The assembly-line process made famous by the Ford Motor Company that ushered in an era of mass production that enabled consumers across the globe to have the same products at the same time is about to change.

Assembly-line jobs used to be the backbone of the working class. But now robots are entering the picture more and more and Canon claims that it will have its digital-camera assembly line in Japan completely automated as soon as 2015, according to The Toronto Star. As it is now, jobs have been moving out of the country to China, India, and elsewhere in Asia due to the high price of labor expenditures.

Employees of Canon needn't be alarmed. “When machines become more sophisticated, human beings can be transferred to do new kinds of work,” said Jun Misumi, a spokesman for the company, commented to the Star.[more]

Canon won’t be the only Japanese company moving in this direction. “Toyota Motor Corp. is also working on beefing up automated production not only to cut costs but achieve better quality,” the newspaper reports. The car manufacturer has shown recently that welding is far more quick and precise when automated than when a human pulls down the welding mask and picks up a blowtorch.

This more practical use of robotics is a change for Japan, according to Akihito Sano, professor at Nagoya Institute of Technology. The professor claims that Japan “has tended to focus on research and come up with razzle-dazzle humanoids and then get been beaten in simple but practical products like the Roomba vacuum cleaner by iRobot Corp. of the United States.”

Sano also told the site that there is no need to worry about human beings getting totally worked out of the picture just yet: “Human beings are needed to come up with innovations on how to use robots,” said Sano. “Going to a no-man operation at that level is still the world of science fiction.”

[Image via Shutterstock]

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The buck has stopped – or on this case, the pound — as the first criminal charges have been filed in the phone hacking inquiry that has been rocking UK (and global) media circles. Rebekah Brooks, former CEO of Rupert Murdoch's News International, will face criminal charges over the phone hacking scandal.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) charges that Brooks, who was arrested in March and revealed last week she's so close to British Prime Minister David Cameron that they text each other, "conspired with her husband, Charles Brooks, and others to pervert the course of justice," by alleged attempts to conceal or remove evidence relevant to police investigation into the hacking and corruption scandals known as Operation Weeting launched in January 2011 at the News of the World and the Sun tabloids.

It’s a stunning reversal for one of Britain’s most powerful woman, a Murdoch confidante, and additional oversight of all his newspapers in the U.S. as well — not to mention the latest black eye for News Corp.'s corporate reputation.[more]

It was last July, days before the scandal broke, when a London apartment worker found a laptop, phone and documents stuffed into a garbage bag in a trash can outside the Brooks’ flat. Charlie Brooks tried to retrieve the goods from police, saying they accidentally wound up in the trash and had nothing to do with his wife.

In response to today's police charges, the Brooks issued a joint statement saying "We deplore this weak and unjust decision. After the further unprecedented posturing of the CPS we will respond later today after our return from the police station."

Four others have also been indicted:

• Cheryl Carter – Personal assistant
• Mark Hanna - Current head of Security at News International
• Paul Edwards - The Brooks family chauffeur, on the News International payroll
• Daryl Jorsling and a seventh suspect - both of whom provided security for Brooks and were supplied by News International.

Alison Levitt, the chief adviser to the Director of Public Prosecutions said “There is sufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of conviction,” adding that no charges will be brought against the unnamed seventh person who had been under investigation.

Brooks began her career as a secretary at the News of the World and thrived in the highly competitive Murdoch culture, becoming editor at age 31 and three years later, in 2003, also editor of the Sun. She was at the helm when the first hacking into 13 year-old Milly Dowler’s phone began – which ultimately toppled the Murdoch empire.

She became so important to Rupert Murdoch that he practically considered her one of his children, and an heir apparent. When asked during the height of the scandal what his top priority was, he pointed to Brooks and said, "this one."

The former top editor in Murdoch's British tabloid empire was named chief executive of News International in 2009, resigning in July 2011, days before she was first arrested.

The Brooks and the other four alleged conspirators are the first to be charged as a result of the latest Scotland Yard investigation into phone hacking. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life, with the average term served 10 months.

Below are the charges, from the Crown Prosecution Service:

CHARGE 1 - CONSPIRACY TO PERVERT THE COURSE OF JUSTICE

Rebekah Brooks between 6th July and 19th July 2011 conspired with Charles Brooks, Cheryl Carter, Mark Hanna, Paul Edwards, Daryl Jorsling and persons unknown to conceal material from officers of the Metropolitan Police Service.

CHARGE 2 - CONSPIRACY TO PERVERT THE COURSE OF JUSTICE

CHARGE 3 - CONSPIRACY TO PERVERT THE COURSE OF JUSTICE

Rebekah Brooks, Charles Brooks, Mark Hanna, Paul Edwards and Daryl Jorsling conspired together and with persons unknown, between 15th July and 19th July 2011, to conceal documents, computers and other electronic equipment from officers of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Below, a look back at the events of last July, recounted by Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian newspaper, which covered and broke much of the phone-hacking scandal:

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Google is in the smartphone business, why shouldn't China's leading search engine get in the game? Today it has: Baidu just unveiled its first partnership that gets it into China's booming low-cost mobile market.

Changhong's (??) H5018 is powered by the Baidu Cloud Smart Terminal platform, offers a 3.5 inch touchscreen, 3G connectivity, and a 3 megapixel camera. The phone will also come with 100 gigabytes of free storage in Baidu's cloud.

