Merry Christmas

Many apologies for lack of updates over the past month, normal service will resume week beginning 7th January 2008.

Have a merry christmas and a happy new year.

Marvel Comics puts its superheroes online

The superheroes are heading into the future. Marvel Comics, the force behind Spider-Man and the X-Men, is putting its comics online in a belated attempt to draw young readers to the venerable tradition of reading about men in tights rather than merely watching them. While the company's stable of superheroes has drawn an unprecedented audience in recent years, fuelled by the success of the Spider-Man film franchise, that interest does not translate into sales of the humble comic book more...

Town completes digital switchover

The town of Whitehaven in Cumbria has become the first place in the UK to turn off the analogue signal as part of the official switchover to digital TV. Last month BBC Two's analogue signal was turned off, and the rest of the terrestrial channels followed in the early hours of Wednesday more...

Mobile phone boarding passes are ready to fly

The use of airline boarding passes sent as a barcode to passengers’ mobile phones has come a step closer following the agreement of a global technical standard. But UK carriers remain unconvinced, despite estimates that the technology could save the aviation industry more than $500m (£250m) a year more...

EA wants 'open gaming platform'

Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo should abandon the console wars and help build a common gaming platform, a senior executive at Electronic Arts has said. Gerhard Florin said incompatible consoles made life harder for developers and consumers. "We want an open, standard platform which is much easier than having five which are not compatible," said EA's head of international publishing more...

First e-passport reader goes live

The first automatic e-passport reader is now in operation in Faro, Portugal. The system is designed to replace immigration officers. The readers will soon become standard worldwide, said Home Office minister Meg Hillier. "The system in place at Faro is a sign of things to come, as countries all around the world adopt biometric technology to strengthen border controls," she said more...

Woman 'found killer on internet'

Police in Japan have arrested a man on suspicion of carrying out a woman's request to kill her after she contacted him via the internet. Kazunari Saito was allegedly paid to feed sleeping pills to Sayaka Nishizawa before suffocating her at her apartment in April, local media said. Ms Nishizawa, 21, had contacted her alleged killer days earlier via his mobile phone website, which he had set up to sell sleeping pills to people contemplating suicide more...

Soldiers based in Iraq and Afghanistan are to have free WiFi access to allow them to surf the web and contact relatives without leaving their accommodation. Rollout is expected to be completed by Easter 2008. The new programme is part of plans to increase the provision of entertainment and communication facilities to troops overseas, according to the Ministry of Defence more...

Supermarket pilot lets customers pay at checkout via a mobile phone

The first European trial of mobile phones linked to online debit accounts to pay for goods launched in the Netherlands last week. A six-month pilot is taking place at a branch of Dutch supermarket C1000. It will allow 100 customers to pay for their shopping with their mobiles, using the existing online PIN payment infrastructure more...

Radiohead album set free on web

In Rainbows, the seventh studio album by alternative rock group Radiohead, has become available for download from their official website. The band have let fans decide what to pay for the 10 MP3 files - from nothing to £100 more...

Yahoo upgrades anti-phishing

Phishing emails pretending to be from PayPal and eBay will be blocked from Yahoo mail inboxes. The DomainKeys system will weed out phishing emails before they reach a Yahoo mail user's inbox. The move should help stamp out common phishing scams using the PayPal and eBay names, said PayPal chief information security officer Michael Barrett more...

ITV report reveals extent of premium rate phone problems

British broadcaster ITV has received the results of an investigation that reveals the extent of the premium rate phone fiasco that has undermined viewer confidence in participation programmes. The numbers have been counted and checked by an independent auditor. We will soon find out whether the senior executives involved will survive the result of the viewer votes more...

Games violence study is launched

The government is asking for evidence for a new study of the effect of violent computer games on children. Psychologist Tanya Byron will head the study, which will also examine how to protect children from online material. The review is due to be launched by Dr Byron - together with Schools Secretary Ed Balls and Culture Secretary James Purnell - at a school in east London more...

Go go gadget paradise

The Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies - or Ceatec - is a gizmo geek's paradise. The cavernous exhibition halls of the Makuhari Messe complex near Tokyo were packed with the latest consumer electronics and services, covering everything from imaging to information and communication more...

Google, IBM back 'cloud students'

Google and IBM are partnering on an effort to help students get to grips with net-scale computing projects. The two firms will build data centres holding 1,600 computers that students will be able to use to learn the basics of so-called "cloud computing" more...

Sky hits limit for new channel launches on satellite

British satellite broadcaster BSkyB is to limit the launches of new channel slots on its platform. The company is not taking any further applications and will consider carefully those channels that are waiting to launch. It could intensify the transfer market for slots in the electronic programme guide. Some niche broadcasters could find that their EPG number is their main asset more...

Viruses 'hit 1m China computers'

Almost one million Chinese computers were hit by viruses during last week's national holidays, state media has reported. Three different types of viruses attacked computers during the holiday week, Xinhua news agency said more...

Police smash £1bn internet fraud gang

British police yesterday hailed the arrest of an international gang of fraudsters as a landmark victory against internet crime, following a sting across four countries. More than £8.5m worth of fake cheques and other fraudulent documents were seized in a series of overnight raids across the UK in a joint operation overseen by Britain's Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca) more...

Huge fine for US music downloader

A court in the US has ordered a woman to pay $222,000 (£109,000) in damages for illegally downloading music. The jury ordered Jammie Thomas, 32, from Minnesota, to pay for offering to share 24 specific songs online - a cost of $9,250 per song more...

New Zunes to take on Apple's iPod

Microsoft has launched three new models of its Zune digital media player in an effort to compete with Apple's iPod. The players - which come in 4GB, 8GB and 80GB models - have wi-fi so users can automatically download music, photos, and video from their computer more...

Ultra-thin TV to hit the market

An ultra-thin television brighter and crisper than current generation screens will go on sale from Sony in December. The TV uses organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) to produce the image, resulting in a screen only 3mm thick. OLED screens are more energy efficient than LCD panels as they do not need a backlight to boost brightness more...

Spam weapon helps preserve books

A weapon used to fight spammers is now helping university researchers preserve old books and manuscripts. Many websites use an automated test to tell computers and humans apart when signing up to an account or logging in. The test consists of typing in a few random letters in an image and is designed to fight spammers more...

Data row hits mobile mast website

The future of a website which details all the mobile phone masts in the UK is in doubt following a row over divulging "commercially sensitive" information. The Sitefinder website is maintained by media regulator Ofcom, following a request from the government in 2000 more...

Manchester rated best city for IT firms

Manchester is the best place in the UK to base an IT company, according to a survey of business leaders. The poll conducted in May asked 100 company and managing directors to list their criteria when selecting a location for their business headquarters. Edinburgh and Bradford were rated the second and third most suitable cities, while London only managed 26th place in the final rankings. Sutton Coldfield is regarded as the worst location for an IT company.

Apple warning on unlocked iPhones

Apple has warned that anyone attempting to unlock their iPhone to use with an unauthorised mobile network could find their phones irreparably damaged. The company said that modified mobiles would become "permanently inoperable" once Apple updates were installed more...

