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Modern Warfare game goes on sale

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:06:12 -0600

Long-awaited video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 begins its assault on the gaming industry when it is released on 10 November.

Online retailer Amazon said pre-orders of the controversial title were already higher than any previous video game.

The first-person shooter is predicted to sell millions of copies in the first few hours after launch.

Many stores, including more than 10,000 in the US and 320 in the UK, will open at midnight for eager fans.

Some have already managed to get their hands on the game after shops broke the sales embargo.

However, Robert Kotick, CEO of the game's publisher Activision, said the first-person-shooter could be "one of the largest entertainment launches of any media of all time".

Analysts believe the game could sell as many as 5 million units on its first day.

It is the sixth instalment in the Call of Duty series and gives players the chance to be a member of a military strike force that takes on a Russian ultra-nationalist terrorist group.

It sees the combat team travelling to Russia, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Brazil and into orbit, to thwart the terrorists.

The game has drawn criticism because one section, prefaced by a warning screen, involves a player joining a massacre of civilians at an airport.

Labour MP Keith Vaz condemned the game saying he was "absolutely shocked" by its violence.

In response, publisher Activision said the scene was "not representative of overall experience".

Labour MP Tom Watson also set up a Facebook group to defend games such as Call of Duty from their critics.

Price war

The first Modern Warfare debuted in 2007 and sold more than 12 million copies. The game won praise for its uncompromising story line and attention to detail.

Versions for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC all go on sale on 10 November. In the UK almost 600 stores are set to open after midnight.

A large launch event is also due to be held at one of the cinemas in London's Leicester Square which more usually plays host to film premieres. The pre-launch event is due to start at 1900 GMT.

Amazon said the pre-order sales for Modern Warfare 2 are already 50% higher than for Grand Theft Auto 4 - which until now had the most successful release ever.

"We're already seeing it bully other name-brand competitors into pushing their release dates back rather than risk going head-to-head in the same launch window," said Scott Steinberg of game and gadget website Digital Trends.

Since the Call of Duty franchise started in 2003, more than 28 million copies of the game's various incarnations have been sold.

In the UK the console versions of the game will retail for about £54. The PC version is expected to cost about £35.

However, supermarkets and retailers have been advertising it a steep discount. Sainsbury's and Tesco are expected to offer it for about £26. Online stores have also cut the price of the title.

A limited edition of the game, called the Veteran Package, is also available for £99.

While many gamers are looking forward to playing the game, fans of Modern Warfare have expressed disappointment that the PC version will lack some of the tools and tweaks available in earlier editions.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Google snaps up mobile ad company

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:53:26 -0600

Google, the world's most popular search engine, has agreed a deal to buy the mobile advertising firm AdMob.

It is paying $750m (£449m) in stock for the firm in a bid to take advantage of opportunities in the booming market for mobile devices.

AdMob specialises in selling adverts displayed on small screens - for example the iPhone or the Blackberry.

Google said mobile advertising had "enormous potential" and praised AdMob's "exceptional progress".

"AdMob is the quintessential Silicon Valley start-up, generating impressive year-on-year revenue growth, and we're excited to welcome this talented team to Google," said Susan Wojcicki, Google's vice-president of product management.

The new partners will now look to use new mobile technology to drive mobile advertising.

"I think people underestimate how important ads have been to funding the development of innovative content on the internet," said AdMob founder Omar Hamoui.

"Our goal has been to make it possible for developers and publishers to bring their products and ideas to mobile with the same business model."

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Murdoch may block Google searches

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:35:52 -0600

Rupert Murdoch has said he will try to block Google from using news content from his companies.

The billionaire told Sky News Australia he will explore ways to remove stories from Google's search indexes, including Google News.

Mr Murdoch's News Corp had previously said it would start charging online customers across all its websites.

He believes that search engines cannot legally use headlines and paragraphs of news stories as search results.

"There's a doctrine called 'fair use', which we believe to be challenged in the courts and would bar it altogether," Mr Murdoch told the TV channel. "But we'll take that slowly."

Mr Murdoch announced earlier this year that the websites of his news websites would begin charging for access.

The target had been for all its sites to charge by June next year, but indications are that this is now unlikely.

News Corp owns the Times and Sun newspapers in the UK and the New York Post and Wall Street Journal in the US.

Newspapers across the world are considering the best way to make money from the internet, particularly in a time of falling advertising revenues.

The risk is that charges may alienate readers who have become used to free content and deter advertisers.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

'Road trains' get ready to roll along European roads

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:31:43 -0600

Road trains that link vehicles together using wireless sensors could soon be on European roads.

An EU-financed research project is looking at inexpensive ways of getting vehicles to travel in a 'platoon' on Europe's motorways.

Each road train could include up to eight separate vehicles - cars, buses and trucks will be mixed in each one.

The EU hopes to cut fuel consumption, journey times and congestion by linking vehicles together.

Early work on the idea suggests that fuel consumption could be cut by 20% among those cars and trucks travelling behind the lead vehicle.

Spanish trials

The lead vehicle would be handled by a professional driver who would monitor the status of the road train. Those in following vehicles could take their hands off the wheel, read a book or watch TV, while they travel along the motorway. Their vehicle would be autonomously controlled by the lead vehicle.

Funded under the European Commission's Framework 7 research plan, Sartre (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) is aimed at commuters in cars who travel long distances to work every day but will also look at ways to involve commercial vehicles.

Tom Robinson, project co-ordinator at engineering firm Ricardo, said the idea was to use off-the-shelf components to make it possible for cars, buses and trucks to join the road train.

"The goal is to try and introduce a step change in transport methods," he said.

"We're looking at what it would take to get platooning on public highways without making big changes to the public highways themselves," said Mr Robinson.

A system that involved wiring up motorways with sensors to help control the road trains would be prohibitively expensive, he said.

"Each of the vehicles will have their own control and software monitoring system," said Mr Robinson. "There may well be a platoon sensor envelope that collates information and presents it to the lead vehicle so it can understand what is happening around all the vehicles."

The idea is to make platoons active so vehicles can join and leave as they need. Mr Robinson speculated that those joining a platoon or road train may one day pay for the privilege of someone else effectively driving them closer to their destination.

Sartre will run for three years. The project partners are currently doing preliminary research to find out all the elements needed for a working system and the situations in which it might be used.

There were also behavioural elements to consider, said Mr Robinson, such as whether all the vehicles will need to have their hazard lights on while in a platoon.

Also, he said, there had to be a way to ensure the vehicles in a platoon are organised to make drivers feel safe.

"Car drivers do not want to be between trucks," he said.

Towards the end of the research project trials will be held on test tracks in the UK, Spain and Sweden. There are also plans for public road trials in Spain. The first platoon will involve two trucks and three cars.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

UK surveillance plan to go ahead

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:57:45 -0600

By Dominic Casciani
BBC News

The Home Office says it will push ahead with plans to ask communications firms to monitor all internet use.

Ministers confirmed their intention despite concerns and opposition from some in the industry.

The proposals include asking firms to retain information on how people use social networks such as Facebook.

Some 40% of respondents to the Home Office's consultation opposed the plans - but ministers say communication interception needs to be updated.

Both the police and secret security services have legal powers in the UK to intercept communications in the interests of combating crime or threats to national security.

But the rules largely focus on communications over telephones and do not cover the whole range of internet communications now being used.

The Home Office says it wants to change the law to compel communication service providers (CSPs) to collect and retain records of communications from a wider range of internet sources, from social networks through to chatrooms and unorthodox methods, such as within online games.

Ministers say that they do not want to create a single government-owned database and only intend to ask CSPs to hold a record of a contact, rather than the actual contents of what was said.

Technically challenging

Police and other agencies would then be able to ask CSPs for information on when a communication was sent and between whom.

REASONS TO CHANGE WHAT DATA CAN BE KEPT

More communication via computers rather than phones
Companies won't always keep all data all the time
Anonymity online masks criminal identities
More online services provided from abroad
Data held in many locations and difficult to find

Source: Home Office consultation

In theory, law enforcement agencies will be able to link that information to specific devices such as an individual's smartphone or laptop.

The proposals are technically challenging, as they would require a CSP to sort and organise all third-party traffic coming and going through their systems. The estimated £2bn bill for the project includes compensation for the companies involved.

Home Office minister David Hanson said: "Communications data is crucial to the fight against crime and in keeping people safe. It is a highly technical area and one which demands a fine balance between privacy and maintaining the capabilities of the police and security services.

"The consultation showed widespread recognition of the importance of communications data in protecting the public and an appreciation of the challenges which rapidly changing technology poses.

"We will now work with communications service providers and others to develop these proposals, and aim to introduce necessary legislation as soon as possible."

Opposition and concern

The consultation results reveal that 90 of the 221 responses opposed the basic principles that the government should be seeking a method to retain or look at the data.

The Home Office said that there was a "widespread but not unanimous" recognition of the role of data in protecting the public. But many concerns related to the detail of what would be done with the information.

Christopher Graham, the Information Commissioner responsible for overseeing the protection of private information, told the Home Office that while he recognised that the police needed to use communication data to stop crime, this in itself was not a justification to collect all possible data passing through the internet.

"The proposal represents a step change in the relationship between the citizen and the state," said Mr Graham.

"For the first time, this proposal is asking CSPs to collect and create information they would not have previously held and to go further in conducting additional processing on that information.

"Evidence for this proposal must be available to demonstrate that such a step change is necessary and proportionate."

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Nokia recalls 14m phone chargers

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:39:16 -0600

Nokia is recalling 14 million phone chargers because of fears that they could cause electric shocks.

