Oracle's Suit Against Android Could Split Open Source

Oracle's suit against Google Relevant Products/Services for the use of Java in its Android portable operating system continues to reverberate through the open-source movement. In the newest development, Google has declined to participate in the upcoming JavaOne conference, an event formerly hosted by Java creator Sun Microsystems and now run by Sun's new owner, Oracle.

Joshua Bloch of Google's Open Source Programs Office, in a posting Friday on the company's open-source blog, wrote that Google wished it could attend, "but Oracle's recent lawsuit against Google and open source has made it impossible for us to freely share our thoughts about the future of Java and open source generally." Bloch noted that the company had attended every JavaOne event since 2004.

Talks Between Google and Sun

Some observers are raising the possibility that, if the suit continues, Java may split into different versions, most notably a Google-branded version designed to avoid legal obstacles.

Others have warned that the battle could have unforeseen consequences for open-source software, which has found a home in many corporations. According to some estimates, as much as 75 percent of open-source software usage is inside corporations.

Oracle is viewed as trying to get as much leverage and revenue as possible from its Sun acquisition earlier this year.

In 2006, Sun made Java open source, hoping to increase its usage on the web and in data Relevant Products/Services centers. When Google started developing its software platform for mobile Relevant Products/Services devices, it founded the Open Handset Alliance and created Android on a Java path that it says diverged from Sun's.

Google and Sun held talks over the last three years about remaining legal issues, but no agreement was reached. Reportedly, Sun chose not to sue Google over Java because Sun's then-CEO Jonathan Schwartz was championing open source, including the use of an open-source version of the company's Solaris operating system for data centers. Schwartz left after Oracle bought the company.

Google 'Aware of Sun's Patent Portfolio'

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern California, contends that "Google's Android competes with Oracle America's Java as an operating system software platform for cellular telephones and other mobile devices."

The lawsuit also said the search Relevant Products/Services giant "has been aware of Sun's patent portfolio," and noted that it hired "certain former Sun Java engineers."

Java is used in Google's software development kit (SDK), and the Java-built applications are compiled to run in Google's custom virtual machine, Dalvik, using the search giant's custom versions of the compiler and runtime. Java has been attractive to developers in part because Java apps can be written once, and then can run on any platform that has the Java virtual-machine software.

Another development kit, the Android Native Development Kit, enables third-party developers to build apps in C and C++, although Java has remained the primary development language. The complaint said Android, the Android SDK, and Dalvik violate the seven Oracle patents cited in the lawsuit.

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Dalvik: how Google routed around Sun’s IP-based licensing restrictions on Java ME

Sun released their “free java” source code under the GPLv2 to both win the free software crowd and capture peripheral innovation and bug fixing from the community. For the java standard edition (aka “the cat is out of the bag”) there is an exception to the GPLv2 that makes it “reciprocal” only for the Java platform code itself but not for the user code running on it (or most people wouldn’t even dare touching it with a pole).

But such exception to the GPLv2 is not there for the mobile edition (aka “where the money is”).
This brilliant move allows Sun to play “free software paladin” on one hand and still enjoy complete control of the licensing and income creation for the Java ME platform on mobile and embedded devices on the other (because cell phone makers would rather pay than being forced to release all their code that runs on the phone under the GPLv2… or, in many cases, they can’t even if they wanted to as they don’t own the entire software stack).
Which is also why their TCK license they offer for free to Apache to certify Harmony (which is a ’standard edition’ implementation but could be easily turned into a mobile edition one) includes ‘field of use’ restrictions. It’s funny that Sun’s own CEO considers the very same ‘field of use’ restrictions ridiculousno open letter has been able to change their position. (but only when it is Sun to have such field of use restrictions applied on them, apparently), but Sun imposes them nevertheless and
This is the stall in which Google announced the release of their Android platform, which would be able to run Java applications on a mobile phone but it would also be released under the Apache License v2.
This raised more than one eyebrowse, and sure did make me raise mine: how did Google manage to get Sun to license off a platform that could very well kill their own?
Turns out, they didn’t: their move was even smarter than Sun’s.
Today Google released the Android code and I took a serious look at its internals… and found the solution for the licensing problem. It’s called Dalvik and it’s the new name of Sun’s worst nightmares.
Dalvik is a virtual machine, just like Java’s or .NET’s, but it’s Google’s own and they’re making it open source without having to ask permission to anyone (well, for now, in the future expect a shit-load of IP-related lawsuits on this, especially since Sun and Microsoft signed a cross-IP licensing agreement on exactly such virtual machines technologies years ago… but don’t forget IBM who has been writing emulation code for mainframes since the beginning of time).
But Android’s programs are written in Java, using Java-oriented IDEs (it also comes with an Eclipse plugin)… it just doesn’t compile the java code into java bytecode but (ops, Sun didn’t see this one coming) into Dalvik bytecode.
So, Android uses the syntax of the Java platform (the Java “language”, if you wish, which is enough to make java programmers feel at home and IDEs to support the editing smoothly) and the java SE class library but not the Java bytecode or the Java virtual machine to execute it on the phone (and, note, Android’s implementation of the Java SE class library is, indeed, Apache Harmony’s!)
The trick is that Google doesn’t claim that Android is a Java platform, although it can run some programs written with the Java language and against some derived version of the Java class library. Sun could prevent this if they had a patent on the standard class library, but they don’t and, even if they did, I strongly doubt it would be enforceable since Android doesn’t claim to be compatible (and in fact, could very well claim that their subset/superset is an innovation on the existing patent and challenge Sun’s position).
Not only this allows Google to avoid having to battle thru the JCP for any change to the Java ME “standard” or tolerate Sun’s unique ability to veto any JCP change, but gives users a much more ‘fresh‘ and modern class library to play with and built-in hooks to all the hardware features of your phone, including things like OpenGL, bluetooth, USB and all those things, which don’t come with the standard Java ME and therefore cannot be taken for granted by the developers.
So, here we are: Apple makes the iPhone, incredibly sweet, slick and game-changing and yet incredibly locked. Google makes Android and not only unlocks development abilities on the mobile phone but also unlocks millions of potential Java mobile programmers from Sun’s grip on it.
Plus, they’re targeting 3G phones, not the crappy 2.5G that the iPhone supports now.
Screw the iPhone and screw Java ME with all its profiles, midlets and the stupid requirement to crypto-sign your application to run on your own phone: I can hardly wait to get my hands on hardware that can run Android… and if they can’t support multi-touch out of the box because Apple owns patents on it, I’ll download the patch that enables it from a country where such nonsense doesn’t apply.

