Google acquires more IBM patents

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Latest batch of IBM patents include email, server backup, e-commerce, advertising, mobile technologies, and database tuning

By Juan Carlos Perez | IDG News Service

Google has acquired more IBM patents, adding more than 200 to approximately 2,000 patents it had previously bought from IBM.

The move, first reported by the blog SEO by the Sea, was confirmed by a Google spokesman who didn't immediately comment on why the company is interested in these particular patents and on how they may benefit Google products and its customers.

[ Discover what's new in business applications with InfoWorld's Technology: Applications newsletter. | Get the latest insight on the tech news that matters from InfoWorld's Tech Watch blog. ]



The latest set of IBM patents, transferred to Google on Dec. 30, 2011, includes 222 patents and covers a variety of technologies, including email management, server backup, tuning and recovery, e-commerce, advertising, mobile Web page display, instant messaging, online calendaring, and database tuning. Google acquired about 1,000 IBM patents in July of last year and about 1,000 other IBM patents in September.

In the past, Google officials have said that acquiring patents helps the company prevent intellectual-property lawsuits and that, when one is filed against it, patents boost Google's ability to defend itself.

It's hard to determine which patents represent technology that Google plans to develop and which ones are intended as litigation protection, said IDC analyst William Stofega.

However, considering the rash of IP-related lawsuits in the mobile market, it's safe to assume that many mobile-related patents Google acquires are meant to strengthen its ability to fight lawsuits, said Stofega, who is IDC's program director of mobile device technology and trends.

"Google has had a great run with what they've done so far and it's clear their patent portfolio isn't as rich as those of others, especially in mobile," he said. "If you're going to be a mobile platform player, you need to make sure you have your ducks in a row regarding intellectual property."

A large part of Google's motivation for buying Motorola Mobility is the latter's patent portfolio, which includes more than 24,000 patents. That $12.5 billion deal is due to close early this year, after the companies obtain all necessary approvals.

Juan Carlos Perez covers search, social media, online advertising, e-commerce, Web application development, enterprise cloud collaboration suites, and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Juan on Twitter at @JuanCPerezIDG.

Gun Ownership on the Rise!

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Private Gun Ownership on the Rise (Infographic)

by Ross Toro, LiveScience contributor

Source:LiveScience

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Malaysian making the leap into 2012 Doomsday?

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Image via Wikipedia

Making the leap into 2012

Along The Watchtower By M. Veera Pandiyan

Political partisans are predicting dire scenarios against each other as the 13th general election looms.

LIKE the start of all years, 2012 began on a cheerful note, but don’t expect the goodwill to last for long, though. Unlike the usual 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes and 12 seconds taken by the Earth to complete its orbit around the Sun, this one is a leap year with 366 days.

A leap year occurs every four years when an extra day is included at the end of February.

There are some interesting traditions linked to leap years. Appa­rently, according to the Irish, it is okay for a woman to propose marriage to a man on Feb 29.

The practice has been traced to the 5th century after St Bridget – the patron saint of blacksmiths, boatmen and chicken farmers among others – complained to St Patrick (patron saint of Ireland) about women having to wait too long for men ask for their hand.

The tradition spread to Scotland with Queen Margaret’s decree in 1288 that a woman could demand any man she fancied to wed her on Feb 29.

It seems the men were prevented by law from turning down such a proposal. Fortunately for the reluctant grooms, the penalty was not a custodial sentence – only a fine in the form of a forced kiss, a dress made of silk or a pair of gloves to the rejected woman.

An unpopular girl then might not have gotten hitched but at least she would have had the chance to stock up her wardrobe by proposing to as many disinterested suitors as she could corner.

Such stories are unlikely to amuse the millions of Doomsday theory believers today who are sure that the end of the world is finally nigh.



Yes, it is the anticipated year of the apocalypse for those caught up in the much-prophesised end of times.

The common date earmarked by the Doomsday believers citing the Mayan calendar – the anticipated alignment of planets, solar flares, super volcanoes and polar magnet shift – is this Dec 21.

Periodic predictions of apocalyptic scenarios are not necessarily new. They have been regularly foretold by religious preachers, pseudo-scientists, fiction writers and such. Time and again, all of them have been proven wrong.

Among the notable predictions was that by William Miller who in 1840 warned of the second coming of Jesus Christ and impending end of the world between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844.

About 100,000 of his followers sold their belongings and went up the mountains to wait for the end. Nothing happened. He changed the date to Oct 22 and this too passed without incident.

His loyal followers, however, went on to form yet another highly successful religious movement.

It has become a routine for evangelist Harold Camping, who predicted the end of the world twice last year - on May 21 and Oct 21.

