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Friday, September 2, 2011

WikiLeaks reveals all, media groups criticize move (AP) : Technet

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WikiLeaks reveals all, media groups criticize move (AP) : Technet

WikiLeaks reveals all, media groups criticize move (AP)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 10:03 AM PDT

By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press – Fri Sep 2, 1:03 pm ET

LONDON – WikiLeaks disclosed its entire archive of U.S. State Department cables Friday, much if not all of it uncensored — a move that drew stinging condemnation from major newspapers which in the past collaborated with the anti-secrecy group's efforts to expose corruption and double-dealing.

Many media outlets, including The Associated Press, previously had access to all or part of the uncensored tome. But WikiLeaks' decision to post the 251,287 cables on its website makes potentially sensitive diplomatic sources available to anyone, anywhere at the stroke of a key. American officials have warned that the disclosures could jeopardize vulnerable people such as opposition figures or human rights campaigners.

A joint statement published on the Guardian's website said that the British publication and its international counterparts — The New York Times, France's Le Monde, Germany's Der Spiegel and Spain's El Pais — "deplore the decision of WikiLeaks to publish the unredacted State Department cables, which may put sources at risk."

Previously, international media outlets — and WikiLeaks itself — had redacted the names of potentially vulnerable sources, although the standard has varied and some experts warned that even people whose names had been kept out of the cables were still at risk.

But now many, and possibly even all, of the cables posted to the WikiLeaks website carried unredacted names.

There's a debate over what kind of an impact that will have.

In an interview with the AP earlier this week, former U.S. State Department official P.J. Crowley warned that the new release could be used to intimidate activists in authoritarian countries. Crowley said "any autocratic security service worth its salt" probably already would have the complete unredacted archive of cables, but that the fresh releases mean that any intelligence agency that did not "will have it in short order."

WikiLeaks staff members have not returned repeated requests for comment sent in the past two days. But in a series of messages on Twitter, the group suggested that it had no choice but to publish the archive because copies of the document were already circulating online following a security breach.

WikiLeaks has blamed the Guardian for the blunder, pointing out that a sensitive password used to decrypt the files was published in a book put out by David Leigh, one of the paper's investigative reporters and a collaborator-turned-critic of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

But the Guardian, Leigh and others have rejected the claim. Although the password was in fact published in Leigh's book about seven months ago, Guardian journalists have suggested that the real problem was that WikiLeaks posted the encrypted file to the Web by accident and that Assange never bothered to change the password needed to unlock it.

In their statement, the Guardian's international partners lined up to slam the 40-year-old former computer hacker.

"We cannot defend the needless publication of the complete data — indeed, we are united in condemning it," the statement read. It added: "The decision to publish by Julian Assange was his, and his alone."

The media organizations' rejection is a further blow to WikiLeaks, whose site is under financial embargo and whose leader remains under virtual house arrest in an English country mansion pending extradition proceedings to Sweden on unrelated sexual assault allegations.

It's also a sign of the borderless online whistleblower's increasing estrangement from traditional media outlets. Assange and his supporters have long feuded with the Guardian and The New York Times, and in a recent statement the group noted that other Western media organizations had "slowed their rate of publishing" stories derived from the cables.

As a result, the anti-secrecy site said it would increasingly turn to "crowdsourcing" — that is, relying on Internet users to sift through its leaked documents and flag important material.

It's a relatively new tactic for the group, which has in the past relied on mainstream partners to organize and promote its spectacular leaks of classified information — including hundreds of thousands of U.S. intelligence documents detailing the course of America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

WikiLeaks says the process is working, pointing to one document flagged by Twitter users who've already begun perusing the newly released files.

The cable, filed in 2006, carries an explosive allegation that U.S. forces entered a house during a 2006 raid in Iraq, handcuffed 10 members of the same family and executed them.

Although the U.N. letter in which the allegation was made was five years old, its publication put new pressure on the already strained negotiations over keeping U.S. forces in Iraq. Iraq's government said Friday that it is investigating, and some officials said the document is reason enough for the country to force the American military to leave instead of signing a deal allowing troops to stay beyond a year-end departure deadline.