Update and Errata (a few things worth pointing out):

• The Android SDK does not compile your Java source code into Dalvik’s bytecode directly, but it first uses a regular java compiler to generate regular java bytecode (say, javac or the built-in Eclipse compiler) and then converts that bytecode into Dalvik’s bytecode (the “dx” tool does this: converts .class/.jar into .dex files). Still, the substance remains: there is no need to ship a java virtual machine on your Android-powered phone and you can use your regular Java standard edition to develop your phone application (means, you don’t need to use Java ME anywhere at all).

• Google has released the binary SDK for Android and only the source code for the examples. It did indeed contribute patches to the Linux kernel to support 3G Qualcomm chipsets (under the GPLv2, so that it wouldn’t create a impedance mismatch in the kernel ecosystem) but it has not, to this day, released the source code for Android itself even if it has explicitly claimed in their announcement that they will do that in the future and under an Apache License v.2. I strongly doubt this will include source to every single piece of the Android middleware (the video codecs seem the hardest part to relicense) but I really hope that the Dalvik VM itself will be open sourced or a lot of the appeal of this platform will just vanish.

• A good friend reminded me that there is no such thing as “routing around” IP licensing restrictions and that bigco routinely use shake-up moves like these to re-establish alliances or to call other bigco’s bluff. It is worth nothing that Sun has never made available a public list of the IP they own and that you need to license in order to legally be able to run Java (personally, I think they don’t know themselves: such things are really tricky to figure out, even internally). All their licensing deals (including the one with Microsoft) have been broad and very general and there is no way for us of knowing if Android infringes even just one of the patents that Sun owns around the Java platform (my friend suggests java’s internal security manager, which is clever and original, but that depends on whether Dalvik supports the same model or a sufficiently different one to stand in court).

• The Apache License v2 forces the contributor to license the IP along with the code but only the IP that the contributor owns (you can’t give away stuff others own, obviously). This means that if Android does, in fact, use some of Sun’s IP, it is entirely possible for Sun to sue any hardware vendor that ships Android with their phones and prevent them from shipping. Also, Sun could knock at your own door and ask you to license the Java IP that you need to be able to run Android on your phone (in case, say, you bought an OEM phone and installed the software yourself) even if there is no trace of ‘java’ on your phone memory.

• Sun is under fire for IP issues related to ZFS and they claimed that it’s an “attack on free software”. I’m curious to see how they’re going to spin their own IP attack on Android (because I bet there’s going to be one).

Stefano Mazzocchi is currently Application Catalyst at Metaweb tasked to help enabling a development ecosystem around Freebase as a platform.

Printed Oxford English Dictionary May Fade Away

It may be the end of the line for the printed Oxford English Dictionary as users find online access more convenient. The online Oxford dictionary gets two million visits a month, while the 1989 print version has sold about 30,000. An analyst said writers have found online dictionaries and word-processing spell checkers more convenient.  If those reference books on the shelf of your home or office are looking rather forlorn these days, there's a reason. Their granddaddy, the Oxford English Dictionary, may never see another printing. Oxford University Press, publisher of the OED, told the Associated Press this weekend that it hasn't been decided if there will ever be another printed edition of the venerable tome. The dictionary, age 126, is still being heavily used -- but online. 750 Pounds for the Full Version The publisher reported that the online version of the OED gets two million visits a month from subscribers. In the U.S., a subscription is $295 annually, while the 750-pound full edition, last published in 1989 and consisting of 20 volumes, costs $1,165 and has sold about 30,000. A single-volume printed version, which weighs a mere 130 pounds, might survive in the near term. But the long-term outlook isn't good. Nigel Portwood, chief executive of Oxford University Press, has predicted that all dictionaries will be online within 30 years. Each new edition takes a decade to accomplish, and the third edition, under construction with a staff of 80, is only about 25 percent finished. Portwood said the print dictionary market is "falling away by tens of percent a year." However, some schools and libraries are still buying the printed version. The online version began in 2000, in part so that it could respond more quickly to changes and additions in the language. Online updates are quarterly, and a historical thesaurus will be added to the online version later this year. The first print dictionary dates back to 1884, with the first full version being printed in 1928. It was the first complete reference of the English language since Samuel Johnson's 1755 dictionary. Gone Within 30 Years Even in its heyday, the printed edition was not a big seller, and the publisher has said the printed OED has never broken even. Michael Gartenberg, partner and analyst with the Altimeter Group, said "you can see the writing on the wall" that the days of massive printed reference volumes are limited. A key reason, he said, is that word-based content creation, and, increasingly, content consumption have moved to digital devices. Gartenberg pointed out that, when writing in a word-processing program -- where the vast majority of writing takes place these days -- it's easier to simply use the accompanying spelling check, as well as online dictionaries and thesauruses. "And many of the new e-books have built-in dictionaries to look up words you might not know," Gartenberg said. "The content continues to be at least as valuable, if not more so, but the cost and lack of convenience for the print medium" is causing that means of delivery to lose its appeal. "We will always need reference materials," he said, "just not printed reference books." © Copyright 2000-2010 NewsFactor Network. All rights reserved.

