Johnston Press websites start charging for news
One of the UK's biggest newspaper firms is starting to limit access to online content from six of its titles. The Johnston Press websites will either ask users to pay £5 for a three-month subscription to read the full articles or direct them to buy the newspapers. English sites in the pilot scheme are those of the Worksop Guardian, the Ripley & Heanor News, the Whitby Gazette and Northumberland Gazette. In Scotland, the Carrick Gazette and Southern Reporter are taking part.
BBC News

Lawyers target thousands of 'illegal' file-sharers
Around 15,000 suspected pirates may soon get legal letters accusing them of illegally sharing movies and games. ACS:Law plans to send notes to the accused in the new year offering a chance to settle out of court for "several hundreds of pounds". A lawyer who has defended people who have received similar letters described it as a "scattergun approach" that would catch "innocent people". ACS:Law said it was "unaware" of anyone who had been wrongly sent a letter.
BBC News

SAP KPI project leaders resign
SAP’s attempts to make its Enterprise Support package more attractive to customers hit a hurdle on Friday as two user group members leading the project resigned, according to reports. The business software giant had come under pressure from customers after changes to its software support program lead to significant price hikes and a one-size-fits-all package for which many would be paying for services they would not need. After meeting with its user groups, the firm decided to set up key performance indicators (KPIs) jointly agreed by the SAP User Group Executive Network (Sugen) to monitor SAP Enterprise Support. If the KPIs are met then the price increases can go ahead and if not, the idea is that the package will be halted.
V3

UK Oracle users support Sun buy
The UK Oracle User Group said today that it supports the database giant's acquisition of Sun Microsystems. European anti-trust regulators are still holding up the $7.4bn (£4.5bn) deal, citing fears about the dominance it will give Oracle in the market. But the vendor's user group is putting forward the benefits. The European Union's principal objection is that Oracle is the largest proprietary database vendor in the market, and will acquire the owner of MySQL, which is the most popular open-source database on the market.
V3

Europe's data protection laws to be rewritten
Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner who for the past five years has championed consumer rights in the telecommunications arena, is to re-write the European Union's 15-year-old data protection laws. Reding is famous for slashing the cost of roaming charges that mobile phone operators impose on subscribers who use their mobile phones abroad. But her most important achievement was to re-write Europe's telecom laws. The so-called telecom package of laws was finally adopted last week after two years of often tortuous negotiations.
Techworld

Mac Mini tops energy-saving league
Apple's Mac Mini might be one of the more expensive mini-PCs on the market but consumers will claw back some of that in cheaper running costs, new figures from the sust-it.net energy website have suggested. Not surprisingly, small form factor and ‘net-top' PCs dominate the energy efficiency list, with only one conventional desktop making it into the top 26 places. Apple claimed the top four places for its Mac Minis, with the best system being the entry-level Core 2 Duo-based model, quoted as using 12.6 watts while turned on but not under load, or 1.71 watts in sleep mode.
Techworld

Android gets Sidebar content recommendation app
US firm Sidebar has launched its Android application, which offers personalised recommendations of other apps and content to users on a daily basis. It gets users to enter their details and interests, then serves up to 12 recommendations a day, including other Android apps but also videos, games, music, ringtones, podcasts and news stories. The company says the app will get smarter over time, as it learns the user's preferences. They can give recommendations they don't like the thumbs down, to help in that process.
Mobile Entertainment

Samsung beats 2009 mobiles target
Samsung has exceeded its target for mobile phone sales in 2009, with the electronics giant breaking its self-imposed 200 million handset goal. Samsung is the second biggest seller in the mobile phone world, and after narrowly missing out on the 200 million mark in 2008, it was confident of breaking it this year. And that confidence was not misplaced, with the company now stating that it has surpassed its target, in a big year for the mobile phone.
Techradar

Still no BBC deal on Xbox Live iPlayer
Xbox 360 owners who are also fans of the BBC iPlayer are in for yet more disappointment, after it emerged the media platform won't be coming to Microsoft gaming hardware anytime soon. The iPlayer channel, which is already available to PS3 and Wii users, is hitting a brick wall with the Xbox because Microsoft apparently wants to put it behind a pay wall – something the BBC charter specifically prohibits for UK viewers.
Techradar

Carphone reports revenue surge
Carphone Warehouse has reported a 13 per cent year on year growth in revenue to £789m for the six months ending on 30 September. The growth represented performance across the company’s two main arms of business – broadband and retail. Carphone Warehouse chief financial officer, Roger Taylor, said the independent retailer has had a ‘very strong start to the year,’ adding that ‘revenue growth has been slightly ahead of expectations’. The company is also on track to open its ‘Big Box’ stores in Spring 2010.
Mobile

