Computer News
December 31, 2007
With the BBC launching its iPlayer on Christmas day it seems that there has been a huge wave of catch up services appearing in the net these days, with ITV and next month Apple launching their iTunes partnership with Fox and Disney. It seems that broadband could have changed the face of TV as we know it; with catch up facilities ...
Catch up TV makes it big
by David AllenWith the BBC launching its iPlayer on Christmas day it seems that there has been a huge wave of catch up services appearing in the net these days, with ITV and next month Apple launching their iTunes partnership with Fox and Disney. It seems that broadband could have changed the face of TV as we know it; with catch up facilities ...
Broadband speed running at 35%
by David AllenIn study made of the UK’s broadband system and of the consumers who use the system it has been found that they are not getting the advertised speed in fact far from it. Most consumers understand that the advertised speed is not going to always be possible this could be due to demand etc. But it has been found that some ...
Faster broadband speeds will help technology
by David AllenThe prospect of a faster broadband would help develop new technologies so say the experts from the Internet Services Providers Association (ISPA) which is the UK trade organisation for the industry. The ISPA is predicting that there will be more TV programmes and business related technology will become more and more of a feature in people’s homes during 2008. This will ...
Wireless households at risk
by David AllenOf all the wireless internet users in the UK around half are using an unsecured wireless network within their home. This means that these users are putting themselves at risk from people who feel free to go around searching the wireless bands for an open network that they can then exploit. These wireless pirates can monitor exactly what is going on ...
December 30, 2007
T-Mobile International has selected Huawei Technologies to provide Packet Switched Core Networks across five key European countries. This important collaboration by the two companies will serve Germany, the UK, Austria, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Under the terms of the contract, Huawei, a leader in providing next generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, will replace existing networks ...
Huawei to build PS-CN in Europe for T-Mobile
by Lin FreestoneT-Mobile International has selected Huawei Technologies to provide Packet Switched Core Networks across five key European countries. This important collaboration by the two companies will serve Germany, the UK, Austria, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Under the terms of the contract, Huawei, a leader in providing next generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, will replace existing networks ...
December 28, 2007
The government consumer watchdog Consumer Direct, have received over 3,000 complaints about the late deliveries in the rush to get the present in time for Christmas. This is a big disappointment of the whole internet process which is running really well, many people have found that the system works. In fact over the same period there were over twenty seven million ...
Online Santa fails to deliver
by David AllenThe government consumer watchdog Consumer Direct, have received over 3,000 complaints about the late deliveries in the rush to get the present in time for Christmas. This is a big disappointment of the whole internet process which is running really well, many people have found that the system works. In fact over the same period there were over twenty seven million ...
Broadband customers to find better prices
by David AllenIn a survey conducted by the Nationwide building society it was found that finding a more competitive price deal on broadband, mobile phones, landline and satellite contracts would be at the top of the list for most consumers in the UK. The idea of cutting the price paid for these deals would be the main priority for some consumers. Obviously saving ...
Tiscali UK tops complaints
by David AllenFor the forth year running the ISP Tiscali UK have come top for complaints list compiled by ISPreview.co.uk, although they did state that the company were showing signs of improvement with over four hundred complaints with the companies worst feature being customer support, or in their case lack of customer support it would seem. Although there are other problems that ...
Rural areas missing out on internet improvements
by David AllenThere is some concern over the fact that businesses and communities in rural areas are missing out on broadband revolution that is going on at the moment. The concerns come from the governments own rural Tsar, Stuart Burgess who is Chairman if the Rural Communities Commission. He claims that there are some places in the UK that have worse coverage ...
December 27, 2007
The stylish technology company Apple have teamed up with 20th Century Fox in a deal that will see films and other programming become available through iTunes where any of the companies vast selections can be downloaded to the users computer and watch at any time, some of the latest films that will be available online are the latest Simpson’s offering ...
Apple offer films through iTunes
by David AllenThe stylish technology company Apple have teamed up with 20th Century Fox in a deal that will see films and other programming become available through iTunes where any of the companies vast selections can be downloaded to the users computer and watch at any time, some of the latest films that will be available online are the latest Simpson’s offering ...
