Microsoft has announced a licensing agreement with HTC for its mobile phone patents that gives HTC access to “broad coverage” under Microsoft’s patent portfolio. HTC will pay Microsoft royalties for the Android phones it sells. This agreement comes in the shadow of Apple suing HTC for patent infringement, a move widely believed to be aimed at Google and Android. Analysts are already stating that this deal between HTC and Microsoft is aimed at defusing the Apple suit, but a statement by the Microsoft legal team implies it’s merely HTC avoiding a similar infringement claim by Redmond.

No details have been provided by Microsoft nor HTC as to which technologies are covered under this agreement. A look at Microsoft’s IP licensing program sheds some light as to the likely ones:
Exchange ActiveSync: HTC was the first Android phone maker including full support for interacting with Exchange Servers. This is almost certainly included in this licensing deal.
ClearType: Technology yielding crisper display of text on LCD screens.

There are no doubt many other patented technologies that are included under the HTC/Microsoft agreement, given the “broad coverage” claimed by both companies.

The statement by Microsoft that Android was infringing on its patents, and the subsequent deal with HTC, may spell big trouble for Google and the platform. Other Android phone makers now must make a determination if handsets produced likely infringe on either Microsoft or Apple technology. This may turn the semi-open platform into one as full of potential holes as Swiss cheese.

source: jkontherun.com

When Facebook first revealed it would share personal profile information with third-party partner sites, users and privacy advocates voiced concerns and anger.

Now a U.S. Senator wants the Federal Trade Commission, the agency that protects consumers from advance-fee schemes, deceptive marketing practices and credit card scams, to consider if federal guidelines are necessary to protect social media site users from privacy violations.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said he asked the FTC to examine the privacy disclosures of social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace to make sure they are not misleading or failing to “fully disclose the extent to which they share information.”

He also urged the FTC to provide guidelines for use of private information and prohibit access without user permission.

“It’s vitally important that safeguards are in place that provide users with control over their personal information to ensure they don’t receive unwanted solicitations,” Schumer said. “At the same time, social networking sites need to provide easy to understand disclosures to users on how information they submit is being shared.”

Prior permission access would reverse Facebook’s current controversial plan for third-party site sharing, what the top social network’s co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls Open Graph.

Users now have to “opt out” of third-party sharing in what Schumer describes as a complicated and confusing process.

Already in effect with a few partner sites, Facebook’s Open Graph alerts Facebook users visiting third-party sites that friends share their interests across the web, such as a favorite musical act, restaurant or news outlet. The new platform also allows third-party sites to tailor specific information to a visiting Facebook user.

Schumer said that if the FTC “believes it does not have the tools or authority to issue guidelines on privacy disclosures,” he would be willing to offer legislation.

source: ecreditdaily.com

The guy who used to work as a web technology consultant has been named as one of Inc Magazine’s 30 Under 30, Forbes’ Top 25 Web Celebrities and the Huffington Posts’ Top 10 Game Changers 2009.

Cebu City once again clinched the top spot in the latest Global Services and Tholons survey on the top 50 “emerging global outsourcing destinations” worldwide.

The 2009 survey listed Cebu as No. 1 based on scale and quality of workforce, infrastructure, business catalyst, risk profile, cost and quality of life.

This is the second time Cebu City ranked first in the survey, which has been running since 2007. Cebu ranked fourth in the first survey and later climbed to the first spot in 2008.

However, in the big picture of top global outsourcing sites, Indian cities occupy the top three slots – Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai – followed by Manila or NCR (National Capital Region).

Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano, in an interview, said this victory is another positive development for tourism as it creates a multiplier effect.

“More BPOs opening in the Philippines will mean more young people will be employed. This, in turn, will boost domestic travel as the young people of the country today are the ones exploring the (different places in the) country,” he told Cebu Daily News in a text message.

Tourism Undersecretary Phineas Alburo said the result “greatly enhances the image of Cebu as an island of talented and hardworking people.” this positive image, he said, will encourage tourists to continue visiting the city.

Jun Saa, vice president for operations of Robinland Inc., said the challenge for Cebu is to continuously improve itself to attract more investments.

The company’s Robinland Information Technology/Business Process Outsourcing (IT/BPO) is located at the Mandaue Reclamation Area

With a booming infrastructure base, Saa said the best asset to improve on is the workforce quality and quantity. He also cited the readiness of middle managers in carrying out more complicated roles, which poses a challenge for most BPO companies based in the city.

“We lack talents in this area. Since this is a (relatively) young industry, we lack experienced people to handle the jobs of middle managers,” said Saa.

He said the shortfall can be addressed through further training and education, and more strategic industry-academe linkage.

He said a concrete example is the recent initiative of the Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (Cedf-IT) in bringing to Cebu training modules from Harvard University to facilitate online learning of managers from BPO companies.

He said the latest survey will hopefully encourage more investments to pour into Cebu.

Wilson Ng, Ng Khai chief executive officer, said it was good for Cebu to have maintained the top rank for two years in a row.

“For sure that will be a boost to Cebu’s reputation as the place to be,” Ng said in a text message to CDN.

Ng said that Cebu is strong in customer service orientation, and adaptability to English languages, primarily in the ability to speak “American” English .

“We also have an attitude that endears us to customers.”

Ng, however, said that Cebuanos need to improve in basic education, quality of English and information technology instructions.

“The take up rate of applicants still can be improved,” he said.