EU ministers agree to lower digital barriers
IT ministers from all European Union member states signed a declaration in Sweden last week that commits them to pushing e-government issues both nationally and internationally. One of the declaration’s aims is to show how e-government – which allows citizens to
interact with the state online – can be used as a high-tech “bridge” between countries in Europe.
Computing

Warning over cloud computing's environmental costs
Cloud computing has hidden environmental costs because the technologies used to connect to it are highly energy inefficient, says a Jisc report. The document from the university IT organisation's TechWatch service, Low carbon computing: A view to 2050 and beyond, says data storage and mounting capacity requirements will be a major test for university IT managers, but that cloud computing has hidden environmental costs.
ZDNet

Tesco to sell iPhone in UK in possible price war
Tesco has confirmed that it will be selling the iPhone in the near future, as part of Apple's moves to open up its UK distribution channel. The UK's largest retailer will start stocking the phones “shortly” and will be selling the phones via the Tesco Mobile shops that it has set up with O2. Reports suggest that Tesco will be selling the handsets before the all-important Christmas retail rush.
V3

Wikipedia falling victim to a war of words
Is the dream over for Wikipedia? The "free encyclopaedia anyone can edit" was meant to demonstrate the democratic possibilities of the internet, but a study by Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid has found that editors are abandoning it. In the first three months of 2009, the English-language site had a net loss of more than 49,000 volunteers, compared to only 4,900 in the same period last year.
Guardian

3 UK Partners With Mobix Interactive To Launch First Ever Mobile TV Subscription Video-On-Demand Offering
Mobile operator 3 has launched the first mobile TV subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, giving subscribers on-demand access to entire episodes of hit TV shows.  The breakthrough SVOD service, called 'TV on Demand', is fully managed and powered by Mobix Interactive, now part of On Demand Group, (a SeaChange International company, NASDAQ: SEAC), the three-screen enabler for premier content and operations brands. 3's TV on Demand fulfills the industry's anytime, anywhere personal TV vision to provide the most desired programs to any handset with complete on-demand control.
IT News online

Google and Microsoft Face Fresh Web OS Challenge
Software vendor, TransMedia, is challenging Microsoft and Google in the Web OS space with the latest version of Glide, focussing on desktop and web search. Glide OS 4.0 wraps desktop functionality around Web content from any connected computing device.
eWeek

LinkedIn has plans to run an IPO, but not in the near future.
LinkedIn is to pursue a public offering in the future and with 53 million members, is seen as a strong IPO candidate.  Since its last round of funding in 2008, the business network has doubled its subscriber numbers and is cash flow positive. The news follows the launch of the LinkedIn API earlier in the week.
IT PRO

YouTube getting pressure from Hulu and Facebook
YouTube’s dominant force is given a run for its money as Hulu and Facebook see significant growth of their video content in the US. YouTube still sees a whopping one billion views a day, however the popularity of IPTV and VOD services has seen other services catching it up.
TechRadar

West End looks to wireless translations
A new wireless handheld screen is helping to bring tourist into West End shows, by translating the shows into one of eight languages.  Airscript is pre-programmed with the show’s script and allows  theatre shows to be enjoyed by any nationality. The device is currently on trail with Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre.
TechRadar

Google revamps mobile movie search
Google has streamlined its movie search application for Apple iPhone, Palm WebOS, or Google Android-powered device to make searching for movies easier. The applications allows you to review ratings, categorise films, read film synopsis and check out what’s on in the local theatres.
PC Advisor

Google to buy display advertising startup Teracent
Google Inc. said Monday it agreed to acquire display advertising startup Teracent Corp., which has developed machine learning algorithms designed to deliver optimized Web ads in real time.
The acquisition is Google's latest move to bolster its presence in the online display ad market, a business dominated by rival Yahoo Inc. It wasn't immediately clear how the deal will affect Teracent's partnership with Yahoo to deliver mobile ads.
Total Telecom

Skype video calling comes to Nokia
Nokia users will be able to make Skype video calls for free as of today, courtesy of a new app from Fring. Fring is a big player in the mobile communications market. In the past, the company's apps have offered up a whole load of interactivity that we now take for granted on a mobile phone before anyone else – including free access to Twitter and the like. Now Fring is bringing Skype video calls to web-enabled Nokia handsets.
Tech Radar

65 per cent mobile internet users on less than 1 Mbps
According to broadband comparison sight, Broadband Genie, two thirds of mobile broadband users are getting an average speed less than 1Mbps despite the fact that the majority of mobile broadband packages from operators including 3, O2, T-Mobile and Orange are advertised at 'up to' 3.6Mbps.
PC Advisor

