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Panasonic, Samsung, SanDisk, Sony and Toshiba have joined together to create a new content DRM for flash memory cards, including SD cards.

So far called the "Next Generation Secure Memory Initiative," (to be renamed) the companies will jointly license and promote the new DRM into the future.

Making the protection notable is the fact that it can protect HD content. The group says "a high level of content security will be realized through the use of the initiative's technologies, including unique ID (identification) technology for flash memory and robust copy protection based on public key infrastructure."

Furthermore, the group believes the tech will "enable various HD content applications" on Blu-ray, HD network downloads and broadcast content. By using the new content scheme, users can then use the content on Android smartphones and tablets, card-enabled TVs and Blu-ray products.

Mozilla and Google have renewed their long-standing royalties agreement.

The new deal will expire in 2015 and leave Google as the default search engine for Firefox. Google's deals with Mozilla have kept the company in business, with over $100 million of the company's revenue in 2010 coming from a similar deal, which expired last month.

Mozilla also has similar partnerships with other providers, including Bing, Yahoo, Amazon and eBay -and the company even has a Bing version of Firefox.

The two companies put out a press release, saying: "We're pleased to announce that we have negotiated a significant and mutually beneficial revenue agreement with Google. This new agreement extends our long term search relationship with Google for at least three additional years."

Google SVP of Search Alan Eustace added: "Mozilla has been a valuable partner to Google over the years and we look forward to continuing this great partnership in the years to come."

This is a quick article as a headsup to UFC fans out there.

UFC and Microsoft have teamed up (sponsored by the Marines) to make UFC 141 Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem free, as long as you watch it via Xbox Live on your Xbox 360.

All you have to do is log in to your Xbox Live and download the UFC app from the Marketplace. From there, you can "purchase" the fight and the checkout will show up as $0.

The fight itself is next Friday, December 30th. For more info on the fight, check the official page: http://www.ufc.com/event/UFC141

Pic via SD:

After the Antitrust Subcommittee of the US Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing in September where some senators accused Google of fixing search results, it seemed inevitable something bigger was coming. Now two senators are urging the FTC to investigate the search giant for alleged antitrust violations.

In their letter, Senators Herb Kohl and Mike Lee imply it is Google's responsibility not only to generate traffic for websites which compete with their own services, but also to avoid discriminating against websites which promote rival search engines.

While the two make a point of saying they have no opinion about the legality of Google's practices, their questions for Google representatives in the Senate hearing made it clear they have problems with the company's policies. Lee went so far as to accuse Google of fixing search results.

The letter also addresses the issue of mobile search, pointing out Google's success in that area. While acknowledging a Google statement that they do not require their products to be installed on Android devices, they senators suggest the FTC should be proactive in somehow requiring that.

Along with some fixes in Apple's latest iOS update, there appears to be a new development for people who want to use the Siri Voice Assistant on older iPhones.

An iPhone hacker who goes by Musclenerd noticed that the latest update leaves system files unencrypted which were previously encrypted. An article at Cult of Mac notes this makes it possible to enable Siri on older devices without using the legally questionable app already available for jailbroken phones.

Unfortunately it's likely this is the result of an oversight, rather than an intentional decision by Apple. The company is known for locking down their phones as tightly as possible.

Prior to phone jailbreaking being granted a DMCA exemption, their encryption was even used to make the practice illegal. Don't be surprised if the files are encrypted again in the next update.

Eleven weeks after they first started taking pre-orders for it, Amazon says their Kindle Fire tablet continues to be their biggest seller.

In fact, they say the tablet has been their top selling items since it went on sale back in October. Dave Limp, Vice President of Amazon's Kindle division said of their popular tablet:

Kindle Fire is the most successful product we've ever launched -- it's the bestselling product across all of Amazon for 11 straight weeks, we've already sold millions of units, and we're building millions more to meet the high demand. In fact, demand is accelerating -- Kindle Fire sales increased week over week for each of the past three weeks.

Unfortunately, a significant number of people appear to be unhappy with their new Amazon tablets. Complaints range from inaccurate touchscreen controls to an inability to lock the device.

