MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.–Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo may be tough competitors when it comes to Internet software and services, but they are putting their differences aside to build a developer community to tackle bigger picture problems like saving lives in emergencies.

The companies have joined with NASA, the World Bank, and PR agency SecondMuse to organize the first-ever Random Hacks of Kindness event, which was held at a warehouse space-cum community center called Hacker Dojo this weekend. For two days, coders worked on ways to use technology to help solve real-world problems, such as how people can get information and find each other during disasters.

 The event came about after representatives from Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo attended a Crisis Camp conference for emergency and disaster relief groups in Washington, D.C. in May. The technologists decided that they would join forces to create a community of developers to build tools to help emergency workers.

Developers worked on a dozen or so tools that could help disaster and emergency workers in times of crisis. Several tools took advantage of social media sites, like Twitter, and SMS for information sharing. One project envisioned using laptops, routers, mobile devices, USB keys and Wi-Fi to create a mesh network for times when normal networks are down.

Several projects explored the use of maps, including one group that built a widget that allows a user to click on a point in a map to have the coordinates automatically inserted into a message that can then be posted to multiple social networks at once via the HelloTXT service.

The first-place prize went to a group primarily from NASA that worked on a mobile notification app that can be used when regular cellular networks are so bogged down people can’t make phone calls. Using the “I’m OK” app, people can easily notify friends and family members that they are safe via SMS by clicking one button. The “I’m OK” message is then instantly distributed to everyone a user has designated on a pre-set contact list.

Separately, NASA coders have created a GeoCam tool that was used by people fighting California fires earlier this year to place photos of burn areas that were taken by GPS-enabled cell phones on maps so workers can see what damage is like in specific locations.

In addition to training AMES Research Center employees to be first responders in disasters, NASA wants to offer developers use of the satellite and other earth science data collected by its space crafts, which comes to about four terabytes per day, said Robert Schingler, a project manager in the office of center director at NASA Ames research center at nearby Moffett Field. NASA also has tools to analyze the data, which provide information about things like sea surface temperatures, ice sheet activity, and aerosols in the upper atmosphere, he said.

“We’ve got 40 years of data,” Schingler said. But, NASA needs a good application programming interface (API) so developers can make better use of it, he said. Meanwhile, the tools developed at Random Hacks of Kindness events could be used by workers at the World Bank and other agencies.

“It’s a perfect opportunity to mobilize the technology community to work on issues such as sustainable development and disaster relief,” said Emma Phillips, a consultant in disaster risk management and sustainable development at the World Bank. “This is a first step in building community, and bringing together the public and private sectors for a common goal.”

The next Random Hacks of Kindness event will be early next year in Washington, D.C.

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A Texas judge’s order that Microsoft pay more than $240 million in damages to an obscure Canadian firm and stop selling its popular Word program within 60 days appears to have triggered more patent suits against the software maker in the plaintiff-friendly Lone Star State, InformationWeek has learned.

Allvoice Developments US, a provider of speech recognition systems, and mobile software developer EMG Technology both filed suits against Microsoft in recent days in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas, where judge Leonard Davis a week ago ruled in favor of Toronto-based i4i in its action against Microsoft.

Allvoice claims that speech recognition support built into Windows XP and Windows Vista violates its patent on the technology. Allvoice also alleges that Microsoft discussed using its technology in Windows but later rejected it. Allvoice is seeking unspecified damages against Microsoft.

EMG, meanwhile, contends that Microsoft’s Windows CE, PocketPC, and Windows Mobile products infringe its patent for viewing Web content on a mobile device. EMG also lists investment broker Scottrade and Southwest Airlines in its complaint.

EMG is seeking unspecified damages.

While the actions might ordinarily be dismissed as nuisance suits brought by patent trolls (EMG, which has a barely functioning Web site, previously filed a case against Apple), Judge Davis’ stunning order last week in favor of i4i shows anything’s possible in the Eastern Texas federal court jurisdiction.

A 2006 New York Times article labeled the Eastern District’s Marshall, Texas base “the patent lawsuit capital of the nation, where plaintiffs are more likely to get a favorable judgment.” Some of the Court’s rulings have raised concerns about software patents and sparked calls for reform.

Davis last week took the unprecedented step of ordering Microsoft to stop selling Word 2003 and Word 2007 in the U.S. within 60 days. The decision shows just how far Eastern Texas jurists are willing to go—not only at the expense of corporations but also at that of consumers—to protect what they see as patent plaintiff’s rights.

Microsoft said it plans to appeal Davis’ ruling. On Friday, the company filed an emergency motion that would forestall its having to post a bond against the millions in dollars in damages Davis levied against it—including $40 million the judge imposed for what he said was Microsoft attorneys’ trial misconduct.

Source: InformationWeek

SEATTLE — A federal district court judge has ordered Microsoft (MSFT) to stop selling Word in the U.S. — and the tiny company behind the lawsuit is digging in for a David vs. Goliath showdown.

Toronto-based i4i, which has 30 employees, claims that Microsoft violated an obscure patent related to Extensible Markup Language or XML. It’s a key software component of many websites and computer programs, including Word.

Judge Leonard Davis agreed Tuesday, ordering Microsoft to pay $290 million in fines and stop selling Word in the U.S. in 60 days. That could derail a core business for the world’s largest software maker.

As part of Microsoft Office, Word is used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Office accounted for more than $3 billion in sales in the company’s last fiscal year.

“It’s not a question of fear or pride or anything else,” Loudon Owen, i4i chairman says. “We’re very respectful of Microsoft, but when you’re in the right you have to persevere.”
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Microsoft plans to appeal. “We are disappointed by the court’s ruling,” said Microsoft spokesman Kevin Kutz in a statement. “We believe the evidence clearly demonstrated that we do not infringe and that the i4i patent is invalid.”

I4i, which mainly makes software for drug and defense companies, obtained the patent for a “customized XML” tool in 1998. XML is a specialized alphabet that can capture any kind of computer file as a regular text.

Microsoft started using XML as an alternative way to save Word files in Word 2003 and made it the default format for all Office files in Office 2007.

This made it easier for Microsoft and its partners to create programs such as accounting software that generates reports in Word formats, says Rob Helm, analyst at research firm Directions on Microsoft.

I4i sued Microsoft in 2007, claiming that Word uses the patented process. Now, “Microsoft is behind the eight ball and has 60 days to see if it can get the federal appeals court to stay the injunction,” says Henry Sneath, a Pittsburgh intellectual property lawyer.

No one expects Microsoft to actually pull Word off the market. It’s a big company with deep pockets that has faced many legal challenges over the years. It could win the appeal, settle with i4i, or even buy out the company.

Source: USA Today