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Platinax Internet >> Platinax Internet News
May 23, 2005Children drive internet use
A study into how people aged 35-45 use the internet, by consultancy firm Panlogic, has shown that it is often the children in a household who research and make online purchases. A third of the people surveyed said that they would now be lost without Internet access, even though it was originally bought for their children. Children were found to be the most sophisticated users of the net within the family - 88% of primary school children and 95% of eleven-to-eighteen year-olds, used the Internet at home, with many of them using it for homework. The study showed that many children had the skills to purchase items over the Internet with minimal adult help and less confident parent were often encouraged to explore the web by their children. William Makower, the chief executive of Panlogic, said that if children take more control online, there will be increased concerns about security and unsuitable material, especially as, unlike for TV, there is no watershed. The study also showed that women are using the family computer more, and are now more reliant on it than men, using it for tasks such as grocery shopping or banking. The largest category of fathers using the Internet, were those who loved gadgets and owned high-tech equipment such as Sky TV or a car navigation system. Posted at 11:13 PM
Brown proposes housing part-ownership plan Among concerns that the housing market is slowing, the Government has proposed a part-ownership plan, which could help over 100,000 people buy their first home in the next five years. Buyers would only need to raise half the market-cost of the property and the remaining equity in the house would be shared by the government and the bank or building society. According to the Treasury, a pilot scheme has already been in place for existing properties, but the new programme would apply to newly built homes. The scheme could help the UK achieve a ratio of home ownership higher than the US or Germany. The buyer would retain the right to sell the house or flat whenever they wished. There will be no restriction on who can apply for mortgage help under the scheme, and there will be no means test. Banks and building societies will use their discretion to identify applicants whose salaries will not meet the cost of an average-priced house. Posted at 11:06 PM
Jack Straw faces off EU rebate opposition
On Sunday, several EU ministers spoke out against the UK budget rebate, although UK Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, stressed that it was still justified. He said that the burden on all member states could be reduced by ensuring that the budget was fixed at 1% of the total national income of the European Union. The commission proposes that it should be set at 200 billion euros more than this. Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the EU Commission, argued that payment was no longer justified because Britain was more prosperous than when the rebate was agreed. France, Germany, Poland and Luxembourg have also expressed opposition to the rebate continuing. Chancellor Gordon Brown said that the rebate was “wholly justified” and that without it, the UK would pay over £5bn a year into the EU, more than any other member. The UK receives less money back from agricultural and infrastructure subsidies than countries including France and Italy. Mr Brown said that the UK would use its EU veto to stop the rebate being changed or abolished. Posted at 10:57 PM
Public sector net borrowing down, but taxes may still have to raise
PSNB for April 2005 was significantly lower than April 2004's figure of £2.8bn. However, PSNB for the financial year to the end of March was revised up by approximately £1bn to £35.4bn. Chancellor Gordon Brown expects UK net borrowing for the current year to be under £32bn. Economists believe that taxes may have to be increased by approximately £12bn to meet the Chancellor’s rule of only borrowing to invest in an economic cycle. The UK's budget deficit for 2004/05 was also revised upwards, from £16.6bn to £17.4bn. Posted at 10:52 PM
EU forces Microsoft deadline
The European Commission has ruled that Microsoft must comply with the terms of a March 2004 judgement concerning the company’s market dominance, by the end of May 2005. The judgement requires Microsoft to provide details of how it could bring its practices into line with EU rules. The European Commission has repeatedly expressed concern over Microsoft’s slowness in adhering to the judgement, although a Microsoft spokesman said that the company would continue to work towards full compliance with the decision. The European Commission judgement imposed a 497m-euro fine and ordered Microsoft to open up its core software systems to rivals, to enable other software manufacturers to make programs that worked more seamlessly with the company’s Windows operating system. Microsoft was also required to provide a version of Windows without its own Windows Media Player. This was to enable rival software makers an opportunity to compete, and allow computer makers to supply PCs with the media software of their choice. Under European Union rules, Microsoft could be fined up to 5% of its daily global turnover for each day that a decision is not applied to its liking. According to European Competition Commissioner, Neelie Kroes, it is too early to say if the case against Microsoft could be re-opened. Posted at 10:25 PM
