Samsung’s Galaxy S III unveiling happens today; here’s how to watch it live

Samsung is hosting a press conference on Thursday during which it will unveil the next installment in one of the most successful smartphone franchises of all time. The Galaxy S III is expected to be a technological marvel, packing a gigantic high-definition Super AMOLED display, a quad-core Exynos processor, 4G LTE, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and more into an ultra-thin ceramic case. Samsung has gone to great lengths to keep its new flagship phone under wraps, but an inevitable series of leaks paints what is likely a complete picture of the Galaxy S III. The flow of rumors will finally come to an end on Thursday as Samsung takes the wraps off its next Galaxy phone in London, and the company is streaming its “Unpacked 2012″ press conference live for eager Android fans around the world. The event kicks off at 2:00 p.m. EDT, 11:00 a.m. PDT on Thursday, and the live stream can be found on the read link below.
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Apple faces investigation over UK iPad 4G claims

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is turning its beady eye on Apple after the company failed to remove references to the iPad 4G on its UK website.

The problem arises because the new iPad 3 does offer 4G connectivity, but not here in ye olde Britain where we languish on 3G networks.
Despite the promise of 4G being around the corner (if Everything Everywhere, Vodafone and co can ever manage to play nice), we'll be running on a whole different frequency to the networks abroad so the current iPad won't be able to connect to them.
Up the creek without an iPaddleThe ASA had received and dealt with several letters of complaint about this misleading promise of 4G, with the investigation concluding when Apple promised to remove all signs of a 4G iPad on its UK website.
However, visiting Apple's UK website at the time of writing, the data-ready device is still refered to as the iPad Wi-Fi + 4G.
The BBC sites a source at the company who said that "no undertaking was given to remove all references to 4G from its site".
So the ASA is back on the scene, with several new complaints from consumers about "potentially problematic claims" made on the website.
A spokesperson for the ASA said, "If it appears that the problem claims we asked Apple to remove are still appearing, we will investigate these new complaints."
Apple came under fire in the land down under for making the same claims – Australians can claim a refund if they feel misled by the company telling them the iPad is 4G compatible when it isn't 4G compatible in the country in which they reside. Also, they're holding it wrong.

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Google vs Oracle: Verdict coming in Android 'copying' case

A crucial verdict in the courtroom battle between Google and software developer Oracle is imminent after a jury retired to consider the case.
Oracle alleges that Google unlawfully copied elements of its Java software, when it developed the Android mobile operating system, rather than pay a license fee.
Google admits it did utilise the Java API under the "fair use" policy, but then created its own software rather than "copy" the Java within Android.
If the jury decides Google is at fault, it may end up costing the search giant billions in compensation and unpaid licensing fees.
'Nothing to see here,' says Google"There was no copying here because Google knew that it couldn't use Sun's source code," said Google legal eagle Robert Van Nest in his closing arguments.
"This kind of use of APIs in this way where you use the minimum you need to be compatible is fair use."
However, Oracle says there was nothing fair about Google's use of the Java software and without legal intervention, the software licensing infrastructure will fall apart.
"If Google can just take the APIs and be forgiven under fair use, that licensing falls apart," Oracle lawyer Michael Jacobs told the San Fransisco court.
The verdict will only bring to a close the first part of this complicated patent infringement case, with several more installments set to follow.
So far, 2012 has been the year of the patent wars and that trend is showing no sign of relenting

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Microsoft counts on allies in mistimed tablet market

Microsoft is counting on friends to make it a hit later this year when it crashes a tablet computer party at which Apple has been the star ever since the launch of the iPad.

The US software colossus turned a draining patent lawsuit with Barnes & Noble into a mutually beneficial alliance that could make Nook digital books a cornerstone of a content "ecosystem" vital to selling Windows 8 tablets.

Microsoft said Monday that it will make a $300 million investment in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary focusing on the bookseller's digital reading capabilities, including its Nook tablet, and its college businesses.

"It is not a surprise they are making this kind of investment," said Gartner Research analyst Michael Gartenberg.

"Barnes & Noble is probably the best partner for them, and it insures Windows has a book and magazine service as part of its overall ecosystem."

Tablets powered by Windows 8 software are expected by the end of this year.

Amazon.com Kindles based on free Google-backed Android operating systems and Apple iPads have proven that while buyers like slick hardware, they love devouring videos, music, applications, digital books and other "content."

