District police stations now under CCTV surveillance

RAJKOT: In order to achieve transparency in policing, Rajkot district police recently embarked on a massive drive to equip all police stations with closes circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

"All the police stations in Rajkot range, in fact, have already been equipped with CCTV cameras," Rajkot range deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Pravin Sinha said on Monday.

"Though we don't mistrust our officials, CCTV cameras will ensure transparency in functioning of the department. The actual present staff at the police station and the kind of treatment meted out to visitors will be ascertained through this system. The rural superintendent of police will be able to monitor all these activities of different police stations in his chamber through this system," Sinha told a press conference held as part of Rajkot district police annual inspection.

Apart from monitoring the cops, CCTV cameras will also be able to keep tabs on traffic offenders at signals and crossroads. They will also be effective during mob violence or rioting, Sinha said.

After covering the Rajkot range, cameras will be installed in Morbi. "Installation of CCTV cameras in Morbi is need of the hour as the city has seen a spurt in crimes like chain-snatching and firing. All entry points to the town will be equipped with the cameras," rural SP Premvir Singh said.

Meanwhile, the district police have issued a notification to major malls, multiplexes and banks and buildings to install CCTV cameras within a month, failing which punitive measures will be initiated against the defaulters

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CCTV surveillance for newborn care of tigers

BHUBANESWAR: Emerging wiser from the recent death of five tiger cubs, the state government has decided to monitor pregnancy and neonatal care of the big cats in Nandankanan here using CCTV camera.

Confirming the development, chief conservator of forests (wildlife) S S Srivastava said the third eye will keep a close watch on the animals during advanced pregnancy and early days of delivery. "In case we notice anything unusual, a committee of experts will review what possible steps can be taken to intervene in the best interest of the mammals," Srivastava told TOI.

Since mingling of humans during this crucial phase sometimes results in rejection of the cubs by the mother, they will be monitored through technology. There will be human intrusion in case of dire needs, he added.

A Royal Benegal Tiger, Sara, who is in advanced stage of pregnancy, will be monitored soon. "Sara is due to deliver in January. We would install the camera by this month-end," said Kamal Lochan Purohit, assistant director of the zoo.

Notably, five tiger cubs, died in the zoo on November 18 two days after they were born raising questions over quality of care in the zoo. Though zoo authorities attributed the deaths to "neglect by the first-time mother," an inquiry is still on into the deaths. "We are still probing if there was a lapse by the zoo authorities," CCF (wildlife) Srivastava said.

Zoo records reveal of the 11 first-time delivery in Nandankanan since 1966, only once two of four tiger cubs delivered in the same litter had survived in 2008. Otherwise, all of the same first litter cubs had died in 1966, 1979, 1981, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1997 and now in 2011 within the first two weeks of delivery.

In another unrelated development of improving animal care, the forests department has decided to send to Bhopal zoo a famed bear, Rani, which had hogged limelight for showing abnormal pet behaviour after being rescued from Keonjhar district some years ago. One Ramesh Munda, a tribal of Rutisila village in Keonjhar's Ghatagoan block had kept the bear "like a family member." But after animal rights activists pointed out the "illegality" of keeping the sloth bear, the forest department officials had brought it to Nandankanan in 2008. The protection of sloth bear is covered under the Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

"Rani needs treatment for which there is no facility in Odisha. That is why she will be sent to Bhopal," said Srivastava. Zoo sources said Rani's left eye is damaged "beyond recovery." Animal rights activists had sought Rani's treatment recently. "It was a wise decision to send Rani to Bhopal for treatment. There is no facility here," said Sanjib Kumar Das, member secretary of People for Animals

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Apple wins patent victory over HTC, which faces looming import ban

n a high-profile but strikingly limited legal victory for Apple, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled today that HTC has violated only one of the Cupertino, Calif.-based company's patents.

