Breaking UK News

Microsoft disconnects Xbox gamers

2009-11-11T23:17:00.000Z

Thousands of gamers may have been cut off from Microsoft's online gaming service Xbox Live for modifying their consoles to play pirated games. Online reports suggest that as many as 600,000 gamers may have been affected. Microsoft confirmed that it had banned a "small percentage" of the 20 million Xbox Live users worldwide. Microsoft said that modifying an Xbox 360 console "violates" the service's "terms of use" and would result in a player being disconnected. "All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox Live," Microsoft has said in a statement. "The health of the video game business depends on customers paying for the genuine products and services they receive from manufacturers, retailers, and the third parties that support them." The Xbox 360 is equipped with Digital Rights Management (DRM)technologies to detect pirated software. But many gamers modify their consoles by installing new chips or software that allows them to run unofficial - but not always illegal - programs and games. However, some chips are specifically designed to play pirated games.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8354166.stm

Anti-Piracy Group Reports Torrent Site Users to the Police

2009-11-09T23:35:00.001Z

Lithuanian anti-piracy outfit LANVA has reported the IP-addresses of 106 users of the country’s largest BitTorrent site to the police, on allegations of sharing a copy of Windows 7. The site’s owner has said he will do everything he can to help the users if legal action is taken, and in turn has reported the anti-piracy outfit to the police. LinkoManija.net is the largest BitTorrent site in Lithuania and one of the prime targets for local anti-piracy outfit LANVA. Last year LANVA was ridiculed by the owner of the site who registered the domain lanva.lt after the group changed its name, something that didn’t do the relationship between the arch rivals any good. Like all respected anti-piracy organizations, LANVA holds accounts at all the popular private torrent trackers, including LinkoManija. For a long time their account remained inactive, but this week LANVA claimed a small victory as it reported the IP-addresses of 106 users of the site to the police. According to the anti-piracy outfit, the reported users were caught sharing a copy of the newly released Windows 7 Ultimate operating system. As evidence the self-proclaimed investigators submitted a screenshot of peers listed by uTorrent. The owner of LinkoManija was not impressed by LANVA’s actions. “Anyone can copy a peer list, but it doesn’t prove that anyone downloaded the full file or actually uploaded anything,” Kestas told TorrentFreak. “It can’t be used as serious evidence,” he added. LANVA disagrees and hopes that the police will track down the identities of the accused infringers. If this happens the users will face fines of up to several hundred dollars, plus additional damages Microsoft’s lawyers may call for. In a response the owner of LinkoManija has reported LANVA to the police. People who are affiliated with an anti-piracy group are not allowed to use LinkoManija according to the site’s disclaimer, and Kestas has asked the police find out whether LANVA broke the law.

Source: http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-group-reports-torrent-site-users-to-the-police-091108/

The iPhone is the worst phone in the world

2009-11-06T00:25:00.000Z

That's right, we said it -- and we're not taking it back. The iPhone may be the greatest handheld surfing device ever to rock the mobile Web, and a fabulous media player to boot. It may be the highest-rated mobile phone on CNET UK, rocking the pockets of half of our crack editorial team. It's certainly the touchscreen face that launched a thousand apps. But as an actual call-making phone, it's rubbish, and we aim to prove it Say what? iPhone call quality is bad. Call quality on the iPhone is pathetic, and it's mostly because of the tiny speaker. It has to be aligned with your ear canal with the accuracy of a laser-guided ninja doing cataract surgery, or else the volume cuts down to nothing as the sound waves bounce uselessly around your ear shells. The earbud headphones that come with the iPhone include a hands-free microphone, but they're tinny and as weak as a kitten, with no sound-isolating rubber nubs. Rumour has it Steve Jobs is hard of hearing and Apple has been criticised for making iPods too loud. We don't want music players blasting the hearing of future generations into fleshy tatters, but we could use some of that power in our iPhones' speakers.