"Sometimes we focus too much on the technology," said Michael Cherry, an analyst at Directions On Microsoft, an independent firm that tracks the Redmond, Washington-based technology firm.

"The success of tablets isn't going to be because it is running Windows, but because it has the apps people want and a price people want to pay for that kind of device," he continued.

Cherry is certain Microsoft will make more alliances to cultivate a rich ecosystem for Windows tablets.

"This is just the beginning; there will be more deals," the analyst said. "When you are late to the party you often have to encourage partners to work on the platform."

Ironically, Microsoft launched tablet software a decade ago only to see it fail because publishers and readers weren't ready for it, according to analysts.

"Sometimes Microsoft is too early to the party," Cherry said. "Timing is everything."

Windows-based tablets boasting features such as removable keyboards for typing and styluses for touch-screen commands were released in 2002 but didn't catch on.

"Once again Microsoft led but let someone else take it away from them," Gartenberg said. "Microsoft is often early to the party, has the vision but not the wherewithal to stick with it."

Microsoft typically avoids making its own hardware, preferring to provide software to gadget makers. Microsoft device flops include Zune players launched to challenge on iPods and Kin smartphones geared for the young.

In contrast, Xbox videogame consoles Microsoft fielded to take on Sony PlayStation systems have become a big winner.

"Microsoft has a tendency to get the product right but to be stingy so you have the Windows phone failure, Zune failure, Kin failure...," said independent analyst Rob Enderle of Silicon Valley.

"They invested heavily in Xbox, and it succeeded."

The timing of Microsoft's return to the tablet party is a non-issue since rivals have been unable to overthrow iPad, according to NPD analyst Stephen Baker.

"This is about Microsoft building up an ecosystem more than anything else," Baker said. "This is more Microsoft trying to bring some allies into the battle."

The digital textbook market was deemed by analysts a shrewd place to start because it has yet to be claimed and premium prices charged by Apple for its slick iPads can be daunting to schools and students.

Meanwhile, textbooks are among the strengths of Barnes & Noble and Microsoft computers have "deep hooks" in education, Enderle said.

"Where neither one separately is well positioned, together they would be better positioned than Apple is," Enderle said. "This gets Nook, Microsoft and Barnes & Noble back in the game."

The alliance also means that Microsoft should be able to create a digital books and magazine library that spans the array of gadgets or computers powered by Windows software.

"Apple and Amazon will both see this as a potential threat and more against that threat," Enderle said.

"The clock is ticking. Even though Microsoft has advantages, it doesn't have a lot of time to deliver something to market."

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Verizon Wireless announces new prepaid plans

Verizon Wireless on Monday announced a new prepaid plan that offers unlimited talk, text, and 1GB of data for $80. The monthly plan is only being offered on the 3G Samsung Illusion, which can be had for $169.99 and will be available at Best Buy, Target, RadioShack and Walmart. Verizon also announced three different prepaid plans for its Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot. The nation’s largest carrier is offering 250MB of data for usage for a week for $15, 3GB of data per month for $60, and 10GB a month for $90. The Verizon Jetpack 4510L will be available for $129.99. Verizon’
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Google online translation tops 200 mln users

Google Translate marked its sixth birthday on Thursday with news that more than 200 million people use the free online translation service monthly.

"In a given day we translate roughly as much text as you'd find in one million books," Google Translate engineer Franz Och said in a blog post.

"We imagine a future where anyone in the world can consume and share any information, no matter what language it's in, and no matter where it pops up."

Och worked at US military research arm DARPA before joining California-based Google in 2003 to be part of a team of engineers ramping up the quality of computer-driven language translations.

Google Translate, which lets people paste or type text in an on-screen box to have it quickly converted into a language of their choice, rolled out in 2006 with English, Chinese and Arabic.

"We can now translate among any of 64 different languages, including many with a small Web presence, such as Bengali, Basque, Swahili, Yiddish... and even Esperanto," Och said of the service at translate.google.com.

Traffic to Translate from smartphones has been growing exponentially, and more than 92 percent of the users are from outside the United States, according to Google.

"What all the professional human translators in the world produce in a year, our system translates in roughly a single day," Och said.
"By this estimate, most of the translation on the planet is now done by Google Translate."

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