291 Posted Topics
 | [URL="http://www.nestle.co.uk"]Nestle[/URL] is a European confectionery manufacturer which upset a lot of people on Friday. Actually it upsets people quite often, it's a big business, they do that, all of them. But on Friday it annoyed people through its Facebook group, and I'd kind of assumed that wasn't the idea of …  |
| | In case you missed it, the British chancellor of the exchequer - our guy in our treasury, basically - launched his annual budget yesterday. He is going to make tax breaks available to game writers over here. Clearly this is good news for game writers. You might consider (for example) …  |
| | Microsoft's decision not to support Windows XP users with the next version of its browser, IE9, will raise a few eyebrows. I can't speak for the position in the US, but over here in the UK very few corporates migrated to Vista, and it's the corporate engine that drives IT … |
| | There's a disturbing story kicking around the UK wires at the moment - young people are hacking into other people's computers purely for fun. Here's the [URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8574259.stm"]BBC's take on it[/URL]. I saw the PR person who organised the survey only last week and can confirm she's not a time waster, … |
| | So the [URL="http://www.apple.com/iPad"]iPad[/URL] is starting to get orders and the numbers are large - OK, there's been a recession, people are bound to start wanting the new toys to cheer them up a little. I can relate to that. That's not the real story, though, if we assume 'story' means … |
| | The news in the UK that our [URL="http://www.asa.org"]Advertising Standards Authority[/URL] is being [URL="http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/988680/Advertising-industry-recommends-ASA-extends-its-remit-online/"]urged to monitor Internet ads[/URL] as well as those offline will raise two sets of eyebrows. First there will be those people who assumed it did already. There are ads online, how can an advertising standards authority not … |
| | OK, this is a European story mainly but I do believe it'll be of value to the American readership here (which I assume is the majority). Basically thanks to pressure from the European Union, on Tuesday Microsoft made it clear to all European users that they could choose between web … |
| | I have to admit it - I'm one of the people who uses an [URL="http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipod/family/apple_tv?mco=MTAyNTQzMjU"]Apple TV[/URL] occasionally. It's a very nice box and sits under my television. Apple has done uncharacteristically little with it. There is speculation, following Wal-Mart's entry into the television streaming world, that Apple might be prompted … |
| | Apple may be taking orders for the iPad later this week, it transpires. At least so it says on [URL="http://appadvice.com/appnn/2010/02/rumor-the-ipad-to-go-on-presale-next-week/"]this blog here[/URL]. I won't be ordering mine just yet, I confess. There are a number of reasons for this. First I live in the UK. We therefore won't be offered … |
| | The 'So what...' award of the year has to go to Microsoft which has announced that as of this year they'll be able to choose which browser they use. According to reports on the [URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8524019.stm"]BBC[/URL], they'll be able to download and upgrade/crossgrade to Firefox, Chrome, whatever they want. Well...duh. This … |
| | I know this isn't really funny but someone has set up a website called [URL="http://pleaserobme.com"]pleaserobme[/URL]. And I'm delighted. Why am I delighted? Because it's there to tell people what I've been telling people for ages, including through my [URL="http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1906465703?tag=crimebookshopcom&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1906465703&adid=0FFR50HXSMFQ1B7244X3&"]social media book[/URL]. Specifically, could everyone STOP ANNOUNCING THEIR HOLIDAYS THROUGH SOCIAL …  |
| | Now this is interesting. I'm not going to insult you by explaining Google Buzz in here - it's been done elsewhere and if you're a member of this site then you probably know about it already. But... I'm interested in the reaction. It's a sort of collective 'so what'? Granted … |
 | This is very much the point I made to the PR who sent me the same comments this morning. He said he'd spoken to a number of app developers who were interested in putting business software onto the iPad. More fool them, say I. |
| | I was fascinated to see that Cambridge University is going to start taking the online world a little more seriously. Games and comic books are going to form part of its curriculum on [URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8500657.stm"]how young people are portrayed[/URL]. Until now it's been a book-based course. Well...duh. Yes, books are important …  |
| | The deadline for authors to object to the inclusion of their works on [URL="http://books.google.com/"]Google Books[/URL] is approaching. Google maintains that this will bring books to loads more people than before and authors including [URL="http://www.ursulakleguin.com"]Ursula Le Guin[/URL] maintain Google is trying to walk off with people's copyright. OK, declaration of vested … |
| | First let's get something out of the way - I love the iPad. Every other blogger has shared their opinion so for me it's the eReader that does about ten times as much for only 150 per cent of the price. It's also the first games platform that's going to … |
| | Many American readers won't have noticed - why should they? - that the UK is in the middle of the lead-up to a [URL="http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections.cfm"]General Election[/URL]. We don't do it like the Americans, we elect our Members of Parliament, the leader of the majority party becomes Prime Minister automatically and our … |
