TechRadar: Internet news

The Pirate Bay waves goodbye to torrent hosting

Marc Chacksfield — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:32:00 GMT

The Pirate Bay has announced that it is to duck out of the torrent hosting game and instead focus on offering magnet links to its users.

On the surface this looks like a bit of a blow for the soon-not-to-be-a file-hosting site, but it is actually a shrewd move by the folks behind The Pirate Bay as it will make the site harder to pin down in court for copyright infringement.

That's because a magnet link doesn't actually have any file information, just some data. Client apps then take this data and find the file associated with the link.

It's obvious why The Pirate Bay has chosen now to change tack: the site's owners have been refused an appeal to their charges for copyright infringement and this has meant a number of significant changes have had to happen.

(Not) breaking the law

The biggest of these changes was the change of the domain from thepiratebay.org to thepiratebay.se – this is so the site doesn't fall prey to any messy US laws.

The Pirate Bay will now be a lot leaner and in turn much easier to host, so expect a number of mirrored sites to pop up just in case the main site is blocked for any reason.

All of this adds up to yet another headache for the likes of the MPAA and the RIA. In short, by forcing The Pirate Bay to make changes, the site may well be stronger than ever.

"Quite some time ago we decided to not host torrent files anymore," said Pirate Bay about the change in direction.

"In following with that decision, we decided to make Magnet links the default option for the Download buttons!

"We've just changed places on the links. Magnet is now default, Download torrent is now where the magnet links used to be. The reason is the same as always: Magnets are now good enough to use, and it's not as easy to block as .torrent files. Also it saves us a huge amount of bandwidth!"

It also revealed that the site will be completely torrent free (unless the torrent is shared by 10 peers or under) as of 29 February.

Aereo brings live broadcast TV over internet in NYC

Chris Smith — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:04:00 GMT

A new television service called Aereo will give viewers the opportunity to watch live broadcast television networks over the internet on devices like the iPad and laptop computers.

Aereo will begin a trial in the New York City area on March 14th and will allow live HD streaming of major networks including ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS, CW and a host of local channels.

The $12 a month service aims to help people end dependence on expensive cable contracts and free network television from the 'closed circle' enforced by cable providers.

It is able to legally stream the live TV over-the-air directly to your devices thanks to tiny thumbnail-sized antennas (one per user), which are stored together in a company data center.

From there you can use the HTML5-designed Aereo.com website to view content on tablets, smartphones and even on the big screen with devices like the Apple TV and Roku set-top boxes.

Remote DVR functionality included

The service will also give users the opportunity to record 40-hours of shows from the TV guide with their own personal remote DVR that again doesn't require a set-top box or a cable subscription.

The service is primarily aimed at the casual TV viewer who has no desire to pay over-the-odds for cable channels like HBO and ESPN and is happy with the network offerings.

"If you have this and you have Netflix, you absolutely have the ability to not have a standard cable subscription," said Chet Kanojia, Aereo founder and CEO.

So, instead of paying over $100 a month for a cable TV package, viewers will soon be able to take advantage of Netflix, Hulu Plus and Aereo for around $30 a month.

One of the key backers Barry Diller told the New York Times: "Anyone will tell you, whether it's Amazon or Hulu or Apple, that they can't get enough programming that people want to see to – so to speak, 'break the chain' — because all of the programming is controlled within the circle.

"[Aereo] pries over-the-air broadcast television out of that closed system," he added.

New Yorkers can register their interest in the service at Aereo.com.

Will Amazon do away with Lovefilm?

Kate Solomon — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:39:00 GMT

Lovefilm's days may be numbered as speculation rises about Amazon creating a global video service.

Lovefilm is also shedding management. Last week, Lovefilm's CEO Simon Calver stepped down, while today it emerges that the company's chief technology officer, Mike Blakemore, is leaving to join the Guardian.

That might not sound like much, but two of a business's top brass ditching Lovefilm within a week is pretty dodgy going for any company.

Two step

This staffing shuffle has led some to speculate that Lovefilm's days as a stand alone brand may be numbered – it has already been bought by Amazon and the latest thinking is that the retail behemoth will completely absorb it in the near future.

Amazon has already been bolstering its US streaming service as it steps up the fight against Netflix and adds to its Kindle Fire media arsenal. And you can bet that it'll want to bring all its streaming products under one banner at some point.

At that point, Lovefilm would cease to be. The question is, is that point coming soon?

Gary Marshall: Is Tesco broadband really good value?

Gary Marshall — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:03:00 GMT

Tesco, the supermarket chain that appears to own everything, has a special offer to beat all special offers: Tesco Value Broadband.

It isn't called that, of course, but at £2.50 per month for a year it clearly isn't aimed at the money's-no-object market.

So is this the Finest deal around? First up, the good news. Tesco Broadband doesn't give you a Tesco Value Internet, making you use WeeBay instead of eBay, Friendster instead of Facebook or Bing instead of Google.

There's no set-up fee on the 12-month contract, you can pay using Clubcard vouchers or earn Clubcard points on your bill, and you'll even get a free router.

The bad news? It's a broadband product, so of course the marketing blurb is FULL OF LIES!

Seeing stars

To be fair, the lies are little fibs of the kind most other broadband ISPs also use. As with most ISPs the promise of unlimited downloads has a wee asterisk next to it, and if you go exploring you'll see there's a traffic management policy that slows things down at peak periods and expects you to use less than 100GB a month.

