6th November 2011 Archive

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Anti-smut boss: 'We won't be net police'

Even if UK.gov thinks IWF are already

The Internet Watch Foundation has no intention of becoming the UK government's net police, its new boss has declared. Speaking to El Reg in her first interview in her new role at the IWF, Susie Hargreaves also revealed the need for greater openness, independence and transparency at the anti-child sex abuse organisation. The …

Networks 6 Nov 10:01
Eggheads crack open web troll brains

Big headache discovered for smeared biz bosses

People who fire off abuse online tend to be keyboard warriors who lack self-control and are fuelled by vengefulness while protected by cloaks of anonymity. And they're going to cost businesses a ton of cash as they struggle to defend their reputations. This is according to a frankly shocking study published in the current issue …

Small Biz 6 Nov 13:04
Scottish FOI watchdog reports 20% boost in appeals

Most of the appeals related to local government ...

The Scottish Information Commissioner (SICO) received 20 per cent more appeal applications relating to freedom of information (FOI) requests during the first three months of this year than the watchdog received last year. SICO, which is responsible for ensuring Scottish public bodies comply with FOI laws in Scotland, said that …

Government 6 Nov 15:08
Woosh take-over in jeopardy

NZ government skewers spectrum aggregation

The New Zealand government has put a spanner in the works for Canadian company Craig Wireless’s proposed US$5.5 million purchase of Woosh Wireless. Woosh Wireless has been denied its request to lift the spectrum cap allotted to each carrier - ahead of schedule - by the New Zealand Economic Development Ministry. The Dominion …

Business 6 Nov 21:40
Is the electromagnetic constant a constant?

Star study suggests life-friendly conditions could be regional

Could yet another universal constant, the value assigned to the electromagnetic force, be less constant than we thought? And could variability of the constant help explain life in the universe? That’s the tantalizing hypothesis offered by Australian astronomers, who believe that the value alpha, referring to the strength of …

Physics 6 Nov 22:00
NZ's Provoke Solutions heads to Seattle

First steps of global expansion strategy

Provoke Solutions, a New Zealand based online solutions and Microsoft software partner, has expanded to the US with the opening of a Seattle outpost. The new office is in line with the company’s international expansion strategy that will see it open offices across five continents in five years. "New Zealand needs more global …

Business 6 Nov 22:30
Eclipse Xtends Java

A plugin layer to simplify development

The Eclipse Foundation has quietly launched a new language, Xtend, which it says is designed to address shortcomings of Java without replacing it. The aim of Xtend is to create more readable code, to add features that Java needs but doesn’t have, and to offer “a convenient alternative in situations where Java doesn’t shine”. …

Developer 6 Nov 23:00