Communication Breakdown
Communications from the world of, er, communications. And other stuff.
Thursday 5 November 2009, 3:18 PM
The mutation of Europe's 'internet freedom' law
Agreement has been reached on the now-famous Amendment 138/46, allowing the Telecoms Reform Package to become law next year.
Some rights activists are semi-up-in-arms about the final version of the amendment, saying it does not offer as much protection against internet disconnection as the original provided. Our main, comprehensive story on the agreement is here, but we also thought it worthwhile to show precisely what changed.
See for yourself. Here's the original Amendment 138/46 (.pdf; see page 41), voted through by the European Parliament in May, but rejected by the Council of Telecoms Ministers:
... no restriction may be imposed on the fundamental rights and freedoms of end-users, without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities, notably in accordance with Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union on freedom of expression and information, save when public security is threatened in which case the ruling may be subsequent.
And here's the full text of the new Internet Freedom Provision, a.k.a. Article 1(3)a of the new Framework Directive:
Measures taken by Member States regarding end-users' access to or use of services and applications through electronic communications networks shall respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and general principles of Community law.
Any of these measures regarding end-users' access to or use of services and applications through electronic communications networks liable to restrict those fundamental rights or freedoms may only be imposed if they are appropriate, proportionate and necessary within a democratic society, and their implementation shall be subject to adequate procedural safeguards in conformity with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and general principles of Community law, including effective judicial protection and due process.
Accordingly, these measures may only be taken with due respect for the principle of presumption of innocence and the right to privacy. A prior fair and impartial procedure shall be guaranteed, including the right to be heard of the person or persons concerned, subject to the need for appropriate conditions and procedural arrangements in duly substantiated cases of urgency in conformity with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
The right to an effective and timely judicial review shall be guaranteed.
The crucial replacement is that of "a prior ruling by the judicial authorities" with "a prior fair and impartial procedure". That's a serious change, as it represents the difference between a court order and a far more nebulous "procedure".
The right to a timely review of the disconnection decision is, however, a bit more comforting.
Some rights activists are semi-up-in-arms about the final version of the amendment, saying it does not offer as much protection against internet disconnection as the original provided. Our main, comprehensive story on the agreement is here, but we also thought it worthwhile to show precisely what changed.
See for yourself. Here's the original Amendment 138/46 (.pdf; see page 41), voted through by the European Parliament in May, but rejected by the Council of Telecoms Ministers:
... no restriction may be imposed on the fundamental rights and freedoms of end-users, without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities, notably in accordance with Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union on freedom of expression and information, save when public security is threatened in which case the ruling may be subsequent.
And here's the full text of the new Internet Freedom Provision, a.k.a. Article 1(3)a of the new Framework Directive:
Measures taken by Member States regarding end-users' access to or use of services and applications through electronic communications networks shall respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and general principles of Community law.
Any of these measures regarding end-users' access to or use of services and applications through electronic communications networks liable to restrict those fundamental rights or freedoms may only be imposed if they are appropriate, proportionate and necessary within a democratic society, and their implementation shall be subject to adequate procedural safeguards in conformity with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and general principles of Community law, including effective judicial protection and due process.
Accordingly, these measures may only be taken with due respect for the principle of presumption of innocence and the right to privacy. A prior fair and impartial procedure shall be guaranteed, including the right to be heard of the person or persons concerned, subject to the need for appropriate conditions and procedural arrangements in duly substantiated cases of urgency in conformity with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
The right to an effective and timely judicial review shall be guaranteed.
The crucial replacement is that of "a prior ruling by the judicial authorities" with "a prior fair and impartial procedure". That's a serious change, as it represents the difference between a court order and a far more nebulous "procedure".
The right to a timely review of the disconnection decision is, however, a bit more comforting.
Wednesday 4 November 2009, 7:20 PM
Intel hit with federal antitrust lawsuit in US
Intel is being sued in the United States for breaking federal and New York state antitrust laws.
The New York attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, announced on Wednesday that he had filed the suit, charging that "Intel violated state and federal anti-monopoly laws by engaging in a worldwide, systematic campaign of illegal conduct — revealed in e-mails — in order to maintain its monopoly power and prices in the market for microprocessors".
The details of Intel's alleged infractions closely mirror those breaches for which the European Commission fined Intel €1bn in May. Both cases involve or involved illegal practices designed to persuade PC makers to use Intel rather than AMD chipsets.
"Over the last several years, Intel has extracted exclusive agreements from large computer makers in which they agreed to use Intel's microprocessors in exchange for payments totaling billions of dollars. Intel also threatened to and did in fact punish computer makers that they perceived to be working too closely with Intel's competitors," Cuomo said in his statement.
