BAE to assist green energy project
Marine engineering for an innovative wave-power project off Orkney is to be provided by Britain's biggest arms manufacturer, BAE Systems. The defence firm, which builds Type 45 destroyers and Astute nuclear submarines, is to develop the hi-tech remote ballasting and problem-solving systems in co-operation with Aquamarine Power, which owns the device, known as the Oyster wave energy converter.
TalkTalk turns StalkStalk to build malware blocker
It's less TalkTalk, more StalkStalk: the UK's second largest ISP has quietly begun following its customers around the web and scanning what they look at for a new anti-malware system it is developing. Without telling customers, the firm has switched on the compulsory first part of the system, which is harvesting lists of the URLs every one of them visits. It often then follows them to the sites to scan for threats.
HMV Digital set to take on iTunes
CD and video seller HMV is set to take on Apple's iTunes store with the launch of a new site, HMV Digital. The site is a significant departure for the company, whose previous online store sold only physical media such as CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs - and with its launch, HMV has users of Apple's iPhone, iPad and other digital players squarely in its sights. Most tracks are priced at 99p - the same as iTunes - but there are significant discounts on Top 40 singles, some of which are available for as little as 40p.
Ericsson doubles Q2 profit but share price drops
Swedish vendor Ericsson, the leading supplier of infrastructure and services to the mobile operator community, has reported second quarter profit of SEK2bn (US$274m), up from SEK800m for the same period in 2009. But despite the surge in income, the company’s share price took a five per cent tumble in response to the announcement as the numbers fell some way short of analyst expectations.
Orange courts Vivendi partnership
Orange is discussing a merger with Vivendi’s Canal Plus that would end a two-year battle for dominance of the French pay TV market. The deal would bring Orange’s Cinema Series platform and Canal Plus’ TPS Star film channel together in a 50:50 joint venture, and could be announced Thursday when Orange parent France Telecom reports 2Q results, French daily Le Figaro reports. Orange has pulled in almost half a million subscribers to its video-on-demand service in the two years since launching, with users paying €12 per month to access content from Studio 37, Warner and HBO.
YouTube and Ridley Scott gear up for 'Life in a Day' film
Filmmakers Ridley Scott and Kevin Macdonald are to edit and produce a film from footage uploaded to YouTube on July 24th. The film, entitled 'Life in a Day', aims to document one entire day on Earth by combining video ranging from people's commutes to sunsets across the world.
UAE claims RIM's Blackberry is a security threat
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has followed Gulf state Bahrein and claimed that Research in Motion's Blackberry is a security risk for the country. Bahrein's problem with the Blackberry centred around people using a chat application on the phones to share local news. In early April, Bahrein threatened to prosecute people who used the application. The UAE appears to have the same concerns and said in a statement yesterday that the RIM phone was outside the jurisdiction of its laws. Some Blackberry apps let people cause "serious social, judicial and national security repercussions".
HP won't make a Microsoft Windows 7 phone
For the last week or so there had been some doubt whether or not the maker of jolly expensive printer ink HP would make a phone using Microsoft's Mobile 7 OS. Although HP had no need to sign up for Steve Ballmer's mobile dream once it had bought Palm's webOS, there was talk that HP might still use Windows 7 in the short term. There were dark mutterings that the WebOS would not be ready for HP's needs straight away.
UK Consumers Still Demanding Free Digital Content
UK consumers remain far less willing than their global counterparts to pay for digital content, but we are more willing to accept targeted advertising both on our PCs and mobiles and share our personal profile data according to KPMG’s Global ‘Consumers & Convergence IV’ an annual survey of consumers day-to-day use of mobile and PC technology. In the UK 81 per cent of us would go elsewhere for content if a previously free site we use frequently began charging - only 19 per cent of us would be prepared to pay. This figure is much higher globally with 43 per cent of consumers are now willing to pay to access frequently used online content. This increases to 59 per cent among the Asia-Pacific countries.
O2 appoints Phil Jordan as UK CIO
Network brings in former Vodafone IT boss in the new role of UK chief information officer. O2 has appointed former Vodafone UK and Ireland regional chief information officer Phil Jordan in the new role of UK chief information officer. Jordan reports to O2 UK chief technology officer Derek McManus and has end to end responsibility for Information Technology in the UK and operates as part of the leadership team for IT transformation in Telefonica globally.
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