3G and T Mobile to share networks
by David AllenIn an agreement between 3G and T mobile that would see the two companies networks combine to create a huge one huge network that would virtually cover the whole of the UK’s populated areas, which is great for users of either network who find themselves on the edges where it is possible one day to have a service and the ...
File sharers could lose broadband
by David AllenInternet users who download films or TV programmes that have been pirated could soon find that they will lose the right to have a broadband connection altogether if new rules being drawn up by the government are approved. The industry are putting a lot of pressure on governments and ISP’s to prevent the file sharing culture that has built up over ...
Christmas boom for Broadband
by David AllenIt seems that just spending Christmas day eating, drinking and watching the TV is not enough for some people these days as many people were on line browsing the sales that had started that day. Before normally this normally it would boxing day that offered so many good deals as the sales started, but in an unprecedented attempt to keep the ...
December 24, 2007
Users of social networking sites beware. This week thousands of members of Orkut, Google's social networking site, became infected by a potentially malicious worm. At its most dangerous, the virus was infecting over 100 users every minute. Members of Orkut, a networking website similar to Facebook and MySpace, were sent an email by the worm telling them that they ...
Orkut Users Infected by Virus
by David MastersUsers of social networking sites beware. This week thousands of members of Orkut, Google's social networking site, became infected by a potentially malicious worm. At its most dangerous, the virus was infecting over 100 users every minute. Members of Orkut, a networking website similar to Facebook and MySpace, were sent an email by the worm telling them that they ...
UK spends more on digital TV
by David AllenIt seems that consumers in the UK are either very carefree with their cash or getting ripped off left right and centre when it comes to satellite and cable television as they are the highest spenders on subscriptions with the European union In a study by Ofcom, it was found that the UK subscriber will spend on average around £21 per ...
BBC iPlayer causing internet headache
by David AllenWith the BBC iPlayer due be launched tomorrow the last thing that they really need is most of the main broadband suppliers demanding that they share the costs of the traffic that the iPlayer is expected to generate. With a full on advertising campaign due to start tomorrow with the likes of Jeremy Clarkson and Sir David Attenborough leading the drive ...
French firm wins broadband contract
by David AllenThe French defence and engineering group Thales has been chosen to build and also manage a new super fast broadband network that will deliver this service to over 600,000 homes in south Yorkshire. This new high speed network will be capable of delivering speeds of up to 50 megabits per second (MBPS), which is said to be around six times ...
Pub landlady loses appeal over Sky
by David AllenFinally the court has heard the appeal on the case of the pub landlady who was showing Premier league football matches in her pub in the Red, White and Blue in Southsea, Hampshire. She was signed up to the Greek DTH service Nova, this was instead of signing up to Sky sports for their sports package which includes the live premier ...
December 23, 2007
Britons are risking losing valuable images and data forever with almost one in five who own a portable device losing phone numbers and contact details on mislaid items and 40% admitting to not backing up photos on portable devices, according to research commissioned by Network Appliance (NetApp), a leading provider of storage and data management solutions. The YouGov survey of 2,035 ...
1 in 5 fail to back up laptops and PDAs
by Brian TurnerBritons are risking losing valuable images and data forever with almost one in five who own a portable device losing phone numbers and contact details on mislaid items and 40% admitting to not backing up photos on portable devices, according to research commissioned by Network Appliance (NetApp), a leading provider of storage and data management solutions. The YouGov survey of 2,035 ...
Common free iPod spam IPs
by Brian TurnerEvery forum admin is used to seeing supposed offers for cheap ipods and mobile phones on their forums, supposedly from trading companies. After some research, Security Watch has found that a lot of this spam originates from just two IP addresses: 216.139.164.85 216.139.164.86 Checking up the IP history of one forum, no less than 20 banned users had used these two IP addresses alone ...