Source: http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39029453,49303754,00.htm

Sony Ericsson Embraces Android With Xperia X10 Smartphone

2009-11-03T23:56:00.000Z

ony Ericsson has officially launched the Xperia X10, formerly known as the X3 or Rachael, a smartphone that is the first device build by the company using Google's Android platform. (ed: no confusion here with the X10 Wireless Security Cameras ads that flooded the net a few years ago) Just like HTC with its Sense user interface, Sony Ericsson has chosen to overlay the default Android UI with a new touchscreen user interface which it calls the UX platform and will provide "unrivalled" integration of "social media services" - think Facebook, Twitter, MSN and will allow the phone's users to "truly humanise the way people interact with their phones". One executive vice president of Sony Ericsson, Rikko Sakaguchi, said in a statement that "With the X10, we are raising the bar we have set ourselves with entertainment-rich phones like Aino and Satio by making communication more fun and playful, multiplying and enriching opportunities to connect.” The Satio and the Aino were two Symbian-based smartphones that were released back in October but aim at a slightly less upmarket audience compared to the X10 which will be the flagship model in Sony Ericsson's 2010 range of devices.

Source: http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2009/11/3/sony-ericsson-embraces-android-xperia-x10-smartphone/

Google rolls out UK smart-meter cloud service

2009-10-28T22:37:00.000Z

Everyone's favourite advertising company, Google, has today announced the UK roll out of its "PowerMeter" home-electricity-consumption cloud service. The idea is that users of certain home 'leccy meters will for some reason read them via Google's servers, rather than using the online services that come with the meters. Google's two UK "partners" are first:utility, a small energy-trading firm which offers free smart meters to customers on one of its tariffs, and AlertMe, a hardware maker which sells a sensor that clips onto existing meters and connects to a home broadband connection. In both cases, users are able to read full electricity usage data on company servers. Now, however, such customers can also see the information on their iGoogle homepage if they so choose. Any user of Google online services - eg GMail - has such a homepage, even if they never normally look at it. There are other ways to view one's home electricity consumption online - it is quite possible for the tech-savvy to put meter data on servers running on their own equipment, and so avoid disclosing the information to companies who might use it to make money. There will also soon be competition for Google from Microsoft, whose Hohm kit is in US beta. Hohm will monitor gas usage as well as 'leccy, potentially an attractive feature for UK customers, who typically use more kilowatt-hours of gas than they do of electricity.

Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/10/28/google_power_meter_uk/

Nokia suing Apple over the iPhone

2009-10-23T00:03:00.000+01:00

Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, has said that it is suing its US rival Apple for infringing patents on mobile phone technology for the iPhone. Nokia said it had not been compensated for its technology, and accused Apple of "trying to get a free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation". The 10 alleged patent infringements involve wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption. Apple, which did not comment on the news, saw its shares dip slightly, The breaches applied to all models of the iPhone since its launch in 2007, Nokia added. Finland's Nokia said that it had agreements with about 40 firms - including most mobile phone handset makers - allowing them to use the firm's technology, but that Apple had not signed an agreement.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8321058.stm

Black Wii confirmed for UK launch

2009-10-20T22:02:00.000+01:00

Nintendo has confirmed plans to release a black version of its Wii console in the UK and Republic of Ireland next month. Available on November 6, the black Wii will be offered as part of a limited edition bundle, including a Wii Remote (with MotionPlus) and Nunchuk in black, along with copies of Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort. The package will be released in Europe on November 20. Commenting on the launch, Nintendo senior Wii product manager Rob Lowe told MCV: "Nintendo has always taken the European market seriously and this isn’t the first time a product has launched in the UK or Europe before the US. "We are keen to launch the black Wii in time for the Christmas sales season and this starts slightly earlier in the UK and Republic of Ireland." Exact pricing for the bundle has not yet been confirmed, but the package cost around £157 when it was first launched in Japan in August. The company will also offer a range of black accessories, including the new Classic Controller Pro, which will launch across Europe on November 20.

Source: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a182860/black-wii-confirmed-for-uk-launch.html

