Google give you the Knowledge Graph
May 17th, 2012 • 2 Comments
Google has overhauled their search engine despite the fact it worked perfectly well and no-one really complained about how it could do more.
So what have they done? Well, sounding like something from an Isaac Asimov story, they’ve developed something called the Knowledge Graph, which Google say is a ‘more human’ search function offering answers without you having to go elsewhere online.
This new feature, which will launch in the US first, adds boxes of Wikipedia-esque information to the search results page. Google’s Amit Singhal explains: ”Language can be ambiguous-do you mean Taj Mahal the monument, or Taj Mahal the musician? [In Knowledge Graph we can] click on one of the links to see that particular slice of results.”
“This is one way it makes Google Search more intelligent – your results are more relevant because we understand these entities, and the nuances in their meaning, the way you do. For example, some of the most serendipitous discoveries I’ve made using the Knowledge Graph are through the magical ‘people also search for’ feature. One of my favorite books is The White Tiger, the debut novel by Aravind Adiga, which won the prestigious Man Booker Prize. Using the Knowledge Graph, I discovered three other books that had won the same prize and one that won the Pulitzer.”
There’s no specific launch date yet.
Man mutilates self in order to carry out weak iPod stunt
May 15th, 2012 • 16 Comments
We’re not going to lie to you – it’s been a slow news day. Mind you, we like to think we’ve always got time and space to bring you foolishness such as this – the tale of a man who has just invented the ‘strapless watch’ by fastening his iPod to his wrist.
‘I just invented the strapless watch’ says professional body piercer Dave Hurban, possibly with a big dopey look on his face. But how did he do it? Why, he mapped out the four corners of his iPod on his skin and then inserted four titanium studs into his arm. After the skin had healed, Dave was able to magnetically fix the iPod on his wrist, making him the best man in the world or something.
Look – there’s even a YouTube video that shows you how to do it (although it probably isn’t for the squeamish among you). Dave Hurban – crazy name, crazy guy.
Amazon to launch new Kindle in July
May 15th, 2012 • 4 Comments
With the rumour that Apple are going to release a tiny iPad in October, the competition have to get their arses in gear. With that, Amazon are hoping to get a new Kindle on the shelves in July.
However, it doesn’t sound much of a match for a new Apple tablet. The new e-reader will have the usual monochrome e-Ink display, which is pretty boring, but it will have the addition of a front light so you can read in the dark. That’ll save you from having a light on won’t it? We all know that putting a bedside lamp on is a massive problem for everyone.
This new Kindle will be a touchscreen affair and come in 3G and WiFi versions.
In other news, Amazon are also going to update the Kindle Fire tablet in Autumn, making it bigger and increasing the display to 8.9 inches. Not that the Kindle Fire is available in Britain yet. That said, we might not be missing out on much as, despite sales being initially strong, demand for the device has cooled significantly. A study by the International Data Corporation, released earlier this month, said that sales had dropped to just 750,000 in the first quarter of this year.
For now, it looks like Apple have got absolutely nothing to worry about and the mini iPad could well kill off all the competition.
TalkTalk customers get nannied over porn
May 14th, 2012 • 14 Comments
Hey! Internet users! You’re probably thinking about porn aren’t you? You’ve probably got a tab open with all manner of smut on it, while you read these words.
Well, if you’re a customer of TalkTalk, you may like to know that they’ve become the first telcom to ask all new account holders to choose whether they want to turn on (phwoar) an anti-porn filter or not. Chances are, most will say ‘no’, making this whole thing a gigantic waste of everyone’s time.
The company have adopted the £20million HomeSafe filter which works by automatically blocking a list of ‘adult content’ such as porn, violence, gambling and drugs. Basically, all the fun stuff. You’ll be asked to reconfirm your filter settings yearly.
Dido Harding, name not a joke, chief executive of TalkTalk, said: ‘Our competitors are being dreadfully slow to wake up to the fact that society as a whole cares strongly about this. Creating a safer online environment for children is similar to car safety for children in the 1970s where everyone needs to play a part, like with the Green Cross Code, education seat belt wearing and car seat use.’
This all comes on the back (hur hur) of Prime Minister David Cameron agreeing to hold an independent consultation on whether or not ISPs should be forced to block all that lovely adult content. One has to wonder – will the Daily Mail and The Sun, two publications who thrill in their use of boobies and war, be included in this filter designed to protect young minds?