May 22, 2005US to ban space advertising
The US Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday published a proposed regulation in the Federal Register that would ban US companies from launching billboards into space for advertising purposes. The agency acted after a company, which was not identified, proposed a plan that would launch such billboards into orbit. According to the FAA, these billboards would look as large as the moon when seen from earth and would be visible to millions of people all over the world. Included in the information published by the FAA in the Federal Register was the contention that such billboards could eliminate darkness from the night sky, which would make the work of astronomers impossible FAA is basing the proposed regulation on an act of Congress that prohibits “obtrusive” space advertising. Title 49 of the United States Code defines obtrusive space advertising as “advertising in outer space that is capable of being recognized by a human being on the surface of the Earth without the aid of a telescope or other technological device.” This is the definition that the proposed regulation will adopt. The public has until July 18 to comment on the proposed regulation. Posted at 12:32 PM
May 20, 2005Google gets personal
Google is following rivals Yahoo and Microsoft, to launch a personalised home page service. Yahoo's and Microsoft's personalised pages include news, weather, stocks, e-mail and blogs. Google's 'Fusion' service, however, will offer a range of content, but, as most of its revenue comes from web advertising, will try to ensure that its users are still focused on the core search engine function. Google's chief executive, Eric Schmidt, stressed that it was not creating a portal, which could encourage users to spend too long on their personal home pages, but that the service was "a personalisation tool." Google will not, initially, place targeted adverts on personalised home pages, but could display them in future. Content will include BBC News, The New York Times, Slashdot, a technology website, and Quote of the Day and Word of the Day options. Google has previously offered a mix of unrelated services, including Gmail for e-mail and Picasa for photo sharing. The new service has the potential to significantly increase revenues for the company - according to figures released by Comscore Networks, 25% of unique visitors to Yahoo also visit My Yahoo. In order to maintain the traditional 'sparse' layout of Google's search engine, users will be able to toggle between their personalised home page and the traditional one. In April, Google recorded a 600% increase in first-quarter income to $369.2m, helped by revenues from internet advertising. Posted at 10:55 PM
China tariffs textile exports
China is increasing export tariffs by up to 400%, on 74 textile product categories, addressing US and EU concerns over a substantial increase in Chinese textile exports, since a global quota system ended in January. The tariff increases will be implemented in June, according to a quote from the country's finance minister released by the official Xinhua news agency. Exports of some Chinese clothing items to Europe have increased by over 500% since the Multi Fibre Agreement expired, while the US textile industry has lost more than 16,000 jobs in 2005. At a news conference in Brussels, Francoise Le Bail, a European Commission spokeswoman, said that the aim was to reach a negotiated solution with China and that the EU would check the details with Chinese officials. China's textile negotiator will meet EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, in Brussels, next week. The US is placing pressure on China to reform the yuan, which has a fixed rate of exchange against the dollar. Later this year, it will vote on a bill to impose a 27.5% tariff on all Chinese imports to the US unless China removes the fixed rate of exchange within six months. Posted at 10:52 PM
TUC: workplace compensation culture does not exist
According to the TUC, less that one in 10 people injured at work, receive compensation. People with work-related hearing and breathing disorders were the most likely to receive compensation, while workers with stress and repetitive strain injury were the least likely. The average claim for compensation was £10,000, but 50% of this was taken by legal fees. Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary, said the figures did not support the idea that a workplace compensation culture existed in the UK. He said that employers were not taking health and safety issues seriously enough and that the UK's state compensation system failed those most in need. The Federation of Small Businesses said that safety was taken seriously by employers and that workers suffering injuries had access to a well-established tribunal system in order to secure compensation. Posted at 10:46 PM
Nintendo Revolution to lag behind Xbox 360 and PS3