Thomson comprará el área jurídica de Legis

Bogotá. En las próximas semanas, Legis la tradicional compañía colombiana -creada por el empresario Tito Livio Caldas- finiquitará la venta de su división legal a la estadounidense Thomson Reuters.

Esta transacción puede situarse entre 55 y 60 millones de dólares, según conoció LA REPUBLICA.


El negocio, guardado con recelo mientras logra una consolidación definitiva, será la llave de acceso para la multinacional de medios al mercado colombiano, al tiempo que le garantiza a Legis flujo de caja necesario para enfrentar rivales ubicados dentro y fuera del país.


La operación hace parte del plan estratégico y de expansión de la firma estadounidense que ha desembocado en la compra de más de ocho compañías dedicadas al tema legal, una de sus seis áreas estratégicas de productos y servicios.


El presidente de Legis, Luis Alfredo Motta, quien prefirió no dar comentarios sobre la información, aseguró que la compañía está pasando por un gran momento, con ventas entre tres y cinco por ciento por encima de las alcanzadas en ejercicios anteriores.


"Hemos crecido sobretodo en utilidades, apoyados en una reestructuración que nos ha permitido reducir los gastos y aumentar la productividad", aseguró el ejecutivo.


La unidad de información jurídica de Legis maneja códigos penales, periódicos y obras especializadas para el sector, pero fuera de esto la compañía tiene casi 32 unidades adicionales en temas como empleo, mercado relacional, directorios, manufactura, papelería y agendas.


La maduración de procesos de adquisición fue calificado por la presidenta de Andigraf, María Reina, como clave para hacer de la industria gráfica y editorial un sector más competitivo.


"La industria está atomizada, entonces vamos a ver muchas fusiones y compras, las cuales resultan importantes para aumentar la eficiencia y tener más capacidad de competencia desde puntos de vista como el de costos", comentó la dirigente gremial.


Reina aclaró que el sector de la industria gráfica, que incluye la impresión de libros y documentos informativos periódicos, es definitiva para el país, pues representa ocho por ciento del Producto Interno Bruto (PIB) manufacturero.


El comprador
Thomson Reuters es un gigante de peso en el mundo de la información de contenido, el cual consolidó su nombre desde 2007, momento en que el grupo canadiense Thomson adquirió por 12.700 millones de euros a Reuters, con lo que consolidó su claro enfoque hacia el manejo de contenidos.


Según reportes de medios, los ingresos del grupo de comunicación alcanzaron en el segundo trimestre los 3.216 millones de dólares, lo que supone 2,3 por ciento menos en comparación con los 3.293 millones de dólares que facturó en el mismo periodo del ejercicio anterior.


Actualmente Thomson Reuters está enfocado en las áreas de finanzas, salud, legal, medios, ciencias e impuestos y contabilidad, todos aspectos que podrían llevar a que éste no sea el único movimiento corporativo de la compañía en el país, el de mayor crecimientos en medios y entretenimiento hacia 2014 de acuerdo con cifras emitidas por la PriceWaterhouseCoopers en un reciente estudio internacional.


Paso firme en Latinoamérica con el negocio
El grupo Legis es una de las empresas de información legal y jurídica más importantes de Colombia. Su compra será un movimiento clave para que Thomson Reuters pueda continuar expandiendo sus alternativas de negocio en la región, donde tiene fuerte interés en impulsar negocios legales y jurídicos. Años antes había adquirido Le Ley en Argentina, también especializada en la materia. Para sacarles provecho, la multinacional de contenidos está ofreciendo servicios gratuitos relacionados con estas adquisiciones alrededor del mundo, donde incluso se pueden integrar temas de contenido y asesoría.

Copyright © 2010 - DIARIO LA REPUBLICA - Todos los Derechos Reservados

6 badly injured in 'miracle' crash flown to Bogota

 

Play Video AP – Jetliner crashes on Colombian island, 1 killed

•   Slideshow:Colombia Plane Crash
• Play Video Video:Plane crash in Colombia Reuters

 
AP – ** ALTERNATIVE CROP OF XBOG102 ** A police officer stands by a crashed plane sitting on the runaway at …

By VIVIAN SEQUERA, Associated Press Writer Vivian Sequera, Associated Press Writer

BOGOTA, Colombia – Survivors say everything seemed normal as a jetliner with 131 people on board prepared to land in a storm on a Caribbean resort. Suddenly it plunged to earth, killing one person — a death toll so low the island's governor called it a miracle.
"The pilot informed us that we were going to land in San Andres, we buckled our seat belts, we settled in — and a second later, boom! A big bang," said 25-year-old survivor Alvaro Granados, who was flying with his wife and two children. "When my wife and I stood and looked behind us we saw that the back of the plane was missing."
Authorities say it happened so quickly the pilot didn't report an emergency to the control tower at Colombia's San Andres Island.
Experts are trying to figure out why the Aires airline Boeing 737 jetliner hit the ground short of the runway on Monday — and how 130 of the people on board survived as the aircraft skidded on its belly with its fuselage fracturing and its landing gear and at least one engine ripping off.
After the jet ground to a stop, passengers scrambled from their seats or were helped to safety. Authorities said firefighters quickly doused flames that broke out on a wing.
The one fatality was Amar Fernandez de Barreto, 68, and doctors said she may have succumbed to a heart attack. Officials said 119 people in all were taken to hospitals or clinics, most of them for minor injuries.
Manuel Villamizar, director of the emergency operations center in Bogota, told reporters late Monday that he had arranged for six of the badly injured to be flown in from San Andres island, where the crash occurred. The health ministry said a total of 13 injured were being moved to Bogota.
Col. Donald Tascon, deputy director of Colombia's civil aeronautics agency, speculated the plane's low altitude as it approached for a landing — perhaps 100 feet (30 meters) just before the crash — may have avoided more severe damage and saved lives.
"It was a miracle and we have to give thanks to God," said San Andres Gov. Pedro Gallardo.

