The Australian Commonwealth Scientific & Research Organisation (CSIRO) has cashed its first royalties cheque relating to its patent of the 802.11 wireless network standard.

These royalties come from the patent granted to the organisation in 1996 that it has consistently argued is essential for creating wireless networks in over 800 million devices currently on the market.

The CSIRO has been subject to several court battles over the past few years in defense of its patent, going head-to-head with the world's largest computer manufacturers including Microsoft, Dell, HP, Toshiba, Intel, Nintendo, D-Link, Asus, Belkin, 3com, SMC, Accton and Buffalo Technology.

Nigel Poole, the CSIRO's executive director said, "CSIRO set out to encourage the industry to take licenses for the use of its patented technology. When that did not prove successful, we initiated legal proceedings which then led to proceedings being initiated against CSIRO".

As a result, the organisation reached a confidential settlement earlier this year with two of the industry's largest players, being Fujitsu and HP, together with 12 other companies. The first royalties from these settlements, $AU200 million, was pocketed by the company yesterday, and analysts predict this figure will grow year-on-year as more settlements and licensing arrangements are made.

Yesterday the commercial and scientific teams responsible for the creation of the 802.11 wireless technology were awarded the Chairman's Medal for Research Achievement - the organisation's highest honour.

If you live in one lucky town in the Netherlands you have a chance to get a free copy of Windows 7. Microsoft will be giving out 777 copies of Windows 7 to the town of Zevenhuizen, which translates to "Seven Houses".

The lucky residents will be getting a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. There are a few restrictions however; the user must be in possession of a PC with Windows as the primary OS, Mac users will not be able to obtain a free copy, and Linux users are out of luck too.

Residents can go to "zevenhuizengaatover.nl. The site explains that there are four options to choose from for getting Windows 7: pick up a copy, bring the computer over to have it installed, have Microsoft come pick up the PC and bring it back with everything installed within 48 hours, or have Microsoft install it for them at home."

As Microsoft continues towards the Windows 7 launch date, they are looking to promote the new OS in any possible way. Keep your eyes peeled as you may be able to win yourself a free copy from Microsoft too!

Microsoft's expansion into the retail arena may be a more difficult endevour than Apple faced when it opened its own retails stores back in 2001, according to Nick Wingfield of The Wall Street Journal.

This isn't due to lack of products or store locations, but the potential for Microsoft's stores to hinder relationships with its existing hardware and retail partners.

Wingfield told the Journal, "While Apple had fewer potential business conflicts because it had such weak support from retailers when it opened its first store in 2001, Microsoft depends on existing partners in the retail business that could be threatened by the company's expansion into their turf."

Steven Baker, an analyst with NPD Group, believes that Microsoft has nothing to be concerned about. "Everybody is in everybody's space" he told the Journal. However, Microsoft appear to be playing it safe, preparing hardware and retail partners by being vocal in the media on their plans to enter the retail arena.

It's clear that Microsoft's aim in opening retail stores is to make a large dent in Apple's growing market share, even going so far as to hire ex-Apple Store staff and former Apple retail executive, George Blankenship, to take Apple head-on.

Apple is preparing for the onslaught, having started renovations on a number of existing Apple stores, and commissioning an advertising campaign that aims to mock the upgrade process from Windows XP to Windows 7, Microsoft's latest and soon to be released operating system.

Microsoft plans to open its first retail store in Scottsdale, Arizona around the launch date of Windows 7 on October 22, 2009.

Google is preparing the shake-up the online book world, having announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair that it plans to infiltrate online book stores in the first half of 2010.

The new service will be known as Google Editions and aims to provide a large range of e-books to anybody that has access to a web browser.

To bring this venture to life, Google has partnered with a number of publishers to offer an initial range of around half a million books that can be purchased directly through Google or from a number of online bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Any profits made from Google Editions sales will be split between Google and the partnering publishers and online bookstores. Reports indicate that buying a book directly through Google will net the company 37% of the sale, with the publisher receiving the remaining 63%. If you buy a book through an online bookstore partner, Google will pocket next to nothing, with the publisher taking 45% of the sale and the retailer taking above 50%.

This seems a rather generous move from the online giant, and indicates that it has learned some valuable lessons on how to treat publishers from the Congressional hearings into its Google Books projects.

Google has indicated that it will make its e-books compatible with most devices, including PCs, iPhones, smartphones and netbooks. It is not planning to release a dedicated e-book reading device for the service at this time.

In a move to curb the alarmingly high rate of youth depression and suicide, social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter could be scanned for signs of "at risk" behaviour.

Researchers at New Zealand's Victoria University claim to have devised a program that is capable of scanning posts within social networking sites to identify keywords that could indicate that a poster is at risk of depression, self-harm, suicide or even harming others.

"Our technology picks up words and phrases such as 'depressed', or 'I don't want to live anymore' or 'I want to kill somebody'", Dr Tiong-Thye Goh said. To filter out those users who are using such terms in a jokingly sense or being overly dramatic, the program can rank phrases and keywords according to their frequency of use. Dr Goh said, "...if certain keywords are used a lot it is likely that the particular person may be emotionally depressed".

Dr Goh believes that social networking sites have, in recent years, become a significant avenue in which young people openly express their feelings and concerns with others. Therefore, a program with this technology is highly valuable.

In time, the project will be expanded to implement technology that allows a poster deemed to be at risk to be contacted. Dr Goh gave one possible example as a short message that asks, "How are you?" with three different response options being, "Good", "A bit down", or "Bad - need help". The option of needing help could link to a website with resources and contact numbers to assist the poster.

The program is still being developed.