2008 November

November 28, 2008

Sky keeps children safe online

by Janet Harris

With children using the Internet more and more, parents need to be constantly vigilant to make sure that their children stay safe online. The internet has become an integral part of the way young people interact with their peers, on social network sites, or even via online games. This can be a positive experience and recent reports such ...

Orange implements VAT cut two days early

by David Allen
Mobile operator Orange has announced that it will be introducing the Chancellor's 2.5% VAT cut two days early in its retail stores. Starting tomorrow, Orange will charge VAT at 15%, with prices rounded down to the nearest £0.50. Sian Doyle, Orange's director of retail, said the decision to bring in the VAT cut early was made with customers in mind. Doyle said the ...

First job axe falls at Virgin Media

by David Allen
Over 100 jobs at Virgin Media are to be axed after the company announced plans to close its Gateshead telesales department. The multimedia telecoms group announced the news this morning as the first step in the company's plans to reduce its UK workforce by 2,200 within the next three years. Staff at the Gateshead office have said that now is not the ...

£30 Million broadband project in North Wales

by David Allen

The high speed broadband project for North Wales is about to go onto the next level as the Deputy First Minister of Wales Leuan Wyn Jones officially launches the project in Bangor. The FibreSpeed project will be providing fibre broadband connections linking fourteen business parks across the area. The first stage will see the laying of two hundred miles of ...

Spam levels set to rise

by David Allen

Anyone who has been getting huge amounts of spam for a long time may have noticed that there has been a reduction in spam messages, but this is not because of the filters that block spam, it is rather more subtle than that. Recently an internet service provider called McColo was closed down. This happened because there were reasons ...

UK to get 4G in 2010

by David Allen

The next stage in the development of the mobile phone network has been on the drawing board for some time, yet the Long Term Evolution (LTE), or 4G as it is bound to be called, still may not be rolled out in the UK until the end of 2010 at the earliest. The chipsets will be available during 2009, ...

Wi-Manx remove caps on broadband

by David Allen

The Isle of Man may be an island in the middle of the Irish Sea, but they do have a decent broadband network with choices of satellite or fibre optic cable, but one provider, Wi-Manx, is a fixed Wi-Fi broadband provider who is offering its customers the chance to remove data allowance caps for their service. Customers of Wi-Manx ...

Businesses should manage internet use

by David Allen

In a recent study for Easynet Connect by Quocirca, small and medium sized companies were asked about their policies for staff accessing the internet while at work. However, surprisingly only eighteen per cent of those asked actually have an internet ban during work hours, while half have some sort of formal policy on internet access, while a third have ...

Digital divide costing parents over Christmas

by David Allen

The internet service provider Be Broadband has been putting some Christmas shopping lists together in order to see if there really is a difference between the high street and online prices. The list, which included a gift for all the family, came out at £876 in the high street, but by using the internet for the exact same products, ...

A-List Celeb derides Blackberry Storm

by David Allen
A-List Celeb derides Blackberry Storm

A-list star Stephen Fry is best known for his comic performances in popular TV shows such as Blackadder and QI. More recently, Fry has successfully turned his hand to serious documentaries and to reviewing hi-tech gadgets in the Guardian's weekend magazine. All of which means that when he chose to slam the Blackberry Storm, ...

November 27, 2008

EU agrees Telecoms package

by Jan Harris
A Telecoms agreement reached today by the European Parliament’s Council of Ministers has been welcomed by Malcolm Harbour MEP, a Conservative telecoms spokesman in the European Parliament. The agreement is designed to improve competition in the telecoms sector between European nations, and strengthen consumer rights, but Harbour believes that further changes are needed to ensure and open and competitive market, a ...

Livestation & CNN IBN cover Mumbai crisis

by Janet Harris
Livestation, a free player which broadcasts TV and radio online, has stepped in to support CNN IBN with its coverage of the ongoing crisis in Mumbai, India. Since gunmen targeted seven sites in Mumbai yesterday, the website of Indian news channel, CNN IBN, has experienced massive global demand for live streaming of its coverage of the unfolding situation. Two hotels in Mumbai, ...

Foxconn denies Chinese staff lay-offs

by David Allen
Taiwan-based Foxconn Electronics, the largest manufacturer of electronics and computer components in the world, has denied rumours of 10,000 staff lay-offs in its China factories. Foxconn spokesperson, Edmund Ding, said the company has not yet issued any official redundancy orders, and that current staffing levels are consistent with normal seasonal trends. The denial follows a similar rebuttal last month when Foxconn refuted ...

