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HSBC goes green to save computer running costs

Andy Russell — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 08:00:43 +0000

Banking giants HSBC have demonstrated the benefits of ‘going green’ in the office, by saving over one million dollars worth of electricity in a new initiative to support environmental effectiveness. The organisation supplied software within its international network to switch off PCs automatically over evenings and weekends.

HSBC operates across 88 countries, and has approximately eight thousand offices. The bank has rolled out energy saving software which closes down 300 thousand computers so far. The software, called NightWatchman, makes sure all open or unsaved data is secured, before turning machines off for the evening. It has been made possible by HSBC having standardised technology across their entire suite of offices, globally.

The software is compatible with HSBC’s existing Windows infrastructure, as their MS systems management server supports their full suite of machines. The head of Group Communications Systems and Support, Matthew O’Neill, commented: “A key part of our desktop strategy to minimise total cost of ownership is through ruthless standardisation of our environment. We deploy a single Windows image to all of our desktops worldwide and ensure that all additional solutions we provide are globally scalable. Within this environment, we are responsible for establishing all of the desktop settings, including our global shutdown policy, to ensure that this is adhered to across the organisation, maximising the energy savings.”

A study from IT services supplier Computacenter and Fujitsu Siemens Computers, for example, shows that the UK’s top 200 listed companies waste more than £61m in electricity a year by not maximising the energy efficiency of their desktop computers. However, green operating is becoming more prevalent in organisations, as a key part of their overall strategy. According to an Intel survey of 200 IT managers in the UK, 66% said that energy consumption had become a board-level issue, and 69% stated that decreasing energy consumption was viewed as a business priority going forward.

Facebook smashes member number record

Matt Thomas — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 05:45:12 +0000

As some point in the next week, social networking giants Facebook will be achieving a major milestone, when the number of users for the site hits 500 million. As one of the most popular and flourishing sites on the web, Facebook rightly enjoys a place on the favourites bar of most surfers, and this popularity is now evidenced as they celebrate their 500 millionth subscriber.

Facebook users have grown exponentially since its conception, with 400 million members registered five months ago. The growth rate of the site has been phenomenal, considering it was launched in 2004, so has had just six years to become established as the most popular site online for social networking. Twelve months ago Facebook had 200 million users, showing that in the past year it has managed growth rates of over one hundred percent.

The site is due to achieve 500 million users at some point over the course of the week, and has already mapped out plans to celebrate the figure. Facebook Stories is a new page dedicated to demonstrating the power of the site for certain individuals, illustrating the impact Facebook has had upon people. The social networking site staff are hailing it as a visual memorial to how the internet has transformed people’s lives for the better.

Facebook Stories will enable people to submit their own perspective of how online networking has changed or supported them, using categories such as ‘natural disaster’ or ‘falling in love’. The idea is to present a user-led view of Facebook’s value within society. Posted in the number of characters allowed for a status update (420), the page will be succinct, powerful and to the point.

All Facebook members have been invited to submit their status story through the site, with the best ones being featured and published to celebrate the success of the social networking phenomenon.

Apple’s iPhone 4 now available for pre-order from US site

Andre — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:46:18 +0000

The new Apple 32GB iPhone 4 details have now been released for pre-order, for those eager Apple fans looking to secure the latest gadget from the technology giants. It is now possible to reserve the device through an Apple store in the US, or arrange for it to be delivered to a home address in June.

The Apple site is currently receiving complaints due to slow loading times, which suggests the new phone is causing a flurry of interest and a high volume of traffic to the site.

Currently, there is no option to reserve the white version of the handset, and only orders for the classic black can be taken through the site or via AT&T. For those customers looking to pick up a white version, the only option is to visit a local Apple store or retail outlet on June 24th and hope to obtain one before stocks run out.

People will be offered an upgrade to the new device if they purchased one when it was launched in 2008, and their contract is up for renewal. The Apple web site provides details of upgrade eligibility and contract expiry times.

The new iPhone offers a ‘tethering’ option, which enables users to add wireless services to their account. This feature makes it possible to use the iPhone as a Wi-Fi hotspot for laptops, so customers can access the web wherever they happen to be. If there is no free Wi-Fi available in a certain area, this could be a useful option. However, this feature comes at additional cost on the monthly tariff for the phone, and there are significant charges for those customers who exceed their agreed monthly amount of data.

