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Webcam flaw exposes live feeds to the internet

Simon Salvin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:22:35 +0000

Trendnet security webcams have been exposed on the internet due to a flaw in its coding allowing live feeds to be viewed.
After the initial posting on the internet which showed 350 visible devices, other websites followed exposing more feeds, some with map locations.
The company had so far released updates to fix 7 of the 26 affected models.
Read the full story here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16919664

Broadband Price Drop???

Simon Salvin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:12:39 +0000

Broadband pricing could be falling. OFCOM, the telecoms regulator has suggested BT Openreach, the division which sells lines to other providers, should lower its pricing. If implemented the decrease could be in place as early a April.
BT believes the pricing is fair and reflects its ability to invest further in expanding & updating its networks.
Read the full story here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16905703

UK Broadband speeds are on the rise

Simon Salvin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:44:44 +0000

The latest survey shows speeds have increased but users could benefit further by upgrading their service.
From as little as £5 extra per month many could benefit from additional speeds offered by 10+mbps services.
With BT’s roll out of FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) 40mbps service, BT, TalkTalk and Plusnet are offering the extra speed service and some upgrades are free!

Read the full story here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16842463

And if you haven’t checked your package price recently it’s time to start renegotiating or move supplier. There’s deals to be had.
Remember not to get attached to an ISP email address, buy a domain or use a free webmail service, it then makes the transition to a new service provider much easier, and switching is real easy, just request a MAC code from your current supplier and give it to the new provider, they’ll do the rest. And it can all be done online!

Kinect for Windows

Simon Salvin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:39:40 +0000

Microsoft has launched Kinect, the controller-less controller, which tracks body movement and features voice recognition for PC’s. Originally launched on its XBox 360 gaming platform back in Nov 2010, it became the fastest selling consumer device, shifting 8 million units between Nov 2010 and Jan 2011.
But the unit for PC comes at a price! In fact nearly twice as much as the XBox unit. Microsoft explains the rise is due to new technologies in the device such as 40cm distance recognition, half that of the XBox and also the code to allow it to work across multiple Windows versions. Currently the device has only launched in the states, look out for UK launch dates and pricing here.
But they face competition from companies making similar devices with perhaps more advanced technologies…

Read the full story here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16836031

Sky widens catchup appeal

Simon Salvin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:10:06 +0000

Sky has agreed with BBC & ITV to launch their catchup services on its Anytime+ service. The services are streamed across the internet to connected Sky+ HD boxes, which until an announcement today was only available if you took Sky’s broadband service, this has now been opened up to any broadband provider which broadens their coverage from 1.2m to over 5m.
Read the full story here:
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tech/news/a362796/bbc-iplayer-itv-player-to-launch-on-sky-anytime.html

ReRAM nears production

Simon Salvin — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:53:57 +0000

DRAM currently used in PC’s stores data extremely fast, to do so it requires an electrical charge, when the power is then turned off the data is wiped from the RAM. ReRam will hold that data info when power is lost.

Read the full story here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16725529

Facebook sues Adscend Media

Simon Salvin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:54:45 +0000

Facebook sues Adscend Media, a marketing firm which has been spreading spam through deceptive tactics, with Page Likes appearing on users accounts without their knowledge and links through to other sites, the company had been making around $1.2m per month from commissions paid when users landed on these redirected sites.

Read the full story here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16755434

Android tablet market share increased

Simon Salvin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:40:35 +0000

Android tablet sales rose in the last quarter of 2011 although Apple iPad’s still outsold Android by 20%.
Android is now the number one operating system on smartphones ahead of Apples iOS5 on iPhone although iPhone’s lead the market in the US.
I certainly wouldn’t switch from my iPhone & iPad!

Full story here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16736609

Symantec warns Disable PCAnywhere software

Simon Salvin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:32:50 +0000

Symantec, the company which makes Norton Internet Security, has issued a statement for the users of it’s PC anywhere software to stop using the software.
The software is aimed at businesses for remote control of PC’s. Old code had been stolen which highlighted vulnerabilities in the program.
It was recommended to disable the software until security patches were released to fix the issue. Other software packages by Norton were not at a heightened security risk and current “out of the box” security settings would protect.

Read the full story here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16740153

Vimeo revamps site to attract new visitors away from Google’s YouTube

Simon Salvin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:35:14 +0000

The site currently attracts 65 million views per month whilst YouTube recently announced they received 4 billion video hits per day!
The new site design is currently in closed testing to existing users but has been received well, the new version will be launched soon after the final tweaks are made, they are trying to attract sites and bloggers who embed video content in to their pages to use Vimeo for its advertising free player.

Read the full story here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16698637