Called 'Caffeine’, the system ensures that users can find links to relevant content – such as a news story, blog or forum post – much sooner after publication than was previously possible.

When users search Google, it is not live content being trawled, rather, it is the search giant’s index of the web which, like the list in the back of a book, helps users pinpoint the information they need. The company’s previous index had several layers, some of which were refreshed at a faster rate than others. With Caffeine, it analyses the web in small portions and updates the search index on a continuous basis, globally.

Google says Caffeine was built in response to not just the burgeoning volume of content, but to reflect the fact that the average web page is richer and more complex.

Certainly, Tech Copywriters has noticed the benefits of recent changes to the mechanics of Google’s search engine, and if you are reading this, then it is very likely that you just have too.

2010 FIFA World Cup menaces corporates

It seems that fears expressed by service providers and employers regarding the impact of the World Cup on corporate networks continue to grow.

Ipswitch Inc.’s 'World Cup Network Traffic Calculator' (see our recent post) has collected more than 1,000 responses related to average bandwidth use and the predicted increase during the 30 days of the tournament. Key findings include:

• During matches, bandwidth use is expected to hit almost 87 percent in participating nations
• In Europe, average use is expected to double to 78.7 percent during key match times
• In host nation South Africa, IT managers are bracing themselves for network bandwidth to be completely maxed out to 100 percent

Ipswitch warns that while service providers struggle to maintain adequate access for customers, organisations face multiple problems during these artificial demand peaks within the LAN, such as constrained WAN connectivity and heightened security risks created by users venturing to un-trusted and unknown sites in search of video content not available from official broadcast streams [surely not such an unusual activity?].

During the world cup, IT Managers are invited to contrast their actual findings with those predicted.

And goes increasingly digital…

The World Cup will be watched online by nearly a third of British football fans, more than in any other World Cup, according to a study by PC World.

The retailer questioned over 3,000 Brits in the run-up to the tournament following a surge in sales of its wireless networking and video streaming gadgets. The study found that:

• 30 percent of fans, which equates to over 14 million of those expected to watch the World Cup live, are planning to do so over the internet
• Nearly a quarter revealed they would be using laptops or desktop PCs
• One in ten expect to follow the action using a smartphone

In addition, viewing on the move is said to be behind a 30-percent surge in demand for Slingboxes at PC World over the last couple of weeks. The Slingbox allows users to stream live TV to a laptop or mobile phone anywhere in the world via a broadband internet or WiFi connection.

…And mobile

Indeed, mobile TV is touted to score big in Europe by Pyramid Research. The proliferation of smartphones and the increase in mobile internet bandwidth means that many Europeans may watch matches on their mobiles instead. More national representation, commuter-unfriendly kickoff times, and [surely mis-guided] optimism about the caliber of western European teams will drive adoption across the region, says the company.

“Events of this magnitude always present a sizable revenue opportunity for traditional pay-TV providers,” commented report author and senior analyst Stela Bokun. “The last World Cup, however, demonstrated that mobile operators that provide mobile video and mobile TV service also stand to benefit from such events.”

But whilst footie fans may be poised to cut the wires and go mobile, the market watcher warns that operators are poised to ‘pull the plug’ on unlimited mobile data tariffs.

Operators kicking ‘all-you-can-eat’ into touch

Pyramid Research argues that despite data accounting for the vast majority of traffic on mobile networks by 2014, it will still constitute only 37 percent of total revenue – illustrating the challenge operators are facing to monetise the rising appetite for bandwidth-rich applications.

Mobile Data Pricing Plans: How Operators Can Escape the ‘All You Can Eat’ Trap analyses the evolution of pricing for mobile data plans and the impact on subscriber adoption and usage levels.

“AT&T’s recent announcement that unlimited data plans will no longer be available for its new customers confirms Pyramid Research’s assessment that operators will move away from the unlimited pricing model since it is becoming unsustainable,” said report author Ewa Romaniuk Calkowska.

Er, just one more thing…

Cheating not limited to MPs [or Maradona]

While MPs are promising more transparency and honesty in politics, it was revealed this week that one in ten IT professionals admits that either they or a colleague have cheated to get an IT audit passed.

In a survey of 242 IT professionals, mainly from organisations employing 1,000 to 5000+ employees, Tufin Technologies found that:

• 31 percent audit their firewalls just once a year
• 7 percent never audit their firewalls
• 36 percent admit their firewall rule bases are a mess, increasing susceptibility to hackers, network crashes and compliance violations

Perhaps some of the IT professionals surveyed may find solace in CheatConfession.com, a forum created to allow people involved in cheating to absolve themselves of guilt, get advice from peers, or share their cheating ways by anonymously posting their confessions in 800 words or less.

One wonders whether the site's moderators check the word-count of its users' posts.

Capital spending on PCs, servers, storage, and network equipment has soared in recent quarters as businesses take advantage of the general economic recovery to catch up with overdue spending on critical hardware infrastructure.

Market watcher International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that worldwide IT spending will increase by 3.8 percent this year, to reach $1.47 trillion. Hardware will lead the way, with growth of 6.4 percent, while software and services spending will increase by 3.1 percent and 1.5 percent respectively.

Emerging markets such as China and India are leading the charge, as they invest in new technology to support export-driven growth. And in the US, government stimulus funding has provided a much-needed boost.

“Just as capital spending on hardware is the first thing to fall in a recession, it’s also the first thing to come back up for air when IT budgets are surfacing above water,” said Stephen Minton, vice president of Worldwide IT Markets and Strategies at IDC. “There is undoubted relief that capital spending and general IT budgets are up, but it’s also clear that some weak spots persist.”

One of those weak spots is Western Europe, which is being impacted by the current debt crisis in Greece. IT spending in Western Europe is expected to be flat this year, having plunged 6.5 percent in 2009. According to IDC, any further strains on the confidence of European businesses and consumers could cast a cloud over the outlook for the second half of 2010.

HP wields jobs axe in $1 billion transformation

Hewlett-Packard (HP) expects to eliminate roughly 9,000 positions over a multi-year period by investing $1 billion in automating corporate IT systems.

The company said it will consolidate its Enterprise Services’ commercial data centres, management platforms, networks, tools and applications, to create a more scalable, modernised and automated IT infrastructure. Once complete, the transformation is expected to generate annual net savings after reinvestment of between $500 million and $700 million.

“Over the past 20 months, we focused on integrating EDS and improving profitability,” said Tom Iannotti, senior vice president and general manager, HP Enterprise Services. “Now that the integration is largely complete, we have identified significant opportunities to grow and scale the business.”

New drivers of business transformation

Meanwhile, social media, cloud and mobile computing have been hailed as the new drivers of business transformation. Those companies not serious about exploiting these technologies could be ‘left in the dust’ by competitors, it is claimed.

