eNewyddion - internet and ecommerce news with a Welsh slant

We've gone...

noreply@blogger.com (Afanargoed) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 11:29:00 +0000

Over here now – apologies for not actually letting you know, but you’ll find our living and breathing thoughts of all things Web and Wales on our main webste, www.sequence.co.uk/blog.

Please do pop by sometime, and we’ll put the kettle on.

iPhone coming to Wales but without 3G

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Haresign) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:24:00 +0000

It's just been announced that O2 has won the contract to sell Apples iPhone in the UK. The phones will be sold in the stores from 9th November (in O2, Carphone Warehouse and Apple retailers) and will cost £269 plus an 18 month contract from £35 to £55 per month.

In terms of accessing the web, all users will be able to use the 7500 wi-fi hotspots however the iPhone isn't able to use high-speed 3G networks. As an alternative, it uses 'Edge', which works on the existing O2 network however is noticeably slower than 3G.

However, I doubt that this will rock sales of the iPhone as even with the teething troubles experienced by early adopters in the US, revenues were still huge. But if users are thinking about using their phones to surf the web, they'll be getting a slow service.

Should this stop anyone from wanting one though? The answer has to be....no :-)

Facebook and CityWare - Going Blue

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Haresign) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 17:18:00 +0000

Just over the bridge in Bath, a team of researchers have been combining Facebook and communication technology to track 'real life' encounters . Users register with Cityware (a Facebook tool) which tracks and links users in the real world via Bluetooth - in short, it lets users find out if any of the people they bump into regularly is a Cityware user and has a profile of Facebook.

To get it to work, you need a Facebook account, a Bluetooth device and the Cityware application (at present, the system only works in a number of cities in the UK (where Cityware has setup their nodes/infrastructure)). The users must have a Facebook account, install the Cityware application and register the Bluetooth ID of their mobile phone or laptop with the software. These Cityware nodes are computers which constantly scan for Bluetooth-enabled devices in a given area, and send that information back to servers (which compare the IDs of the gadgets with any enabled Facebook profiles).

When you go back to your Facebook account, you can then see a list of all the devices you were near and the link to profiles of people who have tagged themselves on Cityware. Outside of the Web2.0 site, connecting with users in the 'real' world, the project has another aim - to see how cities operate, what the links are with the movement of people and how as a result, how viruses (both digital and biological) spread in the urban environment.

However, before this research is completed, the researchers are looking for a way for users mobile phones to alert each other when they near another Facebook user who shares common interests or common friends. Nice :-)

Firefox not converting 75% of users

noreply@blogger.com (MarkJ) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 07:39:00 +0000

An interesting piece of news on the FireFox wiki - "Currently, approximately 50% of the people who download FireFox actually try it and about 50% of those people continue to use it actively." Which means that 75% of those of us who download it don't become active users.

In a related note (as reported over at the Guardian) it looks like Steve Jobs of Apple is hinting at taking on FireFox with the aim of leaving Safari and Internet Explorer the only major players left standing (though the credibility of Apple's Safari browser has been severely dented by the host of problems present in it's initial beta release for Windows).

So, the browser wars are hotting up again and, for me, that can only be a good thing as rival developers seek to take control of the browser it pushes innovation and features which benefit us all.

Pulic Wi-Fi even less secure that previously thought

noreply@blogger.com (MarkJ) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 03:43:00 +0000

Are you sat in a coffee shop sipping a skinny latte and browsing the web right now? If you are then you might need to be a bit more careful about how you use the the web when you're out and about.

According to this article from The Register it looks like public wi-fi is even less secure than already thought and you're particularly vulnerable to attack if you use services such as G-mail or Yahoo mail and anything else that uses a session cookie.

It's not all bad news and you can protect yourself by using permanent encryption while using these types of online services and if you're serious about protecting your net connection when you're out & about check out the Defcon Survival Guide to find out what you can do to stay secure.

Go-fast stripes

noreply@blogger.com (MarkJ) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 03:32:00 +0000

According to Which? magazine it seems that many of are not getting the broadband speeds that we signed up for.

In one of the test carried out Which? found that broadband packages that promised speeds of 8Mbps were actually only achieving and average of 2.7Mbps on tests of 300 customers net connections.

With ever increasing competition over broadband costs it's worth knowing how much bandwidth you're really getting and who you should switch to if you're not.

To test your broadband connection click here to do the Broadband Speed Test and if you're thinking of switching suppliers then try out the broadband supplier comparison over at Think-Broadband.

