More than 400 Carleton University engineering students will have access to a new sophisticated telecommunications laboratory that will enable them to achieve hands-on experience and research excellence in emerging Internet Protocol technologies. IP communications is the convergence of voice, video and data on the Internet.
Carleton University president Richard Van Loon says the lab is an important addition to the University’s facilities in the Department of Computer and Systems Engineering and he is very pleased with the continuing support of the high technology industry. Using the technology, students will be able to research the numerous facets of converged IP communications including voice quality and reliability, and speech recognition.
New E-Content Institute Formed
The CEOs of some of Canada’s electronic content organizations have announced their support of a new initiative to promote the value to businesses of electronic content. The E-Content Institute includes organizations that market products, and that manage and deliver electronic content.
Members of the E-Content Institute include Bowdens Media Monitoring, Communications Canada, CISTI, The Canadian Press, Canada NewsWire, CEDROM-SNi, Dialog, Factiva, Globe Interactive, HKA Data Processing, IHS/Micromedia, Microsoft Canada, NewsEdge, Rogers iMedia, Rowecom and Statistics Canada. According to Ovum Media, the global market for electronic content will double to $7-billion in the next five years.
MOSAID initiates suit against Samsung
MOSAID Technologies Inc. recently announced that it has initiated litigation against Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and several of its U.S.-based affiliates for infringement of seven of MOSAID’s U.S. patents. The patents were granted on fundamental DRAM circuit inventions, which MOSAID created as a semiconductor design company.
MOSAID claims that Samsung has infringed and is infringing by making and selling products, including Samsung DRAMs, that utilize MOSAID’s DRAM patents. MOSAID is seeking monetary damages for the infringement and an injunction against the continued
manufacture and sales of products containing the patented inventions.
Court orders Cognos case to trial
In a ruling recently, the San Francisco district court ordered that the Business Objects patent infringement case brought against Cognos proceed to trial. The decision follows a motion brought by Cognos for summary judgement.
The lawsuit filed by Business Objects on May 5, 2000 alleges that Cognos software infringes its U.S. Patent entitled “Relational Database Access System Using Semantically Dynamic Objects.”
Microsoft: on target with Xbox
Microsoft Corp. will still deliver the planned number of Xbox games consoles to market on its U.S. launch date, Nov. 8, despite press reports to the contrary, the company said recently.
Microsoft, which is seeking to take a piece of the lucrative home-video gaming market from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Sega Corp. and Nintendo of America Inc., had announced in May that is was unveiling the Xbox in early November at a price of US$299. In August, Microsoft announced that in order to focus its efforts on satisfying consumer demand in the U.S., it would delay the launch of its Xbox games console in Japan until Feb. 22, 2002. Microsoft will be launching the Xbox in Europe in the first quarter of 2002, though no date has been set, a U.K. spokeswoman said.
Sanyo develops CD-ROM protection system
Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. has developed a new technology which it says prevents the copying of CD-ROM discs onto CD-R discs, the company said recently.
When users try to copy a CD-ROM disc protected with the technology onto a CD-R disc, a hidden file, which consists of data that causes errors, will be read and prevent illegal copying, according to Tamotsu Itoi, a spokesman for Sanyo. This file will be hidden on discs at the pressing stage. The size and the location of this hidden file vary for each master disc, making it harder for software which can detect the hidden file to be developed, Itoi said.