So that's "unlimited" in the sense of "it has limits", then. Tesco does say that it doesn't want to limit "time-critical transactions" such as iPlayer or Skype, though, so if you sign up do let us know how that pans out.

The main fib, though, is the price: it doesn't include line rental (£13.75 per month). Tesco isn't the only offender here.

ISPs are getting a bit too asterisk-happy for my liking, so for example TalkTalk is currently advertising broadband at £3.25 per month plus "free connection***" and "line rental from £9.50 a month**" or "unlimited*" broadband for £7.25.

It turns out that "unlimited*" means there's a fair usage policy - 40GB a month, fact fans - while "£9.50 a month**" is "the effective line rental price per month when you take Value Line Rental by making a non refundable upfront payment of £114.00 (by debit/credit card)."

Meanwhile "free connection***" means that you'll be charged for connection in the first bill and get a credit in the next one.

I don't know about you, but I'm not thrilled to see ISPs adopt the budget airline approach to price transparency: it's like going to the pub, paying £3-whatever for a pint and then being told that the price didn't include the beer, or like handing over £100-plus for fancy new shoes only to be told that the left shoe isn't included.

Whether it's the price of concert tickets, cheap flights or budget broadband, hiding the real price behind a galaxy of stars is a crappy and anti-consumer thing to do.

* No it isn't
** No it doesn't
*** No we're not

Firefox to get Metro app for Windows 8

Chris Smith — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:16:00 GMT

Mozilla has revealed its plans to launch a version of its Firefox browser for the Windows 8 Metro interface.

The announcement was made as part of the company's roadmap for 2012 and says an Alpha release will be made in the second half of 2012.

The Firefox for Windows 8 Metro browser will be built using the Gecko API and will be reimagined to suit the touch sensitive controls and will also boast full-screen capabilities.

Familiar features like the Awesomebar, an app bar and navigation controls will be present, but it appears it will be pared down somewhat compared to recent versions of the desktop browser.

Connected to the Metro environment

A post on the Mozilla roadmap page says: "The feature goal here is a new Gecko based browser built for and integrated with the Metro environment.

"Firefox on Metro, like all other Metro apps will be full screen, focused on touch interactions, and connected to the rest of the Metro environment through Windows 8 contracts.

"Firefox will have to support three "snap" states -- full screen, 1/6th screen and 5/6th screen depending on how the user "docks" two full screen apps. Our UI will need to adjust to show the most relevant content for each size.

"In order to provide users with access to other content, other apps, and to Firefox from other content and apps, we'll need integration with the share contract, the search contract, the settings contract, the app to app picking contract, the print contract, the play to contract, and possibly a couple more. We'll be a source for some, a target for some, and both for some.

"We may want to offer a live tile with user-centric data like friends presence or other Firefox Home information updates."

Getting in early with a solid Windows 8 Metro app could offer Mozilla a way out of its recent slump, which has seen a rapidly declining share in market share after being overtaken by Google Chrome.

MySpace adds 1 million users since December

Kate Solomon — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:51:00 GMT

Rumours of MySpace's death have been greatly exaggerated – at least, that's what the company is expected to announce today with the news that it has signed up one million new users since December.

The reasons for the renewed interest stem from a new music player, which was launched in December and puts the site in competition with streaming services like Spotify and Last.fm.

MySpace's chief operating officer Chris Vanderhook also reckons the integration with Facebook and Twitter has helped.

What does it say about a social network that it relies on two other social networks to drive its growth? That it's not trying to be a social network, we'd wager.

Correct

The New York Times reports that this does seem to be the strategy, with Vanderhook adding that MySpace isn't out to compete with Facebook (something it has already failed at) but to "be the conduit for music and other forms of entertainment that can be shared through other networks".

Tim and Chris Vanderhook worked with Justin Timberlake to pick MySpace up for a song last year, paying News Corp $35 million for it just six years after Murdoch's empire bought the network for $580 million.

So it may not matter that MySpace tumbled out of the top social networks in December, given that it's no longer trying to be one.

In January, it emerged that the MySpace still garners more unique visitors a month than Google+ and Tumblr – it may not be time to crack out the bubbly, but it looks like there could be life in the old MySpace dog yet.

Google testing own personal communication device

Jools Whitehorn — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:22:00 GMT

Google has a "next generation personal communication device" in testing, according to a document held by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Google is asking for permission from government regulators to break with convention and test its new device outside its labs.

Instead it wants to put the prototypes through their paces on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi networks in the homes of 102 Google employees.

The testing, which is for the purpose of assessing the "throughput and stability of the home WiFi networks that will support the device" will be done by employees in Mountain View, Los Angeles, New York and Cambridge (Massachusetts).

Google's own

The document submitted to the FCC says that Google itself is the manufacturer of the device which is "in the prototyping phase."

It may be something that never makes it into our own homes, but Google has been steadily diversifying its efforts in a way that could see it in every corner of our lives.

For instance, it has been increasingly making steps into the world of physical rather than virtual product offerings, firstly with its takeover of Morotola, but also with its futuristic AR Glasses project.

It's also expanding into the world of the ISP, laying its own fibre-optic network in Kansas City.