In 1992, he wrote a book called 1994?, which proclaimed the close to be in mid-September 1994.
Isn’t it amazing that people continue to believe in such characters in spite of their continuous unfulfilled prophesies?

In Malaysia, it is more of a case of political partisans predicting doomsday scenarios against each other after the 13th general election, expected to be held within the first six months of the year.

The heat is already rising in the build-up to the much-awaited verdict in the sodomy trial of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim Anwar, 64, on Monday (January 9, 2012).

The High Court will deliver its verdict on whether Anwar so­­domised his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 27, at a Desa Damansara condominium unit in Bukit Damansara on June 26, 2008.

The de facto PKR leader faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and whipping if found guilty under Section 377B of the Penal Code.

PKR deputy president Azmin Ali has since announced that Pakatan Rakyat would mobilise 100,000 people at the Jalan Duta Court Complex in Kuala Lumpur to show support for Anwar.

Another mass gathering is also being planned in Penang after the verdict.

The police have urged supporters to stay away from the gathering but it doesn’t look like the faithful will be deterred.

What can the non-partisans ex­­pect from such a gathering?

The Crowd: The Study of the Po­­-pular Mind by French physician Gustave Le Bon, who originated the theory of crowd psychology in the 19th century, provides some clues.

According to Le Bon, people usually change as they join a crowd because it fosters anonymity with individuals and become less conscious of their actions.

While he did not believe that members of an intense crowd were deranged, he nevertheless argued that the structure of assembly had a powerful influence on the behaviour of members.

He said when a crowd reached a critical level of arousal, individuals lost their power to resist suggestions from influential members, resulting in strong emotional reactions spreading with contagious results.

“The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduces them,” he wrote.

“Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master, whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.”

Happy New Year? Hope so.

Associate Editor M. Veera Pandiyan likes this note carved on an Assyrian tablet in 2800 BC: There are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end: bribery and corruption are common. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.

What are your New Year's Resolutions?

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Banks tighten lending rules amid uncertainty

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By DANIEL KHOO danielkhoo@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: The competitive environment for loans by banks will likely abate in the months ahead despite a general slowdown of loan growth which is expected this year, analysts said.

This is because banks in Malaysia are also expected to put their own interest first and extend loans to the consumer sector more cautiously given the uncertain backdrop amid the economic turmoil in the US and eurozone.

“It is quite normal to be more cautious as dark clouds gather over the horizon. However, I don't expect the slowdown to be as bad as it was back in 2009 when the sub-prime crisis hit the US,” said a banking analyst from one of Malaysia's top three banks by market capitalisation.



“Given the state of the global economy, it is timely that Bank Negara imposes stricter rules on lending to continue to keep lending activities in the country at a healthy state. A healthy banking system will only ensure a healthy economy,” the analyst added.

Bank Negara's more stringent revised lending rules came into effect on Jan 1.

Show-and-tell: Data released by Bank Negara showed that loan growth in November 2011 moderated further to 12.8% from a 13.1% and 13.8% growth in October and September 2011 respectively >>

Effective this year, the debt service ratio of a loan applicant is calculated based on the person's net income rather than gross income, which means the calculated income of the applicant is based on his or her take home salary after tax deduction and Employees Provident Fund contribution.

The softening competition for loans also means that loan growth is likely to slow further from the preceding two months.

Data released by Bank Negara showed that loan growth in Nov 2011 moderated further to 12.8% year on year (yoy) from a 13.1% and 13.8% yoy growth in October and September 2011 respectively.

CIMB Investment Bank's analyst Winson Ng had in a report on the sector outlook said that there was still a downside to the industry's loan growth even though it had declined for the two months.

“We are projecting total loans growth of 12-13% for 2011, followed by a softening to 9-10% in 2012 when consumer loans are expected to increase 10-11% and business loans are expected to advance by 8%-9%,” Ng said in his report.

Despite the apparent slowdown in loan growth, Maybank Investment Bank said that the scenario might not be as bad as it seems because there was a pick-up in loan applications and approvals, with a slight improvement in spreads in November 2011.

Maybank analyst Desmond Ch'ng said that the total system loan growth in 2012 was expected to slow further to 9.4% while loan growth was expected to be at 12.4% in 2011.

Meanwhile, RHB Investment Bank said in a report that Bank Negara could resort to cutting interest rates should global economic conditions deteriorate further and that it expected Bank Negara to employ a more proactive approach to “begin cutting interest rates sooner rather than later.”

RHB said that based on its sensitivity analysis, the Alliance Financial Group Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd would be more adversely impacted by a cut in interest rates due to their higher proportion of variable-rate loans.