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The project is still at the pilot stage and EduVision staff are on the ground to attend to teething problems with the Linux-based system. "The content is divided into visual information, textual information and questions. Users can scroll through these sections independently of each other." EduVision is planning to include audio and video files as the system develops and add more content. Mr Herren says this would vastly increase the opportunities available to the students. He is currently in negotiations to take advantage of a project being organised by search site Google to digitise some of the world's largest university libraries. "All books in the public domain, something like 15 million, could be put on the base stations as we manufacture them. Then every rural school in Africa would have access to the same libraries as the students in Oxford and Harvard" Currently the project is operating in an area where there is mains electricity. But Mr Herren says EduVision already has plans to extend it to more remote regions. "We plan to put a solar panel at the school with the base station, have the E-slates charge during the day when the children are in school, then they can take them home at night and continue working." Maciej Sundra, who designed the user interface for the E-slates, says the project's ultimate goal is levelling access to knowledge around the world. "Why in this age when most people do most research using the internet are students still using textbooks? The fact that we are doing this in a rural developing country is very exciting - as they need it most." |
Tough rules for ringtone sellers |
Firms that flout rules on how ringtones and other mobile extras are sold could be cut off from all UK phone networks. |
The rules allow offenders to be cut off if they do not let consumers know exactly what they get for their money and how to turn off the services. The first month under the new rules has seen at least ten firms suspended while they clean up the way they work. The rules have been brought in to ensure that the problems plaguing net users do not spread to mobile phones. |
In the last couple of years ringtones, wallpapers, screensavers and lots of other extras for phones have become hugely popular. But fierce competition is making it difficult for firms to get their wares in front of consumers, said Jeremy Flynn, head of third party services at Vodafone. |
"If you are not on the operator's portal you are going to have quite heavy marketing costs because it's a problem of how people discover your services," he said. To combat this many ringtone and other mobile content sellers started using a new tactic to squeeze more cash out of customers. This tactic involved signing people up for a subscription to give them, for instance, several ringtones per week or month instead of the single track they thought they were getting. Mr Flynn said that the move to using subscriptions happened over the space of a few weeks at the end of 2004. Websites such as grumbletext.co.uk started getting reports from customers who were racking up large bills for phone content they did not know they had signed up for. "What made us uncomfortable was that these services were not being marketed transparently," said Mr Flynn. "People did not know they were being offered a subscription service." "We saw potential for substantial consumer harm here," he added. |
The swift adoption of subscription services led to the creation of a new code of conduct for firms that want to sell content for mobile phones. The drafting of the new rules was led by the Mobile Entertainment Forum and the UK's phone firms. "Everyone is required to conform to this code of conduct," said Andrew Bud, regulatory head of the MEF and executive chairman of messaging firm MBlox. |
"It's all about transparency," he said. "Consumers have to be told what they have got themselves into and how to get out of it." "The consumer has a right to be protected," he said. Christian Harris, partnership manager of mobile content firm Zed, said the new system was essential if consumers were to trust companies that sell ringtones and other downloads. "The groundrules must be applied across the whole industry and if that's done effectively we will see the cowboys driven out," he said. The new rules came in to force on 15 January and the first month under the new regime has seen many firms cautioned for not honouring them. Some have been told to revamp websites so customers know what they get for their money and what they are signing up for, said Mr Flynn. Also, said Mr Flynn, Vodafone has briefly cut off between eight and ten content sellers flouting the rules. "We have quite draconian contracts with firms," he said. "We do not have to say why. We can just cut them off." Under the rules consumers must be able to switch off the services by using a universal "stop" command sent via text message. He said the system had been designed to limit how much a consumer will pay if they inadvertently signed up for a service. "The mobile is so personal that people really resent the abuse of what is effectively part of their personality," said Mr Flynn. |
Creator of first Apple Mac dies |
Jef Raskin, head of the team behind the first Macintosh computer, has died. |
Mr Raskin was one of the first employees at Apple and made many of the design decisions that made the Mac so distinctive when it was first released. He led the team that decided to use a graphical interface and mouse that let people navigate around the computer by pointing and clicking. The 1984 release of the Mac reflected Mr Raskin's belief that good design should make computers easy to use. |