The models in question, AC-3E, AC-3U and AC-4U, were made by the Chinese firm BYD and sold mostly in Europe and North America.

No-one has been injured yet and they will be replaced free of charge. Nokia says the recall is a "proactive, precautionary measure".

Customers can check if their charger is faulty on the firm's website.

An internal investigation found that the charger's covers were prone to coming loose and exposing the internal components. That leaves the user at risk of an electrical shock if it is touched while plugged in.

Nokia's sub-contracter BYD will cover the costs of the replacements.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

dot.life

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:17:14 -0600

Vaz v Watson: MPs' battle over Modern Warfare 2

Cyber vandal hits police website

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:31:34 -0600

A computer hacker protesting over terror deaths in Pakistan has attacked the website of Durham Police, forcing it to temporarily close.

The cyber vandal wrote: "Ur security sucks UK police this is my revenge against u.

"U are the one who are blasting bomb in Pakistan. Ur security is zero."

Durham Police said an investigation was now under way and the "offending matter" was being removed by computer specialists.

A spokesman said: "We are aware of a problem with the force website and the offending matter is being removed.

"An investigation into how this occurred is under way."

Pakistan has been hit by a wave of suicide bombings which have killed more than 350 people since the beginning of October.

They are believed to be related to the government offensive against the Taliban in the north of the country.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Astley attack - first worm bites Apple iPhone

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:08:37 -0600

The first worm to infect the Apple iPhone has been discovered spreading "in the wild" in Australia.

The self-propagating program changes the phone's wallpaper to a picture of 80s singer Rick Astley with the message "ikee is never going to give you up".

The worm, known as ikee, only affects "jail-broken" phones, where a user has removed Apple's protection mechanisms to allow the phone to run any software.

Experts say the worm is not harmful but more malicious variants could follow.

"The creator of the worm has released full source code of the four existing variants of this worm," wrote Mikko Hypponen of security firm F-secure.

"This means that there will quickly be more variants, and they might have nastier payload than just changing your wallpaper."

The picture of Rick Astley is believed to be a nod to the internet phenomenon known as Rickrolling, where web users are tricked into clicking on what they believe is a relevant link, only to find that it actually takes the user to a video of the pop star's song "Never gonna give you up".

'Stupid people'

The worm has so far only been found circulating in Australia, where the hacker - Ashley Towns - who wrote the program lives.

The 21-year-old told Australia's ABC News Online that he created the virus to raise the issue of security.

It only exploits jail-broken phones that have SSH installed, a program that allows people's to make changes to the phone's file system.

"My prediction is that we may see more attacks like this in the future"

Graham Cluley

The worm is able to infect phones if their owners have not changed the default password after installing SSH.

"What's clear is that if you have jail-broken your iPhone or iPod Touch, and installed SSH, then you must always change your root user password to something different than the default, 'alpine'," wrote Graham Cluley of security firm Sophos.

"In fact, it would be a good idea if you didn't use a dictionary word at all."

After a phone becomes infected it disables the SSH service, preventing reinfection.

The code contains numerous comments from Mr Towns about his motivation.

One comment reads: "People are stupid and this is to prove it."

"It's not that hard guys. But hey who cares its only your bank details at stake."

The worm can be removed by changing the phone's password and deleting some files.

Some estimates suggest that up to 10% of all iPhones and iPod Touch are jail-broken.

The practice allows a phone user to install software and applications that have not been approved by Apple.

"Phone users may rush into jail-breaking their iPhones in order to add functionality that Apple may have denied to them, but if they do so carelessly they may also risk their iPhone becoming the target of a hacker," said Mr Cluley.

"My prediction is that we may see more attacks like this in the future."

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Net restriction

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:52:55 -0600

The internet may have been a miracle for music fans, Duran Duran star John Taylor says, but instant access to decades of recordings and artists' inner thoughts is not all good.

In an extract from a speech marking the 40th anniversary of the first message sent over the internet, Taylor explains why the likes of Twitter and YouTube may harm future pop and rock stars.

By John Taylor
Duran Duran bassist

I hated being a teenager, until I discovered just how powerful the world of popular music was. It helped me find an identity and find myself.

Not just the notes and beats, but the icons and the haircuts and the clothes and the liner notes. Music saved me in a way, or at least it gave me a sense of direction of how life could be.

I became a teenager in 1972. In 1972, I was listening to music that was almost exclusively made in 1972. Some of it had been made in 1971, but that was about it, with few exceptions.

"The speed and growth of new technology has actually served to disguise how little real growth is taking place at the artistic level"

Something the internet has most definitely done is bring more music from more places and more eras into the hearts and minds of us all, but young people in particular, which is great.

Most students I know have an extremely broad appreciation of music. Far broader than I did. Obviously classic rock is very popular, but so too are all sorts of vintage and world music.

My stepson is at New York University (NYU) and he was telling me how he's currently into Cole Porter, music from the 1920s and swing music from the 40s. So the availability and accessibility of music on the internet today is truly incredible, and I applaud anything that can inspire interest or curiosity in anyone.

But this also means that those of us who before would have been looking towards the current culture for inspiration are now often to be found, like my stepson, in various backwaters of older music.

Creative recession

This relative lack of need for current, innovative culture can cause, has caused, is causing - maybe - the innovative culture to slow down, much as an assembly line in Detroit slows down and lay-offs have to be made when the demand for a new model recedes.

And the speed and growth of new technology, which has been so heralded and so much fuss has been made of, has actually served to disguise how little real growth is taking place at the artistic level.

"I'm still buying copies of that first Roxy Music album, I'm almost embarrassed to say"

In September 1972, Roxy Music appeared on prime time TV in the UK. It was their first national TV exposure, a three-minute appearance performing their first single.

And the way they looked and sounded stunned me, and a generation of mes.

But we had no video recorders, and of course there was no YouTube. There was no way whatsoever that I could watch that appearance again, however badly I wanted to. And the power of that restriction was enormous.

The only way I could get close to that experience was to own the song. I lived in the suburbs, so I had to ride my bike for miles before I could find a store that sold music, let alone one that had the record in stock. It was a small trial of manhood and an adventure.

But once I had that song, I could play it whenever I chose. I had to go on a quest of sorts to get it, but my need was such that I did it.

The power of that single television appearance created such pressure, such magnetism, that I got sucked in and I had to respond as I know now previous generations had responded to Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan show, or The Beatles, or Jimi Hendrix. I believe there's immense power in restriction and holding back.

Fading star power

When artists today are asked to Twitter their every thought, their every action, to record on video their every breath, their every performance, I believe they're diluting their creative powers, their creative potency and the durability of their work.

And in the long run I believe they're also diluting the magical power and the magnetic attraction that they can or will ever have over their audience.

I wonder - if I'd had unlimited access to that first Roxy Music TV appearance, if I'd had unlimited access to knowledge of their personal quirks, if I'd been able to access film footage of every performance, every rehearsal, every interview they gave that year from around the world, then I believe the bubble of my obsession would have burst a long, long time ago and I'd have ceased being a fan a long time ago.

I'm still buying copies of that first Roxy Music album, I'm almost embarrassed to say - import copies on premium vinyl, anniversary CD copies, Japanese imports with paper sleeves, iTunes downloads when I'm on the road and need a fix. Such was the power of that initial strike.

John Taylor originally delivered his speech at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on 29 October.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Gas rocks

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:43:14 -0600

By Jorn Madslien
Business reporter, BBC News, Stavanger

With coal being too dirty and wind farms and nuclear power plants arriving late, it seems the world is left with a stark choice: keep on polluting or turn out the lights.

Unless, that is, someone comes up with an alternative.

Energy executive Rune Bjornson thinks he has the answer.

"Natural gas, more than any other fuel, is an option we have here and now," he tells the BBC in an interview.

And, he adds, there is plenty of it around - unlike scarcer resources such as oil and coal.

Given that Mr Bjornson heads up the gas division at the Norwegian energy giant Statoil, it comes as no surprise that he should hail the virtues of gas.

"We look at shale gas as a potential game changer"

Rune Bjornson, head of gas division, Statoil

But he is not alone in his predictions.

In June this year, the Potential Gas Committee, which is connected with the Colorado School of Mines, raised its estimate of gas reserves in the US by 35% to 2,074 trillion cubic feet (58.74 trillion cubic metres), the highest reserves since the group started tracking the information 44 years ago.

The upgrade came after new technology made it easier and cheaper to extract gas from shale rock, a prehistoric clay, which has hitherto been deemed too expensive and tricky to recover.

The implications for global power balances could be enormous, in both the energy and the geopolitical sense.

What next

Upgraded shale gas reserves are particularly relevant ahead of the Copenhagen summit, as it could help the world meet the Kyoto targets for carbon emission cuts, Mr Bjornson insists.

"Gas has very low carbon emissions when compared with many other energy sources," he says.

Indeed, he insists, gas - whether offshore gas reserves or from shale rock - is "not competing with" tomorrow's technologies.

The need to reduce emissions from energy production means nuclear power, carbon capture and storage, as well as wind and other renewable energy sources, will become leading power suppliers in the future as current energy production becomes unsustainable, Mr Bjornson predicts.

"It is no longer a question of whether climate change is real or not," he says. "That was yesterday's discussion. Now, it is a question of what we do next."

But while the world waits for wind farms, nuclear power plants and carbon storage facilities to be built, gas could deliver vast reductions in emissions, Mr Bjornson says.

"If Europe was to convert all coal-fired power stations to gas they would reduce emissions by 40%," he claims, pointing to how gas power stations emit about about a third less than modern coal-fired power stations and about two-thirds less than old ones.