All hail the wi-fi-blocking wallpaper!
May 11th, 2012 • 13 CommentsYour wi-fi is yours and yours alone. Sure, you’ve probably got your wi-fi supply encrypted with a tricky password, but people in your immediate vicinity can still see that it’s THERE, encrypted or otherwise. And if you’re some kind of a deranged privacy freak, that’s just annoying. You’ll probably need this then…
It’s some utterly brilliant wi-fi blocking wallpaper, that will keep your internet in and other people’s internet out. Yes, a revolutionary idea that we can see no real reason for and are slightly afraid of. It all works with the help of special silver crystals, OBVIOUSLY, although we don’t know whether you’ll need to coat your ceiling and floor with it as well if you want to remain completely watertight.
If you’re genuinely interested in this ‘development’, it’ll be available sometime in 2013…
BT say rolling out of superfast broadband ‘ahead of schedule’
May 11th, 2012 • 12 Comments
BT have said that they’ve completed their superfast broadband rollout to 10 million British homes ”several months ahead of schedule,” which means that customers will now be able to get superfast broadband (up to 80mbps) direct from BT (or from other ISPs, natch).
This fibre-to-the-cabinet rollout gives speedier broadband between the exchange and the grotty street cabinets with the rest of the connection being carried via the copper wires as we’ve had with trad. arr. broadband.
Of course, Virgin Media reached the 10 million mark for its 100mbps superfast broadband last February, so BT aren’t the first kid on this particular block. That’s not stopping the telco giant from feeling a little pleased with itself though. Ian Livingston, chief executive of BT, said: “There are more than half a million customers already using the service and more than 60 ISPs trialling or offering services. This is a significant achievement given we only began selling services a couple of years ago.”
This is all part of BT’s aim to provide speeds of up to 1-gigabit per second, eventually. This is all well and good, but the fact remains that Britain was recently ranked 16th in Europe for speed. We’re behind Russia and they live in snow houses with computers made from bread and vodka.
Rupert Wood, of research group Analysys Mason, said: “In terms of superfast broadband the UK will be among a leading group by 2015 but the trade-off is there will be very little ultrafast fibre to the home.”
Apple to release 7-inch iPad in October?
May 11th, 2012 • 12 Comments
Salivating Apple enthusiasts will be thrilled at the news of a 7-inch iPad hitting the shelves soon. However, there’s a catch. It seems Apple will be doing something they’ve been loathed to do in recent years – they’re making the new device very affordable.
That’s right, every Tom, Dick and Harry will be able to get their hands on a mini iPad for what’s believed to be in the $200/$250 price range. It’ll mean that Apple is no longer the bastion of elitist technobs.
Of course, some will still be able to sneer by flaunting their biggest devices, just like they did when they were at school, showing off their see-through Coke yo-yo to those who only managed to grab an opaque Fanta one (niche reference that, granted).
Spec-wise, it looks like the new 7-inch iPad will be identical to the 9.7-inch iPad, apart from the whole scaled-down element. So we can expect 2048×1536 resolution and there’ll probably be less storage capacity.
With this being so reasonably priced, is it going to kill off the competition from Samsung and Amazon?
[imore]
Anonymous attack Virgin after Pirate Bay block
May 9th, 2012 • 8 Comments
Richard Branson is invariably blissfully unaware of all this, sat on his luxury inferno of an island in the middle of the sea somewhere, dreaming of living in outer space, but his Virgin Media became the first ISP to block its customers from accessing The Pirate Bay following last week’s high court ruling.
Of course, some people aren’t happy about it. Those people are the walking shadow that is Anonymous, who took Virgin Media offline. “Our website has been the subject of denial of service attacks so we’ve taken the site offline for a short period of time,” a spokesperson said. “We’re aware some groups are claiming the attacks are a result of the recent High Court order which requires ISPs to prevent access to the Pirate Bay.”
Twitter accounts associated with Anonymous tweeted ‘Virgin Media – Tango Down #OpTPB‘ before and during the DDoS (not to be confused with hacking a site, which is a very different kettle of fish and only an out-dated simpleton would confuse the two. One is akin to blocking up someone’s driveway so they can’t get in, the other is squatting in their house and pissing on the rug).
The attack, of course, surrounds internet censorship and Anonymous see the blocking of Pirate Bay as ordered last month after a judge ruled that ‘both users and the operators of [The Pirate Bay] infringe the copyrights of the claimants… in the UK,’ as a censorship issue.