"Crowdsourcing has proved to be a success," WikiLeaks said.

But amid the controversy over the unredacted cables, some supporters are keeping their distance. The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said Thursday that it had temporarily suspended its WikiLeaks "mirror site." Such sites act as carbon-copies of their originals, relieving pressure due to heavy traffic and preserving data in case of attack.

In a statement, Reporters said it had "neither the technical, human or financial resources to check each cable" for information that could harm innocent people and thus "has to play safe."

___

Greg Keller in Paris contributed to this report.

___

Raphael G. Satter can be reached at: http://twitter.com/razhael

Bid to block AT&T deal reflects telecom industry (AP)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 08:53 AM PDT

By DANIEL WAGNER and PETE YOST, Associated Press Daniel Wagner And Pete Yost, Associated Press – Fri Sep 2, 11:53 am ET

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration has explained its effort to block AT&T's purchase of T-Mobile USA by saying it will fight mergers that would reduce competition and hurt consumers.

Yet few think the lawsuit the administration filed Wednesday signals a more aggressive stance toward acquisitions in other industries. Rather, experts say, the administration's challenge of AT&T's purchase comes down to this: Telecom is dominated by just a few big companies. Reducing the number of major players could all but kill competition and drive prices up.

By contrast, few other major industries are controlled by just a handful of giants. And none relies on access to a limited number of public airwaves.

With previous big mergers, the administration has taken a middle-ground approach to antitrust: It's green-lighted deals such as cable company Comcast's acquisition of media giant NBC Universal and Ticketmaster's merger with concert promoter Live Nation. But it also imposed conditions in those deals that are intended to preserve competition.

"They're looking even at very big mergers on their merits, and if the merging parties can't satisfy their concerns, the Justice Department will say, `We can't let this go through,'" said Melissa Maxman, an antitrust attorney with the law firm Cozen O'Connor.

AT&T says it will fight the court action. But it also plans to meet with Justice lawyers and offer more concessions in hopes of avoiding a court battle, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the talks.

President Barack Obama, on the campaign trail, had pledged tougher antitrust policy. And early in his administration, the Justice Department repealed Bush-era guidelines that had discouraged government action against companies with near monopolies.

As a result, many had expected bold action from the department — crackdowns on industry-dominating companies and roadblocks to many big mergers.

That didn't happen. The lawsuit against AT&T might satisfy some critics who hoped for a much tougher antitrust policy. But it probably doesn't suggest a policy shift.

The AT&T proposal was unique, said Benjamin Brown, a former Justice Department antitrust lawyer, now a partner with the law firm Cohen Milstein.

"I could very easily have seen this same decision being made under the Bush administration," Brown said.

He said there was little evidence for AT&T's claim that regional cellphone carriers can compete with the four national companies: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint.

If AT&T bought T-Mobile, just three national players would be left. And Sprint could have trouble competing with two bigger behemoths. So it might be acquired, too, further shrinking competition.

"Any time you take four major parties and turn it into three, the Justice Department is going to take a close look," Maxman said.

Telecom mergers attract more scrutiny in part because it's next to impossible for new competitors to emerge. Companies need permission to transmit data on public airwaves. The licenses are costly and scarce. And the cost of building a new system of cell towers and satellites is enormous.

"You can't just pull a bunch of capital together and launch a national cellphone provider, Brown said.

The Obama Justice Department has allowed several big mergers to proceed without court action. But it made the companies sell or change parts of their businesses.

For instance, in the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger, regulators required Ticketmaster to license its software to a competitor. It also forced it to sell a subsidiary that handles tens of millions of tickets a year.

In January, when the nation's largest cable-TV company, Comcast, took control of NBC Universal, the government forced Comcast to make the full suite of NBC Universal content available as a single package to online competitors. And Comcast had to do so on terms comparable to those reached with more established rivals such as Dish Network Corp. and DirecTV.

The Federal Communications Commission, which can block telecom mergers, joined Justice in making those demands.

In April, Google Inc. won government clearance for its $700 million purchase of airline fare tracker ITA Software. The deal gave Google a key role in online travel.

