Liverpool Echo - Tech Blog

Gap Yah wins YouTube comedy award

2010-12-13T09:23:50Z

A satirical sketch poking fun at posh "gap yah" students has been named one of the online hits of the year.

]]> The three minute, 18 second film made by comedy group The Unexpected Items has been watched on video sharing website YouTube more than 2.6 million times this year.
Gap Yah shows Orlando calling his friend Tarquin to tell him about his trip around the developing world on "a spiritual, cultural, political exchange thing".

The video was named Homegrown Comedy Hit of the Year by YouTube.
Teen favourite Justin Bieber's track Baby was the most viewed video in the UK followed by Eminem's Love The Way You Lie.

Anna Bateson, Director of Marketing at the site, said: "More than ever in 2010 YouTube was a hub of creativity, a hive of hilarity and the place for people to share their passions and entertain themselves online.

"This year's top videos lists give us a glimpse at the tremendous growth YouTube has experienced as a company and as an online community in 2010."
More than 13 million hours of video were uploaded to YouTube in 2010.

Want a Kinect? Form a queue.

2010-11-09T14:43:21Z

Let the games begin!
Gamers are already queuing today for the midnight launch of Microsoft's new Xbox 360 Kinect.

]]> The motion sensor, which allows users to play games without holding a controller, has been tipped as a Christmas best-seller despite its ÃÂ£129.99 price tag.
UK retailer Game is releasing the first of the gadgets at midnight and said customers had been queuing since 9am outside its Oxford Street store in London.

Game spokesman Neil Ashurst said: "We're excited to be opening our Game stores across the country at midnight. Our customers and staff are equally excited to experience Kinect. This is definitely going to be on Christmas wishlists around the country."
Kinect is compatible with every Xbox 360 console and combines a camera, depth sensor and microphone that tracks full-body movement and individual voices.

Some of the high-profile Kinect-enabled games set to be released before Christmas including Dance Central, in which players mirror moves they see on screen, the child-friendly Kinectimals and Kinect Sports.
The gadget will face competition from Sony's PlayStation Move controller and Nintendo's upgraded WiiMotion Plus.
Stephen McGill, Microsoft's director of Xbox for the UK and Ireland, said: "Kinect for Xbox 360 is set to revolutionise the way people consume entertainment, not just games but movies, music and keeping in touch with friends and family.
"Playing Kinect is natural, intuitive and brilliantly fun, and we're very excited to bring it to hundreds of thousands of families across the country this Christmas."
Kinect launches tomorrow for ÃÂ£129.99 for the stand-alone sensor and Kinect Adventures game or ÃÂ£249.99 for the all-in-one Xbox 360 Kinect Console Bundle including the new 4GB console.

All I want for Christmas is...

2010-10-27T13:55:45Z

Flips! iPod Touches! iPhone 4! What happened to tangerines and a Cadbury selection box?
The Toy Report* says more tech products are featuring on Christmas wish lists for kids than ever before.

]]> A breakdown of the top 10 most wanted toys for this Christmas among children aged five to 16, revealed a grown-up taste in gifts, with Apple products, including the iPhone 4, iPod Touch and iPad dominating the top three places.

Approximately 39% children quizzed desired Apple gadgets this year, with 17% of five to eight- year-olds, 50% of nine to 12-year-olds and 66% of 13 to 16-year-olds all putting Apple items at the top of their lists.

The report, which quizzed a total of 2,138 children and parents in equal measure, also highlighted the growing similarities between boys' and girls' preferred Christmas presents, with both sexes increasingly opting for gender neutral gadgets.
It found more than three out of five parents admitted choosing Christmas presents that would keep their youngsters quiet throughout the holidays.

It also revealed today's children had on average 39 toys or gadgets to play with - more than twice as many as their parents did at the same age.
Boys had more toys and games than girls (41 against 36), with boys receiving on average an extra ÃÂ£8 worth of Christmas gifts than girls (ÃÂ£153.30 against ÃÂ£145.00).