More than 120 CIOs and IT executives met recently at the CIO Executive Leadership Roundtable in Chicago, US. Hosted by the Chicago Chapter of SIM (Society for Information Management) and produced by HMG Strategy, the roundtable provided a high-level, private venue for sharing crucial knowledge, exploring new strategies, and envisioning new revenue streams via use of IT.

“This roundtable was a clear call to action,” warned Hunter Muller, President and CEO at HMG Strategy. “CIOs really have to take a good hard look at these newer technologies and figure out how to use them as value drivers – before their competitors do…”

Cloud goes Green

Hosting and cloud computing player Rackspace has been announced as the winner of ‘IT Operator of the Year’ in the Green IT Awards.

More than 75 organisations were nominated, with winners selected by readers of Green IT Magazine. Rackspace has adopted several initiatives over the past two years to help reduce its environmental impact, including:

• Deployment of ambient cooling technology at its data centre in Slough
• The planting of a tree for every new hosting customer (via the International Tree Foundation)
• The recycling of materials and use of paper from sustainable sources at Rackspace offices

“We’ve worked hard not only to make our customer offering sustainable, but also introduce internal initiatives such as employee education and recycling,” said Rackspace Managing Director, Brian Thomson. “We plan to continue to introduce even more initiatives over the coming years and work harder than ever to be green.”

One not so green technology sector is that of mobile handset manufacturing, where efforts are being thwarted by consumer usage patterns.

According to Heavy Reading Mobile Networks Insider, characteristics of green handsets include use of recycled materials, reduced use of toxic materials, and availability of more energy-efficient battery chargers, as well as chargers driven by alternative energy sources such as solar cells.

However, user habits remain the biggest obstacle to making mobile handsets more eco-friendly. “Discarding of still-usable handsets and failure to properly dispose of or recycle handsets are potentially significant contributors to environmental problems,” said Aileen Arcilla, author of the report Mobile Handsets: It’s Not Easy Being Green. “With the number of mobile subscriptions expected to exceed 5 billion over the next few years, the biohazards of handset disposal are likely to grow.”

Er, just one more thing…

Would you book a holiday through oldmanshaven.com? Or visit ipwine.com for a bottle of Chardonnay? And would you download music from mp3shits.com?

‘Slurl’ is the term given to a badly-named URL and is the subject of a new book by Andy Geldman, a self-employed computer programmer who originally coined the word.

Having discovered slurls in 2006 as ‘his true calling’, Andy set up a website and devoted all his spare time to hunting down more gems, with the slurls website bringing in over 75,000 visitors in 2009. His book takes the reader on a global journey to look at the special charms of technology and big business.

“There have always been unintentionally funny names, but the Internet takes it to a whole new level,” said Geldman. “It’s all because you can’t have a space in your URL. A business called ‘IT Scrap’ is fine in the real world, but not so great online with itscrap.com!”

Great work Andy.

Service providers and employers are bracing themselves for potential network disruption and severe pressure on Internet connectivity as consumers and staff stream video to keep tabs on the sporting action this summer.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the first to have each match streamed live, and also the first to offer high-definition coverage. With the majority of matches taking place during normal UK office hours, Ipswitch is warning that it could cost companies a significant amount of money.

“Users making use of video streaming services can put a considerable strain on companies' networks, resulting in bandwidth chokes and even outages, in addition to exposing them to security threats,” said Azmi Jafarey, CIO at Ipswitch.

To help businesses prepare, the company has developed a World Cup Network Traffic Calculator allowing IT managers to plot the likely impact on network resources. However, it is claimed that more than half of IT managers are more likely seeking to prevent staff from watching the tournament in the office.

A survey of 100 IT and networking professionals by Blue Coat Systems found that 54 percent want employees banned from watching World Cup matches at work. The survey also highlighted concerns that staff might be tempted to discuss the action with friends, family and colleagues via social networks.

“As a streamed football match consumes around 750MB of bandwidth – the equivalent of sending more than twelve editions of Tolstoy’s War & Peace – it’s important that IT and HR managers clearly communicate their corporate rules to employees,” said Nigel Hawthorn, VP EMEA Marketing at Blue Coat.

FIFA ready for deluge

Meanwhile, FIFA.com has announced its server farm in Slough is to house 75 super computers to support 70,000,000 page views per hour during the World Cup.

The world’s official football website expects to serve over 5.5 billion page views during the tournament, compared to the 4.2 billion recorded in 2006, and has also prepared two petabytes (2,000 gigabytes) of video streaming bandwidth [much to the delight of businesses no doubt].

FIFA said that particularly avid users are the millions of worldwide members of the free-to-join FIFA.com club, of which British fans represent the largest contingent in Europe.

Whether this contingent will be such avid users past the quarter finals remains to be seen.

Managing the rise in mobile data

Sony Ericsson believes that roaming mobile data usage is set to soar over the summer period due to social media use.

With many consumers opting for smartphones offering social networking functionality, the handset maker argues that the trend in mobile social networking is unlikely to stop as consumers head abroad [ash cloud permitting] for their summer breaks.

A ‘representative of Sony Ericsson’, said: “The advent of mobile social networking has heralded a revolution in how people consume and use the Internet. As such, we would expect that mobile data usage this summer will increase… However, consumers should be wary of the rates of these services, as it is likely that such usage could incur extra charges to their usual tariff.”

At the same time, Telcordia has urged CSPs (communications service providers) to ‘follow the traffic’ and re-evaluate their business models, pricing structure, and OSS (operating software systems) to capitalise on the growth in mobile data.

A survey of industry professionals across 75 countries by Telcordia found that CSPs intend to re-evaluate their billing solutions and re-adjust their business models to capitalise on the exploding rates of data traffic over the next year.

The survey results suggest that CSPs worldwide will rely on network management to control data traffic growth, which is increasing at a much faster rate than revenues, and creating profitability and customer experience challenges.

“All-you-can-eat data plans are not a sustainable business model, and policy-based bandwidth management and real-time charging provide CSPs and their subscribers with the necessary flexibility to try new services while keeping costs in line,” commented Pat McCarthy, VP, Service Delivery Solutions at Telcordia.

Er, just one more thing…

Just in case businesses needed a further reminder of the impending tournament, a World Cup Football Challenge intranet application has been launched by software developer Odyssey Interactive.

The application aims to increase overall intranet usage by allowing users to predict the outcome of matches, receive points based upon the accuracy of their predictions, and compete with other staff and departments via a league table.

“Since a large proportion of employees will be following the World Cup this summer it makes sense to take advantage of this to promote your intranet, inject a bit of fun and boost staff morale,” said Nigel Danson, MD, Odyssey Interactive.

The question is whether employees will have time to visit their intranet given the anticipated levels of social networking and video streaming.

The Conservatives and coalition partners the Liberal Democrats will help to get the UK online if they stick to the Conservatives’ pre-election plans to make the UK a European hub for hi-tech, digital and creative industries. But the spectre of the rural broadband challenge lingers.