December 22, 2007
14 account holders of Dutch bank ABN AMRO are being investigated by police for their complicity in a phishing scam which was targeted at users of ABN AMROs online banking services. The cyber-fraudsters behind the scam set up a number of false ABN AMRO websites in which customers of the bank were encouraged to enter their account login details. These ...
Dutch Police Bust Phishing Scam
by David Masters14 account holders of Dutch bank ABN AMRO are being investigated by police for their complicity in a phishing scam which was targeted at users of ABN AMROs online banking services. The cyber-fraudsters behind the scam set up a number of false ABN AMRO websites in which customers of the bank were encouraged to enter their account login details. These ...
Sky Anytime adds new movie content
by Lin FreestoneSky has agreed terms with Paramount and Warner Bros, and becomes the first online download service to offer movies from the six major movie studios on its Sky Anytime on PC service. The Paramount agreement will bring movies including Mission: Impossible 3, The Weather Man, Saving Private Ryan and Top Gun. In the New Year all Sky customers will be able ...
Discovery Channel available on Sky’s Picnic
by Lin FreestoneDiscovery Networks UK has signed up to provide a factual channel on Sky's pay digital terrestrial TV service Picnic. If the service is approved by Ofcom, the Discovery Channel will be available between 6am and 6pm every day to Picnic customers. The proposed addition of the channel to Picnic’s service is a demonstration of Sky’s ongoing commitment to offer increased choice and ...
December 21, 2007
Mobile operator 3 is launching its Skypephone in Sweden, Denmark and Austria. The company has already introduced the phone in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Hong Kong and Italy. The 3 Skypephone is a 3G device Internet phone which provides free Skype-to-Skype calls to anywhere in the world. Conventional calls can also be made with the handset. The phone allows users to take ...
3 launches Skypephone in Sweden, Denmark and Austria
by Jan HarrisMobile operator 3 is launching its Skypephone in Sweden, Denmark and Austria. The company has already introduced the phone in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Hong Kong and Italy. The 3 Skypephone is a 3G device Internet phone which provides free Skype-to-Skype calls to anywhere in the world. Conventional calls can also be made with the handset. The phone allows users to take ...
Sony to exit rear projection TV market
by Janet Harris
Sony has decided to cease the manufacture of rear projection TVs (RPTV). Once its current inventory is gone it will redistribute resources to the production of LDCs and plasma displays.
Rear projection HDTVs can provide a better image quality than an equivalent priced flat panel TV, but Sony believes ...DSL Forum's key IPTV specs approved
by Janet HarrisThe DSL Forum has announced the approval of its Technical Report, TR-135 Data Model for a TR-069 Enabled set-top box (STB) and the amendment of Technical Report TR-069 which is concerned with enhancing the remote management capabilities of IPTV devices. The new IPTV specifications are a key element of BroadbandSuite Release 3.0, which will support triple-play augmented via VDSL2, GPON and ...
Jetflash launches V33 USB flash drive
by Jan HarrisTranscend Information has recently launched its JetFlash V33 USB flash drive, building on the success of the Jetflash UFD product line which is considered one of the fastest drives currently available. The compact Transcend Jetflash V33 measures just 60 x 16 x 8 mm in size and weighs a mere 7g. The drives come in 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB capacities with ...
PAYG mobile broadband plan launched by 3
by Jan Harris3 has launched the first true pay-as-you-go mobile broadband plan, allowing customers to benefit from mobile connectivity without being tied to a contract. The plan allows customers to top up a PAYG USB Modem, in the same way that they would top up a mobile phone. The USB modem is available for a one-off payment of £99.99 and comes in a choice ...
Warner Bros launch VOD in UK
by David AllenWarner Bros the film and TV producers have launched five video on demand (VOD) services world wide in France, Japan and the UK. They will also be launching other services in 2008. The service will be available through Virgin Media and BT’s IPTV service; this is just the beginning of them moving into the sector that will allow them to distribute ...
Virgin recovers from a bad week
by David AllenThe well publicised disaster that Virgin Media had when their network failed the other day, is well and truly over now, but as with any incident there always follows the inquest. The story for from Virgin Media is that the problem started with system wide update that took place, this entailed a remote update of the set top boxes and modems ...