But to win Justice Department clearance, Google agreed to license ITA's software to other companies through 2016. And it agreed to continue to invest in research and development of products, which it would also have to license.

Those deals are likely templates for future merger reviews by Justice, experts said.

"Firms got signals from the earlier deals that were approved that if they were willing to make sufficient (compromises), deals on the borderline might get approved," said Spencer Waller, a professor at Loyola University Chicago's School of Law and director of the school's Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies.

That's the lesson AT&T appears to have taken by planning to meet with government lawyers and possibly offer further concessions.

The lawsuit against AT&T "shows that each case is treated on its own merits," said Art Brodsky, a spokesman for Public Knowledge, a digital-rights advocacy group that applauded the Justice Department's move.

"You don't want them to approve any deal, any more than you want them to approve every deal," Brodsky said.

Fans set sights on first 'Call of Duty' convention (AP)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 05:54 PM PDT

By DERRIK J. LANG, AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang, Ap Entertainment Writer – Fri Sep 2, 8:54 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – The inaugural "Call of Duty XP" convention more closely resembled Disneyland than an actual battleground as the two-day event celebrating the shoot-'em-up video game franchise took flight Friday at an old airfield in Los Angeles.

More than 6,000 fans lined up for game previews, real-world recreations of "Call of Duty" levels and facetime with developers at the first-ever gaming extravaganza.

"It kind of sucks to have to wait in lines, but I think we'll get a chance to do everything," said Daniel Gonzalez of Imperial County, Calif. Gonzalez, 18, said he was most looking forward to blasting zombies at one of the hundreds of gaming stations erected inside a mammoth hangar on the 12-acre compound where Howard Hughes built the Spruce Goose.

"Call of Duty" devotees joined snaking lines for everything from hands-on time with "Modern Warfare 3" to grilled hamburgers from an eatery resembling the game's fictitious Burger Town fast food chain. Attendees also waited anxiously for a chance to spar on paintball courses modeled after "Modern Warfare 2" levels and glide over the event on a zipline.

"It was perfect — not too fast and not scary," said Ray Usoro, who drove up with two friends from San Diego to attend "Call of Duty XP," after braving the zipline. Usoro, 27, said his $150 ticket to the event was worth it because it included a special edition of "Modern Warfare 3" and the "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see `Call of Duty' brought to life."

The sold-out event honoring the Activision Blizzard Inc. franchise kicked off Friday with the unveiling of the multiplayer mode of the upcoming "Modern Warfare 3." The developers promised a more balanced online experience, adding the ability to upgrade weapons, eliminating shotguns as secondary weapons and giving the infamous "killstreak" feature an overhaul.

Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, said the game publisher organized the immersive event to thank hardcore fans and build hype for "Modern Warfare 3" and the new "Elite" online service. He said all proceeds from ticket sales would go to the Call of Duty Endowment, a nonprofit organization that Activision founded to assist military veterans.

A mention that Kanye West would be performing at the convention Saturday night by Robert Bowling, the creative strategist at "Modern Warfare" developer Infinity Ward, elicited several boos from the crowd. Hirshberg called the notoriously spontaneous rapper "one of greatest performers in the world" and said he wasn't fearful of any of West's antics.

"When you hire Kanye, you hire Kanye," said Hirshberg.

For those who can't attend "Call of Duty XP" but still want in on the action, Activision enlisted supermodel Marisa Miller to host streaming videos from the event. Miller, who will make her film debut in the upcoming supernatural thriller "R.I.P.D." with Jeff Bridges, said she's no stranger to "Call of Duty." Her father and husband are both die-hard players.

"The way we play is my husband will show me what's up in the specific map that we're going to play through and then he'll give me the controller, and I'll have a go at it," said Miller. "My husband is really intense about it. He's really good. I'm just the type of player who likes to sit behind the wall with my sniper rifle and pick people off that way."

For the past four years, the action-packed "Call of Duty" franchise has enjoyed unprecedented success. The latest title, "Black Ops," has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide since its launch last November, and more than seven million people play online every day. The upcoming globe-trotting "Modern Warfare 3" edition is scheduled for release Nov. 8.

