End of Dual-Sim Mobile Phones?

More than two weeks after a petition was filed by Madurai resident Somasundaram Ramkumar, the Madras High Court has directed mobile manufacturers to restrain from manufacturing and selling dual sim phones in India.

Apparently, Ramkumar claims to hold Indian patent (No.214388) for plurality of SIM cards in a single mobile handset (in simpler terms, dual SIM phones) and claims the rights over the technology used to manufacture such phones.

The High Court has sought the implementation of the Intellectual Property Rights (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules 2007 Act. This Act enables customs officials to seize imported goods that infringe patents.

The directive by the High Court has hit the sales of devices from manufacturers like Samsung, LG, MIRC Electronics and Spice Mobile who have quite a few number of dual SIM models on sale.

ForMoreInfo: http://www.techtree.com/India/News/End_of_Dual-Sim_Mobile_Phones/551-100499-547.html

Easy Water Days Are Over

Gerhard Payen is an adviser on water to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and President of The International Federation of Private Water Operators - association that connects international organizations with private sector providers of water and sanitation services. He says the U.N. report is an important wake up call to the world.

"The reality today is that water scarcity is increasing in many parts of the world because of increasing usage and also partly due to climate change," Payen explained. "This is a reality. So easy water [i.e., easily accessible drinking water] is over. So in the future, we will have to manage water more carefully. There are potential conflicts. So if the governments don't care that conflicts will emerge, this is at local regional and international level. This is a collective responsibility; all of us have a role to play. We have to realize we are so numerous on this planet. Easy water is over."

Cardinal's NCAA Hopes Die In L.A.

The Cardinal probably will be notified sometime Sunday which team it will play in the postseason, but Stanford's 85-73 loss to No. 13 Washington in the Pac-10 tournament quarterfinals Thursday guaranteed that the Cardinal will not be playing in the March event that matters most - the NCAA Tournament.

In all likelihood, the Cardinal (18-13) will play in a postseason tournament for the 16th straight season, but for only the second time in 15 years, it won't be the main event.

"The NCAA is every team's goal," Stanford junior Landry Fields said, "but I know our team would love to keep playing. It hurts not to play in the Big Dance, but the next best thing is to play in something else."

Something else for the Cardinal might be the National Invitation Tournament, which announces its field Sunday after the NCAA Tournament names its 65 teams.

The Cardinal had given up on earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament weeks ago, but the hope of getting an automatic berth by winning the Pac-10 tournament got a boost when Stanford won three of four games heading into the matchup with regular-season champion Washington (25-7).

Thanks to the efforts of Fields, who filled every column of the stat sheet, and Anthony Goods, who had his second consecutive big offensive game, the Cardinal gave the Huskies a run.

The Cardinal tied the game 43-43 with 17:19 left on a basket by Goods, who had a season-high 26 points one day after scoring 23 in the win over Oregon State.

However, Stanford scored only one point over the next three minutes, while the Huskies stepped up the pace and scored seven straight points, systematically taking the Cardinal out of the game.

The Cardinal could not keep up with Washington's speed and never got closer than five points the rest of the way while losing to the Huskies for the third time this season.

"I thought early in the game when it was going up and down that it would be in our favor, and maybe it was," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said.

Fields had no trouble with the frantic nature of the game, collecting 16 points, a season-high 15 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot. He also had five turnovers to put a significant number in every statistical category.

Washington, which ranks third nationally in rebounding margin, collected 18 points on second-chance opportunities, but the Cardinal countered by getting 20 second-chance points of their own. The bigger problem was the transition baskets that helped the Huskies shoot 60.7 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes.

Jeanette Pohlen Scored High

Jeanette Pohlen scored a career-high 21 points, including two free throws in the final seconds, as No. 2 Stanford held on to defeat Arizona 70-67 and clinch a share of the Pac-10 regular-season championship.

Stanford (25-4, 16-1) has either won outright or shared the Pac-10 regular-season title for nine straight seasons. The Cardinal can win the 2008-09 crown outright Saturday with a victory over No. 18 Arizona State.

Stanford, which got 16 points from Kayla Pedersen, beat Arizona (11-17, 4-13) for the 12th time and won its 28th consecutive game at Maples Pavilion.

Arizona sophomore forward Ify Ibekwe, the Wildcats' leading scorer and rebounder, returned to action after missing two games with a knee injury and finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.