Plenty of gas

Peter Dea, chief executive of Cirque Resources in Denver, Colorado, goes further.

"If you're not in on these plays, Wall Street says 'well, what's the matter with you guys'"

Arthur Berman, Geological consultant

He believes gas could not only replace coal as the main source of electricity in the US, it could deliver fuel for America's cars as well.

His optimism is based on a the Potential Gas Committee's estimate, which suggests the US has a 100-year supply of gas.

New techniques have been developed, where liquid, chemicals and sand is injected horizontally into shale rock to break open pathways for the gas to leak to the surface.

The shale gas reserves are expected to boost economic growth, help reduce carbon emissions and reduce US dependence on energy imports, Mr Dea predicts.

"It is truly a win-win-win situation," he says.

'Game changer'

Eager to take part in this development, Statoil last autumn joined forces with Chesapeake Energy to extract shale gas from the North East, Marcellus foundation that stretches across Pennsylvania and New York State.

"As shale gas fields come on line in the next five years, it is likely that European prices will drop in half"

Paul Sterne, managing partner of mergers and acquisitions advisers Sterne & Co

"It has come as a surprise to the industry that the reserves were so good and that it was competitive in terms of cost," Mr Bjornson says.

"We look at shale gas as a potential game changer."

And not only in the US. "We believe there are huge resources in others areas, including Europe," Mr Bjornson says.

Shale reserves are believed to be vast in Poland, Germany, France and Sweden, and there could also be similarly enormous shale gas areas in India and China.

"But it hasn't gotten much attention," says Mr Bjornson. "It is an industry that is still young."

Exaggerated hopes

Sceptics say there are good reasons why.

Arthur Berman, who was speaking at a recent energy conference in Denver, is one of them.

The Texas-based geological consultant believes the latest estimates are vastly exaggerated and suggests the shale gas reserves are neither as large as nor as profitable as many in the industry predict.

But "in the midst of a boom or a bubble, it's hard to sit on the sidelines", he says.

"If you're not in on these plays, Wall Street says 'well, what's the matter with you guys'"

Others point to how shale gas extraction can damage the environment as the chemicals used in the pressure-washer style drilling methods can leak into the ground water.

Energy security

Such sceptical voices do not ring loud in energy circles, however.

Advocates argue that the ability of shale gas to help curb carbon emissions makes it a worthy, and in macroeconomic terms worthwhile, risk to take.

But what is really exciting executives and policy makers alike is shale's potential to unseat leading natural gas suppliers such as Russia, Iran, Qatar and Algeria from their dominant positions, elevating the US, Europe, India and China into pole positions.

This could help improve energy security across the world, leaving few countries reliant on gas imports from countries often governed by unstable regimes.

It could also hit current energy exporters where it hurts, namely in their wallets, as new gas sources send energy supplies soaring thus depressing prices across the world.

Falling prices

Already, there are signs of such developments in the US, where natural gas is priced at up to $4 per million British thermal units - equivalent to crude priced at about $23 a barrel. (A barrel of crude contains on average $5.80 MBTU).

That is a seasonal rise from an average spot price of $2.50 during summer 2009, sharply down from 2008 when rising shale gas supplies pushed the average gas spot price down from almost $14 to about £10 per MBTU.

"Longer-term, the cost of producing shale gas is estimated at about $6 per MBTU, equivalent to crude priced at $34.80 per barrel," observes Paul Sterne, managing partner of mergers and acquisitions advisers Sterne & Co, in an article published by Ground Report.

"Unconventional gas will exert downward pressure on energy prices for years to come," predicts Mr Sterne - in the US, as well as elsewhere.

"As shale gas fields come on line in the next five years, it is likely that European prices will drop in half."

Winners and losers

Consumers might find that an appealing prospect, particularly in some of the world's poorest countries. Such sharp price falls should go a long way to relieve fuel poverty and indeed hunger.

But elsewhere, notably in Russia, many ordinary people could also see their lives transformed in less-than-desirable ways as it could lead to a painful reversal of the country's recent economic prosperity, which was based largely on highly-priced gas and oil exports.

The geopolitical implications are both obvious and enormous, so it is far from certain that a sharp and sudden rise in global gas supplies will be a blessing rather than a curse.

But if the gas is there, do not expect such concerns to prevent it from being extracted.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Play.com hit by ordering glitch

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:32:29 -0600

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Customers of Play.com have contacted the BBC to report problems with the online retailer's ordering system.

Many customers have received e-mails from Play.com reporting the despatch of an order they did not place.

Those opening the orders found contact details, including names and addresses, for other Play.com customers.

The problem appears to be widespread with many reporting Play.com help lines were jammed as they called to find out what had happened.

Simon Hurley from Clevedon near Bristol said he woke up this morning to find more than 80 e-mails from Play.com.

"I'm a big customer of theirs but not that big," he said. "I opened up each individual e-mail and it came up with another customer's name and their order."

Although there were no credit card details visible in the e-mails, Mr Hurley said all the messages had scrambled text at the bottom that could hide some information.

"People are being told to shred documents and then you have a big company like Play.com sending out hundreds of wrong e-mails to their customers," he said.

Mr Hurley said he rang Play.com to find out more but it took a long time to get through because the lines were "jammed solid".

Once he reached someone in customer services he was told that Play.com had a "massive problem."

So far it is not clear how many Play.com customers have received other people's e-mails nor how many e-mails have been sent out.

However, in other discussion forums on the web some customers talked about how many erroneous e-mails they had received.

On some forums customers said they were told that a "system error" was behind the sending of the e-mails.

In a statement a Play.com spokesperson said: "We were alerted to an incident that appears to have affected some customers for a short period of time in the early hours of this morning, and the first thing we'd like to say is that we apologise for any inconvenience our customers have experienced as a result.

"We'd like to reassure our customers that the cause of the incident has been identified and resolved.

"We take these matters very seriously and are now investigating how this incident occurred in the first place, so that we can prevent it happening in the future."

Play.com is among the most popular online shops in the UK for DVDs. CDS, games and movies. In February 2009, Play.com was the top retailer in the National Consumer Satisfaction Index.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Hands down

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:27:04 -0600

By Ian Hardy
Reporter, BBC Click

Apple's iPhone and iPod touch are starting to erode years of market dominance by Nintendo's DS and Sony's PSP.

Both companies are now facing serious competition in the handheld games area, despite sales of millions of units worldwide.

Phil Schiller, Apple's marketing director, told a conference that his company is ahead of the pack in the number of titles.

"Sony PSP has 607 titles, Nintendo DS has 3,680, and the iPhone OS has 21,178," he said.

'Leap-frogged'

Apple has also re-launched its devices with faster processors and third generation operating systems to enable them to handle more complex games.

Joel Santo Domingo, from PC Magazine, believes Apple technology has "leap-frogged" the competition.

"Once developers get their hands on these [Apple] platforms the games will get better," he predicted.

Due to backward compatibility, most of the 21,000 games currently available are not yet taking full advantage of the newest hardware specs.

Video games enthusiasts at a convention in Philadelphia are experiencing first hand the shift in the portable gaming landscape.

"I own the Nintendo DS and I have an iPod Touch. And honestly I play the iPod Touch the most because I carry it with me at all times," said one gamer.

"The DSi implementing a camera and internet features is definitely trying to contend with the mobile market which puts all these features into one," he noted.

Digital distribution

Nintendo is fighting to reverse a 15% drop in DS sales over the past year, while the iPod Touch and iPhone were doubling in units sold.

The Apple App Store has made access to games quick and easy, with new companies and established game makers contributing to its success.

Justin Kubiak, from the video games giant Electronic Arts (EA), explained there are advantages for commercial distributers too.

''It's a much better financial situation for us - we have fewer packaged goods to deal with," he said, "The world is moving in that direction".

He predicted that companies will start adjusting their business models to please consumers keen on digital distribution.

Nintendo and Sony are taking such changes into account. Nintendo released in April its own app store called DSiWare. Plus, Sony released the wi-fi enabled PSP Go and its own download service.

Open source

Sony is also launching launching Minis - a new section in its online store that will offer cheaper games.

"These will be smaller bite-sized games that are really easy to pick up and play," said Al De Leon, from Sony Computer Entertainment in the US.

"We'll continue to offer the huge games like God of War and Grand Theft Auto as well as these smaller Minis," he added.

Nintendo and Sony still prefer selling more involving games at the $30 to $40 (£18-24) price point.

But Sony is now trying to compete with the Apple App Store where some titles go for 99 cents (60 pence) or free to recession-struck consumers.

Competition is also growing from less known console makers who are building devices such as the Wiz on the Linux platform, including an open source app store.

'Any users or developers interested will be able to develop the games through their program and then put it inside our Wiz,'' said Tony Han, from the console's manufacturer, Gamepark Holdings.

The biggest threat to Nintendo, Sony and Apple could come yet from Google's Android 2.0 platform which is given away to phone makers.

Watch Click on BBC News Channel, Saturday 7 November at 11.30 (GMT).

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Gadget problems divide the sexes

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:14:25 -0600

Men and women have different approaches to dealing with technology problems, according to a gadget helpline.

The service found that 64% of its male callers and 24% of its female callers had not read the instruction manual before ringing up.

12% of male and 7% of female customers simply needed to plug in or turn on their appliance.

The company, Gadget Helpline, surveyed 75,000 calls received between 25 September and 23 October 2009.

The helpline has 120,000 subscribers in the UK, most of whom are over the age of 35. The average age of helpline staff is 21.

Women spent 32% longer on the phone to their helpers than men - but 66% of the helpline staff preferred speaking to them, the survey found.