Click image to see photos of the wreckage

AFP/Richard Garcia

Granado, the passenger, said there was little turbulence when the plane went down.
Ricardo Ramirez, a civil engineer who was flying with his wife, told Caracol Radio everything seemed fine despite the rain and lightning.
"The plane was coming in perfectly. We were just about to land, everything was under control," he said. The crash "appeared out of nowhere."
Ramirez said he struggled to free himself and his wife from their seat belts.
"We tried to get out of the plane because the plane was starting to shoot flames," he said. "In a few minutes, a police patrol arrived and helped us."
Ramirez said his wife suffered a dislocated knee. "Thanks to God we are alive," he said.
Officials were investigating a range of possible causes and looking into reports that Aires Flight 8520 was hit by lightning before the crash, Colombian air force Col. David Barrero said.
"You can't speculate. Lightning? A gust of wind? The investigation will say," Barrero said by telephone from San Andres.
Aviation experts agreed it was too early to speculate.
"You don't exclude any possibility, but investigators will be looking closely at the weather," said William Voss, president and CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation, based in Alexandria, Virginia.
Voss said a "sudden shift in wind direction can cause the aircraft to suddenly lose a lot of lift and end up landing short of the runway."
Tascon, the civil aviation official, said San Andres' airport is not equipped with sophisticated equipment such as Doppler radar, which is used in many U.S. airports to help detect wind shear.
Larry Cornman, a physicist who studies wind shear and turbulence at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, said he doubted lightning alone would be enough to bring down an aircraft.
The airline said at least five U.S. citizens were on the plane, while the U.S. Embassy in Colombia said four Americans and one U.S. permanent resident suffered injuries. The embassy said one critically injured American needed to be flown to Bogota for further care, while the others were treated and released.
Airline representative Erika Zarante said four Brazilians, two Germans, two Costa Ricans and two French citizens also were on the jet, which crashed at 1:49 a.m. Monday on San Andres, an island with about 78,00 residents. It lies about 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of the Nicaraguan coast.
The airline, Aerovias de Integracion Regional SA, said it has about 20 planes, including 10 Boeing 737-700 jets. It said in a Twitter posting that it was "working and investigating with the aeronautical authorities to determine the causes."
Boeing said the wrecked 737-700 jet left the factory in 2003. It was not clear whether Aires was the first operator.
___
Associated Press Writer George Tibbits in Seattle contributed to this report.


Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

Car bomb in Colombian capital injures at least 9

 

Play Video Reuters – Bomb explodes in Colombian capital  

Play Video Video:Car bomb near Colombia radio injures several AP

 

 
AP – Agents from the police anti explosive unit, walk next to a damaged public bus near the scene of a car …

By LIBARDO CARDONA, Associated Press Writer Libardo Cardona, Associated Press Writer –  

BOGOTA, Colombia – A car packed with at least 110 pounds (50 kilograms) of explosives blew up in an office district of Colombia's capital on Thursday, shattering windows and injuring at least nine people, police said. No deaths were reported.

The blast occurred at 5:30 a.m. (1030 GMT) outside a 12-story building housing Caracol Radio, the Spanish news agency EFE and the Ecuadorean consulate, as well as the offices of several banks and politicians, including former President Cesar Gaviria.

There were no reported deaths.

Gen. Cesar Pinzon, the city's police chief, suggested leftist rebels could have set off the blast, but said authorities were not sure if the bomb was aimed at the station or another target.

President Juan Manuel Santos hurried to the scene and branded the explosion "a terrorist act," saying it was meant to sow fear and create skepticism about the government.

"We are going to continue fighting terrorism with everything we have," said Santos, who took office on Saturday. He replaces Alvaro Uribe, whose tough tactics sharply weakened the leftist guerrilla groups that have fought the government for decades.

Santos toured the blast site surrounded by a cloud of security agents and urged Colombians to go on with normal activities.

The director of technical investigations for the prosecutor's office, Marilu Mendez, said it was too early to determine the intended target of the attack. She said no arrests had been made.

Bogota's health secretary, Hector Zambrano, said at least nine people were injured. Most were treated for cuts and released, but three people remained under care, he said.

Pinzon said most of those hurt had been on a bus that was passing by as the bomb exploded.

The national police operations director, Gen. Orlando Paez, said the car was packed with at least 110 pounds (50 kilograms) of explosives and the blast shattered windows in at least 30 buildings, smashed the facade of a bank and left scraps of the destroyed car scattered in the street.

Pinzon said authorities had located the owner of the car that exploded, and said it had been reported stolen on July 31 from a shopping center in the north of the city.

The director of the private Conflict Analysis Resource Center, Jorge Restrepo, said armed groups used the blast to send "a very early greeting ... to Santos' government." He said the fact the bomb went off before rush hour and used a relatively small amount of explosive showed it was meant as a political message.

The explosion "is an example that they still have the ability to execute this type of terrorist action," Restrepo said.