| | This is odd, to my thinking. The founder and owner of the UK file sharing peer to peer site Oink (great name) has been acquitted of conspiracy to defraud. In spite of earning $18,000 per month from people downloading from the site because people would send donations in order to … |
| | OK, we've all read rumours about what's going to be in the iSlate and what isn't. So, just in case someone like Steve Jobs is listening, here's my wish list of stuff I [B]haven't[/B] seen reported but would like. 1. An FM radio. I want the iSlate to reduce the … |
| | Now, how many of you looked at the headline on this piece and thought anything, shall we say, biological? Yes, I know you are now, because I've suggested it - but just before you got through that sentence, did anyone think I meant anything other than 'working hard'? Of course … |
| | I suppose it had to happen. [URL="http://www.apple.com"]Apple[/URL] was rumoured to be launching a 'slate' computer so others including [URL="http://www.hp.com"]HP[/URL] have done so too. All of which leaves me a bit bemused. You see, I don't really know what these slate computers are for. Let's be straightforward. The first touch-sensitive laptops … |
| | Well, this looks like it - all the reports are in place. I think we can safely say it's Googlephone day, particularly when there are bloggers around who've [URL="http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2010/01/the-google-phone.html"]already received a Nexus[/URL]. This only leaves one question unanswered. If the Nexus is going to be the Google phone, what are … |
| | If Apple doesn't release the iSlate at a conference on 26 January then it's going to cause some of the biggest disappointments in the history of the IT industry. Latest strong tip that it's happening comes from an [URL="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10423353-37.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0"]ex-Apple insider[/URL], albeit one from a while back. I can't help wondering, … |
| | The UK has finally ratified the 802.11n standard for WiFi at last. Although we've had '802.11n-ready' kit on the market for a fair while, it hasn't been official as yet. I can only hope people in stores will be able to explain what people are buying. I say this because … |
| | Augmented reality has been a bit of a Star Trek thing until now - you know, one of those things that seems a good idea but won't really work outside of a few sci-fi shows. Well, maybe it won't be for long. The [URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8421684.stm"]BBC[/URL] is among the sources suggesting it's … |
| | You might by now have heard that Hewlett-Packard has come in for criticism for its webcams' inability to follow black faces through its face recognition software. My thanks to the [URL="http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/tech/Called-Racist-HP-Says-Thanks-for-the-Feedback-79822477.html"]NBCBayarea[/URL] website for drawing my attention to this [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4DT3tQqgRM&feature=player_embedded#"]YouTube link[/URL], which pretty much proves it. Let me make it clear … |
| | British Telecom has announced that it is ahead of schedule for superfast broadband* and will deliver it in time for the [URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8424401.stm"]Olympic Games in London[/URL]. It's less good that only 40 per cent of customers will be able to get at the service but then the Internet was ever thus. …  |
| | In case you didn't know - and I'm betting you did - some activists from Iran apparently hacked Twitter during last week so instead of seeing Twitter's home page people saw a poem in Persian (people under 44 might not be aware that Persia was the old name for Iran … |
| | The news that Google is going to start making its own mobile phones to run the Android operating system might seem odd at first but it's actually quite logical. I should stress it's unsubstantiated as yet but it's appeared on a number of websites. The doubters have pointed out that … |
| | The British Government's decision to throw £30 million on getting everybody online is of course laudable in its way. The idea is to save a lot of money - and as the last European country still in recession goodness knows we could do with it - by taking Government services … |
| | No, really, genuine bricks and mortar things that you can walk into. It seems that soon in the UK you'll be able to [URL="http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/30033/amazon-plans-high-street-shops?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter"]order something from Amazon then go and get it[/URL]. The only question is: why? I have a few theories. First, the novelty of getting everything delivered and … |
| | Smaller businesses and people who use Hotmail as n email system or backup email system need to change their passwords - Microsoft has confirmed it's investigating a security breach. It seems that in spite of the industrial strength security everybody of any size applies to these systems - and let's … |
| | The controversy over whether people will pay for content online is a vexed question internationally. Here in the UK we've heard much about News Corp/News International owner Rupert Murdoch and his plans to charge for archived material. We now have a [URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8385342.stm"]small local newspaper[/URL] poised to charge people to read … |
| | Reports in the UK indicate that [URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8378267.stm"]Apple is about to start selling the iPhone through Tesco[/URL]. Given that this is an American site (see the way I spelled 'rumors' up there? I'm getting the hang of this) I should explain that Tesco is like our version of Wal-Mart over here. … |