The top 10 toys for Christmas 2010, according to the report are:
1) iPhone 4 (14%)
2) iPod touch (13%)
3) iPad (12%)
4) Kinect for Xbox (6%)
5) Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters / Kung Zhu Hamsters (5%)
6) Flip Video Camera (4%)
7) Toy Story 3 Jet Pack Buzz Lightyear (4%)
8) PlayStation Move (4%)
9) Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 Video Game (3%)
10) Barbie Video Girl (3%)

* Source: Duracell Toy Report

Are you Geek of the Year?

2010-10-19T07:49:43Z

The hunt is on for Geek of the Year - the person who embodies the definition of what it means to be a geek in the modern age.
Website www.geeks.co.uk is scouring the UK to find the biggest gadgets, gaming, movies and music lover in the UK.

]]> Fittingly, the competition is running across Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Flickr; five finalists will be chosen from hundreds of entries and invited on an all-expenses-paid trip to the London event on November 25, 2010.

The winner will pocket a prize pack of gadgets, goodies, an editorial spot on the website and a luxury holiday worth ÃÂ£5,000 with ÃÂ£1000 spending money.

Ally Millar, editor of geeks.co.uk said: "The definition of geek has changed and we want to celebrate its new status.
"Films and TV shows are now made with the 'geek' figure as the protagonist rather than a humorous sideshow and geek chic is now a widely adopted fashion statement for both men and women. Given the popularity of our site and our growth over the last year, I'm convinced the term no longer has negative connotations but is a positive concept - and one to be embraced."
Find out more at www.geeks.co.uk/geek-of-the-year or www.facebook.com/geekoftheyearUK

iPhone sends Apple profit skywards. iPad... not so much

2010-10-18T11:56:42Z

News report from AP this morning, reproduced here in full:

Apple said that net income for the most recent quarter soared 70% on strong sales of iPhones, though iPad sales fell short of expectations. Shares fell in after-hours trading. Apple's stock had been breaking through record-high prices for more than a week on high hopes for the iPad.
Apple sold 4.2 million of its new tablet-style computer during the fiscal fourth quarter, fewer than the approximately five million that analysts, on average, had expected.
The company sold 14.1 million iPhones from July through September, more than the 12 million or so analysts were looking for.

Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said in an interview that had the company been able to make more iPhones, that number would have been even higher.
Sales of the iPad might have been constrained by supply issues. Mr Oppenheimer said the company was able to increase production of the iPad toward the end of the quarter.
Apple's net income rose to 4.3 billion US dollars, or 4.64 dollars per share, from 2.5 billion US dollars, or 2.77 dollars per share, in the same period last year.
Revenue jumped 67% to 20.3 billion US dollars from 12.2 billion US dollars last year.
Both revenue and net income were record amounts for Apple. The company also did significantly better than Wall Street analysts expected.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Apple to earn 4.08 US dollars per share on 18.9 billion US dollars in revenue.
"When you're shipping the best products ever, these are the results you expect to see," Mr Oppenheimer said.
Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs made a rare appearance on a conference call with Wall Street analysts after the results were released.
He noted that Apple sold more iPhones than Research in Motion Ltd sold BlackBerry phones in the most recent quarter.
"I don't see them catching up with us in the foreseeable future," Mr Jobs said.

Mr Jobs also spoke disparagingly of the new tablet computers built on Google's Android software.
"The seven-inch tablets are tweeners, too big to compete with a smart phone and too small to compete with an iPad," which has a nearly 10-inch screen, Mr Jobs said.
Apple said it expects to earn 4.80 US dollars per share during the holiday quarter on 23 billion US dollars in revenue. Apple is known for issuing low guidance and then sailing over. Analysts are currently looking for 5.06 US dollars per share in net income on 22.3 billion US dollars in revenue.

Shares of Apple, which is based on Cupertino, California, plunged 20.69 US dollars, or 6.5%, to 297.31 US dollars in extended trading after the release of results. In the regular session earlier, the stock rose 3.25 US dollars, or 1%, to 317.99 US dollars.
For the full fiscal year, Apple's net income jumped 70% to 14 billion US dollars, or 15.15 US dollars per share, from 8.2 billion US dollars or 9.08 US dollars per share.
Revenue jumped 52% to 65.2 billion US dollars from 42.9 billion US dollars.