Infosys plans to hire 20,000 next year
India's Infosys Technologies Ltd says that due to the job scenario in Indian technology industry being reasonably better, the company, assuming around 10 per cent attrition rate, expects to hire 20,000 people in the next fiscal year. India's technology companies, which earn most of their revenue from clients in the U.S., are slowly recovering from the effects of the economic slowdown, as technology spending makes a modest comeback in developed nations.
Wall Street Journal
 
Infineon not a target for Samsung
Samsung Electronics said market speculation that it may bid for German chipmaker Infineon was untrue according to a report from Reuters in Seoul. "Such talk is untrue. We have never studied the possibility," Reuters quoted Samsung spokesman James Chung as saying. Shares in Infineon had risen with traders pointing to speculation that Samsung may make a bid for the company. Infineon declined to comment on the speculation.
EE Times

EC drops Qualcomm anti-trust investigation
The European Commission has dropped its four-year anti-trust investigation against Qualcomm.  Qualcomm was being investigated for an alleged breach of EC treaty rules on abuse of a dominant market position. The European Commission had opened antitrust proceedings against Qualcomm on 1 October 2007 based on a purported violation of the now famous Article 82.  The European Commission said it is "committed to fight against illegal behaviour by dominant companies in key innovative sectors like telecoms and IT, when an abuse of their market power would deny consumers the benefits of competition and choice".
Hexus.channel

Iraq government launches YouTube channel
The government of Iraq has launched a YouTube channel to give the world a more transparent view of what the administration is trying to accomplish in the country.  The Iraqi government – led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki – aims show that technology is playing an important role in rebuilding the nation, and has launched the YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/iraqigov.
"The Internet presents all of us with the biggest communications opportunity of our time," said Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Tech Radar

giffgaff launches new UK mobile network, innovative rewards scheme
Today sees the launch of giffgaff, a 'virtual' mobile operator that uses the O2 UK network. Giffgaff is encouraging its customers to promote the network by borrowing eccentric tools and creating YouTube videos. The best five videos will each receive £5000; there's also a potential reward of free mobile usage for a year.  The innovative company is also running a 'Payback' scheme that awards points for helping other people. Each point is worth 1p; there are points for answering queries, points for submitting marketing ideas and 500 points (£5) for acquiring new users.
The Fonecast

Euro-DROID set to hit UK in time for Christmas
Motorola’s MILESTONE – the European version of their current US best-seller, the Android 2.0-powered DROID – is rumoured to be available in the UK on 7th December.  SuperETrader is pre-orders for the MILESTONE at £439.99 ($731) including tax, for which you get a 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and just about all the wireless connectivity you could desire: HSDPA/HSUPA, WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.0. 
Slashgear

TiVo to develop platform for Virgin Media
TiVo Inc. Has announced a deal with Virgin Media to develop a next-generation TV platform that will include broadband-fed video services and applications.  TiVo, which announced the deal alongside its third-quarter earnings, said it is developing a "converged television and broadband interactive interface" for Virgin's upcoming high-definition set-top boxes.  Virgin is ambitiously upgrading its content delivery network to handle more IP traffic, and be capable of taking video from the Web, and says the set-top platform, co-branded with TiVo, will debut sometime in 2010.
Light Reading

Apple leads tech charge on list of opinion-formers
Apple has just been named as the organisation most likely to change opinion and markets, knocking search company Google off the top spot. It’s a sign of the times that tech companies dominate the index: seven out of the ten companies deemed to be the most innovative and influential in the UK come from the sector.
Management Today

Sony Ericsson Satio withdrawn by mobile sellers
The Sony Ericsson Satio has been recalled by both Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U after high levels of returns. Punters are said to have reported software faults with the top end Sony Ericsson cell, which has only been on the shelves for a couple of months.
Electricpig

Shazam goes PRODUCT RED
Shazam has announced it's going (PRODUCT)RED with a special charity edition app now available now for the iPhone on the App Store. Offering the same music discovery features as the premium Shazam Encore app, there's also new content related to (PRODUCT)RED.
Pocket-lint

South Africa’s Telkom to build mobile net
After disposing of its investment in South African mobile operator Vodacom, the incumbent, Telkom, is planning to spend $800 million on its own mobile business.
Global Telecoms Business

European MPs votes on new telecoms law
A major overhaul of telecoms law across Europe is due on 24 November as the European Parliament votes on the new rules.  The package comes amid controversial laws being introduced in France and the UK to cut off persistent pirates.
BBC

Ciena to buy Nortel's Ethernet assets for $769m
Ciena agreed to acquire Nortel's division that develops networking gear used to transmit data and voice traffic within and between cities, for a total of $769 million. Ciena beat out Nokia Siemens Networks and its partner, private-equity firm One Equity Partners, for the acquisition of Nortel's Metro Ethernet Networks business.
Total Telecom