Virgin Media said, regarding the Pirate Bay block: ‘As a responsible ISP, Virgin Media complies with court orders but we strongly believe that tackling the issue of copyright infringement needs compelling legal alternatives, giving consumers access to great content at the right price, to help change consumer behaviour.’
Pirate Bay have been vocal about this all, saying: ‘We’d like to be clear about our view on this: We do NOT encourage these actions. We believe in the open and free internets, where anyone can express their views. Even if we strongly disagree with them and even if they hate us. So don’t fight them using their ugly method.’
This won’t be the last we hear about all this.
Many of us buy computers so we can watch films on them, rigging them up to projectors or simply watching films in bed on our laptops. You’d say that, alongside web-browsing and word-processing functions, it’s one of the reasons why you buy a device.
Well, if you’re thinking of using Windows 8, don’t think you’ll be watching films. That’s because users will have to pay for an upgrade if you want to watch DVDs. Microsoft have announced that Windows 8 will not come packaged with the Media Center software as standard, meaning that there’s now a gigantic gap in the market for third-party developers to make something that replaces it, which is free.
According to the official Building Windows 8 blog, they think that television and DVD use on computers is “in sharp decline” and that Microsoft would have to cough-up “a significant amount in royalties” to offer support for optical media in future software. So, in essence, they can’t be bothered.
Bernardo Caldas wrote: “Given the changing landscape, the cost of decoder licensing, and the importance of a straight forward edition plan, we’ve decided to make Windows Media Center available to Windows 8 customers via the Add Features to Windows 8 control panel (formerly known as Windows Anytime Upgrade). This ensures that customers who are interested in Media Center have a convenient way to get it. Windows Media Player will continue to be available in all editions, but without DVD playback support. For optical discs playback on new Windows 8 devices, we are going to rely on the many quality solutions on the market, which provide great experiences for both DVD and Blu-ray.”
Even though Cumbria only has one smartphone and two computers (one of them being a Commodore 64), Everything Everywhere has decided to trial 4G LTE up there to use some of that 1800MHz spectrum band.
The trial will run until the end of July where it is hoped that Cumbria will be able to borrow some smartphones and tablet devices from nearby civilisation.
The service was switched on by the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, who said: ”Cumbria has unique needs due to its sparse population and long distances, which 4G LTE will help overcome. Cumbria’s schools and educational opportunities will be revolutionised by this technology.”
Gove was then promptly surrounded by angry teachers who wanted to stab him up the arse with metre rulers.
Gove continued, with his eerily smooth face: ”Cumbria’s record number of small businesses will be transformed by this next generation technology. 4G will bring jobs to rural areas and all the benefits of super-fast broadband in education and health to its remote communities.”
Whether Everything Everywhere will get approval from Ofcom to continue using the 1800MHz band for 4G remains to be seen as there’s likely to be a few legal objections from rivals to come.
Pirate Bay claims record traffic, posts advice on getting round court block
May 3rd, 2012 • 14 CommentsDon’t monkey with the Pirate Bay. Days after Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Sky, Everything Everywhere and O2 were basically ordered block them, we’ve seen something of a Streisand Effect, with the site claiming 12 million more visitors than ever before.
A spokesperson for the site said that “the free advertising” from hundreds of news stories across UK media had dramatically boosted traffic to the site.
“Thanks to the High Court and the fact that the news was on the BBC, we had 12 million more visitors yesterday than we had ever had before,” the spokesperson said. “We should write a thank you note to the BPI (British Phonographic Industry).”
And then, as a thumb in the eye, they celebrated not with cake, but rather, publishing advice on how to get around the block: “As usual there are easy ways to circumvent the block. Use a VPN service to be anonymous and get an uncensored internet access, you should do this anyhow. Or use TOR, I2P or some other darknet with access to the internets. Change your DNS settings with OpenDNS. Or use Google’s DNS servers… we could go on…”.
If you squeeze one spot, two will emerge in its place, clearly. Not that this will stop the powers that be from trying to put an end to sites such as these.
The Pirate Bay adds: “Don’t forget that we can’t allow this shit to happen. Next time they’re coming for something else. And yes, there will be a next time if we don’t stop them. Write to your ISP and tell them to appeal the case. Write to your local MPs and tell them that this is not allowed. Make sure your voice is heard. Remember, we’re all the Pirate Bay, and we must stand united against the censorship from our opponents!”