Anger at YouTube stammer clips

The British Stammering Association has strongly protested to the YouTube website over videos showing people struggling to speak which have been classified by the website as comedy. Leys Geddes, director of the association, said a number of YouTube videos show people fighting to make themselves understood, including three which he said appeared to be "malicious and stereotypical" more...

Five million hours wasted looking for email

UK IT managers are spending more than five million hours per year searching for lost emails, according to a survey. The wasted effort equates to more than £140m in staff costs, says the poll from e-Media, commissioned by email management specialist Mimecast. Email is the most important communication method between businesses, but too often filtering systems are weeding out valid messages. Sixty per cent of the survey's 100 respondents said they had lost important emails. More than half check their mail quarantines daily and another 22 per cent check it a few times a week.

Mobile service offers free calls for students

Cash-strapped students will be able to save their money for books and beer with the launch yesterday of a mobile service which offers free calls and texts if customers receive advertising on their phone. Blyk, a start-up run by the former president of Nokia, is targeting 16-to-24-year-olds with 217 free texts and 43 minutes of talk time every month more...

Regulation crucial to broadband growth

Regulatory involvement, infrastructure competition and price wars are the most significant factors shaping the world's fastest-growing broadband markets. Broadband ISPs in Greece, Turkey, Ireland and Russia all offer cheap services relative to the average disposable income in order to make broadband attractive to greater proportions of the country, says research from analyst Ovum more...

May the Force Wii with you

It's official – the latest use for the Wii remote is as a lightsaber as LucasArts announces Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for Wii. The Force is strong in Wii today. After Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was announced on just about every other format, we feared we'd never be able to wrap our hands around a Wii remote and make lightsaber noises in anger but it seems LucasArts was just stringing us along more...

Home Office lets £2m fingerprint deal

The Home Office has signed a $4.4m (£2.18m) deal with supplier Cross Match Technologies to provide 1,385 biometric devices at government buildings based in foreign countries.
The Guardian scanners will be used to take fingerprint readings of every applicant for a UK visa more...

Channel 4 gets HD for Xmas

Watch Jon Snow, Homer Simpson and those lovely Hollyoaks girls in glorious 1080i with Channel 4 HD from this December. It seems Christmas really is the season for giving as Channel 4 has announced it’ll be flicking the switch on its new HD channel, right around about the time we start opening doors on our chocolate calendar more...

Government mulls broadband help

The UK government is considering intervening in the way broadband is rolled out, in an effort to speed up the deployment of super-fast services. Stephen Timms, Minister for Competitiveness, ordered a summit to look at the role of government in providing next-generation broadband more...

Computer dance gets pupils active

A computer dance programme has succeeded in getting even young people who hate sport to take exercise. Dance Revolution involves laying out removable mats in a studio, and getting participants to follow instructions from a computer on a large screen more...

Man dies after internet gaming binge

A Chinese man dropped dead after a three-day internet gaming session, state media reported today. The man, reportedly around 30 years old, from the southern city of Guangzhou, died on Saturday after being rushed to hospital from an internet cafe, according to local officials quoted by the Beijing News more...

Fifty firms at first ID card bid meeting

Fifty potential suppliers to the government's planned multi-million pound biometric identity card programme participated in the first bidders' conference last week. The procurement for the scheme was launched last month and the framework contracts – which will handle up to £2bn of subsequent business – are expected to be signed within nine months more...

Hi-tech crime 'is big business'

Internet crime is becoming a major commercial activity, according to a report by the security firm, Symantec. Its report into threats to internet security describes underworld auction sites where bank details and credit cards are on sale more...

BT set to study internet novices

BT is setting up an initiative to find out why some people resist using the internet. The project will employ psychologists to closely study a small group of people to reveal what stops them joining the net-using majority. Early research done for the project suggests that, for some, using the net is as stressful as a bungee jump more...

BBC and ITV bring you hi-def for free

Not keen on paying Sky for HD? Don’t worry, free hi-def is coming – but you’ll still need a satellite dish. Save a thoroughly popular trial of HD over Freeview, hi-def programming has been the preserve of Sky’s £10 a month SkyHD service – but not for much longer more...

Prince takes on YouTube

He has spent his career challenging the establishment, even changing his name to try to get out of a recording contract. But Prince's latest argument has seen him take on a different entity altogether - the internet. The 49-year-old musician said yesterday he is considering legal action against a number of websites - including eBay and YouTube - which he says encourage piracy of his music and videos more...

Karnataka, India banning cellphones for kids under 16?

We can't even imagine what would happen if the government suddenly stopped everyone under the age of 16 from chatting it up on a mobile, but it looks like we just may find out how it goes down overseas when Karnataka, India does just that. Reportedly, its government is going to "ban cellphone use by children less than 16 years on the basis of advice of medical experts," and while specifics weren't divulged, apparently someone up high believes that "prolonged use of [handsets] by teenagers does affect their health" in an adverse way more...

Hint of cancer risk after 10 years mobile phone use, say researchers

Mobile phones do not pose health problems to adults in the short term but there is a "slight hint" of a cancer risk for long-term users, according to the results of a study which could not rule out risks of brain or ear cancer for those who have used mobiles for more than 10 years more...

Online worlds to be AI incubators

Online worlds such as Second Life will soon become training grounds for artificial intelligences. Researchers at US firm Novamente have created software that learns by controlling avatars in virtual worlds. Initially the AIs will be embodied in pets that will get smarter by interacting with the avatars controlled by their human owners more...

Imaging tools to aid surveillance

Security and surveillance efforts could be bolstered by a simple imaging tool, a scientist claims. Currently, both people and computers are poor at recognising a person's face, especially if it is unfamiliar. But a University of Glasgow researcher says merging multiple images of an individual to create their "average" face makes the task much easier more...

Sony Launches Four Blu-Ray Recorders

Four new Sony Bravia recorders capable of burning 50GB dual-layer, BD-R/RE discs with an additional disk packing between 250GB and 500GB of storage depending upon model selected. The ¥200,000 (about $1,755) top-end BDZ-X90 model brings more...

Ear implant corrects balance problems

Scientists at the always-progressive Johns Hopkins have been working on an electronic, inner-ear "balancing" device that could help correct problems like unsteadiness, disequilibrium or wobbly vision (no, really). The device -- which couples a head-mounted, matchbook-size box, and up to eight surgically implanted electrodes -- corrects problems by measuring and transmitting 3D balance information to the brain via the vestibular nerve more...

Fossett sought via Google Earth

Images from Google Earth are being enrolled in the search for adventurer Steve Fossett. Many people are scouring up-to-date satellite images of Nevada to try to spot Mr Fossett's downed plane or wreckage. The project is being co-ordinated via Amazon's human-powered problem solving scheme called the Mechanical Turk more...

Vodafone's iPhone rival in shops for Christmas

Vodafone is going head to head with this year's most hotly anticipated gadget, Apple's iPhone, with the launch of a competing mobile music service. The service, to be launched in time for Christmas, will give its UK customers unlimited access to more than 1m tracks more...

Warning: you can't make real friends online

Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace do not help you make more genuine close friends, according to a survey by researchers who studied how the websites are changing the nature of friendship networks. Although social networking on the internet helps people to collect hundreds or even thousands of acquaintances, the researchers believe that face to face contact is nearly always necessary to form truly close friendships more...

