2009 November

November 30, 2009

iPlayer heads for 80 million users a month

by Janet Harris
There were 79.3 million requests for the BBC’s iPlayer in October, making it a record month for the service, which launched in 2007. On average, there were 2.6 million requests for TV and radio programmes each day during the month. The figures were boosted by the appearance British National Party leader Nick Griffin on Question Time on October 22, which generated 928,000 ...

3 UK launches mobile VoD with Mobix Interactive

by Janet Harris
3 UK launches mobile VoD with Mobix Interactive

Mobile operator, 3UK has a mobile TV subscription video-on-demand service in partnership with Mobix Interactive. Subscribers to the service will be able to watch entire episodes of hit TV shows, wherever they are, whenever they want, on any handset from 3. Mobix Interactive manages and powers the service through its Adrenalin ...

Barclay Communications is O2’s top partner

by Jan Harris
Belfast-based Barclay Communications has been named O2’s top partner in its Centre of Excellence partner league table. Barclay Communications, which provides telecommunication and communication solutions to UK businesses, was assessed on new connections, Bolt Ons, ARP and churn, and was found to offer superb service to its customers. Adrian McCourt, the company’s director, said: “Over the last year we have really upped our ...

Christmas worst time for leaving devices in taxis

by Jan Harris
According to a survey carried out by Credant Technologies, more people leave USB sticks, phones and other mobile devices in taxis at Christmas, than any other time of the year. The company carried out the survey in London, among 300 licensed cab drivers. It found that Londoners leave around 10,000 mobile phones a month in taxis and over 1,000 other handheld devices, ...

Parents demand school lessons in online safety

by Darren Allan

A YouGov study has shown that a majority of people believe that schools should address the issue of online safety. 69% of those surveyed said that pupils should be given lessons on how to behave safely on the Internet. Not only are they worried about the obvious dangers, such as the rise of cyber-bullying and grooming, but also their offspring's ...

Google reveals most searched for terms of 2009

by Darren Allan

Google has published its yearly “zeitgeist”, a breakdown of the most popular UK searches on the site. The “hottest topic” on Google for 2009 was the unfortunate death of Stephen Gately. Top of the most commonly searched news stories was swine flu, followed by Susan Boyle, and then Jade Goody. Michael Jackson, Twitter, Google Maps and Iran also made it into ...

PSP Go down in price to £149 at HMV

by Darren Allan

If you've been thinking about getting a handheld for Christmas, an HMV price drop might persuade you to take the plunge with a PSP Go. While the PSP Go retailed at £225 originally, it was quickly dropped to the £200 mark pretty much everywhere. And now HMV is offering it at £149, quite ...

Amazon Kindle flies off shelves in November

by Darren Allan

Amazon has announced record sales for its Kindle e-reading device in November. Although it doesn't go into specifics like, well, any hard figures at all, Amazon is claiming that the Kindle is the most wished for, gifted and number one best-selling product across all categories on Amazon. “Kindle is a great gift for anyone who loves to read and it’s ...

Spotify denies console rumours

by Darren Allan

Today has witnessed the spread of rumours regarding the Spotify music streaming service appearing on next-generation consoles. However, it seems that this isn't the case, as IncGamers reports. A representative from Spotify told the site: “We've always said that we want to be on as many devices as possible so that we can bring music to wherever are users are, ...

Acer plans up to ten new Android phones next year

by Darren Allan
Acer has announced that it might be launching as many as eight to ten Android handsets in 2010. Thus far Acer has concentrated on Windows Mobile for its smartphones, but a shift in focus is coming next year according to Aymar de Lencquesaing, head of the company's phone group. He told Reuters: “Next year it will be much more balanced. There is ...

PC Modern Warfare 2 cheats hit with ban stick

by Darren Allan
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is to crack down on PC players who cheat online at the game. According to Infinity Ward's Community Manager Robert Bowling on Twitter, 2500 cheaters will be banned today. He tweeted: “The Steam ban hammer is coming down on about 2500 confirmed #MW2 cheaters on PC today.” Whether 2500 is a large proportion of the cheats out ...

Carphone releases good figures

by David Allen

Despite the current economic climate, it seems that the Carphone Warehouse is not affected, as the company’s recent results demonstrate. City forecasts for the six months to the end of September were around £70 million, but the telecom and broadband provider surpassed that by posting pre tax profits of £75 million, which is around eighty eight per cent higher ...

