American Airlines sues Google over keywords

Yes, another week, another tech lawsuit – this time it’s American Airlines suing Google for its keyword ad placement. American Airlines alleges that Google sells sponsored links on top and to the right of search pages that, according to American Airlines, dilutes the company’s good name and confuses the public.

American Airlines filed the massive 55-page complaint in the Northern US District Court of Texas and demands a jury trial. If it wins, the airline wants an injunction, treble damages and money to conduct a “corrective advertising campaign”.

In Google’s “AdWords” program, the company sells pay per click ads that are triggered by keywords. These ads are set along the sides and top of the search engine page and are distinctly marked as “Sponsored Links”. So a person searching for Los Angeles airline flights could get American Airlines in the center search window, but also Southwest and other airlines in the right side of the screen. Regular search engine placement is determined by Google and cannot be purchased, however many online companies attempt to boost their rankings by using search engine optimization techniques (SEO).

While Google believes the sponsored section of the search windows is distinct enough for consumers, American Airlines believes differently. According to the complaint, the airline thinks the links allows competitors to grab business from American and that they also violate trademark laws by confusing and diluting the American Airlines name. “They seek a free ride on the reputation and goodwill of another’s brand,” said American Airlines in the complaint.

A quick Google search of American Airlines currently brings up a set of sponsored links (the ones you see on the right side of the search screen) by Cheap Air Tickets and CheapnHotels. American Airlines has purchased the most prominent sponsored link location at the top center of the search window.

Google has faced similar lawsuits in the past, most notably from the GEICO auto insurance group in 2004. In that case, a federal judge ruled that the search engine company could continue selling Sponsored Links triggered by search terms.

Canon introduces EOS 40D digital SLR

With 6.5 FPS continuous shooting, a new auto focus feature and a 10.1 MP sensor, Canon's latest DSLR camera is ready to hit the market.

Canon's EOS 40D, the successor to the EOS 30D, takes significant advances over the previous model with new technology that Canon introduced earlier this year. For example, the 40D incorporates Canon's DIGIC III processor, which allows for nearly instantaneous camera boot-up and advanced color rendering.

Additionally, the 40D maintains image quality of up to ISO 1600 and a burst rate of 6.5 frames per second. According to Canon, the camera can handle up to 75 large JPEGs without pause.

The camera also uses a new auto focus system. The new platform has nine AF points, each of which can focus on horizontal and vertical planes. There's also a new button that enables auto focus immediately.

The 40D has a three inch LCD screen for image previewing, complete with grid overlays and a real-time histogram to simulate the exposure of the picture.

Canon also today launched the Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E3. Compatible with the 40D, the WFT-E3 lets users transfer pictures wirelessly to rmote FTP servers. Additionally, when connected to a GPS device, the image is tagged with its precise location.

40,000 MP3 files in your pocket

Samsung is getting more aggressive in the hard drive market: The company today announced a new 160 GB drive in a 1.8" form factor – which is often used in compact notebooks and some portable audio and video players such as the video iPod.

According to the manufacturer, the 4200 rpm Spinpoint N2 drive is targeting mainly consumer applications such as portable media players and hard drive-based camcorders (which typically top out at 60 GB today). The 2-disk, 160 GB drive has enough room to carry about 40,000 MP3 files or about 100 HD movies.

Samsung did not say when the new drives will be available and how much they will cost.

The hard drive industry is on fire these days, answering the apparent competition from flash-based solid state disk (SSD) drives, which are expected to hit capacities of 128 GB this year. Samsung is one of the key drivers in the SSD segment, but is becoming a more visible player in the hard drive market as well.