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Ginos Engineers Accused Of Stealing Autodesk Software

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Autodesk Australia has retained top legal company Gilbert & Tobin to commence copyright infringement proceedings against one of its customers – Adelaide-based Ginos Engineers – and has warned other customers to check that they’re legal.

And Business Software Alliance director Jim Macnamara warned that copyright breaches are especially prevalent in the engineering and architecture field: a sector in which Autodesk is almost universal

The proceedings launched by Gilbert & Tobin in the Federal Magistrates Court allege Ginos made and used 29 unauthorised copies of Autodesk software, while allegedly in possession of only two legitimate licences.

Autodesk’s APAC regional counsel Stuart Ong said the company had tried for more than a year to resolve the matter, and Ginos Engineers had been warned it was at risk of court proceedings. “In the final analysis, we needed to take this case to court in order to protect our intellectual property, and to safeguard the investments made by our network of customers and resellers,” said Ong.

He added: “We always prefer to give our customers a chance to meet their licensing obligations before we take the last resort of court proceedings. “Any concerned customer can e-mail us to check their licences are up to date or get in touch with their reseller to clarify their status and if necessary purchase the right number of licences.”

Ong echoed BSA estimates that up to 29 percent of software installed on PCs in Australia in 2006 has been obtained illegally – which the association claims amounts to A$622 million in losses to the industry.

Gilbert & Tobin partner Michael Williams is running the case or Autodesk. In a media release issued late yesterday he said: “While we are not commenting
on this case, some Australian businesses have a complacent attitude about ensuring they have all the necessary licences for the software they use.”

Big Jim Macnamara summed up: “It is unfortunate that many Australian organisations continue to run the risk of breaching copyright law,
particularly in the engineering and architecture field where software is an integral part of their core business processes.

“Organisations in all industries need to ensure they are appropriately licensed in terms of their software usage or they could face legal action.”


 

Batteries To Cost Sony Half A Billion

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Sony has urged a dozen computer notebook makers to recall more of its batteries that could overheat. With two new recalls late last week – and Dell adding 100,000 more laptops to its recall list, making it 4.2 million – the number of lithium-ion batteries to be replaced now stands at about 7 million.

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Sony spokesman Takashi Uehara refused to estimate how much it will cost the embattled company, but media have upped their estimates to half a billion dollars.

At the weekend Toshiba and Fujitsu were the latest to tell customers to return batteries. A day earlier, IBM and Lenovo Group announced a recall of 526,000 batteries. Last month, it was Apple and Dell.

Sony blamed “rare cases” when microscopic metal particles short out other parts of the battery cell. Typically a battery pack will shut down after a short circuit. But occasionally the battery catches fire.

Another Sony spokesman said the battery cells were made using an earlier manufacturing process. He says Sony’s manufacturing process has since added more safeguards to reduce the number of loose particles.

US Consumer Product Safety Commission spokeswoman Julie Vallese said notebook computers are vulnerable because their microprocessors and intense user demands generate a lot of heat.

She said there were about 50 incidents of burning batteries reported in the past five years during which tens of millions of notebooks were sold in the US. The recall deeply embarrasses Sony, which is in the midst of a major overhaul of its operations closuring of plants and divisions and causing job
losses.

Newspapers say the cost to Sony is heading towards US$500 million. What makes batteries blow

The Wall Street Journal Online asked Donald Sadoway, a professor of materials chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to explain
why lithium-ion batteries sometimes explode in flames. It’s tied up with the chemistry of the liquid electrolyte. In all other batteries, it’s water-based; with lithium it’s a cousin of ethyl alcohol.

In charging the battery, you’ve got the temperature rising. And if the cell expands, the pressure could burst the case, so air enters. With elemental lithium, these conditions could lead to higher and higher temperatures.

“There’s also oxide on the other side of the cell,” the prof says. “You can get to the point where you reach the kindling temperature – and you’ve got an organic liquid there. You’ve got all the ingredients for a candle.”

 

New Mac Office Soon

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Microsoft Australia will market a new lower-cost version of its Office for Macintosh productivity software to home users when it releases the new 2008 edition of the software in January.

But – while US pricing has already been announced – Microsoft’s Australian HQ last night was still mulling over pricing options for the new suite, due to be unveiled at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco on January 15 and to hit the Australian market on January 31.

Office 2008 for Mac will come in three editions: Standard, Special Media Edition, and Home and Student. The latter will replace a Student-and-Teacher edition of the current Office 2004 for Mac.