Caracol Radio continued broadcasting despite the blast. EFE's director for Colombia, Esther Rebollo, said its offices were not damaged and officials at the Ecuadorean consulate said police had not yet allowed them into their offices to see what had happened there.

A car bomb that exploded in March in the Pacific coast city of Buenaventura killed at least nine people and injured about 50. Bogota had not suffered a car bombing since January 2009, when a blast at an automatic teller machine killed two people.

(This version CORRECTS Updates with analyst comment, note former president's office in building, corrects date car reported stolen. AP Video.)

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Ex presidente Uribe disfruta de la Feria de las Flores en Medellín

Posesión de Juan Manuel Santos, nuevo presidente de Colombia

La toma de juramento comenzó con media hora de retraso, bajo una amenaza inminente de aguacero, que finalmente no pasó de una lluvia pasajera, pero llenó la Plaza de Bolívar de paraguas blancos.

La de Juan Manuel Santos fue una ceremonia de posesión sobria, impecable. La lluvia fue la única sombra que se erigió ayer sobre los actos de la transmisión de mando, en la Plaza de Bolívar, pero el sol supo imponerse en el instante en que Santos, aún presidente electo, salió caminando desde el Palacio San Carlos, sede de la Cancillería, con su esposa y sus tres hijos, rumbo a la Plaza de Bolívar, ubicada a unos 150 metros.

Eran las 3:30 p.m. A esa hora, el presidente saliente, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, ya se había acomodado -en medio del aplauso de los cerca de 3.000 invitados- en una de las sillas principales de la tarima dispuesta delante del Capitolio.

El último tramo lo caminó el nuevo mandatario sobre un tapete rojo, en medio de canciones cuyas letras hacían alusión al Gobierno de unidad nacional que propuso desde su campaña. Niños ataviados con trajes típicos y banderas de los departamentos de Colombia lo saludaron en el trayecto. Unos metros antes del ingreso, lo esperaban unos 30 senadores y representantes, para acompañarlo en la posesión, como quiera que el Presidente asume ante el Congreso de la República.

A las 3:36 de la tarde, Santos alcanzó la tarima y su primer gesto fue saludar a su antecesor Álvaro Uribe, para enseguida entonar el Himno Nacional. Seis minutos después, juró cumplir la Constitución y la Ley.
Luego, el turno fue para el vicepresidente Angelino Garzón, quien se adelantó un par de pasos, aunque debía esperar a que terminaran las 21 salvas de cañón con que las Fuerzas Armadas saludaron al nuevo Jefe de Estado.

Llovieron aplausos
En total, más de 20 aplausos sazonaron la ceremonia. Los más sonoros se dieron cuando Santos agradeció la entrega y el esfuerzo de Uribe. Entonces ondearon banderitas, salió el sol con fuerza y se escucharon gritos de "¡Uribe, Uribe, Uribe!", mientras Santos lo llamaba un hombre "genial e irrepetible". Para Lina Moreno, primera dama saliente, hubo otra ovación.

Nuevos aplausos llegaron cuando Santos anunció su intención de reconciliarse con las altas cortes y con los países vecinos y cuando dijo que la palabra guerra no estaba en su diccionario.

A las 2: 30 p.m., llegaron los 22 magistrados de la Corte Suprema y varios ex magistrados, incluidos los que tuvieron fuertes polémicas con Uribe, como César Julio Valencia Copete y Jaime Arrubla, presidente del alto tribunal.

También asistieron los ex presidentes Ernesto Samper, Andrés Pastrana, Belisario Betancur y César Gaviria. 

Parafernalia con mensaje
La imponente ceremonia de ayer estuvo enmarcada por un despliegue de alta tecnología y mediatización, que muestran el talante del nuevo Gobierno.

Paraguas contramarcados 'Posesión presidencial Juan Manuel Santos'; una cuidada producción en la transmisión de TV; zonas demarcadas para asistentes y periodistas; colores selectos en el montaje; toque de gaiteros; serpentinas con el tricolor nacional camino a la Casa de Nariño... Cada detalle expresa un matiz del lenguaje de la era Santos.

Por ejemplo, la posesión al aire libre. "Este detalle brinda una imagen a la opinión pública nacional e internacional de que las condiciones de seguridad son propicias, que se pudieron superar los riesgos de cualquier atentado -afirma la catedrática Patricia Muñoz, de la U. Javeriana-. Es señalar que la política de Seguridad Democrática empieza a dar frutos y que beneficia al nuevo Gobierno".

Los mensajes implícitos no se limitaron a la plaza de Bolívar. Desde la primera hora del día, Santos asumió simbólicamente ante las comunidades indígenas de la Sierra Nevada, en gesto de inclusión y respeto a su sabiduría ancestral y como prueba de su compromiso ambiental.

Y una muestra de su visión de la política internacional fue la invitación a delegaciones de todos los rincones del planeta.

NELSON PARRA
REDACTOR DE EL TIEMPO


COPYRIGHT © 2010 CEET Prohibida su reproducción total o parcial, así como su traducción a cualquier idioma sin autorización escrita de su titular.

Symbian Remains Way Ahead of Android and iPhone

Despite Android's fast growth, the iPhone's stability, and Research In Motion's changes, none of them can match the market share of the Symbian mobile operating system. About 300,000 Symbian phones are sold each day, compared to 200,000 Android devices, as estimated by Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Symbian is primarily on Nokia mobile phones.

Google's Android is showing impressive growth. Apple's iPhone iOS is holding its own, while Research In Motion's BlackBerry, feeling the heat, has a few tricks up its sleeve.