"There is evidence of a gender divide in technology, although a lot of it comes down to interpretation," Joanna Bawa, chartered psychologist and editor of the Usability News website, told the BBC.

In general terms men treat technology as something to be understood and conquered while women are more motivated by appliances that benefit them, she added.

Sync stress

The helpline's busiest times were Monday mornings and Boxing day, said founder and chief executive Crispin Thomas.

Getting gadgets to communicate with each other was the subject of a large number of requests for help.

"Syncing one gadget with another causes problems," he said.

Newly released products also seem to cause teething problems - many of Mr Thomas' customers had difficulty setting up their Blu-Ray players in 2008 when they first became mass market.

He does not believe that appliances are becoming more complicated, but thinks that they are expected to do a lot more.

"Generally speaking, in a production run, 5% of appliances will contain a manufacturing fault," he added.

"But 15% - 20% get taken back to the shop for return."

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Grand tour

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:06:43 -0600

By Dan Simmons
Reporter, BBC Click

When Google's Streetview was launched in the US in 2007, users marvelled at being able to see locations and move along the images.

Now hi-tech firm yellowBird is promising to offer people the chance to direct their own 360 degree exploration of a place or event such as a music festival.

Unlike Streetview's static images of people and cityscapes frozen in time, yellowBird's technology aims to deliver virtual video tours.

"The user can look around for themselves and decide for themselves what they want to look at in a particular scene," said Marc Groothelm, head of yellowBird.

Click reporter Dan Simmons met up with the company at a festival in Amsterdam to see out how it creates an immersive experience.

Stitched images

The firm uses a video camera with six divided lenses to capture every possible viewing direction in video with sound, rather than photographs. Unlike Google's StreetView cameras which travel by car, yellowBird's rig is carried by a human operator.

Once shot, footage is stitched into a single image stream in a studio and saved into a variety of formats for playback.

Currently the camera can be setup on a tripod or to "float" above the head of the camera operator - and it then takes about a week to stitch a 60 minute video together.

Camera operator Stefan Vogelzang said that the device must be handled carefully to stop the audience getting confused.

"If they want to go to the right in the video while I am moving to the left it doesn't work. It clashes.

"So I have to walk pretty carefully and walk straight lines," he said.

Music lovers could experience a concert or festival from the comfort of their own sofa. Or it might enable them to relive an event from a different perspective - festival-goers could catch up on something they had missed first time round.

Interactive future

Mr Groothelm said the next step will be filming an event from multiple cameras so the audience get an even more personalised experience.

"With multiple cameras at the festivals, people can choose their own scenes and create their own movie, but that's something for the future," he said.

He believes his system could create novel ways of broadcasting various kinds of events, and foster creative ways to interact in music videos and online shops.

The company could monetise its system, if it can enhance the experience of online shoppers.

"You can make it far more interactive… giving labels to particular items, for example, in a virtual store. Making it possible for people to actually walk around and click on specific items in the store," he said.

He added that this would create a "real life virtual experience", in contrast to virtual reality with artificial images.

YellowBird said it was months away from streaming live events. However, this will need a slimmer stream of data to fit broadband bandwidth and fast computers stitching images together instantly.

Users can try out abeta version of yellowBird via the firm's website.

Watch Click on BBC News Channel, Saturday 7 November at 11.30 (GMT).

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

China plans for robot Olympics

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:50:13 -0600

China is planning to hold a robot Olympics in 2010.

The international event will be held in the city of Harbin and will see robots take part in 16 different events.

Robots will be able to compete in familiar Olympic sports such as athletics as well as those more suited to machines such as cleaning.

Entry to the competition will be restricted to robots resembling humans. They must possess two arms and legs. Wheels are banned.

The organisers of the games expect from more than 100 universities from around the world to send competitors to the event.

Harbin has been picked as the venue because the city's Institute of Technology is the home of a robot football research group that manages a very successful team of soccer playing humanoids.

Professor Hong Rongbing, from the Harbin Institute of Technology, said the idea of the competition was to drive innovation and produce robots that are more flexible and helpful.

No specific date has been set for the games as its organisers are still rounding up sponsors to help pay for it.

The Chinese event will face competition from the RoboGames that also stages sports events for robots. The 2010 RoboGames will take in California in April.

The Harbin robot games will be one among an increasingly crowded calendar for robot sports and other competitive events. One event, Roboexotica, is for robots that can mix cocktails, light cigarettes and chat with bar patrons.

Robots already have their own world cup. The 2009 competition saw entries from 400 teams that hailed from 35 separate nations. The 2010 event will be held in June in Singapore. A rival event is run by the Federation of International Robot-Soccer Associations.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Early origins for uncanny valley

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:55:53 -0600

Human suspicion of realistic robots and avatars may have earlier origins than previously thought.

The phenomenon, called the uncanny valley, describes the disquiet caused by synthetic people which almost, but not quite, match human expressiveness.

Experiments with macaque monkeys show they too are suspicious of replicas that fall short of the real thing.

The research suggests a deep-seated evolutionary origin for the reactions such artificial entities evoke.

Evolution influence

The phrase the "uncanny valley" was coined by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori and shows that human disquiet increases as avatars and robots look more and more human.

Many people who watched films such as Beowulf, Polar Express and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within reported that, despite the impressive 3D animated effects, the people portrayed were not entirely convincing.

Many explanations have been put forward for such responses, said Princeton neuroscientist Dr Asif Ghazanfar who carried out the research on the monkeys.

Some suggest the reactions are caused by a suspicion that those who look human but act oddly are ill and avoiding them makes good evolutionary sense. Others have advanced cultural reasons to explain the response.

"The range of explanations for the uncanny valley in humans is large and by doing this experiment we can reduce it quite a bit," said Dr Ghazanfar.

The Princeton team was led to investigate whether monkeys show uncanny valley responses because of work they were doing on the best way to investigate macaque communication.

"What we wanted to do was make a monkey avatar to interact with real monkeys. That would allow us to have real time social interaction occurring where we monitor brain activity in a real monkey," he said.

"Having an avatar gives us complete control over one side of the interaction which is unprecedented," Dr Ghazanfar told the BBC.

The reactions of real macaques to the artificial monkeys were intriguing, he said.

"We were not terribly surprised that they show an uncanny valley effect," he said. "What I am surprised by is that we can evoke it using such a rudimentary procedure - measuring simply how long they look."

"The animals were not trained or rewarded yet they were completely consistent in their reactions," he added. The results were reported in the journal PNAS.

Macaque monkeys are a favourite among researchers because of their biological similarity to humans. Their social lives have enough in common with humans to make comparisons apt, said Dr Ghazanfar.

Macaques have a "despotic" social network that means monkeys that are physically frail, old or sick are excluded.

It also suggests, he said, that human reactions to almost human avatars do have an evolutionary origin.

"I think there's a lot of interest in it because there's an increasing number of folks who are pursuing human interaction with artificial agents," he said.

"We can demonstrate that evolutionary hypotheses are tenable and that the uncanny valley has something to with social experience and neural processes across many primate species."

The Princeton team plans to keep on using artificial macaques to investigate monkey vocal communication.

"The positive spin is that we have made an avatar realistic enough that it has produced expectations from our real monkey," said Dr Ghazanfar. "The monkeys, like humans, quickly habituate to the creepiness of the avatar."

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

F1 designer unveils electric car

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:04:04 -0600

A new electric car created by ex-McLaren Formula One designer Gordon Murray has been unveiled.

Three prototypes of the T.27 model will be developed over the next 16 months.

The manufacturing process, called iStream, has received £9m of investment, half of which came from the government's Technology Strategy Board.

iStream plants can be just one fifth of the size of a conventional car factory, as the cars are not made from stamped steel.

All the parts are designed by computer and welded together rather than being stamped out of metal sheets, explained David Bott, Director of Innovation Platforms at the Technology Strategy Board.

"It's a very radical approach to manufacturing," he told the BBC. "Usually you talk about high value, or low carbon, or resource efficient manufacturing - this ticks all those boxes."

Lightweight

The T.27 car is designed for city or town use. Its predecessor, the T.25, weighs 600kg - half the weight of an average small family car.

"Cars don't tend to be heavy because of safety; they tend to be heavy because of luxury," added Mr Bott.

"The tubular frame of the T.27 is designed to absorb energy. It will pass all the relevant safety tests."

Gordon Murray, inventor of iStream, has been refining the technology since 1999, and has recruited former colleagues from his days at F1.

"The thinking is similar to McLaren's," he said. "It's all about efficiency and being lightweight, but in urban vehicles."

The most expensive part of any electric car is the battery, he added. So in order to be energy efficient, they need to be lightweight.

The T.27 can reach 60 miles per hour and is designed to travel up to 100 miles in between charges.

"It's for commuting, picking the kids up, that sort of thing," said Mr Murray, who drives a Smartcar.

"We're not saying get rid of your station wagon but it's where car use must go - rather than having a couple of big cars in the family."

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

EU offers hope to file-sharers

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:15:04 -0600

by Nigel Cassidy
Europe Business Reporter

Internet users throughout Europe accused of illegal file-sharing are to receive more protection from being cut off by their service provider.

The European Parliament and Council is due to make a decision on its Telecoms Reform Package in late November.

The package will entitle users in all 27 EU states to be put through a "fair and impartial procedure" before being disconnected.

The outcome is a compromise agreed during all night negotiations.

Some members of the European Parliament felt nobody should lose their connection until after they had been prosecuted in a court for illegally downloading content.

The new rules take the form of an amendment to a much wider revision of all Europe's telecoms regulations.

