Congress to consider bill to stop abusive patent lawsuits

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Congressmen introduced a bill on Wednesday that would penalize companies that file frivolous patent infringement lawsuits, derided by critics as "patent trolls."

Representatives Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, and Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah, sponsored the bill, which would ensure a company bringing a frivolous patent lawsuit would pay all the costs and attorney fees associated with the case.

"Patent trolls drained an estimated $29 billion from American innovators and companies in 2011," said DeFazio in a statement. "They pad their pockets by buying patents on products they didn't create and then suing companies from every industry for infringement."

Google Inc, Microsoft Corp, the Business Software Alliance, the Computer and Communications Industry Association and the Consumer Electronics Association all supported the proposed legislation.

Suzanne Michel, Google's senior patent counsel, said the search company supported the bill and noted that many of the lawsuits claim infringement of controversial software patents.

"Suits brought by trolls have quadrupled since 2005. They now account for 60 percent of all patent litigation," said Michel in a blog post. "The trolls' weapons of choice ? used in 85 percent of their suits ? are software patents, many of which are vague, over broad and invalid."

There is no Senate companion bill at this point for the House of Representatives action.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz. Editing by Andre Grenon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/congress-consider-bill-stop-abusive-patent-lawsuits-221128828--sector.html

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Santam year profit down 18 percent

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Santam, South Africa's largest property and casualty insurer, said 2012 profit fell 18 percent after weaker underwriting results and a tax charge related to a special dividend paid during the year.

Diluted headline earnings per share fell to 984 cents last year, Santam, majority-owned by life insurer Sanlam, said on Wednesday.

The company said earlier this month headline EPS - the most widely watched profit measure in South Africa and which excludes certain one-time items - would likely fall 15-20 percent.

Its net underwriting margin fell to 4.0 percent, missing expectations. In December, Santam said its underwriting margin would be at the lower end of its 5-7 percent target range hit by claims related to extreme weather and extensive fires.

Santam, which has interests in at least six other African countries, will pay a final dividend of 410 cents, up 15 percent.

Net insurance premium income totalled 1.04 billion rand, or a 6.6 percent margin, compared with 1.5 billion , or a 10.7 percent margin, in 2011.

Santam shares were down 0.6 percent at 181.45 rand by 1214 GMT, extending its loss this year to 5 percent. The blue-chip All-Share index was down 0.7 percent on the day.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/santam-profit-down-18-percent-132026189--sector.html

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Major Search Engine Optimization Company Creating Monopoly From

Posted on Tuesday, February 26th, 2013

Across the board bigger firms are battli?

Just released a whole new search engine optimization package any significant company owner will be able to employ. Only 50 packages will be released to businesses looking for far better search engine rankings. The ?proof is in the pudding? as the numbers are showing for this search engine optimization firm as effectively as there consumers, any internet web site becoming optimized is finding not only greater rankings, but write ups by the news and media.

Across the board greater organizations are battling for search engine optimization services. They are hunting to enhance search engine rankings and merely be number a single for their business. We all know the story, ?I want to be number and I want much better search engine rankings!?

Let us take it a step additional, certain a expert search engine optimization organization will increase search engine rankings for your internet website, but what if you had been to not only be quantity one particular in the rankings. You had been in fact making a monopoly on the search engine results pages. This implies inside the leading ten outcomes, you in fact have some connection to the other best ten pages listed. So no matter exactly where a prospect looks, they will some way or yet another pay a visit to your website. This hit will be from a promotion on the other sites or a basic fantastic press release about a new item or service. There are only ten spots on the search engine results pages, imagine if your had been receiving site visitors from the top five listings.

This tested and search engine optimization service to increase search engine rankings is becoming released ultimately. Even though, there are just about 50 spots from the time of this writing, a skilled search engine optimization firm is including it is Seo (search engine optimization) services with Monopolizing Advertising engineering. This package is extremely resource intensive, so the packages are limited.

?Proof Is In The Pudding in Search Engine Optimization Services. It is all about the ROI?