According to Elfed Thomas, ceo at fibre optic infrastructure specialist, i3 Group, the Conservatives were the only party to deliver a ‘structured and believable’ strategy for super fast broadband, with pre-election plans to build a nationwide network by 2017.

However, Thomas warned that the rural broadband issue persists, and that it won't be solved without the aid of public spending. “Often, the figures to build a commercially-viable infrastructure just don’t stack up. I am in favour of their idea to use the BBC licence fee to fund connectivity in areas with limited access,” he said.

The question now is whether super-fast Broadband makes the cut [as it were], with the axe soon to be taken to the UK’s public finances.

According to the Office of National Statistics, the UK recorded a general government deficit of £159.2 billion in the calendar year 2009. This was equivalent to 11.4 percent of GDP. And at the end of December 2009, general government debt was £950.4 billion, or 68.1 percent of GDP.

The Maastricht Treaty’s ‘Excessive Deficit Procedure’ sets deficit and debt targets of 3 percent and 60 percent respectively for all EU countries.

Cloudy future for data

The amount of digital information created annually will grow by a factor of 44 between 2009 and 2020, as all major forms of media complete the journey from analogue to digital. The number of files, images, records and other digital information containers is also forecast to grow, by a factor of 67.

These are the findings of an EMC-sponsored study by IDC, which predicts that more than a third of all digital information created annually will either live in, or pass through the cloud by 2020. The market watcher expects cloud computing to stimulate more than $1 trillion in incremental business revenue by 2014.

“This year’s ‘Digital Universe’ study exposes many of the most pressing short- and longer-term strategic issues CIOs grapple with as they map out their IT strategies and investments,” commented Joe Tucci, chairman and ceo, EMC Corporation. “They’re quickly discovering that, to remain in the game, they need to do things differently, transforming traditional infrastructures into private cloud data centres that offer internal and external customers IT as a service.”

Clouds gather

IBM is one major player to have advanced its cloud credentials this week, with its acquisition of Cast Iron Systems, a provider of cloud integration software, appliances and services. Although financial terms were not disclosed, IBM said the acquisition gives it the ability to help businesses rapidly integrate cloud-based applications and on-premise systems.

“The integration challenges Cast Iron Systems is tackling are crucial to clients who are looking to adopt alternative delivery models to manage their businesses,” commented Craig Hayman, general manager, IBM WebSphere.

The IBM Software Group has acquired more than 55 companies since 2003, with its latest purchase advancing its ability to offer a ‘hybrid’ cloud model, whereby enterprises can blend data from on-premise applications with public and private cloud systems.

True hybrid hosting with easy server upgrades is the promise now being put forward by managed Web hosting provider, Liquid Web. The company’s ‘Storm Bare Metal’ is claimed to be ‘a revolutionary server technology’ that allows users to provision and manage private dedicated servers with cloud hosting features.

Users can deploy flexible hybrid hosting configurations that contain a mixture of ‘Storm Cloud Servers’ (cloud servers managed from within a Web browser) and Storm Bare Metal dedicated servers. The latter enable users to specify the exact processor, memory and hard drive configuration that is right for their project.

Er, just one more thing…

A thought-controlled software application known as ‘Jedi Mouse’ is being submitted as a patent application to the United States Patent and Trademark office. The software, which sells for $99.00 and requires the use of a wireless headset, allows users to navigate the computer, click and double click to open programs, compose email and send, ‘using the power of their mind’.

The neural processing technology is being developed by Jedi Mind, who claims it is on pace to create one new thought-controlled application per quarter. Jedi Mouse is aimed at typical PC users, associations for the disabled, clinics and non-profit organisations.

The company also said that it intends to patent all of its proprietary products to provide a stable of intellectual [sic] properties.

According to IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped 294.9 million units in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 242.4 million units in the first quarter of 2009.

Growing demand for smartphones also saw Research In Motion (RIM) replace Motorola in the top 5 vendor rankings for the first time. The rankings are as follows:

1. Nokia
2. Samsung
3. LG Electronics
4. Research In Motion
5. Sony Ericsson

“The entrance of RIM into the top 5 underscores the sustained smartphone growth trend that is driving the global mobile phone market recovery,” commented Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst, IDC. “This is also the first time a vendor has dropped out of the top 5 since the second quarter of 2005…”

Is it me, or is there one vendor that the media continually fawn over missing from that top 5 ranking?

i’ve been ad

The big A could charge close to $1 million for ads on its mobile devices this year, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Dubbed ‘iAd’, Apple is reportedly looking to charge marketers up to $10 million to be part of an exclusive launch of its mobile-device advertising capability, which comprises a software system to offer ads in the applications available in the App Store. App developers will receive 60% of the revenue; Apple gets the other 40%. Ad executives say they currently pay between $100,000 and $200,000 for similar mobile deals.

Online ads surge

The latest quarterly earnings reports from Yahoo, Microsoft and Google [or ‘GYM’ as they are sometimes referred to] indicate that online and display advertising is surging again, says the Online Publishers Association (OPA).

Yahoo led the pack, with a profit that nearly tripled to $310 million – although gross revenues were fairly flat. Microsoft saw an increase of 19% in its online ad revenues, prompted by a boost in search-related ads on Bing. Google’s profits rose 37% to $1.96 billion, with revenues up 23%, although the company’s stock ‘dropped’ 4.6% - with analysts suggesting that its performance had not quite lived up to expectations.

Shopping for mobile

The mobile marketing and retail sector (comprising mobile advertising, coupons and smart posters) will exceed $8 billion by 2012 globally.

According to market watcher, Juniper Research, location-aware technologies will play a key part, with companies like Google and IBM seeking to exploit knowledge of a user’s location to enable retailers to offer in-store shoppers a rich set of capabilities such as personalised special offers. However, the company also warns that failure to use targeted, location-based advertising, particularly SMS advertising, may cause mobile users to regard such advertising as little better than spam.

Money for nothing

Zong, which lets Facebook users buy virtual goods via their mobile phones, is to receive $15 million in venture funding from Matrix Partners.

Business Week says that Matrix’ general partner Dana Stalder, a former executive at PayPal and eBay, will join Zong's board of directors, whilst Zong will use the cash to market its brand and seek new online markets, such as video and music. Funding terms, including what value investors are placing on the company, were not disclosed.

Eat my shorts

Yahoo! ceo, Carol Bartz, received a $47.2 million compensation package in 2009, her first year on the job.

The Associated Press reports that Bartz’s pay consisted mostly of stock incentives, the ultimate value of which will hinge on how much Yahoo’s market value rises under Bartz’s leadership.

Er, just one more thing…

Grammar police target Twitter – A small but vocal subculture has emerged on Twitter, comprising grammar and taste vigilantes who spend their time policing other people’s tweets.

According to The New York Times, the vigilantes build their own algorithms to sniff out Twitter messages that are distasteful to them – e.g. tweets with typos or flawed grammar, or written in ALLCAPS [yes, I hate that too] – and then send scolding notes to the offenders.

Provoking an irate reaction seems to be largely the point.