Mobile system promises free calls

A new way of making calls directly between phones, for free, is being trialled by a Swedish company. It is hoping to dramatically improve communications in the developing world. Swedish company TerraNet has developed the idea using peer-to-peer technology that enables users to speak on its handsets without the need for a mobile phone base station more...

Britain should end manned space flight ban, say MPs

The government should reconsider its decades-long ban on sending Britons into space, MPs say. They warn that an outright rejection of human space flight could lead to the UK being unable to take part in future international missions and weaken the country's standing in space science more...

T-Mobile must open Truphone lines

A court has stepped into a row between mobile phone network operator T-Mobile and wi-fi phone firm Truphone. Truphone had accused T-Mobile of hindering its service, by blocking calls made to numbers owned by the fledgling mobile operator more...

Google cookies will 'auto delete'

Google has said that its cookies, tiny files stored on a computer when a user visits a website, will auto delete after two years. They will be deleted unless the user returns to a Google site within the two-year period, prompting a re-setting of the file's lifespan more...

Global broadband prices revealed

Broadband users in 30 of the world's most developed countries are getting greatly differing speeds and prices, according to a report. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report says 60% of its member countries net users are now on broadband more...

TVs and computers breeding generation of 'screen kids'

TVs and computers are the "electronic babysitters" for a generation of children who are losing out on family life and becoming more materialistic, a report says today. The study paints a picture of a breed of "screen kids" who are spending more and more time watching TV and surfing the net in their bedrooms, unsupervised by adults more...

Microsoft facing $1bn Xbox bill

Microsoft has said that it is facing a bill of more than $1bn to cover the cost of offering extended warranties, after failings with its Xbox 360. The company admitted it had been forced to make "an unacceptable number of repairs" to the consoles after key hardware failed more...

iPhone scramble: 02 expected to beat rivals to UK deal

The fight between Europe's mobile phone operators to bring the iPhone across the Atlantic is at fever pitch, with O2 hotly tipped to win the deal for the UK market. The American technology giant scored a big hit launching the combined phone and music player in the US last week more...

Camera add-on bundled with DS game

Following the huge success of its Brain Training franchise, Nintendo is to expand the series with a new game that comes bundled with a special DS camera add-on.Face Training is a game where the object is to make your face become more attractive on-screen using the game's built-in technology more...

Video gaming world cup hits Paris

Thousands of gamers are in Paris over the next four days for the Electronic Sports World Cup grand final. More than 750 players are competing for $200,000 (£99,200) in prize money, with about 5,000 spectators expected more...

E3 show to be broadcast on Xbox Live

Beginning July 10, the gaming world's E3 show in Santa Monica, USA, will get into full swing and Microsoft Xbox Live users will be able to see all the top announcements as they happen. The E3, renowned as the event for games firms and hardware manufacturers to officially announce new products, will take place from July 10 to July 13 more...

Warning of data ticking time bomb

The growing problem of accessing old digital file formats is a "ticking time bomb", the chief executive of the UK National Archives has warned. Natalie Ceeney said society faced the possibility of "losing years of critical knowledge" because modern PCs could not always open old file formats more...

Broadband users unhappy because of technical failures

A quarter of broadband customers are unhappy with their service provider, according to a new survey. A study of 11,000 internet and 9,000 home phone users, conducted by YouGov on behalf of price comparison site uSwitch, found satisfaction has dropped by 10 per cent since March 2006 more...

Wii outselling PS3 'six to one'

Nintendo's Wii console outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 in Japan last month by six to one, says research. Nintendo sold 270,974 Wii consoles last month while Sony sold 41,628 PS3s, according to Enterbrain, a Japanese publisher that tracks console sales more...

HD-DVD gets set of new features

The HD-DVD gang is arranging a counter attack against the Blu-ray boys with disks that can take advantage of its players' built-in Internet connections. According to Associated Press, a Japanese animated feature titled "Freedom" will allow buyers who connect their HD DVD player to a broadband Internet line will be able to download a high-definition trailer for another movie, change menu styles and download additional subtitles more...

Zelda game named 'greatest ever'

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has topped a poll of readers of Edge magazine and industry experts to find the top 100 games of all time. The 10-year-old videogame for the Nintendo 64 games console helped usher in a new era of 3D gaming more...

Computer games 'may be good for children'

Children who spend hours playing computer games may actually be doing themselves some good, according to a controversial three-year university study published yesterday. Online role-playing games - where players compete against other, unseen players - may give young people vital lessons in learning about other races, the opposite sex and those with disabilities more...

IT recycling laws come into effect

The UK’s new recycling laws for electrical equipment came into effect on 1 July, with IT vendors now responsible for ensuring their products are disposed of in an environmentally-friendly manner. The much-delayed Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Weee) directive passed into law at the start of the year, but the requirement on suppliers and retailers has only now become effective more...

Wii remote feels the force as light sabre

Rumours of a Star Wars game that uses the Nintendo Wii controller as a light sabre have been fuelled by comments made by Jim Ward, president of LucasArts and a senior vice president at Lucasfilm more...

Waitrose shops for next generation of customers

Supermarket chain Waitrose is planning to add social networking functions to its web site to allow shoppers to swap recipes and chat on message boards. The retailer wants to encourage the one million people that visit its web site each month to debate topics such as organic food and to trade culinary tips more...

Most Are Happy, But Some iPhone Customers Have Complaints

While early reviews for Apple’s new iPhone have been mostly glowing since its release on Friday and early sales have been reported strong, some customers have had complaints about both activation problems and shortages of the phones themselves, the New York Times reported Monday more...

Nintendo Wii outsells PS3 6 to 1 in Japan in June

Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii game console outsold Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 by a ratio of over 6 to 1 in June in Japan, a game magazine publisher said, solidifying Nintendo's leading position. Nintendo sold 270,974 units of the Wii in the four weeks ended June 24, compared with 41,628 units for the PS3 and 17,616 units for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360, according to data from Enterbrain more...

MS opens window of learning for poor

Global software giant Microsoft on Wednesday unveiled yet another initiative to make computer education easier, accessible and affordable for the poor through the use of information, communication and technology (ICT). With the launch its programme called Unlimited Potential Microsoft aims to make technology available to over a billion poor people by 2015 more...

Apple's iPhone makes it to stores

Apple's much-hyped iPhone finally goes on sale in the US today. Some people have been queuing for days outside Apple and AT&T stores across the US to ensure they get hold of one of the devices. Hundreds more are expected to start queuing during the day because stores will not start selling the iPhone until 1800 local time (2300 GMT) more...

Nintendo to open up Wii console

Home and independent game makers are getting a chance to put together titles for Nintendo's Wii console. The hi-tech firm has released a set of game-making tools called WiiWare that give budding game makers the data they need to use the console and its innovative controller more...

MySpace launches YouTube rival

MySpace is to take on YouTube's status as the world's leading video-sharing website by renaming and relaunching its own service as MySpaceTV. The video section of MySpace will be given its own web presence, www.myspacetv.com, and built up as a destination in its own right more...