Nintendo's new home console, 'Revolution', has been revealed at the E3 games expo in Los Angeles, but officials have suggested that the first opportunity to try out the machine will be at next year's show. Nintendo has revealed few details about the Revolution, although rival companies, Sony and Microsoft, have provided detailed technical information about their new consoles. Both include powerful processors and advanced graphics and display capabilities. The specification released so far, for Nintendo's Revolution, is that it will include a new processor from IBM, codenamed Broadway, and a graphics chip from ATI. It will be able to play DVDs, have built-in wi-fi, an SD memory card slot, and 512Mb of flash memory. There have been no technical demonstrations of the technology, or any trailers of games. Although Nintendo is placed behind Microsoft and Sony, according to the number of consoles sold, Jim Merrick, the company's European Marketing Director, pointed out that whereas Microsoft may have sold more consoles, this was at a loss, while Nintendo was making a profit. Microsoft is planning to release its Xbox 360 worldwide before Christmas and Sony is planning to release its PlayStation 3 in the spring of 2006. The Revolution is expected to be released in 2006, but it is not know when during the year this will happen. Posted at 10:29 PM
Netscape 8 final released
Netscape, a division of Time Warner's America Online subsidiary, released the final version of Netscape 8 on Thursday. The browser has been available in test versions since February. The Netscape browser was once predominant on the web, but lost popularity when Microsoft introduced Internet Explorer in the 1990s. However, security vulnerabilities in IE have resulted in others, including Netscape and Firefox distributor Mozilla Foundation, to place security as the main selling point for their browsers. The new version of Netscape aims to combat two prevalent types of security threat - spyware, which is malicious software surreptitiously installed on a PC, which spies on the user's actions, and phishing, a type of online fraud which attempts to steal sensitive user information such as credit card details. Netscape 8 aims to stop spyware infiltrating the PC, a significant advance on current anti-spyware tools, which can only help users after an attack has occurred. To combat phishing, the latest browser automatically adjusts security settings while the internet is being used, based on lists of sites that are known to be malicious and of trusted sites. The lists will be updated three times a day and automatically downloaded when a PC connects to the Internet. Netscape compiles the lists with information from AOL, privacy group Truste, VeriSign and security software company Paretologic. The lists will be stored on a user's PC. Non-security related features of Netscape 8 include the ability to set multiple Web sites as the home page and improved support for RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, feeds. Posted at 10:19 PM
Study claims high use of pirate software among businesses
A report released by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and IDC, a technology research organization, has claimed that more than one-third of all software used on personal computers last year was pirated. The BSA, an industry lobby group, says that the piracy rate has to do with the strength of software copyright laws around the world. One example is the rate of piracy in the United Arab Emirates, which has a software piracy rate of 34 percent. This compares to an average rate of 58 percent in the Middle East and Africa. The UAE adopted strong intellectual property laws in the mid-1990s. The desire associate with trade groups such as the World Trade Organization might also be a factor in reducing software piracy as nations that wish to do so - countries such as Vietnam, which currently have a very high rate of software piracy - tend to give in to outside pressures to strengthen intellectual property protections The report said that the reported piracy rate for last year amounted to a $33 billion loss for the industry. The report did include the good news that the 2004 rate of 35 percent was lower than the 36 percent piracy rate reported in 2003. The United States was said to have the lowest piracy rate at 21 percent, while it was as much as 90 percent in Vietnam, the Ukraine, China, and Zimbabwe. The piracy rate in the EU averages 35 Posted at 03:01 PM
May 19, 2005High street sales shows continued weakness
Year-on-year growth in high street sales has fallen to its weakest level since April 2003, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Although monthly retail sales increased by 0.5% in April 2005, sales growth on a yearly basis was only 2.3% compared to 2.4% in March. Quarterly sales growth was 0.2%, the same as in the previous quarter. April's monthly increase contradicted reports of difficult trading conditions from high street stores. Health and beauty retailer Boots revealed an 11% decrease in annual profits in April, following a profits warning in March. The ONS said that the fact that Easter 2005 fell in March, could have influenced the figures. George Buckley, an economist at Deutsche Bank, said that, when food-sales are taken out, the figures indicate a significant weakness. However, analysts do not think that the latest figures will have any impact on base rates. Posted at 11:01 PM
London Stock Exchanges records increased profit
