Google is offering $10 million as prize money in a competition aimed at transforming the world's best ideas into useful products. As part of the company's 10th anniversary celebrations, Project 10 to the 100th asks people to submit ideas in seven categories to the project, says The Economic Times.
"Never in history have so many people had so much information, so many tools at their disposal, so many ways of making good ideas come to life," Google said an announcement Thursday. "Yet at the same time, so many people, of all walks of life, could use so much help, in both little ways and big."
The competition is open to anyone. The seven categories include sustainable energy use, environment, health, education, shelter, encouraging communities, and building opportunities to help people better provide for themselves and their families.
New trial for music pirate
A federal judge in Minnesota yesterday ordered a new trial in a copyright infringement case involving a woman who last fall was told by a jury to pay $222 000 to various record companies for illegally copying and distributing 24 songs, reports Computerworld.
In doing so, US District Judge Michael Davis also rejected a key argument used by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the Minnesota case and numerous others - namely, that the mere act of making music available for download in a shared computer folder constitutes illegal distribution.
Davis' ruling is being seen as a setback for the RIAA's controversial campaign against music piracy, especially since he is now the third federal judge to have flatly rejected the trade group's "making available" argument.
Spore creators hit with lawsuit
The freshly-launched Spore computer game that lets people play God has been hit with a lawsuit accusing its creators of slipping devilish anti-piracy software onto players' machines, according to ABC News.
The lawsuit filed this week in a federal court, in Northern California, contends that players were not warned about tenacious digital rights management software that stays in computers even if game programs are removed.
Spore maker Electronic Arts told buyers that there are anti-piracy safeguards, but did not advise people the SecuROM program it used "is essentially a virus that installs itself without warning", the lawsuit alleges.
FCC looks to ease wireless spectrum bids
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday proposed halving the minimum opening bid on a piece of valuable wireless spectrum, but several commissioners expressed doubt that the plan would work, after an earlier auction failed to attract industry interest, Reuters says.
The five-member FCC approved a draft proposal, subject to public comment, devised by agency chairman Kevin Martin, cutting to $750 million a prior $1.3 billion minimum bid and easing other requirements.
The aim is to lure commercial interest in the airwaves, which come with a requirement to partner with public safety agencies during emergencies. The airwaves are being vacated as television broadcasters move to digital signals early next year.
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