u.s

Patent Office board to revisit Microsoft-Eolas spat

In a move that could shape an upcoming retrial, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has agreed once again to revisit Web browser plug-in patents at the heart of a dispute between Microsoft and University of California spinoff Eolas Technologies.

Microsoft associate general counsel Andy Culbert told CNET News.com in a telephone interview on Friday that the Patent Office agreed last week to undertake what is known as an interference proceeding.

An interference proceeding occurs when the Patent Office has determined that two separate patent holders hold patents covering the same subject matter. A five-judge panel within the … Read more

Department of Defense says no more YouTube or MySpace

The U.S. Department of Defense issued a memo Friday that states it intends to begin blocking network access--including that of soldiers serving overseas--to several popular "Internet entertainment sites" on Monday, according to the Associated Press. The 12 total sites to be blocked include several large social networking and media sharing sites like MySpace, YouTube, MTV, Pandora, and Photobucket.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Army cracked down on soldiers' personal blogs, citing security concerns. Operational security, according to the memo from the DoD that was cited in Monday's AP article, is also a reason behind the … Read more

Friendster lands a third patent

In another attempt to bolster its profitability, pioneering social-networking site Friendster said Thursday it has received its third U.S. patent in the past nine months.

Officially awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on March 6, Patent No. 7,188,153 B2 covers "System and Method for Managing Connections in an Online Social Network."

The San Francisco-based outfit's first patent, granted in July 2006, covers "A System, Method and Apparatus for Connecting Users in an Online Computer System Based on Their Relationships within Social Networks." It landed a second patent in October … Read more

Ahh, the smell of B.O. in the morning

The Brits are using a simulated combat environment developed by the University of Southern California, to treat soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

By bringing to life a "virtual Iraq," complete with the realistic thumps and bumps of battle, the program allows troops to "relive and confront psychological trauma." All this takes place in a graduated manner so as not to re-traumatize, according to the University of Reading's Visualisation Centre.

The Iraq simulation experience is "fully immersive," meaning that patients wear VR goggles that transport them to the virtual battlefield. There, an attending … Read more

Outsourcing to Arkansas

A new kid on the block promises to give offshore outsourcing a run for its money--by routing technology work to rural America.

Rural Sourcing is a start-up founded and largely funded by Kathy White, former chief information officer for health care giant Cardinal Health. White, also Rural Sourcing's president, has set up two facilities in Arkansas, has another center coming on line in New Mexico in January, and is in talks to open yet another facility in North Carolina.

The company can offer services such as application maintenance and Internet development for roughly 40 percent less than what other … Read more

Where GE goes, will others follow?

This morning's announcement that General Electric will sell a 60% majority stake in its global outsourcing business speaks volumes about the future of offshoring.

GE was one of the early American companies to tap India's outsourcing potential. But the outsourcing unit limited its service to GE and its customers.

That restriction no longer need apply now that General Atlantic Partners and Oak Hill Capital Partners are paying $500 million for a majority ownership position in GE Capital International Services. Should they choose, the new equity owners can now widen the scope of the business to contract with any … Read more

Dell and the definition of "is"

Dell CEO Kevin Rollins came out swinging against overseas outsourcing in a speech delivered Friday at a conference sponsored by Forrester Research in Boston. For the folks at Dell, who delight in tweaking IBM and Hewlett-Packard, the occasion provided Rollins with a bully pulpit from which he could draw invidious comparisons with his major rivals.

Both IBM and HP are big foreign outsourcers and have taken their PR lumps accordingly. But methinks Rollins was stretching the truth when he suggested Dell was following a different path. Fact is that the company has long had factories and support centers in other … Read more

Whose job is most vulnerable?

The Dallas Morning News carries the findings of a new study listing the occupations most vulnerable to being outsourced.

"Myths and Realities of Globalization," compiled by Lori Kletzer of the economics department at the University of California at Santa Cruz, concludes that the least vulnerable professions are in building maintenance; health-care support; education and libraries; construction and extraction; and transportation.

The positions most likely to get hit by overseas outsourcing? Military services; farm, fish and forestry; computers and mathematics; life, physical and social sciences; legal; and architecture and engineering.

Out of sight, out of mind?

(This went up today as my regular Friday column on News.com)

I had been spending a lot of time thinking about the future of offshore outsourcing when one Yuta Tabuse turned up on my personal radar.

For those of you who are not hoops fanatics, Tabuse is a 5-foot-9-inch reserve who plays for the Phoenix Suns. Tabuse also happens to be the first Japanese national to make the roster of a National Basketball Association club.

As a fellow 5-foot-9er, I'm pulling for the diminutive point guard, though it makes no difference whether Tabuse goes down in NBA annals … Read more