Dyson Reinvents the Humble Fan

2009-10-13T22:32:00.001+01:00

You have to wonder about Dyson. The company is every bit as much of a design genius as Apple yet it chooses to make vacuum cleaners and hand dryers. So now the company has chosen to apply its prowess to another area where did it cut loose? FANS! As you might expect the Dyson 'air multiplier' is no ordinary fan, in fact it is the most advanced fan in the world. Naturally it doesn't look anything even remotely like a fan either with a magnifying glass-esque appearance which does away with blades altogether. So how does it work? The answer is rather ingeniously (and possibly in part by magic). The air multiplier silently draws in air behind it then amplifies it through the ring by 15x to produce a cool and continuous flow of 405 litres of air every second. This is all powered by a brushless motor and the air speed can be precisely adjusted with dimmer-switch controls rather than the usual two or three settings on regular fans. It's a bit like Stargate! "I've always been disappointed by fans," said James Dyson. "Their spinning blades chop up the airflow, causing annoying buffeting. They're hard to clean. And children always want to poke their fingers through the grille. So we've developed a new type of fan that doesn't use blades." Dyson has fine points and from practicality, safety and hygiene perspectives the air multiplier makes a great deal of sense. Because it doesn't involve continuous top heavy motion it can also be made to rotate at the touch of a button and not turn into the whirling blades of death when traditional fans topple over at some point in their noisy lives.

Superfast broadband extends reach

2009-10-09T23:35:00.000+01:00

An extra one and a half million homes will benefit from super-fast broadband by 2012, BT has said. Originally the telecoms firm said that it could only deploy so-called Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) to a million homes because of its cost. But it now believes 2.5 million homes can benefit because it will be cheaper to provide than it had first thought. A further 9 million homes will receive the slower Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) technology by 2012. Previously BT had said that it could only lay FTTP to new-build sites - with the Ebbsfleet development in Kent is its flagship site - but now it has found a way to make it more widely available. It will use existing ducts and overhead cables to bring fibre to brownfield sites as well. Potential sites will be identified by a variety of factors, including geography of the region and the topology of the network. Homes eligible for the FTTP technology will receive speeds of up to 100Mbps (megabits per second). This compares to a top speed of 40Mbps for FTTC technology.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8298382.stm

Legal threat closes postcode feed

2009-10-07T22:48:00.001+01:00

Websites that help people find jobs or hospitals have been hit by legal action threatened by the Royal Mail. The threat was issued against the company supplying them, and many other sites, with postcode data. Royal Mail said the legal action was threatened to stop "unauthorised access" to the postcode data. Ernestmarples.com, which supplied the address data, said it did not have the resources to fight a legal battle so has turned off its feed. Sites affected by the withdrawal of data include Job Centre Pro Plus, HealthWare (locates nearby pharmacies and hospitals), Planning alerts.com (monitors planning applications), Straight Choice (finds out who sent political leaflets) and many more. Commenting on its action the Royal Mail said: "We have not asked anyone to close down a website. Many of the sites hit by the action are volunteer efforts that would be unable to afford the licence fees - about £4000 per annum for unlimited access.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7700621.stm

O2 to trial LTE mobile broadband

2009-10-03T02:37:00.000+01:00

The network operator will run trials of Long Term Evolution technology, or LTE, in the UK, Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic and Argentina. The so-called 4G network could achieve mobile internet speeds of up to 340 megabits per second, almost a hundred times faster than the average broadband speed currently enjoyed by UK consumers, and 50 times faster than the 7.2 megabits per second mobile broadband connections available in this country. “We are working with the conviction that we can only offer our clients the maximum levels of quality and innovation," said Julio Linares, chief operating officer at Telefonica, O2's parent company. “To do this, we are defining our strategy and the rollout of LTE with the objective of driving mobile broadband and offering the best service from the moment that the equipment and terminals can support the new standards and are available for sale.” Trials of the new technology are expected to start in early 2010, and technology suppliers for the field tests are expected to include Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia Siemens. No details have been given about which areas of the country will participate in the trial.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/6254174/O2-to-trial-LTE-mobile-broadband.html

Amazon coughs $150k to student over lost notes

2009-10-03T02:30:00.001+01:00

A student who sued Amazon for deleting George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four from his Kindle ebook, rendering his notes useless, has won $150,000 along with protection for other Kindle users. The agreement, which was spotted by Seattle's TechFlash, effectively prevents Amazon reaching out and deleting or modifying works in future. However, as a negotiated agreement it doesn't carry a legal precedent; and Amazon isn't admitting that it broke the law, or even the terms of service, by deleting the work. Amazon's motivation for pulling the classic from customer machines was the discovery that the work was still in copyright, despite having been uploaded and made available by an Amazon partner. Fewer than 2000 copies of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm had been sold, so Amazon reversed history by deleting the work over the Kindle's whispernet and crediting the accounts of those who had bought a copy.

Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/10/02/kindle_pay_off/

Vodafone enters UK iPhone market

2009-09-29T21:21:00.000+01:00

Vodafone has reached an agreement to sell Apple's popular iPhone in the UK. The announcement follows news that network operator Orange had secured a similar agreement with Apple. The deals mark an end to the exclusive UK arrangement between O2 and the US technology firm, which has been in place since 2007. Vodafone says users can register an interest online, with the handsets becoming available to customers from early 2010. Orange said its customers would be able to buy the phone "later this year" but did not specify a date or pricing. Vodafone is one of the biggest mobile operators in the world with an estimated 300 million customers world wide, making it the second largest carrier after China Mobile. The agreement sees both Orange and Vodafone selling both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. A spokesperson for Vodafone said the firm was "delighted" at securing an agreement with Apple and that the phone was going to be primarily for existing Vodafone customers. This is a different model from that adopted by O2, which used the iPhone as an incentive to attract new customers.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8278073.stm

Broadband tax 'to be made law'

2009-09-24T00:24:00.000+01:00

A controversial broadband tax should be law before the next election, according to Minister for Digital Britain Stephen Timms. The 50 pence a month tax will apply to everyone with a fixed line telephone. Speaking at a debate in London, Mr Timms said the tax will be presented to parliament as part of the Finance Bill. But the Tory MP John Whittingdale said the tax, which could raise up to £175m a year to fund high speed networks, would be opposed by the Conservatives. "I'm confident the Conservative party will oppose it. I object to it on the basis that it is another tax and is aimed at people who are using old technology," said Mr Whittingdale, who is also chair of the DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) select committee. Speaking at a debate organised by The BCS Chartered Institute for IT (formerly the British Computer Society), Mr Timms reiterated the government's commitment to the levy and the other recommendations of Lord Carter's Digital Britain report. "We want to make high speed networks nationally available. The next-generation fund will help that and we will legislate for it this side of a general election," he said.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8270772.stm

Google turns page on news content

2009-09-15T22:37:00.000+01:00

Google has unveiled a service called Fast Flip to let users consume news more quickly and to boost the flagging fortunes of the news industry. The product is designed to mirror the way readers flick through magazines and newspapers. Google has teamed up with more than 30 providers such as the BBC to provide what it calls a new reading experience. The search giant was recently called a parasite for making money aggregating content it did not create. "I don't believe we are part of the problem. I believe we are part of the solution," Google's vice-president of search, Marissa Mayer, told BBC News. "We have tried to build platforms and tools that build a healthy, rich eco-system online that is supportive of content. This is a new way of looking at content." Earlier this year, Wall Street Journal chief Robert Thomson called the search company and other aggregators such as Yahoo "parasites or tech tapeworms in the intestines of the internet". The news industry has been struggling with how to broaden the size of its online audience and how to make money from content it has long given away free.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8256054.stm

Supermarket giant gets Flash of Silverlight in 'virtual DVD' deal

2009-09-09T22:57:00.000+01:00

Microsoft has inked a deal with UK mega-grocer Tesco to flog a new home viewing service built on the software firm's Silverlight technology - which MS developers recently shunned at the launch of its Flash-only MSN video player. The retail giant will begin offering "digital copy" download versions of certain home video titles bought by Tesco's UK customers. It will allow them to watch the movie or show on their Windows and Mac-based computers in what Microsoft described as a "virtual DVD experience". To convince customers to scoop up the digital copy, Tesco will provide a few add-ons such as auto-updated trailers, exclusive bonus content, online chat, and even "movie viewing parties" (presumably minus the balloons). There will also be related music offerings that include MP3s and ringtones, made available via Microsoft's browser-based media player. Microsoft claimed the service would "deliver a similar level of quality as consumers have come to expect from DVD and Blu-ray, but with advanced web-based interactivity and a viewing experience that goes beyond other digital playback products in the marketplace."

Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/09/microsoft_tesco_digital_copy_silverlight/

Will PSP Go keep pirates at bay?