So says British energy saving specialist, Energenie, who claims that voters are tired of half-hearted promises and spin when it comes to green policies. Research conducted by the company found that 50 percent of people intended to vote for a party specifically because of its green policies, leading Energenie to conclude that the election could hinge on whether politicians play the green card with conviction.

“The message to politicians couldn’t be simpler, don’t just talk green, be green,” warned Alan J. Tadd, md at Energenie.

Although some politicians may not be living up to their ‘green’ credentials, a number of businesses are. Construction and housing company, Willmott Dixon, said this week that it has issued 1,300 ‘ecobuttons’ to clients, and is planning a further 2,500 for its own staff nationally. Supplied by Greenfield Print and Promotion, ecobuttons are power-saving devices that plug into PCs and, when clicked, reduce electricity consumption when the machine is not in active use.

Savings resulting from the use of each ecobutton have been calculated at over £25 and 85kg of carbon per annum.

Web-based managed services provider, Akamai Technologies, has also announced a new sustainability drive, focused on enhancing the carbon efficiency of its global delivery network of 61,000 servers. This will be achieved (in part) by improving the efficiency of the hardware and code employed. Last year, a similar initiative by Akamai saw an 86 million-pound reduction in CO₂.

“Moving forward, and in collaboration with our customers, we plan to use the information we collect to identify and implement additional best practices,” said Paul Sagan, president and ceo, Akamai.

Cable wins political broadband challenge

In rather more dubious election/technology ‘news’, broadband comparison service Top10.com released the results of its challenge to find the senior politician with the fastest broadband in their constituency.

The somewhat aptly-named Vince Cable of the Lib Dems topped the charts, with constituents in Cable’s Twickenham receiving broadband speeds averaging 9.38Mbps. This was over two megabits faster than the 7.03Mbps enjoyed by residents in Alistair Darling’s constituency of Edinburgh South West, which came second. With 6.05Mbps, North Southwark & Bermondsey, the constituency of Simon Hughes, Shadow energy spokesman (Lib Dems) came third. The national average for broadband, according to Top10.com’s speed test, is 5.25Mbps.

And in what could prove to be a somewhat self-fulfilling prophecy, Nick Clegg pushed Gordon Brown into third place in the ‘broadband battle’ of the party leaders. Clegg’s constituency’s speeds (4.90Mbps) were 1Mbps ahead of those of Gordon Brown (3.91Mbps), but behind those of David Cameron (5.91Mbps).

Spooky or what?

End of the floppy, but beware digital black hole

With audio cassettes, video tape and vinyl already largely consigned to history, the 3.5-inch floppy disk has become the latest victim of technology’s unremitting evolution. eWeek reports that Sony will cease production of floppy disks by March 2011. Sony first launched the 3.5-inch floppy in 1981.

One technology attempting a comeback is that of the Polaroid camera. Three years after the last Polaroid camera was made, Polaroid Corporation launched the Polaroid 300 this week.

Although it bears some resemblance to older models, it has undergone a major face-lift overseen by Lady Gaga, who was appointed creative director in a bid to ensure the camera’s retro chic [just like Lady Gaga’s?] appeals to a younger generation.

The Polaroid 300 comes with an automatic flash and four scene settings, but uses self-developing film – just as its iconic predecessors did. Polaroid Corporation was co-founded in 1937 with the first instant camera launched in 1947. It became so successful that by the 1960s about half of all US households owned a Polaroid camera.

News of the Polaroid’s return will no doubt be met with enthusiasm by one scientist, who has spelt out the dangers of digitalisation.

Jerome P. McDonough, assistant professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois, warns of a looming ‘digital dark age’ originating from the mass of data spawned by the ever-growing information economy – at last count, 369 exabytes worth of data, including electronic records, tax files, email, music and photos. An exabyte is 1 quintillion bytes; a quintillion is the number 1 followed by 18 zeroes.

McDonough’s concern is that, with ever-shifting platforms and file formats, much of the data produced could eventually fall into a ‘black hole of inaccessibility’. For example, whilst the framed [Polaroid?] photograph will inevitably fade and yellow over time, the digital photo file may be unreadable to future computers – an unintended consequence of the rapidly digitising world that may ultimately lead to a ‘digital dark age’.

“If we can’t keep today’s information alive for future generations, we will lose a lot of our culture,” ” McDonough warned. “If we want information to survive, we really need to avoid formats that depend on a particular media type.”

Er, just one more thing…

Ash cloud sparks adultery spree 

Ash from the recent Icelandic volcanic eruption may have grounded planes and brought whole airports to a stand-still, but it doesn’t seem to have stopped thousands of Brits embarking on extra-marital affairs.

IllicitEncounters.com, the ‘dating site for married people’ [yes, you read that right] reports an unexpected surge in members and non-members logging in from mobiles. The site suggests the increase can be attributed to the thousands of Brits stuck here and abroad.

On average, IllicitEncounters.com receives around 7 percent of its traffic from mobile devices; on Friday 16 April, this figure had risen to 15%. Over the weekend, the site received over 8,500 visits from mobile devices; traditionally, this figure would have been around 2,900.

“Boredom and frustration mean that those stuck in airports across the world will be looking for the most stimulating, exciting thing they can get away with on their mobile,” said Adam Scott, ceo, IllicitEncounters.com. “And what’s more exciting than the idea of having an illicit affair?”

I would not like to hazard a guess, but I suspect there are certain premier league footballers that may have an answer.

Microsoft unveiled the new version of its search engine at The Wall Street Journal's seventh 'D:All Things Digital' conference held May 26-28 2009 in the US. Branded 'Bing', the software giant believes that consumers are ready to move beyond search and is thus positioning Bing as a 'decision engine'.

Bing is reported to feature a number of enhancements in core search areas - including entity extraction and expansion, query intent recognition and document summarisation, as well as a 'new user experience model that  dynamically adapts to the type of query to provide 'relevant and intuitive decision-making tools'.

While this is an interesting approach, whether Bing will enable Microsoft to boost its share of the search engine market remains to be seen. According to number cruncher comScore, Google Sites led the US core search market in April with 64.2 percent of the searches conducted, followed by Yahoo! Sites (20.4 percent), then Microsoft Sites (8.2 percent).

However, European-based digital marketing agency Bigmouthmedia has hailed the new service as a potentially crucial landmark in the online search sector's development. Citing Microsoft's pan-European approach and collaboration with key agencies in advance of the launch, bigmouthmedia believes that Bing could add a refreshing new dynamic to the industry.

"It has been some time since the search industry had a realistic alternative to Google, and if Microsoft's new engine can provide that then it will be of obvious benefit to both digital marketers and consumers alike," said bigmouthmedia CEO Steve Leach.