Mr Raskin joined Apple in 1978 as employee number 31, initially to lead the company's publications department. However, in 1979 he was put in charge of a small team to design a computer that lived up to his idea of a machine that was cheap, aimed at consumers rather than computer professionals and was very easy to use. |
The result was the 1984 Macintosh that did away with the then common text-based interface in favour of one based around graphics that resembled a virtual desktop and used folders and documents. Users navigated around the machine using a mouse and by pointing, clicking and dragging. Although now in common use in almost all computers, these methods were pioneering when first used in the Macintosh. The GUI was developed by Xerox PARC, and used in its Star machine. But the acceptance of the interface did not truly begin until the concept was developed for use by Apple in its pioneering Lisa computer. "His role on the Macintosh was the initiator of the project, so it wouldn't be here if it weren't for him," said Andy Hertzfeld, an early Macintosh team member. Although Mr Raskin drove the team that created the Macintosh he did not stay at Apple to see it released. In 1981 he was removed from the project following a dispute with Apple's mercurial boss Steve Jobs. In 1982, Mr Raskin left Apple entirely. The Macintosh was reputedly named after Mr Raskin's favourite apple, though the name was changed slightly following a trademark dispute with another company. After leaving Apple, Mr Raskin founded another company called Information Appliance and continued to work on better ways to interface with computers. He was also an accomplished musician, played three instruments and conducted San Francisco's Chamber Opera Society. Mr Raskin was diagnosed in December 2004 with pancreatic cancer and died on 26 February at his home in California. |
'Friends fear' with lost mobiles |
People are becoming so dependent on their mobile phones that one in three are concerned that losing their phone would mean they lose their friends. |
More than 50% of mobile owners reported they had had their phone stolen or lost in the last three years. More than half (54%) of those asked in a poll for mobile firm Intervoice said that they do not have another address book. A fifth rely entirely on mobiles. About 80% of UK adults own at least one mobile, according to official figures. It is estimated that 53% of over 65s own a mobile, according to Intervoice, but the figures are higher for those aged between 15 and 34. |
Most 15 to 24-year-olds (94%), and 25 to 34-year-olds (92%), own at least one. Nineteen percent of mobile owners were more concerned about how long it would take to find their contacts' information again if the phone was lost, stolen or replaced. |
The survey showed that extent to which people have become reliant on their phones as address book. Many mobile owners do not bother to make back-ups of their contact details, and with people changing their phones once a year on average, it becomes a problem. They also are becoming less likely to remember numbers by heart, relying on the mobile phone book instead. "We're a nation of lazy so-and-sos," David Noone from Intervoice said. "We put the numbers in our phones so we can call a friend at the touch of just one or two buttons and we certainly can't be bothered to write them down in an old fashioned address book. "The mobile phone plays such a key role in modern relationships; take the phone away and the way we manage these relationships falls apart." One in three women, the survey said, thought if they lost their phones, it would mean they would lose touch with people altogether. Most (62%) said they had no idea what their partner's number was. Mr Noone said it should be up to mobile operators to provide back-up services on the network itself, instead of relying on mobile owners to find ways themselves. |
Generally, information from Sim cards can be backed up on physical memory cards, or can be copied onto computers via cables if the phone is a smartphone model with the right software. Sim back-up devices can be bought from phone shops for just a few pounds. |
But some operators offer customers free web-based back-up services too. Orange told the BBC News website that those with Orange Smartphones could use the My Phone syncing service which means back-ups of address books and other data are created online. For non-smartphone users, a Memory Mate card could be used to back up data on the phone. O2 also offers a free, web-based syncing service which works over GPRS and GSM. Neither Vodafone or T-Mobile currently offer a free network service for back-ups, but encourage people to use Sim back-up devices. It is thought that about 10,000 phones are lost or stolen every month and 50% of total street crime involves a mobile. Mobile phone sales are expected to continue growing over the next year. Globally, more than 167 million mobile phones were sold in the third quarter of 2004, 26% more than the previous year, according to analysts. It is predicted that there will be two billion handsets in use worldwide by the end of 2005. |
Microsoft releases bumper patches |
Microsoft has warned PC users to update their systems with the latest security fixes for flaws in Windows programs. |
