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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011
Years
TECHNOLOGY
US dating site to screen for sex offenders WASHINGTON: Match.com has announced plans to begin screening applicants against the US national sex offender registry after a woman was allegedly assaulted by a man she met through the dating site. Match.com, which claims millions of members for its dating sites in 25 countries, said it planned to begin checking existing and new subscribers against the US registry of persons convicted of sex crimes. The move came after a female Hollywood entertainment executive revealed this month she had
been sexually assaulted by a man she met through Match.com who had been convicted six times previously of sexual battery. “This ordeal completely blindsided me because I had considered myself savvy about online dating safety,” the woman, who has not been identified, said in a statement released through her lawyer. “Match.com must begin to take some responsibility in protecting paying subscribers,” she said. “I do not want this to happen to anyone else.” Match.com US president Mandy Ginsberg said
the company had been considering using sex offender registry checks for several years but “their historical unreliability has always led us to conclude against it.” The company has since changed its mind and will begin instituting the checks within 60 to 90 days. “A combination of improved technology and an improved database now enables a sufficient degree of accuracy to move forward with this initiative, despite its continued imperfection,” Ginsberg said in a statement.
“We want to stress that while these checks may help in certain instances, they remain highly flawed, and it is critical that this effort does not provide a false sense of security to our members,” she said. “With millions of members, and thousands of first dates a week, Match.com, like any other large community, cannot guarantee the actions of all its members.” The Dallas, Texas-based Match.com, which was founded in 1995 and is owned by IAC, already provides an online help page with safety tips for its members. — AFP
Brazil, a new haven for high tech investors ‘Biggest challenge for Brazil is innovation’ RIO DE JANEIRO: A longtime exporter of raw materials and a hub for foreign investors, Brazil is now seeking capital for cutting-edge research in oil and information technology. “The biggest challenge for Brazil is innovation. We are very competitive in agriculture, aviation, oil and gas, but our industrial sector is weak when it comes to innovation,” Science and Technology Minister Aloizio Mercadante said.
SINGAPORE: This photo taken on March 11, 2011 shows a girl swinging her arms while playing a virtual table tennis game at the IT show 2011 in Singapore. — AFP
EU to investigate Internet providers’ traffic management BRUSSELS: The European Union said yesterday it has asked the bloc’s 27 member countries to probe whether Internet providers block or slow down services in a way that harms consumers. The investigation targets both fixed and mobile Internet providers and the results will be published by the end of the year. The findings could lead to new rules that bar Internet providers from blocking voice-calling applications such as Skype or slowing down certain videostreaming services. “I am absolutely determined that everyone in the EU should have the chance to enjoy the benefits of an open and lawful Internet, without hidden restrictions or slower speeds than they have been promised,” said Neelie Kroes, the EU’s commissioner for the digital agenda. She said that the European Commission, the EU’s executive, would not only rely on the findings of the national telecommunications regulators, but was also asking consumers and businesses to point out problems. The EU’s examination of Internet providers’ practices is part of a wider debate on the principle of “net neutrality” both in Europe and the United States. Advocates of net neutrality say that all online services should be treated equally to foster competition and innovation. Internet providers, meanwhile, argue that they have to manage traffic to ensure bandwidth-hungry services like video streaming or voice-calling function properly. So far, the European Commission has taken a relatively business-friendly approach to net neutrality, betting that new telecommunication rules that come into force next month will create the competition and transparency necessary for a fair and consumer-friendly market. In its report yesterday, the Commission says “it is widely accepted” that providers have to slow down some
services to allow others to work. “A consumer ’s experience is not affected if an email reaches him a few seconds after it has been sent, whereas a similar delay to a voice communication would cause it to be significantly degraded, if not rendered entirely useless,” the Commission said. As long as there is enough competition among Internet providers, users can vote with their feet and make sure they get the service they want, Kroes said. According to that logic, new rules that allow consumers to switch mobile Internet providers within a working day while keeping their number should eventually eliminate operators that block or charge extra for using a calling application like Skype — as some do in Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Romania. However, Kroes said that there are concerns that some Internet providers are not transparent about the services they block or the downloading speeds they offer — thus keeping consumers from making informed choices. Kroes cited the example of an unnamed UK operator that was reportedly making “Skype calls technically impossible in afternoons and evenings without warning the users.” She also pointed to claims that some Internet providers were slowing video streaming provided by a competitor to “degrade the quality of the content.” The Commissioner warned that if the investigation supported those allegations she would “publicly name operators engaging in doubtful practices” by the end of the year and could eventually come up with more stringent guidelines and specific legislation on net neutrality. “Mark my words,” Kroes said. “If measures to enhance competition are not enough to bring Internet providers to offer real consumer choice, I’m ready to prohibit the blocking of lawful services or applications.” — AP
SINGAPORE: This photo taken on March 23, 2011 shows students Richie Yin (L) and Jasper Wong (R), both 21, surfing the Internet on their mobile phones at a shopping mall in Singapore. — AFP