Other activities at "Call of Duty XP" include sumo duels inside puffy suits resembling the game's "juggernaut" bomb diffusion uniforms, an armory showcasing gear and art from the "Call of Duty" franchise, a performance by the punk-rock band Dropkick Murphys, and several game tournaments, including matches pitting basketball players against U.S. soldiers.

___

AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.

___

Online:

http://www.callofduty.com/xp.

Domino’s plans to open first pizza place on the Moon… someday (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 06:32 PM PDT

Tecca TV: TechLife on cyborg eyes, diamond planets, a street-legal Batmobile, and more (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 06:25 PM PDT

Oprah to Appear Live on Facebook, Invites Your Questions (Mashable)

Posted: 01 Sep 2011 06:17 PM PDT

Charlie White Charlie White – Thu Sep 1, 9:17 pm ET

Oprah Winfrey is coming to Facebook next week. On September 8, the TV star will be the one answering questions rather than asking them, appearing on a one-hour Facebook Live streaming video interview on Sept. 8 at 4:30 P.M. Eastern Time, 1:30 P.M. Pacific. To see the live webcast, go to Facebook Live on Sept. 8 and Oprah will answer questions shared by visitors to the Facebook Live event wall. Fans are invited to share their questions now, with the promise that "you might hear Oprah answer your question during the live show."

[More from Mashable: President Obama Visits Facebook Headquarters [PHOTOS]]

Oprah is no stranger to Facebook. Her Flipboard, where there is an official "Oprah" section.

Oprah has a burgeoning Twitter and featured it on her TV show in 2009, Twitter traffic was boosted by an astonishing 24% compared to day before the segment aired.

[More from Mashable: Watch Facebook Interview Guests at the Mashable House [LIVE]]

Now that's clout.

Graphic courtesy iStockphoto/EdStock

This story originally published on Mashable here.

AOL Huffpost, Tech Crunch scandal raises concerns (Reuters)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 04:30 PM PDT

Amazon tablet coming November at $250: TechCrunch (Reuters)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 04:04 PM PDT

– Fri Sep 2, 7:04 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc plans to unveil a cheaper, smaller $250 rival to Apple Inc's iPad tablet device in November, industry blog TechCrunch reported on Friday.

Sporting a back-lit 7-inch screen -- smaller than the iPad's and about the same as Research in Motion's PlayBook -- the device is geared toward playing music and movies off the Internet, the tech blog reported.

TechCrunch, which said it had played with a testing prototype, reported that the plan was for Amazon to offer Amazon Prime -- its $79-a-year Internet streaming service -- for free along with the gadget. It did not cite any sources.

Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.

The Internet retailer's first entry in the tablet computing arena -- its Kindle functions more like an electronic-book reader -- has been touted as a strong contender to Apple, whose cheapest tablet goes for $499.

Motorola and Samsung have only chipped away at Apple's commanding three-quarter share of the market, while Hewlett Packard threw in the towel by announcing it will kill off its TouchPad after a final production run. This week, Sony Corp leapt into the field with its own poorly reviewed device.

Analysts have been upbeat on Amazon's gadget, particularly if it beats the iPad on price. It may sell as many as 5 million tablets in the fourth quarter, becoming the top rival to Apple, Forrester Research estimates.

Apple sells between 7 to 9 million tablets a quarter.

The upcoming tablet, running an operating system developed from an older version of Google Inc's Android software, will be Wi-Fi only and come with a color touchscreen but a limited 6GB of memory, according to the blog.

TechCrunch said that was because the device is geared toward playing content off the cloud or Internet, rather than the gadget itself. The tablet's main screen features a carousel that spins between a book-reader, a music player, movie player and other applications.

A 10-inch version may arrive 2012 if the 7-inch device sells well, the blog added without citing a source.

(Reporting by Edwin Chan; editing by Carol Bishopric)

Confirmation of Amazon's 7-inch Android tablet, set to be released in November for $250 (Digital Trends)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 02:32 PM PDT

Mike Dunn Mike Dunn – Fri Sep 2, 5:32 pm ET

amazon tablet android samsungWe have been hearing rumors about the upcoming Amazon tablet for months, but now we finally have some solid information according to TechCrunch. They have had hands-on contact with a 7-inch tablet which resembles BlackBerry's PlayBook that is simply called the Amazon Kindle, no fancy code names here. The tablet is reported to be released sometime in November for just $250.

