All Things Online

touchlocal reviews

2010-03-31T01:37:00.001-07:00

View our full profile on the Touch Nottingham directory.

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2010-03-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

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Phoenix from the flames: Woolworths to become online shopping portal

2009-02-02T04:59:00.000-08:00

Woolworths is to be relaunched in the Summer as an online retailer. The company recently went into administration and portions of its organisation have been bought by Shop Direct, who own Littlewoods and Choice, to be run as a purely online entity.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will allow Shop Direct to use the infrastructure of the Woolworths brand as prior to Woolworths closing down, they had invested heavily in its web presence.

Details of the Woolworths online product range are to be released within the next few months but it seems that the main pull for Shop Direct was the children's clothing range Ladybird.

Twitter SQL application allows webmasters more social media integration

2009-01-28T06:15:00.000-08:00

Tweet-SQL allows an SQL Server user to work with the Twitter API, making is easy for webmasters to update their twitter account status includes many other features, that mirror the Twitter API feature set.

Tweet-SQL works inside SQL Server Management Studio and cuts the build time for Twitter apps drastically.

Skype reports success with Techlightenment Facebook app

2009-01-27T08:54:00.001-08:00

A Christmas themed application on Facebook steered more than 760,000 visitors to a campaign website run by VOIP giants Skype.

The application allowed Facebook users to create Christmas and New Year video greetings for friends and family. The application ended up having over 120,000 installs, making it one of the most used applications in the month of December.

The Facebook plugin was created by Techlightenment, the social media marketing agency behind the Bob Dylan application on Facebook, that was created in Partnership with Sony BMG.

Yahoo Widget Channel to partner with Myspace.

2009-01-25T08:46:00.000-08:00

Intel, MySpace and Yahoo have announced a partnership that will allow users to interact with the social network through their TVs. Access will be via a Widget Channel, which will go live in the US this year.

It will allow members to receive friend requests, browse photos and profiles and read messages through their TV. The Widget Channel, which has other partners in the pipeline but which doesn’t have a date for UK launch yet, is being developed by Intel and Yahoo.

December sees record figures for BBC iPlayer

2009-01-20T08:45:00.000-08:00

The BBC’s iPlayer has provided best ever traffic figures, with 40m actions to watch BBC programmes in December 2008, its official record month since the service was launched. The on demand facility saw a swell of traffic - up from Novembers 35m figure - and finished the year with an overall number of requests to watch, totalling over 270m.

For the period of Christmas Day to the 31st December, 8m actions were made, with Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death the most in demand programme, just in front of the Doctor Who Christmas Special.

ITV deal adds content to Virgin Media catch up service

2009-01-17T08:45:00.000-08:00

ITV has endorsed its biggest ever syndication agreement, providing 3.5m Virgin Media customers on-demand access to series such as Coronation Street and The X-Factor. The 4 year contract will see line-ups from all four ITV channels accessible as part of Virgins Catch Up TV service.

This includes 500 hours of archive programmes - more than 6 months old. The revenue share agreement is part of an ongoing push by ITV to grow it revenue via a more diverse range of mediums.

Steve Jobs takes medical leave

2009-01-14T08:55:00.000-08:00

Apple boss Steve Jobs declared last night that he was taking medical leave from the company until June after his health issues have revealed themselves to be more complex than was first thought. The Apple boss broadcast the news of his hormonal imbalance last week in a bid to quash growing rumours of the return of the cancer he beat 4 years ago.

Fears that Apple would be a far weaker business without jobs in charge has been reflected in their recent share price which fell heavily by 10% yesterday.

Facebook breaks record on Christmas Day

2009-01-14T01:43:00.001-08:00

Christmas Day was Facebook's busiest day ever, reports Hitwise. The global social network site - that claims to have over 120 million members - accounted for nearly 5% of all UK internet traffic on the day, second only to Google.

Visits to Facebook were up 70% on the year before as users logged in to send festive well wishes to friends and family.

Phishing scam targets businesses

2009-01-13T02:53:00.001-08:00

Thousands of businesses are being besieged by fraudsters every day with counterfeit emails trying to swindle them into handing over their bank details.

Small business owners and the self employed are being sent phony e-mail stating that they are owed a tax rebate and asking them for their bank or credit card details so the money can be 'refunded'.

Alternatively they are asked to call a telephone line to leave their information. The line appears to keep ringing even though callers are being charged up to £6 a minute.
Concerned taxpayers were forwarding 500 of the bogus emails to the powers that be every day but HMRC feared that the true volume of potential victims was much higher.
The messages include the HMRC logo and are outwardly sent from believable email addresses. Taxpayers who fall for the scam risk theft from their bank accounts or having their identify stolen and sold to organised criminal gangs.

The messages are apparently being sent out to coincide with the 31st Jan deadline for self assessment tax returns, when many taxpayers will be due a rebate.

This scam comes along as many Britons face penalty charges for missing the self assessment deadline. It is said that charges could amount to over £400 million, and include fines for late returns, surcharges and interest in unpaid tax.