However, Intel's alleged retaliatory threats, as detailed by Cuomo, included not only "cutting off payments the computer maker was receiving from Intel", but also "directly funding a computer maker's competitors and ending joint development ventures" — neither of which was a factor in the Commission's case.
According to Cuomo: "The suit, which was filed today in federal court, seeks to bar further anticompetitive acts by Intel, restore lost competition, recover monetary damages suffered by New York governmental entities and consumers, and collect penalties."
Computer manufacturers named in the suit include Dell, HP and IBM — all bar the last were involved in the Commission's case.
The new suit follows almost two years of evidence-gathering — according to Wednesday's statement, the Attorney General's office has reviewed millions of pages of documents and e-mails and took testimony from several dozen witnesses".
Apart from the US and EU cases, Intel was also found guilty of antitrust and fined accordingly by South Korea in 2008.
UPDATE: According to News.com, Intel disagrees with Cuomo's charges.
The New York attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, announced on Wednesday that he had filed the suit, charging that "Intel violated state and federal anti-monopoly laws by engaging in a worldwide, systematic campaign of illegal conduct — revealed in e-mails — in order to maintain its monopoly power and prices in the market for microprocessors".
The details of Intel's alleged infractions closely mirror those breaches for which the European Commission fined Intel €1bn in May. Both cases involve or involved illegal practices designed to persuade PC makers to use Intel rather than AMD chipsets.
"Over the last several years, Intel has extracted exclusive agreements from large computer makers in which they agreed to use Intel's microprocessors in exchange for payments totaling billions of dollars. Intel also threatened to and did in fact punish computer makers that they perceived to be working too closely with Intel's competitors," Cuomo said in his statement.
However, Intel's alleged retaliatory threats, as detailed by Cuomo, included not only "cutting off payments the computer maker was receiving from Intel", but also "directly funding a computer maker's competitors and ending joint development ventures" — neither of which was a factor in the Commission's case.
According to Cuomo: "The suit, which was filed today in federal court, seeks to bar further anticompetitive acts by Intel, restore lost competition, recover monetary damages suffered by New York governmental entities and consumers, and collect penalties."
Computer manufacturers named in the suit include Dell, HP and IBM — all bar the last were involved in the Commission's case.
The new suit follows almost two years of evidence-gathering — according to Wednesday's statement, the Attorney General's office has reviewed millions of pages of documents and e-mails and took testimony from several dozen witnesses".
Apart from the US and EU cases, Intel was also found guilty of antitrust and fined accordingly by South Korea in 2008.
UPDATE: According to News.com, Intel disagrees with Cuomo's charges.
Tuesday 3 November 2009, 5:19 PM
Series 60 phones get Google voice search
Google has released a version of its voice search application for users of Symbian Series 60 handsets.
Series 60 is mostly used in Nokia smartphones such as the E71 but also in some handsets from other manufacturers such as Sony Ericsson. Based on Symbian, it is one of the most popular smartphone platforms in the world.
On Monday, Google software engineer Elke Michlmayr wrote that many Series 60 handsets that do not have Qwerty keypads would benefit from having the free location-aware app.
"The new version of Google Mobile App places a shortcut to Google search on your Nokia phone's home screen, allowing you to search using your voice or by typing," Michlmayr wrote. "You can search for anything — from 'movie times', to 'fish 'n chips', to 'masala dosa'. It doesn't matter if you're in London or Bangalore: we'll use your location to give you nearby results."
The new Google Mobile App also recognises Mandarin Chinese for the first time — Series 60 users will be the first to benefit from this addition, although Android and iPhone users may also get this functionality in time.
Michlmayr also noted that the app would only work, for now, on handsets running S60 3rd Edition — so, not for users of the Nokia N97 or Sony Ericsson Satio, both of which use the 5th edition of S60.
Series 60 is mostly used in Nokia smartphones such as the E71 but also in some handsets from other manufacturers such as Sony Ericsson. Based on Symbian, it is one of the most popular smartphone platforms in the world.
On Monday, Google software engineer Elke Michlmayr wrote that many Series 60 handsets that do not have Qwerty keypads would benefit from having the free location-aware app.
"The new version of Google Mobile App places a shortcut to Google search on your Nokia phone's home screen, allowing you to search using your voice or by typing," Michlmayr wrote. "You can search for anything — from 'movie times', to 'fish 'n chips', to 'masala dosa'. It doesn't matter if you're in London or Bangalore: we'll use your location to give you nearby results."