From various case reports, all clientele are seeing an improve in income or acquisitions by search engine optimization services that are particularly built to boost search engine rankings. From create up?s by the pharmacy occasions, assisting companies who are going public, lawyers generating 2 million dollar circumstances in Florida, the ?proof is in the pudding?. ?The far better search engine rankings a company has, the much more inclined to bring a lot more sales or acquisitions, hands down..?

Though several search engine optimization firms claim to boost search engine ranking, they could or may possibly not be constructing you a full campaign. The shear quantity of function into professional search engine optimization services alone is hard, but does your Seo company consist of internet analytics, the data to continuously improve your internet site and conversion rates. Whilst most concentrate on important words, the greater search engine optimization organizations concentrate on essential words that have higher conversion prices. This is done via analytics and viewing the ?sales funnel?. Discovering exactly where prospects are leaving and why they are leaving.

A launch of only 50 packages will be released due to immense amount of resources managing this type of search engine optimization. Although your internet site will see better search engine rankings more than some time, search engine optimization services are not for all organizations. The package is substantial, timely, and may not be in price range of most new businesses. There are two packages obtainable, one for new firms who do not have a web website this is called the Search engine marketing Commence-Up Achievement Package and an additional package for companies who have a web internet site currently developed who are searching search engine optimization services, a-la-carte. These critical company owners will want the Seo Expert Package.

Whether or not you are prepared to invest in search engine optimization or understand about search engine optimization, we have developed systems to support. If you are ready to invest look into Dream Ware Enterprise expert Search engine marketing Services, if you are much more of a do it your self or the packages do not fit your spending budget however, you may be interested in how to enhance search engine rankings employing Monopolizing Marketing, a resource to aid company owners implement Search engine marketing into their business. Either way the method is in place and operating, you will just require to decide on.

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Source: http://www.destinationraleigh.com/uncategorized/major-search-engine-optimization-company-creating-monopoly-from-search-engine-marketing-package/

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After 7-week struggle, Hagel poised for defense job

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Former Senator Chuck Hagel.

By Tom Curry, National Affairs Writer, NBC News

Chuck Hagel?s seven-week struggle to win confirmation as secretary of defense appears near the end with an expected Senate vote Tuesday on his nomination.

President Barack Obama?s choice to run the Pentagon is expected to win confirmation since a few Republicans announced that they?ll join Senate Democrats in voting for him.

The vote would put an end to a rocky nomination process that came after Hagel?s GOP foes succeeded in delaying the confirmation.

Lead opponent, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, insinuated two weeks ago that Hagel might have given as-yet undisclosed speeches to ?extreme or radical groups? or received money from foreign sources or from defense contractors in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

But Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., rebuked the latter saying Hagel complied with the committee?s financial disclosure requirements and deserved confirmation.

Last week 15 GOP senators asked Obama to withdraw Hagel?s nomination, but it was clear that not enough Republican senators would vote to further delay Hagel?s confirmation by extended debate or filibuster.

The former Nebraska Republican senator turned against his party by campaigning for Democratic Senate candidate Bob Kerrey in Nebraska last year.

He?d also harshly criticized President George W. Bush after the Iraq war became unpopular in 2006, suggesting at one point that Bush might be impeached. These remarks made him popular with Democrats but something of a pariah in his own party.

Recommended:?Obama tells govs to push Congress to avert automatic cuts

The antagonism of Cruz and several other Republican senators turned to disdain once Hagel testified before the Armed Services Committee last month. Hagel was forced to amend or retract comments he?d made about Iran, Israel and other matters.

NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro report Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel may finally get the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster and be confirmed next week.

At one point during his confirmation hearing, when discussing U.S. policy toward Iran?s efforts to build nuclear weapons, Hagel said, ?I?ve just been handed a note that I misspoke and said I supported the president?s position on ?containment.? If I said that, I meant to say that obviously ? his position on containment ? we don?t have a position on containment.?

Levin intervened: ?Just to make sure your correction is clear, we do have a position on containment ? which is we do not favor containment.?