But none of those players yet hold a candle to worldwide sales of handsets running the Symbian operating system, primarily on devices made by Nokia, the world's biggest cell-phone manufacturer.

The nonprofit Symbian Foundation, a cooperative with several wireless carriers and OEMs that manages the open-source operating system, boasted Thursday that 300,000 Symbian phones are sold each day around the world, or three per second. That's about a dozen in the time it took you to read this sentence.

The estimate is 50 percent higher than the 200,000 Android-based phones that Google CEO Eric Schmidt said are being activated each day, in an interview with Reuters this week.

Low Penetration In U.S.

The Symbian numbers are based on a Canalys report this week that said Symbian is the first operating system to be shipped on 25 million phones in one quarter.

"The smartphone marketplace has become more crowded than ever," said the foundation's executive director, Lee M. Williams. "So the fact we continue to outsell our competitors by such large margins [makes] make us highly confident in our outlook, and we will continue to embrace the challenges ahead."

Symbian's world market share has fallen from 73 percent in 2006 to a still-impressive 49 percent as it faces an increasingly crowded field. Many consumers in the United States, however, may never have heard of Symbian because its profile here is so low.

"In the U.S., Symbian is largely irrelevant because of Nokia's small penetration here," said Alexander Spektor of Strategy Analytics. Although Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile offer Symbian-based devices, those handsets rank seventh in terms of market share, according to Strategy Analytics.

"It might be a matter of the specific tastes of U.S. consumers and the carriers, who largely decide which phones to offer to consumers," Spektor said. "Sometimes they do it based on what consumers want, and sometimes it's based on what earns them the most money. But here in the United States, [Symbian] didn't resonate as well as Nokia would hope."

Part of the reason for low interest here is that mobile applications have been driving the smartphone market, and Android and iPhone have the two largest app markets.

Android Rise

"In terms of developer interest, [Symbian] is not as attractive as the iPhone or Android platform," Spektor said. "Players like Nokia and RIM are having trouble attracting developers to bring the same level of compelling apps, while the iPhone has created an unprecedented touchscreen user experience that developers are itching to get their hands on."

iSuppli predicted in its latest report that Android-based phones will eclipse Apple's iPhone worldwide by 2012, with a 19.4 share of the market compared to Apple's projected 15.9 percent share. Two years later, Android's share could be as high as 22.8 percent, the firm predicts.

"Android is taking the smartphone market by storm," said iSuppli senior wireless analyst Tina Teng. "The OS started with entry-level models in 2008, but the flexibility Android offers for hardware designs and its appealing business model in terms of revenue sharing have attracted vigorous support from all nodes in the value chain, including makers of high-end smartphone models."

But Symbian is still likely to stay on top -- for the time being, at least. "Nokia's scale globally remains huge," Spektor said. "So Symbian will continue to be the dominant platform for at least five years."

© Copyright 2000-2010 NewsFactor Network. All rights reserved.

Frases polémicas de Álvaro Uribe

"Si lo veo le voy a dar en la cara, marica" y otras frases que pusieron a hablar al país

 

Si bien sus dotes de orador la facilitaron una comunicación más fluida con la gente, frases dichas de forma espontánea o al calor del debate quedaron marcadas como sello original de su Gobierno.

En campaña

- "Mantengámosles a estos huevitos la misma gallina, a ver si esos huevitos pueden dar esos tres pollitos de seguridad, inversión y política social".
Una de las frases más famosas del Presidente durante sus ocho años fue la que dio en la emisora Todelar en Nariño, en la que se refirió a la continuidad de sus políticas, insinuando que, para que no se dañen los logros por el actual gobierno, mantenerse "la misma gallina".
Según Uribe, esa "gallinita" es la que está protegiendo los tres "huevitos", refiriéndose a sus tres políticas más importantes: seguridad democrática, inversión y política social.
Guerra
- "Vamos ganando, pero no hemos ganado. Vamos ganando, pero la culebra todavía está viva".
La culebra más dolorosa de Uribe. Luego de que el ex Gobernador del Meta Alan Jara fuera liberado por las Farc, cuestionó, en una rueda de prensa, la política de Seguridad Democrática del Presidente Uribe diciendo que éstas no están derrotadas.
Ante el comentario del ex Gobernador, Uribe viajó hasta la casa del propio Jara para responderle de frente, y tras escuchar la denuncia del ex secuestrado, el Presidente le refutó que es cierto que no están derrotadas, pero que "vamos ganando".
A Chávez
- "Sea varón y quédese a discutir de frente, porque usted, a veces, insulta en la distancia".
Uno de los enfrentamientos más recordados entre los mandatarios de Colombia y Venezuela, fue el que tuvieron en la Cumbre de Río que se realizó en febrero del 2010 en Cancún, México. Allí, Uribe le respondió que él no era "ningún matón".
La molestia del mandatario colombiano se dio cuando el Presidente venezolano le insinuó que su vida había estado amenazada por paramilitares. Ante esto, y luego de que Chávez intentó dejar el lugar, Uribe le pidió que denunciara esas amenazas de frente.
A 'la mechuda'
- "Estoy muy berraco con usted y ojalá me graben esta llamada. Y si lo veo le voy a dar en la cara, marica".
En diciembre de 2007, el Presidente Uribe sorprendió a los colombianos con un fuerte regaño a Luis Fernando Herrera, conocido como 'la mechuda' y quien era empleado de la Casa de Nariño durante su gobierno.
En una llamada telefónica, publicada por la revista 'Semana' y 'Cable Noticias', el mandatario le dijo a Herrera que estaba "muy berraco" por un supuesto pedido de 15 millones de dólares a un narcotraficante para evitar su extradición.
El soldado
- "Serviré a Colombia desde cualquier trinchera, hasta el último día de mi vida"
Meses antes de que se decidiera la suerte del referendo reeleccionista, con el que buscaba aspirar por tercera vez consecutiva a la presidencia, Uribe dijo que las políticas de su Gobierno deberían continuar en el próximo periodo presidencial, sea quien fuese presidente.
Para ese entonces el Congreso de la República ya había votado por el sí para una segunda reelección de Uribe, pero la decisión había quedado en manos de la Corte Constitucional. Mientras tanto, el mandatario seguía repuntando en las encuestas. Segunda reelección
- "No es conveniente que un presidente se perpetúe en el poder. La coalición debe encontrar un candidato. Reelección, sólo si hay una hecatombe"
En una reunión de partidos uribistas, la congresista Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez, de Cambio Radical, le preguntó al Presidente Uribe si al fin estaba interesado en la segunda reelección (en caso de que el referendo reeleccionista hubiera sido avalado).
Ante la pregunta, Uribe dijo que sólo buscaría la segunda reelección en caso de una "hecatombe". Luego de la respuesta del mandatario, los asistentes no pronunciaron una sola palabra sobre el tema.

