SMB cloud adoption is critical for growth of most cloud vendors, but the SMB market is typically ill-prepared for some of the nastiness the sophisticated attackers in Russia and Asia are throwing at them, like ransoming their sites with DDoS, draining bank accounts with ZEUS, and more.
In his session at the 11th International Cloud Expo, Terry Woloszyn, Founder/CTO of Leeward Security Ltd, will cover the most important security concerns SMBs need to address for safe cloud computing, as well as some of the “roadkill” we’ve seen in the past year.
Old Model: Patents Protect Products. New Model: Patents Themselves Are Products
Unwired Planet, Inc. has filed patent infringement complaints against Apple Inc. and Google Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Unwired Planet claims to be “the inventor of the mobile Internet.” It is now an “intellectual property
company that makes and sells no products – except patent licenses. Or as they say on their website:
Old Model: Patents Protect Products. New Model: Patents Themselves Are Products
In two separate complaints filed in Reno, Nevada, Unwired Planet charges Apple with infringing 10 of its patents, and charges Google with infringing 10 different patents. Together, the two cases charge infringement of a total of 20 patents related to smart mobile devices, cloud computing, digital content stores, push notification technologies and location-based services such as mapping and advertising.
“Today’s actions follow a careful review that we launched in late 2011 as we began to transform Unwired Planet into an Intellectual Property company,” said Mike Mulica, CEO of Unwired Planet.
In the case against Apple, the complaint specifically alleges that infringing Apple products and services include, among others:
- Mobile Devices (including mobile phones, tablets, and music players
with the iOS operating system including iPhones, iPads, and iPods), - Mobile Digital Content Systems and/or Services (including Apple App
Store, Apple Apps, iTunes), - Cloud Messaging Systems and/or Services (including Apple Push
Notification Service (APNS), Siri), and - Map and Location Systems and/or Services (including Apple Maps, Local
Search, iAds, Safari web browser, Find My iPhone, Find My iPad, and
Find My Friends).
The patents asserted against Apple are:
1. United States Patent No. 6,317,594, entitled “System and method for providing data to a wireless device upon detection of activity of the device on a wireless network,” asserted against devices such as iPhones and iPads which are able to get information, for example update notifications, when the device is switched on or moves between cells of the cellular network.
2. United States Patent No. 6,317,831, entitled “Method and apparatus for establishing a secure connection over a one-way data path,” asserted against services which use a push mechanism to get notifications to devices such as update badges sent to iPhone and iPad applications.
3. United States Patent No. 6,321,092, entitled “Multiple input data management for wireless location-based applications,” asserted against devices such as iPhones and iPads which use more than one source of location information, for example GPS, Wi-Fi and cell tower location.
4. United States Patent No. 6,532,446, entitled “Server based speech recognition user interface for wireless devices,” asserted against wireless server-assisted speech recognition for personal assistant services and dictation, such as Siri on iPhones and iPads.
5. United States Patent No. 6,647,260, entitled “Method and System Facilitating Web Based Provisioning of Two-Way Mobile Communications Devices,” asserted against Appstores for selecting and downloading applications on devices such as iPhones and iPads.
6. United States Patent No. 6,813,491, entitled “Method and apparatus for adapting settings of wireless communication devices in accordance with user proximity,” asserted against ways of using motion and proximity sensors to control devices like iPhones and iPads.
7. United States Patent No. 7,020,685, entitled “Method and apparatus for providing internet content to SMS-based wireless devices,” asserted against automated searching and information delivery based on keywords in a message from a mobile device, for example as used in Siri for iPhones and iPads.
8. United States Patent No. 7,233,790, entitled “Device capability based discovery, packaging and provisioning of content for wireless mobile devices,” asserted against digital stores with content and Apps for devices with different capabilities, for example the App Store for iPhones and iPads.
9. United States Patent No. 7,299,033, entitled “Domain-based management of distribution of digital content from multiple wireless services subscribers,” asserted against services such as iTunes or the App Store that distribute digital content to multiple domains, internationally.
