John Lister

Mon
16
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Twitter On Trial As Jurors Tweet Tribunal

Two different trials could be thrown out after jurors allegedly discussed the cases on social networking sites. One involves a $12 million civil trial and the other a five-month-long corruption charge. In one case, the jury decided construction ... company Stoam Holdings should pay $12.6 million compensation to a rival. But lawyers for the firm have complained that juror Johnathan Powell's Twitter comments broke rules when discussing the civil case with the public. U.S. courts usually allow jurors to discuss how they reached a verdict after the case. However, there are still strict rules against ... (view more)

Fri
13
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

IE8: Fastest Browser in 'Real World Test', says MS

Microsoft has released a study suggesting Internet Explorer 8 is faster than its rivals. The firm used a different testing method than most independent studies, but insists it is a more accurate and realistic way to measure speed. According to ... Microsoft, many testing systems steer clear of using live websites because there are too many variables which can affect speed. For example, the website itself may be experiencing particularly heavy traffic. Thus, most studies concentrate on a particular aspect of loading a webpage, such as how long it takes to receive any javascript information. ... (view more)

Thu
12
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

New Facebook Mixes More Ads With Content

A new Facebook redesign rolls out today, with the changes intended to boost advertising on the site. Many still wonder if it's an attempt to imitate rival service Twitter, having failed in a bid to buy the firm . Facebook's last major redesign came ... just eight months ago when it introduced a cleaner look designed to cut down on clutter on pages. Though it drew some complaints at first, most users seemed to get used to it quickly enough. The latest revamp takes that process a step further. There's a much greater emphasis on the News Feed, the list of news about your Facebook friends including ... (view more)

Tue
10
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

PRS Outraged by Youtube UK Video Block

YouTube has exterminated all legally uploaded music videos viewable to British users. The move, which revolves around licensing disagreements, has sparked a public relations war with the music industry and fans. As of late last night, all music ... videos uploaded legitimately by record labels will be unavailable. The site has fallen out with the Performing Rights Society (PRS), which administers and collects royalties for the music industry in the country. PRS Outraged by Decision The two sides both blame the other for the failure to renegotiate a new licensing deal after the previous one ... (view more)

Mon
09
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Domain Cybersquatting On The Rise, Report Suggests

A brand specialist says more and more web domain names are being registered solely to cash in on existing firms' business. The report from MarkMonitor examines five types of 'abuse' related to domain names of varying legality. The biggest problem, ... which is also the fastest growing, is cybersquatting: buying up a domain name that is the same as an existing business with the intention of selling it back to a firm at a profit. According to the report, that problem affected almost 450,000 domain names during the last quarter of 2008, up 18% on the previous year. Approximately 80% of the sites ... (view more)

Fri
06
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

March Madness Comes To Microsoft's Media Center

Microsoft is attempting to boost use of its Media Center tools by offering a sports channel. The programming kicks off with extensive coverage of college basketball's March Madness. The new channel, which goes live this week, will include footage ... from Fox, MSNBC and CBS. There will be no subscription charge or other costs. The footage is only available in the Vista edition and is not compatible with the Windows 7 Beta. (Source: cnet.com ) To launch the channel, Microsoft will be showing replays of those games in the final stages of the NCAA basketball tournament. The event, known as March ... (view more)

Thu
05
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

UK Firms Slammed for Taxing Phone-in Tech Support

A leading consumer group has condemned the high cost of phone-in technical support offered by British technology firms. At least 70% of the firms studied charge more than a standard phone call, with Internet service providers rated as the worst ... offenders. "Which? Computing", a magazine produced by the Consumer Association, looked at 45 firms in the country to test the price and response time of their telephone support. It found that 32 firms only offer phone support through numbers which cost more than a standard call, with the firms themselves taking a cut of the revenue. Four ... (view more)

Tue
03
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

City-Country Broadband Split to Widen In Britain

A telecommunications firm in Great Britain has received full regulatory permission to build a national fiber-optic network for broadband. It could mean speeds of up to 100 Mbps for those in cities, with rural dwellers left behind. The company ... concerned, British Telecom (BT), was once the monopoly provider of phone services in the country. Today it competes with others, but still controls the phone network itself, meaning phone users must either rent a line from BT or use a cable service. At the moment the fastest cable service belongs to Virgin Cable, which has just launched a premium 50Mbps ... (view more)

Mon
02
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Facebook Nearly Added Twitter To Friends List

It seems the world's most popular social networking site was just moments away from acquiring another -- and few of us ever knew about it. A Facebook executive has revealed that a planned takeover of Twitter only fell apart because of a disagreement ... over stock valuations. Despite the rather miserable economy, Facebook is still looking to buy out other firms and says it could make a billion dollars a year from advertising. Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist who put up some of the money behind Facebook, discussed the deal in a Business Week interview. (Thiel was discussing the business aspects ... (view more)

Fri
27
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft To Lose British Battle In Open Source War

Microsoft could lose more than $800 million dollars a year in the British market if the country's government sticks to plans to use more open source software. New guidelines say public services should avoid being locked into proprietary products. ... The changes don't mean Windows will be ditched overnight (as is happening in Vietnam ), but instead policy will be that open source software should be used wherever it presents a better value. This could include both Linux-based operating systems and open source applications such as the Microsoft Office-like Open Office. Larger organizations may also ... (view more)

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