Software

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich at CES 2014

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This Monday, Intel announced the acquisition of Ascending Technologies, also known simply as AscTec, a German company based in Krailing that produces autopiloted drones. The terms of the agreement not disclosed but in August 2015 Intel invested 60 million dollars in the Chinese aircraft company Yuneec International, which also produces drones. The acquisition of AscTec represents the culmination of a partnership between the two companies that began in 2015.

Ian Murdock in 2008

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Last Monday, December 28, Ian Murdock, best known as the father of the Debian project, passed away. Born on April 28, 1973, in Konstanz, in the then West Germany, he launched the Debian project in the spirit of GNU project in 1993. The name is a combination of that of his then-girlfriend, Debra, and his. Debian is mainly a GNU/Linux distribution and, over time, has become one of the most important with the support of several architectures and a huge bouquet of software.

The About page on the OpenAI website

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At the end of last week the opening of the project OpenAI was announced. It’s a nonprofit company with the purpose of conducting research in artificial intelligence for the benefit of all humanity, without the constraints caused by the need to obtain a financial gain. This isn’t yet another project which soon may fall into oblivion because it’s supported by funding for approximately one billion dollars and involves entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and Tesla Motors.

Ada Lovelace portrait (1840)

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Augusta Ada Byron, this is her birth name, was born on December 10, 1815, the only legitimate child of the poet Byron. Her parents split shortly after her birth and because of the lack of interest for her by her father it was her mother Anne Isabella who took care of her. The woman had received a high level education in various subjects and, in fear that her daughter would follow in her father’s footsteps, encouraged her to study mathematics.

Image from patent number 6,202,150 showing how it works (Source USPTO)

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CryptoPeak Solutions, a virtually unheard Texas business, launched nearly 70 lawsuits against companies such as AT&T, Yahoo, Netflix, GoPro, Sony, Pinterest and Groupon claiming ownership of a patent on secure web connections, for instance the one that have a URL starting with https instead of http. This is the latest sensational case of a patent troll, meaning a company that exists for the sole purpose of obtaining money by using software patents.