BBC Trust says no to local news

by David Allen
The nail has finally been hammered into the coffin of the BBC's plans to provide national online video news services, covering local areas. The BBC Trust’s decision comes several months after the public consultation set up to look into this plan rejected it as being a negative influence on the regional press networks, and said it would not improve ...

---

Shed TV to launch in March

by David Allen
It had to happen one day, a channel devoted to men who like nothing more than spending time in their garden shed. The Discovery Network, normally known for its ground breaking documentaries on the subject of nature and wildlife, will be launching Discovery Shed in March. The Channel is dedicated to those men who like to escape to the bottom ...

---

Broadband battle won by 85 year old

by David Allen
After a wait of four years, and several attempts by BT engineers to connect eighty five year old Vincent Baker to the broadband network, the retired catering executive is finally able to surf the net at broadband speeds. Mr Baker had been told on several occasions that the phone line at his home in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, in Wales, was ...

---

Tiscali users speak out about filesharing

by David Allen
The internet service provider, Tiscali, has been conducting an online survey in order to get an idea about the feelings of consumers in the UK towards illegal music downloads, and the results have thrown up some interesting observations. Forty six per cent of those who answered the survey stated that they have used file sharing sites before. This was ...

---

UKTV History re-brand launches

by David Allen
A re-branded version of UKTV History will be launched next Monday, under the new branding of Yesterday. This will be accompanied by the launch of a website called visityesterday.co.uk . The target audience is going to be couples in the thirty plus age group and the channel will aim to provide history is easily accessible form. The in house staff ...

---

Second school musical for Sky

by David Allen
Following the success of “Hairspray: The School Musical” on Sky One last year, the broadcaster has commissioned Mentorn Media to produce a follow up. The idea is that students from secondary schools are given the opportunity to perform in a well known musical on the West End stage. This year the host, Denise Van Outen, will be replaced by Duncan ...

---

Dave ja vu launched by UKTV

by David Allen
The channel Dave has been such a success that it is going to get a time shift service. However, unlike other channels, Dave likes to do things slightly differently, with a name that works really well. Dave +1, will allow viewers to watch scheduled programmes an hour later, which is handy if a programme is missed or clashes with ...

---

February 24, 2009

Broadband Genie warns on mobile broadband prices

by Jan Harris
Mobile broadband is becoming more and more popular, which is not surprising as it allows customers to connect to the Internet wherever they are, without having to worry about the cost of a landline. There are plenty of cheap mobile broadband deals around to attract customers. For example, an 18 month contact with T Mobile offers a super fast dongle, with a ...

---

Pipex launches software rental service

by David Allen
Pipex yesterday unveiled Rentsoft, a new pay-as-you-go software platform for small businesses. Rentsoft gives SMEs access to leading software applications on a subscription basis. Small companies subscribed to Rentex will be able to download and use the lastest version of selected software, ranging from accounting and payroll applications to HR and business planning programmes. Companies will be able to trial software free for ...

---

Acme Packet Grows Despite Recesion

by Alan Harten
Long time key player in VOIP and data networking, Acme Packet, is going against the worldwide recession trend and cautiously forecasting a 5% growth this year from its move into the mobile market. The company has launched a new move into the internet of the future, mobile internet, and is looking to the high speed bandwidth and more readily connectibility of ...

---

Plug-and-View Video From Aspen

by Alan Harten
Video over the internet is the coming thing, as fibre connections become more common and increase available bandwidth exponentially but at an affordable cost, and manufacturers are jumping onto the bandwagon with new innovations. With the US going over totally to digital television this year, the demand for more fibre connections will dramatically increase, with a concomitant drop in cost as ...

---

Watch movies with friends on a single handset

by David Allen
MindTree and Texas Instruments have jointly unveiled a new Bluetooth application that allows users to listen to the same audio stream on different headsets. The technology opens up a new range of uses for handsets, including song sharing, and watching a movie with friends. Commenting on the application, Texas Instruments' marketing ...

---

EMI clamping down on down loaders

by David Allen
The UK broadband network is like a leaking pipe, according to the chief executive of EMI Music, Elio Leoni-Sceti. He is calling for internet service providers to take responsibility for customers and clamp down on those accused of illegal downloading. The Communications Minister, Lord Carter, has recommended in his Digital Britain report, that ISPs should just warn customers who ...

---

Charity concern over child abuse websites

by David Allen
It would appear that despite the government's promises to ensure that child abuse websites are blocked, thousands of households throughout the UK still have access to these sites, according to the Children's Charities' Coalition on Internet Safety (CHIS). Currently ninety five per cent of internet service providers are blocking the websites that are on the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) ...

---

Gateway is back in the UK

by David Allen
When the computer maker Gateway disappeared from the market seven years ago, most people must have thought that was the last they were going to see of them. However Acer, which bought the brand, has other ideas, with the Gateway brand being re-launched in the UK, with three new laptops including a 12.1 inch and two 15.4 inch models, ...

---

BBC, BT and ITV look into next gen Freeview

by David Allen
Following the collapse of the project known as Kangaroo, the BBC, BT and ITV have been looking to create the so called next generation of Freeview. However, with the regulator Ofcom looking into these plans, will this project ever get off the ground? The new project is to be known as “Canvas”. It is believed that it will require ...

---

Online privacy concern for consumers

by David Allen
More than eighty per cent of the UK’s internet users are concerned about their privacy while they are using the internet, according to survey from the advertising company Burst Media. This is a particular concern for older users with eighty-five per cent of internet users over the age of fifty five saying that they were worried, while of those ...

---

Virgin Media says UK not behind on next-gen broadband

by David Allen
Following the recent release of the top twenty next-generation network connected countries where the UK failed to get a mention, it seems that cable provider Virgin Media have a very different view and feels that the UK is far from lagging behind the rest of the country. When the table was produced the UK was lagging behind even fellow ...

---