Mobile broadband marketing will have to change

by David Allen

For a long time, in fact probably from the time that mobile broadband was first launched, there have been issues over the connection speeds advertised compared with those that the users are actually getting. Now it seems that enough is enough and it is about time that the mobile broadband providers started advertising exactly what speeds users can expect ...

Politics will decide the future of broadband

by David Allen

It seems that it is not really going to make much difference what the government plans when it comes to the broadband network because of the pending General Election, due to take place in May or June next year. According to the chief executive of the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), Anthony Walker, the two main political parties are split ...

BBC iPlayer won’t be coming to Xbox 360 yet

by Darren Allan

Apparently the BBC and Microsoft have clashed over bringing the former's iPlayer catch-up TV service to the X360 console. The Telegraph reports that “sources close to the BBC’s Future Media and Technology department” have said the two parties can't agree on the issue of charging for the service. Microsoft wants to make the iPlayer only available to its paying Xbox ...

“Twitter”: Most popular English word of 2009

by Darren Allan

It's official – the most popular English word of this year is the name of the massive micro-blogging site, Twitter. So says the Global Language Monitor, a Texas based organisation which analyses the Internet and traditional media's language usage. Twitter was more talked about than Obama (who was number two), swine flu and the economic crisis (“stimulus” was number four). “Vampire” ...

BT Chairman jumps ahead of neighbours in broadband trial

by Darren Allan

BT Chairman jumps ahead of neighbours in broadband trial Residents of rural broadband not-spot Hambleden aren't too pleased as the recently moved-in BT Chairman has snagged a trial broadband line. According to a report in The Telegraph, some locals have been waiting five years for the service, whereas Sir Michael Rake has only been living there for about a year. He ...

Pub landlord fined for patron’s illegal wi-fi download

by Darren Allan

The owner of a pub has been fined £8,000 for someone else's unlawful download over his wi-fi network. So reports ZDNet UK, who spoke to the Managing Director of the wi-fi hotspot provider, The Cloud. He didn't name the pub involved, but said that there had been a successful prosecution by the rights holder, which had led to the fine ...

BBC iPlayer app for the iPhone

by Darren Allan

The BBC is set to bring out an iPlayer app for Apple's iPhone. This nugget was revealed when the BBC sent out a press pack which contained a leaked screenshot of the app in action. According to reports, you'll be able to watch via live streaming, or download a programme for later viewing. The app will also boast a search function, ...

Royal Society launches Trailblazing website

by Darren Allan

The Royal Society is celebrating its 350th anniversary by publishing some of its most famous research papers online. The Society's Trailblazing website features an interactive timeline which runs from 1665 to the present day, dotted with sixty of these papers. These include the first blood transfusion from one dog to another in 1666, all the way up to a 2008 ...

Diamond studded Apple iPhone becomes world’s most pricey mobile

by Darren Allan

If you thought the bog standard iPhone was expensive, then hold on to your gold-plated hats, as a British designer has created an even pricier version. The price for this iPhone 3GS Supreme? Almost £2 million quid. That's because it comes with a case made of solid 22 carat gold, it's studded with the best part of 200 flawless diamonds ...

Women become more gadget savvy

by David Allen

Traditionally anything technical would have been the domain of the man, but recent studies have found that more and more women are becoming tech savvy, and are setting up equipment and tuning in the TV etc. The study, conducted by the electrical retailer Comet, showed that most women who took part in the survey would be happy to install ...

Wi-Fi hijacking is very common

by David Allen

With plans by the government to stop illegal filesharing forging ahead, it seems that there could be some serious issues ahead when it comes to enforcing these claims, according to a recent survey of broadband users. According to a study conducted by the moneysupermarket.com, around four million Brits admit to having used a broadband connection belonging to someone else. ...

Virgin Media wins Gemstar EPG case

by David Allen

Virgin Media has won a legal battle against Gemstar over complaints from the company that Virgin Media stole Gemstar's patents with regards to the firm's electronic programme guide (EPG). The claim goes back to 2008, when Gemstar claimed that Virgin Media's own EPG was infringing on three European patents. This related to the operation and display of the Virgin Media ...

Sky Sports cancels Haymarket mag deal

by David Allen

Sky Sports is more than just a satellite channel, to some viewers it is also a monthly magazine that is published through the Haymarket Network. The magazine is delivered to the homes of all Sky Sports subscribers free of charge, along with the Sky TVguide, SkyMag, but now the deal that started in 2007 has been cancelled. This will not ...