Protests grow over digital bill
The Digital Economy bill has sparked a wave of protest among consumers and rights groups. Soon after the bill began its journey through Parliament on 19 November, many expressed worries about parts of it. The bill suggests the use of technical measures to tackle illegal file-sharing that could involve suspending the accounts of persistent pirates.
BBC

Skype CEO looks forward to new markets
Skype Chief Executive Josh Silverman said he is focused on rolling out new technology to propel the Internet telephony leader into new markets. Silverman said Skype will quietly push out a series of upgrades to its core technology next year designed to help the company push its service onto mobile phones, into corporate offices and even into consumer electronics. The software will also allow third-party developers to build on the service.
Total Telecom

New iPhone worm can act like botnet say experts
A second worm to hit the iPhone has been unearthed by security company F-Secure. It is specifically targeting people in the Netherlands who are using their iPhones for internet banking with Dutch online bank ING. The worm attacks "jail-broken" phones - a modification which enables the user to run non-Apple approved software on their handset.
BBC

AT&T offers pay by day, week, month data options
AT&T lets customers use its network for web-surfing on laptop computers or netbooks without the obligation to sign a two-year contract. Instead of having to commit to paying $60 a month for two years, customers will be able to pay by the day, by the week or by the month. Offering more payment options the operator wants to appeal to the mass market.
Reuters

Hackers target leading climate research unit
The email system of one of the world's leading climate research units has been breached by hackers. Emails reportedly from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU), including personal exchanges, appeared on the internet late last week. A university spokesman confirmed the email system had been hacked and that information was taken and published without permission. An investigation was underway and the police had been informed, he added.
BBC News

YouTube introduces automatic captions for deaf viewers
YouTube's parent company Google has announced on its blog that automatic captions are to begin to roll out across the site. The machine-generated captions will initially be generated in English. At first they will only be found on 13 channels. These include National Geographic, Columbia, as well as most Google and YouTube channels. The software engineer behind the technology, Ken Harrenstien, is deaf.
BBC News

Facebook acts on follower trade
Facebook has threatened legal action against a service that sells friends on the social networking site. It said it would take the action against marketing firm USocial unless it stopped violating Facebook's rights. It also wanted USocial to stop helping members break the site's terms and conditions, specifically letting people profit from their profile. In response, USocial agreed to a change in its practices but would not shut down its service.
BBC News

Adobe refreshes Acrobat.com
Adobe today updated its Acrobat.com hosted applications service with a new user interface and mobile access functionality designed to enhance user productivity and collaboration. Acrobat.com is Adobe’s attempt to offer users access to an online file organiser, office applications, PDF creation and web meeting tools. The rich internet applications firm said it has incorporated over 35 customer-suggested features into the new version of the site. These include support for Flickr and Google images, allowing users to include them in online presentations, integration with Adobe’s Kuler colour scheme tool, and enhancements to Buzzword and Presentations and Tables previously found in Acrobat.com Labs.
V3

Laptop containing patient records stolen from Scottish Ambulance Service
A laptop containing 600 patient records has been stolen from the headquarters of the Scottish Ambulance Service. The data, which was unencrypted but password protected, includes the patients' names, addresses and details of their treatment. Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman John Morten said, "We have been running a policy of encrypting 230 laptops, of which there are 12 left to encrypt." Chris McIntosh, CEO at encryption specialist Stonewood, said it was possible that the data could fall into the hands of criminals.
Computer Weekly

Microsoft to exploit GPUs for IE9 boost
The next version of Microsoft's browser, Internet Explorer 9 (IE9), will offload image and text rendering chores to the PC's graphic processor. The company is adopting the techniques to increase the browser's overall performance, said Microsoft's top IE manager. But Microsoft won't be alone. Rivals including Mozilla, which makes Firefox, and Norwegian developer Opera, are working on ways to use a computer's graphics processor unit (GPU) to accelerate their browsers.
Techradar

iPhone users take action to force Apple to reveal source code
iPhone owners charging Apple and AT&T with breaking antitrust laws asked a federal judge this week to force Apple to hand over the iPhone source code, court documents show. The lawsuit, which was filed in October 2007, accuses Apple and AT&T of violating antitrust laws, including the Sherman Act, by agreeing to a multi-year deal that locks US iPhone owners into using the mobile carrier.
Techworld

Lenovo slams latest laptop reliability study
Lenovo has hit back at a recent study that claims its laptops are less reliable than a number of its competitors. TechRadar reported on the recent SquareTrade study earlier this month, which claimed that Asus and Toshiba were the most reliable laptop brands on the market right now. Lenovo didn't come out too well in SquareTrade's comparative analysis of laptop brands, with the company now hitting back and attempting to discredit the research methodology.
Techradar