Microsoft Store in India hacked, passwords released

Jools Whitehorn — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:49:00 GMT

India's online Microsoft store has been hacked, exposing the names, email addresses and passwords of its users, which were stored as plain text.

Chinese hackers Evil Shadow Team have taken credit for the hack, posting up a message saying: "Unsafe system will be baptized" and a link to the group's blog.

Microsoft Store India is not run by Microsoft, but by an Indian company called Quasar Media.

It appears that the Microsoft Store India stored user passwords as plain text, making it relatively easy for the hackers to get hold of sensitive information once they had gained access to the site.

Password refresh

The information released included the email addresses, passwords and full names of site members, so if you happen to be one of them it would be a good idea to change your password immediately.

The site's owners appear to have regained control, as the site now simply bears the message: "The Microsoft Store India is currently unavailable. Microsoft is working to restore access as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."

Explained: BrowserID: what it is and why you should care

Marco Fioretti — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:00:00 GMT

BrowserID: what it is and why you should care

BrowserID is a method, presented in July 2011, to use email addresses to prove an identity and sign in to a website quickly and safely.

The system was developed by Mozilla Labs.

It's designed to be easier and faster than the esisting method of a site sending you an email and you clicking a link to verify your true identity.

So why is it important and how will it work? We decided to find out.

Q. How would it work in practice?

A. In order to log in on a website that supports BrowserID, you would only have to click on a Sign In button and then select from a menu what email address you want to use. Your browser and the website would take care of everything else.

Q. What about logging in via Facebook, Twitter or Google? That would be even faster and simpler, wouldn't it?

A. Yes, when you're browsing while logged in to any of those portals, you don't have to do anything, since any website connected with them will immediately know who you are. And that's the problem. Outsourcing these tasks to giant private providers creates lots of lock-in and privacy protection issues.

Q. That's surely true, but wait a second! Wasn't OpenID supposed to provide (more or less) the same service?

A. Indeed it was. In practice, it looks as if OpenID failed to reach critical mass for several reasons. Probably the biggest one was the need to temporarily go to another website to gain access to the one you wanted to visit.

Unless someone really understands the value of reliable online authentication services (and cares about it) that's much more cumbersome than just telling a browser to remember all passwords, or click on the Remember Me boxes provided by most log-in web forms. BrowserID tries to provide the same level of security and trust as OpenID, but in a much more transparent way.

Q. Tell me more about privacy protection in BrowserID, please.

A. First of all, unlike other sign-in systems, BrowserID does not force the user to share or transmit online personal, sensitive data, such as date of birth. In addition to this, BrowserID is designed not to pass to any server data about which web pages you visit.

Q. Why is BrowserID based on email addresses?

A. First of all, because everybody using the web on a regular basis already has at least one email address and knows it's already used as an identity and authorisation token. Next, because email addresses are not controlled or controllable by any single organisation.

Finally, because practically all websites that require their users to log in already store their email addresses to handle direct communications, password reset requests and other services: therefore, BrowserID gives them a better way to use for authentication some user data that they have already.

Q. Would BrowserID prevent me from using my favourite nicknames on those websites?

A. Not at all. The email address is used only for the initial authentication. BrowserID doesn't limit in any way how a website lets you configure your local account.

Q. Could I have multiple BrowserID identities then?

A. Of course. The only requirement is that each of them is associated with a different email address.

Q. What about other applications, such as chat clients? Could I use BrowserID with them too, or is it a browser-only thing?

A. Yes you could, as long as those programs implement the protocol, and provide their users with an interface to log in to their identity provider to get the keys. These may then be stored in Kwallet or any other desktop-based password manager.

Q. Sorry, what protocol and keys? Is BrowserID based on some sort of proprietary technology?

A. No. Technically speaking, BrowserID is an application of the Verified Email Protocol; a decentralised authentication system based on public/private key cryptography, through which users can prove to a website that they own an email address.

Q. Does BrowserID work on all browsers?

A. BrowserID can work on every modern browser, including mobile ones. The only requirement is that those browsers be compatible with the BrowserID JavaScript API. This said, even if you were forced to use a noncompliant browser, it would still be possible to use an equivalent web-based service.

Q. What should I do to start using BrowserID?

A. You should log in the old way to the website of your identity provider. That server will then tell your browser, through a JavaScript API, to generate a public/private pair of cryptographic keys.

Right after that, the browser will send the public key to the identity provider and get back a signed identity certificate. The browser will then store the private key and certificate as it would do with traditional passwords.

Q. What would happen next, when I visit a BrowserID-compliant website?

A. That website will tell your browser to run a JavaScript function that asks you if you want to log in and with which identity – that is email address.

Q. And when I accept...

A. The browser will send to the website the identity certificate, signed with the private key. At that point, the website will download your public key from your identity provider and verify that the signature is authentic.

Q. And that's how I'll prove to that website that I really am who I say I am?

A. Yes… and no. What this procedure provides is a third-party confirmation (unlike what happens with cookies!) that the authentication request comes from a browser that has the secret key associated to the provided email address. Which means that…

Q. I should never let other people use my browser!

A. That's absolutely true. However, that's the same risk you already face with every other authentication system that doesn't force you to enter a password every time, isn't it?

