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OCAU News
Tuesday Evening News (5 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 22-March-2011  19:21:50 (GMT +10) - by Sciby

Amidst the horrific human cost of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, it's easy to forget of the wide-reaching ramifications of the tragedy. Ars Technica have looked more closely at how the disaster is affecting the technology industry in Japan and its workers; Canon, for example, has suffered "comparatively major damage" to one of its sites. Interestingly, the damage to Nikon factories may somewhat affect 'Moore's Law': "Three of the Nikon sites that shut down make lithography equipment; these are the high-powered lens systems that semiconductor makers like Intel use to etch transistors onto their chips. Nikon made lithography equipment for some of Intel's 45nm plants, and for all of the company's 32nm plants. The lens maker was allegedly contracted to make some of the litho equipment for the upcoming 22nm transition."

In what will come as a shock to exactly nobody, Apple is suing Amazon for App Store" trademark infringement. "Amazon's Android Appstore seems to have been intentionally contracted to a single word to differentiate its name, but that difference isn't enough for Apple, which has asked a California court to grant a ruling preventing Amazon's use of the moniker and asking for unspecified damages." Unsurprising that Apple would be ready to defend it's trademark after fighting through resistance from Microsoft to get the trademark approved in the first place.

OCAU member Draco II has an interesting look at the growth of Android from Google, a company that "was a search engine with a sideline in online ads." Good timing for me - I was going to make my poor iPhone 3G struggle along until the next version is out; maybe I'll consider the Android options that are currently available.

This is a great story from Wired: A wind-powered vehicle that can go faster than the wind propelling it. "No one here is weirder or more alternative than a mustachioed man who has shown up this year with an exceptionally strange-looking dirt boat and an extraordinary claim. The man, a fast-talking inventor named Rick Cavallaro, says that his craft—Blackbird—can, while sailing directly downwind, go faster than the wind that is propelling it." It really is fantastic story, make sure you read all of it. Thanks to Callan for the link.

If you live in Melbourne, Gizmodo have reported on Telstra launching 100Mbps cable plans: "There are two plans available – $80 a month for 50GB or $100 a month for 200GB, with theoretical speeds of 100Mbps over 24 months (although there is also a 12-month option for $10 more a month on both plans.)". It is only available in certain suburbs though, so check with Telstra before getting too excited.

Finally, another OCAU member has been scribbling - Oppressa has a very nice blog reviewing breakfast cafes around Sydney. As a massive fan of cafe breakfasts, I wholeheartedly approve of this, and they've covered quite a large number of cafes. Oppressa pointed it out after our Geek Food post last night, but I figured that it was too good to wait for another roundup of food threads. :)



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All original content copyright James Rolfe. All rights reserved. No reproduction allowed without written permission.