In today’s Bulldog wrapup of technology and life science news:

  • IBM unveils a new channel team in a bid to boost sales
  •  Mark Zuckerberg is in a court fight with a real estate developer
  •  GSK buys a vaccine maker
  • Driverless vehicle trials start in London
  • A judge backs NSA surveillance

The details:

  • IBM Unveils its Streamlined Channel Team

In a bid to spark sales, IBM (NYSE: IBM) unveiled a simplified channel sales team at its annual partners conference on Tuesday in Las Vegas. 

“The need for transformation by partners, to deliver comprehensive data and cloud solutions to partners, has never been greater. And that’s why we have created the One Channel Team, which is designed to help partners build skills, drive new demand in the marketplace and increase profitability,” said Marc Dupaquier, general manager, IBM Global Business Partners.

CRN reports that the ‘revamped group” is better aligned to “core IBM business units, including SoftLayer, Watson, security, mobile, systems, services and analytics.”

Read more at: http://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/300075712/ibm-streamlines-executives-into-one-channel-team.htm

  • The Zuckerberg Face-Off

Facebook billionaire CEO Mark Zuckerberg is in a court fight with a real estate developer about property that adjoins his estate in Palo Alto. 

“This is no back-fence squabble over who trims the tree. The story laid out in court documents shows how Silicon Valley’s power elite fends off those seeking to force their way into the club and share the wealth,” reports Bloomberg.

 

Read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-09/zuckerberg-bedroom-privacy-hinges-on-claim-of-broken-promise

  • GSK Pays $190M for Vaccine Developer

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) is buying the rest of vaccine maker GlycoVaxyn that it didn’t already own for $190 million.

GSK invested in the Swiss company in 2012. The firm launched in 2004. 

 

Read more at: http://www.pharmatimes.com/Article/15-02-11/GSK_acquires_Switzerland_s_GlycoVaxyn.aspx

  • Britain Starts Public Trial of Driverless Cars 

Britain has begun testing driverless cars in four cities, launching the first official trials ahead of a series of planned rule reviews to accommodate the new technology.

Transport Minister Claire Perry says the project was “still in the early days” but said the new technology can be “a real game-changer.”

Britain has ambitions to lead development in driverless cars, which are also being tested in U.S. cities by companies including Google. The British government is spending 19 million pounds (US$29 million) on four trial centers around the country.

Four types of autonomous vehicles under trial, including a shuttle that looks like a larger golf cart, were unveiled in London Wednesday.

The government plans to publish guidelines for companies to test the cars in “real-life scenarios” on roads by summer.

  • Judge Sides with US Government in Lawsuit over Surveillance 

A federal judge has sided with the government in a lawsuit over the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of Internet and telephone records in the hunt for potential terrorists.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in Oakland ruled on Tuesday that the plaintiffs in the case – AT&T customers – had not shown the data-collection process works as they allege, and they therefore did not have standing to file a lawsuit under the Fourth Amendment, which protects against warrantless searches and seizures.

White, additionally, said the claim would have to be dismissed to protect state secrets.

Nate Cardozo, a staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which brought the lawsuit, said the judge did not dismiss all of the claims. The foundation plans to continue fighting the case in court.