But they also represent a compromise between those who want greater protection for consumers and those who argue that copyright law is still being flagrantly disregarded by millions of computer users.

So far it is also less than clear exactly what will constitute a "fair and impartial" procedure.

'Sufficiently impartial'

Member states may argue their existing notification and adjudication procedures are sufficiently impartial - and much may depend on how the new rules are implemented.

Monique Goyens, the director general of BEUC, the European Consumers' Organisation, said: "It has been long hard battle but at least all sides have acknowledged that fundamental rights of users need to be guaranteed in the digital world.

"It has been long hard battle but at least all sides have acknowledged that fundamental rights of users need to be guaranteed in the digital world."

Monique Goyens, BEUC

"However, these rights will be meaningless if Hadopi-style laws are allowed to be enforced at national level."

The Hadopi law was a controversial bill passed in France earlier this year.

It stated that illegal file-sharers would receive a warning by e-mail, then a letter, and finally cut off their connection for a year if they were caught a third time.

It is named after the organization - Higher Authority for the Distribution of Works and the Protection of Copyright on the Internet - that will police it.

BEUC is calling for a "fundamental re-examination and overall assessment" about what constitutes illegal downloading - and an evaluation of the economic harm to the music and film industry.

One recent study suggested that 72% of people who admit they download illegally also spend the most money buying content legally.

In the UK, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which announced tough proposals for dealing with illegal file-sharers last month, said it would be commenting on the EU package later on today.

Speaking at the C&binet Forum last month, Lord Mandelson said thatcutting off internet connections would be a "last resort".

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

China to ban beating web addicts

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:49:44 -0600

China's ministry of health has moved to ban the use of physical punishment to treat teenagers addicted to the web, according to draft guidelines.

There are dozens of treatment centres offering to wean youths, mostly boys, from spending hours on the web.

Many of them are military-style boot camps that rely on tough programmes of physical exercise and counselling.

Two boys were beaten at separate camps earlier this year, one died and the other was severely injured.

"When intervening to prevent improper use of the internet we should... strictly prohibit restriction of personal freedom and physical punishments," the ministry said in a draft guideline quoted by Reuters news agency.

In July, the ministry of health formally banned the use of electroshock therapy as a treatment option.

There was a public outcry after 15-year-old Deng Senshan died in August less than 24 hours after arrival at the Qihang Salvation Training Camp in Guangxi province.

Days later, 14-year-old Pu Liang was put in a Sichuan hospital in a series condition after allegedly being beaten by his boot camp's principal and other students.

Some estimates suggest up to 10% of the country's 100 million web users under the age of 20 could be addicted, and a growing number of rehabilitation services have sprung up to deal with the problem.

Some define an internet addict as anyone who is online for at least six hours a day and has little interest in school.

"The goal of intervention is... to urge the target people to use the internet in a healthy way," the ministry of health statement said.

"It's not to stop them from using the internet."

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Smart spectacles aid translation

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:27:16 -0600

Spectacles that can provide subtitles have been created by hi-tech firm NEC.

Resembling glasses but lacking lenses, the headset uses a tiny projector to display images on a user's retina.

NEC said it planned a version that used real-time translation to provide subtitles for a conversation between people lacking a common language.

The firm said the gadget, dubbed Tele Scouter, was intended for sales people or employees dealing with inquiries from customers.

NEC said the Tele Scouter was intended to be a business tool that could aid sales staff who would have information about a client's buying history beamed into their eye during a conversation.

But, it said, it could also be put to a more exotic use as a translation aid. In this scenario the microphone on the headset picks up the voices of both people in a conversation, pipes it through translation software and voice-to-text systems and then sends the translation back to the headset.

At the same time as a user hears a translation, they would also get text subtitles beamed onto the retina.

"You can keep the conversation flowing," NEC spokesman Takayuki Omino told AFP at a Tokyo trade show where the device was unveiled.

Mr Omino said the system could also be used for confidential talks that would be compromised by the use of a human translator.

NEC said the Tele Scouter would be launched in Japan in November, 2010 but would initially lack the translation feature. A version that can provide subtitles would follow in 2011, it said.

When it goes on sale, a batch of 30 headsets will cost about 7.5m yen (£50,000). The cost does not include the price of the translation tools and software.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Strength in science collaboration

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:48:37 -0600

Google Wave is proving its worth in the scientific community, as one of the new collaboration tools which scientists are using to work together and conduct research.

"Google Wave offers two specific things," says Cameron Neylon, senior scientist for bio-molecular sciences at the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

"What it looks like is this cross of e-mail and instant-messaging, which is great fun. Where it really wins for science is that actually these documents or 'Waves' can be made automated so we can connect up documents and ideas with each other."

He says the real power of tools like Google Wave lies in automation - where it collects data without any need for extra human effort.

"A particular chemical compound, for instance, could be labelled and linked back to a database," adds Mr Neylon.

"That lets us start to link up all the references to that single chemical compound and connect all of those together. But it can also do all this without necessarily requiring the user to do too much work."

Pairing people and papers

Victor Henning is the co-founder of Mendeley, an online collaboration tool which was created specifically for scientists.

The free software allows scientists and researchers to upload papers which are then trawled for bibliographic data - author, title, issue and so on - and paired up with similar papers already in the database.

"Using those tools to more effectively push those objects around to other scientists has got to be a good thing."

Cameron Neylon

Mendeley is supposed to take the work out of managing these [research] papers.," explains Mr Henning.

"You can just drag and drop your collection of PDFs into the software and it'll automatically extract all the bibliographic data - all of the stuff that you'd usually have to type in manually.

"What Mendeley is designed to do is give you recommendations which compliment your existing library."

Biggest thinkers

The software is proving a hit with high-profile scientists working within top institutions including MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Cambridge and the University of Michigan.

Mr Henning says the site has roughly 70,000 users, and is growing at a rate of 40% each month.

He says the site's current features will remain free, but they hope to build up a profitable model too.

"We will be introducing additional premium features later this year, such as more storage space, more sharing features for labs."

DIGITAL PLANET

Digital Planetis the weekly technology programme broadcast from theBBC World Service
It is broadcast on Tuesday at 1232GMT and repeated at 1632GMT, 2032GMT and on Wednesday at 0032GMT
It is also available as apodcast
It can be found on the social networksFacebookandOrkut

The key to these sites is putting scientists in touch with fellow researchers and academics in a way that was only before possible with word of mouth or extensive, time-consuming networking.

"The power of Web 2.0 tools is they allow people to share a huge range of objects - they might be pictures, text, or just raw data," concludes Mr Neylon.

"Using those tools to more effectively push those objects around to other scientists has got to be a good thing."

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

BBC iPlayer to launch on Freesat

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:13:18 -0600

The BBC iPlayer will be trialled to a limited number of Freesat viewers at the end of November.

A full service on Freesat should be launched in 2010, said a BBC spokesperson. All Freesat HD boxes will be able to receive it.

Rahul Chakkara, head of TV platforms at the BBC, announced the beta trial on the BBC internet blog.

He also said that a quarter of BBC iPlayer viewing is now done through the TV via Virgin Media.

The BBC iPlayer became available on Virgin Media in June 2008.

Mr Chakkara said that 200 million programmes had been viewed on the catch-up service since then.

It is also available via the Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation 3 games consoles, although Wii users have experienced some problems with the service. The BBC says a new version is being developed for that platform.

Adapting the technology behind the BBC iPlayer interface for television had been "a challenge" he added.

"This is a fast changing and evolving industry," he wrote on the blog.

"Many of our assumptions will be challenged with time. We will keep coming back to the products and update them where appropriate."

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Intel in threats and bribery suit

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:41:18 -0600

New York's attorney general has filed an anti-competition lawsuit against Intel, accusing it of using "illegal threats" to dominate microchip sales.

The firm is accused of using "bribery and coercion" to make manufacturers of personal computers buy its chips instead of those made by its rivals.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said the lawsuit follows an investigation lasting almost two years.

No-one from Intel was immediately available for comment.

In May, Intel was fined $1.5bn (£948m) by European competition authorities.

The firm denied any wrongdoing in that case and is now appealing.

Mr Cuomo said Intel - the world's largest maker of semiconductors - had been engaged in a "worldwide, systematic campaign of illegal conduct".

"Rather than compete fairly, Intel used bribery and coercion to maintain a stranglehold on the market," he added.

"Intel's actions not only unfairly restricted potential competitors, but also hurt average consumers who were robbed of better products and lower prices."

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

EMI sues Beatles download site

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:52:35 -0600

Record company EMI is suing a US website which it says is offering unauthorised downloads of Beatles hits.

An spokesperson told BBC News that EMI had "not authorised content to be sold" on Bluebeat.com, which sells tracks for 25 cents (15p each).

Remastered Beatles albums, released in September, are among those for sale.

Last November, Sir Paul McCartney said he wanted The Beatles' catalogue to appear on Apple's iTunes store, but that negotiations had "stalled".

'Sticking points'

Tracks on Bluebeat.com - which also features songs by other major artists including Robbie Williams and The Rolling Stones - are on sale for significantly less than other music download sites.

Songs in the UK iTunes store cost 79p.

Bluebeat.com also streams songs - including those by The Beatles - enabling fans to listen to tracks for free.

"EMI want something we're not prepared to give 'em. It's between EMI and The Beatles I think - what else is new"

Sir Paul McCartney speaking last November

Now EMI has filed a copyright infringement suit in the US.

The Beatles are one of only a few major acts not to have signed up to sell their songs online.