HTC launches Touch handsets in India

by David Allen
Taiwan-based smartphone manufacturer, High Tech Computer (HTC), this week launched two of its most popular models in the Indian market with the help of mobile network provider Idea Cellular. The HTC Touch Pro will be priced at Rs 34,900 (£466), whilst the HTC Touch Viva will cost Rs 16,490 (£220). Both phones incorporate the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system, and a touch ...

PND goldmine running dry

by David Allen
Portable Navigation Device (PND) shipments will continue to rise next year, but prices will continue to fall. This is the conclusion of market research by analysts Berg Insight, who anticipate that eroding prices will put pressure on the bottom line for manufacturers. Berg forecasts that PND shipments will continue to grow over the next three years, peaking at 56 million units in ...

BBC wants permission to buy Woolworths’ DVD business

by David Allen

The BBC is seeking permission to go ahead and buy the DVD publisher, 2entertain, which is part of the ailing Woolworths Empire, whose shares have now been suspended. The BBC commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, is seeking around £100 million in order to buyout Woolworths from the partnership that they have in the DVD business. This may seem to be a ...

Apple criticised over iPhone ad

by David Allen

Apple have been criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for apparently misleading consumers about the iPhone's actual capability when accessing the internet. This is second time that Apple have fallen of the ASA rules over claims in adverts. This time Apple have been reprimanded and the advert has banned from TV advertising slots, because they have misled consumers ...

Government should make broadband a priority

by David Allen

A new think tank, known as the Social Market Foundation (SMF), has said that the government should start to prioritise investment in high speed broadband or risk the digital divide getting wider and therefore harder to close at a later date. Although this research has been partly funded by the BBC and Channel Five this does not mean that ...

Consumers seek financial advice online

by David Allen

The internet has become the main source for information when it comes to financial matters. In a recent IFA Life survey it was found that around half of those asked would look for independent financial advice by searching the internet. However, unlike any other search, it is not Google where these people go to look for an IFA; they ...

Pirate Bay blocked by Orange

by David Allen

Having being voted the worst internet service provider by its users in a Which? survey last year, we might have expected Orange Broadband to pull it socks up and start addressing the concerns of their customers, but it seem that this is not to be. In fact, the ISP has started another wave of concern by apparently blocking access ...

Free Wi-Fi at Adidas sports centres

by David Allen

The Olympics may be in 2012 but the benefits of having such a large event in the UK could be paying off, as a deal between sportswear giant Adidas and BT will be bringing to adiZones to the capital. However, the deal is limited to the London boroughs of Greenwich, Newham and Waltham Forest, as these areas are in ...

November 26, 2008

Panasonic Announces Two Home Cinema Plasma TVs

by Janet Harris
Panasonic Announces Two Home Cinema Plasma TVs

Panasonic is launching two full-HD plasma sets in the new year, the 65-inch TH-65VX100 and the 50-inch TH-50VX100. The displays feature new plasma technology with a Dynamic Black Layer at the front end of the panel. The provides deeper and richer blacks by reducing the amount of predischarge by a sixth compared ...

Nibmuzz launches application for iPhone

by Jan Harris
Nimbuzz has launched a free application for the iPhone and iPod touch, allowing users to benefit from the Nimbuzz service, which provides free mobile Instant Messaging, (geo) presence and VoIP over WiFi. The service is compatible with well known instant messaging communities and social networks, such as Skype, Yahoo! Messenger, Facebook, MySpace, AIM, Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, and Jabber. It ...

Pace +LE CUBE hybrid satellite and IP HD PVR for Canal+

by Brian Turner

Pace have launched the +LE Cube - a new hybrid HD PVR, specifically for the Canal+ Group in France. According to Pace, this represents Europe's first Satellite / IP hybrid set-top box to use the Ethernet port for VOD. +Le Cube's hard disk has been optimised by Pace Engineering for very low audibility, to be less intrusive for the user. ...

Orange combines home and mobile broadband

by David Allen
Network operator Orange has unveiled a new broadband package that includes both home and mobile connections for £20 per month. Customers signing up for the package receive 8mbps ADSL home broadband, a free wireless router, and free evening and weekend calls from their landline. In addition, they receive a free USB dongle for internet access on the go, and a 3GB monthly ...