The ITC--a quasi-judicial body that opponents of a Hollywood-backed copyright bill have proposed as a home for a new piracy court--said it would impose an import ban on some of HTC's products. But that won't take effect until April 19, 2012, giving HTC, Google, and other partners time to remove certain features or figure out technical work-arounds that don't infringe on the patent.

Taiwan-based HTC said today it will remove that feature from "all of our phones" soon, meaning the ITC's ruling (PDF) will have little practical effect.

Apple claims HTC's phones illegally use patented features found in the iPhone.

(Credit: Apple)

The ruling is hardly a complete victory for Apple: in March 2010, the company filed a complaint saying HTC violated 10 of its patents. In a preliminary ruling in June, an ITC administrative law judge found only two violations, and today's ruling narrows the violation to only one of the original 10 patents.

Pierre Ferragu, a senior analyst at the London-based Sanford C. Bernstein research firm, said "this ruling will represent absolutely no disruption at all to HTC's business in the U.S."

In a statement to CNET, HTC general counsel Grace Lei said: "We are gratified that the commission affirmed the judge's initial determination on the '721 and '983 patents, and reversed its decision on the '263 patent and partially on the '647 patent. We are very pleased with the determination and we respect it. However, the '647 patent is a small UI experience and HTC will completely remove it from all of our phones soon."

Another option for HTC would be to create a technical work-around that doesn't run afoul of the patent in question, which deals with "data tapping" techniques that automatically format documents to allow, for instance, a dialer program to pop up when a phone number appears.

In a post on the FOSS Patents blog, Florian Mueller, who is critical of software patents, notes:

The import ban won't relate to HTC Android products that don't implement that feature, or that implement it in ways not covered by those patent claims. If Google can implement this popular feature, which users of modern-day smartphones really expect, without infringing on the two patent claims found infringed, this import ban won't have any effect whatsoever.

The patent in question, 5,946,647 was granted in 1999 and covers identifying data "having recognizable structures," such as a "phone number, post-office address, e-mail address, and name." Then, the patent says, a "parsing process" will allow "appropriate actions" to be taken.

The latest development is nevertheless a blow to HTC, which has made strides in building market share and a brand with its line of Android-powered smartphones, many of which feature the company's own Sense user interface. HTC was the first Android supporter that Apple chose to target, signaling the growing threat of Google's software to iOS and the iPhone franchise.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement made when the complaint was originally filed, then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who died this fall, said: "We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."

Technology companies in recent years have increasingly used the ITC to settle their disputes because the process is seen as more efficient than the federal courts. In addition, the threat of an embargo on products typically forces companies to settle more quickly.

HTC is considered the most vulnerable legally of the Android partners because it lacks a robust portfolio of patents that act as a potential shield. HTC this year purchased S3 Graphics, largely because of a collection of patents that could be used against Apple.

In September, HTC launched its legal counterattack against Apple in Delaware federal district court, using nine patents that originally came from Palm, Motorola, and Openwave Systems. Google transferred the rights to HTC on September 1. (A separate, earlier effort before the ITC was unsuccessful, according to an initial ruling in October.)

HTC created the first Android smartphone, the G1, and has seen its profile rise over the past few years. The company was also the first target of an Apple lawsuit related to Android, and is among the most deeply entrenched in litigation over the topic

AT&T ditches T-Mobile merger: So what's it mean for you?

AT&T finally ditched its plan to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion on Monday, after months of intense lobbying.

AT&T blamed regulators for the deal's demise, and the company said in a statement that consumers would be harmed and investment would be stifled as a result. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission--the two agencies that opposed the deal--said that AT&T's decision to abandon its purchase was a victory for consumers.

"Consumers won today," Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division Sharis A. Pozen said in a statement. "Had AT&T acquired T-Mobile, consumers in the wireless marketplace would have faced higher prices and reduced innovation. We sued to protect consumers who rely on competition in this important industry. With the parties' abandonment, we achieved that result."

Consumer groups also praised AT&T's decision to give up. But what does all of this really mean for consumers? CNET put together this FAQ to answer that question.