The London Stock Exchange (LSE), recorded a profit of £89.1m for the year ending 31 March, a significant increase compared with £88.8m the previous year. Clara Furse, the LSE's chief executive, said that the performance reflected "improvement in each of our core business areas" - new issue activity, electronic trading volumes and the number of professional terminals taking exchange data, had all increased. Operating profit, before exceptional items, declined by 1% to £82m; including exceptional items, it was 10% lower at £73.2m. The LSE's listings businesses on the main and junior markets, both remained strong, although the division recorded a 9% fall in turnover, due to a reduction in the fees it can charge following a watchdog investigation. Since the failure of a takeover bid by Deutsche Boerse, the German Exchange, in March, the LSE has been in discussions with rival exchange Euronext about a potential takeover. The Competition Commission is reviewing the situation regarding potential bids for LSE, and the result is expected to be published in September. Posted at 11:01 PM
Online film distribution discussed at Cannes
European Culture ministers met at the Cannes film festival on Tuesday and promised to explore issues regarding the online distribution of movies. The summit also included representatives from the film industry, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and telecoms agencies. Possible policies for film distribution online were discussed, which would enable film-makers to target new audiences and boost sales. European Union media commissioner, Viviane Reding, said that the opportunities for people to enjoy films online were likely to increase greatly over the next few years, and that there were great opportunities to exploit new markets, increase revenue for film-makers and expand the choice available to the general public. Earlier this month, Tesco revealed its plan to launch a film downloading service, to expand on its success in the online music sector. However, it said that the UK's Broadband capacity was not yet adequate to handle movie downloads. In March, website Wippit said it was planning to launch the UK's first site offering films to download in summer 2005. The possibility of online piracy resulting in a serious loss of revenue was discussed, and a European leadership summit was formed to examine the problem. Culture ministers thought that the market could be flooded with unauthorised file-sharing of films, as has occurred with music, and that action to tackle piracy was a high priority. Posted at 11:01 PM
Boots down 11 percent on gross profits
Boots, the health and beauty retailer recorded an 11% decline in annual pre-tax profits to £481m in the year to March. The result was adversely affected by supermarket competition, a decline in UK retail sales and a major restructuring at the company. Year-on-year sales at Boots The Chemist pharmacies increased by 2.4%. The company is continuing with a price-reduction and store refurbishment programme. It has spent £390m on improving its stores and has reduced staff headcount by 2,000. In an interview on BBC Radio 4't Today programme, the company's chief executive Richard Baker, said that the company was "substantially more competitive" than it was two years ago. He expected sales growth to fall back to between 0% and 2% in the current financial year. Posted at 11:01 PM
Banks attempt to delay phishing
Barclays, HBOS, Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest have introduced delays to intra-bank payments between accounts, in an attempt to stop security breaches. Security is being increasingly compromised by a practice known as phishing. Phishers send e-mails to customers claiming to be from their bank, requesting account and password details. The money is then transferred to an account with the bank and is usually sent overseas via a money transfer. Barclays has introduced a one-day delay for transfers, which allows the bank to carry out checks that seek to prevent fraud. MailFrontier, the internet security company, recorded an increase in phishing from 1,082 incidents in April 2004 to 13,482 in March 2005. According to The Association for Payment Clearing Services, online banking fraud cost £12 million in 2004. Posted at 11:01 PM
May 18, 2005Brown seeks to curb wage inflation
In a speech to the Amicus trade union, Chancellor Gordon Brown warned that large pay increases, for public sector workers would be unwise, in the light of risks from a European economic slowdown. He said that reform and wage discipline must be in-line with investment in public services. The Chancellor also emphasised his opposition to the European Parliament's vote to discontinue opt-outs from the 48-hour working week, including in the UK, and promised to resist the decision. He said he would demand a fair deal for Britain by ensuring access for British firms to contracts and markets across all key sectors of the European economy. Mr Brown said that progress was being made towards a European agreement on tackling poverty overseas, an issue on which Amicus has campaigned. The UK and Luxembourg will submit a joint paper on poverty at the next meeting of the European finance ministers. Earlier in the week, Mr Brown spoke to the CBI about his plans to create a cross-party committee of MPs to help develop a national consensus on European economic reform. He said that slower than expected growth in Europe, particularly in Germany had coincided with a boom in the price of oil and other materials. Mr Brown also highlighted his plans to reduce the number of regulatory inspections by one million and to nurture trust between responsible companies, educated consumers and the Government. Posted at 09:15 PM