“I believe what some BPOs are saying, that we are weak in middle management. This is due mainly to the brain drain, where people who have more than 5 years experience can, and usually migrate abroad, leaving us with a weak middle management layer,” he added.

Ng also suggested that entrepreneurs can continue training programs and continue to market Cebu properly as well as continue to boost s skills, attitudes and confidence to help maintain Cebu’s reputation as the best emerging city for BPOs.

Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Sam Chioson said that the organization is glad that combined efforts of the private and government sector are paying off in putting Cebu at the forefront of the BPO industry.

“As our vibrant BPO industry has cushioned us from the effects of the global economic crisis, we expect that this accolade will further help boost the Cebu economy as more IT players take a second look at Cebu as an ideal location for their businesses.”

He said more locators mean more jobs and new opportunities for related businesses.

This is the third year that industry publication, Global Services and strategic investment advisory firm, Tholons published detailed analysis on the world’s top 50 emerging outsourcing destinations.

In its website, Tholons said an 80-page detailed report on the 2009 results will be published by the end of October.

Following Cebu in second and third places are the cities of Shanghai and Beijing of the People’s Republic of China, which also retained the same ranking as last year’s.

The cities of Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam and Krakow in Poland also remained in fourth and fifth places.

Source: www.globalnation.inquirer.com

During the kickoff for its upcoming industry conference, CCAP president Benedict Hernandez revealed that they commissioned a study from Pricewaterhouse Coopers to validate some of the concerns of the local industry.

Hernandez said results of the study are currently being evaluated by CCAP and will be revealed during the CCAP Call Center Conference and Expo 2009 in mid-July.

He did reveal some results of the study, citing 15 percent year-on-year growth for the industry in terms of employment and revenues.

The study also showed the general acceptance rate for new employees is slightly higher at seven to eight percent. “Of 100 people who apply for a call center job, only seven get hired. But we first estimated it at only five percent,” said Hernandez.

CCAP has been working with several educational institutions and government offices, including the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), to train potential employees in English proficiency and other related skills.

Hernandez added the study showed an attrition rate of about 57 percent in the country’s call center industry. In comparison, India’s attrition rate is purported to be 80 percent.

He added CCAP is thinking about conducting the study on a quarterly basis. “We still have to tweak the questions so that only the important ones are asked,” said Hernandez.

source: www.callcenter.mixph.com

CEBU has climbed from fourth to first this year in the list of 50 emerging outsourcing destinations for global companies this year.

This was according to a research report released last week by industry publication Global Services and investment advisory firm Tholons.

Cebu ranked first after the top three cities in the list last year—Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune (all in India)—-were elevated to the category of developed global outsourcing cities.

They are now part of the top eight in that category along with Bangalore, India; Delhi NCR, India; Dublin, Ireland; Makati City, Philippines; and Mumbai, India.

Global Services and Tholons highlight in their research the increasing importance of choosing the right city instead of the right country.

“It is rather the city that represents a more accurate package of attributes the service providers seek. Thus, Cebu City and Monterrey matter more than the Philippines and Mexico from a decision-making standpoint,” the study said.

The list is based on the criteria that include scale and quality of workforce, business catalyst, cost, infrastructure, risk profile, and quality of life.
But it does not include developed or established outsourcing locations.

Top cities

According to the list, the other hot cities for outsourcing are Shanghai, China at number two (eighth last year); Beijing, also in China at number three (10th last year); Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam at number four (sixth last year); and Krakow, Poland at number five (16th last year).

Rounding up the top 10 are Kolkata, India at number six (fifth last year); Cairo, Egypt at number seven (11th last year); Sao Paulo, Brazil at number eight (fifteenth last year); Buenos Aires, Argentina at number nine (14th last year); and Shenzhen at number 10 (13th last year).

Asian cities dominated the top cities list (38 percent).

Baguio City, which was number 36 last year, dropped out of the list while new entrants from the country entered the list, like Quezon City (number 21) and Mandaluyong City (number 45).

Pasig City was number 15.

Avinash Vashistha of Tholons and Imrana Khan of Global Services said local stakeholders need “to address infrastructure and ecosystem concerns in a timelier manner.”

“Many city mayors and local government units, for example, can provide city-specific tax incentives and telecom providers can deploy connectivity in a much more
targeted scale,” they said.

Service providers, they noted, look for resources to capture specific market segments.

They cited the cities in the Philippines as an example since they “continuously provide large English-proficient workforce that can cater to the US customer service market.”

Venue

In a press conference yesterday, Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC) executive director Joel Mari Yu said that Cebu achieved this feat even when it only started moving into information technology (IT) and building contact centers around 2002 to 2003.

He said that Cebu provides a venue for global companies like those in the US to remain competitive and to save money.

Putting up a call center in Cebu with its cheap labor, for example, enables locators to reduce costs by as much as 90 percent compared with putting up one in the US.

With the continuous growth of call centers and non-voiced services, Yu added, the 23,000 local graduates every year have “very little choice” but to join IT and business process outsourcing (BPO)-related jobs.

CIPC records show that Cebu currently has 22 call centers with around 20,000 agents, as well as 36 foreign direct investments in IT or BPO.

Yu said that when Cebu was fourth last year, it helped them promote the city to global companies so that some firms are already planning to expand to Cebu.

He cited technology company Hewlett-Packard (HP); engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance services company Fluor Corp.; global IT firm HCL; and software giant Tata Consultancy Services.

Source: Sunstar.com.ph