?It was the most unimpressive performance that I have seen in watching many nominees who came before the committee,? said Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain, a Hagel opponent.

Related: What problems will Hagel inherit at Department of Defense?

But Democrats on the panel repeatedly praised Hagel for having served in combat in Vietnam.

From the beginning, Obama portrayed Hagel as a man who was ideally qualified to head the Defense Department because, as the president said when announcing the nomination, he ?knows that war is not an abstraction. He understands that sending young Americans to fight and bleed in the dirt and mud, that?s something we only do when it?s absolutely necessary.?

In presenting Hagel as his pick, Obama declared that ?Chuck represents the bipartisan tradition that we need more of in Washington.?

Obama said that he was courageous and independent in his views ?and that?s exactly the spirit I want on my national security team, a recognition that when it comes to the defense of our country, we are not Democrats or Republicans; we are Americans.?

But Republicans such as Cruz said Hagel was not up to the job of running the Pentagon. Cruz went so far as to argue that Hagel, if confirmed, would ?make military conflict in the next four years substantially more likely? because his views on negotiating with Tehran would encourage the Iranians to accelerate their nuclear weapons development program.

This story was originally published on Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:10 AM EST

Source: http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/26/17089840-after-seven-week-struggle-hagel-poised-for-defense-confirmation?lite

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Hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Stand Pouch

We've seen some Android tablets essentially ape the iPad's Smart Cover, which protects the screen while closed and doubles as a stand when folded in on itself. Samsung's gone a different route with the Galaxy Note 8.0 Stand Pouch.

Pouches in and of themselves are hardly new in the mobile space. But Samsung's here also doubles for a stand for the Galaxy Note 8.0. Slip the Note 8.0 into it (the inside is soft and warm and safe, like ... something soft and warm ... or at least soft) to keep things nice and safe.

The pouch -- notice how it's segmented here -- folds in on itself in the usual triangle manner. From there, you get a couple options for angles -- one high, for media viewing, the other low, say, for typing.

Samsung's got a host of colors -- I'm partial to the boring (but nicely textured) gray you see here.

We've got some more pics of the Samsung Stand Pouch after the break.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/sdcupiz1jBM/story01.htm

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Michael Clarke plays down spin factor after opening Test defeat ...

Michael Clarke plays down spin factor after opening Test defeat ? Cricket News Update

Despite the Indian spinners sharing all 20 wickets in the opening Test, Australia skipper, Michael Clarke, played down the spin factor, and labeled the defeat on his side?s inability to perform as a unit.

In their first outing on Indian soil, the tourists were easily rolled over by the spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja, all of whom ensured that the hosts struck first blood in the four-match Test series.

The signs were ominous from the start after Ashwin claimed a quickfire five-for in the opening two sessions of the game. However, Clarke and debutant Moises Henriques steadied the innings and provided hope for the Aussie contingent, who then went onto compile a respectable 380 on the board.

The game nonetheless, swung in India?s favour on day 3 when their batting clicked to pile a whooping 572 on the board, with their skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni scoring a stupendous double hundred. With the pitch now offering appreciable turn, Indian spinners duly got into the act and dismissed the Aussies for 241, leaving their batters to chase a mere 50.

Ashwin remained the chief tormentor, collecting 12 wickets in the match, and was given good support by Harbhajan and Jadeja. In contrast, the Aussies were left to rue their bowling combination, which had three fast bowlers and the lone spinner in Nathan Lyon.

Lyon ended with match figures of 4 for 244, while the only pacer to offer support was James Pattinson, who claimed 6 scalps, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings. Clarke however, did not blame the team composition for the defeat but lamented his side?s poor showing in the second innings.

"Australian spin took three wickets in the first innings, fast bowling took a lot more," Clarke said. "That doesn't mean to say that playing three fast bowlers and a medium-pace all-rounder, we got that right. We need to assess, we need to look at conditions again and work out what we think is the best XI [in Hyderabad].?It's not just about selection, it's about how you perform, I don't think we bowled well enough in our first innings and we certainly didn't bat well enough in our second innings. "?