Unemployment down, but jobless totals up
According to the Office for National Statistics, unemployment fell by 15,000 to 1.4 million in the three months from January to March, by the government's preferred ILO measure. On a monthly basis, the number of unemployed people claiming benefit increased by 8,100 to 839,400 in April, while average earnings growth in the three months to March was up by 4.6%, although 0.1% lower than the previous month. Jobs continued to be lost in manufacturing, reaching a record low of 3.23 million in the quarter to March. In total, 82,000 fewer people were employed in manufacturing than in the same period a year ago. The figures do not include the recent substantial job losses at Marconi, MG Rover and IBM. Although the number of people in work increased by 87,000 to 28.61 million in the latest quarter, the number of economically-inactive people increased by 14,000 to 7.86 million. This figure includes people taking early retirement, looking after a relative or those who had stopped trying to find a job. According to Alan Clarke at BNP Paribas, the figures could "open the way for an interest rate cut in the coming months." The UK's unemployment rate of 4.7% is one of the lowest in the world, beaten by only Ireland, Austria and Luxembourg. Posted at 09:10 PM
Bank of England retains interest rate
At its May Monetary Policy Committee meeting, The Bank of England voted 8-1 to freeze the cost of borrowing at 4.75% for the ninth consecutive month. Only the Bank's deputy governor, Sir Andrew Large, voted for an immediate 0.25% rate rise, asserting that it was needed to meet the 2% inflation target. In its recent quarterly inflation report, the Bank said that inflation could temporarily exceed the 2% target in the near term due to the ongoing increase in oil prices. It said, however, that it was unlikely that inflation would spiral out of control, as there was sufficient scope to accommodate the oil price increase. The Monetary Policy Committee warned that it could re-consider its decision if manufacturers responded to rising oil prices by increasing wages and the price of their products. Overall, the Monetary Policy Committee considered that risks to consumer price inflation were balanced, but said that an increase in demand could lead to further inflation. Posted at 09:05 PM
EU faces off on Chinese textile imports
The European Union is hoping to start urgent talks with Beijing, on restricting the import of Chinese textiles. Global quotas on these goods ended in January, leading to a sudden increase in exports to both the EU and US. An inquiry by Peter Mandleson, the EU Trade Commissioner, found that the imports were a substantial threat to T-shirt and flax yarn makers and said that limits would be imposed unless China urgently addressed the problem. On Tuesday, President Bush said that China must adhere to international trade rules. The US has re-imposed quotas on certain Chinese imports, including cotton shirts and underwear, following pressure from manufacturers concerned that the cheap imports could lead to job losses in the US textile industry. The EU is investigating nine categories of Chinese textile imports. Since the beginning of 2005, Chinese sales of T-shirts in the EU have increased by 187% and flax yarn sales by 56%. Under the rules of the World Trade Organisation, of which China is a member, the EU could impose temporary limits on Chinese textile goods from 15 days of the start of formal talks. Although the EU's inquiry began on 29 April and must run for 60 days, formal talks would allow it to speed up the imposition of sanctions. Temporary sanctions would stay in place until the end of 2005. Chinese competition is also adversely affecting textile manufactures in other EU countries and in developing countries including Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Posted at 08:28 PM
Nintendo Revolution unveiled
At the world's largest video game show, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, E3, in Los Angeles, Satoru Iwata, the president of Nintendo, revealed a prototype of its new home console, the Revolution, which is due out next year. The company hopes that The Revolution will significantly increase its share of the home console market. Nintendo's 'Revolution' will play DVDs and includes built-in wi-fi, an SD memory card slot, and 512Mb of flash memory. Detailed information about the technology wasn't revealed, although Nintendo is collaborating with computer company IBM and graphics firm ATI on the graphics. The company is also developing a unique wireless controller. GameCube titles will be playable on the new console and players will also be able to download 20 years of Nintendo games from earlier consoles. Nintendo's rivals in the console market, Microsoft and Sony have already revealed their next generation consoles - the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 respectively. According to analyst firm Jupiter Research, Nintendo is currently placed behind its rivals in the games console market. Sony's PlayStation 2 holds 43% of the market, Microsoft holds 19% with the Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube only has 14% of the market. Nintendo also announced a new model of its GameBoy product. It promises that the GameBoy Micro, will fit in the tightest jeans. The machine is slightly larger than an iPod Mini, but only two-thirds the weight. Posted at 08:18 PM
