Weekly Window

On the surface, it looks like just another big acquisition for Google. But the recent takeover of Motorola Mobility is another important chapter in the ongoing patent wars between Android and iPhone. Speaking about the $12.5 billion takeover on Google’s official blog — googleblog.blogspot.com — CEO Larry Page said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”

There is an Indian connection to this breaking news. At the helm of Motorola Mobility is Sanjay Jha, who has been quoted as saying, “We have shared a productive partnership with Google to advance the Android platform and, now, through this combination we will be able to do even more to innovate and deliver outstanding mobility solutions across our mobile devices and home businesses.”

This comes as a boost to Android enthusiasts, especially after the Google-backed OS for mobile devices has taken some beating at the hands of Apple in recent times over alleged patent violations.

Crowdsourcing for Windows 8

Microsoft has opened a blog at blogs.msdn.com/b/b8 welcoming users to try the beta releases and communicate with the engineers about what enhancements and features they would like. In what appears to be an earnest appeal to users, Microsoft’s president for the Windows OS division Steven Sinofsky has posted this: “Windows 8 re-imagines Windows for a new generation of computing devices, and will be the very best operating system for hundreds of millions of PCs, new and old, used by well over a billion people globally. We've been hard at work designing and building Windows 8, and today we want to begin an open dialog with those of you who will be trying out the pre-release version over the coming months.”

Facebook fraudster

Just when you think you are almost safe on social networks, you come across some news that is bound to make you wary. In the U.K., police have arrested one Iain Wood on charges of stealing up to UK pounds 35,000 (roughly Rs.26 lakh) by gathering information from social networks such as Facebook, and eventually hacking into bank accounts. The Telegraph newspaper in the U.K. quotes the judge Guy Whitburn, who ordered the fraudster to be jailed for 15 months, as saying, “This is the first time I've come across a sophisticated fraud such as this, it was very well planned, complex and clever.” The moral of the story is clear: never put out too much personal information. But there is the lurking suspicion that this might not be the last time the world hears of such a crime.