Q. I suppose that's true, but this also means I won't be able to authenticate from other browsers, right?

A. It depends. That's really up to you. In and by itself, BrowserID does allow you to have one certificate for each computer or smartphone you use, including borrowed or public ones such as internet kiosks. Of course, in those cases you would have to delete the private key and certificate as soon as you're done!

Q. Let's go back to identity providers. You keep mentioning them – who are they?

A. In the simplest and most natural scenario, your BrowserID identity provider would be your email provider.

Q. What if it doesn't support the system?

A. You could still use, without problems, a trusted, secondary identity provider that offers the same services. The Mozilla Foundation, for example, has set up a website called BrowserID.org for this very purpose, in order to speed up testing and adoption of BrowserID.

Q. Ah, yes, adoption. What is the current status of BrowserID? Is anybody already using it?

A. At the time of writing this piece (late November), BrowserID is still in its infancy. Most browser developers haven't announced any official plans to integrate BrowserID support in their software. That's not the main problem, though.

Q. Really? What is it then?

A. The real open issue is if and when the major email providers and online communities, such as Facebook and Twitter, will support BrowserID – that is become identity providers. Especially when, like Facebook, they have their own in-house alternative.

Besides, all these providers would need to agree on a standard way to make public keys accessible. Luckily, none of this makes it impossible to try BrowserID or implement it on your website.

Q. That's cool. How can I try it today?

A. For the moment, the best way to see how using BrowserID looks is to visit the official demo site at Myfavoritebeer.org.

Q. What about webmasters?

A If they use popular open source software, such as WordPress or Drupal, they're lucky: BrowserID plug-ins for those content management systems already exist.

Alternatively, they'd have to follow the instructions for developers published at browserid.org. Even in that case, though, they'd be able to use BrowserID without having to write any authentication code by themselves.

Tutorial: How to get started with Apple Mail

Matthew Bolton — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:00:00 GMT

How to get started with Apple Mail

Despite the popularity of social networks, no computer is complete without a great email app to help you keep in touch with friends and loved ones.

It's no surprise, then, that all Macs come with Apple's Mail program built into OS X. It makes it easy to set up your email account and browse and sort your messages, as well as write emails to others.

You'll need to have an email account. And for many email types, including Yahoo!, AOL, Gmail and Windows Live/Hotmail, Mail can set up your account using just your email address and password.

You can set up other kinds of accounts, but you may need to know the details of your incoming and outgoing servers, which your provider should be able to supply you with.

Once your account is set up, you'll see the Mail interface, with a list of emails on the left, and a preview box on the right. There's a Show button just above the messages list that enables you to see your list of account inboxes, which is handy if you have more than one set up, have created multiple mailboxes, or if you want to browse messages you've deleted from your inbox.

From the toolbar along the top of the Mail window, you can check for new messages, compose a new email, create a new note, delete emails, mark emails as junk mail, forward and reply to messages, and flag emails for your attention later.

There's also a search bar here, which enables you to find text anywhere in any of your emails, so you can easily search for its subject, or the person who sent it, for example.

In this walkthrough, we'll talk you through the basics of using the Mail app, including getting set up, reading your emails and writing messages, but once you're more confident with Mail, you can do a lot more.

For example, you can set up Rules such as having incoming messages sorted into different inboxes depending on the sender, you can change the default font and size that messages are displayed in, and create multiple email signatures.

Of course, if all you want to do is send and receive the occasional hello from family members, you can stick with just the steps on the opposite page and enjoy the full email experience.

How to get to grips with features in Apple Mail

1. Set up your account

When you first open Mail, or when you add a new account, it will ask for your name, email address and password. For many types of email, this is all you'll need to enter, but if Mail is unable to find the information it needs automatically, it'll ask you for more details.

2. Read a message

With your account set up, and email flooding in, select one in the left-hand inbox list to display it in the window to the right. Or, you can double-click on an email to open it in a new window. From here, you can click the arrow buttons at the top to reply or forward emails.

3. File attachments

If an email sent to you has an attachment, you'll see a paperclip next to the sender's name. A file icon will be displayed beneath the email text. You can click a file's name to open it, open it with Quick Look for a brief check, and save it by right-clicking.

4. Photo attachments

Attachments, such as photos and PDF files, are handled slightly differently. They are displayed in full under the email's text. Again, they can be opened or saved, and if there are several photos, you can view them in a slideshow with Quick Look.

5. Search through emails

In the top-right of the Mail window is the search box. Mail will search all emails for anything you type in here. Results appear in the inbox pane, and below the search box. You can use this list to search for emails from certain people, or by subject line, for example.

6. Compose a message

Click the paper-and-pencil icon to create a new message. In the To field, you can enter the email address of your recipient.

If they're stored in your Address Book, you don't need to type out their email address in full – start typing their name, and Mail will offer their email address. Add a subject line and type a message in the blank space below that.

To attach a file, click the paperclip icon at the top of the windows and browse to the file you want. Clicking the icon that looks like a mountain will open a photo browser, so you can insert a photo from your iPhoto library.

To the right of this icon is a button to open the stationery pane, which enables you to send colourful emails.

Film piracy is down to release delays, finds study

Kate Solomon — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:27:00 GMT

A new study in the US has found no evidence that BitTorrent has a negative effect on US box office returns but that international ticket sales were found to be "at least 7 per cent lower than they would have been in the absence of pre-release piracy".