- "Frente a la reelección, tengo una encrucijada en el alma"
Durante el foro organizado por la revista 'The Economist' en un hotel en el norte de Bogotá, el empresario de Venezuela, Gustavo Cisneros, le hizo alusión al tema de la reelección al Presidente Uribe. La respuesta del mandatario fue que "veía inconveniente perpetuarse en el poder", aunque dejó ver su preocupación por la continuidad de sus políticas.
- "No quisiera la amargura de que las nuevas generaciones me vean como alguien apegado al poder"
Luego de que el Senado aprobó el referendo reeleccionista, Uribe afirmó, ante un grupo de empresarios internacionales, que aunque le preocupa que sus políticas no se continúen, no quiere ser visto como alguien que se perpetuó al poder.
Para ese momento, varios de sus allegados hablaban públicamente sobre su tercer mandato, pero el mismo Uribe evitaba el tema cada vez que se le mencionaba.
Venezuela y Ecuador
- "Nosotros no podemos, en nombre de una diplomacia meliflua y babosa, dejar desamparado al general Freddy Padilla de León"
Luego de que las autoridades ecuatorianas volvieran a tocar el tema de los casos judiciales contra los militares colombianos responsables del bombardeo en el que murió alias 'Raúl Reyes', Uribe pidió no desproteger al General de las Fuerzas Armadas, Freddy Padilla de León, a quien un juez de ese país le abrió un caso.
Ante esto, Uribe criticó la actitud de las autoridades de Ecuador llamándola "diplomacia babosa".
- "Vaca ladrona no olvida el portillo. Los países que reciben terroristas terminan convertidos en sus víctimas"
- "La relación diplomática con Venezuela no es de cosmética ni de apariencia. Lo que se necesita es un compromiso"
A 'Iván Márquez'
- "Sabemos dónde está ese bandido de 'Iván Márquez'. Él nos mandó un mensajito para la retoma de los Montes de María. Ahí le mando yo ese mensajito (12 muertos en bombardeo)".
M-19
- "Quienes incendiaron el Palacio de Justicia, con los dineros del narcotráfico, simplemente se quitaron el camuflado, se pusieron un traje de civil y llegaron al Congreso a querer darle cátedra moral al país".
A las Farc
- "A las Farc, primero que dejen esa voz meliflua, que hablen como mujeres firmes o como varones definidos. Que hablen cortico y hagan la paz y que dejen de ser pretensiosos con esas vocecitas melifluas y afeminadas".
- "No me van a hacer bailar al ritmo de las Farc".
A críticos
- "Este Gobierno no se queda en las capitales los sábados y los domingos, en tertulias de whisky, hablando mal de la gente, calumniando al contradictor político. Las tertulias de este Gobierno son las tertulias con el pueblo, buscando cómo encontramos caminos para reivindicar a los pobres y construir un país justo".
A la corrupción
- "Hay que linchar a los corruptos, nada de pañitos tibios. Compatriotas: linchemos a los corruptos".

Bandas emergentes
- "A uno le dicen que todavía queda el 'Yiyo' y 'Douglas' (...) Acábenlos por cuenta mía".
Conflicto Armado
- "Apaciguar a los violentos es pretender cabalgar en las ancas del tigre y exponerse a terminar en sus fauces".

- "Si el problema con la guerrilla para hacer la paz es que suavice el discurso, no tengo inconveniente en decirles terroristas sino arcángeles".

- "Y donde tengan que poner a trabajar esos avioncitos de la Fuerza Aérea, no los dejen apagar, manténgalos trabajando de cuenta mía, que yo asumo toda la responsabilidad".

- "El morrocoy tiene una caparazón, como la que tiene el pueblo colombiano para resistir tanta plaga y tanta amenaza".
Chuzadas
- "Si el Gobierno ordenara el espionaje ilegal tendría que ir a la cárcel, empezando por el Presidente de la República".
- "No estoy buscando ser ex presidente".
Indultados
- "Cuando se oculta un pasado terrorista, hay la posibilidad de engañar al país y de convencer a ciertos sectores sobre 'falsos positivos'".

Alcaldía
- "Me gusta una buena Alcaldía de Bogotá, me gusta ver la prosperidad de esta ciudad, me gusta que la administren bien".
Detractores
- "Al que gasta tiempo en odios le puede pasar lo que a la vaca en el pantano: que mientras más patalea más se atolla".

