AMD sues ex-managers for allegedly copying 100,000 files

Advanced Micro Devices is taking four former employees to court -- one vice president and three managers from the firm's Boxborough, Mass., plant -- who left the company to go and work for rival Nvidia last year.

The chipmaker is accusing them of coping more than 100,000 confidential documents and trade secrets to take with them.

The suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, claims former vice president Robert Feldstein, along with managers Manoo Desai, Nicolas Kociuk and Richard Hagen, took the files before they left the company. AMD said it wants to recover the files, which the company claims cover everything from upcoming AMD technology to contracts with enterprise customers.

The court has already issued a temporary restraining order against the four former employees, ordering the preservation of any copies of AMD materials they may have and any computers or devices they may own. They also must not divulge or use any confidential information from AMD.

Feldstein left AMD in July, according to reports, after he helped broker major contracts to see AMD technology launch in the next-generation range of game consoles, including the
Xbox,
PlayStation, and the
Wii U, before he left for Nvidia.

AMD said it had "uncovered evidence" that the four had "transferred to external storage devices trade secret files and information in the days prior to their leaving AMD to work for Nvidia."

"The volume of materials that these three defendants collectively transferred to storage devices, each of which is unaccounted for, as they left to work for AMD's competitor exceeds 100,000 electronic files." AMD also said in the filing that the files "include obviously confidential, proprietary, and/or trade secret materials relating to developing technology and/or highly confidential business strategy."

Specifically, the filing notes that "three highly confidential files -- two licensing agreements with significant customers, and a document outlining proposed strategies to AMD's strategic licensing -- were transferred." If used by Nvidia, the chipmaker said, this would "provide an unfair advantage if improperly used or disclosed."

"Perforce," the name of an AMD internal database containing AMD's technology and development of the company's process and product, were also added to external drives, the company said. The database contains more than 200 files, which have 'confidential' markings on them.

The chipmaker also alleges that one of the managers "ran several Internet searches about how to copy and/or delete large numbers of documents," which was then used to transfer the vast majority of the allegedly stolen files.

AMD claims the four were in breach of their contracts, trade secret laws and unfair competition laws, and violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

An AMD spokesperson told ZDNet in a statement that the company "will always take action to aggressively protect its confidential, proprietary and trade secret information." The spokesperson added:

We believe the facts are clearly outlined in our pleadings and are supported by forensic evidence. The pleadings are publicly available. Current and former AMD employees are contractually required to honor the ongoing confidentiality and non-solicitation obligations each agreed to while employed with us. As this case is now in litigation, we have no further comment at this time.

The lawsuit is here as follows:

The temporary restraining order can be read here:

This story posted originally as "AMD alleges former managers copied 100,000 confidential files before joining Nvidia" on ZDNet.

Read More..

NRA Ad Calls Obama 'Elitist Hypocrite'

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo

As the White House prepares to unveil a sweeping plan aimed at curbing gun violence, the National Rifle Association has launched a preemptive, personal attack on President Obama, calling him an “elitist hypocrite” who, the group claims, is putting American children at risk.

In 35-second video posted online Tuesday night, the NRA criticizes Obama for accepting armed Secret Service protection for his daughters, Sasha and Malia, at their private Washington, D.C., school while questioning the placement of similar security at other schools.

“Are the president’s kids more important than yours? Then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools, when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school?” the narrator says.

“Mr. Obama demands the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, but he’s just another elitist hypocrite when it comes to a fair share of security,” it continues. “Protection for their kids and gun-free zones for ours.”

The immediate family members of U.S. presidents – generally considered potential targets – have long received Secret Service protection.

The ad appeared on a new website for a NRA advocacy campaign – “NRA Stand and Fight” — that the gun-rights group appears poised to launch in response to Obama’s package of gun control proposals that will be announced today.

An NRA spokesman said the video is airing on the Sportsman Channel and on the web for now but may appear in other broadcast markets at a later date.

The White House had no comment on the NRA ad.

In the wake of last month’s mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the Obama administration has met with a cross-section of advocacy groups on all sides of the gun debate to formulate new policy proposals.

The NRA, which met with Vice President Joe Biden last week, has opposed any new legislative gun restrictions, including expanded background checks and limits on the sale of assault-style weapons, instead calling for armed guards at all American schools.

Obama publicly questioned that approach in an interview with “Meet the Press” earlier this month, saying, “I am skeptical that the only answer is putting more guns in schools. And I think the vast majority of the American people are skeptical that that somehow is going to solve our problem.”

