CommonwealthScientificAndIndustrialResearchOrganization
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Australia Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder goes live as the world's quickest radio telescope
Australia's Shire of Murchison is quickly becoming a hotbed for radio telescopes. As of of Friday, the territory is operating the world's fastest radio telescope in the form of the Australia Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). The 36-antenna grid's eventual use of six phased array feeds, each with 188 receivers, will let it scan a field of view 150 times larger than the moon's visible area while processing that information much faster than a typical single-pixel radio telescope feed -- CSIRO estimates that an image of the Centaurus A galaxy that would take 10,000 hours to process with rivals should take five minutes with ASKAP. Ultimately, the array should grow to 60 antennas as part of the Square Kilometer Array, which includes South Africa in its hunt for pulsars, quasars and other unique parts of the universe. Just don't get your hopes up for booking alien listening sessions anytime soon. Commissioning started virtually as soon as the ribbon was cut, and scientists have already scheduled their usage slots for the next five years. We're sure we'll get over any frustration when we see the first ASKAP results published within the next year.
CSIRO snatches $220m windfall in WiFi patent dispute with AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon
Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization keeps bowling 'em over -- in the courtroom, anyway -- with its hardy WiFi patent. The government-funded research group has chalked up another $220 million win after AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Acer, Lenovo and Sony each agreed to establish licenses with the litigious group. CSIRO now holds agreements with 23 companies and has pocketed more than $430 million from its courtroom activities. Australian Senator Chris Evans estimates that 90 percent of the industry is now paying licensing fees for the technology, but with the patent set to expire next year, we'd be mighty paranoid to be among that final ten percent. You'll find the full PR, chock-full of Aussie pride, after the break.
CSIRO's patent fight targets more victims: AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile
Is anyone safe from the wrath of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization? It's looking unlikely, with the company expanding its patent lawsuit furor to cover three more major players: AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile. These three are the latest cherry-picked to be on the receiving end of CSIRO's mighty 802.11a/g patent hammer. Companies like Dell, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony all chose to settle rather than challenge this patent bully, giving it the encouragement (and cash) to bring the fight to these three new players, apparently named simply because they sold WiFi devices. Sadly, there are more to come according to Executive Director Nigel Poole: I'm not going to be exposing what the legal strategy is to a journalist. There's a legal strategy here that has been thought through very carefully and to a lay person it looks like a pincer movement. You've got court action against upstream chip makers and you've got court action against downstream carriers. Ever pass on an old WiFi-equipped gadget on eBay or gave it to a friend in exchange for a case of beer? Lord Humongous is coming for you next. [Thanks, Chris]