Seesmic launches Twitter apps for Android and BlackBerry
Seesmic has announced the launch of Twitter apps for Android and BlackBerry handsets, to complement its existing desktop and web clients. The apps are available now, and allow Twitter users to monitor and post from multiple Twitter accounts, as well as searching Twitter. The BlackBerry version also supports geo-location tweets, showing a user's current location to the world, as well as the new Twitter lists - which let users create lists of other Twitterers around themes.
Mobile Entertainment

Ofcom talks to spook firm on filesharing snoop plan
Ofcom has held talks with ISPs over a monitoring system that would peer inside filesharing traffic to determine the level of copyright infringement, in preparation for new laws designed to protect the music, film and software industries.
The Register

O2 announces multi million pound 3G overhaul
O2 hopes to make it more capable of handling data at higher speeds. The investment will take several years and builds upon the £500 million investment the company has already made over the past two years.
Telegraph

Google News gets updated for iPhone, Android and Pre
The new iPhone/Android/Pre version claims to offer "the same richness and personalisation on your phone as Google News provides on desktop". The new homepage displays more stories, sources, and images while there's access to see favourite sections, find articles and play videos "in fewer clicks".
Pocket Lint

FCC approves radio mast 'shot clock' rule
The FCC has agreed that local authorities must approve or deny applications for new radio towers within 150 days, or 90 days for additional kit on existing towers. The new rule means that state and municipal authorities will have to respond to applications within the specified limits, with applicants having 30 days to take the authority to court if a decision isn't reached.
The Register

EU cars getting mandatory emergency system
From early in the next decade, it'll be mandatory for all cars in the EU to be fitted with a "black box" technology called eCall. This is an in-vehicle emergency call service which is used to contact the authorities in the case of an accident or other adverse situation.
Pocket Lint

Google previews Chrome open source operating system
The free and open source system is initially aimed at low-cost netbooks and does away with many of the features of a traditional program. All applications are designed to run in a web browser and all the user's data is stored on Google's servers.
BBC

Yahoo unveils 'Shortcut' news tool
Yahoo has added a new feature to its search service which the company hopes will improve coverage of breaking news. The 'Shortcut' component will not only display news stories on breaking items, but also offer related Twitter posts as well as photos and video files. Integration with the popular microblogging platform was a special point of emphasis for Yahoo.
V3

ARM predicts market explosion in 2010 as smartphones enter the low-end.
Things are looking good for the smartphone chip market with the area expected to grow next year at an even faster pace than this year, according to British microchip designer ARM. The smartphone market slowed drastically in the September quarter, but chip makers  said they were seeing strong market growth, indicating the slowdown was temporary.
IT Pro

Money transfers to become hottest mobile app
Money transfers and payments over mobile phones will be among the top 10 most important mobile applications by 2012, according to market research firm Gartner. Mobile money transfers topped the list, beating out location-based services, search and browsing.
PC Advisor

BBC's new Radioplayer lets you search for tunes
The BBC's new Radioplayer will finally launch early in the new year, allowing listeners to tune into over 400 live streams of broadcasts from both BBC national and local stations and from leading British commercial radio stations.The UK Radioplayer will initially work on PCs, with plans to roll it out to other platforms including Mac, IPTV and smartphones.
Tech Radar

Warning for online money mules
Police chiefs are urging people looking for work during the recession to be alert to online scams that trick them into laundering money. The Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) says websites are currently being used to recruit "money mules". The "mules" are ordinary people who send and receive payments through their bank accounts to facilitate business. But in reality, the cash has been laundered from crime, leaving unwitting mules open to prosecution.
BBC News

Google clears digital library hurdle
A revised 370-page settlement was submitted to a US judge on Saturday, which sought to address the Department of Justice's initial objections. The book-scanning project "has the potential to breathe life into millions of works that are now effectively off limits", the Department of Justice said, but it objected to the original settlement on copyright and anti-trust grounds. A number of countries including France and Germany had objected to the reach of the deal, covering millions of out-of-print books published around the world. The international scope of the agreement is now limited to books published in the US, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
The Daily Telegraph

ECM is highly leveraged to a global recovery
There are two main reasons to hold shares in this supplier of 450,000 electrical components. The first is the chunky yield and the second is the group's strong operating leverage to an upturn. Of course, there are risks. There is the possibility that the dividend will be cut and there is the possibility that an upturn in the global economy may not materialise for some time. That is the reason why those City analysts have a sell stance on the shares. Questor disagrees with this point of view.
The Daily Telegraph