Goldrush 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (MarkJ) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 12:42:00 +0000

As social media explodes and we all use the web to do lots of different things so there's a second explosion in dot com mania. This time round things look a little more encouraging with folks like Last.fm being snapped up by CBS from across the Atlantic.

Refreshingly, there also seems to be a number of UK ventures that are reaping the rewards from the uptake of web 2.0(try www.moo.com to print your own business cards from pics on your flickr account - it's cheap too!).

Moo's not the only dot com success over here and there is a list of top ten UK dot-commers worth watching over at the Guardian Media section today.

BBC iPlayer launches

noreply@blogger.com (MarkJ) — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 10:52:00 +0000

A little bit later than planned, but still very much anticipated, the BBC launches it's iPlayer in beta form (sign up for iPlayer beta trial here). It's not yet available for Mac or Windows Vista, though it will be shortly. Anyhow, it's an online media player that allows you to catch up on BBC TV shows online up to 7 days after broadcast (as long as you're in the UK)

Will it change the viewing habits of the UK? Will we all hover round our computers to watch TV? Who knows. With services like Sky Plus and Virgin Media Plus+ and the option of recording and storing TV shows on your media ready PC the iPlayer doesn't seem to offer much more than is already available elsewhere.

The real excitement is around how readily will iPlayer allow traditional TV and interactive services to fully converge...imagine watching a historical TV dram and then simultaneously looking up info on the period in question or watching a murder mystery while reading the backs stories of each of the characters so that you have that extra insight into the drama. We don't know which way this will all go, though we have a few ideas, but we'll keep an eye out and report back as things develop.

Selling at a profit

noreply@blogger.com (Afanargoed) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 09:07:00 +0000

The, some say, ‘original’ eCommerce site Amazon.com has seen profits grow to over £37M in the three months to June this year - this is an increase of 35% from the previous year.

It’s not only the results that are big – the Amazon share price shot up 11% after the announcement of the results yesterday and perhaps providing a good source of revenue was the two million pre-orders that they took for the final Harry Potter tome.

I think what this demonstrates is that internet retail has really now come of age, and that some (only some!) of those that crawled out the sea at the time of dotcom madness are now very viable businesses.

Amazon only hit profit for the first time in the last three months of 2001… and to give you some context it made a loss of over half a billion dollars ($545m) the year before. Not bad for a company that had been in the red since 1995 - now that’s a long term investment…

Web Trends Map 2007

noreply@blogger.com (MarkJ) — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 23:28:00 +0000

Those enterprising folks over at Information Architects have done it it again with their Web Trends Map 2007.

The map itself is rendered as alternative version of the Tokyo Subway map with 'You' placed in the Emporer's Palace at the centre of the network. Futher metaphors abound with each 'stop' on the line being given it's own 'Weather Report' so you can try and predict who's in good health and who isn't, thus extending the fun even further ;)

It's available in number of formats and resolutions and there is even an A2 poster to buy should you feel the need. Amongst the old faves such as BBC, Amazon, Apple and Wikipedia there is one Welsh connection on the line...answers on postcard if you can spot who and where it is.

He’s the right to look smug…

noreply@blogger.com (Afanargoed) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 12:20:00 +0000

Sooooooo many web designers and developers get carried away with 'form over function'. Don't get me wrong, I agree that there is always a time for innovation and revolution, but according to usability guru Jakob Nielsen this must be the exception and not the rule.

Jakob’s law of internet user experience states “Users spend most of their time on other sites. This means that users prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know”. Whilst this is not a new theory (July 2000!!!) it is still incredibly relevant, and all to often totally ignored.

My conclusion is simple. Change should be introduced through small ‘nano’ changes, whereby websites evolve at a similar speed to the intended user. Taking ‘macro’ giant steps may serve to satisfy the creative/ techie desires of a few whilst alienating the majority.

Top 50 websites for 2007

noreply@blogger.com (MarkJ) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 12:50:00 +0000

Time Magazine has published a listing of its Top 25 websites for the past year here. I'm not sure I'd go along with the poll and sites like E-bay, Aamazon and Virb are conspicuous by their absence, but it's still a useful list and a pretty good indicator of how north America is using the web.

Usefully you can add your two penneth' worth to the fray by ranking the sites yourself (if you really have the time!)

Government websites too hard to use?

noreply@blogger.com (MarkJ) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 12:35:00 +0000

According to this article from the National Audit Office it seems that a good number of UK Government websites are just too hard to use.