2009-09-06T23:14:00.000+01:00

In recent days, a few blogs have picked up on the fact that the battery on Sony's upcoming PSP Go will be sealed into the unit and not be user-replaceable, just as it is on all of Apple's latest portable devices and plenty of other new gadgets. The integrated battery isn't new news. But what caught people's attention was an old quote from John Koller, Sony's director of hardware marketing, which PlayStation Insider recently ripped off from a June Ars Technica article that had Koller explaining that the move to a built-in battery was a least partially designed to thwart pirates. In case you don't know the history behind PSP piracy, it goes something like this: For the original PSP-1000 and second-generation PSP-2000, Sony had a secret "backdoor" system for resuscitating frozen or "bricked" PSPs. The process involved replacing the common PSP battery with a special one that unlocked the system. Alas, the secret didn't last long, and hackers developed their own custom battery (the appropriately named Pandora's Battery) and firmware that allowed anyone to run illicit "ripped" versions of UMD games along with home-brew applications and PSOne titles that had been converted to run on the PSP. Those in the home-brew community maintain that they're just interested in fully accessing the products they've purchased and that pirating games isn't what their creative efforts are about. But the offshoot of the whole movement has been a flourishing trade in pirated games.

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-10322087-82.html?tag=newsLatestHeadlinesArea.0

Facebook banned for council staff

2009-09-01T21:51:00.000+01:00

A council is to ban Facebook on its computers after it was revealed staff spent on average 400 hours on the site every month. Portsmouth City Council said it had decided to change its policy and block access to the social networking site. It added the figures equated to each of its 4,500 staff, who have access to computers, spending between five and six minutes a month on the site. The Taxpayers' Alliance said the move would stop the "waste of public cash". Mark Wallace, from the group, added: "It is sad that it has reached a point where councils need to ban staff from Facebook. "But people are employed to work hard for the taxpayer and this is clearly a waste of public money." The council stressed it was unable to determine whether staff had been accessing Facebook in break times or before or after work, which had been allowed. The ban will come into force in the next few weeks and will also see the Bebo, Twitter and eBay sites blocked - YouTube had already been banned.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/8231234.stm

Virgin Media 'overwhelmed' by broadband customers fleeing BT

2009-08-28T21:58:00.000+01:00

Hundreds of people who have recently signed up to Virgin Media UK’s ADSL broadband service face lengthy delays getting their accounts activated. The company has blamed a sudden spike in demand for its relaunched ADSL package, which is intended for would-be customers who live outside of the operator’s cable coverage and want to bundle their broadband and phone lines together. At the beginning of August Virgin made lots of noise about its new all-singing-all-dancing ADSL broadband service packages, that boosted faster download speeds of up to 20Mbps and its own telephone line rental. All of which offered an attractive proposition to customers wanting a simple, BT-free life that involved having a single bill with one telecoms supplier. But here’s the rub: A spokesman at the cable giant told us it had been inundated with customers fleeing BT and running headlong into Virgin’s increasingly burdened arms. “Since we relaunched our National service with line rental and our Best Speed Promise, we have been overwhelmed with new orders, resulting in a few delays in getting customers on to our superfast ADSL broadband,” the spokesman told The Register. He also confessed that the company has been struggling to post out modem kit to its new punters.

Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/28/virgin_media_adsl_broadband_delays/

Nokia eyes netbook market with 'mini-laptop'

2009-08-24T22:31:00.000+01:00

Nokia, the world's top mobile phone maker, plans to make laptops, branching out from its traditional mobile phone market to enter the fast-growing netbook sector with a "mini-laptop". The Finnish company is looking to broaden its base in mobile devices that connect to internet, crossing the border between two converging industries in the opposite direction to Apple, which entered the phone market in 2007 with the iPhone. Nokia has seen its profit margins drop over the last quarters as traditional handset demand has slumped, although sales of smartphones have accelerated. Research firm IDC expects netbook shipments this year to grow more than 127 per cent from 2008 to more than 26 million units, outperforming the overall PC market that is expected to remain flat and a phone market which is shrinking some 10 per cent. Nokia's first netbook, the Nokia Booklet 3G, will use Microsoft's Windows software and Intel's Atom processor to offer up to 12 hours of battery life while weighing just 1.25 kilograms. It will have a 10-inch screen and 3G wireless capability to connect to the web.

Source: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article6808443.ece

BT offers free 20Mbps upgrade

2009-08-19T00:26:00.000+01:00

Millions of BT customers are to be given a free broadband speed upgrade, Britain’s biggest fixed-line provider announced this week. Customers in certain areas on BT’s up-to-8Mbps service will have their connection automatically increased to 20Mbps. BT customers will also be given the chance to order a free BT Broadband Accelerator, boosting their connection to help them reach the maximum available speed. Although the Accelerator itself is free, customers will be required to contribute £1.20 towards postage costs. Customers requesting the upgrade will also have to renew their contract with BT, although the monthly cost of the contract will remain unchanged.