10. United States Patent No. 7,522,927, entitled “Interface for wireless location information,” asserted against ways of obtaining device location information such as Find my iPhone, Find my iPad and Find my Friends.
The complaint against Google specifically alleges that infringing Google products and services include, among others:
- Search and Advertising Systems and/or Services (including Google
Search, Google AdWords, Google+Local, Google Places, Google Mobile
Ads), - Mobile Digital Content Systems and/or Services (including Google Play,
Google Apps, Bouncer, C2DM, and GCM), - Cloud Messaging Systems and/or Services (including C2DM and GCM),
- Maps and Location Systems and/or Services (including Android Location,
Google Maps, Google Street View, Google Latitude, Google My Location,
Google+, Google+Local, Google Places), - Short-Range Radio Communications Systems and/or Services (including
Google Wallet, Google Offers, and Google Mobile Ads), and - Mobile Devices (including mobile phones and tablets with the Android
operating system, including Motorola Mobility and Nexus mobile phones
and tablets).
The patents asserted against Google are:
1. United States Patent No. 6,292,657, entitled “Method and Architecture for Managing a Fleet of Mobile Stations Over Wireless Data Networks,” asserted against mass updates to applications installed on devices such as Android phones and tablets.
2. United States Patent No. 6,654,786, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Informing Wireless Clients about Updated Information,” asserted against push mechanisms to get updated information to devices such as Android phones and tablets.
3. United States Patent No. 6,662,016, entitled “Providing Graphical Location Information for Mobile Resources Using a Data-Enabled Network,” asserted against placing a location marker for the current location of a mobile device on a corresponding map, such as My Location in Google Maps.
4. United States Patent No. 6,684,087, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Displaying Images on Mobile Devices,” asserted against zooming into a map on devices such as Android phones and tablets, and providing zoomed-in images to users of Google Maps.
5. United States Patent No. 6,895,240, entitled “Method and Architecture for Managing a Fleet of Mobile Stations over Wireless Data Networks,” asserted against group and mass notifications/updates to mobile devices such as Android phones and tablets.
6. United States Patent No. 6,944,760, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Protecting Identities of Mobile Devices on a Wireless Network,” asserted against authenticated push of information from application developers to devices such as Android phones and tablets.
7. United States Patent No. 7,024,205, entitled “Subscriber Delivered Location-Based Services,” asserted against search and advertising using location, such as sponsored links in Google searches which are paid for using Google Adwords.
8. United States Patent No. 7,035,647, entitled “Efficient Location Determination for Mobile Units,” asserted against identifying the location of a device, such as an Android phone or tablet, with increased accuracy using multiple sources, such as GPS, Wi-Fi and cell tower location.
9. United States Patent No. 7,203,752, entitled “Method and System for Managing Location Information for Wireless Communications Devices,” asserted against privacy control for applications requesting access to the location to a device, such as an Android phone or tablet.
10. United States Patent No. 7,463,151, entitled “Systems and Methods for Providing Mobile Services Using Short-Range Radio Communication Devices,” asserted against devices with advanced Near Field Communications (NFC) services, such as NFC-based commerce, advertising and coupons, and access to content using NFC.
Commentary: VMworld and Cloud Adoption in Enterprises
Technology companies need to target the enterprise to get big benefits for themselves as well as this customer segment. While there are a number of obstacles, proper messaging will help overcome these hurdles.
Cutting Through the Fog: Application Performance in the Cloud
IT professionals spend 35 percent of their time firefighting, according to analyst firm Research in Action. Moving applications to the cloud, instrumenting them, and enforcing end-to-end performance service level agreements (SLAs) can significantly make things better, reducing friction between teams and increasing operational agility.
However, to manage applications in the cloud, old tooling won’t cut it. You need new solutions to see through the extra complexity: solutions that are predictive, business-smart, and capture the details of how every single user interacts with your applications.