USB sticks - 6 of the best

2010-10-18T07:50:27Z

My handbag essentials: 2 phones, iPod Touch, Lancome Juicy Tubes lip gloss, minimum of 2 USB sticks. I've got Dropbox installed on various PCs for file transfer but nevertheless I've got into the habit of not leaving the house without having some method of transporting digital data from A to B on my person and USBs.

There's an army of sub-standard ones that are woeful at storing information are out there too, so picking up a cheap data-carrying stick could well become a false economy.
These are some of the sturdiest data-wielding sticks that'll make transporting gigabytes a breeze. So which ones to use?

]]> Sturdy Storage - LaCie XtremKey - from ÃÂ£39.99 see www.mymemory.co.uk
Available from 8GB to a whopping 64GB memory capacity, these all-weather USB keys are built to withstand just about anything which may happen to it. This diminutive three-inch stick can be driven over by a 10-ton truck, withstand temperatures of 200C and -50C, sink to 100 metres and is drop proof from five metres - just another day at the office...

Shrunken Stick - MosKeyto - from ÃÂ£14.99 at www.lacie.com/uk
We will happily wager this as the smallest USB key around. Measuring less than 20mm and weighing under 10 grams, we're not sure how it could possibly get any smaller. It is almost invisible, sticking out just 6mm when at work on your PC or laptop. In addition to the robust storage in the key, LaCie has integrated an extra 4GB of online storage from Wuala, just log on to its website and claim your space - that's even more files that you can pluck from seemingly thin air.

Force Field - Star Wars Mimobots - ÃÂ£24.99 from www.firebox.com
With these collectable USB memory sticks you can choose your favourite sci-fi character from Jawa, R2D2, Obi-Wan Kenobi or the limited edition Stormtrooper to carry up to 2GB of your data. Take off the Stormtrooper's helmet and see whether your stick features the face of Luke or Han Solo from Star Wars Episode IV. Each of the sticks come preloaded with Star Wars stuff such as wallpapers and videos for your downloading delight.

Eclectic Collection - USB Flash Drive Heroes - ÃÂ£19.99 each from www.firebox.com
You'll certainly stand out from the crowd when wielding one of these rather fabulous data carriers, which come disguised as a ninja, owl, penguin, reindeer or spaceman. Each one is fashioned from hard-wearing silicone to withstand everyday wear and tear and comes equipped with a piercing to allow you to easily attach it to your keyring.
Statement Stick - Rock Out USB Stick- ÃÂ£29.95 from www.selfridges.com

The 'Rock Out' USB Stick is one of a range of uber-stylish data carriers. Others include a 'Vulcan' design depicting Dr Spock's signature greeting sign, 'Change' featuring a clenched fist, and 'Peace', the iconic two fingered salute. These are high-quality data carriers that make a statement without you uttering a word.

Secret Stash - Transcend 4GB Stick - ÃÂ£9.99 from www.play.com
Shoehorned inside this device is the latest biometric technology, so to get at the contents you'll need to scan your fingerprint - great for keeping prying eyes away from your data. This data stick also allows you to automatically log on to websites where you are registered, saving plenty of seconds for those who spend lots of time online.

Is Facebook planning to make a phone?

2010-09-20T08:27:40Z

Image via CrunchBase

Online chatter was dominated by the news that Facebook is ~~building a phone~~ i~~s not building a phone~~ ~~has built a phone~~ ~~has bought Nokia~~ has taken over the entire world and is making Farmville co-operatives.

]]>
At times like this I turn to Tech Crunch.
And according to that, Facebook is building the software for the phone. There is little other detail...

So what might this phone look and feel like? We don't know yet. When will it be announced? Don't know.

... but the speculation that it would be a cheaper end of the market, with payment plans closely tied to Facebook operations, makes sense.
Maybe that's the next step for mobile - instead of building apps for phones you build a phone that is itself an app, with add-on abilities.

I can see why Facebook would want to venture into this market but, as far as my rather basic wetware can work out, when you can buy an entry-level smartphone bobbins, with unlimited free texts and decent data allowances included in payment plans, would the younger market this is aimed at be particularly bothered about it? I'm really not so sure they would.