The $250 price point will put it in direct competition with Barnes & Noble's Nook Color, and come in at half the price of Apple's cheapest iPad. The article did not give any real tech specs so we aren't sure how it matches up performance wise against the Nook, but we do know that both devices have 7-inch screens and highly modified versions of Android.  The Kindle does not have a camera, or any buttons on the front of the device. 

The version of Android on the Kindle is based around Android 2.2 Froyo, but is completely done-over by Amazon. The whole interface has been changed, and there is no sign of any Google applications on the device. Services go through Amazon for your reading, music listening, and app shopping needs. It also sounds like if the tablet receives any software updates that the end user most likely wouldn't be able to notice due to how much the interface has been changed.

All rumors to date have predicted that Amazon would be releasing both a 7-inch and a 10-inch version as early as October. The fate of the larger tablet will be based on how well the first one sells, and if it matches Amazon's expectations they will release the 10-inch tablet in early 2012.

We finally have confirmation of the existence of an Amazon tablet, but it isn't exactly what we might have expected. Will the low cost of this tablet propel it to success, or will it's overly modified version of Android make it dead on arrival?

Hurl a phone as far as you can in Finland’s annual phone-tossing championship (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 11:51 AM PDT

Bar owner uses Facebook to reunite bride and dress (AP)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 05:13 PM PDT

RIM Drops PlayBook Tablet Prices at Best Buy Stores (NewsFactor)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 02:08 PM PDT

Barry Levine, newsfactor.com Barry Levine, newsfactor.com – Fri Sep 2, 5:08 pm ET

Those sounds you hear are more tablet prices dropping. Research In Motion is the latest dropper, via a Best Buy limited sale offering a $50 discount on RIM's 16GB BlackBerry PlayBook, down from $499.99.

The retailer is also discounting the 32GB PlayBook by $50 to $549.99, and slashing the 64GB PlayBook by $150, also to $549.99. Best Buy hasn't indicated the length of the sale, or why a customer would buy the 32GB for $549.99 when they can get the 64GB at the same price.

New PlayBook OS?

The Best Buy discount for RIM's tablets may help move those models this Labor Day weekend, but it's unlikely to cause the recent stampede that Best Buy experienced for Hewlett-Packard's discounted, discontinued TouchPad.

After HP announced last month that it would no longer make the tablet or continue development on its webOS operating system, the $499 16GB model dropped to $99, and the $599 32GB model to $149. Only a few days before the HP announcement and price drop, Best Buy reportedly asked the computer maker to take back hundreds of thousands of unsold units. After the price drop, the TouchPad sold out within a few days.

Rather than getting ready to dump its tablet, a la HP, RIM may be clearing out inventory in preparation for a new model with a new version of its PlayBook OS containing an Android app player, among other new features. Such rumors are floating around the web.

But the Best Buy discounts may only be the beginning of the pricing story for PlayBooks. There are reports that Staples has sent out emails from internal sales reps to regular customers, offering PlayBooks at 50 percent off, only on Sept. 7 and 8 and only "while supplies last."

$200 to $300 Tablets

RIM said in June that it had shipped 550,000 PlayBooks, although it's not clear how many of those were actually sold through to customers. RIM is looking to move as many of the PlayBooks as possible to stave off more talk about its financial problems when it gives an earnings report in the middle of this month.

In the last year, the company's stock has dropped more than 50 percent. In July, RIM announced it was cutting its workforce about 10 percent. Along with the layoffs, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company changed its senior management team, with a new COO for product and sales, a new managing director for global sales and regional marketing, and a new COO for operations.

Even as RIM fiddles with its pricing, a wave of $200 to $300 tablets are expected to hit the market. Lenovo's new IdeaPad Tablet A1 starts at $199, Samsung's original Galaxy Tab is now $279, Barnes & Noble's seven-inch nook color e-book reader and pseudo-tablet is $249, and Amazon.com is expected to release one or two models in this price range before the end of the year.