Cloud Computing: SnapLogic Gets $20 Million
SnapLogic, the enterprise cloud integration outfit that’s supposed to bestride cloud computing and Big Data, has gotten a $20 million C round led by Ignition, a new investor, as well as Triangle Peak Partners and existing backer Andreessen Horowitz.
That makes $32.5 million altogether.
SnapLogic claims to be a “standard for Global 2000 companies” in helping them integrate the cloud while ensuring interoperability across a complex range of on-premise legacy apps. It also caters to federal agencies.
New tipping point: Chinese mobile cloud Vs Google Android
Smartphones are generating new battlefields between those who want to service applications through the cloud and those that wish to distribute them through tightly controlled App marketplaces.
Ironically, it is the Chinese who believe their new mobile OS called Aliyun, built on Linux open source, is the true flag bearer for a new generation of cloud computing applications and websites which will run remotely in Alibaba’s cloud and mainly appeal to a Chinese audience (shortly set to overtake the United States as the world’s largest smartphone user base).
The hardware they chose to launch this assault was Acer, who enthusiastically partnered with Alibaba, only to be reprimanded by Google who claimed the Aliyun mobile OS was merely a knock-off of the Android platform, currently governed by the Google-initiated Android Open Handset Alliance (OHA).
Google claims Alibaba, in making Aliyun, “forked” the operating system, which is now no longer …
When Light Bulbs Go Off and Make Cloud Art
Here at Cloud News Daily we tirelessly search for news on all the related terms you might guess — including, of course, “cloud”.
What we come up with often has nothing to do with Cloud Computing (Actually sometimes articles purporting to be about “cloud computing” sometimes don’t). We of course filter all that out, but sometimes something just begs to be posted for your enjoyment, entertainment, or illumination (oh yes, pun intended).
Such is the case with Incandescent Cloud, artwork made from 5,000 burned out light bulbs in the shape of a cloud.
CLOUD is a large-scale interactive installation by Caitlind r.c. Brown for Nuit Blanche Calgary. Created from steel, metal pull-strings, and 5,000+ light bulbs (both illuminated and burnt out) CLOUD asks the viewer to participate by experiencing the work first hand – standing beneath the structure and pulling lights on and off, creating the flickering aesthetic of an electrical cloud.
Cloud Expo Silicon Valley: Cloud Application Black Magic
Traditional methods of writing applications do not completely change when you adopt cloud, but are you using cloud to its fullest potential? What are some best practices and tools that can help your move to the cloud as painless as possible? Are you maximizing the products you’re using to get the most out of every server to realize cost savings that cloud can bring?
In his session at the 11th International Cloud Expo, Wayne Walls, an OpenStack Developer Advocate at Rackspace Hosting, will explore these questions and get practical answers that you can use today.
The Rise of the Cloud
Few phrases are generating more buzz in the business world today than cloud computing. This concept has been rapidly embraced by companies in every industry because of the obvious opportunities to save money and other valuable resources. In fact, Forrester Research projects that the global cloud computing industry will grow from $40.7 billion in 2010 to more than $241 billion by 2020.1
It’s easy to see what is fueling this incredible growth. For many companies, off-site clouds simplify their everyday IT decisions and maintenance issues. Technology hosting, 24-7 system availability, secure data storage and other practical considerations can be easily delegated to a new cloud team, charged with managing daily technology and data management.
Cloud Expo Silicon Valley: Big Data Is at the Heart of Cloud Computing
Dealing with the influx of massive amounts of unstructured data is becoming a major challenge for enterprises. Object Storage is what brings Big Data and Cloud Computing together.
In his session at the 11th International Cloud Expo, Tom Leyden, Director of Alliances and Marketing at Amplidata, will run through the recent evolution of those paradigms, explain how they are related, affected each other and he will show you how your business can benefit from these recent innovations. Big Data at the heart of Cloud Computing is a “best of” of 10 years of innovation. Tom’s sessions attract full rooms, so make sure to be on time if you want a good seat.