The researchers from the University of Minnesota and Wellesley College attribute this drop in returns to the long gap between international release windows, saying:

"We find that longer release windows are associated with decreased box office returns, even after controlling for film and country fixed effects."

Agog

Over in the Hollywood hills they may be a dab hand at putting films together, but they don't quite seem to have the internet smarts to realise there's a simple solution to the issue of BitTorrent piracy: simultaneous international releases.

If we had presses, we would stop them. It's almost as though Hollywood isn't aware that the internet is global, nor that to release something in one country won't stop people in other countries hearing about it and wanting to see it at the same time.

The UK's film industry, at least, seems clued in to the thinking that legal accessibility will lessen the impact of piracy, but still faces major hurdles like getting films on to legal streaming services soon after release.

News in Brief: One more thing: furious Facebook father flips

Marc Chacksfield — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:25:00 GMT

It's Friday which means you are quite possibly looking for things on the internet to wile away that seemingly endless time before the working week ends and the weekend begins.

Well, you are in luck as enclosed in this article are not one but 10, yes 10, news stories from the world of technology that have made us smile – and a smile from a hard-nosed tech journo is as rare as a Googlewhack, so you better enjoy.

Facebook smackdown – It used to be that a teenager could diss their parents behind their backs without them ever finding out but in this wonderful world of social networks, nothing is private.

A girl from North Carolina found this out the hard way when she updated her Facebook status with a rather irate comment, only for her dad to take matters into his own hands by smashing up her laptop and filming the whole thing. We're praying that she doesn't ever get caught for smoking – if she does, we're betting there will be a flame thrower involved. [TheNextWeb]

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl1ujzRidmU

A brand don't come for free – High-street clothes horse H&M has managed to get itself to the top of the most-followed brands list on Google+. The reason ~~might have something~~ has everything to do with David Beckham in his pants. [SlashGear]

Toy talk – Zynga, the maker of Farmville, is branching out into toy production by enlisting Hasbro to create the cuddly characters from its games. This is in no way like Rovi teaming up with Mattel to make Angry Birds. None at all. [SlashGear]

Manchester City, big in Japan – Man City is looking to give something back to its international fan base by building a bespoke mobile website purely for fans in Japan. The site will give access to club data, merchandising and memorabilia. It will also come complete with a Where's Carlos Tevez game, which is a bit like Where's Wally except that you can always find him on the bench. [Reuters]

Google gone – The first-ever official employee of Google, Craig Silverstein, has announced that he is set to leave the company. He is off to something called the Khan Academy – where he has been tasked with watching Star Trek 2 over and over and over again. Probably. [All Things Digital]

Bluetooth gains muscle – the good folk behind Bluetooth have announced a new division of the company that will focus on fitness gadgets. This means that we will be seeing a lot more devices with Bluetooth functionality that will make us all that little bit fit… sorry, we had to wipe some doughnut jam off the keyboard while writing that. [Engadget]

BBC troll – The BBC managed to peek under the filthy duvet of the strange world of internet trolling this week and tracked down one web user who couldn't stop writing poisoned pen missives.Unsurprisingly, the man they unmasked as being an internet troll is as every bit as vile as you would expect him to be. [CNET]

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kFNYuteAjA

Apple's not all white – Apple has finally killed off its white Macbook range, ending the company's iconic association with the colour white. In memory of the colour white, the whole of the UK was covered in snow as a tribute. Yes, Apple has the power to do this, even if it has now gone to the Dark Side. [The Verge]

Obama sing-a-long – President Obama may be in the middle of a campaign to stay in the White House but that hasn't stopped him taking time out to create a Spotify playlist to go alongside his electioneering. Songs of note on the playlist includes a little bit of indie ('You've Got The Love' by Florence and the rest of the Magic Roundabout) some soul ('Let's Stay Together' by Al Green - unfortunately not Obama's version) and some British prog rock in the form of 'Mr Bright Sky' by ELO. Groovy. [Spotify]

Mobile Donkey – Old school PC gamers can rejoice as Donkey, the first ever PC game, has landed on the iTunes Store. Donkey may not be as graphically intense as other games on iOS but it's full of 8-bit charm and well worth a few of your hard-earned pence. [Apple]

Roku hits UK - brings iPlayer, Netflix and HD streaming

Kate Solomon — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:52:00 GMT

Roku is finally bringing its brand of titchy set-top media streamers to the UK and bringing BBC iPlayer with it.

Having been around in the US for years, the Roku boxes are now set to nestle beneath British televisions, allowing for streaming of iPlayer, Netflix, Crackle and a number of other web-based broadcasts to your TV.

Brits have the choice of two boxes: the Roku L T which is a snip at £49.99 and allows for 720p video. Double the price to £99.99 and you'll be in for 1080p streaming and a Bluetooth motion controller.

You can use that motion controller for the gaming element of the Roku, which includes the near-obligatory Angry Birds among others.

Mildly disgruntled winged bipedal vertebrate animals

This is just the beginning for the UK's Roku adventures though, as Clive Hudson, VP and general manager for Europe at Roku explains: "Roku recognises the importance of region-specific programmes so today we are excited to announce the addition of BBC iPlayer to our platform.

"This is among the first of many significant content partnerships for Roku in Europe and we look forward to making additional announcements in the coming weeks."

