Qualcomm to Pay Record Fine to China
Qualcomm is nearing the end of talks with the Chinese government over antitrust issues and is looking to cough up around $1 billion as soon as Monday. The issue arose over China’s 2008 anti-monopoly law, and if negotiations are reached, we will see Qualcomm lower its royalty rates by about 33% on patents used in China. Half of Qualcomm’s 26.5 revenue was earned in China last year, which means that the San Diego-based tech company will need to do whatever it takes to work out a deal with China.
The head of the NDRC’s antitrust division, Xu Kunlin, is responsible for the tough repercussions toward Qualcomm, and he is coming under fire for being too harsh and unfair with his legal actions. Even President Barack Obama has been talking with the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, about the commercial friction. Critics are saying that Xu is targeting only foreign companies, which he denies, despite both Samsung and Microsoft seeing some scrutiny from the Antitrust office. Source: Re/Code
Come comment on this article: Qualcomm to Pay Record Fine to China
Tim Cook to speak at White House cybersecurity summit on February 13
Apple CEO Tim Cook is scheduled to speak at the White House cybersecurity summit, which is being held on Friday, February 13, at Stanford. The White House is expected to unveil a new cybersecurity “executive action” at the summit, with President Obama set to outline ways in which U.S. technology companies can cooperate better with government agencies when it comes to cybersecurity.
It is unclear as to the role Tim Cook will have in the proceedings, but it is likely the executive will share his views on how public and private sector organizations can collaborate to improve cybersecurity. Apple has often been at odds with the US government over its customers’ privacy, with the Deartment of Justice having to invoke an 18th-century law to compel Apple to bypass the encryption measures found on its devices.
The White House cybersecurity summit will also focus on new ways of authentication to improve security, with biometric authentication technologies like Apple Pay likely to be touched upon.
Source: The Hill
Qualcomm to pay $1 billion to settle China antitrust dispute
About a week ago, we reported that China was beginning to impose greater restrictions on companies like Qualcomm and other American manufacturers. The Chinese government has been meeting with Qualcomm to settle antitrust claims in hopes to slow down the US-based chipmaker in favor of state-run companies such as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. and Spreadtrum Communications.
The settlement has finally been reached, according to Reuters, to the tune of $1 billion. This fine is the result of a 14-month government antitrust investigation, accusing Qualcomm of imposing anti-competitive licensing practices. Apparently, these conversations have been intensifying over the past weeks, resulting in talks between senior executives at Qualcomm and National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) officials last Friday. The deal may also include Qualcomm lowering its royalty fees by about a third on patents used in the country. These lowered royalty rates could be announced as soon as Monday.
The $1 billion settlement may already seem like a lot of money, but to top it off, the chipmaker’s fine will be the largest paid by any company in China. Qualcomm has also agreed to alter its licensing practices, although they aren’t expected to alter the company’s business model. This is particularly detrimental to Qualcomm, as the company made roughly half of its global revenue of $26.5 billion in China alone last year.
OtterBox cases for upcoming HTC One (M9) surface
To get an idea as to what the design of an upcoming device will be, accessories are always useful. For some reason, the mobile accessory manufacturers have no problem introducing products before the corresponding device is even announced. Here we have cases from OtterBox that will be paired with the upcoming HTC One (M9). OtterBox will have both Commuter and Defender cases for it with color options being Black or Glacier. As seen in the image above, the Duo Camera setup is gone. Other than that, these cases do not expose very much about the flagship-to-be from HTC.
Source: Androidworld
Via: GSMArena
Come comment on this article: OtterBox cases for upcoming HTC One (M9) surface
Marvel pulls Sony and ‘Spider-Man’ into its Cinematic Universe
You can add a few more entries to the long list of comic book movies due in the next few years, as Sony Pictures has revealed its plans for the Spider-Man franchise. As suggested in emails leaked during the recent hacking scandal, the studio has worked out an agreement with Marvel and Disney to include Spidey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe which already includes a slew of blockbuster movies, a couple of TV shows and even Netflix’s upcoming series. The superhero/photojournalist will appear in an upcoming MCU movie first, then on June 28, 2017 a standalone flick is coming, produced by Sony, departing executive Amy Pascal and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige . Sony is keeping its exclusive rights to make Spider-Man flicks, but now it can dip into the popularity of the MCU series and what Marvel has achieved there (other Marvel characters can also cross into the Spider-Man series now), while fans can finally see the character pop up in stories on the big screen the same way he has in the comics.
Developing..
