29th December 2006 Archive

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IWF reforms could pave way for UK net censorship

Analysis Who is watching the watchers?

By the end of 2007, the Home Office intends that all ISPs "offering broadband internet connectivity to the UK public" will have implemented systems for content blocking, primarily intended to block access to pornographic images of children, which are illegal to view or possess in the UK. Vernon Coaker, the Parliamentary Under …

Networks 29 Dec 2006, 07:02
Crossing final frontiers in space

2006 in review What did we learn in 2006, then?

When the powers that be here at Vulture Central asked for a round up of the events in space exploration and discovery over the last year, frankly we were overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. Put a narrative thread behind the comings and goings at NASA? Detail the discoveries beaming back to Earth from myriad satellites? …

Space 29 Dec 2006, 08:02
When Google sneezes, the internet gets flu

Algorithms don't help solve the net's biggest problems

Much of the web-based new economy hinges on the behaviour of how one company deals with two mammoth challenges next year. Both are potentially lethal, and a poor response to either will have dire consequences for many operations doing business on the internet. Fortunately, that company is supremely well-equipped to deal with …

Music and Media 29 Dec 2006, 10:07
Capra classic 'commie propaganda'

FBI saw red over It's a Wonderful Life

The all-American film classic It's a Wonderful Life was slammed as communist propaganda by US government officials in the 1940s. Frank Capra’s masterwork, regularly voted one of the best film’s ever made, whose uplifting message that no life is insignificant and that family and friendship are the true measures of a man’s wealth …

Entertainment 29 Dec 2006, 10:10
Vintage Databases

Just because it's old, don't think it doesn't work; nor that it's unpopular....

To save time and bandwidth, can I just point out in one place that we are, of course, aware of Adabas, IMS, IDMS, Pick, Mumps, Nomad, Teradata, UniVerse, Foxpro and many other very fine vintage and not-so-vintage database technologies. Some of us were around when they appeared, some of us have actually used some of them - and we …

Developer 29 Dec 2006, 10:12
Uncle Mac takes A Cup of Cold Cocoa...

A first diatribe from the Grumpy Old Man

'Twas the night after Christmas. The left-over turkey had been stuffed into the freezer, the surplus mince pies stuffed into the dog, and my thoughts turned once more to programming – Mac programming. Seduced, as ever, by the Aqua interface, I decided it was time to write that killer Mac utility, the proceeds from which would …

Developer 29 Dec 2006, 10:14
BenQ Mobile files for insolvency

Auf Wiedersehen?

Taiwanese mobile firm BenQ Mobile has filed for insolvency. Parent company BenQ said in September it would stop funding the mobile business. But questions remain as to the fate of the German business. A spokesman for insolvency administrator Martin Prager told Reuters that he was still negotiating with several interested …

Financial News 29 Dec 2006, 10:19
How the anti-copyright lobby makes big business richer

Comment A Photo Journalist explains how

We're continually being told the Internet empowers the individual. But speaking as an individual creative worker myself, I'd argue that all this Utopian revolution has achieved so far in my sector is to disempower individuals, strengthen the hand of multinational businesses, and decrease the pool of information available to …

Music and Media 29 Dec 2006, 10:24
PartyGaming buys two

Don't bet against consolidation

PartyGaming is buying Empire Online's gaming business and all of Intercontinental Online Gaming's business and assets. Neither company accepts bets from US citizens. PartyGaming was hit hard by the US ban on internet betting which came into force in October last year. Prior to the ban more than half of PartyGaming's revenues …

Financial News 29 Dec 2006, 11:19
NZ cancer doc stages smoking protest

Nicotine-fuelled indignation

A New Zealand cancer doctor has decided to take up smoking "as a protest against radiation therapists who are harming his patients with a series of strikes seeking pay hikes", Playfuls.com reports. Chris Wynne, clinical director of radiation oncology at Christchurch Hospital, told The Press: "I've tried everything sensible, so …

Biology 29 Dec 2006, 11:20
Chinese fire up glow-in-the-dark pig

Fluorescent porker

There's some good news today for those of you who concerned about how to find your sausages in the event of a power cut: Chinese scientists have announced the successful production of "partially green fluorescent pigs". The glow-in-the-dark porkers are the work of a team at the Northeast Agricultural University in Harbin, …

Biology 29 Dec 2006, 11:21
Gambling sites play double or quits

House of Cards Non-Americans like poker, too

A recovery in the online gaming economy act is gaining traction, according to several reports. The passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act by the US left a swath of economic misery in its wake, but efforts by the major players in the industry to refocus their energies on Europe and Asia are starting to pay …

Financial News 29 Dec 2006, 12:01
Ryanair loses bitch site name-grab claim

Fair criticism is fair criticism

Ryanair has lost its claim against a website which helps customers of the airline complain about the service they receive. The airline took its case to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center which sorts out disputed internet domains. Ryanair claimed that the website - www. …

Music and Media 29 Dec 2006, 12:07
China deploys head-banging snakes for earthquake prediction

Richter scales

The bizarre behaviour of snakes is being used as an earthquake sensor in China. The serpents, a winter delicacy in the south of the country, apparently freak out up to five days before a tremor. Nanning earthquake bureau director Jiang Weisong told the state-owned China Daily: "When an earthquake is about to occur, snakes will …

Biology 29 Dec 2006, 12:08
Bristol kids trip out for joint rolling mobile video

'Yeah but no but yeah but...anyone got any crisps?'

A user-generated mobile content provider has apologised after north Somerset secondary school students seized on a YouTube-style instructional video on "how to roll the perfect joint". Teacher George Beckley alerted nascent Swedish firm Tocmag after students were caught sharing the anonymous director's "top ten activities to …

Mobile 29 Dec 2006, 12:11
US.gov looks to crypto to plug data leak holes

Scrambling for safety

Information security disclosure flaps resulting from lost laptops have prompted US Federal authorities to mandate the use of full disc encryption on government-owned computers. The decision, guided by a presidential mandate (PDF) published in June, has led to a competition to see what products might be selected for the ultra- …

Security 29 Dec 2006, 14:28
Google overtakes Technorati

It's a bloggy shame

Ailing weblog search engine Techorati has been overtaken by Google, according to research company HitWise Inc. According to HitWise, Google's Blogsearch has seen a 168 per cent surge in traffic since Google started to promote the service more heavily in October. The research outfit attributes the success to cross promotion from …

Financial News 29 Dec 2006, 14:32
Apple exonerates Apple

That's OK, then

An internal investigation by Apple has cleared its own current management of wrongdoing, but finds "serious concerns" with the accounting actions of two former executives, the company said today. The company will take an additional compensation charge of $84.5m as a result of the investigation. It's a consequence of an FASB …

Financial News 29 Dec 2006, 14:39