Police probe breach of NHS smartcard security as e-records launched in London
An NHS trust at the forefront of work on the £12.7bn NHS IT scheme has called in police after a breach of smartcard security compromised the confidentiality of hundreds of electronic records. Patients in Hull have expressed their dismay that an unauthorised NHS employee has accessed their confidential records; and the local primary care trust, NHS Hull, says it is "shocked" at the breach of security by a member of staff who has since left.
Computer Weekly

DNS hole leads to more DDoS attacks
Security experts say that misconfigured DSL and cable modems are worsening a well-known DNS problem making it easier for hackers to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against their victims. According to research set to be released shortly, part of the problem is blamed on the growing number of consumer devices on the Internet that are configured to accept DNS queries from anywhere, what networking experts call an "open recursive" or "open resolver" system.
Techworld

IPv6 calls renewed at IGF
The fourth annual Internet Governance Forum kicks off in Egypt today, with registry group the Number Resource Organization (NRO) using the event to highlight the importance of fair access to internet number resources across all regions, and the need for the move to IPv6. The NRO, which is comprised of the world’s five Regional Internet Registries, will argue that responsible management of IP addresses is vital to the future success of the internet. It pointed out that 90 per cent of the current IPv4 addresses have already been allocated, making the migration to the new protocol a matter of urgency.
V3

Developers walk out on App Store
Just a day after the developer of the popular iPhone Facebook app turned his back on the project, another high profile developer has walked away from the ecosystem after expressing dismay at the reviews process. Rogue Ameoba, the firm which makes the popular Airfoil software for the iconic device had its Airfoil Speakers Touch 1.0 software approved months ago by Cupertino, but the firm then discovered a bug which they duly fixed by creating an update – version 1.0.1.
V3

Microsoft opens up Windows 7 to advertisers
Microsoft has taken the unprecedented step of allowing marketers to re-brand its new Windows 7 operating system. Redmond announced yesterday new “Windows 7 theme experiences” which are currently being trialled by a handful of big name brands, including Ducati, Porsche and Twentieth Century Fox. The Windows Theme Experience includes Internet Explorer 8 add-ons, Windows 7 and Windows Vista Web-connected gadgets, Windows 7 backgrounds and borders, and operating system audio elements, all designed to help advertisers better connect with consumers.
V3

IBM to take on Amazon, Google & Microsoft in cloud
IBM has indicated that it will take on the likes of Google, Microsoft and Amazon as it launches its 'Smart Analytics Cloud'. The cloud computing service from one of the industry's most traditional and powerful companies will offer companies online storage and tools – in the hope of clawing back market share. The likes of Microsoft with Azure, Amazon with its Elastic Compute Cloud, Salesforce and Google are already offering services to businesses in an industry that Gartner has suggested will be worth $3.4bn (c£2bn) this year.
Techradar

Galileo sat-nav almost at launching pad
Some time late next year it looks like a Soyuz rocket will launch the first stage of Europe's GPS alternative, after it became clear the project is going ahead as planned. The initial orbital phase of the Galileo project will see four 'In-Orbit Validation' satellites sent into space to beam down test navigation signals that will form the bedrock of the complete system. If all goes well, 30 larger satellites will be launched soon after to flesh out a sat-nav network that will improve on the accuracy of GPS (currently around 7m), bringing the margin of error down to just a metre or so.
Techradar

O2 now bigger than BT
Yesterday BT reported a 45 per cent decline in pre-tax profits and now, just 24 hours later, comes the news that O2, (the company formerly known as BT Cellnet and currently owned by Telefonica of Spain) has grown to such an extent that it now has more UK subscribers than its former parent. O2 has 21 million customers in Britain for its mobile service whilst BT has 19.4 million landline subscribers.
Telecom TV

Qualcomm reveals first smartbook
Yesterday in New York, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs reportedly gave a fleeting reveal of the first smartbook device.  The as yet unnamed device is manufactured by Lenovo and will be available on AT&T in the US, with the full launch coming at CES in January.  Jacobs described the device, which is built on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor, as thinner than a Palm Pre (16.95mm).  The device will have full Flash Player 10 implementation, support HD video playback and come with embedded Wi-Fi, GPS, and 3G.
Trusted Reviews

Apple 'more profitable' than Nokia
Strategy Analytics has reported that, in the US, Apple's profits have exceeded Nokia's for the first time. Nokia posted a third quarter operating profit of $1.1bn from its handset unit, while sales of Apple's iPhone generated $1.6bn in profit over the same period.  Nokia, the world's biggest handset maker, is facing increasing competition from the likes of Apple and Research in Motion, makers of the BlackBerry.
Telegraph.co.uk

Femtocell market underwhelms
ABI Research has reduced its estimate for the number of femtocell shipments to occur in 2009 by 55 per cent.  The market research company now believes about 350,000 femtocells will have shipped by the end of the year. This is "adjusted" from 790,000 figure ABI forecast for the year in April 2009.  All the large operators in the US have femtocell offerings including AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. Vodafone in the UK also has a femtocell service, and China Unicom recently announced its femtocell offering.
EETimes

