Stock Market Crashing At 300 Points

There is nothing more to say about this.  Down 300 points and it'll only get worse as Wall Street is in danger of entering second recession.  And this time around, there will be no bail-out or stimulus.  

And as I've maintained in the past, Main Street never came out of the last recession.  

Green: Hydrogen From Waste

When I initially read this post from Ecofriend, I thought it would be another post about the science of obtaining hydrogen rather than a practical sustainable source that could quickly be put into service.  Well, that actually could happen.  But once you read the sources where hydrogen is coming from, you will have to agree with me that this is could actually happen.

There are six methods mentioned.  All of them are byproducts, you know, waste.  And even a few of them are waste that can be converted into hydrogen.  

Take urine and human waste that are both mentioned.  Using electrolysis, hydrogen obtained from a large scale production.  I took a look at the chemistry.  It works.  Now comes the engineering portion.  And believe me, we pee quite a bit.

And closer to home for me, Orange County, CA, UC Irvine is working with a few companies to produce hydrogen using methane, on some instance a byproduct on its own.  However, the cost is currently 4X to 5X the cost of conventional method through old fashion combustion engine.

The other methods involve use of DNA and microbes. And these methods seem more promising.  And couple with even cleaner sources of power, like wind or solar, we could have a perpetual source of hydrogen.  

Regardless of how and where hydrogen comes from, the idea is to be able to produce the element in an efficient and cost-effective method.

Also take solar power plants that use panels to convert sunlight into electricity.  The problem is that electricity production cease once the sun sets.  If excessive sunlight can be used in the production of hydrogen (like use of algae), we would have a source of power even at nights.  Such a reserve of hydrogen will help us with power generations at night.

Proof That Google Was Not Straight With Us About Nortel Patent Situations

It appears Microsoft is not willing to let this drop.

Earlier, I wrote that Microsoft's general counsel disputed Google's assertion that Rockstar, the group that included Apple and Microsoft, won the Nortel patents impede Android.  Well, Microsoft tweeted and provided a picture of the e-mail in which Google turned down Microsoft's overture.

Here is the tweet link.

I'm going to give Google the benefit of the doubt and see what they have to say about this.  The date in the e-mail was October of 2010.  I had assumed that the bidding was more recent.  Given that it had been a while since the overture and Google never reconsidered, it showed that Google's plans for the Nortel patents were to serve as defensive weapons.  

This is turning into a firestorm for Google.  And it is really making Google look pretty bad right about now.  More than a few blogs, including this one is chiming in on the matter (WPCentral, Electronista).  

For the moment, I can't say that Google can say anything or offer an explanation that would counter what Microsoft is saying.  And it's difficult to say this because Microsoft is supposed to be the bad guy here, right?

Google Turned Down Chance To Join Apple And Microsoft In Bidding For Nortel's Patents

Well, well, well...what have we here?  Let's recap.  Today, on Google's official blog, Google trashed Apple, Microsoft, and others for using patents to prevent competition and for gaining up on Android.  For the record, I agree that the motives behind Apple and Microsoft joining forces to make slow down Android and make it more expensive than, well, free.

Well, we all knew that Apple would not respond this these charges.  And in no uncertain terms, Google's blog post was very angry and left no room for that doubt that it was not happy with the results.  So instead of Apple speaking up, Microsoft spoke up for the team.

Microsoft's General Counsel Brad Smith said Google was asked to join with with them.  The eventual winner was a coalition of companies dubbed "Rockstar":  Apple, Microsoft, RIM, and Sony.  When offered the chance to join with them, Google turned it down.  

Furthermore, Electronista made a very valid point:  if what Microsoft's counsel is true, it would weaken any DOJ decision that might go against the winners in the Nortel bids.  On top of that, had Google won the bids, it could have insisted that that previous agreed upon patent terms be broken up.  That being the case, Google's plan, had it won, would have been to sue anyone else that stands in the way of Android.

Basically, Google would be doing what what it now accuses its competitors of doing.

Like I've said before, the companies that have sued Android device makers are not patent trolls but companies that are protecting their products.  The best thing for Google and the Open Handset Alliance is to out-innovate its competitors.  

I am sure there is more to this story than what Microsoft and Google has said.  Apple won't be saying a word at all on this matter.  Hence, the ball is back in Google's side of the court.  What I also would like to know is why Intel joined Google and whether it was also afforded an opportunity to join Rockstar but also turned it down.

Onxo Has Moved To A New URL: Clouding Around

I don't know if you've noticed but I've moved OnXo to a new URL.  It's called Clouding Around.  And I very exited about this move.  It means, well, absolutely nothing I suppose.  I simply wanted the feeling ownership.

I've been blogging and sharing with you for a couple of years now and I enjoy the experience.  If anything, move onxo, onandroid and onapple over to Clouding Around solidifies my commitment to all things mobile and the new experiences we see every single day.

And in the mix, I will throw in unique green and political stories that I like to share from time to time.  On Friday, I will continue to provide my favorite video clip of the week which I'll call "Friday Movie".

And obviously, I'll share mobile tips that I think will come in handy to all mobile warriors.

So, I hope nothing changes and that you'll continue to visit and sharing your thoughts with me.

Sprint Deal with LightSquared In Trouble? - SL Unable to FCC Authorization

Just recently, Sprint and LightSquared signed a 15-year agreement that will allow Sprint sell LTE services wholesale.

According to Wireless Week, The US GPS Industry Council does not believe that SL's plan to deploy its LTE service in the 1526-1536 Mhz band, from those used by GPS receivers will be enough to avoid interfering with GPS hardware and sevices.

Obviously, SL begged to differ.  In fact, it struck back by saying that poorly designed GPS receivers are at fault.  

This is going to be interesting to see.  With assurances, the FCC will not give the go for SL to deploy its LTE network.  While this might seem bad for SL, Sprint may have a second option.

Clearwire, today, announced plans to deploy its own LTE network over the WiMax network it currently operates.  Not only that, its planned 4G network could run at 120 Mbps.  I am cautious optimistic, obviously.  But I have to still say that I'll believe it when I see it.  

And I wonder where Clear is going to get the money for that. In its more recent quarter, Clearwire lost $169 million.  

And What of WiMax? I mentioned a couple of days ago that any plans by Sprint to go down the LTE path is going to take years to make it happen.  Right now, WiMax is Sprint's only option even if Clear stops its WiMax expansion.  And once the LTE option is available, Sprint and Clearwire will not just turn the lights off on WiMax users.

Source:  Wireless Week.

Galaxy Tab Banned From Sale in Australia - A Foreshadowing Of Future Bans In the US?

I haven't really paid attention to the patent wars outside of the US but perhaps I should.  Samsung is currently prevented from launch the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia because Apple had won an injunction against Samsung.

 

Initially, Samsung wanted to launch the tablet in the next week or so but has not put that off indefinitely until the legal proceedings are completed or a temporary stay on appeal.

 

Apparently, the Australian legal system works much faster than it does here in the US.  So, it does give us a glimpse of the future should Apple win some kind of a legal injunction against other Android device makers.  This is what it will look like. 

 

This is a victory for Apple.  At the same time, you have to wonder just how many 10" Galaxy Tabs Samsung will sell going up against the iPad 2.  It have might made more sense to stop the sales of the smartphones. 

 

Source:  Bloomberg via Appleinsider.