Before that happens, EMI - which owns Beatles recordings - must agree a deal with Apple Corps, the company set up by the band to look after their catalogue.

"We'd like to do it," Sir Paul told BBC News last November.

"We are very for it, we've been pushing it. But there are a couple of sticking points, I understand."

He added: "EMI want something we're not prepared to give 'em.

"It's between EMI and The Beatles I think - what else is new"

Trademark dispute

EMI said at the time it had been "working hard to secure agreement with Apple Corps to make the Beatles' legendary recording catalogue available to fans in digital form".

"Unfortunately, the various parties involved have been unable to reach agreement but we really hope everyone can make progress soon," a spokesperson said.

There had been hopes that Beatles songs would become available after Apple Inc - which owns iTunes - ended a trademark dispute with Apple Corps in 2007.

Meanwhile, EMI and Apple Corps have announced they will be releasing a limited edition apple-shaped USB drive containing all 14 of the remastered Beatles albums as well as artwork, documentaries and other extras.

On 7 December, 30,000 of the drives will go on sale for £200 each.

Discounting the audio files used in The Beatles: Rock Band video game, it will be the first time the Liverpool quartet's music has been sold as computer files.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Action promised on council spying

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:31:48 -0600

The public must get more powers to scrutinise the use of CCTV and other forms of surveillance, the body representing council leaders says.

There is concern that local authorities are using methods including bugging to deal with relatively minor offences such as littering and dog fouling.

The Local Government Association said councils had to behave in a way "acceptable" to residents.

The comments come ahead of a Home Office statement on surveillance.

It has carried out a consultation on whether the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which sets the parameters of public bodies' use of surveillance, needs reform.

'Spirit of the law'

Les Lawrence, chairman of the LGA's safer communities board, said: "There have been concerns that some local councils have not used RIPA proportionately, and the LGA wrote to all authorities last year to argue that the use of surveillance to tackle dog fouling and littering - no matter how important these issues are to local residents - was not appropriate.

"All public authorities have a responsibility to use surveillance in a way that is acceptable to local residents and is consistent with the spirit of the legislation.

"Residents need to be able to scrutinise how their council is using surveillance. It is only by giving the elected representatives of local people more power that we will rebuild trust in the use of techniques that councils need to crack down on serious criminals."

He added: "The use of surveillance should be reserved for dealing with serious criminals like fly-tippers, benefit cheats, counterfeiters and loan sharks. Time and again, these are just the type of crimes that residents say they want to see tackled."

The LGA suggests co-opting members of the public on to a council scrutiny committee that will oversee the use of covert surveillance

It also suggests making a senior councillor responsible for authorising the use of RIPA, who can then be held to account.

Since 2003 councils have only been able to use undercover methods against those suspected of breaking criminal law.

Surveillance by local authorities is not allowed to be intrusive, such as bugging of phone lines or entering premises.

In England it is restricted to suspected breaches of criminal law and cannot be used to investigate suspected tax dodgers, for example, or on economic or public safety grounds.

Such exemptions do not apply in Scotland.

During 2008, public authorities made 504,073 requests for data from phone and internet service providers - about the same as the previous year.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Doing the rounds

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:19:53 -0600

By Harsha Sharma

Pagers have for long been considered the doctor's sidekick but in the United States, as hospitals face pressure for greater efficiency, smartphones are taking over.

The emerging industry of smartphone health technologies has caught the attention of Apple and Research in Motion (RIM), maker of the BlackBerry phone, as they see an opportunity to push their devices further.

It is estimated that 64% of US doctors currently own smartphones, according to analyst firm Manhattan Research. The firm predicts the figure will rise to 81% by 2012 when mobile data access will be indispensable for medical professionals.

"Smartphones can help physicians consolidate the number of existing devices currently used in hospitals. As well as receiving and transmitting alerts and pages, they can also enhance the functionality by layering collaboration tools on top of pages or in reaction to alerts", says Brian Dolan, editor of MobiHealthNews.

Fast data

Many see the appeal of smartphones extends beyond replacing pagers. While most of the estimated 1,500 medical apps available are reference guides such as Epocrates - there are a growing number which provide access to patient data or lab results.

One such app, AirStrip OB, was show at the 2009 Apple Worldwide Developers' Conference. The app lets obstetricians access maternal and foetal data remotely on an iPhone or Blackberry. AirStrip Technologies says more than 100 hospitals are subscribed to its software suite across the US.

"When a doctor is temporarily away from the patient's bedside and a nurse needs them to look at this vital waveform data, or they want to proactively check on a patient, they can be on the system in under 10 seconds regardless of location," says Dr Cameron Powell, head of AirStrip.

Certain apps, such as mVisum, even allow ambulances to send EKG images and patient data directly to doctors' BlackBerrys ahead of their arrival at the hospital.

The Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Texas is using iPhone medical apps throughout its 13 hospitals. Dr Robert Murphy, chief medical informatics officer, believes smartphone technology has improved quality of care throughout its locations.

"It is amazing how much this technology begins to change culture. When communications and information flow are limited, too often a culture of distrust develops. But with improved communications and information sharing, feelings of greater teamwork and collaboration soon follow."

Older patients

However, the rise of smartphone healthcare comes amid added concern about patient privacy. Although apps such as AirStrip OB and mVisum are approved by the FDA (The Food and Drugs Administration) and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), some critics remain sceptical about data security.

"The problems are common to all mobile devices: encryption at rest on the device and in transit, and whether data on lost or stolen devices can be easily accessed," says Deborah Peel, founder of US watchdog organisation - Patient Privacy Rights.

On a practical level, smartphones can be very dirty in clinical settings as most cannot be easily disinfected. The smaller screen size also limits the type of data that can be viewed.

"Smartphones can replace pagers and some say laptops, but smartphones are not a panacea device for healthcare. Devices with larger screens are still needed for reviewing detailed diagnostic images and analyzing data. When it comes to quick reference and enhanced collaboration, however, other devices can't compete", says Mr Dolan from MobiHealthNews.

For now in the UK it seems the NHS is more concerned about seeing future smartphone use in community care rather than in hospitals.

"The devices could be very useful in the community for patients managing long term illnesses particularly those over the age of 75," said George McGinnis of NHS Connecting for Health. "But the technology needs to be highly adapted so it is more accessible for those who are not currently using smartphones."

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

'Galapagos of mobile industry'

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:34:09 -0500

By Richard Taylor
Editor, BBC Click

If you ever doubted the mobile phone was reshaping the world, well... where have you been all this time

The "Keitei" as it is known is not merely an accessory here - it has become the must-have personal companion for almost every Japanese adult.

"Japan is considered the Galapagos of the mobile industry," says Kei Shimada, CEO and founder of Infinita.

"We've evolved heavily on our own, we've put certain features and functions which would probably only work in Japan."

That means phenomena you just wouldn't see elsewhere - like commuters heads down reading Japanese novels and manga on a three-inch screen.

And the e-wallet smartcard - allowing the purchase of goods by just touching it against a sensor - is now standard issue on virtually all handsets and soon GPS will be too.

So if you are in the market for a mobile, how on earth do you differentiate one from another, when there is a kaleidoscopic array on offer

One way is to choose a defining feature.

Phones' features vary from integrated e-books, high definition video cameras, and phones that can live stream TV from eight terrestrial channels.

Satisfying demands

And as you would expect, all of these innovations are backed up by blisteringly fast mobile networks.

In Tokyo, the Emobile network has just launched HSPA+ which offers a staggering 21 megabits per second (mbps) download speed.

If 21 mbps sounds too good to be true, you would be right.

In practice you might get 16 or 17 mbps, and that is if you are right next to the network base station, there are no more than three people using the network, and the wind is blowing in the right direction.

In more normal circumstances you might achieve three or four mbps.

But still, with the ability to stream high definition internet video, that should be enough to satisfy all but the most demanding of internet gluttons.

"Sure, videos are one area where high-speed internet connections would enhance the user experience," says Kei Shimada.

"But moreover if you have a high-speed internet connection you would be able to upload your content and information to the cloud and not have to have big hard drives or solid state storage on the handset itself."

In Japan, it is easy to see a truly interactive mobile future - one where you are able to use your phone to automate domestic tasks and make sure they are being done by using your handset to control a roving webcam.

Indeed, the line between home and mobile communications will start to disappear altogether.

Your TV would recognise your mobile as soon as you are in the same room.

Because your preferences are stored online, it can tailor the content too. You pick up on what you were watching on the way home or it intelligently suggests something for you to watch.

Today, these are just conceptual scenarios but you can bet that it won't be long before they are reality.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Broadband in a backpack

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:09:34 -0500

DIGITAL PLANET
By Dave Lee
BBC World Service

In the aftermath of a disaster, any connection to the outside world can be life-saving.

When telephone networks inevitably crumble, it can be days before those affected can contact their families or relief agencies.

Wireless communication expert Mike Outmesguine has demonstrated an easy way to produce a "Network Relief Kit" - an ultra-portable method of connecting to the internet from almost any location in the world.

The entire kit can be carried in a back-pack, and offers a fast enough connection to watch videos on YouTube.

Not without a price, however - data transfer typically costs between $3-$6 (£2-£4) per megabyte, payable to providers of satellite internet connections such as Inmarsat.

"These satellites cost a lot to put into space - they are recovering that cost in subscription fees," said Mr Outmesguine, adding that high pricing prevents the overloading of the service.

The pack consists of several lightweight components which combine to give the ability to upload photos and videos, make calls and e-mail.

Mr Outmesguine says getting quick access to the internet means relief efforts can be more targeted and efficient. People within disaster zones can direct relief to the places and people that need it most.