Major failings cited included too many text heavy websites, information too hard to find and too much complex information that is not relevant to the majority of users.

On a positive note usage of the main government websites has risen over time and some sites are widely and repeatedly used e.g. 78 per cent of Jobcentre Plus online service users visited its sites at least once a week.

The report concludes that there is much that can be done by Government agencies to improve their websites such as understanding their users better through detailed site statistics and consultation with the public over what resources they would like to use online.

If you're interested in learning more the full report can be downloaded here (PDF file790 kb).

Feel the burn

noreply@blogger.com (Afanargoed) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 12:42:00 +0000

As I like both cycling and technology I’m always amazed at how the broadcasters of the tour get out the pictures from a hundred miles or more of winding roads, and it was good to see Cardiff cyclist Geraint Thomas (the first Welshman for 40 years to ride it) enjoy the opening stages of the Tour De France 2007 as it came to London and the South East this weekend.

What’s even cooler is that German based mobile media specialist Unilabs are offering a ‘live tracker’ that provides a Google Maps mash up that includes real time biometric data such as the riders heart rate, speed, power output and cadence. Now in its second year the system relays the data from the monitoring tools that the teams use to keep track of rider performance and overlays it on Google maps.

This is one of those instances where the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, and whilst it may only be a few riders and it can be a bit clunky, it’s amazing to think that Burghardt or Paulinho is at that very moment in time pushing his way through the hardest endurance race on the planet and I’m sitting here with a coffee watching his heart rate…

iPhone in the UK?

noreply@blogger.com (MarkJ) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 17:01:00 +0000

Following on from our post on the iPhone pre-release it looks like it's selling well (as predicted) and by and large feedback seems to be positive barring a few niggles over sign up.

For those of us in the UK we'll have to wait till the end of the year and it's looking as though O2 have secured the exclusive iPhone distribution rights in the UK.

Meanwhile, if you're not signed up to O2, or simply can't wait a few months, then The Register reports that a UK firm is offering to unlock the iPhone so that they can be used over here in the UK.

So if you really have to have one right now there are already a number of unlocked iPhones for sale on ebay for around £300 . Off you go...

Square eyes

noreply@blogger.com (MarkJ) — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 07:21:00 +0000

The BBC has announced a launch date for it's iPlayer on -demand service. It won't be ready for macs immediately (though that will come later) and you will need to be running a decent broadband connection that will allow you to download all the content but we reckon that this the on-demand service that will lead to mass take up on converged media.

Imagine, for example, watching the Torchwood tv show whilst browsing the site, whilst playing the game, whilst chatting to other fans online, whilst exploring the web for clues about the latest episode - the possiblilities are literally endless with converged media and though we're not there yet this a massive step in the right direction.

Worth seeing who else is doing it as well.

Accessible webcasts

noreply@blogger.com (Afanargoed) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 19:51:00 +0000

Making audio and video content accessible has long been a challenge and when you’re dealing with webcast screen sizes, simply slapping on subtitles on the video feed doesn’t really cut it.

It’s good to see that Welsh webcast company MultiStream are one of the first organisations to offer a live webcast subtitling service that takes output from a Stenographer and presents a real time transcript of the spoken content along side the video.

The service was developed specifically for Disability Wales conference, and DW used it live whilst the event was on, and I see now that an on demand archive of the conference is also now available.

NOTE - I say this is *one* of the first examples as I was aware that the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) used a similar solution.

The Ten Most Hated Words On The Internet

noreply@blogger.com (MarkJ) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:38:00 +0000

You couldn't make it up...unless, of course, you do it on the internet. If you are fed up of the seemingly never ending and relentless stream of newly invented words that sum up our online lives then you're not alone.

YouGov website did a small survey and apparently there's plenty of us who feel the same way. I'm too busy cruising the blogospshere and wikiscape to go into detail here, but if you're curious as to what the most irritating made-up-on-and-for-the-internet words actually are then check out the article on Ars Technia for more.

iPhone fever

noreply@blogger.com (MarkJ) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:00 +0000

The Apple iPhone launches in the US this Friday and looks like being the one of the most anticipated tech product launches ever.

Apple are entering an extremely competitive and crowded marketplace and the iPhone is yet to undergo the mass-usage feedback that will ultimately decide whether it hits or misses. However, early reviews from both the tech and mainstream press are overwhelmingly positive with the New York Times stating the “iPhone matches most of it’s hype” and Bloomberg reporting that it’s a “beautiful and breakthrough mobile device that lives up to the hype and will inspire lust in technology shoppers.”

