Google, Apple, Microsoft Sued Over File Preview

A small Indiana company has sued tech heavyweights Microsoft, Apple, and Google, claiming that it holds the patent on a common file preview feature used by browsers and operating systems to show users small snapshots of the files before they are opened.

Cygnus Systems sued the three companies on Wednesday saying that they infringed on its patent with products such as Windows Vista, Internet Explorer 8 and Google Chrome, which allow users to view preview images of documents on the computer. Mac OS X, the iPhone and Safari also infringe, the company said in court filings. Apple uses this technology in its Finder and Cover Flow Mac OS X features, the filings state.

While Cygnus has sued three very high profile companies, there may not be the only vendors in Cygnus's sites. "They were a logical starting place for us," said Matt McAndrews, a partner with the Niro, Scavone, Haller & Niro, law firm, which is representing Cygnus. "We've identified many other potentially infringing products that we're investigating," he added.

Cygnus's owner and president Gregory Swartz developed the technology laid out in the patent while working on IT consulting projects, McAndrews said. The company is looking for "a reasonable royalty" as well as a court injunction preventing further infringement, he said.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Arizona, where Swartz resides, McAndrews said.

Google, Microsoft and Apple did not return messages seeking comment on the lawsuit.

Cygnus applied for its patent (# 7346850) in 2001. It covers a "System and method for iconic software environment management" and was granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in March of this year.

Google Earth Used by Terrorists in India Attacks

The terrorists that attacked various locations in south Mumbai last week used digital maps
from Google Earth to learn their way around, according to officials investigating the attacks.

Investigations by the Mumbai police, including the interrogation of one nabbed terrorist, suggest that the terrorists were highly trained and used technologies such as satellite phones, and global positioning systems (GPS), according to police.

Google Earth has previously come in for criticism in India, including from the country's former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Kalam warned in a 2005 lecture that the easy availability online of detailed maps of countries from services such as Google Earth could be misused by terrorists.

A Google spokeswoman said in an e-mail Monday that Google Earth's imagery is already available through commercial and public sources. Google Earth has also been used by aid agencies for relief operations, which outweighs abusive uses, she said.

Indian security agencies have complained that Google Earth exposed Indian defense and other sensitive installations. Other nations, including China, have made similar complaints regarding military locations.

However the places attacked by terrorists last week did not come under the category of defense or sensitive installations. The information available to the terrorists on Google Earth about the locations they attacked is also available on printed tourism maps of Mumbai. The locations included two hotels, a restaurant, a residential complex and a railway station.

Google Updates Street View

Google Maps' Street View underwent some small but interesting changes just in time for your Thanksgiving commute.

When you log onto Google Maps, the first thing you'll notice is that the navigational tools look similar to those of Google Earth. Added to the tools in the top left-hand corner is the Pegman, the mascot of Google Street View.

Drag the Pegman to your desired location to

launch Street View. Streets that have been mapped with Street View will glow with a blue outline, and a small picture icon sprouts from the Pegman's head, previewing the scene below.

When the Pegman lands, the screen opens into a wider, higher resolution image of your surroundings. A rotating compass replaces the old four-way directional pad for easier spinning. You can now also launch Street View by zooming into a location as far as it can go, or double-clicking on the Pegman.

Street View is now shown as a split screen, with the bottom half devoted to the original Google Map. The bottom half can be reduced and enlarged by clicking the icon in the upper left-hand corner; it allows you to shrink the Map to a small box in the corner. This makes it easier to maintain perspective as you're navigating the photographed streets.

Gmail Gets Free Video Chat!

The users of Gmail service can now choose to communicate with friends not only through chat and e-mail but also through voice and video.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008: Giving a boost to its free Web-based e-mail service, Internet giant Google is now adding voice and video chat to Gmail. With this initiative, Google wants to give a tough competition to Yahoo! and Microsoft, who offer video with their instant messaging services, but have not integrated it into e-mail.