Perhaps Bing will appeal more to 'Wilfers' (those that aimlessly wander the Web) than those that search for something in particular. Or perhaps Librans such as myself that have trouble making a decision when there are too many options to weigh up. Then again, it sounds perfect for those that simply want Microsoft's new search algorithms to make the decision for them…

MNOs beware the smartphone surge in data

In other news from the D Conference, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson admitted that the operator needs to do something to boost speeds before the arrival of 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) cellular networks in 2012. "Between now and then is a long time," he is reported to have said.

According to Stephenson, US wireless networks are not prepared for the surge in smart phones use that has already shown signs of choking their networks. Smart phones such as the BlackBerry and the iPhone have significantly ramped up the amount of wireless Internet surfing, and MNOs (mobile network operators) have come under fire for being unprepared.

AT&T has announced plans to upgrade its 3G network with High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), as it paves the way for a roll out of LTE in 2011. Stephenson also said that AT&T's fixed-line business has taken the biggest hit as a result of the global economic downturn.

HP to axe 5,700 Europe jobs (read full story)

The latest victim of the downturn is hardware giant HP, which has announced plans to axe up to 5,700 employees, in addition to previously  announced losses.

According to reports, the countries especially affected will be Scotland and Germany, where HP has its EMEA Enterprise, Storage and Servers production facilities. These factories are slated to be closed in 2010 and production moved to the Czech Republic.

What's a social media friend worth? (read full story)

Digital friendships speak volumes about us as consumers and workers, and decoding the data can lead to profitable insights, it is claimed. As social media companies grapple with the increasingly perplexing challenge posed by monetising the success of social networking sites, Business Week reports that companies are working fast to figure out how to make money from the wealth of data they're beginning to have about our online friendships.

Marketers are said to be leading the way and finding that if our friends buy something, there's a better-than-average chance we'll buy it too. It's a simple insight, says Business Week, but one that could lead to targeted messaging in an age of growing media clutter. However, it concedes that, for all its popularity, Facebook has yet to prove itself as an advertising platform, with visitors focusing on their friends and paying scant attention to ads, with few click on them, while advertisers pay pennies for page views. Consequently, Facebook, with its estimated revenue of $300 million this year, is said to bring in scarcely a dime a month per member.

The hope is that if marketers manage to track the 'paths of influence' amongst social Web communities, they might be able to offer more effective and lucrative advertisements and promotions. Corporations are also said to be exploring how social Web relationships might benefit their business processes such as recruitment.

Gamers get fit with 'Gym in a Box'

High street retailer GAME has put EA's latest offering 'Sports Active' to the test to determine whether it is a real alternative to the gym. After a two-week trial, GAME's results are claimed to show that regular high tempo EA Sports Active sessions can have beneficial health and fitness effects, as within a week the weight loss target of the experiment had been met.

Competing against existing popular titles such as Wii Fit, EA Sports Active is said to offer a range of traditional cardio-vascular and targeted exercises allowing users to 'experience the variety and challenge of a gym workout in their own living room'. Corrinne Garstang, Online Content Manger at GAME, who engaged in the experiment intensively for two weeks, lost 3lbs at the half-way mark of her two week challenge.

"I think I represent a large part of the population who want to incorporate exercise into their lives, but simply don't have the time or money to join a gym. With so many fitness titles on the market, EA Sports Active really stood out because it had a more 'grown up' feel compared to other titles on the market. And after months of feeling increasingly unhappy about my burgeoning waistline I was desperate to see if it really worked".

One has to ask why the results of the second week were not included in the press release. Perhaps Corrinne spent too much time playing 'Cooking Mama 2 - Dinner with Friends (DS)'?

Gaming and mobile getting closer

With some predicting that gaming console giants will at some point have a massive impact in the mobile domain, convergence between the two has taken a step closer with Sony Ericsson's new phone, the 'Aino', which includes connectivity to the Sony Playstation.

According to the handset maker (read full release), the Aino allows users to control their PLAYSTATION 3 and access its media content anywhere, anytime, using 'Remote Play with PLAYSTATION®3'. Initially developed for PSP, this application enables users to control and access media content from their phone and can be done via a local network or using the Internet. For TV lovers in Italy, France, Spain, Germany and UK, users can also watch, pause and record live TV from a range of free channels.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has added a touch screen and Web browser to the next-generation of its Zune music player. The new device, called the 'Zune HD', will also carry a high-definition video output allowing users to play files through a docking station on HD televisions.

According to reports, the new features ramp up Microsoft's effort to compete with Apple Inc. products such as the iPod Touch, and highlight the company's push to integrate different platforms, from PCs and mobile phones to the Xbox.

Er, just one more thing…

TREAT YOUR DAD TO A PORSCHE FOR FATHER’S DAY (read full release)

A wireless mouse based on the Porsche 911 has been released by Motormouse. Featuring three sensitivity settings and including the smallest 2.4G wireless receiver in the world, this latest Motormouse comes with its own super-glide mouse mat and soft carrying pouch for easy travelling.

Apparently, this 'must have gadget' is the ideal gift for your dad this Father's Day.

I would be inclined to agree, if I could just get my technophobe father to grips with syncing this wireless wonder to his laptop.

This 'summer' has seen higher than average sales for holidays in the Caribbean, Dubai, Thailand and Tunisia, says the company, with British holidaymakers making sure they get a holiday to remember.

“Each year the number of people booking their summer holidays two months or more ahead of the departure date has grown. Following this trend we’ve seen an uptake in bookings for holidays in the Caribbean and Thailand, along with other long haul destinations,” says Holidays Direct spokesperson, Jon Pearce. “This suggests to us that a lot more people are planning ahead and saving up for their holidays somewhere special.”

However, it could be argued that there is another factor at play here - the strength of the Euro against sterling. Anyone that has been on holiday to Europe recently has no doubt been shocked at the subsequent expense of their jaunt. Given that the quality of food, accommodation and customer services has certainly not risen on the Continent, I would argue it is little surprise that Brits are seeking foreign climes further afield. The flights may cost more, but at least we are guaranteed to get more for our hard-earned buck.

And hard-earned bucks they are too if the latest survey from hospitality recruitment website Caterer.com is anything to go by.

Nearly 70% of people are miserable at work

According to Caterer.com, nearly 70% of people are completely miserable at work and one in two think about quitting their jobs on a daily basis. Indeed, 43% of people go as far as saying they dread waking up in the morning. Surprisingly, hospitality workers, despite the long hours and stressful reputation, are the happiest and most passionate about their work.

The survey reveals that 49% of hospitality workers thoroughly enjoy their job, with only 23% admitting to the occasional thought of changing sectors and 19% claiming to not feel any job satisfaction. The complete results show the various job sectors and the percentage of people who are not only happy with their career, but feel genuinely dedicated and enthusiastic about their job:

1)  Hospitality – 49.16% of hospitality workers are happy with their job
2)  Health Sector – 48.89%
3)  Charity – 34.06%
4)  Education – 30.88%
5)  Care/Social work – 29.92%
5)  Forces/Police – 28.57%
6)  Skilled (designer/electrician) – 20.43%
7)  Sales (phone/door2door) – 16.98%
8)  Labour – 11.00%
9)  Office-based – 10.01%
10) Retail – 7.17%

“Hospitality employee’s work extremely hard, especially at this time of year and it’s fair to say the industry is rarely associated with passion or fun," comments Ian Burke of Caterer.com. "For us, these results just confirm what we see every day; that hospitality workers really do love their jobs.”