Source: http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7579097602102236603

Palm Pre Sales Tumble After 3GS Release

2009-08-14T22:56:00.000+01:00

Palm's future seems to be even bleaker as an analyst told investors that he forecasts that the number of Pre sold in July would be around 100,000. Analysts are known to be rather unreliable but Ilya Grozovsky's note to Morgan Joseph investors could cause the company's shares price to drop significantly. The number of Pre sold in June is said to have dropped to 200,000 with August numbers expected to be significantly worse. Previously, Grozovsky estimated that Palm would be selling around 400,000 Pre's in the three months ending August. It is now highly unlikely that this number will be reached. Grozovsky reckons that Palm and its partners will need to slash the price of the smartphone to revive sluggish sales as the holiday season approaches. In addition, Ashok Kumar, of financial advisory group Collins Steward, has downgraded Palm stocks afte fears that less than 300,000 handsets were sold in May and June. Pre production is expected to fall by as much half a million units over the next four months. The drop in sales could partly be blamed on the success of Apple's new iPhone 3GS handset which was launched back in June 2009.

Source: http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2009/8/14/palm-pre-sales-tumble-after-3gs-release/#ixzz0OCGxevTe

Leaked Document Reveals Eircom Deal With Irish RIAA

2009-08-10T23:21:00.000+01:00

This month Ireland’s largest ISP will assist with an anti-piracy campaign against its own customers. After making a deal with IRMA, Ireland’s answer to the RIAA, Eircom will first warn alleged copyright infringers before ultimately disconnecting them. Now, in what appears to be a leaked document, the entire groundbreaking deal is outlined. Earlier this year IRMA – which controls 90% of Ireland’s recorded music and represents the likes of EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner – reached a private agreement Ireland’s largest ISP, Eircom, to implement a 3 strikes deal for alleged pirates. Details of the arrangement have been fairly limited but now an apparently leaked document gives a unique insight into the private deal put into place to allow Eircom to avoid further expensive legal action at the hands of the music industry. The document passed to TorrentFreak, titled ‘Briefing Note on Arrangement Between Eircom and Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) with regard to Copyright Infringement March 2009′ begins by giving some background to the deal and why it was implemented. The document explains that IRMA will supply Eircom with IP addresses and evidence to prove infringements. The document specifically lists not just uploading infringements on peer to peer networks but strangely, downloading too. Quite how downloading will be proven will remain to be seen.

Source: http://torrentfreak.com/leaked-document-reveals-eircom-deal-with-irish-riaa-090808/

Marines mobilize to block Web 2.0

2009-08-04T22:43:00.000+01:00

US marines have been blocked from accessing Web 2.0 sites on the Corps' own network, pending a review of security. The Corps is reported to have forbidden access to sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace while it draws up a waiver system for permitting access during the course of work. The ban is expected to last a year. Social networks have become important tools used by the US military for reaching out to potential new recruits. However, the brass is concerned about the potential for viruses and malware living on these sites to infect the department's computers through the network. There is also concern that sensitive information could be released online, potentially compromising operations and security. The ban does not apply to marines accessing social networks privately.

Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/04/marines_social_network_ban/

If they drag McKinnon to America, he will never come back

2009-07-31T23:22:00.000+01:00

Yesterday's decision to allow Gary McKinnon to be extradited to the U.S. is a hammer blow to British justice. A vulnerable man with Asperger's Syndrome now faces up to 60 years in one of America's toughest jails. If he boards the plane to the U.S., it is almost certain he will never set foot on British soil again, doomed to pass out the rest of his days in shackles on a foreign shore. This is nothing short of a disgrace - and yet there is still one tiny glimmer of hope. Even now the courts have spoken their last, the Prime Minister and Attoroney General could step in. Mr McKinnon committed his crimes in Britain. Expert lawyers assure me that, even at this 11th hour, the Government could prosecute him for those crimes here at home, instead of in the U.S.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1203572/NICK-CLEGG-If-drag-McKinnon-America-come-back.html#ixzz0MsVx5sOx