As a rough estimate, 200MB is enough data to send and receive 1,000 e-mails without attachments, and 150 e-mails with attachments. It would also enable people to view 400 web pages, post 50 photos on social media sites, and watch 20 minutes of streaming video per month.

Last quarter of 2009 sees growth in online advertising

James Oliver — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:32:52 +0000

The global economic crisis has affected many of us in the last couple of years, it has even sunk its economy killing claws into the internet. The online advertising industry was hit hard in 2009, research from IDC (Interactive Data Corp) reports that after having three dismal quarters in 2009 the online ad sector ended the year strongly.

Auctioning site Ebay had a big influence on this as they too had a terrific final quarter. The last period of spending in 2009 actually set a new record in spending for the online ad sector validating the suggestion that the economic slump that has crippled the online ad industry could finally be retreating.

Spending on online advertising bounced back in the fourth quarter of 2009 where a record high by measure of absolute dollars was posted. Online ad spending fell a disappointing 2.4% over the course of 2009 slipping from $27 billion in 2008 to $26.4 billion in 2009.

The return to a period of growth seen at the end of 2009 came as a result of a record spend totalling $7.4 billion which was a 4.5% rise from the $7.1 billion that was recorded in the early part of the year.

IDC has given a lot of the credit to Ebay, who’s strong finish to the year was partly responsible for propelling the online classified advertisement segment to even greater heights.

World’s most expensive domain name to go up for sale

Matt Thomas — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:57:19 +0000

The theory that sex sells has never been disproved, many of the most visited sites on the internet that do not have any affiliation to searching or social networking have something to do with sex. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that the domain name ‘Sex.com’ is the most expensive in internet history. Well, get your chequebooks out because it is going up for auction.

The bidding will commence on March 18th and will start at $1million, approximately £670,000 and could rise to anything up to $15million or more. It was last purchased in 2006 for an estimated $14million Dom Partners LLC, a lending company based in New Jersey. They have had no choice but to foreclose on the ‘internet property’ after the actual owners Escom have failed to pay off the loan that they originally took out to purchase the domain.

These types of auctions of always proved a great opportunity for internet entrepreneurs and shrewd businessmen, in the past many of the most domain names that were forecasted to be popular were bought up by such people for a basic rate and then sold on for a handsome profit. Good examples include Israel.com which was sold for $5.88million and pizza.com which fetched $2.5million, sex.com is expected to be more then double either of those, a testament to the selling power of sex.

Unsurprisingly the domain name has got somewhat of a dirty past after having been the focus of a five year legal battle between its original owner Gary Kremen who bought it in 1994 and Stephen Cohen who received ownership of it in 1996 after an elaborate scam. Kremen was eventually awarded $65 million in damages and the rights to his site which he then sold to Escom for $14million in 2006.

The domain is reported to have made $15,000 a day at one point and will surely be a cash cow for anyone with the money to buy it. One thing is for sure, it will be interesting to see just how much sex sells for.

Healthy growth for domain name registrations in 2009

Jenny Sanderson — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:00:08 +0000

Despite the global economic downturn causing mass panic as we plunge into recession the ever reliable internet has been quietly going about its business and making some very good progress at the same time.

Leading network infrastructure company VeriSign, have announced a rapid growth in the number of domain names purchased in 2009 inevitably resulting in a major increase in the total list of domain names purchased. This month marks the 25th anniversary of the first ever purchase of a registered domain name, assigned way back on March 15th 1985. It was a .com company known as ‘Symbolics.com’.

The latest Domain Name Identity Brief from VeriSign confirms that the number of Top Level Domain Names (TLDs) purchased in 2009 marked a significant increase when compared with 2008. The 2009 tally marks a 7% increase in the total number of Top Level Domain Names registered at the end of 2008.

The total now stands at a staggering 192 million domain registrations, 15 million of which came in 2009. .Com and .net domains are obviously the most popular and more frequently purchased, they account for 96.7 million of the total, other popular ones include .co.uk and .gov.uk.

The final quarter of 2009 proved to be the most fruitful with 7.3million new .com and .net registrations being added according to VeriSign who manage both the .com and .net registries.