I wonder whether the ability for instant revenge on a disagreeable customer is anything to do with it? "Is this potato mash now creamy enough for you Sir?"…

In mash-ups of another kind, the Met Police has launched a test version of a clickable crime map for London showing how levels of burglary, robbery and vehicle theft vary across the capital.

Met police in web 2.0 crime map mash up (read full story)

The beta map mashes up Google Maps with crime statistics for each borough, using coloured overlays to indicate varying levels of criminal activity - from patches of dark blue (for low crime) to red (high).

Apparently, Southwark comes out as the most crime-ridden borough, with Hackney, Newham, Waltham Forest and Westminster all above average, while outlying suburban areas Bexley, Harrow, Merton, Kingston, Richmond and Sutton all have below average crime levels.

The site has been developed as part of a Home Office initiative to get more people involved with their local police and enable the public to hold local police forces to account. The Met said further features are likely to be added in the near future.

The Six Degree of Separation Has Shrunk to Just Three (read full story)

The impact of social networking and developments in technology has meant that the six degrees of separation has fallen to just three according to research commissioned by UK mobile operator, O2.

The research included over 50 hours of in-depth interviews with adults across three different age groups, (18-25, 35-45, 55+) and found that the conventional notion of six degrees of separation is out of date.

The term was made famous by US psychologist Stanley Milgram following a 1967 experiment. The six degrees theory was upheld in a 2006 Microsoft study of instant messenger conversations. However, the O2 study reveals that within a shared 'interest' network (i.e. hobbies, sport, music, religion, sexuality etc), the average person is connected by just three degrees.

Email and mobile phones were the technologies that had the most significant impact, with texting seen as a universally important technology, whilst social networking sites such as Facebook were highly rated by the youngest age bracket (although usage declined drastically amongst older participants in the research).

Congratulations ShoZu!

ShoZu Wins Gold in the Future Mobile Awards for their Contribution to Mobile Web 2.0 (read full release)

Mobile Web 2.0 innovators, ShoZu, have been selected by Juniper Research as the top award winner in the Future Mobile Awards - mobile web 2.0 category. The Future Mobile Awards are given to companies that have made a significant contribution to their sector and are poised to make considerable market impact in the future.  The gold award recognises ShoZu as being a leading light in the development of the sector.

“Supporting one-click transfer of digital content between mobile phones and 50+ social web destinations, geo-tagging, mobile-to-web messaging, and behavioural targeted advertising, ShoZu offers mobile network operators an established, all-round Mobile Web 2.0 on/off-deck turnkey platform. The average user is said to generate 20 network ‘events’ (i.e. content uploads/downloads) per month, with heavy users generating in excess of 100 events per month. This success demonstrates what can be achieved if users have the right tools available," says Ian Chard, panel judge and Analyst at Juniper Research. "ShoZu has partnered with Telecom Italia, Singapore’s StarHub and 3 (Austria and UK) under revenue-share agreements, while shipping as an embedded application on Motorola and Samsung handsets. By providing the mobile web equivalent of a DVR (Digital Video Recorder) and catering to the needs of the prosumer, ShoZu is a deserving Gold winner this year.”

In the news

The iPhone Kill-Switch Kerfuffle

Privacy advocates' concern over what Apple will do with iPhone user data may be overblown, industry experts say (read full story)

Bold, Thunder, Flip: BlackBerry Maker Begins Key Rollouts (read full story)

Is it a bird, is it a plane - no, its a trio of handsets from BlackBerry.

Research In Motion has begun what analysts call its most important BlackBerry rollout season ever, with its first touch-screen model and first flip phone on tap.

Disney Dialing Up Kids Again (read full story)

Disney is hoping that Tinker Bell - along with a collection of pirates and other Disney characters - can help breath life back into its mobile phone services for kids. [Why don't they just give it up?]

On the wire

ARCHOS 5 and ARCHOS 7 deliver the entire internet and multimedia world in a handheld tablet (read full release)

A new line of small portable devices is announced: ARCHOS 5, ARCHOS 5g and ARCHOS 7 deliver a new way for customers to enjoy continuous and instant access to the Internet, Media and TV.

OLYMPIC INTERNET TRAFFIC TO GROW AS BRITAIN TAKES TWELVE GOLD MEDALS (read full release)

ScanSafe, a provider of SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) Web Security, urges companies to address bandwidth concerns as the interest in the Olympic Games grows due to the success of the British team.

Top 10 Broadband Awards 2008: O2 top the winner's table for comparison website inaugural awards (read full release)

Top 10 Broadband the UK’s broadband comparison site and guide has announced the results of its inaugural annual broadband awards. Winners included O2 as the fastest broadband provider, BT as the winner in the wireless broadband category and ‘3' won the award for best mobile broadband provider.

Er, just one more thing…

As the social networking revolution continues unabated, it seems that even the last bastions of good old fashioned fun are not safe.

ALMOST FULL HOUSE AS BINGO COMMUNITY GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH (read full release)

The All Bingo Club, the online community-based Bingo destination launched recently, reports that Bingo goers have been ditching the halls in favour of playing online. All Bingo Club combines online Bingo play with community interaction, and 1000s of bingo players are said to have joined as the word spreads about its ease-of-play and fun features. “It would appear that our investment in game play and ease- of-use combined with a focus on community, is paying dividends as we have seen a massive surge in sign-ups over the past few weeks," says Mikki G. (brother to Ali?], All Bingo Club’s Manager. "Our ‘Recommend-a-friend’ feature is proving very popular.”

I guess you just have to accept it when your number's up.

For example, what are the smartest strategies for impressing your boss? How can you effectively market yourself within an organisation? Why do you need to? What is 'career management'? How can you find new fields of work and completely change careers? How can you avoid 'Monday Blues' and love what you do every day of the week? [Please, please, please - I need answers!]