BT will use Microsoft for IPTV
by David AllenWith BT’s plans to offer there customers IPTV they have chosen to use Microsoft TV Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) Edition software platform which will deliver the programming over the internet to homes within the UK. This is probably better news for Microsoft than BT, as it will strengthen their presence in the IPTV industry and by working with major corporations that ...
BSkyB defends £78,500 charge for Rapture
by David AllenBSkyB just simply cannot stay out of the news these days, and this time the story is about how they charge other channels. In this case Rapture TV is appealing at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London over the decision by the regulator Ofcom’s decision that BSkyB did not over charge Rapture TV for inclusion in the Electronic Programme Guide ...
Sony develops thinner multi-touch LCD display
by Janet Harris
Sony has unveiled new technology which enables the production of a thinner multi-touch display and helps to ensure input quality.
Multi-touch displays are becoming more popular and are used in devices such as the iPhone.
The company's new 3.5-inch multi-touch LCD uses optical sensing technology. It features a 640 x 480 resolution screen ...Milton Keynes first WiMax internet city
by Jan HarrisMilton Keynes is to become the first WiMax-powered wireless internet city, through a partnership between wireless broadband provider Freedom4 and ConnectMK, a private company formed by Milton Keynes Council. Freedom4 has successfully trialled WiMax in Milton Keynes and expects the joint venture to help it reach the wider community. Areas where traditional ADSL access is unavailable will be able to benefit from ...
December 20, 2007
North American film distributor, Lionsgate, plans to include innovative, interactive technology on forthcoming Blu-ray films.
The company claims that its next two titles will have entirely new features which will "push the limits of next-gen interactivity".
Lionsgate's "War" title will feature a network-connected game which allows people to join up and play ...
Lionsgate adopts next-gen interactivity on Blu-ray
by Janet Harris
North American film distributor, Lionsgate, plans to include innovative, interactive technology on forthcoming Blu-ray films.
The company claims that its next two titles will have entirely new features which will "push the limits of next-gen interactivity".
Lionsgate's "War" title will feature a network-connected game which allows people to join up and play ...Buffalo rolls out 100GB USB flash drive
by Jan HarrisBuffalo Technology, the wireless networking and storage specialist, has launched a 100GB USB solid state disk (SSD) in Japan. Prior to Buffalo's SHD-UHRS SSD, the largest capacity flash drive was 64GB. In order to achieve the high capacity, Buffalo has used two types of flash memory in the drive, SLC and MLC, creating a hybrid configuration. SLC (Single-Level Cell) and MLC ...
LG Viewty Sales Reach 310,000
by Janet Harris
LG has sold over 310,000 Viewty cameraphones since its release into the European market five weeks ago. This represents average sales of 6,300 units a day across Europe, beating LG's Chocolate and Shine models.
With its touch screen interface, LG Viewty is considered a rival to Apple's iPhone, although Viewty's main selling ...Ipcortex increases support for Polycom IP handsets
by Jan Harrisipcortex Ltd of Milton Keynes has upgraded its VoIPCortex IP-PBX platform to provide increased support for the Polycom range of SIP handsets. This will give users and resellers of ipcortex products greater choice and simplicity. The handsets, which are quick to configure, are from more than 6 different vendors, including including Aastra, snom and Linksys, helping to ensure compatibility. The Polycom SoundPoint ...
Silicon nanowires could extend battery life tenfold
by Janet HarrisBatteries for electronic devices such as laptops, mobile phones and even electric vehicles, could soon hold ten times more charge than currently possible, thanks to new research at Stanford University. University researchers, including Yi Cui, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, are using silicon nanowires to extend the life of lithium-ion batteries. The capacity of a traditional lithium-ion battery is ...
Details emerge about IPTV World Forum
by David AllenThe organisers of the IPTV world forum, Junction Ltd have been announcing who will be making the key speeches for this world class event. With over 130 exhibitors planning to display their goods and services at the show that will run from 12th to the 14th March at Olympia in London. The main part of the event will be the speakers ...