Amazon is attempting to address these concerns with an update which is being automatically pushed out. Unfortunately, the update appears to cause problems of its own for rooted tablets.

The Irish Data Protection Commissioner has shot down an agreement between Eircom and the major record labels to disconnect customers from the Internet based on repeated allegations of copyright infringement.

The agreement was made to settle a lawsuit from the IRMA (Irish Recorded Music Association), who attempted to force the Irish ISP to install monitoring software to detect copyrighted content being sent across its network. Eircom instead agreed to disconnect users after three allegations from the labels.

As in other parts of the world, the labels' plan involved relaying exclusively on IP addresses. Their investigators would identify an allegedly infringing file, determine the source IP address, and forward that information on to Eircom. Eircom would then send out a warning letter for the first two "offenses" and disconnect the account after the third.

Earlier this year the Data Protection Commissioner began investigating the ISP over the agreement. Yesterday he ordered a halt to it, giving Eircom 21 days to respond.

Sprint, the third largest carrier in the U.S., has expressed its extreme happiness over AT&T's decision to drop its bid for T-Mobile, the fourth largest carrier in the nation.

The company had been one of the most vocal opponents of the move, which would have left AT&T with 120 million subscribers. Verizon, the top CDMA carrier, has 107 million subscribers. Sprint has 54 million subscribers and would have been left behind as a "duopoly" took over, argued the company.

Statement from Vonya McCann, Sprint SVP of government affairs:

Earlier today, AT&T terminated its definitive merger agreement with Deutsche Telekom to acquire T-Mobile USA. This is the right decision for consumers, competition and innovation in the wireless industry.

From the beginning, Sprint has stood with consumers who spoke loudly and clearly that AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile would create an undeniable duopoly that would have resulted in higher prices, less innovation and fewer choices for the American consumer.

Sprint commends the Department of Justice, the Federal Communications Commission and the bi-partisan group of state attorneys general who gave voice to the concerns of consumers across the country. We look forward to competing fiercely in the robust, competitive market that exists today and continuing to deliver the world class service and products that consumers have come to expect from Sprint

The International Trade Commission (ITC) has ruled [full text below] in favor of Apple on a single point of their case against HTC in the US. The result is a ban of HTC smartphones which violate one particular patent.

While this is a significant victory in the sense it paves the way for similar judgements against other Android handset vendors, such as Samsung, in reality it is not as big a deal as you might think.

Let's start with the patent itself:

A system and method causes a computer to detect and perform actions on structures identified in computer data. The system provides an analyzer server, an application program interface, a user interface and an action processor. The analyzer server receives from an application running concurrently data having recognizable structures, uses a pattern analysis unit, such as a parser or fast string search function, to detect structures in the data, and links relevant actions to the detected structures. The application program interface communicates with the application running concurrently, and transmits relevant information to the user interface. Thus, the user interface can present and enable selection of the detected structures, and upon selection of a detected structure, present the linked candidate actions. Upon selection of an action, the action processor performs the action on the detected structure.

Google chairman Eric Schmidt has suggested this week that the company is working on a Nexus Tablet that will be released in the near future.

During an interview with an Italian paper, Schmidt says that "in the next six months we plan to market a tablet of the highest quality." It is unclear, however, whether the quote means Google is putting out a Nexus tablet or whether they will just be putting their marketing muscle behind an upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich device.

A few of Google's most popular partners are HTC, Samsung and Motorola.

Earlier this year, Google worked together with Motorola to release Android 3.0 with the Xoom tablet, which was not a pure Google experience, but close. For smartphones, Google has released the HTC Nexus One, the Samsung Nexus S and the newly launched Samsung Galaxy Nexus, each of which provides the "vanilla" Google experience and the quickest updates whenever a new firmware is launched.

AT&T has officially killed its bid for T-Mobile, following government and corporate opposition.

The proposed $39 billion acquisition was facing a DOJ lawsuit and strong corporate resistance from other small carriers who rightfully insisted that the merger would cause a duopoly in the U.S. with Verizon on the CDMA side and AT&T on the GSM side.