Hanging up on ringtones

Although Apple's iPhone is only released in the US tomorrow, its ringtone has been available for download for months, picked up by alert listeners to Steve Jobs's demo in San Francisco in January. Being a MIDI sequence, it's free. Free ringtones? It's enough to put a shudder through the music and mobile businesses more...

BSkyB has cranked up the pressure on Virgin Media by striking a deal to sell the channels it pulled from the cable operator's platform to smaller rival Tiscali. The agreement, struck at a price Virgin Media refused to pay, will allow Tiscali to market such programmes as Lost, 24 and Prison Break to its 1.7m broadband customers more...

MPs raise concerns over BBC savings

The BBC substantially over-estimated the savings expected from outsourcing IT services to Siemens under a 10-year £1.5bn framework contract, according to an influential group of MPs. A Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report released today accuses the corporation’s management of giving its Board of Governors the impression when seeking approval for the deal that annual savings of £35m were guaranteed more...

Veoh Networks VeohTV delivers online video promise

VeohTV is the latest contender aiming to transform the online video landscape. Their downloadable application, currently in pre-release testing, builds on the previous Veoh Player to provide a single internet television experience for viewing online video. It is specifically designed to be driven using a remote control and seems to provide a much better viewer experience than Joost more...

iTeddy bears top television titles under its T-shirt

Classic television titles, including Paddington Bear and The Wombles, will soon be available for download to teddy bears. The iTeddy toy with a built-in personal media player for children has been launched after featuring on Dragons’ Den, the BBC television programme in which entrepreneurs pitch for investment more...

iPhone's US price plans unveiled

It's two days to go (as if you didn't know) and it's only now that America finds out exactly how much it'll be shelling out for those iPhone price plans. Bit by bit the full iPhone picture emerges. Today it's the AT&T two-year price plans that iPhone users in the States will have to sign up to more...

Supercomputer steps up the pace

The world's fastest commercial supercomputer has been launched by computer giant IBM. Blue Gene/P is three times more potent than the current fastest machine, BlueGene/L, also built by IBM. The latest number cruncher is capable of operating at so called "petaflop" speeds - the equivalent of 1,000 trillion calculations per second more...

Better internet access for people with disabilities

A bill requiring the government to allow people with disabilities to complete a single online application form for a range of different benefits has received backing in Parliament. Tory MP Jeremy Hunt says existing requirements for disabled people, some suffering from acquired brain injuries, to fill in several forms is humiliating for applicants and squanders money on official error, waste and fraud more...

DTI appoints new technology strategy board

The Department of Trade and Industry has announced a new Technology Strategy Board (TSG), responsible for delivering technology and support activities from 1 July. The TSG will have a budget of £320m to promote and support research, development and the exploitation of science, technology and new ideas to benefit business, increase economic growth and improve the quality of life more...

Lack of innovation is causing UK productivity gap

UK labour productivity is lagging behind the rest of Europe and the US, according to a new study. The London School of Economics' Centre for Economic Performance has found GDP per hour worked in the UK is 13 per cent lower than Germany, 18 per cent lower than the US and 20 per cent lower than France more...

'Violent' video game ad condemned

A poster for a computer game has been strongly criticised by the advertising watchdog after complaints that it encouraged violence and vandalism. The advert for Burnout Dominator showed a wrecked sports car, broken glass and a burning tyre, and had the slogan "Inner peace through outer violence" more...

EC threat to BBC over downloads

The BBC has been accused of forcing people to use Microsoft operating systems and has been threatened with a complaint to the European Commission. The charge concerns the use of Microsoft technology in the corporation's forthcoming iPlayer more...

'Day of silence' for US web radio

Web radio broadcasters across the US will hold a "day of silence" on Tuesday in protest at plans to hike royalty payments when music is played online. The plan - due to come into force on 15 July - could cost webcasters around $1bn in additional administration fees, protesters claim more...

Computers 'can raise attainment'

High levels of computer technology in schools can improve attainment to an extent, a four-year study has found. The £34m ICT Test Bed project by computer agency Becta in three deprived areas of England showed gains in some GCSE and primary school test scores more...

Leader of net piracy gang jailed

A Briton has been jailed for 51 months after pleading guilty to software piracy charges in the US. From his Australia home Hew Griffiths led the DrinkOrDie piracy group which specialised in cracking protection codes on software, music and movies more...

Mobile phone virus writer arrested in Spain

Spanish police have arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of creating and spreading a virus that affected more than 115,000 top-of-the-range mobile phones. The man was arrested in Valencia following an investigation that lasted over seven months more...

Blinkx Has an Eye on Contextual Video Search

Video search engine Blinkx today announced AdHoc, a platform that helps its partners monetize their video content with relevant advertising. The product is similar to Google AdSense. And it's not the first time blinkx has followed the Google path. CEO Suranga Chandratillake said the search engine giant serves as a model for his company more...

Facebook v MySpace - a class divide

Social networking websites MySpace and Facebook are increasingly splitting along class lines, according to a US academic. The sites, which allow users to make friends and share pictures and information about themselves, have become two of the most popular destinations on the internet. But Danah Boyd, a researcher at the University of California, says their populations are now dividing on the basis of social and economic backgrounds more...

Gangs infect 10,000 websites to steal users' bank details

Hackers have launched an assault on websites in Italy and around the world dubbed the Italian Job in a move seen by internet security experts as the next step in the escalating problem of cyber crime. Gangs presumed to be based in eastern Europe have probably infected more than 10,000 web pages on popular websites including travel agents, hotels, charities and government departments. Most of the sites are in Italy, though the attack has also spread to Spain and the US more...

EU phone recycling scheme failing

An EU plan to recycle old mobile phones is failing because too many people are hanging onto them. Under an EU directive recycling of batteries has to increase, however the European Battery Recycling Association (EBRA) says that punters don't want to give them up more...

E-vote 'threat' to UK democracy

British democracy could be undermined by moves to use electronic voting in elections, warns a report. The risks involved in swapping paper ballots for touch screens far outweigh any benefits they may have, says the Open Rights Group report more...

Sony and Nintendo ban US 'Manhunt 2'

Just as Rockstar thought it had gained a reprieve after US games body ESRB granted the controversial Manhunt 2 an Adults Only rating, Sony and Nintendo have announced they will now block the release of the game on their respective consoles more...

BBC’s flagship site to be toppled in the charts by YouTube

YouTube is poised to topple the BBC’s flagship website as the most popular online media destination in Britain. According to Hitwise, the web analysts, bbc.co.uk has been the most-visited entertainment site in Britain every month for two years, but will be overtaken by YouTube “in a matter of weeks” more...

Cyber attack on Pentagon e-mail

A hacker has managed to penetrate one of the Pentagon's e-mail systems, leading officials to take up to 1,500 accounts offline. The e-mail system did not contain classified information relating to military operations, a spokesman said more...

Hackers meet for coding festival

Web developers are gathering in London for the first BBC/Yahoo hackday. The free-form event aims to show web developers how to get more out of the data feeds and interfaces the two organisations make available more...

