Microsoft has announced today that it has reached patent licensing agreements with Acer and ViewSonic that cover Android smart phones and tablets. These companies join HTC in paying Microsoft for each deployed Android device. Microsoft's strategic approach to Android is very different from Apple's. Where Apple is attempting to stop or otherwise delay the deployment of Android devices Microsoft is lining their coffers with royalties paid by OEMs for the privilege of shipping them. It's a strategy that is already generating more profit for Microsoft the its less then successful Windows Phone platform and could contribute dramatically to Microsofts bottom line going forward.

Ah, so that's what Google's masterplan is regarding the defense of Android against the patent trolls. HTC has just launched a few more defensive patent lawsuits against Apple, and while that's by far no longer newsworthy, it is this one time. You see, HTC is suing Apple over 9 patents that have only very recently been transferred (namely, a week ago) from Google to HTC. The patents come from Palm, Motorola, and others. This means Google is giving away its patents to Android device makers. Nice of them.

"The typical way to increase capacity on a network is to add more infrastructure, but that's an expensive undertaking. It can also be time consuming and frustrating for network operators who have to get permission to put up new towers, or dig up the ground to lay cables. This is especially true in heavily populated areas where more antennas and traffic disruption are not what anyone wants to see. Rice University has come up with a groundbreaking solution, though. One that promises to at least double the capacity of existing networks with the addition of minimal extra hardware. That solution is full duplex wireless communication. This isn't a new concept, but one that hasn't been possible until now due to the inherent obstacles it throws up."

Sources close to Canonical and IBM are telling me that Ubuntu may soon be certified on IBM's System p mini-computers and blades and System z mainframes.

"There's confusion - way too much confusion - about my status at TechCrunch and TechCrunch's status at Aol after last week's announcement that I was launching a venture fund, partially backed by Aol. The multiple conflicting statements made by Aol on Thursday and Friday of last week are evidence of that confusion, but that isn't the core issue. My employment relationship with TechCrunch and Aol is not the core issue. The only issue being discussed at this point, the only issue that matters, is TechCrunch editorial independence and self determination. Regardless of my role, if any, going forward. I believe that Aol should be held to their promise when they acquired us to give TechCrunch complete editorial independence." I honestly don't care about TechCrunch all that much (more ads, Siegler, and nonsense than actual content), but still - raise your hand if you're surprised by this. AOL is pure, concentrated evil.

"The hack of Dutch certificate authority DigiNotar already bore many similarities to the break-in earlier this year that occurred at a reseller for CA Comodo. Bogus certificates were issued for webmail systems, which were in turn used to intercept Web traffic in Iran. Another similiarity has since emerged: the perpetrator of the earlier attacks is claiming responsibility for the DigiNotar break-in. Calling himself ComodoHacker, the hacker claims that DigiNotar is not the only certificate authority he has broken into. He says that he has broken into GlobalSign, and a further four more CAs that he won't name. He also claimed that at one time he had access to StartCom."

Thanks to the hard work of Google Summer of Code student Mike Smith, a set of early VirtualBox guest addition drivers are now available for the Haiku operating system. Information, source code, and a binary package can be found on the haiku-development mailing list.

"andLinux is a Linux distro with a difference. It's based on a port of the the Linux kernel to Windows coupled with an X server and other software. In short, it allows you to run Linux software seamlessly on the Windows desktop without recompiling it or using a virtual machine."

The number of rogue SSL certificates issued by Dutch CA DigiNotar has balooned from one to a couple dozen to over 250 to 531 in just a few days. As Jacob Appelbaum of the Tor project shared the full list of the rogue certificates, it became clear that fraudulent certificates for domains of a number of intelligence agencies from around the world were also issued during the CA's compromise - including the CIA, MI6 and Mossad. Additional targeted domains include Facebook, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Skype, Twitter, Tor, Wordpress and many others.

"Secret U.S. government cables show a stunning willingness by senior Canadian officials to appease American demands (more here) for a U.S.-style copyright law here. The documents describe Canadian officials as encouraging American lobbying efforts. They also cite cabinet minister Maxime Bernier raising the possibility of showing U.S. officials a draft bill before tabling it in Parliament. The cables, from the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, even have a policy director for then industry minister Tony Clement suggesting it might help U.S. demands for a tough copyright law if Canada were placed among the worst offenders on an international piracy watch list. Days later, the U.S. placed Canada alongside China and Russia on the list." Unbelievable. Suddenly I understand why the SFPD had no qualms about acting as henchmen for Apple goons to violate someone's constitutional rights. If a government is messed up, it only makes sense this is reflected in the corporate policies of its prime corporations.

"Okay, it's been about one week and there are not much answers anymore, so it's time to thank everyone who participated, close this survey, and publish the results, along with some interpretation." Everything is released under Creative Commons CC0 license, so anyone interested, please help yourself.

"I've seen it. Played with it. It's called simply the 'Amazon Kindle'. But it's not like any Kindle you've seen before. It displays content in full color. It has a 7-inch capacitive touch screen. And it runs Android." Okay, it's from Siegler, but it's interesting, and there's no Google bashing or blind Apple adoration at all. This could definitely be the Android tablet to compete with the iPad. So, Amazon, how about a Dutch online store? And, you know, a site which doesn't suck? Thanks!

So, I kind of mocked this story yesterday, but today an interesting twist has emerged which puts the story in an entirely different light. This week, CNet reported a story about how Apple is working with the San Francisco Police Department to retrieve a lost iPhone 5 prototype. The police and Apple apparently traced the phone to someone's house, and showed up on his doorstep, threatening him and his family. The only problem - the SFPD has no record of any house search or of the case in general - raising the question whether Apple employees falsely impersonated the SFPD, which happens to be a serious crime in California. Update: While I was busy sleeping, the story changed a little bit, but it's still far too shady. After conferring with Apple, the SFPD now states four police officers were involved, and that only the two Apple employees entered Calderon's house. However, Calderon had no idea these two were private non-police people, since he claims they did not identify themselves as Apple employees. Had he known, he would not have let them search his house. So, update or no, Apple employees still impersonated police officers, and issued threats to intimidate Calderon into letting them search his house - without a warrant. I don't understand how people can just accept this sort of behaviour. Don't you have rights in the US? Update II: Perfect summary.

Two reports about mobile operating systems, both refuted by the companies the reports were about. First, there were persistent rumours Samsung wanted to buy or license webOS from HP - the company has now stated it has absolutely no interest in doing so. Another report surfaced today, stating Intel was temporarily backing off MeeGo - Intel, too, has refuted this report, stating it remains committed to MeeGo. Coincidentally, both reports originated from DigiTimes.