BT Openreach launches new WAN services

by David Allen
BT has announced the launch of two new services in its Applications Assured Infrastructure portfolio that will enable its corporate customers to work more efficiently. BT said its new WAN and application optimisation services could help business customers boost productivity, improve application performance, and maximise investment returns. The WAN optimisation service uses technology from Riverbed, whilst the application performance service is based ...

A laptop for life

by David Allen

It’s called the Laptop4Life scheme and that would seem to be exactly what it is. Fujitsu Siemens are offering this deal with any of their Lifebook range of laptop computers. It works on a simple principle - buy one machine and get another new laptop every three years for the rest of your life. Sound too good to be ...

VAT reduction and the price of broadband

by David Allen

It is always the same principle, when the price of crude oil increases so does petrol, when interest rates go up, the banks are quick to act. Therefore, when the Chancellor of Exchequer reduces the VAT rate, is that going to mean that the price of Broadband and Digital TV will fall? The VAT rate has been reduced to ...

Broadband network in a state

by David Allen

It was only last year when the communications watchdog, Ofcom, claimed that the average broadband connection speed throughout the UK had doubled on that of the previous year to 4.6 Mbps. Yet in a recent study by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) it was found that over forty two per cent of all broadband users are actually getting ...

Orange offers mobile and fixed broadband deal

by David Allen

Not to be out done by the other providers, Orange have followed suit and decided to offer a combined fixed and mobile broadband package that they are calling Home and Mobile Broadband. For just £20 per month, new customers will be getting the Orange up to 8 Mbps with a 10 Gb download limit, along with a free wireless ...

Vispa launches 24 Mbps service

by David Allen

It may have been delayed slightly, but finally Vispa Internet are about to launch their 24 Mbps broadband service. This was delayed because of issues with the supporting technology provided through BT. This new broadband service will have a capped data use, with the basic package starting at just £12.99 per month with a 1 Gb cap, but other ...

Mobile broadband users reach 7.3m

by David Allen

Recent research shows that mobile broadband users have grown to 7.3 million, an increase of twenty five per cent, but at the same time fixed line broadband has increased by just three per cent, although the two services are hardly comparable at the moment. Fixed line broadband users are already in excess of thirty five million and although there ...

November 25, 2008

Web 2.0 to Impact eHoliday Shopping

by WorkLight
With the economy unravelling, says Web 2.0 for Business specialist WorkLight, the online shopping world is changing as companies look to augment their traditional online shopping destinations by leveraging Web 2.0 tools. "With the Christmas shopping season getting well under way, it's clear that Web 2.0 is beginning to change the face of the consumer’s online experience. Online shoppers are now ...

CREDANT and Safend Partner to launch CREDANT Protector

by CREDANT Technologies
CREDANT Technologies and Safendtoday announced a partnership that will provide CREDANT customers with an unprecedented level of protection for their sensitive data. The partnership adds Safend’s endpoint data leakage monitoring and protection technologies to CREDANT’s data protection portfolio. Powered by Safend technology, CREDANT’s new offering, CREDANT Protector, strengthens its existing security portfolio through the addition of comprehensive device and wireless port ...

Taiwan network embraces subsidised MIDs

by David Allen
Two Taiwan-based telecoms companies are co-operating to boost the use of mobile data services in the country. Motherboard maker, Gigabyte Technology, will produce Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) to be subsidised by network operator Chunghwa Telecom (CHT). Gigabyte's M528 will be sold alongside CHT contracts for NT$12,900, reduced from the standard price of NT$19,000. The NT$850 per month contract comes with unlimited bandwidth. It will ...

Samsung developing bendy media player/phone?

by Janet Harris
Samsung developing bendy media player/phone?

At a recently trade show in Japan, Samsung demonstrated a prototype of a phone with a bendy OLED screen that folds shut without a break in the screen. This has fuelled speculation that a full-screen, flip media player / phone could be on the way. The prototype also had a smaller, external touchscreen and the ...

Verbatim launches RAID 2TB eSATA & USB 2.0 Combo

by Jan Harris
Data storage specialist, Verbatim, has launched an external RAID hard disk which can provide two terabytes of storage. The 3.5-inch disk can be configured as either RAID 0 or RAID 1, depending on the user’s requirements. The RAID 0 configuration is ideal when storage capacity is paramount, as the disk provides 2TB of space. This configuration is best used for multi-media and graphics ...