Despite the recession crippling many an economy, it would seem that no matter the economic climate the internet still seems to prosper.

Google take on Twitter

Andy Russell — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:00:33 +0000

Google have announced that they are going to use their Gmail service to take on Twitter by adding a ‘status update’ capability to it. Much like the popular social networking site Twitter, Google is attempting to provide the ever increasing users of their e-mailing service with the ability to give up to the minute updates on whatever it is they are doing in their lives at the precise moment.

The service will be known as Google Buzz and it has already been added to the Gmail service. As well as being able to share status updates users will be able to share web links, videos and photos with their friends, which sounds very much like an amalgamation of both Facebook and Twitter services.

During the course of this week, Gmail users will be able to see a tab labelled “Buzz” appearing under their inbox. Any contacts already stored will be added to an “auto follow” list meaning that without even a click of the mouse users will already be ‘following’ their contacts.

Google Buzz product manager Todd Jackson has described the service as “like an entirely new world inside of Gmail.” The service has indeed appeared to have made the experience of checking an email slightly more entertaining, but for people already on Twitter or people that wish to stay well clear of any such service it may be somewhat of a hindrance.

The question will surely be asked, what does Google Buzz offer that Twitter doesn’t? Well Todd Jackson explained that they had listened to the complaints made by users of other similar sites and acted accordingly whilst creating Buzz.

You are able to post items publicly or choose whether you want the entire world to see them, it is also apparently much easier to share privately and to post to custom groups.

It would seem that Google are not happy having the most popular search engine on the internet or the most popular map/globe viewing program they are evidently intent on taking on the social networking giants and it will be interesting to see how they fair.

Buzz will also be available on Google’s android phones and iPhones.

Europe revolts against IE6

James Oliver — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:29:08 +0000

The French government have joined their German counterparts in recommending that citizens don’t use Internet Explorer. The government issued a statement today, two days after Germany, warning French people to avoid all versions of the browser, both statements appear to have been prompted by the online posting of the malicious code implicated in the recent attacks on Google, to which IE6 is thought to be particularly vulnerable.

Incensed that the French have failed to make the distinction between IE6 and the new version IE8, Microsoft has released a statement calling IE8, “the most secure browser on the market”, and advising people who are still using IE6 to upgrade.

They even went as far as to describe the risk to web users as “minimal,” making the point that in order to be affected, the web user would have to be using IE6 and visit a compromised site, of which they claim there are very few.

The French and German governments obviously disagree, recommending that all citizens switch to rival browsers like Chrome or Firefox. However, security analysts are advising users of these rival browsers not to get complacent, making the point that whilst switching browsers will avoid this particular threat, all browsers have vulnerabilities and it’s impossible to be completely safe.

Samsung to build iPlayer into new TVs

James Oliver — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:07:39 +0000

Almost since the launch of the BBC’s industry leading iPlayer portal, technology insiders have been predicting that the system would eventually be installed in TVs. Though few thought that it would happen quite this soon. Samsung have announced that the BBC iPlayer will be one of the first apps to be installed on their new range of televisions, with the first ones being rolled out as early as this year.

Samsung is not the first major manufacturer to take the leap into providing the system as part of its hardware, with smaller British company, Cello offering TVs with the service included late last year. However, they are the first major player to step up to the plate and few are predicting that they will be the last. The service will come as part of the Samsung internet@TV service.

The service will obviously require a WiFi connection, though aside from that it should work straight out of the box. It’s predicted to be a real boon for Samsung’s sales figures this year, as it will allow families and friends to view BBC television whenever they like as a group, rather than alone at their personal computers.

Xbox Live used to recruit Spies

James Oliver — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:53:43 +0000

GCHQ, the organisation which collates the UK’s intelligence data, has launched a recruitment campaign on Xbox Live to target what it calls ‘quick thinking 18 to 34 year-olds’. Through its use of banners, video clips and static advertisements, the campaign highlights some of the key roles within GCHQ that it hopes will appeal to gamers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that mainly consists of IT and technical roles.

It’s a far cry from how recruitment for the intelligence community used to work – a discreet chat over a brandy at Oxford or Cambridge – but that’s just evidence of how much the world and industry has changed in the digital age. GCHQ justified the campaign thus, “many potential candidates remain unaware of GCHQ and what we do. Using video on Xbox Live helps carry our message to the right people in a creative and innovative manner.”