US users have access to the likes of Amazon Instant Video which we're hoping speaks of an imminent Lovefilm announcement on this side of the pond.

iTunes Match proving a success for music labels

Marc Chacksfield — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:51:00 GMT

A music executive has praised Apple and its iTunes Match service, believing it is offering up "magic money" to music copyright holders as they don't actually have to do anything to see this new source of income roll in.

In a blog about iTunes Match, Jeff Price of site TuneCore – a service that offers budding musicians a way to sell their music through iTunes, Amazon MP3 and other digital distributors – explained that iTunes Match was offering up money to artists without any need for consumers to change their buying habits.

"Apple's iTunes Match monetises the existing behaviour of the consumer for copyright holders and artists. Consumers don't need to do anything new – they just need to listen to their pre-existing music," explained the blog.

"Apple charges consumers a fee of $25 a year to subscribe to the iTunes Match service. Each and every time the consumer either re-downloads or streams a song he or she already has, copyright holders get paid."

Not a music amnesty

There's been a lot of talk about how Spotify and its business model is changing the music market but not giving too much back to the people that make the songs, so it is nice to see another business model is also working to pay artists their dues – even if the cash returned isn't much.

But Price believes this isn't a problem: "Some may complain that it's not much money. Well, before you were getting zero, now you are getting something.

"Some people have talked about iTunes Match being an 'amnesty' for those who steal music. It's not. There is no 'amnesty' being granted to anyone by Apple or the record labels.

"The music industry needs innovation. Services like iTunes Match, Spotify, Simfy, Deezer and others are bringing that innovation – it will take some time to learn which are the ones consumers want.

"But in the interim, seeing an additional $10,000+ appear out of the thin air for TuneCore Artists by people just listening to songs they already own is amazing!"

Groupon proving the daily deal bubble has burst?

Marc Chacksfield — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:47:00 GMT

Daily deals site Groupon has announced in its fourth quarterly financial report that it is actually making a loss, despite the popularity of the service.

Given that Groupon is the most popular of the daily deal websites, its revelation that it actually made a $43 million (£27 million) loss in its fourth quarter does hint that everything isn't as rosy as it seems in the wonderful land of daily deals.

Groupon did note that its revenue was up by a significant amount – 194 per cent year-on-year, which equates to $506.5 million (£320 million) – but the bottom line is that everyone who bought shares in the company is now $0.08 per share worse off.

Saving billions

Speaking on the earnings call, CEO Andrew Mason said, "Groupon had a strong fourth quarter and we finished 2011 having helped 250,000 local merchants across 47 countries grow their businesses while saving Groupon customers billions of dollars."

It's not all bad news for Groupon – the company is hoping that it will up its revenue in the first quarter of 2012 by an ambitious 73-86 per cent.

Its shareholders will be hoping that this equates to a bit more cash in their pockets. One way it could do this is by cutting down the number of emails it sends to its users. Here's hoping...

Google Drive cloud storage incoming?

Jools Whitehorn — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:21:00 GMT

Google is rumoured to be preparing to launch a new cloud storage service called Google Drive.

The internet giant already is already a big player in the cloud space with services including Google Docs, so it's almost surprising that it isn't already offering cloud storage to users.

The rumour comes via the Wall Street Journal, which can only be as exact as "weeks or months" when it comes to an expected launch date.

Meanwhile, it describes Google Drive as a free service that will charge consumers and businesses a fee if they want to up their quota.

Doin' it like Dropbox

That business model is nothing new, being exactly how rival services like Dropbox and Microsoft Skydrive do it.

A cloud storage service from Google has been on the cards for a long time, with its GDrive project being cancelled as far back as 2008.

In fact, it already offers 1GB of free storage to users of Google Docs, Gmail and Picasa Web Albums. This can be upgraded to between 20GB (US$5 per year) to a mind-blowing and wallet-crippling 16TB ($4,096 per year).

However the current offering lacks some of the dedicated backup and sharing features of rivals like Dropbox, likely to be addressed by Google Drive when it arrives.

Google pays users to lay bare their web use

Jools Whitehorn — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:46:00 GMT

Google has set up a program to accurately assess how people are using their browsers, including exactly which sites they visit.

As an incentive to take part, the company is offering participants a US$5 Amazon voucher when they sign up, and another every three months.

That trickle of Amazon vouchers is set to dry up after a year, with a current maximum of $25 in vouchers stated by Google, though that will be re-evaluated later if it decides to continue the program.

Furthermore, an Ars Technica reader has flagged up that Google has been offering members of Knowledge Networks, a survey and market research company, the opportunity to take part in a more lucrative, but more invasive scheme.

Black box recorder

While the basic $5 every three months setup uses a Chrome browser extension to send web surfing habits back to the Google mothership, the Knowledge Networks participants will be sent a Screenwise Data Collector.

This black box is a Wi-Fi-enabled router that monitors the "household's web access", but excludes "other devices" like game consoles.

For this more comprehensive monitoring program Google is offering $100 for signing up and $20 every month for up to a year.

It looks like Google has stopped taking signups for the basic program, while the more lucrative one is open to just 2,500 Knowledge Networks members.

Would you want to hand over your browsing habits to the big G for cash? Let us know.