The Financial Time also offers it's analysis here.

We’ll keep an eye on how the iPhone is received but if anybody is heading over to the states and gets to play with one, get in touch and let us know what you think.

My work is a game, a very serious game.

noreply@blogger.com (Afanargoed) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 21:09:00 +0000

I see Welsh digital agency Sequence have announced that their Creative Director is sitting on the judging panel of the BBC Blast ‘Design a Doctor Who game’ competition.

In a nutshell punters come up with a game based around ‘new Doctor Who then the winner gets his/ her built. The rumour is that the winning game will be built in Wales by Sequence (which is nice), but you didn’t read that here....

Keen as mustard (in your eye)

noreply@blogger.com (Afanargoed) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:18:00 +0000

Mr Keen caused me to shout at the radio whilst driving in to work this morning. He’s on the circuit promoting his new book ‘The cult of the amateur’ in which he shares his thoughts that “Today’s internet is killing our culture”.

Did desktop publishing kill off design houses, FrontPage web agencies or video kill the radio (star)? Does the fact that I’ve a digital camera mean I’m as good as David Bailey or the fact that I’m able to write this here imply that I’m on a level-pegging with Jon Simpson, Jon Ronson or John Humphrys?

No, of course not. If anything it makes the 'Profession’ raise their game and like all other new channels that present themselves - the professional will need to evolve or die.

I’ve got to go now as I need to make a posting on Trip Advisor. I’m sure Paul Theroux is quaking in his career.

Welsh Blog Awards 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 12:54:00 +0000

Prolific polyglot Sanddef Rhyferys (he blogs in Welsh, English, German and Castellano!) is organizing a competition to find the best Welsh blogs, via the Welsh Blog Awards 2007.

The awards are at an early enough stage that it doesn’t have any categories set as yet, but true to the spirit of blogging, Sanddef called for nominations of categories in which to recognise the efforts of Welsh bloggers.

The final list of categories will be released later this month and then it's on to the heady days of nomination and judging. More updates as and when the info becomes available.

Windows users flock to Safari

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 12:30:00 +0000

Windows users were blindingly fast off the mark to grab a free copy of Safari for Windows, which Apple announced at the start of the week. Just 48 hours later, more than a million copies of the software had been downloaded by droves of mere mortals and at least one celebrity.

Apple claims that Safari 3 is the fastest browser running on Windows, rendering web pages up to twice as fast as IE 7 and up to 1.6 times faster than Firefox 2, based on industry standard benchmarking tests. There were some security bugs reported, which Apple patched with the release of Safari 3.0.1 a few days later.

Safari 3 for Windows requires Windows XP or Windows Vista, a minimum of 256 MB of memory and a system with at least a 500 MHz Intel Pentium processor.

Intranet envy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:06:00 +0000

"Intranet" is one of those terms that's bandied around fairly liberally, with no clear definition: some companies are blogging, twittering, collaborating, sharing documents, best practice and who knows what else; others make do with a shared directory on a network drive. The trouble is, unlike with web sites, they're always behind firewalls, so you can never tell what features people really have, and more importantly really use. It's all too easy to feel your organisation might be falling behind.

So it's with relief that I read the folks at Intranet Dashboard have done a survey to gauge the real state of the market, and it's a lot more conserative than you might have thought:

Blogs were not the only social networking tool that was generally shunned, however. Only 31 percent had included discussion forums, and 26 percent plan on adding them. RSS feeds, podcasting and wikis were not even on the map — nobody offered them.

Download the full survey here

That's so beta

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 06:44:00 +0000

Via Daniel at datblogu, I found myself on the website of Cymdeithas Meddalwed Cymraeg (that’s the Welsh Software Association yn Saesneg).

Daniel seemed pleased that there was some activity on the membership mailing list, signs that the CMC which was founded in July 2005 and launched its print publication, Byd Technoleg, at the National Eisteddfod in August 2006, has not completely faded into oblivion.

Wanting to renew my membership (I used to receive their notices but for some reason I have no copy of the mail that Daniel mentions), I went to the site and clicked ‘Join’ — and was horrified to be presented with a copy of their paper-based ‘registration of interest’ form to be printed and sent by snail mail to Bangor.

I know that Byd Technoleg is targeted at non-technical readers, but surely a web form with the option to print and post would be a more elegant, not to mention efficient alternative?