What did AT&T actually decide to do?
AT&T said that it would not continue to pursue the $39 billion merger of T-Mobile USA, which it announced in March. As part of the break-up with Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent company, it will have to pay a fee of $3 billion in cash to Deutsche Telekom as well as provide $1 billion in wireless assets.

The Justice Department had filed its lawsuit against AT&T to block the merger in August, stating it would harm competition and result in higher prices for consumers. And the Federal Communications Commission, which needed to give its approval to transfer T-Mobile's wireless licenses, also opposed the merger. AT&T withdrew its application to the FCC in November. And last week it asked a federal judge to stop the legal proceedings so it could figure out if it wanted to go to trial in mid-February.

On Monday, AT&T ended its pursuit to buy T-Mobile. So there will be no trial in February. The merger is dead.

What's likely to happen to T-mobile now?
That's the big unanswered question. T-Mobile's parent company Deutsche Telekom has made it clear that it's not interested in sinking more money into the U.S. wireless market. So it's unclear what Deutsche Telekom will do next. It could look for another buyer.

Smaller prepaid companies, Leap Wireless or MetroPCS, may be interested in buying, some if not all, of T-Mobile's assets. There's also talk of satellite TV provider Dish Network buying T-Mobile's assets. The company has already been buying wireless spectrum. Anyone of these carriers could buy the company outright or they Deutsche Telekom could break up T-Mobile into smaller pieces and sell it that way.

Another scenario is that T-Mobile may partner with other companies. Even though AT&T has decided not to pursue its meger with T-Mobile, it could still form a partnership. In its press release, AT&T said that it has entered into a mutually beneficial roaming agreement. It's unclear what that roaming arrangement entails. One possibility is that AT&T could create a joint venture with T-Mobile. This would be a separate company from AT&T, but might give AT&T more access to T-Mobile's network.

There is also a chance that Deutsche Telekom may spin off T-Mobile as its own company in an initial public offering. The company will be getting about $3 billion in cash from AT&T as part of the break-up fee. And it will also get about $1 billion in other assets as part of the settlement.

I'm a T-Mobile customer so what does all this mean for me?
Initially, it won't mean much. T-Mobile has still been operating as an independent company since the AT&T merger was announced in March. So in the short-term, I'd expect T-Mobile to continue to compete aggressively, especially for budget-conscious consumers.

As I explained above, it's unclear what T-Mobile's future will be. So I can't say for certain whether the company will continue to operate as an independent wireless provider. That said, it will take some time to work out other deals. And then once a new deal or deals are signed and sealed, it will take time to execute those plans. This means that any major changes to T-Mobile's network or services are still several months away.

What's this mean for AT&T?
AT&T needs more wireless spectrum and capacity in the future to handle its existing and new customers demanding more data services. AT&T is rolling out its 4G LTE wireless network. And I expect it will continue to deploy that network.

AT&T claimed as part of its justification for buying T-Mobile that it needed the T-Mobile wireless assets to bring the 4G LTE network to more users. So it will be interesting to see if AT&T is able to expand that network without T-Mobile's assets. My guess is that it will. AT&T is feeling the competitive pressure from Verizon Wireless, which will have its 4G LTE service in 190 markets by the end of this year, covering more than 200 million potential customers.

In order to keep up with all this demand for capacity, AT&T is going to need get more spectrum. If T-Mobile is out of the picture, where will it get it?

AT&T has already been buying up spectrum licenses from other companies that aren't using them. And I believe it will continue that strategy. The FCC seems to think this approach is a good idea. It's already offered its support to AT&T's plans to buy spectrum in the 700MHz band from Qualcomm.

That said, it will be a battle to get more spectrum. AT&T's biggest rival Verizon Wireless is also on the hunt for more spectrum. Earlier this month, Verizon announced it plans to spend more than $3.6 billion to buy spectrum from several cable companies, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications.