Europe tackles aviation tax issue
A proposal of an aviation tax set before the finance ministers of the European Union nations at a meeting last weekend has provoked a strong disagreement among the ministers. The idea of a per-ticket tax was first brought up by the French at the World Economic Forum in January was for a $1 per ticket levy that it was said could raise $10 billion (€7.9 billion, £5.4 billion) per year to fund development projects. As presented to last weekend’s meeting, the suggested tax was for of €10 per ticket on flights within the EU and €30 per ticket for flights to non-EU destinations. Most nations with substantial tourist industries were opposed to the idea, and only France and Belgium said that they could commit to a mandatory form of the tax. Several officials said that there would be no agreement on the tax until and unless the amounts proposed were lowered, although reducing the amount of the tax would not meet the objective of raising stuffiness funds for development projects. The Austrian finance minister commented that he could not support the tax proposal because it would hurt consumers and distort competition. Posted at 01:08 PM
May 17, 2005Greasemonkey plays havoc with web
Greasemonkey, a Firefox extension which allows users to load custom scripts that modify a specific website anytime they visit it, is allowing Firefox users to tamper with the web. Users have added a delete button and search folders to Gmail and have even removed Reuters stories on the Michael Jackson trial from online newsreader Bloglines. Greasemonkey was written by Aaron Boodman in December 2004. Users have submitted scripts for over 115 websites and 60 scripts that work across the web. Many of the scripts block ads, but more advanced scripts can link websites, eg adding links on a Yahoo Maps page to Google Maps. One script targets Amazon pages and tells you if a book is available in your local library. Posted at 10:29 PM
Queen's Speech on business
The Queen's speech outlined a number of major changes for businesses. A new offence of corporate manslaughter will be created to make firms more accountable for fatal accidents at work. Courts will be allowed to look at a wider range of management conduct, making it easier for them to prosecute companies if they are responsible for allowing fatal accidents to occur. At the moment it is not possible to add up the negligence of several individuals to show the company as grossly negligent, but the new offence will allow companies, rather than individuals to face manslaughter charges. Businesses are to be consulted before a reform bill to reduce corporate bureaucracy is put forward next year. The Regulatory Reform Bill will ensure that unnecessary bureaucracy is reduced so that business and enterprise is not held-back by unnecessary regulations. A bill will be reintroduced to grant necessary powers to build the CrossRail east-west London rail link. The previous bill ran out of time in the last session of parliament. Funding for the link has not yet been identified. Posted at 10:24 PM
World economy on downturn?
A Merrill Lynch survey of fund managers has shown that investors are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the global economy and are anticipating weaker growth. Less than 25% of the 339 managers questioned in the survey expected growth to increase. Merrill Lynch said it was the most negative result since 2001. The poll showed that attitudes had changed significantly over the last two months, with 56% of the fund managers surveyed now expecting global growth to weaken over the next 12 months. Most of the fund managers surveyed expected corporate profits to deteriorate slightly and inflation to increase. The euro was considered the most likely currency to depreciate over the coming year. Merrill Lynch's survey for the previous month, identified a division between investors in the US and Europe, who were cautious about the future, and investors in Asia, who were more optimistic. The latest survey showed a fundamental change, with Asian investors becoming more negative. Posted at 10:18 PM
Playstation 3 unveiled
Sony have officially unveiled the Playstation 3, within days of Microsoft unveiling its Xbox 360. The Playstation 3 boasts a custom chip set-up known as Cell, which was developed by Sony with IBM and Toshiba. It additionally includes a new graphics chip developed with Nvidia. The move will likely revolutionise the gaming console industry as, like the Xbox 360, Sony see the Playstation 3 as having a central role in the home, for playing multimedia such as music and films. The entire console also uses wi-fi technology, has 6 free USB ports, and has been claimed to have been designed for a broadband-connected home. Altogether the technical specifications of the Playstation 3 seem impressive, and may well surpass the Microsoft Xbox 360, ensuring that Sony continue to completely dominate the video game industry. The hardware involved so far announced include:
