trade fair was expected to be a cutting-edge technology called WiMAX -- Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. The latest generation broadband mobile has a higher capacity, operates across greater distances and allows for voice, video, Internet and other mobile services. Starting from Tuesday, the technology will begin testing on a train running on one line of Taipei's metro rail network for a year, offering real-time image transmission services to commuters. "Perhaps there are still flaws with the technology (but) it is becoming commercially viable after years of development," said Lin Chih-ching of the Taipei Computer Association. WiMax operators have said that in the future, for about 800 Taiwan dollars (25 US dollars) a month consumers will be able to call, play on-line games, receive long-distance medical diagnosis, surf the Internet and watch high-quality television while on the move. One local operator started to provide WiMax service on a Taiwanese island earlier this year, offering real-time mobile image phone services. Five other Taiwanese companies, including Far East Tone and Global Mobile, have been licensed by the government to launch WiMax services. Trade fair organisers said they were pleased to see the 80 booths of Chinese exhibitors this year, with companies including Huawei and Tsinghua Tongfang represented. Their participation has been made possible by the rapid improvement in ties between Taiwan and its former bitter rival China since President Ma Ying-jeou came to power on the island in May last year. Organisers said more than 1,700 exhibitors have 4,500 booths for the five-day fair, which is expected to greet around 100,000 visitors, including 35,000 international buyers. The trade fair last year generated around 20 billion US dollars in business, they said.

Asia's biggest IT trade fair opens in Taipei

TAIPEI : Asia's biggest information technology trade show opened in Taiwan, with the spotlight on low-priced notebook computers and an advanced broadband Internet mobile technology. The participation this year of Chinese exhibitors in the Computex Taipei -- the first time since its launch 29 years ago -- was also expected to be a highlight. During the five-day event, Taiwanese notebook PC companies were expected to showcase new netbook models, as part of efforts to stay ahead of the game. Asustek Computer Inc, known for its popular "Eee PC" family launched in 2007, said it would be demonstrating its latest items shortly after the opening of the exhibition, which the organisers say is the world's leading information communication technology procurement platform. Its rival Acer Inc, the world's number two PC vendor, behind Hewlett-Packard, said it would also be launching new netbooks. Netbook -- a portmanteau word formed from Internet and notebook -- describes a small, relatively cheap laptop computer designed for wireless communication and web access. Many weigh less than a kilogram (2.2 pounds) and can cost as little as 250 US dollars. Analysts say Taiwanese makers' strategy of concentrating on netbooks has proved to be a big success, especially as the world computer market tumbles due to sluggish demand caused by the international economic downturn. Thanks to their competitive supply chain and flexible manufacturing capabilities, Taiwan's computer makers are expected to take a 60 percent share of the global netbook market in 2009. Worldwide demand for netbooks is expected to more than double this year to 32 million units from 13 million units last year. At the same time, the overall information communication technology industry is forecast to contract by nine percentage points, according to Taiwan's private think tank Topology Research Institute. "The emergence of netbook... brings new growth opportunities to matured markets," it said. The other big talking point of the trade fair was expected to be a cutting-edge technology called WiMAX -- Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. The latest generation broadband mobile has a higher capacity, operates across greater distances and allows for voice, video, Internet and other mobile services. Starting from Tuesday, the technology will begin testing on a train running on one line of Taipei's metro rail network for a year, offering real-time image transmission services to commuters. "Perhaps there are still flaws with the technology (but) it is becoming commercially viable after years of development," said Lin Chih-ching of the Taipei Computer Association. WiMax operators have said that in the future, for about 800 Taiwan dollars (25 US dollars) a month consumers will be able to call, play on-line games, receive long-distance medical diagnosis, surf the Internet and watch high-quality television while on the move. One local operator started to provide WiMax service on a Taiwanese island earlier this year, offering real-time mobile image phone services. Five other Taiwanese companies, including Far East Tone and Global Mobile, have been licensed by the government to launch WiMax services. Trade fair organisers said they were pleased to see the 80 booths of Chinese exhibitors this year, with companies including Huawei and Tsinghua Tongfang represented. Their participation has been made possible by the rapid improvement in ties between Taiwan and its former bitter rival China since President Ma Ying-jeou came to power on the island in May last year. Organisers said more than 1,700 exhibitors have 4,500 booths for the five-day fair, which is expected to greet around 100,000 visitors, including 35,000 international buyers. The trade fair last year generated around 20 billion US dollars in business, they said.