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Michael-Clarke-plays-down-spin-factor-after-opening-Test-defeat-Cricket-News-Update-a213764

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Blueprint for an artificial brain: Scientists experiment with memristors that imitate natural nerves

Feb. 26, 2013 ? Scientists have long been dreaming about building a computer that would work like a brain. This is because a brain is far more energy-saving than a computer, it can learn by itself, and it doesn't need any programming. Privatdozent [senior lecturer] Dr. Andy Thomas from Bielefeld University's Faculty of Physics is experimenting with memristors -- electronic microcomponents that imitate natural nerves. Thomas and his colleagues have demonstrated that they could do this a year ago. They constructed a memristor that is capable of learning. Andy Thomas is now using his memristors as key components in a blueprint for an artificial brain.

He will be presenting his results at the beginning of March in the print edition of the Journal of Physics published by the Institute of Physics in London.

Memristors are made of fine nanolayers and can be used to connect electric circuits. For several years now, the memristor has been considered to be the electronic equivalent of the synapse. Synapses are, so to speak, the bridges across which nerve cells (neurons) contact each other. Their connections increase in strength the more often they are used. Usually, one nerve cell is connected to other nerve cells across thousands of synapses.

Like synapses, memristors learn from earlier impulses. In their case, these are electrical impulses that (as yet) do not come from nerve cells but from the electric circuits to which they are connected. The amount of current a memristor allows to pass depends on how strong the current was that flowed through it in the past and how long it was exposed to it.

Andy Thomas explains that because of their similarity to synapses, memristors are particularly suitable for building an artificial brain -- a new generation of computers. 'They allow us to construct extremely energy-efficient and robust processors that are able to learn by themselves.' Based on his own experiments and research findings from biology and physics, his article is the first to summarize which principles taken from nature need to be transferred to technological systems if such a neuromorphic (nerve like) computer is to function. Such principles are that memristors, just like synapses, have to 'note' earlier impulses, and that neurons react to an impulse only when it passes a certain threshold.

Thanks to these properties, synapses can be used to reconstruct the brain process responsible for learning, says Andy Thomas. He takes the classic psychological experiment with Pavlov's dog as an example. The experiment shows how you can link the natural reaction to a stimulus that elicits a reflex response with what is initially a neutral stimulus -- this is how learning takes place. If the dog sees food, it reacts by salivating. If the dog hears a bell ring every time it sees food, this neutral stimulus will become linked to the stimulus eliciting a reflex response. As a result, the dog will also salivate when it hears only the bell ringing and no food is in sight. The reason for this is that the nerve cells in the brain that transport the stimulus eliciting a reflex response have strong synaptic links with the nerve cells that trigger the reaction.

If the neutral bell-ringing stimulus is introduced at the same time as the food stimulus, the dog will learn. The control mechanism in the brain now assumes that the nerve cells transporting the neutral stimulus (bell ringing) are also responsible for the reaction -- the link between the actually 'neutral' nerve cell and the 'salivation' nerve cell also becomes stronger. This link can be trained by repeatedly bringing together the stimulus eliciting a reflex response and the neutral stimulus. 'You can also construct such a circuit with memristors -- this is a first step towards a neuromorphic processor,' says Andy Thomas.

'This is all possible because a memristor can store information more precisely than the bits on which previous computer processors have been based,' says Thomas. Both a memristor and a bit work with electrical impulses. However, a bit does not allow any fine adjustment -- it can only work with 'on' and 'off'. In contrast, a memristor can raise or lower its resistance continuously. 'This is how memristors deliver a basis for the gradual learning and forgetting of an artificial brain,' explains Thomas.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Universitaet Bielefeld.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Andy Thomas. Memristor-based neural networks. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2013; 46 (9): 093001 DOI: 10.1088/0022-3727/46/9/093001

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/electricity/~3/eQVwYoYOj_w/130226101400.htm

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