T-Mobile Broadband Users Can Share Connection

by Alan Harten
T-Mobile Broadband Users Can Share Connection

A new initiative from the T-Mobile will mean that people will be able to share their mobile Internet connection with others. T-Mobile believes that customers want to share their connection, so have provided them with a device called the Mobile Broadband Share Dock to enable broadband sharing. In addition this new device will be ...

Broadband connections reach 95%

by David Allen

It would appear the end is near for Dial Up internet access, as broadband internet access now accounts for the majority of internet connections, with a total coverage of just under ninety five per cent of the UK. With the national quest for high speed internet, the amount of connections getting a connection of more than 2 Mbps has ...

Openreach cuts prices

by David Allen

The cost of moving electronic data around the country is about to get a lot cheaper thanks to BT Openreach, who will be cutting the prices of these service with immediate effect. The services affected by these price changes will be the BT Openreach's WES, WEES and BES products. These are mainly used in providing the middle services, which ...

Lawyers want customer details from nine ISPs

by David Allen

Lawyers representing the rights holder of music tracks are looking to obtain a court order, which would make nine of the UK’s most popular internet service providers hand over details of their customers in order that the lawyers can seek compensation on the copyright holder’s behalf. Digiprotect Gesellschaft Zum Schutze Digitale Medien's lawyers have in fact begun to send ...

26% change ISPs at end of contract

by David Allen

In a recent survey it has been found that over a quarter of internet service providers' customers intend to change broadband providers when their contracts come to an end. There are also a variety of reasons as to why they would want switch. The main reasons for customers to even consider switching is broadband speed and connection; over ...

Small group plan super fast broadband

by David Allen

A new group has been set up to provide a localised superfast broadband service to two communities in Yorkshire, Upper Valley and Calderdale. The plan is to start off with a feasibility study, for which the Calder Valley Our Net has been given a £5,000 grant from the Community Foundation For Calderdale. This is pay for up to four ...

Average UK person worth £14K to cyber criminals

by David Allen

According to recent research by the Get Safe Online organisation, the average person in the UK could be worth as much as £14,500 to a cyber criminal. A fraud takes place very fast and over a short period of time. This is so that they max out what they can and leave before the trail begins to lead to ...

November 24, 2008

HTC predicts recession-proof sales

by David Allen
High Tech Computer expects to ship almost double its initial estimates of T-Mobile G1 smartphones by the end of this year. HTC chairman Peter Chou now predicts cumulative G1 shipments of one million units by the end of 2008. Earlier this year Chou stated that the company expected to sell 'good numbers' of the G1 of around 600,000. HTC has also revised its ...

Vodafone storms out as demand outstrips supply

by David Allen
Vodafone chief executive, Vittorio Colao, has warned that the company is struggling to keep up with demand for the new Blackberry Storm smartphone. The Storm is Blackberry's first ever touch screen interface smartphone. Vodafone has exclusive sale rights to the handset in the UK. Seventy thousand Vodafone customers pre-ordered a Blackberry Storm before the device was released earlier this month. It is not yet ...

UK leads the world in media technology

by David Allen
New research has discovered that Britain is leading the world at using new technologies such as mobile broadband and digital television. Telecoms regulator Ofcom has reported that Britain has more digital TVs and recorders per household than any other country. Eighty six percent of households now use a digital TV for their main set, nine percentage points higher than last year. This is ...

Chrome could be pre-installed on PCs

by David Allen

All of sudden Google have big plans for their browser Chrome that was released in September. It seems that it is possible that anyone buying a new computer will see Google Chrome as the default internet browser instead of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. At the moment the browser market is dominated by Internet Explorer with 71.3 per cent of the ...

BBC local web plans rejected

by David Allen

The £68 million project, which would have seen the BBC procuring local news and video sites for all areas of the UK, has been given the thumbs down by the BBC trust. Originally, the project was going to provide sixty different local websites as well as five in Wales, and would have employed anything up to four hundred staff. However, ...

UK completes first full scale switchover

by David Allen

TV viewers in Scottish Borders become the first in the UK to feel the full effects of a total switchover from terrestrial TV to digital TV. The analogue service was totally turned off throughout the night and was replaced by the new digital channels throughout the day. This work, when completed, marked the first complete full-scale switchover so far in ...

Satellite:

Cable:

Digital TV

Mobile Phones

Computers

Internet: