John Lister

Opera has reported that downloads of its browser have doubled since the release of the " browser ballot ". In some countries, the numbers of downloads have risen four-fold. The ballot, which will eventually appear to all European Union citizens who ... have Internet Explorer set as their default browser, prompts the user to select from a list of 12 browsers. It came about as a settlement between Microsoft and the EU after investigations into whether the browser being bundled with Windows was anti-competitive. (Source: google.com) As noted earlier this month , Opera's downloads rocketed ... (view more)

A Californian company says it has developed a revolutionary new way of capturing digital images. It could mean cellphone cameras take shots four times more detailed than current models, putting professional quality capabilities in everyone's pocket. ... At the moment, digital cameras work by capturing light on a sensor chip, a layer of silicon effectively broken up into millions of points. The information from each of these points is converted into digital format, with each point's information being one pixel in the captured image -- hence the term 'megapixel' which is used to describe how many ... (view more)

Google has upped the ante in its dispute against China by uncensoring its previously censored search results. Officially, Google has not breached Chinese rules which insist on search results being filtered to remove content officials class as ... objectionable; this includes political information and viewpoints the government wants to suppress. Instead, Google has set its Chinese home page (google.cn) to route directly to Google's search tool via the Hong Kong version of the site (google.com.hk). It looks inevitable that China will simply block access to that site altogether. The government has ... (view more)

Microsoft has told developers more about its forthcoming Windows Phone 7 operating system. There'll be more tools for application creators to produce apps easily, while the firm has indicated it is aiming the system itself at the consumer rather ... than business market. The details came at MIX10, an annual Microsoft event for developers. While Mix covers all aspects of online technology, mobile systems are becoming a more important part of the event as that market grows. Copy And Paste Gets Cut One revelation that's attracting a lot of attention among developers is that the system itself won't ... (view more)

Google has been considering pulling out of China for a few months now, saying it is no longer prepared to meet official demands to filter results its in line with Chinese government rules. The dispute heated up around the time Google was the victim ... of a substantial hacking attack , and while no link to the Chinese government has been proven, it's believed in some circles that the attack was an attempt to access the Gmail accounts of political opponents of the ruling Communist party. Officials Forewarn of Google Closure Chinese officials are now said to have contacted several major websites ... (view more)

Facebook has overtaken Google as the most visited website among United States users. It's the first time Google has lost the top spot since September 2007. The revelation comes from Hitwise, a web analysis firm that gathers data directly from ... Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in order to help advertisers get a better idea of how to reach particular markets. Because the data comes from ISPs, it's considered more accurate than some methods which only gather data from individual sites or users. According to the firm, last week Facebook accounted for 7.07% of all US website visits, compared with ... (view more)

Tactics used to make new hard drives more efficient could cause problems for Windows XP users. It may mean any new drive bought after next year could be noticeably slower to use on the operating system. The issue involves the way hard drives are ... broken down into individual sectors. Until now, it has always been standard for hard drive sectors to be 512 bytes in size. However, not all of each sector is used for storing data. Instead, there is a marker to denote the start of the sector: a space used for codes which are used to check if there is any error with the sector and its contents, and a ... (view more)

Google is rumored to be testing a search tool for Dish Network-powered televisions. It would allow users to search both for programming on the satellite broadcasts and for online videos. According to the Wall Street Journal, the service is being ... tested with a small group of employees. Based on Android and designed for use with a plug-in keyboard, the service would work with Internet-enabled television sets. Those are becoming more popular with the advent of streaming versions of rental services such as Netflix and even Blockbuster. (Source: wsj.com ) The idea appears to be that the service ... (view more)

It's being reported that the first Service Pack for Windows 7 (Service Pack 1) will be released before the end of this year. Critics suggest the early release may be an attempt to stimulate purchases among corporate users. The reports stem mainly ... from TechARP, a Malaysian hardware site with a strong record of accurately predicting Microsoft release dates. (Source: theregister.co.uk ) Windows 7 Service Pack 1: Cumulative Fixes A service pack is a collection of security updates, bug fixes and software improvements. It brings together updates which have been issued through Windows Update since ... (view more)

Apple has confirmed that the first iPads will be available to US customers on April 3rd, 2010. However, some users will be disappointed to learn it won't be useable as a makeshift modem for other devices. The first batch released will be WiFi only. ... The model adding 3G connectivity, meaning Internet-based apps can be used anywhere, will be available in late-April. Both models are set to be released in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late-April as well, before appearing in other countries later this year. US customers can pre-order both models ... (view more)