Says Lees: "No job is entirely recession proof. Right now job security is the top issue for people and there are many things you can do to improve the chances you'll still be in your job in 12 months time. Here are some strategies to set you on your way…"

Ten-Point checklist for taking control of your career in difficult times:

1. Look at what's working, rather than what isn't. Which parts of your job are still effective even in difficult times?
2. Find leverage. Concentrate your efforts on projects which are seen to be fireproof, or ways of protecting your income stream.
3. Find a fast-track mentor - an informal arrangement with someone more senior than you who can help you decode your organisation while it's going through tough times.
4. Don't ask for a pay rise just because everyone else is reacting to rising costs. Demonstrate your value - not your cost.5. Go way, way beyond your job description in value-adding ways. Career progression, ultimately, is not a question of what you do, but how far you are seen to be doing the things that matter.
6. At the same time, work smarter not harder on tasks which your organisation recognises as things that make a difference.7. Stay on winning teams. This is the time to negotiate a move away from a dead-end role, or a part of the organisation which is seen as under-performing or peripheral.
8. Stay in touch with changes in your sector, and don't stop networking - both for industry knowledge and for insider tips on the hidden job market.
9. Don't adopt cynicism of the marketplace. Not all organisations and markets are in decline - don't miss opportunities by seeing your glass as constantly half-empty - adopt a glass half-full mentality.
10. Stock your lifeboat before jumping ship: understand what you are really looking for rather than passively reacting to advertised or headhunted opportunities. Well-informed job seekers find great jobs in tough times.And if none of these work for you, then perhaps there is another way - sharpen something else and eliminate the competition…

New 'Knives on the Net' Threat

It is becoming increasingly easy to purchase deadly weapons online at a fraction of the retail price, often with no regulations controlling who is purchasing them and why.

Research by MarkMonitor (a provider of enterprise brand protection), is said to demonstrate the ease with which a variety of knives - from pocket knives to machetes - can be purchased over the Internet from high-street retail brands, e-commerce, online auction and exchange sites with little to no restrictions. Over a three-day period in July 2008, MarkMonitor found that almost 9,021 knives (worth approximately £65,000) were available for sale via online auction sites. 55% were available to purchase instantly with no warnings or restrictions.

The top five types of knife being sold online over the three day period include:

• Hunting knife - 1333
• Lock knife - 1259
• Army knife - 786
• Pocket knife - 707
• Pen knife - 498

MarkMonitor has also checked the websites of the UK's top department stores and retailers and out of a list of six top retailers, four were selling knives with no warnings, age limits or restrictions and may therefore be infringing legislation. Nice to know that we're taking knife crime seriously…

And if you are looking to trim some weight this year [and you really are as vain as a Z-list celebrity] then why not get your holiday snaps re-touched, courtesy of PicWash Slim?

Look Slim in Summer Bikini Photos

With paparazzi photos highlighting the latest in celebrity cellulite, taking pictures in bathing suits has become an almost definite no-no. Enter PicWash Slim. This new photo re-touching service promises to make you and your friends look fabulous in your bathing suit photos and have beautiful summer pictures you can share with the world.

Since August 2007, the site has been retouching user photographs for use on social networks and photo album sharing sites around the world. This week it launches its third service, PicWash Slim, to help alleviate the summer picture jitters. Costing $15 per photo, PicWash's team of designers, based in Miami, Florida, will use advanced techniques to slim the most requested areas of the body. These may include: upper arms, waist, stomach, thighs, cellulite, and general bulges. The results will be subtle and natural looking. [But remember, it is just the photos they do this for…]

The benefits of looking good in your photos are widely recognized. "Today an abundance of scientific research reveals that the physical attractiveness of a pictured person substantially affects interest to meet and to associate beyond first meeting," says Gordon Patzer, Ph.D, author of 'LOOKS: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined.' Perhaps there is a market for this sort of thing, given the continuing success of social networking sites such as Facebook…

Social Networking Explodes Worldwide as Sites Increase Their Focus on Cultural Relevance

Web measurement company comScore, Inc. has released a study of worldwide usage of social networking sites, indicating that while the growth in new users in North America is beginning to level off, it is burgeoning in other regions around the world. During the past year, the total North American audience of social networkers has grown 9 percent compared to a much larger 25 percent growth for the world at large. The Middle East-Africa region (up 66 percent), Europe (up 35 percent), and Latin America (up 33 percent) have each grown at well-above average rates.

"While the social networking trend first took off in North America, it is beginning to reach a point of maturity in the region," said Jack Flanagan, comScore executive vice president. "However, the phenomenon is still growing rapidly in other regions around the world - especially as the established American brands turn their focus to developing markets."

And comScore believes that a focus on tailoring a site's relevance to local markets is playing a big part in the continuing success of monoliths such as Facebook. "Facebook has done an exceptional job of leveraging its brand internationally during the past year," added Flanagan. "By increasing the site's relevance to local markets through local language interface translation, the site is now competing strongly or even capturing the lead in several markets where it had a relatively minor presence just a year ago."

comScore Enhances Reporting of Ad Networks' Audiences

comScore, Inc. also announced this week that it will provide enhanced measurement of the audiences for online advertising networks. The new reporting structure will provide two sets of measures-the "potential reach" for each network and an "actual reach" reading.

The 'potential reach' measure will be a calculation of the unduplicated visitors to all sites with which each ad network has contracted to deliver advertising. The definitions will be based on written documentation and confirmation provided by the networks. This measure represents the largest potential reach a network could deliver if all parts of the network are used to deliver ads.

he 'actual reach' measure will represent the reach of the ads that are actually served by the network during a given reporting period. In order to report 'actual reach', networks must participate by providing comScore with the appropriate identification protocols for rendered ads. Consequently, only participating networks will be included in the 'actual reach' report.

We believe these two toolsets provide the information that ad agencies need when they are deciding on which advertising networks to consider for ad buys. And, the ad networks will have the high quality, third-party information needed to compete for advertising dollars," commented Magid Abraham, President and ceo, comScore, Inc.

In the news

Gov't battles EU to use passenger data (read full story)

The UK Government is battling European Union (EU) proposals to restrict the way it uses air passenger data to monitor immigration. The Home Office claims that the names and travel plans it collects are crucial to control cross-border movements.

Sad day for the industry as Siemens exits telecoms sector after 160 years (read full story)
Its been a long and glorious history. The German company Siemens was one of the very first companies ever to lay telephone cables and make telephony switches, but this week it is exiting the industry after more than a century and a half.

On the wire

Ten Million Zombies Distributing Spam and Malware Every Day, According to PandaLabs and CommTouch (read full report)

IT security solutions provider Panda Security says that its laboratory for detecting and analysing malware - known as 'PandaLabs' - has just announced the findings from a joint report with CommTouch on the current state of spam. The report found that on average during the second quarter of this year, more than 10 million zombie computers (systems infected by
'bots' and controlled remotely by cyber criminals) were sending spam and emails with malware every day.

Entrepreneur.com's Social Networking Site Opens New Doors for 8.3 Million Businesses

A business-to-business marketplace designed specifically for entrepreneurs has been launched by Entrepreneur.com via US carrier Sprint. While other social networking sites feature an atmosphere of play, Entrepreneur Connect was created by the online authority in entrepreneurial business to facilitate company growth. The network is presented by Sprint to allow businesses to exchange ideas and network with small business owners across the country, providing them with more tools to help them get work done and build their companies.