The whole thing will cost less than 1,000 yuan ($160). Just what kind of dent is Baidu's low-cost high-feature phone about to make in China and should others (cough—Apple—cough) be worried?[more]

In addition to Baidu, manufacturer Changhong enlisted a couple heavy hitting partners for its handsome, neon H5018. On the service end is China Unicom which is well regarded for its 3G speeds. On the manufacturing end creating the H5018's sturdy unibody, Baidu has Foxconn. Maybe you've heard of them. Not only is Baidu working with Apple's manufacturing expert, Foxconn, but it's also with China Unicom, which was just enlisted by Apple for the rollout of the iPhone 4S in China.

But the buzz is all about Baidu and its operating platform. From Baidu's press release:

"The Baidu Cloud Smart terminal platform is a crucial step in Baidu’s overall Cloud strategy in the mobile Internet sphere. It is not only meant to create a high quality, smart mobile experience for users, but also, more importantly, it will significantly lower manufacturing costs for many mobile manufacturers and cooperating partners. Baidu is joining hands with hardware vendors, terminal manufacturers, developers and others in the industry so that everyone along the whole value chain is a winner.”

The phone will hit the market in "the very near future" and signals that Baidu is doing in China what Google is attempting to do in the US. (The Changhong is not Baidu's first foray into the mobile marketplace; earlier this year, Baidu partnered with Dell to release the Streak Pro D43.) Baidu's cloud-based phone for China comes on the heels of the revelation that the "Great Firewall of China" was blocking Google's similar could-based "drive" functionality.

The question now is, how (if) the H5018 will impact Apple's iPhone when it comes to the voice recognition features. Famously, the iPhone's lauded Siri voice function does not support Mandarin. Baidu's voice search is all Mandarin. For now, Baidu has no plans to add English, or even focus on the US market. Baidu and Changhone's phone will however offer, in additon to Madarin voice, a handwriting input feature, one of the iPhone's great draws.

What Baidu aims to do is offer what Chinese users want in a Chinese user environment. And there is certainly an opening for providing that experience. Writing in the Harvard Business Review recently, Thunderbird School of Global Management assistant professor Nathan Washburn noted that Apple's boomig China market is amazing considering "Chinese users are cobbling together an iPhone experience from a variety of sources, and the overall experience is not very good."

Naturally, Changhong and Baidu aren't the only brands focusing on the low-priced high-feature competitive smartphone market.

On the same day of Baidu's announcement, the top trending term on microblog Weibo was "???????" heralding the May 18th launch of Xiaomi's "youth" handset. The characteristic that made it "youthful?" A 1,499 yuan ($240) price tag. Xiaomi's unit will be limited to a special edition number of 150,000. While the Xiaomi phone may tickle the Changhong's price range and offer a great camera, storage and batery, it still doesn't offer the Baidu-powered cloud platform. But the message is clear for Chinese sonsumers: Expect more for less.

The iPhone is likely to remain the status symbol device, but at 1,000 yuan, it's very possible many Chinese consumers will simply not be able to ignore the number of features at that price point. Until now, the Baidu platform was out of reach at the bottom end of the market, with the Dell Streak selling for around 3,000 yuan ($480). Director of intrernational communications, Kaiser Kuo, sees the storage-price combo as the "wow and dazzle" of the H5018, which is a surprisingly rich feature set for that price. He said that nobody at Baidu has used the term "iPhone killer" yet, adding, "That would be hubris, and we're not big on hubris."

Instead of iPhone killing, what Baidu may be carving out for itself is a place as the brand of everyone else, "the people," the ones who cannot afford the iPhone's $700 price tag but who nonetheless want all the features. Kuo explained that this step means that Baidu is "shifting from a product-focused company to a platform-focused company. We want to build the platform--the cloud storage and servers, the tools, the backend services like data and monetization platforms, the APIs--to allow developers to build the best apps for users on all of the devices that the cloud can power: desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and even devices yet undreamed of."

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Best Buy, JPMorgan, Yahoo CEO stumbles put ethics and mismanagement in the spotlight. JPMorgan closes ranks around embattled CEO Jamie Dimon as mega-loss is probed; and Yahoo's interim CEO Ross Levinsohn reportedly close to getting role permanently.

Amazon reportedly prepping front-lit Kindle for July.

Facebook eyes historic $12 billion to $15 billion IPO windfall and up to $104 billion valuation.

Activision Blizzard goes back to the future for new games.

Apple plans iCloud upgrade, and thinner laptops with Intel chips.

Baidu enters China's crowded low-cost smartphone market.

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Coca-Cola re-enters the mid-calorie soda fray.

Coty withdraws bid for Avon.

De Beers brings jubilee crown to Harrods. 

First Lady and U.S. Olympics collaborate to get kids moving.

Fox adds Britney Spears as X Factor judge, plans to reinvigorate American Idol.

Francesca's Holdings fires CFO after improper use of social media.

Groupon gets boost as revenue (finally) jumps.

Home Depot sales disappoint.

JCPenney results will be watched today for signs of progress.

Jeremy Lin heading to Toronto Raptors?

Jimmy Choo, Bally and Belstaff owner plans e-commerce move.

Lightsquared files for bankruptcy after network blocked.

Macy's adjusts strategy to use physical stores to warehouse goods for online sales.

NBA is first sports league to pass 5 million Twitter followers.

News Corp. sees ex-executive Rebekah Brooks prosecuted in U.K. hacking case, as company takes stake in Chinese film distributor.

Nvidia joins venture to buy patents.

Pernod Ricard plans new Cuban rum.

Quora gets financing in Facebook's wake.

USA Today hires digital media veteran Larry Kramer as publisher.

Vivendi hurt by pricing war in French mobile-phone market.

Walgreens tops drug-store chains in brand equity, survey says.

Woolworths battle escalates in Australia.