Broadband video gains momentum and goes over the top

Broadband video services are rapidly reaching significant audiences. More than a million people a week are downloading the Move media player to watch online video from American television networks. Meanwhile Veoh Networks is also gaining momentum, reaching over 12 million viewers, and Joost and Babelgum are building profile before they officially launch more...

MySpace profiles lead to sex-offender arrests

Seven convicted sex offenders — including four in Houston — have been arrested after their profiles were found on the My Space.com social networking Web site in violation of their parole or probation, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Thursday more...

Half of Britons cannot exist without email

Half of Britons cannot exist without email and 30- and 40-somethings are more reliant on it than teenagers, a survey reveals today. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, 50% felt they could not carry on without access to email, the ICM poll found. This age group was identified as the pioneer in using electronic communication to keep in touch with the office as well as friends more...

China overtaking US for fast internet access as Africa gets left behind

Almost 300 million people worldwide are now accessing the internet using fast broadband connections, fuelling the growth of social networking services such as MySpace and generating thousands of hours of video through websites such as YouTube more...

Sound start to music on mobiles

Swedes have become the first to try a music download service for mobile phones that is taking on Apple's iPhone. Developed by British hi-tech firm Omnifone, the MusicStation service gives subscribers unlimited access to music for a weekly fee more...

Web inventor gets Queen's honour

The inventor of the world wide web has been awarded the Order of Merit, one of the UK's most prestigious honours. Sir Tim Berners-Lee joins an elite group who have received the honour from the Queen for exceptional contributions in arts, sciences and other areas more...

New ways of developing blur the border between online and offline

One of the biggest drawbacks of web-based applications is that you can only use them when you are online - and very often you aren't. But that could change. Google, Adobe and Microsoft are all working to make online applications available while you are offline, or vice versa more...

Halo 3 Xbox 360 Accessories Announced

The Halo 3 Beta has now concluded and it'll be months before diehard fans will next get to romp and frag on the famous ring-worlds. Microsoft doesn't want fans' enthusiasm for the game to go to waste, however, and will be releasing a variety of Halo 3 themed accessories and gear to sate the populace's thirst for all things Halo more...

McDonald's to test wave and pay system

McDonald’s is considering letting customers pay by waving a credit or debit card over a reader. The scheme could help to drive contactless payment technologies into mainstream use. The fast food giant wants to offer the service within the next few years, building on a new payment infrastructure to allow credit and debit card payments, due for completion next month more...

Safari on Windows shows path to iPhone

Steve Jobs last month described the Windows version of Apple's iTunes application as "like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell". This week at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) he made an audacious bid for the bottled water franchise, launching a version of Apple's Safari browser to run on Windows - and pointing to it as the window through which external applications for the upcoming iPhone will work more...

Microsoft unveils patch package

Windows users are being urged to install the June package of security patches from Microsoft. The security update contains six patches which close 15 vulnerabilities found in a variety of Windows programs more...

Download store 'takes on iTunes'

British download store 7digital says it will "take on iTunes" in the battle for digital music and video. The download service, which relaunches on Tuesday, is promising cheaper prices and greater ease of use than the Apple store in a bid to attract customers more...

Sony upbeat in DVD format battle

Sony says shipments of its Blu-ray high definition DVD players in the US could jump sixfold this year, to 600,000. It attributes the growing demand to some films coming out on its format and not the rival HD DVD technology, according to Bloomberg more...

Yahoo's China policy rejected

Yahoo shareholders have rejected plans for the company to adopt a policy that opposes censorship on the internet. Proposals to set up a human rights committee which would review its policies around the world, specifically China, were also heavily defeated more...

Sony files patent but says gaming phone not ready

Sony Ericsson has filed a U.S. patent application for a mobile device with video game features, but said on Monday it is not poised to launch a phone based on its PlayStation Portable (PSP) video game brand more...

Apple announces Windows browser

Apple has launched a version of its web browser Safari for Windows, competing head to head with Microsoft's Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox. Chief executive Steve Jobs said Apple "dream big" and wanted to expand the 4.9% market share Safari enjoys more...

Google Maps aids terrorists, NY lawmaker warns

Adding to the chorus of critics who say detailed images on Google Earth can aid and abet terrorists and snoops, a New York state lawmaker is calling on the company to blur potential terrorist targets. The plea from Assemblyman Mike Gianaris follows the alleged discovery earlier this month of a plot by a Muslim terrorist cell to blow up fuel tanks and a jet fuel pipeline at John F. Kennedy International Airport more...

Smart clothes to monitor health

European scientists are developing clothing which they say will be able to monitor your health. The "intelligent textiles" contain embedded sensors designed to monitor body fluids such as blood and sweat more...

Sony PlayStation 3 Hits One Million Milestone in PAL Regions

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) said that one million of end-users have acquired Sony PlayStation 3 gaming machine in all countries. Even though one million sell-through units seems to be quite an achievement, not everything is that bright more...

Google's e-mail for universities

Google is expanding its empire into universities - with entire campus e-mail networks switching over to using Google's e-mail service. This will give the internet company a "relationship for life" with students - who can carry on using these e-mail addresses after graduating more...

Test-drive Vista from your current PC, free

A blog post at Tech Republic provides links to two ways to try Windows Vista for free. The simplest is to try a business version online at the Windows Vista Test Drive site. This runs in a browser window, after you install the (ActiveX) Virtual Server VRMC Advanced Control. Of course, it doesn't tell you anything about Vista's performance. The better but more cumbersome alternative is to install Vista in a "virtual PC" on your hard drive more...

Slim PSP rumours surface

Last week speculation was that the next PSP might come in the form of a VOIP telephony device. This week others are suggesting that the next iteration of the PSP will be a slim line device coupled with a bulky addition of flash memory more...

YouTube: made in Taiwan

Clearly not satisfied with its already vice-like grip on the video-sharing market, it would appear, according to various media reports, that hugely popular Google-owned YouTube could soon run its roots deep into Taiwanese cyber soil – as well as other globally regional markets more...

Carillion signs £26.6m deal to intregrate Mowlem IT

Construction and support services firm Carillion has struck a deal BT to help it manage the integration of recently acquired firm Mowlem. The company has signed a £26.6m contract with BT to manage its converged networks and the integration of Mowlem's legacy systems more...

Report: U.S. backs Microsoft against Google complaint

The top antitrust official at the U.S. Justice Department last month urged state prosecutors to reject a confidential antitrust complaint filed by Google against Microsoft, reported the New York Times on Sunday more...

Google ranked 'worst' on privacy

Google has the worst privacy policy of popular net firms, says a report. Rights group Privacy International rated the search giant as "hostile" to privacy in a report ranking web firms by how they handle personal data more...

Better ear implant hope for deaf

US scientists have unveiled what they say could be the next generation of implants designed to offer hearing to the profoundly deaf. The new device described by the University of Michigan team fits directly to the auditory nerve more...

Cathedral to demand Sony apology

Church of England officials will send a letter to Sony demanding an apology over the use of Manchester Cathedral as a backdrop for a violent computer game. They will ask the technology firm to remove images of the building from the game, and to provide backing to anti-gun campaigns in the city more...