Maps show UK fibre rollout plans
The research firm Point Topic has published four maps showing the likely rollout of next-generation broadband access across the UK over the next few years.  The maps are intended for use by local and regional governments, as well as by those tracing potential gains in property prices and developing marketing strategies for broadband-related products.  According to Point Topic, the maps show that BT's planned next-generation access (NGA) rollout "falls a long way short of covering even those areas where NGA should be economically attractive even without subsidy".
ZDNet

Google buys VoIP firm Gizmo5
Google is bulking up its phone offerings with the acquisition of Gizmo5, a company that offers voice-over-IP software for mobile phones and computers. The service is similar to Skype's in that it allows users to make low-cost or free calls using a software client on their computers. Gizmo5 also offers a client for mobile-phone users.
PC Advisor

Microsoft launches Bing UK
Microsoft has rolled out a UK version of Bing, its search engine, with localised results and services. The website was launched in the United States in May with UK web users only having access to a US version of Bing. The roll-out of a localised site will help Microsoft deliver more relevant search results.
Telegraph

Verizon to trial campaign of 'copyright notices'
Verizon is expected to begin issuing 'copyright notices' on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America to those accused of illegally downloading songs from the web. This move is significant for the music industry because among ISPs, Verizon has typically been among the most reluctant to intervene in copyright cases on behalf of entertainment companies.
ZDNet

Pyramid Research predicts US smartphone sales boom
Smartphones will account for 31 per cent of all new handsets sold in the US this year, according to Pyramid Research's latest report. The company predicts this will soar to around 60 per cent of sales in 2014. Pyramid has also issued its estimates of US smartphone market share for 2009, claiming that LG and Samsung will take 23 per cent of new sales each.
Mobile Entertainment

Brits urged to embrace 'whole new world' of digital TV
New research from Moneysupermarket.com has revealed that almost 20 million have never accessed interactive digital TV services. 28 per cent of people however did say the services – which can vary from news services to on-demand content depending on the provider – are one of the best TV innovations.
Cable

BlackBerry poised for apps evolution in 2010
BlackBerry had its iPhone 3.0 moment this week, when Research In Motion unveiled four new services for developers making BlackBerry apps. Enabling developers to use in-app payments, push notifications and battery-friendly geolocation, as well as making in-app advertising easier, should kickstart a new wave of app development for BlackBerry, even if the APIs won't be available to the masses until the first half of next year.
Mobile Entertainment

YOC inks GetJar branded app deal
The deal means a host of apps from blue chip brands will start appearing through GetJar's channels as part of the company's strategy to bolster its vast free catalogue with premium content. It also means that GetJar is now part of the YOC media network where it will sit along alongside the likes of Haymarket, IDG Communications, Accuweather, Telegraph Media Group, News International, The Independent, Flirtomatic, 3G Hutchinson and Hachette Filipacchi.
Mobile Entertainment

HP in deal to buy 3Com for $2.7bn
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has announced it is to buy network systems maker 3Com in a deal worth $2.7bn (£1.6bn). The deal is expected to be completed in the first half of 2010, subject to regulatory approval, the California-based personal computer giant said.
BBC

Amazon.com Pushes Benefits Of Crowdsourcing
Amazon.com has extolled the benefits of crowdsourcing for organisations, citing the companies using Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk platform. A million strangers could benefit a company more than a handful of highly trained employees, at least if you subscribe to the concept of crowdsourcing.
Eweek Europe

Bing teams up with Wolfram Alpha 
Microsoft and Internet knowledge engine Wolfram Alpha, have joined forces to help Bing take on Google as the internet search engine fight rumbles on. Unlike other search engines, Wolfram Alpha tries to answer questions directly, rather than displaying a list of links to websites. Bing will use Wolfram Alpha’s index for areas such as nutrition, health and mathematics. 
BBC

HP shakes up networking market with 3Com buy
HP is to strength its challenge against Cisco in the networking space with the aquisistion of 3Com for $2.7bn.  The acquisition would expand HPs Ethernet switching offering, add routing solutions and strengthen its position in China. HP will also gain a foothold in the network security space through 3Com’s TippingPoint brand.
CRN

Brits would pay 10p to read articles online- poll
The media world is filled with discussion over the monetization of online content and with that in mind, Continental Research ran a survey to find out if it’s a viable option. Surprisingly three-quarters of Brits would consider paying 10p per digital article.
Net Imperative

The SimplicITy line were designed to help older people get to grips with computing.
A new computer designed to keep things simple, launched yesterday. The SimplicITy machines, designed by Digital Age and manufactured by Wessex Computers, are a standard desktop that uses Linux Mint OS, designed to keep things simple and inspire the older generation to get online.
IT Pro