In its monthly security bulletin, it flagged up eight "critical" security holes which could leave PCs open to attack if left unpatched. The number of holes considered "critical" is more than usual. They affect Windows programs, including Internet Explorer (IE), media player and instant messaging. Four other important fixes were also released. These were considered to be less critical, however. If not updated, either automatically or manually, PC users running the programs could be vulnerable to viruses or other malicious attacks designed to exploit the holes. Many of the flaws could be used by virus writers to take over computers remotely, install programs, change, and delete or see data. |
One of the critical patches Microsoft has made available is an important one that fixes some IE flaws. Stephen Toulouse, a Microsoft security manager, said the flaws were known about, and although the firm had not seen any attacks exploiting the flaw, he did not rule them out. Often, when a critical flaw is announced, spates of viruses follow because home users and businesses leave the flaw unpatched. A further patch fixes a hole in Media Player, Windows Messenger and MSN Messenger which an attacker could use to take control of unprotected machines through .png files. Microsoft announces any vulnerabilities in its software every month. The most important ones are those which are classed as "critical". Its latest releases came the week that the company announced it was to buy security software maker Sybari Software as part of Microsoft's plans to make its own security programs. |
iPhone SE vs. iPhone X: Don't buy that refurbished phone just yet |
Apple sells the iPhone X refurbished for $599. But is its 2017 flagship still better than its new budget iPhone SE? |
When the iPhone X first debuted in 2017, it made headlines for several reasons. It was the first iPhone to have Face ID, the first to have an OLED display and the first to have an on-screen notch. At the time it was a top-of-the-class device. Now, three years later, it's just as reliable. Though Apple discontinued the iPhone X a mere 10 months after its launch, the company sells refurbished models at a heavy discount: $599 or £599 (64GB) and $699 or £699 (256GB). (Apple does not sell or ship refurbished iPhones to Australia, but that converts to about AU$940 and AU$1,100.) |
Spam e-mails tempt net shoppers |
Computer users across the world continue to ignore security warnings about spam e-mails and are being lured into buying goods, a report suggests. |
More than a quarter have bought software through spam e-mails and 24% have bought clothes or jewellery. As well as profiting from selling goods or services and driving advertising traffic, organised crime rings can use spam to glean personal information. The Business Software Alliance (BSA) warned that people should "stay alert". "Many online consumers don't consider the true motives of spammers," said Mike Newton, a spokesperson for the BSA which commissioned the survey. |
"By selling software that appears to be legitimate in genuine looking packaging or through sophisticated websites, spammers are hiding spyware without consumers' knowledge. "Once the software is installed on PCs and networks, information that is given over the internet can be obtained and abused." |
The results also showed that the proportion of people reading - or admitting to reading - and taking advantage of adult entertainment spam e-mails is low, at one in 10. The research, which covered 6,000 people in six countries and their attitudes towards junk e-mails, revealed that Brazilians were the most likely to read spam. A third of them read unsolicited junk e-mail and 66% buy goods or services after receiving spam. |
The French were the second most likely to buy something (48%), with 44% of Britons taking advantage of products and services. This was despite 38% of people in all countries being worried about their net security because of the amount of spam they get. More than a third of respondents said they were concerned that spam e-mails contained viruses or programs that attempted to collect personal information. "Both industry and the media have helped to raise awareness of the issues that surround illegitimate e-mail, helping to reduce the potential financial damage and nuisance from phishing attacks and spoof websites," said William Plante, director of corporate security and fraud protection at security firm Symantec. "At the same time, consumers need to continue exercising caution and protect themselves from harm with a mixture of spam filters, spyware detection software and sound judgement." |
Gadget growth fuels eco concerns |
Technology firms and gadget lovers are being urged to think more about the environment when buying and disposing of the latest hi-tech products. |
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, several hi-tech firms were recognised for their strategies to help the environment. Ebay also announced the Rethink project bringing together Intel, Apple, and IBM among others to promote recycling. The US consumer electronics market is set to grow by over 11% in 2005. But more awareness is needed about how and where old gadgets can be recycled as well as how to be more energy efficient, said the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Of particular growing concern is how much energy it takes to recharge portable devices, one of the fastest growing markets in technology. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has predicted that shipments of consumer technologies in 2005 will reach more than $125.73 billion (nearly £68 billion). |