ITV launches online initiative with new broadband portal

ITV, the main commercial television broadcaster in Britain, is due to roll out its new online service this week. The majority of its programmes will eventually be available as previews, live simulcast streams and for up to 30 days after transmission. ITV plc is reportedly investing £20 million in the initiative which was originally due to launch earlier in the year more...

Mobile phone roaming charges cut by EU

The European Union (EU) has adopted rules that will cut the price of making mobile phone calls abroad in the 27-member bloc, the EU's German presidency said yesterday. The rules, which the European Commission says will cut roaming charges to a quarter or a fifth of what consumers now pay, are expected to come into force by the end of this month more...

Online shoppers will pay more for data privacy

People will pay more for goods if online retailers can show they are doing a good job at protecting customer data and privacy, according to a new US study. The Carnegie Mellon University survey suggests that people will pay as much as 60 cents (30p) extra on a $15 (£7) purchase if they are happy with a retailer’s privacy policy more...

UK broadband growth slows down

The UK broadband market faces upheaval as take-up slows and a high proportion of new customers are being won by media giants offering bundled services. The number of new highspeed connections for the 12 months to March 2007 fell below three million for the first time since 2004, according to figures from telecoms expert Enders Analysis more...

HSBC questions online security tool

Efforts to standardise online banking security could be undermined by HSBC’s refusal to adopt two-factor authentication for access to its web accounts. Some high-street rivals have explicitly linked growth in online banking with improvement in security procedures more...

Just how much does the internet actually weigh?

About two ounces (60 grams), or perhaps 0.2 millionths of an ounce (6 micrograms), depending which method you use to calculate the weight of the active electrons necessary to sustain the global network more...

Are Steve Jobs and Bill Gates friends once again?

What do you mean, "again"? They've never been enemies; in fact, they've been friends for decades, and although their get-together on the stage of the Wall Street Journal's D5 conference last week marked the first time (and perhaps the last) that they have been together answering questions on a stage since the 1980s, there has never been any real animosity between them more...

Online retailing 'surging ahead'

Cheaper broadband is fuelling the growth in online shoppingOnline retailing in the UK has grown at its fastest rate since the dotcom bubble burst, a survey has claimed. The amount of money spent by consumers shopping online increased by 33.4% to £10.9bn last year, retail analysts Verdict Research said more...

Digital divide is closing, Ofcom survey finds

The divide between the digital haves and have-nots has narrowed, according to the second annual survey of the UK's communications market by Ofcom. The take-up of broadband in England extended to 45% of households last year - three percentage points above that of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland at 42% more...

Industry approval for anti-spamming technology

New technology to combat spam and phishing attacks has been approved by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The industry group has accepted a draft standard for DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), which uses encrypted digital signatures to validate the identity of an email sender more...

Third of bloggers 'risk the sack'

More than a third of UK bloggers risk the sack by posting derogatory or damaging details about their workplace, boss or colleagues, a survey claims. Human resources company Croner, which commissioned the study, warned that such bloggers could be sacked from their job for gross misconduct more...

Students criticise staff on net

A university has written to all its students threatening them with disciplinary action for comments made about staff on the internet. Keele University said the remarks on Myspace and Facebook were unacceptable, and students may face legal action from the members of staff concerned more...

Steam logs 13 millionth user

Valve Software's digital distribution service Steam has surpassed 13 million active users. With over 150 games available over the service, the PC specialist is expecting to announce that more major publishers are due to make use of the service this summer more...

Sony handheld to offer net calls

Owners of Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld console will soon be able to make voice and video calls over a wireless internet connection. Using a soon-to be-released camera and microphone, gamers will be able to call other PSP owners and some BT phones more...

What will more research on Wi-Fi's health effects show?

If it's anything like the outcome of the further research on the health effects of mobile phones that was called for in 2000, then it'll probably show that we need ... more research more...

Google is watching you

Google, the world's biggest search engine, is setting out to create the most comprehensive database of personal information ever assembled, one with the ability to tell people how to run their lives. In a mission statement that raises the spectre of an internet Big Brother to rival Orwellian visions of the state, Google has revealed details of how it intends to organise and control the world's information more...

EU caps roaming mobile phone fees

The cost of making mobile phone calls in Europe is set to fall substantially after lawmakers backed plans to cap so-called "roaming" charges. The amount mobile customers are charged by local phone operators for using their handsets while abroad should now fall by as much as 75% more...

Teachers want bullying answers

Teachers have shown evidence of cyberbullying to the schools minister - including death threats by mobile phone and on websites. The NASUWT teachers' union showed the threats to Schools Minister Jim Knight after teachers recorded their experiences on a web page more...

IBM's New CPU Clocks Just Shy Of 5GHz

There's something I miss about raw clock speed. Hearing that a CPU had broken 100MHz or 1GHz gave a genuine sense of advancement that a Core 2 Duo E6400 (2.13GHz) or other simply can't match. IBM has plans to change that more...

MySpace to report sex offenders

Social networking website MySpace has agreed to provide police with information about convicted US sex offenders, removed from its service. The site's owner - News Corp - had previously been criticised for refusing a request from eight US states to divulge information from profiles more...

Rockstar Announces GTA IV Special Edition

In the tradition of many highly anticipated games from respected publishers, Grand Theft Auto IV will be available in a special edition for those fans dedicated enough to cough up the coin for it. Rockstar, the game's publisher, made the announcement Monday evening along with the price: a steep $89.99. That’s $30 more than the regular versions on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 will go for more...

Google to list top 100 searches

A feature listing the day's 100 fastest-rising search requests has been unveiled by Google. The chart, part of the search system's trends service, will be refreshed several times a day using data from millions of searches, the company said more...

BSkyB drops subscription for hard-drive recorder to head off rivals

BSkyB is planning to drop the monthly subscription charge for its Sky Plus hard-drive disk recorder in the hope of further boosting take-up and subscriber loyalty in the face of increased competition more...

Success for Everest mobile effort

A British climber has set a world record by making a mobile phone call from the top of Mount Everest. In the early hours of 21 May, Rod Baber made two calls from the mountain's north ridge more...

Foreign Office closes online visa application site

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has shut down its online application system run by visa service Vfs Global after a reported security breach last week. Lord Triesman, secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs made a statement on the reported security breach of the Vfs visa application web site more...

Scientists reject Panorama's claims on Wi-Fi radiation risks

An investigation into the possible dangers of Wi-Fi technology - wireless computer networks - by the BBC documentary programme Panorama has been rejected as "grossly unscientific" and a "scare story" by leading scientists more...

No 80GB PS3 for Europe

A Sony spokesperson has confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that an 80GB PlayStation 3 is to go on sale in Korea - but said there are no plans to launch the model in Europe. News of the 80GB version emerged via a statement on the Sony Korea website, which said the 80GB version will launch there on June 16 priced at KWR 518,000 (EUR 412) more...

'Must-have' titles to drive PS3 sales

Sony president Jack Tretton believes 2007 is the year when video game makers will deliver the games needed to drive forward PlayStation 3 sales. PlayStation 3 has so far failed to sell in the same quantities as previous models due to its high price and a lack of PS3 hit games, but for 2007 Tretton said, "users can expect more than 15 exclusive titles" more...

