Microsoft Promotes HD Photo Over JPEG
by Jan HarrisIf you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thank you for visiting!
Microsoft is promoting its own image format, HD Photo, in preference to JPEG.
The company began promoting its new image standard in 2006 and hopes it will become the de facto standard for people to use for digital […]
Adobe Seeks ISO Approved Status for PDF
by Jan Harris
Adobe Systems is planning to submit its PDF (Portable Document Format) specifications to the International Organisation for Standardisation for approval. This would give governments and large corporations increased confidence in the format.
Although subsets of the PDF format have already been standardised, the specification will now be updated in a more formal way through the […]
January 26, 2007
Google drops bombs
by Brian Turner
Google has implemented a change to it’s search ranking algorithm, which removes existing Google Bombs.
Google Bombs - also known as Link Bombs - were primarily set up by campaigners looking to make a political statement using Google.
For example, when bloggers decided to set up a campaign against George W Bush, they all set up links […]
IBM Privacy Tool Now Open-source
by Jan Harris
IBM has donated its “Identity Mixer” software to the Higgins open-source project in a move that could help make Internet business transactions safer for all.
The software allows an individual to provide encrypted digital credentials issued by trusted organisations such as banks when making an online transaction, instead of giving credit card or other details in […]
New IPTV news via IPTV-Anchor.com
by Jan Harris
A new IPTV news hub - http://iptv-anchor.com - allows anyone to distribute news captured on their cell phone or digital camera. The content can then be viewed by anyone with an internet connection and a recent version of Microsoft Internet Explorer or Firefox web browser.
Previously, world news has been presented from a few corporate […]
Researchers Develop World’s Most Dense Chip
by Jan Harris
Researchers in California have developed a memory chip the size of a white blood cell - around one-2,000th of an inch on a side.
The chip can hold 160,000 bits of information which are crammed together so tightly that it is the densest chip ever made - about 40 times denser than current memory chips. […]
Ofcom Proposes Public Service Publisher
by Jan Harris
Ofcom has proposed the creation of a Public Service Publisher (PSP), a new media organisation which would commission and possibly produce new media content in response to changing requirements of media consumers.
The proposal has been cautiously endorsed by Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, who indicated that funding might be available for the initiative at the […]
Ofcom Demands Rethink On BBC IPTV
by Jan Harris
Ofcom, the media regulator, has asked the BBC to review its plans for an on-demand IPTV service, due to concerns that it could damage rival commercial services.
The service would allow the BBC to broadcast programmes simultaneously online and on terrestrial TV and also provide viewers with the opportunity to catch up on programmes they have […]
Intel Ahead of Schedule With New Wi-Fi Chip
by Jan Harris
Intel will distribute its Next-Gen Wireless-N chips ahead of schedule and they will appear in appear in laptops from companies such as Acer, Gateway and Toshiba by the end of January 2007.
The new Centrino Wi-Fi chip is based on the 802.11n wireless standard. The standard is still in draft and is due to be […]
Playstation 3 for Easter
by Brian TurnerThe European launch of the Playstation 3 has been announced as March 23rd.
Although the US and Japan saw the Playstation 3 go on sale in November of last year, problems mass producing parts for the console’s Blu-ray disc drive meant that shipping the Playstation 3 was post-poned.
The reasoning provided by Sony was that the European […]
Concerns over Google & Mozilla anti-phishing
by Brian Turner
Concerns have been raised about the Google & Firefox anti-phishing drive, after it was revealed that the publishing of raw data online contained usernames and passwords of phishing victims.
Reports that personal data was being published was raised as far back as September 2006, but so far changes have not apparently been made to address the […]
Wordpress 2.1 Ella released
by Brian Turner
Wordpress has released it’s next stage software platform for bloggers, Wordpress 2.1 - named Ella.
Improvements to the software include the ability to make it work better as a Content Management System (CMS). According to Matt Mullenweg, lead coder at Wordpress, the use of SQL queries has also been extensively revisited to make Wordpress more efficient.
Additional […]
January 22, 2007
Experts Meet To Combat Cybercrime
by Jan Harris
Microsoft is hosting a meeting of Internet security experts, to discuss strategies to fight against Internet crime with a particular focus on botnets and related topics. Members will share information and develop strategies for the future.
The meeting will be held on Thursday and Friday at Microsoft’s Redmond, headquarters and will be attended […]
January 19, 2007
WiMax To Be Deployed In Warwick
by Jan Harris
Pipex Wireless, the Wireless ISP (WISP), which is a joint venture between Intel and ISP Pipex, is planning its second deployment of WiMax in the UK.
The latest deployment will take place in the city of Warwick. Pipex Wireless will work with National Grid Wireless, Warwick District Council and Intel to set up WiMax connectivity over […]
UK Companies Slow To Use VoIP
by Jan Harris
A survey sponsored by VoIP software company Shortel found that over one-third of UK companies decided not to move to VoIP (voice over IP) - because they believe it is too expensive to install and run.
Seventy percent of those surveyed said that cost reductions were the main attraction of the system, while others […]
1and1 suffers technical failures
by Brian Turner
Webhosting company 1and1 suffered a series of technical problems this week that has left customers unable to receive emails.
The problems began on Monday, and although 1and1 claimed to have fixed the original issue, serious problems are still ongoing.
Customers of the webhosting company have been desperately trying to find out more information in online communities on […]
January 18, 2007
Mobile TV Zone Expanded At IBC2007 Exhibition
by Jan Harris
The Mobile TV Zone at this autumn’s IBC2007 exhibition in Amsterdam, is being increased in size by 75% to more than 2,500m². The show is the world’s leading broadcasting exhibition.
The decision to devote more space to Mobile TV follows the success of last year’s show and the expansion of the Mobile TV market which […]
UK Police Consult Cyberactivists
by Jan Harris
The Metropolitan Police are talking to cyberactivists to help in their campaign against online crime.
According to sources in the Metropolitan Police Fraud Alert Unit, the police are using certain cybervigilante groups as a source of information about online fraud.
The police are believed to be in contact with Artists Against 419, whose activities include […]
January 17, 2007
Apple and Microsoft Battle For Home Entertainment Market
by Jan Harris
Silicon.com, the technology news site, asked its readers if they thought Apple or Microsoft was the most likely to win the battle for the home entertainment market.
Apple came out first with 54% of the vote, while Microsoft came a close second with 46% of the vote.
Microsoft launched a home server at the […]
Explaining what SEO’s do
by Brian TurnerAll this week I’ve been reading confusion on blogs and forums about what SEO’s actually do.
It seems a common perception is that SEO is simply the following:
i. Title tags
ii. meta tags
iii. h tags
iv. alt tags
And once done, any site can rank for a keyword such as “mortgages”.
Firstly, unless you have a very authoritative site in […]