BSkyB to trial 3D Sports coverage

by David Allen

BSkyB will be testing out its new 3D outside broadcast system, in order to offer an extra dimension to subscribers of Sky Sports when the satellite broadcaster launches the 3D TV Channel. There will be two ways of watching Premier League football in 3D, the first being on the Sky 3D Channel and possibly in cinemas too, but it ...

Gracie equals BBC4’s record viewers

by David Allen

It is amazing that a drama based on the life of a singer and actress from the war years received record viewing figures of 1.4 million. "Gracie" followed the life of Gracie Fields, the forces' darling during the second world war. Despite being born above a fish and chip shop in Rochdale, in 1898, she actually went on to become ...

November 27, 2009

Narus receives Internet Telephony excellence award

by Jan Harris
Narus Inc was named in Internet Telephony magazine’s 2009 excellence awards for its NarusInsight system. NarusInsight is a cyber protection, intercept and traffic management solution for managing and protecting large, complex IP networks. The solution, used by governments and large service providers, captures, analyses and correlates IP traffic in real time. Yogi Mistry, senior vice president of worldwide engineering at Narus said: “This award ...

Google VoIP phone expected next year

by Jan Harris
Search giant Google purchased VoIP Specialist Gizmo5 earlier this month, and now rumour has it that the company plans to launch a VoIP-enabled smartphone in the US, early next year. The Google phone is expected to be faster than the Apple iPhone, courtesy of a powerful Qualcomm processor, and a large touchscreen and sleek design are on the cards. The phone is ...

Sky Deutschland focuses on HD

by Janet Harris
Sky Deutschland focuses on HD

Sky Deutschland’s latest marketing campaign focuses on its HD services. The company is promoting a €199 package which includes an HD starter box, prepaid subscription to Sky Welt’s 21 channels and HD receiver. Two versions of the box are available, the Humax PR-HD 2000C for cable users, or the Sky HD1 from Pace ...

iRiver Story lands in the UK

by Darren Allan

The iRiver Story is now available in the UK. What's the Story? It isn't morning glory, rather it's an e-book reader which will give another option to those who haven't yet plumped for an Amazon Kindle or Sony Reader. The Story boasts a 6 inch 800 x 600 display, 2GB of memory (more can be added if that isn't enough) ...

LG targets 7.5 million LED TV sales

by Janet Harris
LG targets 7.5 million LED TV sales next year

LG Electronics hopes to boost sales of LED TVs from 400,000 this year to 7.5 million in 2010. The technology, which is still relatively new in the UK, uses LED backlighting instead of the fluorescent lights used in traditional LCD televisions. Elsewhere in the world, LG’s LED sets have already ...

BCS says majority of UK citizens not tech-savvy

by Darren Allan

The British Computer Society (BCS) reckons that 80% of Brits aren't “IT savvy”. And as a result the BCS has launched a website to help people get the most out of computers and the Internet. What exactly is the definition of an IT savvy person, anyway? Well, if you visit the website at http://savvycitizens.bcs.org, there's a quiz you can take ...

Consumers face triple broadband tax

by David Allen

The rollout of next generation broadband and the government’s pledge to provide all homes in the UK with a broadband service is very commendable, but there is always the question of cost. Normally a business would fund new technology, as Virgin Media did with its fibre network, but it seems that for the national broadband network, funds will have ...

Orange mobile broadband offers more laptops

by David Allen

The mobile provider Orange has added some more laptops deals for buyers of its mobile broadband service. Consumers will be able to choose ether the Compaq CQ61 or the Asus 1005Hgo, the catch being that they will need to take out an eighteen or twenty-four month contract, with various data usage allowances. The Asus will effectively be free with a ...

BT Openzone in Macdonalds

by David Allen

The broadband and telecoms provider, BT, has announced a new deal with the hotel and resort chain, Macdonalds. The deal will see the Wi-Fi service provided by BT Openzone offered to hotel visitors by the end of the year. The BT Openzone Wi-Fi service will be available in all of the hotels' public areas as well as in over four ...

Digital switchover complete in North Wales

by David Allen

Another part of the UK has completed the digital switchover, with households across north east Wales now having access to digital TV or, to look at it another way, no access to analogue TV at all. Engineers worked though the night to complete the work on the Moel y Parc transmitter group. Those viewers that already had Freeview or BT ...

