N.Y.: Smartphones to have kill switches
Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. will incorporate a “kill switch” into the next versions of their smartphone operating systems as evidence mounts that such security measures may be deterring thefts, the New York attorney general’s office said Thursday.
Mobile phone technology companies have faced pressure from public officials during the past year to add mechanisms to allow smartphone owners to disable the devices if they are lost or stolen, limiting their resale potential.
More than 30 percent of robberies in major cities involve mobile phones, with some instances of theft also including violence, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Following Apple Inc.’s release of a kill switch in September, thefts of iPhones in some cities “plummeted,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who helped start a law enforcement coalition aimed at addressing the thefts.
The Secure Our Smartphones Initiative group said in a report Thursday that robberies involving Apple products in New York dropped 19 percent in the first five months of 2014 compared with the same period last year. In San Francisco and London, robberies involving Apple products dropped 38 percent and 24 percent, respectively, according to Schneiderman’s office.
CTIA-The Wireless Association, a Washington-based group representing the wireless industry, said in April that its members would offer technology next year to let customers remotely wipe data from their devices and render them inoperable when stolen.
— Bloomberg News
Google buys 2 startups amid deals surge
Google Inc. is buying two small companies to boost its advertising and wireless technologies as part of an acquisition binge.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company purchased video-advertising provider MDialog Corp. as well as wireless startup Alpental Technologies Inc., Google said Thursday on its website and in an e-mailed statement. Terms of the deals weren’t disclosed.
Google is looking to create new capabilities and to bolster existing businesses. The company disclosed at least five purchases last month and has announced at least three more in June. While many of the deals are small, Google also has opened its wallet, spending $3.2 billion earlier this year for smart thermostat maker Nest Labs Inc.
Other Internet companies have also been shelling out money for deals. Facebook Inc. is spending $19 billion to acquire messaging startup WhatsApp Inc. and $2 billion for virtual reality goggles-maker Oculus VR Inc., as well as a slew of startups. Twitter Inc. Thursday said it is buying video-editing startup SnappyTV for an undisclosed sum.
With MDialog, Google is expanding video services to its DoubleClick online advertising platform, the company said on its site. MDialog, a company founded in 2006 and that has headquarters in Toronto andin San Francisco, provides television commercials for devices including smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes and other devices.
Alpental was led by former research and development personnel from Clearwire, which is now part of Sprint Corp., according to a post on LinkedIn Corp.’s website. Alpental is developing next-generation wireless technology, according to a letter to the Federal Communications Commission last year from Michael Hart, chief technology officer of the company. Its efforts could benefit service providers, businesses and consumers, the letter said.
— Bloomberg News
Judge questions deal in collusion case
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A federal judge Thursday strongly questioned a $324 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit against Apple Inc., Google Inc., Adobe Systems Inc. and Intel Corp. alleging illegal hiring practices, leaving it unclear whether she will sign off on the deal later this year.
“I have concerns,” U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said during a back-and-forth with lawyers that lasted nearly two hours. “I would like to think about it further, but I do have concerns about whether this is a good settlement for the plaintiffs.”
The settlement, which gives approximately 64,000 workers involved an average of a few thousand dollars each, was a big victory for the companies, allowing them to avoid an embarrassing trial while sustaining a relatively minor financial hit. Apple, for example, has nearly 500 times as much in its cash reserves as the total settlement amount.
The proposed settlement has been called unjust by one of the four named plaintiffs in the 2011 lawsuit. Michael Devine, a former Adobe engineer, wrote a letter to Koh last April bitterly attacking the deal, which he noted was barely one-tenth of the $3 billion in compensation the 64,000 workers could have made had the collusion not occurred.
The deal could mark the final chapter in a high-profile Silicon Valley legal skirmish that began after the five original plaintiffs, one of whom has died, accused a group of tech companies of secretly colluding between 2005 and 2009 to keep their hands off one another’s work forces.
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs describe backroom deals among executives like Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Not only was this illegal, they argued, but the collusion stifled hiring while acting as a damper on pay and benefits for tech workers.
Some of the companies named in the original lawsuit settled separately, including eBay, Lucasfilm, Pixar and Intuit. All the companies settled an antitrust case on the same issue filed by the U.S. Justice Department in 2010.
— San Jose Mercury News