Samsung fined $300 million for DRAM price-fixing
It is reported that Samsung will pay a $300 million fine for price fixing for DRAM computer memory chips. Seems that they conspired with other chip manufacturers to keep the prices artificially high.
David Canton is a business lawyer and trade-mark agent with a practice focusing on technology issues and technology companies.
It is reported that Samsung will pay a $300 million fine for price fixing for DRAM computer memory chips. Seems that they conspired with other chip manufacturers to keep the prices artificially high.
Apple showed off their new video iPod yesterday.
I did a survey (OK – I admit – it was 1 unsolicited comment from my son) on the concept. The response: “Why would anyone want to watch a TV show on that tiny screen?”
I am surprised that the screen doesn’t occupy most of the front face.
It will be interesting to see if the model for people to buy TV shows to watch on an iPod takes off.
This may seem to be a strange headline from a privacy advocate – but biometrics and privacy are not mutually exclusive concepts.
I believe passwords and PIN numbers must be replaced with biometrics. It is virtually impossible to create and remember effective passwords. Using biometrics does not mean there needs to be databases containing biometric information – that would be just asking for problems – and raises the whole big brother issue.
Privacy zealots often use privacy as a full stop reason not to do certain things or use certain technologies (biometrics, RFID…). Privacy is not a cause to be blindly followed. It is an important principle that needs to be addressed – but most things can be designed to function and protect privacy at the same time.
A newspaper article talks about how fingerprints are being used at ATM’s in South America. We can’t be left in a technology backwater because of this issue.
David Canton – for the London Free Press – October 8, 2005
An Australian court recently decided Kazaa infringed copyright laws. While the decision may cripple file-sharing through Kazaa, a popular music downloading software, it won’t stop it.
The Federal Court of Australia ruled Kazaa violated Australian copyright laws by authorizing users to infringe music companies’ copyright in recordings. Kazaa is based in Australia but since users of the software are worldwide, the decision has global implications.
The Australian decision echoes a recent U.S. appeal court ruling against Grokster. In that case, the court held the movie and music industries can sue technology companies that encourage their customers to steal music and movies over the Internet.
The Federal Privacy Commissioner released her annual reports to parliament yesterday. One deals with the Privacy Act – the public sector privacy legislation. The other deals with PIPEDA – the private sector legislation.
From the quick scan I have made of the PIPEDA report:
-complaints doubled in 2004 over 2003
-it includes commentary on privacy in light of technology such as RFID and GPS
-it raises some issues for discussion for the upcoming 2006 PIPEDA legislative review
The reports and news releases are available on the Privacy commissioner’s web site.
I often tell clients and prospective clients (and for that matter anyone else who will listen) that every business must have a web site. The number of small / medium sized businesses that do not have a web site, or have an outdated or badly designed website is surprising.
Many potential customers won’t take a business seriously if they can’t readily find them online and get at least some basic information about the business. And a badly designed website that does not reflect the image the business wants to project (its the same as the design of your store or advertising materials) will turn off customers.
Creating a basic web site does not have the be an expensive or time consuming experience. And if a business wants to sell product over the Web, people like myself can help make the site comply with electonic commerce laws.
Webnames.ca’s The Server Room newsletter has an article entitled What Kind of Web Site Should Your Small Business Have? that is a must read for any business trying to figure this out.
Tired of seeing boring powerpoint presentations? You know the ones – too much writing on each screen, cluttered, thrown together, disorganized, hard to read, …
Thanks to Rob Hyndman of RobHyndman.com for pointing to the powerpoint presetation of Dick Hardt of Sxip Identity on Identity 2.0. (“2.0″ seems to be the latest buzzword – usually means using the web in innovative ways such as combining info from different web sources).
It is fast paced, unusual, and effective.
Of the over 14,000 people that the RIAA have sued for uploading music, only a handful have defended them. The costs involved to defend are just too much for the average person to bear.
Reports say that one woman has defended and counterclaimed on the basis of: Oregon RICO violations, fraud, invasion of privacy, abuse of process, electronic trespass, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, negligent misrepresentation, the tort of “outrage”, and deceptive business practices
Some of that may be a stretch, but certainly no more than the hyperbole the RIAA spits out. (See my Sept 30 post.)
Take a look at this Dilbert cartoon for an amusing spin on being fired for making negative comments on your employer in your blog.
David Canton – for The London Free Press – October 1, 2005
A legal battle between Microsoft and Google over a former Microsoft employee demonstrates the tension caused by the use of non-competition clauses in employment contracts.
Non-competition clauses limit the type of work an employee can perform after leaving their employer.
Businesses want to prevent former employees from using proprietary information to compete against them.
Employees don’t want how or where they will earn their living to be limited.
Kai-Fu Lee was the corporate vice-president of Microsoft’s Natural Interactive Services division. He was recruited by Google in July to head their new research centre in China.
Unless otherwise stated, all original material created by David Canton included in this blog is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