Liverpool sightseeing using Google City Tour maps

2010-09-15T09:24:52Z

Google Labs is always worth a browse around, and now it's producing city tours - here's the one it generated for Liverpool...

Day 1

Day 2

Now, as someone who had to make a Google map of Interesting Things in Liverpool recently, for a visiting crowd from Nottingham, I really wish I'd been able to send them this one.
It tells you not only how long it takes you to walk between points, but also links for each attraction so you can work out whether it's for you or not. I'm not sure what Lime Street Station is doing on the tour, or what you'd find to occupy 60 minutes of your time there, but I guess you could marvel at the Ken Dodd/Bessie Braddock statue for at least 10 seconds. (Although, to save you the bother, I've included it below).

Anyway, the map is also interactive so you can add and remove sites, and import your own maps as well. Or you can just type in an area and see what you get - mostly data imported from Google Maps that are in no way detailed enough, but they do make a starting point for you to create your own mashups.

Breaking tech news - pheasants stolen...

2010-08-23T10:48:09Z

I was building a Yahoo Pipe this morning to help refine my sprawling tech/digital information stream and, on a bit of a whim, ambled into Microsoft's Bing to look at the rss feed for tech/science.

Well, I'm glad I did! Nothing says bleeding edge technology to me like a story about pheasants being nicked in Leicestershire...

Social Media Cafe Liverpool: tackling legal issues, Facebook privacy and how to handle web overload

2010-08-19T11:19:28Z

Liverpool's second Social Media Cafe takes place on Wednesday, with a host of interesting tips and talks on how to use online tools and networks.
SMC is the perfect way for groups or individuals who are interesting in finding out more about the internet, how online communities work, the best apps and websites to use, and it's also a good way to make real world friends.

Main speakers for the event are Jon Bloor, head of corporate and commercial law at Lees Solicitors LLP (on Twitter as @beej777) who will be giving an overview on legal basics for social media users, Mike Nolan (@MikeNolan), Head of Web Services at Edge Hill University, who will explain the best ways to handle social media overload so you don't feel overwhelmed by information from the online world, and Richard Smedley (@RichardSmedley), who helps community groups combine websites and social media campaigns in a sustainable IT strategy, and who will cover privacy issues on open social networks like Facebook.

The presentations will be followed by a chance to ask questions, start discussions and network.
Social Media Cafe Liverpool is free of charge, and is aimed at everyone, whether you are newly interested in the digital world, or already a confirmed social media fan. It takes place on Wednesday August 25 from 6pm--9pm at Static, Roscoe Lane, Liverpool.

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Social media comments: How to gauge replies

2010-08-10T15:46:40Z

If you're a business that uses social media, or just someone who likes a little structure around their online interaction, this chart* could be invaluable.
It is an at-a-glance tool to help you work out what - if any - action you need to take over comments on your blog, to Twitter or Facebook, or some other network.

This chart was made by Steve Heye of the YMCA of Metro Chicago and you can find it here on Flickr.

* Found via the always-useful Social Media Today website

]]>

Tech-minded? Liverpool's How? Why? DIY! needs your help

2010-07-26T16:05:01Z

The growth of the How? Why? DIY! movement in Liverpool is very interesting - and very heartening. It's very much an altruistic set-up whereby technologically-gifted and/or creatively-minded people get together to share their knowledge with each other, and with anyone else who wants to learn.

]]> And with an up-coming How? Why? DIY!event in the city on August 22, plus another of the popular Ignite sessions, and the second Social Media Cafe in the pipeline, it feels as though there is real momentum building in the social and cultural areas of digital innovation.

But How? Why? DIY! needs some support - particularly from the tech community. Organiser Neil Morrin has put the call out, saying: "We are looking for technically able people that would be willing to share their skills with members of the public young and old alike.

"We are especially looking for organisations that recycle computers and other electrical goods to get involved in the day. Plus anyone that can demonstrate how easy it is to rebuild computers using recycled components, these might be hobbyists or professionals."

Among workshops already planned are music with a Nintendo DS orchestra, an Ubuntu software install area, advice on becoming a citizen reporter through blogging, podcasting, livestreaming and social media platforms, and design hacking - taking an object and improving or reworking it to serve an alternative purpose. The day will end with a two-hour seminar discussion.