The 2008 Standard edition, aimed at business users, will comprise the Word, Excel PowerPoint and Entourage (e-mail and diary) applications – and for the first time will include ability to connect to an Exchange Server as well as some scripts for use with the Mac OS X Automator scripting tool.

The “Special Media” edition will have the same applications and Exchange connections, plus Expression Media, a digital media-cataloguing and management program already available in Office for Windows Vista. Microsoft Australia believes it will appeal especially to publishing professionals.

Sorry Mac – no ribbon

The Home and Student version aimed at consumers has just the basic four productivity programs. It includes a licence for installation on to three
home PCs.

In the US this version will sell for US$170 (A$195) before tax suggesting a possible price in the A$220-250 range in Australia. The current Student and Teacher edition, which does not include licences for non-educational users,
goes for $249 – but is not available for non-education users.

Office for Macintosh is largely produced at Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit in Silicon Valley close to Apple’s Cupertino HQ, though Redmond teams also have some input. The MacBU team has eschewed the controversial new “ribbon” interface used in Office Vista in favour of a more “Mac-like” look with separate menus, toolbars and palettes – plus a new workflow graphics device dubbed the Elements Gallery

Microsoft Australia is promising customers who purchase the current version of Office between now and February 29 an upgrade to Office 2008 for $27. – David Frith

Fuji Xerox Uses LED Technology To Chase SMB Printer Market

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Fuji Xerox – well known for its high-end solid-ink printers – is looking to go down-market with a new range of LED-based printers aimed for the first time at the small-medium business sector.Its new DocuPrint series of LED printers – priced in Australia at $149-399 – are claimed to be almost noiseless, compared with inkjets or laser printers; to deliver superior print quality, especially in colour models; and to deliver up to a 40 percent reduction in power consumption during the fusion process.

The new line-up – which includes one model shaped and sized like a toaster, and known by that name inside Fuji Xerox – was  introduced to media at a slap-up lunch at Sydney’s Aria restaurant (chef: Matt Moran) yesterday, and to resellers at Sydney Opera House last night.

Negotiations are under way to have some of the new models on the shelves at Harvey-Norman stores, among many other retailers, said Derek Pohlmann, channel marketing manager.

According to Pohlmann, LED technology has sometimes been criticised for fuzzy halftones and type, along with uneven colour density, but Fuji Xerox’s new self-scanning LED (SLED) technology has overcome this. Colour images delivered noiselessly during lunch from the flagship CM205 model  certainly looked the goods.

Since LED printheads do not require a polygon mirror or a motor to rotate the mirror, as do lasers, the SLED machines are small, noise-free, have reduced power consumption and never need a drum replacement, Fuji says.

The mono “toaster”  model, the P205b will sell in Australia for $149, while a multi-function version, the M205b goes for $199.

Colour versions start with the small-footprint 105b at $269; the single-function CP105b costs $269. The two flagship models – single function CP205 and multi-function CM205b – go for $329 and $399 respectively.


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Virus Security War Set To Get Intense

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Watch out, Symantec. Take care, McAfee. Internet security software vendor AVG is on the march in Australia – with $1 million to spend on marketing the brand with a view to grabbing more of the majors’ market share Down Under.

AVG is well known here for its free range of anti-malware software, claimed to be installed on around 1 million PCs in Australia and 300,000 in New Zealand. It’s No. 4 in the security software market and some 1300 resellers market the commercial versions of AVG software – but the company has only around 4 percent of the commercial market, AVG Au/NZ MD Peter Cameron told a lunchtime media briefing in Sydney yesterday.

That’s about to change, he said. AVG Au/NZ was set up in October  by Melbourne-based local distributor Avalanche, with the blessing of AVG International, also known as Grisoft – a Czech Republic original, but now largely handled from the US.

Larry Bridwell, New Jersey-based vice president of global security strategy, made the trip to Sydney for yesterday’s launch and entertained the media with witty insights into the ongoing battle with the Internet ungodly.

AVG Au/NZ has hired the widely respected Lloyd Borrett as marketing manger to spur its new drive. Formerly with outfits like Oakton, Monash.Net and Expert (Infosys), he has been charged with raising awareness of the AVG brand well beyond the traditional freeby reputation, Cameron said.

Peter Cameron is mightily bucked by the decision to pump $1 million into next year’s AVG marketing budget. Avalanche/AVG is already feeling the effects, with headcount up from about five people a couple of years ago to a current 18: set to become 22-23 by year’s end, he said.