Spotify finally comes to the iPad
May 2nd, 2012 • 3 Comments
It’s pretty much established as the best way to get your streaming music and now Spotify has launched an iPad app that will strengthen its grip on the nation’s ears and wallets/purses/money pouches.
Think of an elaborate version of its smartphone app and you won’t be too far away. But, as with the said phone apps, you’ll need to be a premium subscriber to the Spotify lifestyle if you want to use the damned thing on your tablet thing.
There’s some neat touches – you can wirelessly stream your audio to compatible hi-fidelity music units (or ‘midi systems’ as we believe they’re still called) and the visuals have all been optimised for the iPad’s oh-so-beautiful Retina display. Mmmm… smooth.
Spotify chief product officer Gustav Söderström did some fancy swipey motions with his fingers across an iPad screen earlier before saying: “One use case is you sit on your couch and discover new music. We think a big part of this use case is you’re at home, maybe with a stereo with AirPlay, and this is to a large extent a remote control.” Yeah, use case us up Gustav, you mad bastard.
Sadly, there is no sign of an Android version of the Spotify tablet app as yet. Ah well..
Microsoft, the kind of software developer that is so ashamed of human flesh that it has a bath with its clothes on, has issued Windows Phone developer guidelines that vow to crack down on mucky apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace.
The virtual shop already doesn’t allow “content that a reasonable person would consider to be adult or borderline adult content”, but that isn’t enough. Bill Gates & Co want to get all angry on ‘racy’ things. Changes must be made! And they’re going to make them!
So what are they doing? We’ll let them speak:
“Our content policies are clearly spelled out: we don’t allow apps containing ’sexually suggestive or provocative’ images or content”, Todd Brix, Microsoft senior director for Windows Marketplace said in a blog post.
“We will be paying more attention to the icons, titles, and content of these apps and expect them to be more subtle and modest in the imagery and terms used,” he continued. “Apps that don’t fit our standard will need to be updated to remain in the store. This is about presenting the right content to the right customer and ensuring that apps meet our standards.”
No boobs for you dirty buggers then.
Nokia unveil the 41Mp phone – we wonder why
May 2nd, 2012 • 38 CommentsJust how many megapixels are too many in a camera phone? Ten? Twelve? Maybe. How about FORTY ONE? Hmmm…
That’s what the new 808 PureView phone from Nokia is packing, along with Carl Zeiss optics and a new pixel oversampling technology. It says here. You’ll also get 1080p video recording and playback if you invest in one of these, which is yet to have pricing or a release date in the UK, although it’ll be available in various other ‘territories’ later this month. Here it is.
More tech stats – the 808 PureView has a 4” Gorilla Glass capacitive touchscreen with a 640 x 360 resolution, it’s powered by a 1.3GHz processor which runs Nokia’s Symbian Belle OS, and has 16GB of internal storage (with another 32GB available with the help of a Micro SD card). Oh, don’t forget the Bluetooth 3.0, an HDMI port, DLNA and NFC support. And you get a free sticker with a picture of a sausage on it. No you don’t.
In essence, it seems like a monster of a lightweight, portable camera with a phone hidden away somewhere inside it. All sounds a bit niche to us – is it REALLY the kind of thing that will help drag Nokia out of its slump?
[Reg]
Apple under scrutiny from ASA over iPad 4G claims
May 1st, 2012 • 8 CommentsApple are getting their collars felt by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after the advertising watchdog widened its inquiry into misleading claims from Apple that their new iPad is 4G ready.
Apparently, some people with nothing better to do have been making complaints to the ASA about the way Apple are branding their tablet.
Basically, even though we don’t have mega-fast 4G networks yet, those who have already bought new iPads won’t be able to use them on the new network because the frequencies will be different to those in America, which just happen to be the frequency that the devices are calibrated. And it seems Apple aren’t exactly shouting about this from the rooftops, which could be seen as misleading.
The electronics giant have already come under fire from Australian regulators when it emerged that the iPad wasn’t compatible with existing 4G networks there. Recently, the ASA apparently got assurances from Apple that it would stop marketing a 4G version of the device in Britain, however, the iPad is still listed as 4G compatible on the UK website.
Only a little footnote actually clarifies that the 4G networks are only accessible in the US and Canada. Is this misleading or are stupid people getting what they deserve for not doing basic research?
[metro]