[Image credit: Disney XD via Getty Images]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Marvel
HTC goes after the Moto G with mid-range Desire 626
HTC has launched its latest offering aimed at budget buyers, the Desire 626. Now available for purchase in Taiwan, the Desire 626 offers a 64-bit CPU, 5-inch 720p display and LTE connectivity for NT$5990 ($190).
Xiaomi Mi 4 goes on sale in India, 64GB variant launching on February 24
Xiaomi’s metal-clad Mi 4 is going up for sale for the first time in the India later today. The flash sale (open only to registered users) commences at 2 PM IST on Flipkart. The 16GB version is currently available in the country, with Xiaomi stating that the 64GB model will make its debut on February 24.
Joe Danger is making its way to Google Play sometime this year
Joe Danger, the popular side-scrolling daredevil game, is making its way to Google Play, the Amazon Appstore and OUYA sometime this year. The game will be based off of Joe Danger Touch, which was originally released on iOS in 2013.
The game will have the same features as Joe Danger Touch, including 80 different levels and hours of gameplay. Joe Danger, the main character, is a dirt bike-riding daredevil that can perform a number of stunts over multiple different obstacles. Of course, there are hazards along the way like spike traps and shark-infested swimming pools. Here’s the list of features Joe Danger will offer Android users:
- 80 levels across 10 challenging tours give hours and hours of play
- Get a perfect run to win each level’s Pro Medal
- Beat your friends on the online scoreboards and win the full set of achievements
- Collect and play as 29 different characters
- Play the Daily Challenge mode for a special new level to beat every day
It will also be compatible with Android gaming controllers, allowing you to play on your television or monitor with an Xbox 360, PS3, or generic HID/USB controller. We’re not sure exactly when the game will launch on Android, though we know its ‘coming soon’. And pricing hasn’t been released either. The iOS counterpart is available for $2.99, so this may end up being a paid game when it launches. When more information is released, we’ll be sure to update you as to when you can pick it up.
Tim Cook to Speak at White House Cybersecurity Summit [iOS Blog]
Apple CEO Tim Cook will speak at a White House cybersecurity summit on Friday at Stanford University, according to The Hill. The summit is another battleground in which tech companies and the government will discuss encryption.
The White House is expected to reveal its next executive action on cybersecurity at the summit, which will bring together tech executives, leading academics and government officials to discuss ways in which the government can better collaborate with the private sector on cybersecurity initiatives.
Cook and other technology executives have called for government surveillance reform, calling for limitations on government authority to collect users’ information, oversight and accountability, transparency about demands and more.
Meanwhile, the FBI has been in talks with companies like Google and Apple about their privacy features and have expressed concern that their encryption makes it difficult for investigators to infiltrate a kidnapper or terrorist’s device for information that could prevent crimes or attacks. One Department of Justice official told Apple that investigators’ inability to access their devices could lead to children dying.
FBI Assistant Director Joe Demarest Jr. and Secret Service Deputy Director A.T. Smith are two of the government officials who will give remarks on Friday.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Macedonian officials accused of spying on 20,000 people over four years
Macedonia’s Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski along with secret police chief Saso Mijalkov have been spying on, well, just about everyone important in the country except themselves, according to the opposing political party. Opposition leader Zoran Zaev from the Social Democratic Party has accused the two of ordering constant surveillance on him for at least five years in a press conference earlier — years longer than the 14-month max duration of any court-sanctioned eavesdropping. But it’s not just Zaev himself: he says the other members of his party and (in a perfect example of what happens with unchecked government surveillance) even Gruevski’s own allies are targets of this politically motivated surveillance program.
In fact, he says the program has been spying on roughly 20,000 people for at least four years, and authorities did so with cooperation from mobile providers. “Gruevski and several people around him are behind this operation,” Zaev claims. “The material we have shows that illegal wire-tapping was under direct orders from Saso Mijalkov. This kind of massive wire-tapping can be done only by a domestic service.”
The prime minister has recently accused Zaev and the opposition of planning a coup against the government, charging them with espionage, which has led to five arrests thus far. Zaev maintains that Gruevski did that to shut them up, which clearly didn’t work if that’s the case. During the press conference, the Social Democrat Party played some of Zaev’s phone calls, which were allegedly recorded by government spies, along with a call between two known Gruevski allies.
Journalists at the event were handed even more material — CDs with 11 taped phone conversations and their transcripts — which the party says came from “brave people” within Macedonia’s intelligence agency. The opposition has promised that those materials will be released, as well, but for now, you can listen to the calls played during the conference… if you understand Macedonian.
[Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Misc
Via: Boingboing
Source: Balkan Insight
AIVAnet 