Still, the White House has been considering a call for increased funding for police officers at public schools and the proposal could be part of a broader Obama gun policy package.

Fifty-five percent of Americans in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say they support adding armed guards at schools across the country.

“The issue is, are there some sensible steps that we can take to make sure that somebody like the individual in Newtown can’t walk into a school and gun down a bunch of children in a shockingly rapid fashion.  And surely, we can do something about that,” Obama said at a news conference on Monday.

“Responsible gun owners, people who have a gun for protection, for hunting, for sportsmanship, they don’t have anything to worry about,” he said.

ABC News’ Arlette Saenz, Mary Bruce and Jay Shaylor contributed reporting. 

This post was updated at 9:32 am on Jan. 16 to reflect include comment from an NRA spokesman.

Read More..

Nations are taking action on climate change

It may be climate change's best-kept secret. While global talks founder, national governments are passing legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions – a Plan B for fighting climate change that was hatched at 2010 climate talks in Cancun.

This optimistic message is at the centre of a new London School of Economics analysis, published by GLOBE International, a group of environment-minded parliamentarians. Of 33 major economies, 32 have now passed legislation to either combat climate change or improve energy efficiency, the analysis suggests, with industrialising countries like China, Mexico and South Korea at the forefront.

These national measures are not enough, of course – the World Bank recently concluded that the world is still heading for 4 degrees of warming by 2100 – but national measures may help enable a global emissions-cutting deal in time for the 2015 UN target date.

"Only if national regulatory frameworks are in place will it be possible to reach an agreement in 2015," says GLOBE secretary Adam Matthews. There is no Plan C.

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

Read More..

Football: LionsXII fall to PKNS

SINGAPORE - After two confidence-boosting wins from their first two Malaysian Super League matches, V. Sundramoorthy's high-flying LionsXII side were brought down to earth on Tuesday night at the Shah Alam Stadium when they fell to their first defeat.

Ironically, PKNS Selangor, the team that defeated them on Tuesday, had entered the match in contrasting fashion - with two losses out of two matches.

But that did not stop PKNS Selangor from stunning the LionsXII and maintaining their 100 per cent home record against the Singapore side.

Last season, PKNS did the double over Sundram's men, beating them in Kuala Lumpur in the MSL as well as in the group stage of the Malaysia Cup.

Tuesday's match seemed headed for a 0-0 draw despite the LionsXII coming close through Fazrul Nawaz, Irwan Shah and Gabriel Quak in the first half which they had also dominated.

Fazrul sent his shot centimetres wide of the post after latching onto a pass by skipper Shahril Ishak. Irwan then missed another scoring opportunity during a goalmouth scramble minutes later, while Quak let himself down by shooting wide with only the keeper to beat after dribbling his way past several PKNS defenders.

In the second half, the two sides switched roles as PKNS attacked more, and had the LionsXII on the backfoot.

In the end, it was Nazrin Syamsul who made the difference when he blasted home the only goal of the game for PKNS.

The LionsXII's misery was further compounded when striker Fazrul was sent off in the dying minutes of the game for a nasty tackle.

The LionsXII's next match is on Saturday against Terengganu at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

- TODAY

Read More..

Apple's shares fall to $488 as investors fail to shake worry

Things aren't going like this at the moment.

(Credit:
CBS)

Apple investors can't seem to shake their concern over the company's future.

Apple's share price today slipped below the $500 mark to a low of $488.27. Since then, Apple's shares have been rebounding a bit and are now down 2 percent to $491.65.

On Sunday, The Wall Street Journal cited sources who said that Apple had cut component orders for its
iPhone 5 due to slumping demand for the handset. That bad news pushed Apple's shares lower yesterday as investors became concerned with the company's ability to compete as effectively in the mobile market.

Earlier today, however, several analysts tried to calm fears, saying that while Apple's component orders are down, iPhone 5 demand has stayed strong. The declining orders are believed to be the byproduct of improved yields, meaning production is becoming more efficient and actually improving Apple's iPhone margins.

Apple's stock has been hit with a downward trend over the last several months. In the last three months, Apple's shares are down 22 percent. The company's stock is also far off its 52-week high of $705.07. Apple's 52-week low is $419.55 -- not too distant from its current price.