The new Google Mobile App also recognises Mandarin Chinese for the first time — Series 60 users will be the first to benefit from this addition, although Android and iPhone users may also get this functionality in time.
Michlmayr also noted that the app would only work, for now, on handsets running S60 3rd Edition — so, not for users of the Nokia N97 or Sony Ericsson Satio, both of which use the 5th edition of S60.
Thursday 29 October 2009, 5:09 PM
HTC Hero to get Android Eclair, skip Donut
HTC's Hero handset will be upgraded to Android 2.0 at some point, the manufacturer has confirmed.
A tweet from the company's official account late on Wednesday read: "The rumors are true! Hero will be getting an Eclair update. We ask for your patience as we update Sense for the fancy new Android OS."
Android 2.0, the so-called 'Eclair' revision of Google's open source mobile operating system, introduces a refreshed user interface, Bluetooth-based peer-to-peer connectivity and native Exchange support.
European Hero users will not, however, get the 'Donut' revision of Android, also known as version 1.6. In an email sent to a customer by HTC, the company said: "The Hero will not be receiving the Android 1.6 upgrade, it will however get the 2.0 one".
When a new version of Android is released, manufacturers such as HTC then integrate the new version into their own customised implementations of the OS. The result then often goes to the operator so branding and operator-specific functionality can be added.
Donut is currently being rolled out over-the-air to users of 'Google experience' phones such as the T-Mobile G1 and HTC Magic. However, these handsets do not have the HTC Sense user interface skin, so it is likely that HTC has simply decided to skip Donut because Eclair — which has already appeared on Motorola's Droid handset — is itself almost ready for a wide rollout.
The HTC Hero, not being a Google experience handset, has to receive firmware upgrades through being connected to a PC via USB cable. This requires a wipe of the old OS version and reinstallation of all user settings and applications, so skipping Donut might make life easier for Hero users after all.
A tweet from the company's official account late on Wednesday read: "The rumors are true! Hero will be getting an Eclair update. We ask for your patience as we update Sense for the fancy new Android OS."
Android 2.0, the so-called 'Eclair' revision of Google's open source mobile operating system, introduces a refreshed user interface, Bluetooth-based peer-to-peer connectivity and native Exchange support.
European Hero users will not, however, get the 'Donut' revision of Android, also known as version 1.6. In an email sent to a customer by HTC, the company said: "The Hero will not be receiving the Android 1.6 upgrade, it will however get the 2.0 one".
When a new version of Android is released, manufacturers such as HTC then integrate the new version into their own customised implementations of the OS. The result then often goes to the operator so branding and operator-specific functionality can be added.
Donut is currently being rolled out over-the-air to users of 'Google experience' phones such as the T-Mobile G1 and HTC Magic. However, these handsets do not have the HTC Sense user interface skin, so it is likely that HTC has simply decided to skip Donut because Eclair — which has already appeared on Motorola's Droid handset — is itself almost ready for a wide rollout.
The HTC Hero, not being a Google experience handset, has to receive firmware upgrades through being connected to a PC via USB cable. This requires a wipe of the old OS version and reinstallation of all user settings and applications, so skipping Donut might make life easier for Hero users after all.
Wednesday 28 October 2009, 5:30 PM
Free Android sat-nav hits TomTom, Garmin shares
Shares in sat-nav firms TomTom and Garmin plummeted on Wednesday, after Google announced free turn-by-turn navigation software for Android 2.0 handsets.
Google unveiled the beta version of Google Maps Navigation as Verizon and Motorola launched the Droid phone, the first handset to use the 'Eclair' version of the Android mobile operating system, in the United States.
The software — currently only of use to US drivers — provides 3D views, search by voice, turn-by-turn voice guidance and automatic rerouting.
By late afternoon, UK time, TomTom's shares had fallen by 21.9 percent. Garmin's shares were down 17.6 percent.
On Tuesday, Google updated the Android software development kit to take advantage of new features in the Eclair revision. These enhancements include native multitouch, Exchange support and HTML 5 support.
Google unveiled the beta version of Google Maps Navigation as Verizon and Motorola launched the Droid phone, the first handset to use the 'Eclair' version of the Android mobile operating system, in the United States.
The software — currently only of use to US drivers — provides 3D views, search by voice, turn-by-turn voice guidance and automatic rerouting.
By late afternoon, UK time, TomTom's shares had fallen by 21.9 percent. Garmin's shares were down 17.6 percent.
On Tuesday, Google updated the Android software development kit to take advantage of new features in the Eclair revision. These enhancements include native multitouch, Exchange support and HTML 5 support.
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