Ebay's initiative pulls together major technology firms, environment groups, government agencies and eBay users to give information about what to do with old computers and where to send them. The online auction house thinks that its already-established community of loyal users could be influential. "We really became aware of the e-waste issue and we saw that our 125 million users can be a powerful force for good," eBay's David Stern told the BBC News website. |
"We saw the opportunity to meet the additional demand we have on the site for used computers and saw the opportunity too to good some good for the environment." But it is not just computers that cause a problem for the environment. Teenagers get a new mobile every 11 months, adults every 18 months and a 15 million handsets are replaced in total each year. Yet, only 15% are actually recycled. This year, a predicted two billion people worldwide will own a mobile, according to a Deloitte report. Schemes in the US, like RIPMobile, could help in targeting younger generations with recycling messages. The initiative, which was also launched at CES, rewards 10 to 28-year-olds for returning unused phones. "This system allows for the transformation of a drawer full of unused mobile phones into anything from music to clothes to electronics or games," said Seth Heine from RIPMobile. |
One group of students collected 1,000 mobiles for recycling in just three months. Mr Heine told the BBC News website that what was important was to raise awareness amongst the young so that recycling becomes "learned behaviour". Europe is undoubtedly more advanced than the US in terms of recycling awareness and robust "end of life" programmes, although there is a tide change happening in the rest of the world too. Intel showcased some its motherboards and chips at CES which are entirely lead free. |
"There is more and more awareness on the consumer side, but the whole industry is moving towards being lead free," Intel's Allen Wilson told the BBC News website. "There is still low-level awareness right now, but it is on the rise - the highest level of awareness is in Europe." A European Union (EU) directive, WEEE (Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment), comes into effect in August. It puts the responsibility on electrical manufacturers to recycle items that are returned to them. But developments are also being made to design better technologies which are more energy efficient and which do not contain harmful substances. Elements like chromium, lead, and cadmium - common in consumer electronics goods - will be prohibited in all products in the EU by 2006. |
But it is not just about recycling either. The predicted huge growth in the gadget market means the amount of energy used to power them up is on the rise too. The biggest culprit, according to the EPA, is the innocuous power adaptor, nicknamed "energy vampires". They provide vital juice for billions of mobile phones, PDAs (personal digital assistants), digital cameras, camcorders, and digital music players. |
Although there is a focus on developing efficient and improved circuits in the devices themselves, the technologies inside rechargers are still outdated and so eat up more energy than is needed to power a gadget. On 1 January, new efficiency standards for external power supplies came into effect as part of the European Commission Code of Conduct. But at CES, the EPA also unveiled new guidelines for its latest Energy Star initiative which targets external power adapters. These map out the framework for developing better adaptors that can be labelled with an Energy Star logo, meaning they are about 35% more efficient. The initiative is a global effort and more manufacturers' adaptors are being brought on board. Most are made in China. About two billion are shipped global every year, and about three billion are in use in the US alone. The EPA is already working with several companies which make more than 22% of power supplies on the market. "We are increasingly finding companies that not only want to provide neat, hi-tech devices, but also bundle with it a hi-tech, efficient power supply," the EPA's Andrew Fanara said. Initiatives like this are critical; if power adaptors continue to be made and used as they are now, consumer electronics and other small appliances will be responsible for more than 40% of electricity used in US homes, said the EPA. |
'Evil twin' fear for wireless net |
People using wireless high-speed net (wi-fi) are being warned about fake hotspots, or access points. |
The latest threat, nicknamed evil twins, pose as real hotspots but are actually unauthorised base stations, say Cranfield University experts. Once logged onto an Evil Twin, sensitive data can be intercepted. Wi-fi is becoming popular as more devices come with wireless capability. London leads the global wi-fi hotspots league, with more than 1,000. The number of hotspots is expected to reach 200,000 by 2008, according to analysts. "Users need to be wary of using their wi-fi enabled laptops or other portable devices in order to conduct financial transactions or anything that is of a sensitive or personal nature," said Professor Brian Collins, head of information systems at Cranfield University. |
"Users can also protect themselves by ensuring that their wi-fi device has its security measures activated," he added. BT Openzone, which operates a vast proportion of public hotspots in the UK, told the BBC News website that it made every effort to make its wi-fi secure. "Naturally, people may have security concerns," said Chris Clark, chief executive for BT's wireless broadband. |