Google could see big tax break from Motorola merger (Appolicious)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 11:23 AM PDT

WiLAN sues Apple, Dell, HP, HTC, and others over wireless tech (Digital Trends)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 11:36 AM PDT

Geoff Duncan Geoff Duncan – Fri Sep 2, 2:36 pm ET

Wi-LAN (general)

Canadian patent holding company WiLan has announced it has launched litigation against a broad swatch of technology companies, alleging their product infringe on two patents related to CMDA/HSPA technology, as well as Wi-Fi and 4G LTE mobile technologies. The suit specifically targets Apple, Alcatel-Lucent, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, HTC, Kyocera, Novatel, and Sierra Wireless, and cites U.S. patent RE37,802 and 5,282,222—of the two, the latter is most intriguing becausde it was applied for all the way back in 1992 and granted in 1994—years before the LTE and Wi-Fi technologies it's now being applied to were developed or gaining any sort of adoption.

WiLan files the suit in the patent holder-friendly eastern district of Texas.

WiLan claims to hold about 1,400 patents that it licenses to more than 250 companies around the world. The firm is also no stranger to patent litigation: last year, it sued 19 companies over Bluetooth technology (many of the same defendence appear on its latest suit) and back in 2007 it sued 22 companies (again, many of the same ones) over Wi-Fi and DSL technology. WiLan's actions have repeatedly led to it being characterized as a patent troll, and Chairman and CEO Jim Skippen essentially admits as much discussing the company's most recent financial results, wherein the company saw revenues increase as a result of concluding four major lawsuits.

“I stated many times before, my belief that our past investment in litigation could generate a significant return in the future,â€

WiLAN has executed licensing deals with the likes of Cisco, RIM, Samsung, and Nokia.

Dish Network releasing Netflix rival with Blockbuster brand in October (Digital Trends)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 08:53 PM PDT

Mike Flacy Mike Flacy – 23 mins ago

blockbuster

Rolling out to consumers on an unannounced date in October, Dish Network is bringing a streaming competitor to Netflix with the Blockbuster brand. Reported by Bloomberg earlier today, Dish will be using an existing infrastructure that delivers on-demand movies to consumers. This service may be structured with a dual purpose, offering a selection of classic and archive movies titles as well as brand new, on-demand titles currently available to Dish Network customers. The new streaming offering is also expected to include Starz, the media network that dropped out of negotiations with Netflix as of yesterday. 

dish_networkWhile pricing is undetermined at the moment, this leaked announcement is coincidentally timed when Netflix raised prices by 60 percent on the combination of streaming content and disc rentals. Blockbuster could potentially price a streaming / disc combination plan lower than Netflix's combined cost of $15.98 for unlimited streaming and one disc out at a time. The news of a viable competitor to Netflix may continue to strike fear into the hearts of investors. Since the announcement about Starz pulling away from negotiations, Netflix stock has fallen sharply over the last 24 hours by about nine percent. With the new streaming service and Blockbuster's existing relationships with movie studios, Dish Network could potentially present a larger library of content than Netflix is offering.

Dish Network acquired Blockbuster in April of this year for a bargain price of around $320 million dollars. Blockbuster had filed for bankruptcy in September of 2010 due to an outstanding debt of $900 million due to increased competition from Netflix on mailing discs and Redbox for renting movies at physical locations. While Blockbuster had over 4,000 locations during the height of its success, Dish Network is only keeping 600 stores open worldwide. 

Lenovo exec says Samsung sold only 2 percent of shipped Galaxy Tabs (Digital Trends)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 07:54 PM PDT

Trevor Mogg Trevor Mogg – 1 hr 21 mins ago

Samsung Galaxy TabIf the claim is true, it really shows what an uphill struggle Apple's competitors are facing in the tablet market as they try to persuade consumers that there is a viable alternative to the Cupertino company's hugely popular iPad device.