AT&T may also find a way to partner with other companies that have spectrum it needs. There could be some very interesting network-sharing deals that form as a result of AT&T abandoning its plans to buy T-Mobile.

Will my phone bill go up or down as a result of this?
Honestly, AT&T and T-Mobile subscribers will likely not see any changes to their cell phone rates or service anytime soon. T-Mobile may try to get more aggressive on pricing. But that's a slippery slope considering that it's still losing customers.

Meanwhile, AT&T customers should not expect to see their tiered service plans going away anytime soon. If anything, AT&T could increase pricing on its data service for its heaviest users.

That said, over time, prices for data services will likely fall across the industry as they have with voice services. This may have happened even with the merger, since as AT&T argued prices for voice service fell in spite of industry consolidation over the past several years.

Still, even though the price per megabit may fall, consumers' overall wireless bills may remain high. Why? AT&T and other wireless carriers are likely to bundle more services in packages and charge higher prices. Consumers may get more bang for their buck, but AT&T and others could still rake in more revenue. At any rate, I don't expect any big changes in pricing anytime soon.

I'm an AT&T customer. Will the quality of my service be improved or will it suffer?
AT&T has been working hard to improve the quality of its network even before the merger was announced. Specifically, it's been adding more cell sites and capacity in dense urban areas, such as New York City. It's been relying more on Wi-Fi to offload traffic in these areas too as another way to alleviate congestion. So my guess, is that the company will continue these efforts. And hopefully, it can improve service. If it can't, customers are likely to look elsewhere.

AT&T is blaming regulators for the deal falling through. And the company says that without this merger consumers will suffer. Should I be annoyed at the government for their involvement, or did they do me a favor?
This is a tricky question to answer because we don't know yet what T-Mobile's fate will be. In the short term, the FCC and the Justice Department preserved another major competitor in the market. For consumers that's usually a good thing.

If AT&T had been allowed to gobble up T-Mobile, it would have created the largest wireless phone company in the nation. AT&T and Verizon Wireless already account for more than 40 percent of wireless users in the U.S. And once T-Mobile was out of the picture, AT&T would have had an even deeper concentration of power.

But the truth is that AT&T and Verizon are still very powerful. They are each adding customers every quarter, while T-Mobile loses customers. Sprint Nextel, the third largest wireless operator, is much smaller than AT&T and Verizon, but it's done a good job of turning itself around the last couple of years. It's growing again. But there's still a big question mark around whether Sprint can truly compete against AT&T and Verizon.

The other thing to remember is that T-Mobile is in trouble. That's why Deutsche Telekom wants to get rid of it. It doesn't have enough spectrum to make a transition on its own to 4G LTE technology. And as I've said before it's been steadily losing customers. And there isn't any data to suggest that this blood-letting will stop anytime soon.

T-Mobile has been pigeon-holed into the role as a value player. Because it is smaller and weaker than the other carriers, it doesn't have the cash or the clout to offer exclusive, high-end smartphones like its competitors to attract new customers. For example, it's now the only major U.S. carrier without the Apple iPhone. It's also selling the cheaper version of Nokia's Lumia Windows Phone instead of the higher-end model. And one of the only high-end Android phone it has on its roster is the Samsung Galaxy II, which is offered on the other three carrier networks as well.

Despite regulators efforts, T-Mobile may not survive as a fourth competitor anyway. And there is nothing that the Justice Department or the FCC can do about that. That said, I think the hope is that by preventing AT&T from buying T-Mobile, it will allow someone else to buy the company's assets. And this other player could take the spot as a fourth national competitor.

But as I recall, before the AT&T merger was announced, no one was beating down T-Mobile's door to get their hands on the company. The only carrier that expressed interest in T-Mobile was Sprint. And that's an unlikely match-up given the reasoning behind regulators' opposition to AT&T's merger with T-Mobile.

Perhaps, now T-Mobile will look more attractive to other players looking for spectrum. But even if and when T-Mobile gets sold, it's uncertain whether the company that ends up with T-Mobile's business is able to build a company strong enough to compete against AT&T and Verizon. Building and running a wireless network is expensive, just ask Clearwire.