"But wi-fi networks are no more or less vulnerable than any other means of accessing the internet, like broadband or dial-up." He said BT Openzone, as well as others, have sophisticated encryption from the start of the login process to the service at a hotspot. "This means that users' personal information and data, logon usernames and passwords are protected and secure," said Mr Clark. |
In the vast majority of cases, base stations straight out of the box from the manufacturers are automatically set up with the least secure mode possible, said Dr Nobles. Cybercriminals who try to glean personal information using the scam, jam connections to a legitimate base station by sending a stronger signal near to the wireless client. Anyone with the right gear can find a real hotspot and substitute it with an evil twin. "Cybercriminals don't have to be that clever to carry out such an attack," said Dr Phil Nobles, a wireless net and cybercrime expert at Cranfield. "Because wireless networks are based on radio signals they can be easily detected by unauthorised users tuning into the same frequency." |
Although wi-fi is increasing in popularity as more people want to use high-speed net on the move, there have been fears over how secure it is. Some companies have been reluctant to use them in large numbers because of fears about security. A wireless network that is not protected can provide a backdoor into a company's computer system. Public wi-fi hotspots offered by companies like BT Openzone and The Cloud, are accessible after users sign up and pay for use. But many home and company wi-fi networks are left unprotected and can be "sniffed out" and hi-jacked by anyone with the correct equipment. "BT advises that customers should change all default settings, make sure that their security settings on all equipment are configured correctly," said Mr Clark. "We also advocate the use of personal firewalls to ensure that only authorised users can have access and that data cannot be intercepted." Dr Nobles is due to speak about wireless cybercrime at the Science Museum's Dana Centre in London on Thursday. |
New consoles promise big problems |
Making games for future consoles will require more graphic artists and more money, an industry conference has been told. |
Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo will debut their new consoles at the annual E3 games Expo in Los Angeles in May. These so-called "next generation" machines will be faster than current consoles, and capable of displaying much higher-quality visuals. For gamers, this should make for better, more immersive games. In a pre-recorded video slot during Microsoft's keynote address at the Game Developers Conference, held last week in San Francisco, famed director James Cameron revealed he is making a game in tandem with his next film - believed to be Battle Angel Alita. The game's visual quality would be "like a lucid dream," said Mr Cameron. But numerous speakers warned that creating such graphics will require more artists, and so next generation console games will be much more expensive to develop. The first new console, Microsoft's Xbox 2, is not expected to reach the shops until the end of 2005. Games typically take at least 18 months to create, however, so developers are grappling with the hardware today. |
According to Robert Walsh, head of Brisbane-based game developer Krome Studios, next generation games will cost between $10-25m to make, with teams averaging 80 staff in size taking two years to complete a title. Such sums mean it will be difficult for anyone to start a new game studio, said Mr Walsh. "If you're a start-up, I doubt that a publisher is going to walk in and give you a cheque for $10m, however good you are," he said. Mr Walsh suggested that new studios should make games for mobile phones and handheld consoles like the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS, since they are cheaper and easier to create than console games. |
One developer bucking the trend towards big art teams is Will Wright, the creator of the best-selling The Sims games. The founder of California's Maxis studio surprised the conference with a world exclusive preview of his next game, Spore. Spore will allow players to experiment with the evolution of digital creatures. Starting with an amoeba-sized organism, the player will guide the physical development of their creature by selecting how its limbs, jaws and other body parts evolve. |
Eventually the creature will become capable of establishing cities, trading and fighting, and even building space ships. Advanced players will visit the home planets of creatures created by other Spore players. These worlds will be automatically swapped across the Internet. Mr Wright said that enabling players to devise and share their creatures would make them care more about the game. "I don't want to put the player in the role of Luke Skywalker or Frodo Baggins - I want them to be George Lucas or Dr Seuss," explained Mr Wright. Few games have hinted at the scope of Spore, but Mr Wright explained that he has nevertheless kept his development team small by hiring expert programmers. Instead of employing lots of artists to create 3D models of the digital creatures, Spore generates and displays the creatures according to rules devised by the programmers. "The thing I am coming away with [from the conference] is that next generation content is going to be really expensive, and creating it will drive the smaller players out of the market," said Mr Wright. "I'd like to offer an alternative to that." |
New development tools will be another important aid in making next generation games, and dozens of companies demonstrated their latest products at the conference. |
Subsets and Splits