Meanwhile, Nintendo has unveiled its new console - the E3 - is a small device not built to network a home, but to be carried around by kids more used to carrying cellphones and other mobile devices around. Posted at 09:37 PM
May 16, 2005Google Maps hacked with Craigslist
HousingMaps, created by 3-D graphic artist, Paul Rademacher, is a hack which combines craigslist real estate listings with city maps from Google Maps. Users can identify exact locations, and access photos and descriptions, of dozens of available apartments in over 20 North American cities. HousingMaps is one of several hacks giving users new ways to use Google's maps service. Google Maps provides detailed maps of the United States or Canada on which users can quickly zoom in or out. Although the hacks are not authorized, they demonstrate the innovative possibilities created through online data compatibility, - a major goal of internet-standards initiatives including XML. According to Rademacher, Google Maps is straightforward to work with because it runs inside a browser, allowing a developer to access and manipulate the JavaScript to create the hack. Posted at 10:14 PM
Pension commission faces deficit problems
At the National Association of Pension Funds conference in Manchester, Adair Turner, the head of the Pensions Commission, said that the current UK pensions system would not be able to solve the problem of inadequate saving by an estimated 12 million individuals. He said that it was the responsibility of the individual to bear the risk of living longer, not private companies or the state. A final report on pensions will be released by the commission in the autumn. The commission's interim report, published in October 2004, said that higher taxes, increased saving and a higher average retirement age would all be needed to solve the UK's pension crisis. The National Association of Pension funds has suggested that the problem could be addressed, by stopping the current second state pension to create a simplified state pension system. The second state pension would be replaced by a universal pension, which would rise in line with average earnings. Mr Turner said that the Pensions Commission was unconvinced by this argument and thought a better option was to converting the second state pension into an understandable compulsory savings scheme or integrate it into a more generous basic state pension. Posted at 10:03 PM
50% employers expect to cut staff
A survey of 1,300 firms, by The Chartered Institute of Personnel, reports that nearly 50% of British employers expect to reduce the size of their workforce in the next year, especially those in the public sector. According to analysts, recruitment confidence may have fallen following recent job losses and promises to reduce waste in the public sector. The survey reported that many firms plan to recruit migrant workers to fill any skills shortages. The survey also identified that 75% of employers expect pay to increase by between 2% and 4% in the coming year, although director's pay could increase by over 5%. Posted at 09:54 PM
May 15, 2005Dell increases market growth in Europe
Despite weakness in the PC market, Dell, the world's largest PC manufacturer, has achieved significant growth in non-US sales - they now make-up 42% of total revenues. In the three months to 29 April 2005, Dell's profit rose 28% to $934m, compared with $731m a year earlier. Overseas growth helped sales grow by 16% to $13.39bn. Dell's shares increased by seven cents, to close at $36.61 on the Nasdaq, in anticipation of favourable first-quarter results. The company's results - which were in line with Wall Street's expectations - were reported after the Nasdaq closed. Posted at 10:10 PM
Travelocity buys Lastminute.com
Lastminute.com, the online retailer has agreed to a £577m takeover by Sabre Holdings, the owner of the Travelocity's online travel business. Lastminute shares have increased by 53% since news of the approach was revealed. Lastminute.com's co-founders, Brent Hoberman and Martha Lane Fox, will receive £40m between them for their shares in the business. Founded in 1998, Lastminute.com specialises in selling last-minute bookings for a range of services, including holidays and flights. The company's stock market value grew to over £800m after its 2000 floatation. Following this, the company expanded rapidly until the technology bubble burst. Travelocity recorded over seven million customers in 2004, with over £990m in transactions. In the six-months to May 2005, total transactions increased by 57% to £512m. In comparison, Lastminute recorded a loss of £77m in 2004. Lastminute will become Travelocity's principal global retail travel brand. Posted at 10:07 PM
May 13, 2005Microsoft Windows OneCare
