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Buzz Out Loud 1524: The finger wiggle patent portfolio attacks (Podcast)

On today's show, Google is upset that its competitors are using a giant portfolio of patents to attack Android. Never mind that Google could have joined in the purchase of said portfolio or, more importantly, that it's got the clout and cash to lead a fight against software patents in the first place. Good try, though! Also, our government prepares for the next war on terror--cyber-terror--and will HBO Go ever go a la carte? We hope so!

Molly Wood Former Executive Editor
Molly Wood was an executive editor at CNET, author of the Molly Rants blog, and host of the tech show, Always On. When she's not enraging fanboys of all stripes, she can be found offering tech opinions on CBS and elsewhere, and offering opinions on everything else to anyone who will listen.
Molly Wood
4 min read

On today's show, Google is upset that its competitors are using a giant portfolio of patents to attack Android. Never mind that Google could have joined in the purchase of said portfolio or, more importantly, that it's got the clout and cash to lead a fight against software patents in the first place. Good try, though! Also, our government prepares for the next war on terror--cyber-terror--and will HBO Go ever go a la carte? We hope so!

Watch this: Ep. 1524: The finger wiggle patent portfolio attacks

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EPISODE 1524

NEWS

Google Says Apple, Microsoft, Oracle Wage 'Hostile' Android War
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-08-03/google-says-apple-microsoft-oracle-wage-hostile-android-war.html
http://www.siliconvalley.com/ci_18612040?nclick_check=1

When patents attack Android
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/when-patents-attack-android.html

Microsoft PR Ninja Strikes Back at Google Patent Whine With Email Jujitsu
http://allthingsd.com/20110803/microsoft-pr-ninja-strikes-back-at-google-patent-whine-with-email-jujitsu/

Shock, awe: British government agrees that copyright has gone too far
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/08/the-british-government-has-endorsed.ars

Ex-CIA official sounds alarm about hackers’ next targets
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/08/03/black.hat.cofer/index.html?hpt=te_bn10
http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/government/231300191

White House: Need to monitor online ‘extremism’
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20087677-281/white-house-need-to-monitor-online-extremism/?tag=topStories3

Germany investigates Facebook tagging feature
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/technology/germany-investigates-facebook-tagging.html

HP TouchPad discounts get even deeper
http://allthingsd.com/20110803/hps-touchpad-discounts-getting-even-deeper/?mod=tweet

HBO Go coming to connected TVs, game consoles
http://gigaom.com/video/hbo-go-connected-tvs/

Quick Hits

Skype 2.1 for Android enables video on majority of Android devices
http://blogs.skype.com/en/2011/08/skype_21_for_android.html

Droid X finally receiving Gingerbread bug fixer in mid-August?
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/08/03/droidx-finally-receiving-gingerbread-bug-fixer-in-mid-august/

iTunes Replay rumor redux: now with TV, movie re-downloads
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/08/itunes-replay-rumor-redux-now-with-tv-movie-re-downloads.ars

Next-gen PSP to miss holiday season, hit in 2012
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20088019-17/playstation-vita-to-hit-u.s-europe-in-2012-report-says/

T-Mobile loses 50,000 customers in Q2 2011, revenue dips slightly
http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/04/t-mobile-loses-50-000-customers-in-q2-2011-revenue-dips-slightl/

Science

Early Earth May Have Been Orbited By Two Moons
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/03/138954932/early-earth-may-have-been-orbited-by-two-moons
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-08/earth-may-have-had-two-primordial-moons-combined-one
http://gawker.com/5827556/we-used-to-have-another-moon-until-our-moon-murdered-it

VOICEMAIL

Video Voice Mail from Petty Officer Miller in DC

Jason calls in about Molly’s rant on the gingerbread update

EMAILS

Hey Buzz Crew,
A family member that MIGHT be my dad, who works at a company that MIGHT be called Google, was recently given something that MIGHT be a XOOM with a 4G chip to test. The mentioned device MIGHT have gotten a (very) early release of ICE CREAM SANDWICH, which MIGHT be very buggy and freeze every 5 minutes (which is the reason why i cant post a screenshot of the “”about tablet”" settings page in the settings app right now). OH and by the way, this is all very supah secret ok?
Danya”

—–

Morning Buzz Crew

Anonymity is too valuable to eliminate entirely from the internet. But, as a father-to-be I have thought about this a bit.

My solution: Parenting.

Kids aren’t capable of making entirely rational and/or fully informed decisions; that’s the fundamental nature of being a child. Children don’t get privacy from their parents until they earn it or turn 18 and move out.

I’m going to restrict my child’s access to the sites she goes to, much like I will make sure she doesn’t wander the red light districts of town. At first it’ll be nothing but Disney and NickJr websites for her.
When the time comes, I’ll find a social network I feel is appropriate for her, keeping in mind the benefits of socialization vs the statistically unlikely but night-terror inducing specter of online pedophiles. Hopefully rationality and detailed network logging on my gateway router will keep me from being overtly overprotective.

By the time she’s capable of working around my attempts to protect her from cyberspace, she should be able to cope with what she encounters, just like in meatspace. I hope.

James
the formerly civil engineer in Louisville

—–

so what the MPAA is saying is that my 50 foot cable from my basement entertainment dvd player setup to my 2nd floor bedroom tv is illegal? hmmm i think they need to get over the tech crunch and just get on the streaming bandwagon!
i’ve been streaming from my pc and recording tv from cable and over the air for the last 10 years… so i guess just that defines me as a pirate since i’m recording the shows to my hard drive…. blah to the mpaa

Zed

—–

Hi Buzz Crew,

I lost my Nexus S during a long hike in the swiss alp last weekend. Luckily, Android apps install remotely via Android Market. At home, I used Android Market, Google Mail and an SMS to obtained accurate GPS coordinates of the phone. On the next day, I returned to the mountain and found the Nexus within seconds using a second GPS device. Luckily, it was a dry night, so the phone is completely intact.

Both my girlfriend and I are Android users. My girlfriend likes her HTC Desire because it organizes her life, I like the Nexus S because it gets the latest operating system first. Molly, I think you could be very happy with a Nexus phone (and the Google integration).

Thank you for the show,
Boris from Switzerland

—–

http://bol.cnet.com, 800-616-2638 (CNET), buzz@cnet.com

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