Engineers’ Must-Reads This Week
(August 09 - 15, 2011)

Google to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5B
(EE Times, 08/15/2011, Dylan McGrath)
SAN FRANCISCO—In its boldest and most ambitious step yet into the mobile handset space, Web search giant Google Inc. said Monday (Aug. 15) it signed a definitive agreement to acquire handset vendor Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. for about $12.5 billion.

Firefox 8 to tell aggressive add-ons to back off
(cNet.com, 08/12/2011, Seth Rosenblatt)
Mozilla is taking steps to protect users from programs that install add-ons in Firefox without user permission, citing numerous reasons including security concerns and the desire to make sure that the person using Firefox has ultimate control of the add-ons installed.

Engineering students want more work experience opportunities
(IET, 08/11/2011, Keri Allan)
A new survey has uncovered that engineering students believe employers do not offer enough work placement opportunities.

Student develops 'invisibility cloak' that slows light
(IET, 08/10/2011, Sofia Mitra-Thakur)
A student has made a breakthrough in developing an invisibility cloak by designing an optical device that can slow down light.

Your smartphone: a new frontier for hackers
(Philippine Daily Inquirer, 08/09/2011, Jordan Robertson/AP) 
LAS VEGAS—Hackers are out to stymie your smartphone.

(Published 16 August 2011, Smart Communications, Inc.)