Sony seeks to recover from game losses

When Ken Kutaragi, the diminutive and brilliant engineer behind three generations of the PlayStation games console, announced his retirement last month, it marked the end of an era at Sony more...

8-cores in a laptop?!?

NextComputing have the honor of creating the first flextop computer in the world which is based on Intel’s Xeon 5300 processor. Known as the NextDimension Pro and Evo machines, both computers have shown their prowess by taking advantage of the power requirements of two quad-core processors that stand at 100W instead of the 160W found in desktops. This briefcase-sized computer carry a jaw dropping 8 cores, providing higher performance per watt and better energy efficiency in such a small package more...

French plan high-definition for digital terrestrial television

The French are planning to provide high-definition channels on digital terrestrial television from as early as 2008. They have concluded that it will be possible to fit three high-definition channels on a single multiplex which is currently unoccupied. It raises the question of how soon high-definition could be made available on digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom more...

Wii needs more games

Since its release six months ago, the surprisingly popular Nintendo Wii has touched off a scramble in the video-game software industry as developers and publishers have rushed to cash in on the lucrative opportunities generated by the innovative console more...

BT claims UK broadband supremacy

BT has overtaken Virgin Media to once again become the UK's largest broadband provider, the telecom firm has said. The group said it had won 26% of the market and now had 3.66 million broadband customers more...

Database spreads news more quickly

The Telegraph Media Group has deployed a database engine to speed up development of multimedia news content. The newspaper’s production team manages the planning of its images and web-page construction. It is using the database to provide news, audio, video and photography content simultaneously to editorial and production teams more...

Young women dominate UK net scene

Young women are now the most dominant group online in the UK, according to new research from net measurement firm Nielsen/NetRatings. Women in the 18 - 34 age group account for 18% of all online Britons more...

Halo 3 beta extended after delay

Thousands of gamers were unable to play the multiplayer test version of Halo 3 on Wednesday due to technical problems. Players were unable to download the beta program and hundreds of people left messages on the maker's official website complaining about the issue more...

Wireless to connect St Helens

Liverpool University is working with a local school to provide low-cost wireless access for a community in St Helens. The first pilot of Community Grid is being rolled out from St Cuthbert’s Catholic Community College of Business and Enterprise in St Helens, initially providing access to 250 homes. The service will be free of charge for a year, after which time users will have pay a subsidised fee more...

Halo 3 confirmed for Sept 26 launch

Bungie has announced that Halo 3 will launch in the US on September 25 and Europe on September 26, 2007. And just in case you forgot, the public multiplayer beta was due to go live yesterday at 1 more...

Holographics set to feed a market hungry for data backup

Could magnetic tapes, hard drives and optical disc formats like Blu-ray be replaced by a data storage format that uses holograms? The world's first commercial holographic storage system is launched this autumn, with the product able to store the equivalent of 64 DVD movies on a disc about the size of a CD more...

Dismay at eBay's unsatisfactory response to 'bid shielding' offences

Lucy thought she had got something good: she was selling her tickets for the NME tour at the Brixton Academy on eBay, and with just 20 minutes to go the highest bid of £21 had abruptly been trumped by one for £56. The only odd thing was the new high bidder had no eBay feedback - suggesting they were very new to eBay. With the new offer so far over the others, nobody more bothered to bid more...

Cable gets committed to open standards at last

Despite years of development and disappointment, interactive television could be closer to deployment across cable systems in the United States. At least that’s the plan. The Open Cable Application Platform was a hot topic at The Cable Show in Las Vegas. American Cable operators Comcast, Time Warner and Cox appear to be ready to roll out support for OCAP but they are still looking for compelling applications for interactive television more...

Workhouse comes to life online

Sad and sometimes gruesome details of life inside one of the UK's most famous 19th-century workhouses have come to light for the first time, thanks to a new website. Thousands of documents detailing the daily grind of life at the Southwell Workhouse in Nottinghamshire have been digitised to allow people to see the kind of lives led by their desperately poor ancestors more...

Halo 3 launch date is announced

Hugely popular video game Halo 3 is due for a September debut, Microsoft has announced. The September release date is earlier than expected and will help Microsoft in its drive to make the Xbox 360 console the gaming machine of choice this Christmas more...

Sussex NHS trusts improve IT resource management

Sussex Health Informatics Service (Sussex HIS), which provides IT services to all 11 NHS trusts in the Sussex region, is implementing a resource management system to streamline its IT infrastructure. The new system, Novell's ZENworks, will deliver asset management, remote desktop control and application deployment more...

Malware 'hijacks Windows Updates'

Virus writers may be able to smuggle malicious files onto a computer using Microsoft's security patch updates, experts say. At least one program is in circulation that can hijack a key component of Windows Update to introduce malicious software that could be used to hijack a computer more...

PS3 launch costs hit Sony profits

Electronics giant Sony has reported a large fall in annual operating profits following the launch of its PlayStation 3 games console. The cost of launching the PS3 console contributed to a 68% drop in operating profits to 71.8bn yen ($597m; £300m) for the year to 31 March more...

RAZR2 – Motorola finally releases the true next-gen RAZR

After the incredible success of the RAZR came a range of updates including different colours, the original 3G RAZR, the new slim 3G RAZR, the KRZR and the RIZR – but the RAZR 2 is the true next-gen update we’ve all been waiting for more...

Online fraud to soar to £1.5bn

Online fraud is costing UK retailers as much as £580m a year, and could rise to £1.5bn by 2010, according to research published today. Almost two thirds of retailers (64 per cent) admit falling victim to online theft and 36 per cent say it has increased since the introduction of chip-and-PIN more...

Devon villagers chip in for mobile coverage platform

Community leaders in a south Devon village are planning to build a concrete platform so those wanting to use their mobile phones can climb up and use it to pick up a network signal. The 200 residents of East Prawle can't get coverage from any of the mobile phone networks more...

Microsoft's Vista sales power up

Microsoft, the world's largest software company, has sold close to 40 million copies of its new Vista operating system, chairman Bill Gates has said. Mr Gates said sales had been quicker than Microsoft expected, and made Vista the firm's quickest selling software more...

Web safety warning for children

More than half of children in the UK using the internet have had an "unwanted experience", a poll suggests. The NSPCC found 50.4% of 2,053 children had experienced problems such as bullying, being threatened or sexually harassed while online more...

T-Mobile pulling ahead in race to become European iPhone carrier

Everyone and their brother(s) have been trying to predict which mobile phone network will get the nod as Apple's European partner for the iPhone, and it appears Apple is getting closer to a decision. Apple and the European carriers are hoping that big iPhone sales will make the exclusive distribution a lucrative one, so of course Apple is taking its sweet time in choosing a European carrier for the launch more...

Web 2.0 'distracts good design'

Hype about Web 2.0 is making web firms neglect the basics of good design, web usability guru Jakob Nielsen has said. He warned that the rush to make webpages more dynamic often meant users were badly served more...

LG.Philips unleashes world's first "paper-thin" color display

LG.Philips LCD, one of the world's top producers of thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs), announced on Sunday that it has developed the world's first 14.1-inch electronic paper (e-paper) display that is as flexible as paper, a second breakthrough in e-paper for the company, which introduced the world's first 14.1-inch black and white flexible e-paper display in May 2006 more...