As well as this, people in hostile areas can let loved ones know they are safe.

"A new concept in disaster relief is the people who are affected getting in touch with their relatives - especially the ones outside the area," Mr Outmesguine told BBC World Service's Digital Planet.

Connected in moments

The main component is the satellite receiver which works anywhere - with the exception of the North and South Pole.

"It becomes a big powerful psychological help."

Mike Outmesguine

It connects to one of three satellites orbiting the earth to get an internet connection. The receiver can then be plugged in, using ethernet cables, to a standard router, VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phone or similar devices.

The kit provides internet speeds comparable to low-end broadband connections.

It bypasses the need to rely on big organisations such as the Red Cross to mobilise and re-connect cut off areas. Instead, these relief kits can be set up in moments - and information about casualties and injuries can be transmitted.

When NGOs do arrive, Mr Outmesguine says that they can use the technology to set up a local network which an entire team can work from on laptops or mobile phones.

After Hurricane Katrina, similar technology was used around New Orleans. It meant wi-fi networks were in place and operational well before cellular networks had come back online.

"We saw internet cafes popping up using a satellite internet connection. It became a hub of activity for people to come and use e-mail," he said.

"It's not one of the survival components like food or water. But it becomes a big powerful psychological help."

Getting cheaper

Bill Brindley, head of IT consortium NetHope, says the cost of producing the network relief kits is plummeting as they get easier to use.

DIGITAL PLANET

Digital Planetis the weekly technology programme broadcast from theBBC World Service
It is broadcast on Tuesday at 1232GMT and repeated at 1632GMT, 2032GMT and on Wednesday at 0032GMT
It is also available as apodcast
It can be found on the social networksFacebookandOrkut

"Initially the kits we put together in 2003-2004 cost close to $40,000 and you had to send a technologist with them.

"Now we've got the whole kit, including the solar panel, down to around $3,000."

The cost effective solar panel is a key improvement.

"In the initial kit, you'd have to hook it up to a big truck battery. Now we have portable kits which have all kinds of power connections. One in particular is a thin film solar panel that you fold out and literally collect power during the day when the sun is out, and then recharge at night."

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Is e-democracy a good thing?

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:06:07 -0500

We need to think seriously about what digital democracy has to offer, says Bill Thompson

"Whoever wins the forthcoming General Election, we are about to be ushered into a Digital Britain, and we had better prepare for it.

Broadband speeds may remain painfully slow, but the desire to provide access for all will be driven by the pressing need to save money by reforming public services, cutting costs and improving efficiency, no matter who is in power.

So we'll see universal access simply because the financial benefits of online public services will only be realised if nearly everyone has access to them.

There will always be a need for offline provision too, for those who cannot be served effectively through a screen and keyboard. I, like many others, will fight for this.

However, over the next five years we can expect to see increasing use of web-based tools as the primary way of accessing state-provided services.

I already renew my road tax, register to vote, pay my VAT and income tax, hand over the money for my TV Licence and pay the occasional parking penalty charge online.

I expect that soon I will have no need to write or phone a single agency to conduct my business with government at local or national level.

'Demands for transparency'

The drive to digital will also be fuelled by increasing demands for transparency, as the crisis of faith in our MPs created by the revelations about expenses claims works its way through the political system.

Furthermore, a desire to emulate US president Obama will give extra impetus to the Googleisation of government IT and initiatives like data.gov.uk.

Any resemblance to its transatlantic cousin, data.gov, which speaks proudly of its exciting mission to "increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the executive branch of the federal government", is of course entirely deliberate.

But introducing digital technologies into society is not a simple matter of providing computers, websites and internet connections and then getting on with it.

"As we have seen with attempts to use computers in classrooms, new technologies do not automatically lead to a positive outcome. "

Bill Thompson

As we have seen with attempts to use computers in classrooms, new technologies do not automatically lead to a positive outcome.

Within the education sector the debate over the real usefulness of laptops in school and the gradual replacement of printed texts with ebooks is becoming increasingly rancorous as evidence piles up on both sides, and we should expect similar arguments elsewhere.

The stakes in this particular game of transforming government are especially high, and we cannot afford to take a naive view of moves towards digital democracy.

Facebook and Foucault

Fortunately the new generation of social theorists, people who have grown up with computers in their lives and are as familiar with Facebook as they are with Foucault, can offer some guidance in this new area.

One of the most important thinkers is Will Davies, who cut his teeth working with economist Will Hutton at the think tank The Work Foundation, where he was a lead on its groundbreaking iSociety project.

He is now a research fellow at the Said Business School at Oxford University.

Mr Davies brings Weber, Hayek, Weinberger, Arendt and even Habermas to bear on the question of whether decentralising information through online services like data.gov.uk can offer us good government.

He concludes that while it may provide transparency and even accountability it can never sustain the legitimacy that a democratic state provides.

He offers a dense, complex argument, written for an audience familiar with the thinkers he refers to.

Davies' writing is not for everyone, but it should be essential reading for anyone who wants to develop a sound understanding of the implications for society and political structures of the technological change that we seem to have accepted as inevitable.

It is the sort of thinking that we desperately need if we're to understand the technological future being offered to us by politicians of all major parties - and in all developed countries - as they are seduced by Google, Microsoft and Facebook into thinking that search, social networks and software can help us to solve the world's many problems.

We have to hope that the politicians who are dragging us into the digital tomorrow take time to read and consider the wider issues raised by people like Will Davies instead of just signing up to the programme. Otherwise we will all be the poorer.

Bill Thompson is an independent journalist and regular commentator on the BBC World Service programme Digital Planet.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Net nomads of the electronic age

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:47:07 -0500

Wherever I lay my laptop, that's my home, says Bill Thompson

"A couple of years ago, I wrote about my life as a 'neo-nomad', one of the growing number of people who use digital technologies to allow them to work from anywhere, living with "no office, colleagues who are largely engaged with online, and often a number of overlapping projects to be juggled and managed at the same time".

It was a pattern of life that had emerged for me over years of being freelance, as I put more of my work on a laptop and found that I could generally rely on being connected to the internet when I needed to be, initially over dialup lines 'borrowed' from amenable friends, then via open wireless networks, and now through my 3G dongle.

I also benefited greatly from the workings of Moore's Law (which describes the trend that the number of transistors in a chip roughly doubles every two years), as the laptops I owned became more and more powerful, so that the machine I use today is faster and has a lot more memory than the four-year old desktop it replaced, while my mobile phone outstrips my old Vaio laptop on every scale except screen size.

And I started to make use of cloud-based services, with shared calendars, online documents, network-accessible disk space and webmail all slotting in neatly to the nomadic lifestyle. Moore's Law helped here too: every time I needed more space for my e-mail, Google would increase the standard allocation, and Apple offers MobileMe subscribers more space than the old .Mac used to.

I'm happy to pay for services that make my life easier, like MobileMe and the online storage service Dropbox, but equally happy to take advantage of free or advertiser-supported tools where they will do the job.

"Cautious"

Having a background in computer science has made me cautious, however.

Although I use more Google services than those from any other company, I don't rely on them (or any other single provider) to keep me online or provide a core service.

My calendar sits on 30 Boxes and Google, but it's also stored locally on my laptop and in a red Moleskine diary that goes everywhere with me.

I have four main e-mail addresses, and I pay for three of them - Gmail is free - so that I can be sure of messages getting through. And every e-mail that comes to my laptop and desktop is also picked up by Gmail as backup.

"I don't feel like I'm being ripped off for having access to my own data"

Bill Thompson

And I haven't entirely embraced the cloud, as most of my data is stored on hard drives that I own and can carry around with me, but I'm certainly trying to make the network work for me, by giving me easy access to as much of my data as possible from wherever I am, whatever device I happen to be using.

Life as a nomad has been fun, but today I'm taking things a bit further for a month at least. I'm going to be between homes until early November, so this seems a good time to see just how much the combination of a laptop and an internet connection can deliver as I turn from being a nomadic worker to a true digital Bedouin, pitching my tent in different places.

Moving on

I left my lovely house in Sawston, just outside Cambridge, last night, having moved my entire world into a large storage unit. I've kept some clothes, my tax files (as I have to do my VAT return this weekend), my laptop and my phone with me, but that's about it. I'll be staying with my girlfriend some of the time, in hotels while on trips some of the time, and I'll be couch-surfing friends in Brighton, Tyneside and elsewhere, carrying as little stuff as possible.

A month isn't long enough to miss my books, paintings, and all the small objects that sit on my desk reminding me of who I am and how I am connected to those I love. But it could be long enough to discover which of the objects in my life really matter to me, and I suspect that some of the boxes in the storage unit will end up remaining sealed when I retrieve them.

And it will also be long enough to discover just how much I can rely on the technologies that surround me to support and sustain my non-work existence. It could be very interesting.

Of course, I do have some useful tools to help. As I write this I can see the files on my main desktop computer, a 24" iMac. I can even see its screen and run applications that are only installed there, and get full access to the various disks and devices plugged into it.

It works because the iMac is at the Cambridge Film Trust office, where I'm one of the Trustees, and the office manager has kindly let me put it on a spare desk and link it to the local wireless network. Using 'Back to My Mac', a tool built into Apple's Mac OS X, I can share the disk or screen over the network and connect from my laptop.

It's the same service you get from a variety of Windows tools, and it's great. Instead of having to lug the computer around, I can just talk to it over the internet, saving me a great deal of hassle copying files, installing applications, and keeping things in sync. It goes to sleep when I'm not using it, so I don't feel guilty about using electricity unnecessarily, and it doesn't take up much space in the Trust office.