| | My thanks to @girlygeekdom on Twitter for highlighting what must be the most surreal Internet marketing plan ever - [URL="http://www.sugababeslovewindows7.com/index.html"]British girl band the Sugababes are being used to promote Windows 7[/URL]. There is a website called 'sugababeslovewindows7' to announce it. I'm as flummoxed as anyone by this. Let's take to …  |
| | Apple may have delayed the release of the tablet computer, according to a number of sources, because of component selection. Inevitably this has led to a number of reports that it's not going to happen after all; one website in particular believes [URL="http://http://www.pcworld.com/article/182571/the_apple_tablet_is_dead.html?tk=rss_main"]the whole thing was a result of our … |
| | Twitter has [URL="http://status.twitter.com/post/240745460/retweet-feature-temporarily-disabled"]suspended its new retweet function[/URL]. Now, this takes me back. When I started writing about technology this stuff was commonplace. A software company would announce a new version or a new package, its target date would come and go and then it would be released as buggy as … |
| | Cellphone manufacturer Samsung has taken everyone by surprise by announcing its own operating system Bada - Korean for 'ocean' - will [URL="http://www.bada.com/samsung-launches-open-mobile-platform/"]launch in December[/URL]. The intriguing question is why the company wants to do it. The Smartphone arena is at the moment dominated by a handful of players - Google's … |
| | An Apple iPhone virus is on the loose in Australia. According to reports it's an odd one; it replaces your wallpaper with a picture of singer Rick Astley and an inoffensive slogan. It affects only jailbroken phones, in other words phones whose owners have fiddled with the operating system to … |
| | It's almost reassuring to see a large company make basic mistakes like this - UK toy store [URL="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6500683/Hamleys-fails-to-renew-web-address.html"]Hamley's[/URL] (one of our best-known retailers, a tourist destination in its own right so I'm told although personally I find it looks a little dated) forgot to renew its domain for a few … |
| | [URL="http://www.symantec.com"]Symantec[/URL] has published one of those rare things - a report that contains an actual surprise. It seems some 4 million people have fallen for Scareware in the last 12 months. I'm stunned. Not because people are installing fake antivirus systems. That's a shame but in some ways it's inevitable; … |
| | So I'm helping host an event for [URL="http://www.google.com"]Google[/URL] yesterday - called Atmosphere, it was based in London and had about 300 CIOs present. I was lucky enough to be chairing a couple of panel discussions (and will put YouTube links in here if anyone's interested in what CIOs from Amazon, … |
| | The [URL="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/home?os=nonwin7"]Microsoft Windows 7[/URL] launch is all but upon us and I can't say I'm sorry. Not that I'm directly affected as a Mac user but Vista is now almost officially acknowledged as a flop and it'll be good to see Microsoft back in the game properly, in terms of … |
| | It's official - [URL="http://www.amazon.co.uk"]Amazon[/URL] is finally going to bring the [URL="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015T963C//ref=amb_link_84995193_2?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=gateway-center-column&pf_rd_r=0YE4YSBQWS4B3NPRZQ2G&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=472917413&pf_rd_i=468294"]Kindle e-book reader[/URL] to countries other than the US, including my own UK. Thing is, there are going to be issues. The first is a practical one. In the absence of any specific announcement to the contrary, we're all going … |
| | A judge has said a lawsuit can be delivered via [URL="http://twitter.com"]Twitter[/URL]. It's an interesting case, an odd idea and a pity there are going to be so many logistical obstacles. The scenario is simple. Someone is posing as a (real) right-wing blogger - they've effectively 'borrowed' his name for a … |
| | [URL="http://www.toshiba.com"]Toshiba[/URL] has launched a new selection of notebook computers - but they look rather like Netbooks. Priced at the upper end of the cheaper notebook market (and the exact cost will depend on your territory, let's just say they're starting at £429 in the UK) they're called the CULV satellites … |
| | The iPhone's going to be sold by [URL="http://www.orange.co.uk"]Orange[/URL] in the UK as well as [URL="http://www.02.co.uk"]02[/URL]. I confess I was surprised at the announcement since I'd assumed 02 taking on the [URL="http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/pre/"]Palm Pre[/URL] was as good as a statement that they no longer expected a monopoly on any other smartphone. What's … |
| | Another day, another [URL="http://www.gmail.com"]Gmail[/URL] outage - well, that's the way it can start to seem. [URL="http://www.twitter.com"]Twitter[/URL] was all a-quiver with how the system was down; people didn't know what to do about it and one wag put a note up saying the human species can last six days without water … |
| | Occasionally you see something exciting, which is why I'm very pleased to tell you about [URL="http://www.worksnug.com"]WorkSnug[/URL] - a new iPhone app, also coming to Android, I was shown by the founder a day or so ago. It's one of those things that addresses a need you didn't know you had … |
| | [URL="http://www.apple.com"]Apple[/URL] appears to be having battery issues again - it is reportedly asking iPhone 3Gs users to get in touch if their batteries are running down. This tells us a number of things. First, that there is a real problem. When a business the size of Apple decides to ask … |
The End.