Google sticks by censorship policy

An attempt to force Google to stop censoring its search results in repressive countries has been rejected by its shareholders. The office of the comptroller of New York City, which oversees New York City pension funds, proposed the motion at the search giant's annual shareholder yesterday more...

Skills gap is hampering virtualisation progress

Over half (53 per cent) of UK businesses are unable to implement virtualisation technology because of a lack of relevant skills, according to independent research commissioned by IT consultant Avanade. Although 46 per cent of respondents have mapped a virtualisation strategy, a skills gap in this area is proving a stumbling block for more than half more...

Highest mobile call climb begins

A British climber is in the closing stages of an attempt to set a world record for the highest mobile call. Rod Baber is making final preparations to scale Mount Everest and make the call from its north ridge more...

Joost reveals five new investors

Joost, the on-demand video service from the founders of Skype, has raised $45m (£22.8m) from five investors including the broadcasters CBS and Viacom. Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstroem set up Joost in January 2006 to offer broadband users full-screen, high-quality video on their computers more...

Study says iPods can make pacemakers malfunction

iPods can cause cardiac implantable pacemakers to malfunction by interfering with the electromagnetic equipment monitoring the heart, according to a study presented by a 17-year-old high school student to a meeting of heart specialists on Thursday more...

Microsoft releases final iPod fix for Vista

Microsoft released what they call the final patch for Vista users who have issues with their iPods. The release follows an announcement in February from Apple that iPod users should avoid upgrading to Vista in order to prevent corruption when using the ejection feature undock the device more...

YouTube sued for showing football

The English Premier League is suing YouTube, the video-sharing website, for alleged copyright infringement. The league said that the site, which is owned by Google, was engaged in a "deliberate strategy" of "promoting and encouraging massive copyright infringement" by enabling excerpts of games to be posted more...

ID card costs rise above £5bn

The official cost of the controversial ID card scheme has risen to £5.31bn. The figures were released as Tony Blair announced his departure, leading to claims from the opposition that the government was "burying bad news" more...

MP3 players could boast sat-nav

Computer scientists are hoping to add GPS satellite navigation technology to hand-held music devices like MP3s, to help guide pedestrians around cities more...

Google Earth to get sound enhancement

The sounds of the planet are to be linked to Google Earth to enable users to hear what a place sounds like, as well as what it used to sound like. Bernie Krause has spent 40 years collecting the sounds, and his company Wild Sanctuary has accumulated over 3,500 hours of recordings, covering everything from the cracking of glaciers to midnight in the jungle more...

Gaming, music and TV to drive mobile market

Mobile content is set for a revolution, with gaming, music and TV all poised to transform the market in the next five years. With regulatory and competitive pressures pushing down the average consumer spend on voice and messaging, Screen Digest mobile analyst David McQueen advised mobile operators to look to new content offerings to deliver the business growth they've enjoyed over the past decade more...

Blu-ray a possibility for Xbox 360

Community site Xbox Circle has reported that during a recent interview with ITMedia, Microsoft boss Peter Moore stated that the Xbox 360 could see an add-on Blu-ray drive launched for it more...

The kids are alright online

While parents fret about timewasting games and online predators, young people are alert to the dangers and relaxed with technologies' potential, says Richard Sarson more...

Do people care how environmentally friendly their PC is?

Not judging by the reaction to the latest ruminations from Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, whose latest bit of blogging, entitled "A Greener Apple" - about the company's past and future environmental objectives - has drawn noticeably less interest than his previous one, in which he discussed whether online music should be sold with or without digital rights management software more...

Concerns over child porn inquiry

A BBC investigation has raised concerns about the way the UK's biggest internet child porn inquiry was conducted. Operation Ore focused on over 7,000 people whose credit cards were used to buy illegal porn from a US website more...

Second Life 'child abuse' claim

Second Life is being investigated by German police following allegations that some members are trading child abuse images in the online world. The investigation follows a report by a German TV news programme which uncovered the trading group and members who pay for sex with virtual children more...

M&S employee details at risk

Marks and Spencer has confirmed that a laptop containing information on 26,000 employees was stolen three weeks ago. The laptop was taken from a printing firm that had been given the personal information in order to write to employees about pension changes more...

Smart hat brings play to disabled

A "smart" cap that allows disabled children to "drive" radio-controlled cars and boats, has been launched. The Dream-Racer device has four motion sensors that detect small movements of the head, which are then fed wirelessly to control the toy's direction more...

'Guessing' robots navigate faster

Robots that use educated guesswork to build maps of their surroundings are being tested by US researchers. The approach could let them navigate more easily through complex environments such as unfamiliar buildings, the researchers claim more...

Touch-and-pay cards get go ahead

UK consumers will soon be able to settle bills of less than £10 with a touch of their credit and debit cards. The system, which is being led by Visa and Mastercard, will be running from September, said payment group Apacs more...

Touch-and-pay cards get go ahead

UK consumers will soon be able to settle bills of less than £10 with a touch of their credit and debit cards. The system, which is being led by Visa and Mastercard, will be running from September, said payment group Apacs more...

Web snares new Spidey game

Activision has revealed it's working on a new Spider-Man game to be released this autumn.
Spider-Man: Friend or Foe aims to offer "A new twist on the legend" and "A new take on the movies", according to the freshly launched website more...

Google's biggest hits around the world

Doberman, blood diamond, Vietnam war, bookshop. Alternatively, what about tango, zeus, Zara and the police? A world map of the mind can be sketched out by the words people search for on the internet, which are recorded by country by Google Zeitgeist (google.com/press/zeitgeist) more...

Linux evolves for mobile phones

A version of the increasingly popular Linux operating system Ubuntu will be developed for use on net-enabled phones and devices, it has been announced. The Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded project aims to create the open source platform for initial release in October 2007 more...

LG Unveils 'Full HD' Plasmas & LCDs

So confident was LG of a joyous reception to its latest products that it launched them at a plush London event last week with Lily Allen on the mic and Primal Scream front man Bobbie Gillespie manning the decks. Well you'd be confident too if you had 'Full HD' 1080p plasmas and LCDs up your sleeve more...

Currys to eject audio cassettes

The digital world has finally caught up with the humble audio cassette as electrical retailer Currys announced it will stop stocking them. Last year Currys sold just 100,000 tapes compared with 83 million in 1989. The store will also phase out tape decks, which are currently available in less than 5% of audio equipment more...

BBC appoints Microsoft man to control future media

The BBC has appointed a Microsoft executive, previously responsible for promoting Windows Media, to a key post in the division responsible for the roll out of its iPlayer online media initiative. Ashley Highfield has announced Erik Huggers as controller of the future media and technology group. He also becomes a possible successor more...

Next target of cellphone industry

After hitting alarm clock makers and camera manufacturers, the cellphone industry has a new target -- personal navigation device makers. Handset makers see navigation as one of the next major value-adding offerings and even at this very early stage, analysts say the annual market for phone navigation is worth hundreds of millions of euros more...

Joost faces problems providing video on demand

The broadband video service Joost has been struggling to keep up with demand after extending its pre-launch testing by allowing trial users to send unlimited invitations to others more...