Internet Use/New Technologies
02 September 2007
Cellphones look to gain a greater voice in an Internet world International Herald Tribune
The cellphone world, dominated by giant telecommunications corporations, is colliding head-on with the Internet, where hackers abound and a good idea can grow into a Google - spawning a full-fledged mobile media industry. The intersection of the wireless world with the Internet's openness has long been anticipated, but it is edging closer to reality as new technologies, devices and consumer behavior finally chip away at the telephone's long legacy as a device used for talking.
The internet’s chattering class go wild for ‘Gphone’ The Times
Speculation hit fever pitch yesterday over the possible shape of Google's next foray into telecoms as a host of blogs carried pictures of what was claimed to be a low-cost, internet-enabled handset - the "Gphone". The well-regarded Engadget site said that Google would make an announcement as soon as next week. Reports said that the Gphone would retail for as little as US$100 (£50) when it makes its debut in United States.
01 September 2007
uk: TUC calls for social networking guidelines to save staff from sack The Guardian
The TUC yesterday appealed to the employers of the 3.5m Facebook users not to give them the sack for doing a bit of social networking while at their desks.
Why Facebook Is the Future Time
On Aug. 14 a computer hacker named Virgil Griffith unleashed a clever little program onto the Internet that he dubbed WikiScanner. It's a simple application that trolls through the records of Wikipedia, the publicly editable Web-based encyclopedia, and checks on who is making changes to which entries. Sometimes it's people who shouldn't be. For example, WikiScanner turned up evidence that somebody from Wal-Mart had punched up Wal-Mart's Wikipedia entry. Bad retail giant.
31 August 2007
Tallinn, Estonia's Wired Capital Der Spiegel
Tallinn is not just a world heritage site with a history ranging far back to the Middle Ages -- by bestowing its citizens with the fundamental right to free Internet access, Estonia has also become the most-wired country in Eastern Europe. ... Few countries are as crazy about the Internet as Estonia, and no capital city can keep up with Tallinn on that count. All schools are connected to the Internet; more than 90% of all bank transactions are conducted online; and there are more mobile phones than residents.
EU security organisation asks 'How Safe is Social Networking?' PublicTechnology.net
Bebo, Myspace, Twitter, Facebook - Social Networking is a web success story of the new century. The usage statistics are massive - Myspace claimed its 100 Millionth user in August 2006. But a recent European Network and Information Security Agency workshop put the question - "how safe are social networks?"
Breaking barriers: Technology is opening new doors for people with disabilities Sydney Morning Herald
But like many people with disabilities, Mr Ah Tong-Pereira is turning to digital technology to help him adapt the way he communicates and participates in the world around him. Mr Ah Tong-Pereira, who works for Vision Australia, relies on a variety of digital tools each day that help him read books and newspapers as well as use a computer and browse the internet.
Google's Secret Society Forbes
Who's the Google of social networking sites? The obvious answer may seem to be Facebook, given its rapid growth, successful cooperation with application developers, and ever-smarter ad targeting. But by some measures, the real answer is even more obvious: Google itself. This week, Google is drawing attention to its often-ignored social networking site, Orkut.com, with a redesign intended to prettify the site's Spartan look. And attention is deserved: Despite its low profile in the U.S., Orkut now draws 38.2 billion page views a month worldwide, 7.8 billion more than Facebook, according to comScore Media Metrix.
Japan's Warp-Speed Ride to Internet Future Washington Post
Americans invented the Internet, but the Japanese are running away with it. Broadband service here is eight to 30 times as fast as in the United States -- and considerably cheaper. Japan has the world's fastest Internet connections, delivering more data at a lower cost than anywhere else, recent studies show.
30 August 2007
Jeremy Paxman on the future of television
Jeremy Paxman (a living deity if you ask me) gave a very thought provoking speech recently at the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival. The speech, The James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture titled Never mind the scandals: what's it all for?, looks at the problems of television, some of the causes of these problems, and the future of television.
Majority of British households on broadband Internet Sydney Morning Herald
The majority of households in the United Kingdom now have a broadband Internet connection, official statistics out Tuesday showed. A total of 15.23 million households (61 percent) have Internet access, an increase of nearly one million households (seven percent) on last year, said the 2007 National Statistics Omnibus Survey.
European phone companies push ahead on Internet television International Herald Tribune
Several European phone companies this week plan to announce major expansions of Internet protocol television, or IPTV, led by Deutsche Telekom, which is spending €3 billion and so far has wired 15 million German households, or roughly 4 in 10, for broadband TV.
The end of communications as we know it Dimension Data
New research by Dimension Data shows that e-mail has overtaken telephony as a communication tool in the workplace. Other electronic communication tools are also reaching high adoption levels. The research reveals that e-mail and telephony is most widely offered by organisations, and just as popular among users. 100% of the end-users surveyed use e-mail, followed by fixed-line telephony (80%), mobile telephony (76%) and instant messaging (66%).