After all it’s an idea with a history of success – a CGHQ campaign launched in 2007 within the game ‘Splinter Cell’, led to more than a 500 per cent increase in visits to GCHQ’s site.

Times to switch to paid model from Q1 2010

James Oliver — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:28:33 +0000

James Harding, the Editor in chief of the Times newspaper, has revealed that his publication’s online arm, Times Online will begin charging for access to content in Spring 2010. According to Harding the prospective payment model will include two different methods of payment, a 24 hour pass, and a subscription model. Details are still sketchy but the one day pass is expected to cost about as much as a copy of the print edition which currently stands at 90p.

Harding also rejected the notion of micro-payments, a system that many see as the future of news online, suggesting that it would compromise the news agenda of the paper, stating, “You have to be very careful with article-only economics. You will find yourself writing a lot more about Britney Spears and a lot less about Tamils in northern Sri Lanka.”

The Times isn’t the only publication moving to a payment model next year, it will be joined by The Wall Street Journal, The Spectator and the Financial Times. Opinion amongst internet professionals is split between those that feel the pay model will lead to better content and those who feel pay models for news violate a fundamental public right to information. Both sides are united though, in the belief that the success of this payment model will open the floodgates for all news sites.

iPlayer coming to Freesat

Matt Thomas — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:28:27 +0000

A limited roll-out of the BBC’s iPlayer service will begin on free satellite TV provider, Freesat at the end of this month, with a full service scheduled to be launched at the start of next year. The new service will allow people to access the full iPlayer site through their TVs rather than their computers.

Freesat users will be able to view the entire iPlayer package, which includes almost a complete selection of the programmes across the BBC’s more than 140 television and radio channels, for a period of seven days after they are first shown on television, just like the online version.

This is just the latest in a long line of deals that has seen BBC negotiate with other platforms about how they can show iPlayer content, in order to provide iPlayer users with more than one way in which to view the content. Existing content partners include Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and Virgin Media. The latter now accounts for a quarter of all BBC iPlayer views, that’s not bad going for an affiliate.

Guardian Jobs Site compromised

Matt Thomas — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:59:50 +0000

The Guardian newspaper emailed around half a million of its users this weekend to alert them to the fact that the Guardian Jobs website site was subjected to what they have called ‘a sophisticated and deliberate attack’. The Jobs arm of the guardian boasts about 10 million new unique users per year, many of whom upload personal information and CVs, so any hack is a very serious breach indeed. However, the Guardian claim to have stopped ‘the hack was stopped before it was completed’.

A Guardian spokesperson went on to claim that, “As soon as we were alerted to the fact that there was a problem, we dealt with it, in line with the information commissioner’s guidance on data protection.”

Although the hack was dealt with early, efforts to stop it were apparently hampered by the fact that the breach happened late on a Saturday afternoon when no one official was in the guardian offices. The Guardian is, at present, unable to give any technical details of the hack though have confirmed that the metropolitan police’s E-crime unit is looking into the case.

Spotify still not making Money

Matt Thomas — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 10:35:22 +0000

Daniel Elk, one of the men behind internet radio service, Spotify has drawn attention to the continuing difficulties of making money from online music by hitting out at the perception that popular online music companies should be making money immediately.

In a post on the Spotify blog, Elk claimed that,

“The notion of overnight success is very misleading and actually rather harmful to any hope for long term and sustainable growth in this industry… this is unfortunately something the music industry as a whole is particularly good at, expecting business models to be proven within months of inception.”

Justified as Elk’s ire probably is, the notion that Spotify should be making money is understandable. The company, launched only a year ago, has more than five million registered users and usage of the system continues to grow rapidly. In addition to this, the company has managed to raise more than 71 million Euros in investment and, importantly, has apparently managed to persuade many of the music companies, to who they owe royalty payments, to take a stake in the company instead of cash.

Even so, Spotify, it would appear, is still far from achieving its goal of profitability though Elk is, at least publically, unbowed. Making the point that iTunes itself experienced the same problems.

“The truth is that even the most successful digital business to date,iTunes, missed its revenue targets in its first year by 30%, and label executives were far from convinced that this was the future.”