A year with IPTV
by David AllenFor many people IPTV may not even mean much, but as an industry there has been a lot of movement within the whole sector like: Top Market Developments in 2007: Fast web (in Europe) has begun to offer its TV package. Advertising-funded VOD trials have begun in Europe. It's the best year yet for net additions for IPTV. PlayStation 3 activated for IPTV in ...
Consumer panel urges Ofcom to act on broadband speeds
by David AllenOfcom is being urged by its own consumer panel to get tough with the UK’s broadband service providers with regards to the speed that consumer has signed up for and the sped that they are actually receiving, as there would appear to be a huge a variance from one to the other. The panel are looking for all sorts of rules ...
Freedom4 and Connect MK offer WiMax
by David AllenThe people of Milton Keynes can now benefit from deal fashioned by the wireless broadband provider Freedom4 and Connect MK who will provide Milton Keynes with the UK’s first commercial wireless broadband service which uses the WiMax technology. The system has been operating in trials around the MK area, which is why the partnership with Connect MK which was set up ...
Panasonic TH-42PH10UK Plasma TV
by Franz Bicar
Panasonic's TH42PH10UK Professional HDTV series achieves picture quality that gets the point across in a clear, colorful way. The TH42PH10UK displays a maximum of 29 billion. 16-bit processing produces 3,072 shades of gradation. The more a TV has, the more colors you see. The high contrast ratio of up ...
December 19, 2007
US-based SnapTell has developed innovative technology which allows camera phone users to take a picture of an advert and receive money-off vouchers for the product.
The company has launched its first mobile marketing campaign, which gives a discount on wine at Wine Enthusiast's website.
Camera phone users simply take a photo of the Wine ...
SnapTell launches mobile marketing campaign
by Janet Harris
US-based SnapTell has developed innovative technology which allows camera phone users to take a picture of an advert and receive money-off vouchers for the product.
The company has launched its first mobile marketing campaign, which gives a discount on wine at Wine Enthusiast's website.
Camera phone users simply take a photo of the Wine ...Ofcom considers guidelines on broadband advertising
by Jan HarrisOfcom could introduce new guidelines on the selling of broadband early next year. The regulations would help ensure that advertising gives consumers accurate information about broadband speeds. At the moment broadband providers tend to advertise an 'up to' speed, which few people actually receive in practice. Under the new regulations, broadband providers could be subject to formal action if they fail to provide ...
Toshiba's laptop first with rewritable HD DVD
by Janet Harris
Toshiba claims that the Qosmio G40 is the first laptop in the world to feature a rewritable HD DVD Drive. The new model builds on the success of its predecessor, the Qosmio G40-10E, which was the first with a writeable HD DVD drive.
The Qosmio G40, which is priced ...LG launches USB drives with embedded security
by Jan HarrisLG Electronics has launched two USB Flash drives with embedded security tools to protect data on the drive, or on the host PC. The 'Vaccine' USB drive includes pre-installed software which protects against viruses and malware in real-time. It comes in sizes from 512MB to 8GB and automatically monitors incoming traffic. The software can be updated via the internet. The ...
Junction announces speakers for IPTV World Forum
by Janet HarrisNetworking event specialist, Junction Ltd, has announced the latest speakers for the IPTV World Forum (www.iptv-forum.com), 12 - 14 March, at Olympia in London. The event will feature over 400 speakers in total. The latest ones to confirm their attendance include: Jean Charles De Keyser, Chief Executive - Skynet Belgacom TV; Tim Pearson, Director of Digital TV - Orange UK; Marc Watson, Commercial ...
Avaya announces VoIP innovations for UK SMEs
by Jan HarrisTelecommunications company, Avaya Inc, is introducing new services which could bring enhanced communication capabilities to UK businesses. Avaya has enabled its one-X Mobile client software to work with Apple's iPhone. The software will allow the iPhone to be integrated into most enterprise IP telecoms networks. Avaya's downloadable interface coverts the iPhone and other mobile devices from companies such as RIM, Palm, ...