BBC launches new iPlayer versions

2009-01-12T01:48:00.000-08:00

The BBC has launched a childrens version of its iPlayer, showing relevant programmes, news and links to games CBBC website content and a special section called "sign zone" that allows users to watch programmes with sign language.

The BBC are also in beta testing on their iPlayers for MAc and Linus operating systems. Up until now, both types of users were only able to view streamed programmes on the site, and not download programmes for viewing offline.

Hacker steals £600,000 from banks

2009-01-11T03:29:00.000-08:00

An Internet hacker has been imprisoned for five years after playing a fundamental role in an international banking fraud. Adewale Taiwo admitted larceny of £600,000 from bank accounts over nearly 4 years, but authorities think he may have millions hidden in secret bank accounts throughout the world.

The 26 year old was a member of the Dark Markets website, an invitation only forum where it is alleged criminals congregated to buy and sell bank card details, Hull Crown Court heard.

Virgin Media kicks off 50mb broadband campaign

2009-01-10T02:01:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month Virgin Media launched an ad campaign to promote its new 50mb broadband package. The new 50MB service is aimed at enabling a more common use of IPTV- the trials conducted last year in Ashford, Folkestone and Dover, were deemed a success - and demonstrate the potential for offering high definition television programmes across an Internet connection, rather than through cable or satellite.

Copper ADSL lines presently have a general limit of 8MB and that speed can degrade based on a customer's distance from the local telephone exchange, while the optical cable technology used by Virgin Media could potentially give speeds of up to 150MB — although the company has no plans to test those kinds of speeds at this point.

Wii Board + Google = Surf Google Earth... Literally

2009-01-09T06:54:00.000-08:00

Googles booth at Macworld this year was used to demonstrate some of the things it was working on with Apple, chiefly for the iPhone. However the coolest object at their booth didn’t have much to do with Apple at all: A hacked Nintendo Wii Balance Board (from the game Wii Fit) used to control Google Earth.

Using the Google Earth application programming interface (API), a Google engineer was able to get the Balance Board to converse with the software using the bluetooth networking capability of the Wii fit board. The result allowed the user to move forward by leaning forward, move backwards by leaning back, etc.

The developer made the demo to motivate others to code their own programs using similar open source methods.

Nokia to manufacture USB mobile internet dongles this year

2009-01-09T02:13:00.000-08:00

Nokia is start manufacturing USB dongles early next year. The handset manufacturer said it will work closely with operators to sell the devices, which allows notebooks to connect to the internet via 3G networks. Nokia is keen to break into a market that has grown rapidly but is dominated by Far Eastern manufacturers such as Huawei.

The gadget, which will employ a super-fast 3G technology called HSDPA, will be distributed through operators and bundled with mobile services.
Nokia first attempted to penetrate the market for mobile internet in 2006, working in conjunction with Intel; however in early 2007, Nokia and Intel made a mutual decision to stop co-operation on the project.

Mobile operator 3 claims to have sold over 500,00 dongles since they released them over year ago and Strategy Analytics said it expects the worldwide market for dongles to grow to 26 million units in 2009 from 20 million this year.

Five cuts ads to push focus on content

2009-01-08T00:55:00.000-08:00

UK Broadcaster Five has dropped its standards advertising positions on the home page to give monthly takeovers greater impact for advertisers.

Five has relaunched its home page with a greater prominence on content and programming, and the withdrawal of its normal advertising formats.

The move to remove advertising from the broadcaster’s home page is part of a tactical shift to champion the channels content and drive users through the site’s vertical channels.
Five will, however, sell takeover opportunities on the home page, which will be available for between one day and one week each month, and will offer advertisers a high-impact marketing space.
The move comes in advance of comparable plans from competitor broadcaster Channel 4, which intends to relaunch its home page later this year without advertising to allow it put greater emphasis on its content.
The home-page layout, which features key content areas such as Five FWD and Five.tv, is flexible and can be moved around by Five to showcase different content. It is said that the site will maintain its development and one aim is to permit users to tailor the home page in a similar method to the BBC home page.

Sky Bet prepares to launch mobile site

2009-01-07T02:51:00.002-08:00

BSkyB’s gambling service Sky Bet is to launch a mobile site this month (January). The service, powered by mobile services supplier Mkodo, extends its existing online, ITV and phone services.

Mkodo already provides managed services to BBC, Turner Broadcasting and Rank Interactive (Blue Square).

Mkodo recently settled a partnership deal with Orbis Technology, extending their expertise in providing bookmakers will the ability to run mobile betting services.

Back in September 08 Sky had looked like they had agreed a deal with Mfuse to run the service.

BlackBerry appoints Bluhalo as it pushes Facebook app

2009-01-06T06:55:00.000-08:00

BlackBerry UK have selected agency Bluhalo to manage work on UK and European focused digital projects for the smartphone brand , just as it starts its latest campaign on Facebook. Bluhalo’s, which counts Sony, Sky and Shortlist among its clients, first piece of work for the brand is a Facebook fan page to drive new users and application downloads. Bluhalo joins a list of agencies, which included Albion, Meteorite and Inferno, working for BlackBerry.