If you want to offer your skills, or go along and learn some new things, you need pop along to the former Rapid Hardware store on Renshaw street any time between 11am and 7pm.

In the world of BS Bingo, words like inclusion, engagement and outreach are bandied around aplenty but I'd say this as a real opportunity for businesses and local authorities to get involved with worthwhile projects. Liverpool council is indirectly supporting it - the Rapid venue was found through Nerve Magazine (Catalyst Media) with funding from the city council's Shops Up Front project.

To take part, go to www.how-why-diy.com and find out more.

Meanwhile a couple of other dates for your diary: The third Ignite Liverpool takes place on August 5. Ignite comprises short sessions where presenters share their personal and professional passions, using 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds, aimed at promoting collaborative thinking and creation. The event is free, and takes place at Static Gallery in Roscoe Lane, off Berry Street, Liverpool.

And the second Social Media Cafe Liverpool will be at the same venue on August 25. If you missed the first one, it's a (free) fun evening where geeks and non-geeks gather to share information and learn new stuff, with the added bonus of beer. Highly recommended.

Twitter reliability - some good news at last

2010-07-23T15:33:25Z

This is Twitter Chief Executive Evan Williams speaks during a Tweetup Japan 2010 Summer event in Tokyo....

He was celebrating the dramatic growth of the microblogging service he co-founded at a dinner with 500 Japanese fans.
But there's also a reason to celebrate if you're a Twitter user bored to tears with the Fail Whale.

]]>

Image via Wikipedia

Everyone on Twitter is familiar with the Fail Whale. It signals downtime that can be last for moments, intermittently for hours or - as in the case of June 2008 - the same time as the last Ice Age.

I don't see the Fail Whale very often for the simple reason that I always use clients like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck.

This doesn't mean I don't suffer the same outages as everyone else - it means I get to see this stressed-out API message, which is just as annoying, believe me

But good news! Twitter's engineering blog said this week the impending move of the technical operatioins infrastructure into a new purpose-build data centre IN Salt Lake City would mean much more capacity. There's more information here.

Finally, the whale may swim off into the sunset.

E-book sales outstrip hardbacks. Is anyone surprised?

2010-07-21T09:47:13Z

Image via CrunchBase

There was much fuss made of Amazon's announcement that its sales of electronic books surpassed those of hardbacks in the US, with all kinds of speculation about what this might mean for traditional retailers, publishing houses, authors and - of course - the print newspaper industry.

All in all, it led to a very nice bit of publicity for the company and - more importantly I guess - Amazon's e-reader, Kindle (pictured right).

]]>

Image via Wikipedia

Amazon's figures show that in the past three months it has sold 43% more e-books than hardcovers, and three times as many books for Kindle in the first half of 2010 as it did in 2009.

Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon and remains CEO, described Kindle sales as 'exploding' since prices were dropped. A 3G 9.7" Kindle costs ÃÂ£359 (it has to be shipped from the US) but the Kindle 6" model was slashed from $259 to $189 last month, in response to rivals Barnes and Nobel's $199 price tage for its Nook 3G - which also has wifi. Barnes and Noel responded with a new wifi-only Nook, costing just $149.

Sony's Reader - a Which? magazine best-buy - comes in two editions - pocket and touch, and carries a price tag of between ÃÂ£139 and ÃÂ£229, and a couple of others in the market are the Linux-based Iriver Story eBook (ÃÂ£159.72) and the Hanvon n516 reader (ÃÂ£158) on Amazon.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the glossy screen reading market the iPad (pictured above) is proving a formidable competitor to all, albeit a very expensive one.

I toyed with a Kindle and a Sony but didn't warm to either of them. However, on the iPad I've notched up four paid-for novels so far. Normally the Kindle app for iPad has a bigger sellection than Apple's iBooks app - although that is a beautiful thing, complete with shelving - and the books are cheaper, but you can't add Kindle-bought titles to iBooks, which is a pain. I'm also not realy in love with Apple's pricing system; I'm currently halfway through Justin Cronin's massive new tome The Passage but it cost me a whopping ÃÂ£12 on iBooks- the rrp may well be ÃÂ£20 but that price felt over the top. Having said that, it wasn't even available on Kindle at the time.