Virgin Media reveals latest TiVo subscriber numbers

Patrick Goss — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:09:00 GMT

Virgin Media's flagship TiVo-fuelled television service is edging close to the half million users mark, with the latest figures showing that 435,000 people have opted for the service.

Virgin Media's envious fibre optic network has played a big part in a positive year – with the company's revenue up to £4 billion for the year.

The headline stories for Virgin Media are the extra 273,000 people who plumped for the Virgin Media TiVo cable television service and 133,000 who opted for superfast broadband speeds of more than 30Mbps.

Encouraging

That brings a total TiVo number that is closing in on the half million mark; certainly encouraging for Virgin Media, with a big investment and steady improvement in the service paying dividends.

"Our strategy of focusing on customers who want more from the digital world is paying off," said CEO Neil Berkett.

"With the number of TiVo customers doubling in the final quarter of the year, our new TiVo service is attracting both new and existing customers.

"Since its commercial launch mid-way through the year, the number of TiVo subscribers has grown to almost half a million with a large and growing proportion now using its next generation functionality on a regular basis.

"Demand for better broadband also continues to grow fast, with around half of new customers choosing superfast speeds.

"The combination of the best TV experience and the best broadband, has enabled us to acquire more new customers in the quarter."

With television on demand on the service hitting the one billion streams mark, the company is certainly well placed as the UK's television world increasingly looks to delivery over the internet.

Amazon set to tackle Netflix with standalone video service

Chris Smith — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:25:00 GMT

Amazon is reportedly on the verge of announcing a streaming deal with Viacom, which could signal the launch of a standalone video on demand offering.

According to Reuters, Viacom which owns MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, has agreed to license its content to the Amazon and a deal will be announced soon.

That deal could be the final piece in the puzzle for Amazon to go full-steam ahead with the heavily-tipped VoD subscription service.

The company, which already has deals in place with the likes of Warner Bros, Fox, Sony, NBC and other top networks, currently offers its content library free to members of its $79-a-year home delivery service.

However, Amazon wants to offer the service to non-Prime members (probably for a monthly fee), in order to boost the Amazon Kindle Fire's content library, according to the Reuters article.

Look out, Netflix

An Amazon Prime monthly subscription service would put the company in direct competition with the current kingpin of home streaming, Netflix.

Netflix, which endured a largely forgettable 2011, is seeing more and more competitors arrive on the scene looking for a piece of the lucrative streaming pie.

Earlier this week we reported on the new alliance between Verizon and Redbox, which will see the companies launch a new service which will combine access to Redbox's disc rental kiosks and an all-new on-demand offering from Verizon.

With Apple and Google also pressing for a chunk of the action, Netflix is going to have to be on top of its game in 2012 to maintain the lion's share of the market.

Microsoft launches child-friendly version of IE9

Chris Smith — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:49:00 GMT

Microsoft has partnered-up with a British-based child protection group to launch a new version of Internet Explorer to keep kids away from unsuitable content.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) agency's version of IE9 allows parents to use a handy 'Jump List' which will block inappropriate websites, depending on the age group selected.

The free version of IE9 features all of the literature from CEOP, which offers a guide to parents and carers with a view to protecting youngsters, and one-click access to sites like thinkuknow.co.uk.

Peace of mind

Microsoft's UK Internet Explorer boss Gabby Hegerty says the new software will give parents a little more piece of mind - if they can keep them away from Chrome and Firefox, that is.

"At Microsoft we always want to provide our customers with the tools to enjoy the web safely and securely," she said.

"The internet has become a central part of everyday life for adults and children, from learning and communicating to working and playing online.

"As the leading browser provider, it is important we make the appropriate safety information available and build in features to our software which provide families with peace of mind online."

The CEOP-tailored version of IE9 is available to download from the Thinkuknow website free of charge, but you'll need to have Windows 7 installed.

Opinion: Do we put too much trust in tech?

Kate Solomon — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:42:00 GMT

The story of Trendnet and its home security cameras that were being used by random internet dwellers to spy on their owners can't fail to send a shiver down your spine.

There you are thinking you've got a pretty nifty safety mechanism in your home - the sanctuary you go to escape all the horrors of the world, the only place you can really and truly relax and be yourself - but the next thing you know you and your family are being ogled on message boards across the internet.

It doesn't sound real: it sounds like a film, possibly one starring Mark Wahlberg or latter-day Jodie Foster, and it highlighted two things:

1. People are, essentially, awful.

Posting instructions on how to hack into these cameras online was the internet equivalent of finding a wallet on the street and nicking the cash before handing it in to the police.

So busy was Console Cowboys giving itself a pat on the back for out-witting some shoddy lines of code that it didn't stop to think about the consequences for anyone who owned one of these cameras.

But then again, taking this information and running with it (relentlessly searching for boobs, because the internet is nothing if not a pubescent boy) is pretty grim too.

It's non-consensual Chat Roulette. It's installing a two-way mirror in a toilet cubicle. It's being a peeping Tom. It's seedy and it's horrible.

2. You can't take for granted that tech is on your side.

Generally speaking, tech is pretty brilliant. But, like the people who make it, it is not infallible.

Did those people whose videos ended up being discussed on message boards with links to their live feeds alongside, in some cases, map locations put too much trust in the Trendnet cameras and the people who made them?