The page features images, product details and competitions. Users can also click through to the BlackBerry Owners’ Lounge, which lets users revise their Facebook status from their handset.

A MySpace app for BlackBerry launched last November was downloaded 400,000 times in its first week of launch. More than 15m messages were sent and users updated their status through the application more than 2m times.

Password Phishing scam hits Twitter users

2009-01-06T03:15:00.000-08:00

Thousands of members of social networking site Twitter are being hit by scammers posing as friends, with the aim of to stealing their passwords.

Users of Twitter, such as wit Stephen Fry, have received messages that appear to be from friends inviting them to visit a website.

The links go to a fake login page - which then allows the "phishers" to steal the users login details and passwords if they enter that information.

Internet Security firm Sophos has said that the hazard was increased because so many people use the same password for several websites.

Hackers use stolen account information for spam and identity theft. Some messages offer a complimentary Apple iPhone if users click on a link which then prompts them to enter user names passwords and mobile phone numbers.

Stephen Fry unwittingly clicked on one of the bogus messages, as he revealed on his twitter account:

"Lawks. Hope I haven't been phished for all my details. Clicked on scam URL last night before I knew what it was. Eeek"

Twitter users who think they have been affected by the scam are advised to change their passwords as a matter of urgency.

ITV to relaunch site with social media features

2009-01-06T02:51:00.000-08:00

ITV is to relaunch its website next year with a focus on social media and its most popular shows. "Project Penguin" will involve a restructuring of ITV’s content management system and see content-sharing and discussion features introduced. ITV last week rebranded its online catch-up service as ITV Player, which will focus on its biggest shows in a ‘fewer, bigger, better’ strategy.

This change comes after recent increases of usage of the ITV Catch up service (recently rebranded as ITV Player): In November video views had reached 15.7m, up 1m on the previous month and near 600% increase year on year. Although this number is way below the similar service offered by the BBC the UK online media industry is doing extremely well: In general the audience for online video is growing eight times faster in the UK than the US (source: ComScore Media Metrix) mainly due to the maturity of the online video streaming industry in the US.

Letter from Apple CEO Steve Jobs

2009-01-05T05:26:00.000-08:00

Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.

Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause—a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.

I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.

So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.

Steve

Source

BBC reveals plans for iPlayer version 3

2009-01-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

Anthony Rose, BBC Future Media controller of vision and online media, has revealed the Corporation is looking to launch BBC iPlayer 3 in the first few weeks of 2009.

Speaking in a video on the BBc Internet blog in December, Rose revealed the player would be "all about socialisation and personalisation"

He added that while the iPlayer is still mostly driven by people using it to catch up with what they've missed on TV and radio, the next version will use social recommendations to promote content.

This new version of iPlayer comes just a few months after the BBC launched it's big screen service, for users of popular media centres and Internet ready games consoles like the Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii. Strategically, this release was extremely important, signalling the arrival of internet-delivered on-demand services direct to TV sets rather than to a computer.

The season for spam to all men?

2009-01-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

Get your delete digit ready today – a 3,000 strong e-mail spam heap could be waiting for you at the office. Workers will have to trawl through an average of 450 messages, 70 per cent of which will be spam. The heavy users of email may face 3,000 such messages in their inboxes.

But beware of using the ‘delete all’ strategy. ‘It may bring a cathartic pleasure but you may be deleting critical information’ so says Bob Hallewell of consultancy Expert Messaging. ‘For each e-mail, either deal with it now, delegate, delete or defer it’, he added.

Some popular Bloggers have also been affected by the holiday period, coming back to find thousands of instances of comment spam in their admin panel to sort through:

"After New Year, I came back to a huge glut of spam in my database! ... The queue contained over 1000 spams, that didn’t include spam in my comment plugin either."

Looks like spammers don't do holidays..

Apple to sell songs without DRM restrictions

2009-01-02T02:03:00.000-08:00

Apple has agreed to start selling songs from its popular iTunes store without DRM (digital rights management) copy protection. The restriction, which allowed users to share downloads on 5 computers owned by them but restricted them to use an Apple iPod, was designed to prevent users from illegally sharing digital downloads.

In what seems to be a purely commercial decision Apple is changing its copy protection restrictions in the hope of selling more music to users that do not use Apple iPods or iPhones for playing their music, or who have several such machines and want to swap their purchases between them.

In the past there have been third party apps available that have been moderately successful in removing the DRM from iTunes downloads, but this is the first time that Apple have purported to be seriously considering the idea themselves. No doubt they have had a lot of convincing to do; to show the record labels that it is worth the risk.

Apple have also announced plans to vary the price of songs at the Macworld Expo trade show in San Francisco that is on 4th-8th January. Instead of the current 79p cost of downloading a song from iTunes, buyers will be charged 59p, 79p or 99p depending on a number of factors including which record label the track comes from.

Google takes Chrome browser out of beta

2008-12-14T02:52:00.000-08:00

Google has taken its fledgling web browser Chrome out of beta just 100 days after it was first unveiled. The company, which still has products in beta years after their initial launch, such as Gmail, said the contributions from Chrome’s 10m users have helped make its full launch come so quickly.