28 August 2007
The Road To WiMAX Business Week
How Intel's Sean Maloney shepherded through the technology that's poised to rewrite the rules of wireless
A Web site shows quirky side of Russia International Herald Tribune
The wedding seemed peaceful until the first punch was thrown. Then the camera jumped between various fights, capturing men chasing one another and finally focusing on someone lying unconscious - and then the video faded to black. Welcome to the world of EnglishRussia.com, the brainchild of a young Web designer that has become one of the most popular blogs on the Internet in less than a year.
27 August 2007
'Facebook scares me': One man explains how his use of a social-networking website spun out of control Independent on Sunday
I woke up one morning with fear in my bones, because the first thing I wanted to do wasn't to have a cup of tea - but check my Facebook," recalls one recovering social-networking enthusiast, Sam Devito-French. Rather like heroin use, the first heady days of Facebook membership can be lost in a hazy love affair with inboxes full of "friend" requests and flirtatious messages ("pokes"). But like many addictions, it can leave you slumped on a mattress with nothing but your laptop, a few mouldy coffee cups and a sense of exhaustion, fear, and self-loathing. "I gave up when I realised that I didn't need a social network to have a fulfilling life - I'd much rather meet up with someone over a pint," says 27-year-old Sam.
25 August 2007
Google turns its attention to the stars The Times
Google, having brought the earth into the living room, has turned its eye to the heavens to bring the sky at night indoors. ... The internet facility has now been expanded to offer a glimpse of 100 million individual stars and 200 million galaxies as part of the Google Sky initiative.
uk: Mobile phones 'eroding landlines' BBC
Mobile phone use is continuing to reduce the amount of time people spend using landlines, according to a report by the UK communications watchdog. For the first time, calls from mobiles now account for more than a third of time spent on phone calls, Ofcom said.
24 August 2007
UK benefits from communications anytime, anywhere and at a lower cost OFCOM
Ofcom published its annual Communications Market Report 2007 which reveals new trends in the UK’s £50bn electronic communications sector. UK consumers now spend 50 hours per week on the phone, surfing the internet, watching television or listening to the radio. Average daily internet use in 2006 (36 minutes) was up 158% on 2002 and time spent on the mobile phone (almost 4 minutes per day) was up 58%. Time spent watching TV was down 4% at 3 hours and 36 minutes, listening to radio was down 2% at 2 hours and 50 minutes and time spent on a fixed line phone was down 8% at 7 minutes.
uk: Mobile phones 'eroding landlines' BBC
Mobile phone use is continuing to reduce the amount of time people spend using landlines, according to a report by the UK communications watchdog. For the first time, calls from mobiles now account for more than a third of time spent on phone calls, Ofcom said.
uk: It's arrived: the feminisation of the net The Guardian
Forget the 20-something man playing online fantasy football and selling motorbike parts on eBay. The internet has a new user. For years cyberspace has been tailored to an audience of mainly young men but for the first time women webusers have taken the lead in key age groups. At the same time an army of silver surfers has emerged and the over 65s are spending more hours online than any other age group.
Blog: OECD report a wake-up call - Singapore 'gets' what potential exists in technology New Zealand Herald
Singapore really gets technology and how to encourage innovation and investment in the sci-tech area. Its Government is also keenly aware of how important good broadband infrastructure is and has a ten-year "master plan" to become number one in the world in "harnessing infocomm to add value to the economy and society".
IBM Report: Viewers Shifting From TV To Internet Content Wired
It was rather timely for VideoEgg's Troy Young to invoke the name of IBM referring to the YouTube advertising news considering that The IBM Institute for Business Value just released a report that offers insightful data on the Internet media space. From April to June the Institute surveyed Internet users in North America, Australian, UK, Germany and Japan. Addressing the hotly contested market of Internet video versus broadcast television, the report states: "Among consumer respondents, 19 percent stated spending six hours or more per day on personal Internet usage, versus nine percent of respondents who reported the same levels of TV viewing. 66 percent reported viewing between one to four hours of TV per day, versus 60 percent who reported the same levels of personal Internet usage."
23 August 2007
Cyber boom - social networking online gold rush The Age
With just the click of a mouse, virtual land barons are making a small fortune in real-world money.
Google Remains Goliath in Online Search E-Commerce Times
Google continues to win the battle for Internet search dominance, according to the latest findings of Web traffic measurement firm comScore. The Reston, Va.-based Internet metrics company said its July numbers show Google leading the field of what it considers the top five search engines. According to comScore, Google snagged a 55.2 percent share of searches conducted with all five engines.
