7th May 2012 Archive

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China shoots for 800 million web users by 2015

Half a BILLION is not enough, apparently

The Chinese government is hoping to close the country’s digital divide further by bringing a whopping 800 million of its citizens online by 2015, according to its latest pronouncement. The ‘internet development plan’ for 2011-2015 was unveiled on Friday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Xinhua reported. …

Networks 7 May 2012, 01:32
ABC seeks help for digital content sharing plans

“End-to-end digital file based work-flows” sought across radio, TV, web

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is seeking “ … business consultancy services for transition of file based content ...”. The Corporation has issued a tender for those services because it's decided that digital change is coming and figures it needs help to plot a course away from tape-based media and current …

Policy 7 May 2012, 02:35
US, Australia may share SmartGates

Information sharing experience leads to possible e-passport access for both nations

Years of experience sharing intelligence data about airline passengers has given the USAand Australia confidence to put the data to work as a queue-buster, after the nations announced they would explore expedited access to immigration services in their respective airports. The potential new arrangements emerged in a speech by …

Policy 7 May 2012, 04:01
Indian callers could see bills DOUBLE after spectrum auction chaos

Operators in dire warning as government mulls proposals

Mobile phone bills in India could double if the government agrees to new regulatory proposals for upcoming 2G spectrum auctions, the country’s major operators have warned. The telecoms ministry is currently seeking clarification on some of the proposals from regulator the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which …

Networks 7 May 2012, 06:48
WD My Book Thunderbolt Duo

Geek Treat of the Week Fast file store

The My Book Thunderbolt Duo contains two Western Digital 2TB or 3TB Caviar Green drives in its now familiar hardback-style silver chassis. There are only two interface ports on the back, and they're both Thunderbolt so while you can include the My Book as a link in a chain of Thunderbolt devices, it’s not for you if you don’t …

Hardware 7 May 2012, 07:00
RIM’s Wake Up is a mini-manifesto

'Do different', outside the middle, or something

RIM’s controversial attempt to Wake Up Australia to the wonders of its products has been revealed. The old Wake Up Australia site now refers viewers to the new wakeupbebold.com.au site, where a Rorschach blot (which looks a bit like the very NSFW Stannis-as-killer-ghost-thing from Game of Thrones) coagulates into a scrolling …

Business 7 May 2012, 08:19
Philips HMP2000 HD Media Player

Review Jumping on the Netflix bandwagon

Philips describes its new HMP2000 as a ‘smart media box’, along the lines of rivals such as the AppleTV and Western Digital’s WDTV Live. However, it would probably be more accurate to describe it as a Netflix box, since Netflix is clearly its primary raison d’être. Media smartie: Philips HMP2000 The wedge-shaped design of …

Hardware 7 May 2012, 11:00
US gov boffins achieve speeds FASTER THAN LIGHT

'Loophole' found in Special Theory of Relativity

Scientists working in a US government laboratory say they have managed to transmit a signal from point to point faster than the speed of light in a vacuum - in a development apparently violating the laws of physics. According to a statement issued by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): According to …

Science 7 May 2012, 13:04
Fanbois froth as Apple claims 'iPhone5.com' rights

Time to rethink naming scheme, à la 'The new iPad'?

Apple has filed a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Association against the owners of the domain name "iphone5.com", but devotees of the site to which that name links are not giving up without a fight. "Call Corporate Of Apple and tell them to stop there persuit!! Blow up there phones, Spam there emails, call …

Business 7 May 2012, 18:13
Apple updates iOS, mum on Wi-Fi, battery fixes

Don't upgrade your iDevice over iTunes

Apple has released an update to its iOS mobile operating system, version 5.1.1, which it claims remove some bugs and improves reliability of some options, but which does not address the wireless connectivity problems – well, at least not overtly – that have had some fanbois fuming. The update, released Monday, is for the …

Operating Systems 7 May 2012, 20:17
Dinosaur flatulence may have warmed Earth

Sauropod emissions blow away cows, came close to modern methane volumes

Giant herbivorous dinosaurs may have emitted sufficient methane to warm the Mesozoic climate, according to a new paper in Current Biology. The new theory, expounded in the article Could methane produced by sauropod dinosaurs have helped drive Mesozoic climate warmth? starts by advancing a theory that very large, long-necked …

Science 7 May 2012, 20:21
'ACTA is dead,' says Europe's digital doyenne

Until the next ACTA, that is...

The European Commission's VP for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes has signaled that the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is dead, and the world's copyright industry will have to change to suit people, rather than vice versa. "We have recently seen how many thousands of people are willing to protest …

Business 7 May 2012, 20:45
Partial victory for Oracle in Java case

Google files for a mistrial

After deliberating over the weekend, the jury in the Oracle v. Google Java-copyright trial has returned a partial victory for Larry Ellison's crew. The jury found for Oracle in agreeing on the initial question: that Google did infringe on Oracle's copyright with the use of 37 APIs in Andorid, including nine lines of software …

Business 7 May 2012, 21:08
IEEE commits Wi-Fi refresh to standard

Rubber-stamp applied to 3.6 GHz kit, mesh, et al

Wi-Fi standards have received a refresh that formalizes various technologies developed in the last four years under the IEEE’s standards processes. With the publication of 802.11-2012, the standards body brings better security, smoother cellular handoff, QoS, and mesh networking into the fold. It’s just the fourth major …

Networks 7 May 2012, 22:07
VCs back P2P game booster

Tech from Oz think-tank may also help large-scale data exchange

An advanced peer-to-peer networking technology, Scalify, developed over four years at National ICT Australia (NICTA) has secured $2million in VC funding as it ramps up its commercialisation. Scalify’s core technology, Badumna, improves the delivery of multi-player online applications, such virtual environments and online games …

Networks 7 May 2012, 22:59
Groupon CEO plans to 'reinvent local commerce ecosystem'

Moving beyond digital coupon clipping

In an open letter to shareholders Groupon CEO Andrew Mason has outlined plans to take the firm into local ecommerce services with a series of products designed to expand beyond its core business. "Groupon is setting out to reinvent the multi-trillion-dollar local commerce ecosystem. We are building an integrated suite of tools …

Cloud 7 May 2012, 23:11
Intelligence a genetic mistake

Badly copied genome boosted brains, kinda

It’s not quite the “key to intelligence”, but a study published in the journal Cell at least offers a hint to how human brains changed post-hominid: a miscopied gene that seems to let the brain form more connections, faster. The paper finds that a gene dubbed SRGAP2 has, during cell divisions, been incompletely copied three …

Science 7 May 2012, 23:30