Microsoft is planning to implement a new subscription service for home PC users that would change the way it charges users of the Windows operating system and provide itself with a new source of revenue. The service, called Windows OneCare, will provide virus and spyware protection along with other services to make PCs run faster, according to the company. This new plan is the first time Microsoft has tried to move away form a one-time license fee to use its operating system. The features of the new service will include automatic file back-up and software tools such as disk-clean up and decrementing of the hard drive that would periodically run to keep the system operating smoothly. Security features are expected to be a big selling point of the new service, especially in light of recent criticisms of Microsoft for leaving users of Windows vulnerable to viruses and spyware. Microsoft said that a test version of the service would be available later this year, but declined to say when the service would be formally launched. Posted at 07:03 PM
May 08, 2005Government considers abolishing Road Tax for pay-per-journey
The government is looking at replacing the current system of road taxes with one that would charge motorists on a per-trip basis. Legislation to create such a system will be introduced early in the next parliament by Labour. Liberal Democrats also support the change, and the Tories are said to have dropped their earlier opposition to the new system. Much of this support is seen as recognition of the need to do something to fight increasing traffic congestion. Even though such a system of per-trip pricing could not be fully in place before 2014, it is considered essential to take the decision if it is to be done with in the next two or three years to allow enough time to conduct test programs on a less extensive basis. These trials would give drivers tax rebates in exchange for payment of per-trip fees. The broad support that the new system seems to be gaining is considered necessary for such a fundamental change in light of the motorist’s lobby, which might not be enthused about the change. A similar system has been suggested in California, in the United States, but no consensus has been reach there on whether to pursue the idea. Posted at 09:59 AM
May 03, 2005Opera release continues browser battle as Firefox strengthens against IE
More than 2 million downloads of the new Opera 8.00 Browser have taken place in just two weeks. This includes all language versions and platforms, with the English version accounting for 1.3 million of the total, and the German language edition 400,000. It comes on the back of increasing competitiveness in the browser market, with Firefox reportedly reaching over 10% of the browser market last week. Tim O'Reilly, the person behind the O'Reilly computing and publishing network, recently published statistics showing that Internet Explorer usage on his company sites were down by a third, with Firefox making strong progress. However, despite the strong figures from Opera, it still has to battle with users preferring Firefox over Mozilla, not least due to simpler ease of use options, and that Firefox downloads have been causing supply problems that has required the assistance of Google to ensure continued download support. According to Janco Associates, Opera still has some way to go, with less than a full percentile of market usage, according to their recent report on the browser market. Posted at 10:55 PM
Maternity suit settles on European lawIn a remarkable legal battle that sets a significant new precendent across Europe, a 9-year legal battle over a £200 loss in maternity pay has been settled in favour of the claimant. In 1997 Michelle Alabaster was working for the Woolwich Building Society - now part of Barclays Bank - when she took maternity leave. However, a £204.53 pay award to fellow employees was left out from her maternity leave calculation - a situation Michelle saw as breaking European sex discrimination law. After chasing the claim through various courts, the case ended up in the European Court of Justice, where it finally ruled in her favour. This irrevocably afftects English and European laws, which must now ensure that employees on leave have pay rises taken into consideration when calculating payments. The case is likely to bring a mixed reception - some people have already raised objections to the impact of maternity leave on small businesses - while others have already been campaigning to ensure a pregant woman's rights to maternity pay are properly protected. Posted at 10:22 PM
VAT to be cut on text donationsMobile phone operators may cut the fees for charitable donations sent by text message after it was revealed that the companies often take up to 25 percent of donations made by this method. This means that more of each donation will make it to the charities they were meant for. This provisional decision comes after an announcement by Inland Revenue that value added tax (VAT) will now be charged only to fees imposed by the mobile operators to transmit messages. In the past the VAT was levied on the whole amount donated. Under the old rules, out of every £1.50 donated, 23p went to the VAT, 27p went to the mobile operator, while an additional 12p standard text charge was paid by the phone user. Text messaging has become an increasingly important method of fundraising in the UK. As an example, half of the £120,000 raised in April’s Help a London Child campaign by Capital Radio came through text messaging. Out of that amount, £10,000 went to mobile phone operators and contributors paid £2,400 in text charges. Posted at 09:58 PM
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