New update to bring Facebook to Sony PS3?
The imminent release of the latest firmware update for PS3 will include connectivity to popular social networking site, Facebook. Xbox 360 recently announced Facebook connectivity and Sky TV, turning the Xbox 360 into a media hub and Sony is gearing up to follow suit.
Tech Radar

Bing hit by costly security loophole
It has spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to take on Google, but Microsoft’s Bing search engine is facing embarrassment, after it emerged that a security loophole could allow users to skim huge sums of money from the system without its knowledge. The security glitch, which is linked to a "cash back" system operated by Bing, potentially leaves users and retailers exposed to fake transactions. But despite an outcry online over the existence of the loophole, the world's largest company has responded to the issue by threatening legal action against the man who discovered the problem.
Guardian

Microsoft disconnects Xbox gamers
Thousands of gamers may have been cut off from Microsoft's online gaming service Xbox Live for modifying their consoles to play pirated games.  Online reports suggest that as many as 600,000 gamers may have been affected. Microsoft said that modifying an Xbox 360 console "violates" the services "terms of use" and would result in a player being disconnected.
BBC

Vodafone looks for extra ways of cutting costs
Mobile phone giant Vodafone extended its cost cutting by another £1bn yesterday after revealing half-year results in line with its hopes. The pledge for the period to 2012 comes after Newbury-based Vodafone achieved its original £1bn savings target a year earlier than expected. It reported adjusted pre-tax profits of £5.48bn, up 3.6 per cent in the six months to September 30, but described competition in a key growth market of India as intense and reported a 5.7 per cent drop in revenues in the UK.
Press and Journal

Ericsson axes 700 UK staff
Swedish telecoms group Ericsson will cut 17 per cent of its UK workforce and scale back its research and development headquarters. Ericsson is to axe up to 700 jobs following a planned pull-out from its research and development headquarters in Coventry. The Swedish telecoms group has begun consultation with staff over the cuts, which form part of a SEK 10 billion (£873m) cost reduction programme aimed at shoring up its future following a collapse in its revenue.
Times online

Spirit of innovation driving growth in Africa
African telecoms operators have faced several challenges in 2009. The global economic downturn, a fiercely competitive landscape, and pressure to expand networks into rural areas have tested the mettle of the region’s carriers both big and small. And yet, forecasts from Informa Telecoms & Media show that mobile subscription growth is still set to increase by 26.6 per cent year on year in 2009, with the total number of active subscriptions to exceed 473 million by the end of the year. This figure is projected to increase to approximately 800 million by 2014, by which time SIM penetration across the region should reach 70 per cent, the analyst predicts.
Telecoms

Nokia: The future is not all in the cloud
There will be a lot more technology and data stored in the so-called network 'cloud' in future, but unlike some the world's leading mobile handset maker remains convinced that devices will not develop into empty vessels carrying very little intelligence.
"We don't think the cloud is the total answer," said Mary McDowell, chief development officer at Nokia. "The cloud will grow, but we think intelligent devices…will play a part."
Total Telecom
 
E-readers will take off for holiday shoppers in 2010, says Gartner
This year is likely to be remembered as a watershed in the evolution of e-books and e-readers with several milestones and product launches standing out as catalysts for change in the market, according to Gartner. However, while the number of electronic readers sold is likely to increase in 2009, it expects 2010 to be the year when e-book readers really become popular consumer electronic devices, culminating in e-reader "mania" for the 2010 holiday season.
DigiTimes
 
Dell Mobile Internet Device: On its Way?
A recent article on SlashGear suggests that we may soon be seeing a Dell mobile-Internet-device released sometime soon, the product has been code-named Streak.
Specifications are unconfirmed, however sources believe that the device will run Android 2.0 and will feature both WiFi and 3G connectivity.
Product News
 
How to launch an iPhone - Orange UK gets it right
The iPhone finally went on sale from a second operator in the UK today. Orange began retailing the King of Smartphones after a long run-up and according to reports, the first day of iPhone sales from Orange has smashed previous records for units sold in a single day. The iPhone has been available in the UK from O2 for a year now. But 30,000 devices were sold by Orange today - more than O2 ever shifted in a single day.
GoMo News
 
Firefox flaws account for 44% of all browser bugs
Firefox accounted for almost half of all browser vulnerabilities in the first six months of 2009, a Web security company claimed today.
According to California-based Cenzic, Mozilla's browser had the largest percentage of Web vulnerabilities over the six-month span, while Apple's Safari had the dubious distinction of coming in second. Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) was third, while Opera Software's flagship browser took fourth place.
Computerworld