Speaking to the Guardian on Friday, the director of consumer products and pricing for Lenovo Western Europe, Andrew Barrow, said he believes that of the million 7-inch Galaxy Tabs shipped by Samsung last year, the Korean company sold a mere 20,000.

The Guardian said that it had contacted Samsung about the Lenovo executive's claim but had not yet received a reply.

Although Samsung has said in the past that it shipped a million (to stores) of the 7-inch devices in 2010, the company has never revealed detailed sales information. However, in an earnings call at the beginning of 2011, it confessed that it had shipped many more tablets than had actually been sold through to consumers.

The Guardian article makes no mention of Barrow's source, so it would be right to be wary of the accuracy of the executive's claim. On top of that, Lenovo happened to announce the launch of a new Android tablet on Thursday. Shown off at the IFA tech show in Berlin, Lenovo's IdeaPad K1 will appear in stores in a couple of weeks time, with a price tag of £349 ($565).

Looking at Barrow's claim, Quocirca mobile analyst Rob Bamforth said, "It's certainly plausible that sales into the channel are going to be significantly higher than sales out. The question is by how much, and that does sound like an awful lot."

He added, "When you walk the streets and take the train you see iPads. Certainly the [Android] figures will be relatively poor. Whether they're that poor, I don't know."

Bamforth said that if so few had been sold, you'd normally expect to hear about it from resellers. "…if it was that bad three or six months in, you'd expect grumblings from various channel partners and I haven't seen significant grumblings," he said.

That's exactly what happened with Hewlett-Packard's TouchPad last month when word surfaced that the electronics retailer Best Buy were unhappy with the slow-selling devices taking up space in its stockrooms.

So Samsung has said it didn't shift so many of those early devices last year – but only 20,000? Since then, it has brought more tablets onto the market, including the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and, just this week, the Galaxy Tab 7.7.

Whatever the case with Samsung's sales, it's clear to see that as the tablet market becomes ever more crowded, all the manufacturers are going to have an increasingly hard time trying to shift them. It's a pretty safe bet that the HP's TouchPad won't be the only one to fall by the wayside in the coming months.

Judge radically scales back Oracle court victory over SAP (Digital Trends)

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 10:18 AM PDT

Geoff Duncan Geoff Duncan – Fri Sep 2, 1:18 pm ET

Larry Ellison (photo: Oracle Corporate Communications)

Last year, Oracle won a mammoth court victory against SAP, one of its main competitors in database and enterprise services: a jury awarded Oracle $1.3 billion for SAP stealing software and customer support materials from an Oracle password-protected Web site. At the time, it was one of the largest awards ever granted for software piracy—but no more: Judge Phyllis Hamilton in the U.S. District Court in Oakland has scaled back the award to Oracle to a mere $272 million, saying the $1.3 billion award was "contrary to the weight of the evidence, and was grossly excessive."

"We believed the jury's verdict was wrong and are pleased at the significant reduction in damages," SAP said in a statement distributed via email. "We hope the court's action will help drive this matter to a final resolution."

“We believe the jury got it right and we intend to pursue the full measure of damages that we believe are owed,â€

If Oracle chooses to fight the new damages ruling, the company could opt for a new trial before a fresh jury. In either case, Oracle achieves what it has consistently aimed for throughout the four-year trial process: repeatedly humiliating a top competitor in open court over software theft.

The new $272 million ruling is based on an early estimate from an Oracle expert on the amount of profit Oracle had lost as a result of SAP’s actions. The $1.3 billion total amounted to almost half of SAP’s profits for the year, and was almost nine times the amount of money SAP had set aside to handle the case.

The case centered around actions of a now-defunct SAP subsidiary, TomorrowNet, which fraudulently logged into a password-protected Oracle customer support site and repeatedly downloaded massive amounts of software and customer support documents. SAP admitted to TomorrowNet's actions, but argued to the court that Oracle's claims of damages were severely overblown. Oracle's ever-outspoken Larry Ellison used the trial as a stage to pillory rival SAP for software theft and unethical behavior, while trying (unsuccessfully) to put current HP CEO Leo Apotheker on the stand to answer for the company: Apotheker was head of SAP at the time.

[Photo credit: Oracle Corporate Communications]

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