So even though regulators may have prevented AT&T from buying T-Mobile, consumers may still eventually end up with only two choices for nationwide wireless service

CEM Systems named as winner for Best Airport Security Systems in Emerging Market Airports Awards 2011

Belfast, UK - CEM Systems, part of Tyco Security Products, has announced the release of a new highly secure, yet cost-effective DESFire two-door controller solution.

CEM Systems, part of Tyco Security Products, today announced that it has been named the winner of the Emerging Markets Airport awards (EMAA) 2011. The prestigious awards ceremony which took place on 1st June 2011 at Al Bustan Rotana hotel, Dubai, UAE, recognised CEM for its achievements in the security system at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, Terminal 3.

The industry leading CEM AC2000 security management system was installed by ADT India and was chosen to secure Terminal 3 as it offered Indira Ghandi Delhi International Airport (DIAL) an innovative and high quality security system. Utilising the advantages of IP technology, the AC2000 system installed at Terminal 3 represented one of the biggest IP based access control systems in the region.

"CEM is delighted to be named winner of this year's Emerging Market Airport Awards", said Philip Verner, Sales and Marketing Manager, CEM Systems. "CEM has been successfully securing airports around the world for over 25 years, including 80% of UK airports, and as such is involved in many airport development projects within emerging markets. The installation at Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal 3 was a huge project and marked a flagship security system for India & South East Asia."

"Both ADT India and CEM Systems were delighted to be involved in the Indira Gandhi Terminal 3 project" said Ramesh Jayaraman, Managing Director, ADT India. "The system offers a fully integrated IP based access control and video solution, with approximately 40,000 cardholders, 3500 CEM card readers and over 2,600 NVR (Network Video Recorders) within the system design. The installation also marked the first fully integrated control centre in the region."

CEM IP card readers were installed throughout airside/landside boundaries with highly secure CEM S610f fingerprint readers installed at critical security points. CEM IP readers utilised existing Ethernet connectivity at the airport and were used to enhance airport operations such as check-in-desk enabling, air-bridge monitoring and passenger segregation. For roaming security measures CEM S3020 portable readers were also chosen.

The Emerging Market Airport Awards are the most prestigious and coveted awards to recognise product and service quality across the emerging market airport industry. They recognise excellence in the Airports industry for emerging markets such as Middle East, Africa, India and Russia.

As aviation security specialists CEM will continue to work in consultation with airports around the globe, including Delhi Airport, and will continue to lead the security industry in the development of its technologically advanced product range.

About CEM Systems Access Control Technologies
CEM Systems, part of Tyco Security Products, provides highly advanced security management solutions which include integrated access control, ID badging, alarm monitoring, people counting systems and the industry’s most advanced and flexible range of card readers. Powerful integration with American Dynamics Intellex digital video management systems provides a complete video and access control solution that is unmatched in the security industry. From a small facility using the highly innovative webEntry Pro, to a large multi-site facility with tens of thousands of users enrolled in the sophisticated AC2000 access control system, CEM branded products provide a solution to meet even the most complex needs. Highly regarded in airports as the security solution of choice, each CEM system can be customized to specifically fit the needs of each individual customer, ensuring a powerful, highly tailored level of protection that simply cannot be matched in the industry.

For more information on CEM Systems access control technologies.

Tyco Security Products
Tyco Security Products, a business unit of Tyco International, is a unified group of world-leading access control,
video, and intrusion brands. Operating in more than 40 offices with over 2000 employees, these brands –
American Dynamics, Bentel, CEM Systems, Connect24, DSC, Kantech, Software House, and Sur-Gard have more combined years of experience in the security industry than any other group in the world. Our security integration platforms, built by our developers from across all product disciplines allow our customers to see more, do more, and save more. Our solutions today are designed to be compatible with the technology of tomorrow.