HUA HIN, Thailand - Apple this week
became the most valuable company of all time when
its market value hit US$623.5 billion, surpassing
the previous high of $616.3 billion held by
Microsoft at the end of the late 1990s' dot-com
boom.
The share price, which has climbed
64% this year, have been bolstered by high
expectations of the launch of the next model
iPhone on September 12. The iconic smart-phone
accounts for around 70% of Apple's profit.
Apple has displayed its familiar secrecy
surrounding its new products, but commentators
speculate that it will probably have a larger
screen, thinner form, and be more compatible with
connectivity standards.
Also due in the future is a smaller, cheaper iPad
to compete with rival tablets from Samsung, Google
and Microsoft.
The courtroom patent /
design battle in California between Apple and
Samsung is drawing to a close as the two companies
delivered their final closing arguments this week.
Apple lawyers, referring to an alleged short-cut
in Samsung's design process, stated that in a
"critical three months, Samsung was able to copy
and incorporate the result of Apple's four-year
investment in hard work and ingenuity without
taking any of the risks".
Legal
representatives for the Korean electronics giant
retorted that "Rather than competing in the
marketplace, Apple is seeking a competitive edge
in the courtroom. [Apple thinks] it's entitled to
having a monopoly on a rounded rectangle with a
large screen. It's amazing really."
A win
for Apple will result in less choice for consumers
and Samsung being up to $2.5 billion out of
pocket. Apple chief executive Tim Cook and his
Samsung counterpart Kwon Oh Hyun were asked by US
District Court Judge Lucy Koh to discuss possible
resolutions of their litigation. That conversation
failed to break the deadlock between the two
companies. It will now be down to the nine-person
jury, which has a 100-page deliberation
instruction document to read and a 21-page
tentative verdict form from which they must pick
which devices from either side infringe on various
patents.
Judge Koh expressed concern; "I
am worried we might have a seriously confused jury
here, I have trouble understanding this, and I
have spent a little more time with this than they
have."
The case has been followed by
millions across the globe as it has been one of
the largest and most prominent of its kind and
could reshape the entire industry if the wrong
verdict is delivered.
Internet The Indian government
has continued its Web censorship drive by
instigating a crackdown on social networks and
feeds. Twitter is the latest target, according to
a Times of India report. The micro-blogging
website could face legal action if it does not
comply with the government's demand to censor
objectionable content posted by its users.
The content in question is inflammatory
comments and hate speech directed towards people
from northeastern India. Facebook and YouTube have
confirmed that the content originated from
Pakistan and have agreed to the Indian
government's requests to censor it.
In
January, Twitter announced that it would be
willing to remove content on a country level at
the request of governments, but it could not
employ filters due to the sheer volume of content
posted, an estimated 400 million tweets per day.
In neighboring Myanmar (also known as
Burma), the government took another step forward
this week when pre-publication press censorship
was abolished by the information ministry. The US
welcomed the announcement but added "the censor
board itself has not been eradicated, which is
obviously a step that we would like to see the
Burmese government take because they continue to
monitor the press."
China's jingoistic
media reacted differently, with The Global Times,
a nationalist-leaning tabloid, stating "China has
been on the track of liberalizing the press for a
long time, and will go further in the future. We
should proceed based on the national situation,
instead of being panicked and making backwards
countries like Myanmar and Vietnam our totem."
Security Adobe's Flash Player
appears to be crumbling at the seams. The
problematic Web animation software was patched
last week and six new vulnerabilities have been
discovered just a week later. The company urged
Windows and Mac users to upgrade their Flash
Player software as it was being exploited and
causing computers and browsers to crash.
This week, security company Symantec
confirmed that last week's update is already being
exploited and users should upgrade again to Flash
Player version 11.4.402.265. Adobe are having a
tough time keeping this relatively simple browser
plugin free of bugs and expliots.
A new
piece of malware has been stalking the energy
sector according to a number of security analysts.
Symantec described the malicious code, dubbed
Shamoon, as "a destructive malware that corrupts
files on a compromised computer and overwrites the
MBR (Master Boot Record) in an effort to render a
computer unusable."
The malware has yet to
go viral, according to analysts at Kaspersky. It
is likely a copycat, the work of a script kiddies
inspired by the story of Flame that targeted
Iranian infrastructure with a very efficient data
wiper.
Martin J Young is an Asia
Times Online correspondent based in Thailand.
(Copyright 2012 Asia Times Online
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