AT&T press release statement:
The actions by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice to block this transaction do not change the realities of the U.S. wireless industry. It is one of the most fiercely competitive industries in the world, with a mounting need for more spectrum that has not diminished and must be addressed immediately. The AT&T and T-Mobile USA combination would have offered an interim solution to this spectrum shortage. In the absence of such steps, customers will be harmed and needed investment will be stifled.

The carrier will book a large $4 billion loss, a payment to T-Mobile's parent company Deutsche Telekom, as part of the pre-negotiated "break-up fee" should the deal fall through. Additionally, the company has to enter into a mobile roaming agreement with Telekom in the U.S., as long as it is "mutually beneficial to both."

As part of their annual '5 in 5' predictions, IBM says mind reading is coming sooner than you think.

The list is the company's way to predict 5 pieces of technology or services that will emerge five years into the future. The list also helps keep IBM focused on its "Smarter Planet" initiatives.

Here is this year's list:
Mind reading is no longer science fiction.
You will be able to power your home with the energy you create yourself.
You will never need a password again.
The digital divide will cease to exist.
Junk mail will become priority mail.

When speaking about mind reading, IBM doesn't mean getting to look at someone else and immediately hear what they are thinking. What they mean is your brain could be synced to portable devices. IBM explains: "If you just need to think about calling someone, it happens. Or you can control the cursor on a computer screen just by thinking about where you want to move it. Scientists in the field of bioinformatics have designed headsets with advanced sensors to read electrical brain activity that can recognize facial expressions, excitement and concentration levels, and thoughts of a person without them physically taking any actions."

Kingdom Holding Co. has invested $300 million in Twitter, giving it a quick cash infusion.

The investment company, run by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, says the new stake is "strategic" as the company looks to expand and entice more paid advertisers.

Alwaleed is the nephew of Saudi King Abdullah, and is worth about $19 billion. His investment company is known to invest "in promising, high-growth businesses with a global impact." The Prince's most notable investment is a $1 billion stake in struggling American bank Citigroup.

Twitter, launched 5 years ago, now has over 100 million active users and sees over 250 million tweets per day.

The microblogging site confirmed the investment, which came through sales on the secondary market from investors and other insiders. Adds KHC's executive director of private equity and international investments Ahmed Halawani: "We believe that social media will fundamentally change the media industry landscape in the coming years. Twitter will capture and monetize this positive trend."

The latest Elder Scrolls blockbuster has sold 10 million units since launch last month.

Developer Bethesda says they have sold 10 million units on Xbox 360, PC and PS3 since the November 11th launch. Adds the company: "Large retail reorders across all platforms and record-breaking digital sales reflect the ongoing global demand by consumers excited to explore this extraordinary fantasy epic."

Concludes Robert Altman, Chairman and CEO of ZeniMax Media (parent of Bethesda):

We are gratified that Skyrim continues to garner high review scores and accolades around the world. We are most grateful to our fans for their support and enthusiasm for the game, and their love of the hundreds of hours of gameplay it offers. We continue to strive to deliver the highest quality entertainment experience for everyone. 2012 will be another huge year for our fans, with the release of the Creation Kit, as well as exciting DLC which will add to the richness of this epic adventure.

In November, Bethesda says the PC version outsold all other games available in North America by a factor of 3.3 to 1.

Steam, the digital gaming distribution platform, also said it was the fastest selling title in the service's history. "Bethesda?s commitment to and understanding of the PC as a gaming platform shows in the great review scores, spectacular launch, and continued high player numbers that Skyrim has received. We are delighted that Bethesda chose to use Steamworks to support Skyrim both at retail and digitally," adds the company (via Industry).

British Telecom (BT) has filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming many of its most popular products and services violate patents.

The products and services include the Android Market, Google Maps, Google Search, Google+ and Google Offers.

The patents allegedly being violated are related to "cover systems for navigation information, service provision system for communications networks, and telecommunications apparatus and method," says Cnet. BT is seeking monetary damages and an injunction on all the services.

As expected, Google is fighting the claims, saying: "We believe these claims are without merit, and we will defend vigorously against them."

Google has been the defendant in a high number of lawsuits over the past few years, mainly linked to their Android operating system. Heavy hitters like Oracle, Apple and Microsoft all claim patent violations.