Virgin Media to launch filesharing monitor tool

by David Allen

The cable broadband provider Virgin Media will be testing out a new tool on its network. The tool has been specifically designed to detect copyright infringement within its music download service. Virgin Media is claiming that this is the first time in the UK that such a tool has been used to detect illegal filesharing. The Detica software will use ...

Thousands of households to get filesharing threat letters

by David Allen

Lawyers at ACS:Law have been granted court orders to make ISPs hand over the details of customers suspected of sharing hardcore pornography. It is estimated that around 25,000 BT customers and a further 5,000 customers of other ISPs are involved and they can expect to be receiving a letter within the next couple of weeks. These letters are in fact ...

Sky Deutschland starts HDTV promotion

by David Allen

Sky Deutschland is making a decisive push into the HD TV satellite market by offering consumers a reasonably priced HD TV Starter box. Priced at just 199 Euros, the HD TV Starter pack includes the HD set top box and a pre paid HD TV subscription. There are two different types of starter pack, the DTH satellite reception version and ...

Freesat announce 750,000 customer base

by David Allen

The free-to-view satellite service, Freesat, is growing according to plan, in fact the broadcaster has now passed the 750,000 customer mark and is well on target to hit one million users during the first quarter of 2010. According to the managing director of Freesat, Emma Scott, the company managed to sell over two hundred thousand set top boxes in ...

Yesterday commissions WWII documentary

by David Allen

Yesterday, part of the BBC Worldwide and Virgin Media channel UKTV, has commissioned a brand new documentary that will be looking into life on the Channel Islands during the war. The documentary looks into the occupation of occupation of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. The Channel Islands at War will be aired as part of “The Spirit of 1940”, ...

Navy uses Sony PSP for training

by Darren Allan
The Royal Navy has adopted an interesting training method for its engineers involving Sony's PSP handheld. They've purchased over 200 of the consoles, The Times reports, to load them up with training presentations which will allow officers to study maths and physics. Sony's handheld is seen as a fresher way of studying than musty old books, plus in the confines of a ...

The bell tolls for consoles?

by Darren Allan

According to the boss at Square Enix, the games console as we know it could die out within the next decade. The actual physical hardware, that is. Yoichi Wada is predicting that in the future, the hardware won't be the platform – the network will. In other words, we will play games via our Internet connections on servers, with no ...

Sony Ericsson Aino also runs into trouble

by Darren Allan
It hasn't been a good week for Sony Ericsson. The company has not only suffered woes with sales of its Satio phone being temporarily suspended by Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U, but now problems with the Aino have emerged. It's another software glitch with the Aino, this time affecting the touchscreen. In a TechRadar report, a spokesman for the company pointed out that ...

November 26, 2009

VoD boost for Freesat

by Janet Harris
The Freesat satellite TV service will offer on-demand content, with the BBC's iPlayer launching in beta on Freesat from December 7, and the ITV Player launching in the first half of 2010. The services will eventually be available to viewers with an HDTV with integrated Freesat, or a Freesat HD box and ethernet connection, although the iPlayer beta will initially only ...

Gary McKinnon to be extradited

by Darren Allan

The “will he or won't he” legal battle has been ongoing for some time, but it now seems NASA hacker Gary McKinnon is going to be extradited to the US. Despite pleas from a number of groups, including a government committee, the Home Secretary Alan Johnson has refused to halt his impending extradition. This is after considering fresh evidence of ...

Ikee worm author bags developer job

by Darren Allan

If we're after a job, most of us hunt through the ads section of the paper and online employment sites, then send out some CVs. However, there are alternatives to the traditional methods. Such as writing a worm and releasing it on unsuspecting “jail-broken” iPhone users. Yes, the Australian author of the iPhone's first worm, Ikee, has managed to land ...

Motorola Milestone in the UK before Christmas?

by Darren Allan
Good news for Motorola fans who are awaiting the release of the Milestone, or Droid as it's known in the States. As we reported at the beginning of the month, the phone was launching in Germany, but details of the UK release remained unconfirmed. While nothing concrete has emerged yet, several UK online retailers have put the Milestone up on their sites ...

iPhone owners more likely to splash cash online

by Darren Allan

New research has emerged which indicates that Apple iPhone users are more likely to cough up for online content. The survey, conducted by Olswang, polled 1000 UK adults and 500 teenagers. It emerged that 58% of the general population would be happy to pay to download a new film, and 40% would stump up dosh online for a film which ...

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