But the main reason I'm not surprised e-books are outselling hardbacks - other than the fact that the hardback market is not the largest to begin with - is that they are just so much more reader-friendly: very light, obviusly portable, the text, font, brightness and more can be set to ther eader's preference, some have in-built dictionaries, yhou can download sample chapters before you buy, carry around thousands of titles at the same time, and read for a day on a single battery charge.
They are wondrous and I'm not at all surprised newspaper companies are now doing deals with Kindle to carry their content.

Liverpool's ScraperWiki Hacks and Hackers Hack Day

2010-07-19T09:54:34Z

I've just had one of the best working days you could wish for, courtesy of some very bright journalists, hackers, university types and ScraperWiki.
If you haven't heard of Liverpool firm ScraperWiki yet, it will be on your radar before too long if you're interested in the Open Data movement, accessibility of information, coding or just plain knowing what your council's planning office is up to; it's a one-stop shop for data mining or scraping information off websites.

]]> ScraperWiki describes its' purpose thus:

"There's lots of useful data on the internet... But getting at it isn't always easy. There's a table here, a report there, web pages, PDFs, spreadsheets... And it can be scattered over thousands of different places on the web, making it hard to see the whole picture and the story behind it. To get at data, programmers write bits of code called 'screen scrapers', which extract the useful bits so they can be reused in other apps...
ScraperWiki is an online tool to make that process simpler and more collaborative. Anyone can write a screen scraper using the online editor, and the code and data are shared with the world. Because it's a wiki, other programmers can contribute to and improve the code. And, if you're not a programmer yourself, you can request a scraper or ask the ScraperWiki team to write one for you."

The idea for the day was born out of the Liver and Mash mashed libraries event held at Parr Street Studio back in May, when Andy Goodwin and I met Aidan McGuire and Julian Todd, of ScraperWiki for the first time, and learned about the amazing stuff they were doing. From that, further meet-ups with Aidan, Aine McGuire and Julian were quickly organised and the Hack Day evolved into a fully-fledged plan.

So a bunch of Trinity Mirror and freelance journalists, hackers, academics and others met up at the Hacks Meet Hackers event by LJMU Open Labs in partnership with ScraperWiki and us journalists at Post&Echo Towers, at the Art and Design Academy where, coincidentally, the whole world seemed to be graduating, on Friday.
It was ticket-only and, considering the herding cats nature of those attending, was a triumph of organisation with all the essential food groups - coffee, cake, beer and pizza - provided.

The aim of the day was to find data sets (by making a scraper with ScraperWiki or otherwise), interpret, visualise and apply them, and from 9.30am to 6pm there was feverish activity, plus some gamesmanship, espionage and rip-it-up-and-start-again moments.
By the end of the day every group - which comprised hacks, hacker(s) and someone with data visualisation skills - had built or created some form of content:

A toolkit for business people scraped useful data into one central resource
A book-tracker matched a desired library book with the nearest library
A 'plodwatch' script that automatically updated who local beat bobbies were
A visualisation of a Liverpool gangster's career
A World Cup facts visualisation
An Arduino-based programme that bashed a gavel to mark live court (video here) proceedings
A one-stop-shop for Liverpool's essential health, education and entertainment information

The day ended with a prize giving for the top two prizes (the business toolkit and the library-tracker took the honours) and wound up with networking.

So, I can't code my own scraper and I'm not sure I will ever grasp how to do that, without a bit more awareness of the mysteries of coding, but the Hack Day did open my eyes to the possibilities such tools offer Journalists and anyone else who wants to find out information, curate it, present it visually, and share it with others. It was a great day and I'm grateful to ScraperWiki and LJMU for helping make it happen.

There are host of ScraperWiki events planned around the country - including Edinburgh, Cardiff and Birmingham - in the future so it's probably worth keeping an eye on their blog to see what they're up to and where.
And, finally, here's a post on the experience from fellow Hack Day-er Mike Nolan, a Flickr page of the day, and a journalism.co.uk interview with senior developer Francis Irving explaining the importance of interactive storytelling and visualisation.