“We are encouraging industrial groups to innovate... and we are setting up foreign research centers that will register or apply for patents in Brazil.” One of these centers is CENPES, launched by Brazilian oil giant Petrobas in a northern suburb of Rio. In Recife, capital of the northeastern state of Pernambuco, the Digital Port technology park is home to nearly 180 companies and institutes specializing in information technology. Created in 1970 and located on the campus of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, CENPES has invested $700 million since 2005 to attract international firms involved in the Brazilian oil industry, including France’s Schlumberger and US-based GE, Halliburton and Baker Hughes. “The biggest suppliers of Petrobas, seeing Brazil as a good investment opportunity and recognizing the quality of Brazilian universities, are coming to establish an intellectual partnership
with us in addition to our trade ties,” said CENPES general director Carlos Tadeu da Costa Fraga.He cited biotechnology, biofuels and environment research as projects being developed. Petrobas invested $2.6 billion in research and development in 2008-2010 and plans major investments for deepwater oil exploration in the Atlantic Ocean below a thick layer of salt. Brazil’s current proven crude oil reserves of 14 billion barrels could more than triple by extracting the oil buried in the sea, making the country one of the biggest exporters of crude. With a booming consumer market, Brazil offers interesting opportunities for foreign high tech firms. “Brazil is a good option for technological investments in Latin America. Here, there are good professionals who can ensure that investing firms can more easily enter the market,” emerging markets expert Luis Anavitarte
of Gartner told AFP. Recife’s Digital Port was created 10 years ago with the aim of spurring the information technology sector and creating more jobs in Pernambuco, one of Brazil’s poorest states. Multinational firms Accenture, Motorola and IBM are among the giants that have established a foothold there. The transfer of military technology is also a key factor as Brazil considers Boeing’s F-18 Super Hornet, the Rafale by France’s Dassault and the Gripen NG made by Saab of Sweden for a contract worth between $4 billion and $7 billion. Competition for the contract has dragged on for years, with President Dilma Rousseff inheriting it from her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who had declared a preference for the French planes. The contract is for 36 fighters with the possibility of many more aircraft in the future. — AFP
Samsung vows action over Apple patent suit SEOUL: Samsung Electronics said yesterday it would take counteraction against Apple after the US firm filed suit alleging that the South Korean giant copied its smartphones and tablet computers. Apple’s lawsuit claims Samsung’s mobile phones and Galaxy Tab imitated the iPhone and the iPad. “Samsung will respond actively to this legal action taken against us through appropriate legal measures to protect our intellectual property,” the South Korean firm said in a statement. Samsung has been successfully developing its own core technologies and building up its intellectual property portfolio, it said. Yonhap news agency quoted Samsung officials as saying they suspect Apple had violated Samsung’s wireless technology patents. “Apple is one of our key buyers of semiconductors and display panels. However, we have no choice but respond strongly this time,” an unidentified official was quoted as saying. Apple was Samsung’s secondlargest client in 2010 after Japan’s Sony Corp, accounting for four percent of the South Korean firm’s 155 trillion won ($142 billion) annual revenues. Apple accused Samsung of copying the look, product design, packaging and user interface of its products, in a lawsuit filed Friday with a US District Court in San Francisco and quoted by the Wall Street Journal. It claimed Samsung has violated various Apple patents and trademarks. “Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smartphone products and computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy Apple’s technology, user interface and innovative style in these infringing products,” the Journal quoted Apple’s complaint as saying. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab has been the best-selling rival to the iPad, which has dominated the growing market for the touchscreen devices. The legal action came as Samsung is scheduled to release the Galaxy S2 smartphone in the domestic market next week. Patent lawsuits are a regular occurrence among technology giants in the United States. Apple is currently embroiled in disputes with Finland’s Nokia, Taiwan’s HTC and US handset maker Motorola among others. — AFP
SEOUL: South Korean models pose with an LG Electronics refrigerator connected to a home Wi-Fi network and can be controlled by a smartphone, during a launching event in Seoul yesterday. —AFP
S Korea’s LG unveils ‘smart fridge’ that suggests recipes SEOUL: South Korea’s LG Electronics yesterday unveiled a refrigerator which suggests recipes as it forecast a bright future in the potentially lucrative market for “smart” household appliances. LG will roll out smart fridges, washers and other appliances in South Korea and North America by the end of this year to compete against rivals including Samsung Electronics and Whirlpool, Lee Young-Ha, president of the home appliance unit, told reporters. The nation’s second-largest consumer electronics maker after Samsung yesterday showcased the first smart product-a refrigerator connected to a home Wi-Fi network and which can be controlled by smartphone. “By the end of the year, when our full range is introduced, consumers will be able to stay in contact with their appliances at any time, enjoying greater convenience and seeing real-life, real-time improvements in energy consumption and time savings,” Lee said in a statement. The smart fridge offers three energy-saving options as well as a “food management system” which tells users what is in their fridge, where it is and when its sell-by date expires.
The information is available via smartphones or tablets, and can be accessed from a grocery store or restaurant. LG boasts the machine can even suggest healthy recipes based on what foods are currently available. The product costs about 3.6 million won ($3,296) and will account for about 20 to 30 percent of LG’s refrigerator sales in South Korea this year, said Lee, without giving a global sales target. Other items including ovens and cameraembedded vacuum cleaners remotely controlled by smartphones or tablet computers will be introduced later this year, he added. Market research firm Pike Research predicts the global market for smart home appliances will take off in earnest in 2013 and reach $26.1 billion in sales by 2019. In 2000, LG introduced a refrigerator connected to the Internet that met with a lukewarm response. “Now things are different, with Wi-Fi networks everywhere, smartphones so common and prices far more affordable,” said Kim Young-Soo, vice president of LG’s home appliance unit. — AFP
SAN JOSE: A scientist uses IBM’s Blue Gene Supercomputer at the IBM Alamden Research Center in San Jose, Calif., April 18, 2011. The Supercomputer is used for research on gene sequencing and cognitive analytics. — AP