- "Hoy, cuando quieren desacreditar a un gobierno honrado, le dicen paramilitar".
Peticiones
- "Voy a pedir al presidente (electo) Juan Manuel Santos que me permita, desde la noche del 7 de agosto, cuando regrese al bello oficio de simple ciudadano, participar como cooperante de la Fuerza Pública".

- "Todos los errores y dificultades, las carencias, las equivocaciones, les ruego apuntarlas en el pasivo de esta carnita y de estos huesitos".
Cooperante
- "No necesitamos sino un arma: un celular. Un país desarmado de fusiles, pero un país armado de ideas, de iniciativas y de solidaridad".
Drogas
- "Cuando alguien en Europa consuma droga, tiene que recordar que en Colombia están matando a alguien por cuenta de esa droga".

ONG
- "Yo entiendo que el oficio de las ONG no es el de 'complement' (complementar), sino el de 'complaint' (denunciar)".

ONU
- "El papel que hemos visto los colombianos de Naciones Unidas es que critica mucho y resuelve muy poquito".

TLC
- "Una muchacha muy bonita puede darse el gusto de escoger, y si de pronto no le llegó un pretendiente, ahí le llegan muchos otros, y eso es lo que le está pasando a Colombia".

- "Los arrieros decían que, si uno se devuelve solamente a atajar al que no quiere marchar, se le dispersa toda la manada".

Referendo 2003
- "A mí no me dan las cuentas: este referendo se perdió".

Gobierno
- "Más que apelar al Power point, hay que mirar el 'power people'".

A los jóvenes
- "¡Muchachos, cuidado! Piensen en que el arquitecto perfectamente organizado es el Creador. Por algo él definió las cosas. Aplacen la sexualidad, que eso tiene una relación con la familia. Ese gustico es para la familia".
20 de julio
- "Para hablar sinceramente de hermandad no puede haber criminales de por medio".
- "Con dignidad habrá comercio con el mundo entero; sin ella, nadie nos creerá".
- "Un esfuercito de caballo discapacitado no bastaría para asegurar la continuidad de la política de seguridad democrática".
Rápidas
- "Un Gobierno que no está en campaña se muere".

- "Como en la feria, preste el marrano, tome la plata".

- "Al buen pagador no le pesan las prendas".

- "El único socialismo que ha funcionado en el mundo es el fútbol".

- "Eso sí, manos blanditas en seguridad, no nombro".

- "Ustedes saben que no soy guayabita que les guste a todos".

- "¡No. No sea mañoso. Dígalo ya!".

COPYRIGHT © 2010 CEET Prohibida su reproducción total o parcial, así como su traducción a cualquier idioma sin autorización escrita de su titular. Ver Términos y Condiciones.

Flesh-eating 'aliens' from the deep

Scientists are turning to a vast collection of sea creatures from the Gulf of Mexico to help them assess the impact of the BP oil spill.

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has amassed a collection of hundreds of thousands of invertebrates over 30 years.

They give a detailed picture of how the ecosystem looked before the spill, so any changes can be more easily spotted and accurately recorded. 

Jane O'Brien went to see some of the samples.

Read more on this story: Jars of worms key to Gulf's future

BBC © MMX

Con épico video, el Ejército conmemora su día

El 7 de agosto es el día del Ejército Nacional y, para celebrarlo, la institución realizó este video en el que se exponen los diferentes uniformes que los soldados han utilizado a través del tiempo.

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Empresas telefónicas de Estados Unidos se unen para convertir los móviles en tarjetas de crédito

AT & T, Verizon y T-Mobile, tres de las principales operadoras de telefonía móvil estudian lanzar una alianza que permitirá utilizar los teléfonos móviles como tarjetas de crédito o débito.

Las tres compañías, grandes rivales entre sí en el competitivo mercado de la telefonía, exploran la posibilidad de unirse, con la ayuda de Barclays y Discover Financial Services, para confeccionar un sistema común que permitirá la implantación en EE.UU. del uso de los teléfonos móviles como nueva modalidad de pago.

Ese sistema, implantado ya en países como Japón y Corea del Sur, permite a los usuarios utilizar sus celulares, como si se tratara de una tarjeta de crédito o débito, para realizar pagos en toda clase de comercios y hasta en máquinas expendedoras, donde se debe pasar el teléfono móvil frente a un terminal de pago.

El mecanismo necesita de la incorporación de una pequeña tarjeta en el teléfono, que contacta con esas terminales de pago, aunque otra modalidad permite cancelar con una pegatina electrónica incrustada en el móvil.

AT & T, distribuidor en exclusiva del iPhone de Apple en EE.UU., su rival Verizon y T-Mobile, una unidad de Deutsche Telekom, empezarán las pruebas del sistema en varias ciudades del país este trimestre, según ese diario neoyorquino, que asegura que, si las pruebas tienen éxito, el sistema podría desarrollarse a finales de año.

El diario alerta, sin embargo, de que una de las "amenazas" que supone la iniciativa es, además de la necesidad de mejorar los sistemas que evitan fraudes, "la ventaja que obtendría Apple, que podría convertir su iPhone y la tienda iTunes en una gran plataforma de pagos".

La iniciativa, según el rotativo neoyorquino, también supone un desafío para Visa y MasterCard, las grandes compañías estadounidenses de tarjetas de crédito, que verían cómo las operadoras de telecomunicaciones se podrían comer buena parte de su negocio.

Hacia la media sesión, las acciones de AT&T subían un 0,26% y las de Verizon bajaban un 0,3% en la Bolsa de Nueva York, donde forman parte del índice Dow Jones de Industriales y donde, en lo que va de año, han perdido un 4,89% y un 11,05%, respectivamente.

EFE

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