This isn't cloud computing, and I'm not paying for data storage, computer time, bandwidth or anything other than the MobileMe subscription which does the authentication between the two computers (and which I was paying anyway for the other services), so I don't feel like I'm being ripped off for having access to my own data or for the hire of processor cycles in a data centre somewhere.

So now the great adventure starts. And if I stop answering e-mails, no longer tweet, and neglect my Facebook it will be safe to assume that some technology somewhere, has let me down. Or, perhaps, that I've discovered that the offline life is more fun.

Bill Thompson is an independent journalist and regular commentator on the BBC World Service programme Digital Planet.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

No net gains for party politics

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:31:21 -0500

When it comes to politics, the internet is just another channel, says Bill Thompson

"The next British General Election will almost certainly be called the first "real" internet election, on the grounds that the "internet election" of 2001 happened when relatively few people had home network connections, while the 2005 poll took place before the social media explosion brought us Facebook, MySpace, and a growing belief that anyone who is tired of Twitter is tired of life.

One unfortunate consequence of this will be that anyone who claims a passing acquaintance with the network world will be called upon as a pundit to interpret the parties' online activity and tell an eager public who is "up" and who is "down" when it comes to internet campaigning.

I know this is the case because I've already been asked myself, and a well known technology consultant of my acquaintance is being lined up for the role too.

However such people should not be taken too seriously by those concerned with the eventual outcome.

Although I run the danger of talking myself out of a job, I want to say clearly that the election, whenever it happens, will not be an internet election in the sense beloved of headline writers, over-enthusiastic news editors, or those with campaigning tools to sell.

America decides

It will, rather like the 2008 US Presidential Election, be a general election in which online tools and services are used by those seeking to influence the electorate and by those charged with the responsibility of deciding which candidate to vote for.

It will be an election in which a significant proportion of the population gets information about the parties, the candidates, and the issues from online sources - and where they use social media tools to share information - debate the issues.

It will certainly be an election where those who want to campaign actively for a particular party or candidate will use the internet to do so, often to the point of irritation and annoyance for those who want to get on with their normal activities during the brief period when we are encouraged to think about how we exercise the five seconds of democratic power we are given twice a decade.

But anything that happens online will only matter as part of the broader context of electioneering; party political broadcasts, news coverage, posters, leaflets and meetings will be just as significant.

"An effective marketing strategy should incorporate all the online elements, not try to separate them out and treat them as somehow special. "

Bill Thompson

Sadly, this will not stop the online campaigning. Once the election is called, I firmly expect Twitter to be overwhelmed with twibbons and campaign pledges, while flame wars break out on Facebook and the US owners of these global services watch, bemused, from the sidelines and wonder what has happened to excite all their UK users.

Some candidates will see their chances of election vanish under the onslaught of a YouTube campaign - featuring video of them in an unflattering light - or saying something that contradicts the party platform. Others will react badly to the online pressure and lash out via email or tweet, only to suffer the consequences.

Parties themselves will spend vast amounts of money, time and volunteer energy on websites, groups, mailing lists and the other paraphernalia of the modern online campaign, partly because of a superstitious belief in the influencing power of the Facebook status update, but more because everyone else will be doing it and opting out would be too risky.

But their work will largely go unremarked upon except by the army of commentators and pundits - myself included, I fear - who have to find something about the network to talk about on TV or radio.

Futile

It will not shift many votes or have a marked influence on the actual campaigns, and much as I would like questions of network neutrality, online surveillance and penalties for unlicensed downloading to be major campaign issues, I'm enough of a political realist to know that the argument about the economy will matter much, much more.

Of course, just because the internet will not be the defining tool of the various election campaigns doesn't mean it won't be used and it won't be important.

But in the brief period since the last UK election we seem to have crossed an important threshold when it comes to the way we use the net in our daily lives and, as a result, we have passed the point were we could have had a real "internet election".

The network, with all its many flaws and problems, is now part of daily life for many people, whether because they use it at work or school, have a computer at home, lug a laptop and 3G dongle around wherever they go, or simply update Facebook and read email on their mobile.

A lot of people are using the internet without thinking about the fact that they are using the internet, and if they use the net during the election, they will think about the politics, not about the technology.

This is as it should be.

Marketing spin

Some years ago I used to teach arts organisations about internet marketing, trying to help them make some sense of the emerging network world.

After a while I realised that any organisation that spent time developing an "internet strategy" for their marketing had already failed, because a good marketing strategy was one that saw network tools as another collection of channels to reach audiences and potential audiences, not something in isolation.

An effective marketing strategy should incorporate all the online elements, not try to separate them out and treat them as something special.

It's the same for political activity, and with luck those currently devising the electoral strategies will not be thinking about setting up an internet unit, but will be considering how to reach swing voters and how to ensure that their message is properly disseminated, and they will choose the right technology for the job irrespective of whether or not it is digital or online.

So don't believe anyone who turns up after the event to claim that it was "the internet wot won it".

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Internet Blog

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:26:10 -0500

Digital Revolution

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:23:55 -0500

Barring Google from libraries

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:50:53 -0500

The proposed settlement between Google and US publishers must be resisted, argues Bill Thompson

"Google is in the middle of a massive project to scan and digitise every book it can get its hands on, whether old or new, and if it gets its way then the US courts will soon endorse an agreement between the search engine giant and the US book industry that will allow it to do this without fear of prosecution for copyright infringement.

Authors and publishers will get some money in return, and we will all benefit from the improved access to digitised books that Google will provide.

The deal sounds like a good one, but not everyone is happy with it. The Department of Justice in the US has begun an investigation to see if it is anti-competitive, and last month a number of library associations got together with Amazon, Yahoo! and Microsoft to form the Open Book Alliance which argues that it should not go forward.

The details of the settlement are complex, and it is almost impossible to be sure what would emerge from it because many of the provisions involve setting up things like a Book Rights Registry, and we don't yet know what they will look like.

World's librarian

But whatever the detail there remains a fundamental problem. It is not that the settlement will give Google indemnity from prosecution should it be found to have scanned books that are in copyright without the copyright owner's permission, nor even that it gives Google freedom to exploit scanned content commercially.

It is, rather, that the settlement gives only Google these privileges, and places one company in a prime position to become the world's de facto librarian instead of encouraging open access, open standards and a plurality of services and service providers.

Neither Google nor any other company should be entrusted with that responsibility, and nothing in the detail of the agreement or the funds that will be made available to authors as a consequence can change this.

If Google is given a monopoly, either explicitly in the settlement or implicitly because any other scanning project would be forced to negotiate its own multi-million dollar agreement, then the deal must be rejected.

"If we let Google have its settlement we will all be the poorer"

Bill Thompson

The proposed settlement came about after Google began a project to scan and index millions of books, including many that are still in copyright.

It was sued by groups representing authors and publishers who felt that scanning books, even if the text was only used to create a searchable index which then pointed readers to the relevant text, was an unlicensed use and therefore illegal.

The book trade was also worried that Google might scan the books under the pretext of creating an index and then start offering them online or even selling them, even though it was always absolutely clear that such behaviour would be a breach of copyright.

Instead of fighting the case through the US courts and winning a great victory for those of us who believe that three hundred year-old notions of copyright should not be used arbitrarily to limit new ways of making use of creative works, Google announced in October 2008 that it had reached a settlement with the US Authors' Guild and the Association of American Publishers that would allow it to continue scanning with permission.

At the moment the settlement hangs in the balance, waiting for what is quaintly termed a 'fairness hearing' in US District Court on October 7.

At this hearing of the questions raised since the settlement was announced will be debated, including the question of how the relatively small Authors Guild came to speak for all published writers in the US, living and dead, in negotiating with Google.

One of the arguments being made in favour of Google, most clearly by US industry analyst Jeffrey Lindsay, is that Google deserves to benefit from having taken the risk of digitising books when the project's legal status was uncertain and that Google, unlike Microsoft and Yahoo!, has invested millions of dollars in the project and is committed to pushing forward.

Microsoft did indeed abandon its own book scanning project, Live Search Books, in 2008, largely on cost grounds but also because the legal uncertainties clearly exposed the company to potential liability in what was never a core area of its activity.

Tribal lands

But Lindsay's view seems hard to accept. Pretending that the world's libraries are some unexplored continent to be opened up and claimed by the adventurers from Mountain View may appeal to the frontier mentality of US commentators, but it is not a metaphor likely to have much appeal elsewhere.

For one thing the bookshelves of the worlds are already inhabited, just like the territory of the United States, and those of us who remember the fate of the Native Americans may not be happy to see Google build its railroad tracks over our tribal lands.

Even without the dodgy analogy, the project of digitising the information held in the world's printed books is too important to be dealt with purely as a commercial venture between rights holders and a potential supplier of services.

We are at an inflection point in world history, and the transition we are making from analogue to digital is happening so quickly and offers so many delights that there is a temptation to let the past moulder in archive boxes and concentrate solely on the new and digital.

For those who take that view then letting Google pay to digitise books is an uncontroversial decision, one that can deliver more digital stuff to search through without apparently costing anything.

George Santayana wrote 'those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it', but it may also be true that those who do not care to digitise their own past will end up paying a high price to regain what they give up so thoughtlessly.

If we let Google have its settlement we will all be the poorer. Not for a while, perhaps, but one day we will need more from this new library of Alexandria than Google is willing to offer, and find that the price it demands is more than we can pay.

Bill Thompson is an independent journalist and regular commentator on the BBC World Service programme Digital Planet.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Get your up-to-date fix of blog posts about all things digital

Wed, 21 May 2008 06:53:11 -0500