If the last 12 months with its never-ending Anonymous attacks and PSN outages have shown nothing else, they've proven that no company is 100 per cent secure. In this situation, you have to question whether people should really be leaving these digital windows into their physical lives wide open.

I'm not saying we should call it a day, shut down the internet and go back to carrier pigeons and cassette tapes. But maybe we do all need to take a look at what the technology we've surrounded ourselves with is capable of and ask if the physical hardware is as secure as we're trusting it to be.

People get into the tiny cracks and loopholes left by our gadgets one way or another, and more often than not it's via the internet. That's why we need initiatives like Safer Internet Day that help to educate and, hopefully, stem things like cyber bullying, ID theft and other malicious threats that manifest themselves online where people don't feel like they have to answer to anyone.

Sci-fi would have it that one day our technology will become sentient and turn against us in revenge for the years of being treated like the inanimate objects we all thought they were. If we can't even be decent to one another now while the tech is behaving itself, what hope do we have against the gadgets?

Wolfram Alpha goes pro with premium packages

Kate Solomon — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:07:00 GMT

Wolfram Alpha has announced a new pro package for all your knowledge computing needs that brings bulked up results and the ability to search using images, files and other data inputs.

The enriched pro results will come with interactive graphs and the like, as well as the ability to export and download information.

Wolfram Alpha's current free results come with some simple graphs and basic results but the pro edition will give you a lot more control over these, allowing you to show different, relevant datasets on the same chart and export the data rather than simply saving the graph as an image.

Keyboard porn

In exchange for your monthly fee, Wolfram Alpha will also give you an extended keyboard which allows you to use all manner of alternative symbols too, including mathematical signs and the Greek alphabet.

The new pro deal will set you back $4.99 a month (around £3.15) or $2.99 (£1.88) if you're a student, although there will also be a free trial period when it launches on 8 February (Wednesday).

While this will likely prove most useful to students and academics, there's something to be said for an increase in the quality of your pub knowledge about goats in France, P && (Q || R) and, er, Ryan Gosling. Right?

Major security camera flaw broadcasts footage online

Kate Solomon — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:38:00 GMT

Thousands of Trendnet security camera owners have found themselves the unwitting stars of a Big Brother style life-streaming nightmare as it emerges that anyone could access live footage from inside their homes without so much as a password.

After the vulnerability was highlighted by a blog called Console Cowboys, various forum users began sharing links to live cameras as well as screen grabs and, in some cases, Google Map locations.

Trendnet, which uses the tagline "networks people trust", says it has been aware of the problem since 12 January but has been pushing security updates to close the loop.

Trendnet's director of global marketing, Zak Wood, told the BBC that he thinks fewer than 50,000 people's SecurView cameras are affected worldwide, with 26 models of internet security cameras identified as vulnerable.

"The firmware has been tested and released [on] seven of the models," Wood explained.

"We anticipate to have all of the revised firmware available this week. We are scrambling to discover how the code was introduced and at this point it seems like a coding oversight."

When it discovered the "coding oversight", Console Cowboys was surprised to see that after just a little bit of tinkering with the firmware code "the camera is more than happy to let me view its video stream.

"There does not appear to be a way to disable access to the video stream, I can't really believe this is something that is intended by the manufacturer."

Firmware updates are incoming and, in some cases, already available – check out Trendnet's information page here for more details.

Google laying own fibre-optic network

Jools Whitehorn — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:34:00 GMT

Google has announced that it is ready to begin installing its first fibre-optic broadband network after an extensive planning phase.

The Google Fiber service will be installed in Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. For those not familiar with the area, the two cities are right next to each other, separated by a river.

Making the announcement on the Google Fiber Blog, Google Access general manager Kevin Lo said, "We've measured utility poles; we've studied maps and surveyed neighborhoods; we've come up with a comprehensive set of detailed engineering plans; and we've eaten way too much barbecue. Now, starting today, we're ready to lay fiber."

Teeny tiny fibres

Those less interested in the diet of the Google engineers and more about Google Fiber might like to know that each cable will be chock full of glass fibres roughly the width of a human hair.

These cables will then form the "backbone" of a high speed data infrastructure that could carry speeds "more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have today."

The first stage of the rollout is installing that "backbone", then Google will start connecting up home across both Kansas Citys.

Super Bowl breaks tweets per second record

Chris Smith — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:54:00 GMT

Last Sunday's NFL Super Bowl showdown was a social networking phenomenon, smashing the record for tweets sent per second during a sporting event.

During the final three minutes of NFL showpiece game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, over 10,000 tweets were posted every second, the company has revealed.

And, in the final minute when the Giants took a dramatic last minute lead through an Ahmad Bradshaw touchdown, tweets peaked at 12,233 per second. In 2008 the peak was just 27 per second.

Overall, 13.7m Super Bowl related tweets were posted during the game, Twitter announced in a blog post on Monday.

The previous record was set in January when Tim Tebow mania was in full flow and his Denver Broncos ousted the Pittsburgh Steelers to advance to the next round of the NFL play-offs.

Madonna vs Manning

Aside from the game itself, which the Giants won 21-17, Madonna's performance at half-time also resonated with the Twitterverse, sparking 10,245 posts per second at its peak.

Away from the Super Bowl the all-time record for tweets per second came in 2011 during the finale of a Japanese TV show called 'Castle in the Sky,' which brought in 25,088tps.