| Google X, not Glass, to be housed in mysterious barges Nov 1st 2013, 08:01, by Juan Carlos Torres Aside from leaks and tips about the now released Android 4.4 and Nexus 5, Google has also been the subject of rumors mills because of two very mysterious giant barges floating in San Francisco Bay and Portland, Maine. The latest talk is that these will not be Google Glass retail buildings but will, instead, be home to Google X showrooms. 
The first barge appeared near Treasure Island in San Francisco early this week. It immediately became the center of much speculation, temporarily taking our minds off the then still absent Android update and Nexus smartphone. A second barge appeared just two days ago, floating towards Portland after being built in Connecticut. Naturally, it added fuel to the fires of rumors about Google’s next top secret project. The first speculations revolved around a possible floating data center for the search giant, which was, however, quickly dispelled due to the legal hurdles that it would entail. It was then claimed, using information from insider sources, that the barges would house Google Glass retail stores, as an added gimmick to invite curiousity and interest for Google’s upcoming hi-tech eyewear. Now, however, another report is saying that the purpose of the barges are less lofty, intended instead to be used as movable showrooms for Google X, home of Google’s secret experiments and projects. The showrooms are meant to be easy to assemble and disassemble so that they can be easily transferred to any location when needed. Of course, all of these conflicting speculations are based on tips from people claiming to be close or familiar with the matter. At the moment, it seems that all work on the barges have come to a standstill and Google is quite unlikely to confirm or deny such rumors. VIA: CNET |  | Rockstar consortium uses Nortel acquisition in patent war with Google, Samsung Nov 1st 2013, 07:20, by Juan Carlos Torres Google and some of its Android device partners are currently being targeted by a patent lawsuit ironically revolving around search and advertising, the very heart of Google’s business and profits. The plaintiff, in this case, is the Rockstar consortium that outbid the giant over purchasing patents from the bankrupt Nortel Networks. 
In 2011, Google and the Rockstar consortium underwent a bidding process for several of Nortel’s patents. Google placed an initial $900 million bid but eventually stopped at $4.4 billion. The consortium then swooped in with $4.5 billion. Google later purchased Motorola Mobility for almost half its Nortel bid, at $12.5 billion, in order to protect itself using Motorola’s own patents. The Rockstar consortium has now filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the US District Court of Texas, a favorite venue of patent litigation. Along with Google are Samsung, Huawei, and HTC as defendants. Perhaps it is quite curious to note that the Rockstar consortium is made up of Microsoft, Apple BlackBerry, Ericsson, and Sony, who, with the exception of Sony, are mostly rivals of the Android platform. According to the lawsuit, Google has infringed and continues to infringe on seven yet unnamed patents owned by Nortel even after it lost the bidding process. Rockstar is thus seeking higher damages. At the moment, none of the defendants have made any public comment about the lawsuit. VIA: SlashGear | |
No comments:
Post a Comment