A direct sales force has been established to increase awareness and a program is under way to train resellers to target the SMB market.

AVG likes to target SMBs typically with 200-500 employees: it’s not geared to major enterprises or government departments, Cameron said. The company offers anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall and anti-spam protection on a two-year $63.95

Shock Jock Jones Unwired

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In a piece of less than felicitous timing, mobile broadband company Unwired the Company that Intel tipped over $35 million was forced to remind the market yesterday of a longstanding sponsorship arrangement it has with shock jock Alan Jones’ employer, Macquarie Radio.

The announcement came as newspapers ran excerpts from Chris Masters’ biography Jonestown, which among other things, recalls the earlier cash-for-comment era.

Macquarie absorbed $1.3 million of Unwired funds in the quarter ended September 30, as part of an exclusive three-year deal, struck in July 2005, that gave Unwired sponsorship of the Alan Jones show. It earned exclusive advertising rights in the Internet services category.

“As Australia’s undisputed talk-back king, Alan Jones will play an important role in helping Sydney to understand the simplicity and the potential of Unwired’s wireless broadband offering,” Unwired CEO David Spence said at the time.

A combination of cash and equity, year one of the agreement saw Unwired issue 3.3 million Unwired shares to Macquarie Radio, and in year two, a $1.2 million cash payment. The final year calls for $1.5 million in cash or shares.

Unwired reported a cash balance of $10.3 million in the September quarter, down from $15.9 million in the previous quarter. Customer revenue was up 7.1 percent, from $7.3 million in the previous quarter, to $7.8 million. Customer numbers rose from 53,405 to 59,446, according to Unwired.

 

 

Lenovo Set To Roll Out New SMB Consumer Notebook

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Lenovo Australia is close to the launch of its slimline IdeaPad U110, an ultralight notebook computer aimed at the consumer and small business market.

Lenovo Australia is close to the launch of its slimline IdeaPad U110, an ultralight notebook computer aimed at the consumer and small business market.

The classy-looking U110, foreshadowed at a demonstration in Sydney in February, went on sale in the US this week at $US1899 ­ more than Apple’s ultra-thin, ultra-light MacBook Air.

It has an 11-inch display, Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz processor, 120GB hard drive, 2GB of RAM, and an engraved red or black lid, and comes loaded with Vista Home Premium.

In Sydney, a Lenovo Australia spokesperson said the company was currently talking with potential resellers and finalising local pricing. A launch was likely “within weeks”.

Lenovo, previously known mainly for its business models, including the ThinkPad line of notebooks, began tackling the consumer market with full-sized IdeaPads in February, sold through sold through Domayne and Dick Smith Electronics stores.

iPad 3 In Production, Early 2012 Release

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Apple’s component suppliers are spilling the beans on the next-generation iPad which is expected to be ready for a trial production by October.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Apple has ordered key components such as display panels and chips for the iPad 3 which it now hopes to launch early next year.

The new tablet is expected to feature a high-resolution display of 2048 by 1536 compared with 1024 by 768 for iPad 2. Suppliers say Apple has placed orders for a 9.7-inch screen device and other smaller components have also been shipped. One component supplier said Apple had ordered parts for about 1.5 million iPad 3 units in Q4.

Apple sold about 9.3 million iPads in Q3 alone, helping the company to more than double its profit for the period to US$7.31 billion from $3.25 billion a year earlier.

IT Research & Development Dwindles In OZ

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Expenditure on research and development by Australian business dropped 3 percent in 2009-10, compared with 2008-09, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported. And the IT and communications industries were among the lowest performers.

ABS’s report of R&D Down Under, published yesterday,  put total expenditure on R&D by Australian businesses at $16.68 billion, down from $17.26 billion in 2008-09.

However human resources devoted to R&D over the same period rose 6 percent to 57,447 person years of effort.

Expenditure as a percentage as a proportion on GDP also dropped – from 1.38 percent to 1.3 percent.

Australia now ranks 14th among OECD countries in the ratios of R&D to GDP: Israel tops the list at 3.42pc, followed by Finland, Sweden, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, USA, Denmark, Austria, Germany, Iceland, France and Belgium – all ahead of Australia.

In terms of human resources devoted to R&D, Stats found the information, media and telecoms industries ranked only seventh out of 10 industry groups. Manufacturing and professional, scientific and technical services led the way followed by finance and insurance, mining, wholesale trade, construction – and finally IT and telecoms.