The bearish view investors have taken on Apple's stock stands in stark contrast to analyst estimates. According to data from Marketwatch, which tallies the research from 54 analysts, Apple has an average target share price over the next 12 months of $735.

Earlier today, Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu reasserted his belief that Apple is a "buy," adding that he believes the company's shares could jump to $840 in the next 12 months. Baird analyst William Power said he believes Apple's shares could rise to $750.

Read More..

"Fantastic" New Flying Frog Found—Has Flappy Forearms

Scientists have stumbled across a new species of flying frog—on the ground.

While hiking a lowland forest in 2009, not far from Ho Chi Minh City (map), Vietnam, "we came across a huge green frog, sitting on a log," said Jodi Rowley, an amphibian biologist at the Australian Museum in Sydney and lead author of a new study on the frog.

Rowley later discovered that the 3.5-inch-long (9-centimeter-long) creature is a relatively large new type of flying frog, a group known for its ability to "parachute" from tree to tree thanks to special aerodynamic adaptations, such as webbed feet, Rowley said. (Also see "'Vampire Flying Frog' Found; Tadpoles Have Black Fangs.")

Rowley dubbed the new species Helen's flying frog, in honor of her mother, Helen Rowley, "who has steadfastly supported her only child trekking through the forests of Southeast Asia in search of frogs," according to a statement.

The newfound species—there are 80 types of flying frogs—is also "one of the most flying frogs of the flying frogs," Rowley said, "in that it's got huge hands and feet that are webbed all the way to the toepad."

"Females even have flappy skin on their forearms to glide," added Rowley, who has received funding from the National Geographic Committee on Research and Exploration. (National Geographic News is part of the National Geographic Society.) "The females are larger and heavier than males, so the little extra flaps probably don't make much of a difference," she said.

As Rowley wrote on her blog, "At first it may seem strange that such a fantastic and obvious frog could escape discovery until now—less than 100 kilometers [60 miles] from an urban centre with over nine million people."

Yet these tree dwellers can easily escape notice—they spend most of their time in the canopy, she said.

Flying Frog On the Edge

Even so, Helen's flying frog won't be able to hide from development near Ho Chi Minh City, which may encroach on its existing habitats.

So far, only five individuals have been found in two patches of lowland forest hemmed in by rice paddies in southern Vietnam, Rowley said. The animals can probably tolerate a little bit of disturbance as long as they have large trees and temporary pools, she added.

But lowland forests are among the most threatened habitats in the world, mostly because they're so accessible to people, and thus chosen for logging and development. (Get the facts on deforestation.)

"While Helen's flying frog has only just been discovered by biologists," Rowley wrote, "unfortunately this species, like many others, is under great threat from ongoing habitat loss and degradation."

The new flying frog study was published in December 2012 in the Journal of Herpetology.

Read More..

Oprah Describes Intense Armstrong Interview

Oprah Winfrey said today that disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong came well prepared for their highly anticipated interview, although he "did not come clean in the manner [she] expected."

Winfrey, who discussed the interview on "CBS This Morning" today, said, "We were mesmerized and riveted by some of his answers. I feel that he answered the questions in a way that he was ready. … He certainly had prepared himself for this moment. … He brought it. He really did."

Armstrong had apologized to staffers at the Livestrong Foundation before the Monday interview with Winfrey at a hotel in Austin, Texas, and reportedly admitted to them that he used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his storied career.

Armstrong also confessed to Winfrey to using the drugs, sources have told ABC News. Winfrey said this morning that the entire interview, for which she had prepared 112 questions, was difficult.

"I would say there were a couple of times where he was emotional," she said. "But that doesn't describe the intensity at times."

As for the cyclist's sense of remorse, Winfrey said that will be for viewers to decide.
"I would rather people make their own decisions about whether he was contrite or not," she said.

The interview will air on the OWN network for two nights, starting at 9 p.m. ET Thursday and continuing Friday.

Meanwhile, the federal government is likely to join a whistle-blower lawsuit against Armstrong, originally filed by his former cycling teammate Floyd Landis, sources told ABC News.

The government is seeking to recoup millions of dollars from Armstrong after years of his denying that he used performance-enhancing drugs, the sources said. The U.S. Postal Service, which is an independent agency of the federal government, was a longtime sponsor of Armstrong's racing career.

Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images

Lance Armstrong Doping Confession: Why Now? Watch Video

Cyclist Lance Armstrong Apologizes to Livestrong Staff for Doping Scandal Watch Video

Lance Armstrong Stripped of Tour de France Titles Watch Video

The deadline for the government's potentially joining in the matter was a likely motivation for Armstrong's interview with Winfrey, sources told ABC News.

The lawsuit remains sealed in federal court.

Armstrong is now talking with authorities about possibly paying back some of the Postal Service sponsorship money, a government source told ABC News Monday.

The deadline for the department to join the case is Thursday, the same day Armstrong's much-anticipated interview with Winfrey is set to air.

Armstrong is also talking to authorities about confessing and naming names, giving up others involved in illegal doping. This could result in a reduction of his lifetime ban, according to a source, if Armstrong provides substantial and meaningful information.

As for the Winfrey interview, it was Armstrong's first since officials stripped him of his world cycling titles in response to doping allegations.

Word of Armstrong's admission comes after a Livestrong official said that Armstrong apologized Monday to the foundation's staff ahead of his interview.

The disgraced cyclist gathered with about 100 Livestrong Foundation staffers at their Austin headquarters for a meeting that included social workers who deal directly with patients as part of the group's mission to support cancer victims.

Armstrong's "sincere and heartfelt apology" generated lots of tears, spokeswoman Katherine McLane said, adding that he "took responsibility" for the trouble he has caused the foundation.

McLane declined to say whether Armstrong's comments included an admission of doping, just that the cyclist wanted the staff to hear from him in person rather than rely on second-hand accounts.

Armstrong then took questions from the staff.

Armstrong's story has never changed. In front of cameras, microphones, fans, sponsors, cancer survivors -- even under oath -- Lance Armstrong hasn't just denied ever using performance enhancing drugs, he has done so in an indignant, even threatening way.

Armstrong, 41, was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from the sport for life by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in October 2012, after allegations that he benefited from years of systematic doping, using banned substances and receiving illicit blood transfusions.

"Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling and he deserves to be forgotten in cycling," Pat McQuaid, the president of the International Cycling Union, said at a news conference in Switzerland announcing the decision. "This is a landmark day for cycling."

Read More..

The hologenome: A new view of evolution

* Required fields

* First name

* Last name

* Country

* Email address

* Password
Password must contain only letters and numbers, and be at least 8 characters

* Confirm password

Read More..

Temporary sheltered linkways to be provided at Marina Bay

SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be providing temporary sheltered pedestrian linkways along the roads between Marina Bay Financial Centre and Marina Bay Station.

Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said this in response to Mr Gan Thiam Poh's parliamentary question on whether the transport ministry will provide a sheltered or underground pedestrian walkway.

Mr Lui addded that the Urban Redevelopment Authority plans to build an extensive underground pedestrian network (UPN).

This is to link the developments in Marina Bay to the nearby MRT stations, including Marina Bay Station.

- CNA/xq

Read More..

Audiobooks.com cancels all-you-can-hear plan

Audiobooks.com has lowered its subscription price, but now you can listen to only one or two books per month.

The new plans offer two different options. You can pay $14.95 per month to listen to one audiobook or $22.95 each month to hear up to two books. Previously, the site charged people $24.95 per month but gave them the ability to listen to an unlimited number of audiobooks for that fee.

Why the change? A spokesman for Audiobooks.com sent CNET the following statement:

The switch from "all you can listen" to the new model wasn't an easy decision, but after researching audiobooks listener behaviors, it became clear that being able to offer one or two book options at a fraction of the cost would benefit both users of the service and make it more appealing to casual readers who may only have time for a book per month.

You can still choose from among more than 25,000 different titles and listen to them on your computer, smartphone, or
tablet. The site offers dedicated iOS and Android apps. Through sync technology, you can listen to a book on one device and pick up where you left off on another.

To lure in new customers, Audiobooks.com has already kicked off a seven-day trial, which allows people to stream or download any one book for free.

How do Audiobook.com's plans now compare with those of competing services?

Audible.com offers the same prices. With a Gold membership plan, the site starts you off with one book for just $7.49 per month. After the first three months, you're charged $14.95 each month for one book or $22.95 a month for up to two books.

Simply Audiobooks charges $17.98 to rent a single book at a time and $26.98 to grab two books at a time. More plans are available at higher prices. The books are mailed to you on a disc, and you get a new book as soon as the company receives your current one. A download service is also available, which charges $14.95 a month for one credit (one book in most cases), $24.95 for two, and $31.95 for three.

Read More..