Let LS Simple help you get the Government to pay 30% of your costs! (read full release)

The Simple Intelligent Power Management (Simple IPM) solution from LS has become the first comprehensive structured cabling system in the world to be eligible for enhanced tax relief under the UK Enhanced Capital Allowance Scheme (ECA). Enhanced Capital Allowances enable a business to claim 100% first-year capital allowances on their spending on qualifying plant and machinery.

eCrypt announces launch of BeCrypt Media Client, its CD/USB media/file encryption solution (read full release)

BeCrypt is able to provide approved data security and data handling solutions to meet requirements for transformational Government BeCrypt’s newly developed CD/USB media/file ‘zero footprint’ encryption solution, BeCrypt Media Client will be available from 1 September. It is currently going through CAPS approval, with FIPS 140-2 approval expected later in the year.

The early availability of BeCrypt Media Client gives government departments and other public sector bodies that need to adhere to Data Handling requirements an easy upgrade path to a CAPS approved solution.

In the bloggosphere

Cable is Cornering the Broadband Market

In the harsh glare of second quarter seasonality, the telcos’ wired businesses suddenly look not only like they are weakening… they look like they are positively collapsing.

Google's GMail Outage: Another Blow for 'The Cloud'

When will 'Cloud Computing' be as reliable as your ATM? Questions are asked about Google’s ability to manage, protect, and make available your data better than you can. Based on recent history, bloggers are not convinced…

Er, just one more thing…

Samsong, Samsung or Samstrung?

A 'phenomenal competition' has just launched on borders.co.uk, offering visitors the chance to win a cutting-edge laptop. In association with Currys, Borders is offering customers the chance to win a brand new Toshiba laptop, in return for answering the extremely difficult question above.

No doubt, Borders will be looking to collect a phenomenal amount of personal data in return for entering this fantastic and brain-taxing competition.

At last, the wait for Olympian enthusiasts is over as China raises the curtain on what is sure to be a spectacular (smog-permitting) global event. Whilst there have been several political javelins hurled back and forth in recent weeks, one has to admire the tenacity of the Chinese in their meticulous preparation for the Games and construction of the world's biggest birds' nest (only Amy Winehouse's mop-top comes close).

Of course, the Olympics isn't just about sports, it's about supporting team and country every four years when Olympic fervour and patriotism take over - as Annabel Youens, community director of voeveo.com, reminds us. The marketplace for mobile content has come out with a range of national anthem ringtones and flag wallpapers so that any mobile phone owner can "carry the Olympic spirit in their pocket". [Just as long as it's not the Olympic torch…]

"There's something special about hearing your national anthem when your phone rings," says Annabel. "It's an easy way to feel part of the Olympics and you don't have to fly all the way to Beijing." Apparently, Voeveo has team members from China, New Zealand, Germany and Canada - which promises a 'battle of the national anthem ringtones' at the company's offices. Do you get the feeling that these guys should get out more?

China Opens Up the Internet to Journalists

Certainly, if there is one thing that can bring nations together (and of course, divide them at the same time), it is sport. It is encouraging to see that China is reportedly lifting its ban on certain websites following the row over access for journalists covering the Olympic Games.

In China, the Internet is tightly controlled, with access to many foreign sites restricted. Even the Chinese Google portal filters results to exclude politically sensitive material. However, it seems that many formerly restricted sites are now available - although for how long remains to be seen.

For those that don't want to chance it, the Global Internet Freedom Consortium (GIFC) has made anti-censorship software tools available for download at its site to help journalists and tourists circumvent China's Internet blockade. All Internet traffic through the tools is encrypted and can successfully bypass the Internet blockades in repressive nations around the world, it is claimed.

ShanghaiExpat Expands Its 'Guanxi'

Said to be one of the most active websites for expats' living in China, ShanghaiExpat is now working with 'Guanxi', the first and only English mobile city guide in China. Guanxi, a service of mInfo Inc., allows users to SMS keywords in English, Mandarin, or Pin Yin to search locations in cities across China. Subscribers to ShanghaiExpat can now send their keywords or venue names to Guanxi to find out the address and telephone number.

I wonder whether the service will include the 'Olympic Reporter's Guide to Labour Camps' - launched this week by The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG)?

No More Doubts: Tech Spending Slows Significantly

Adding to the doom & gloom pervading the global economy at present is the latest market research from US-based market research firm, Techtel Corporation. The results of its 2Q08 'IT Spending Plans' Survey, conducted among 552 IT buyers/influencers in the US, show that expectations of overall IT spending have fallen dramatically over the past 4 quarters.  In 2Q08, only 3.9% more companies forecast an increase in spending rather than a decrease over the next 6 months; that is down from 18.5% in 2Q07.

Confirming this trend, actual IT spending was less than expected for the first 6 months of 2008, the first time this measure has been in negative territory since it was first tracked in 2Q04, says the company.

"Tech's hesitation about future demand is well-founded. U.S. IT spending is slowing and expected to continue doing so. It appears we may enter a period of declining IT spending during the second half of 2008," said Techtel' CEO, Michael F Kelly. The slowdown trend is said to be most pronounced in non-service related industries, and in companies with less than 250 employees. Three times as many companies cited the economy as a reason for decreased spending in 2Q08 (77%) as did in 2Q07 (26%).

In the news

LiMo wheels out new handsets (read full story)

Mobile Linux collective, the LiMo Foundation, announced a raft of new handsets to ship with the operating system on Monday.

On the wire

BOG OFF! I'm on the phone! (read full release)

iGizmo uncovers shocking stats on the UK's gadget usage. 35% of Brits admit to using their phone while on the loo [so how can you tell when people are actually talking sh*t?]…

FinePrint 6 paper saving printer utility launched (read full release)

An intelligent printer driver which typically reduces paper consumption by making more effective use of paper, reducing scrapped pages and removing the need for preprinted stationery, is announced by Software Partners.

Fibre, network, sewer, London (read full release)

Geo, a provider of bespoke fibre networks, today announced a 'refresh' [sic] of its Geo.Metro product portfolio, which includes the launch of Geo.ONE PLUS (1Gbit/s plus), Geo.TEN(10Gbit/s) and Geo.TEN PLUS (2 x 10Gbit/s), all scalable Managed Network Service solutions for businesses in London. The company is the only network provider to have deployed optical fibre via the Thames Water sewer system.

Er, just one more thing…

Meet the Fokkers - AT&T's Wireless Service Checks in at Gaylord International

AT&T says that it is the first wireless carrier to provide service at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Centre - the largest combined hotel and convention centre on the East Coast of the US.

3G in-building systems have been deployed to provide wireless coverage extending over all 470,000 square feet of flexible convention, meeting, exhibition and pre-function space, as well as the lobby, restaurants and shopping at the hotel.

According to Rob Forsyth, AT&T vice president and general manager of wireless operations in Washington, D.C., northern Virginia and Maryland: "Investing in in-building systems allow us to deliver on that promise [of seamless connectivity], even in the nooks and crannies of some of Washington's largest hotel and meeting spaces."

Hmm, wireless users with nooks and crannies beware of Mr Forsyth and where he plans to extend his wireless coverage…