Ofcom reveals state of UK broadband

24 October 2013 Last updated at 07:42 ET

While superfast broadband is now available to almost three quarters of UK homes, getting a connection on Britain's roads is more tricky, according to a report from Ofcom.

Its annual infrastructure report looked at mobile coverage on roads for the first time.

While motorways have good 3G coverage, just 35% of the UK's A and B roads are served by all four mobile networks.

The report found that 9% of roads have no 3G coverage at all.

The latest trends in mobile and broadband outlined by the report are designed to give a snapshot of the UK's communications market.

Despite wide availability of broadband networks in the UK's towns and cities, only 4.8 million customers are taking advantage of superfast speeds, defined by the watchdog as 30Mbps (megabits per second) or above.

That equates to 22% of connections, up from 10% last year.

There are several reasons why consumers may be reluctant to upgrade, thinks Andrew Ferguson from broadband news site ThinkBroadband.

"The usual factors we encounter from consumers are resistance to any increase in price, and the £10 to £20 premium for faster services can deter many, particularly if paying under £10 for their broadband service now," he said.

"There are also a good number who after not getting speeds close to the advertised speeds previously are wary of upgrading for little or no benefit," he added.

The appetite for data is huge though - Britons use 650 million gigabytes in an average month, equivalent to more than one billion copies of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, according to the report.

Ofcom believes that there are two main factors contributing to this deluge of data - the fact that many households have lots of devices wanting to connect to the internet and the need for high-quality on-demand TV services.

Road and rail

Outside the home, people are also demanding more connectivity.

According to the report the number of public wi-fi hotspots in the UK has doubled from 16,000 to 34,000 over the last year. The amount of data being sent or received from these hotspots has almost trebled, to almost 2 million gigabytes a month.

Meanwhile 4G services continue to be rolled out by the UK's mobile operators.

As well as looking at coverage on the UK's roads, Ofcom is also looking at 3G services on railways although the results will not be released until next year.

"We know consumers increasingly expect superfast speeds, but it is also important to make sure people can connect over a very wide area. That is why we are doing everything we can to support moves to improve coverage in difficult areas such as roads and train lines," said Ed Richards, Ofcom's chief executive.

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Twitter float could raise $1.4bn

25 October 2013 Last updated at 11:54 ET

Twitter has unveiled the price range for its shares when the company lists on the stock exchange.

In a filing on Thursday, Twitter said it planned to sell 70 million shares priced between $17 and $20 (£10 - £12) to raise up to $1.4bn (£865m).

The offering represents 13% of Twitter and values it at as much as $11bn.

Analysts said the valuation, which was less than forecast, indicated the firm wanted to avoid the dip in prices that followed Facebook's listing.

"They're trying to price this for a very strong IPO, ideally creating the conditions for a solid after-market," said Brian Wieser of the Pivotal Research Group.

Facebook's shares were priced initially at $38 per share. The stock soared within hours of its debut to a high of $45 but later slumped.

Some analysts had blamed over pricing of the shares as a reason behind the fall. However, Facebook shares have since recouped most of their losses and are now trading above the listing price.

Continue reading the main story

A price tag of $11 billion might look a bit steep for a company that is still not profitable - but Twitter's valuation looks conservative compared to some of those it is following onto the market.

There had been reports that the company would be seeking a valuation of as much as $16 billion, but at $11 billion that's a multiple of roughly ten times its projected 2014 revenues.

Facebook went public at a value of $100 billion - twenty times its 2012 revenue - while LinkedIn launched at an even higher multiple.

Perhaps Twitter is right to be cautious - after all, its business model is still fairly opaque, even though there are promising signs that it is working out clever ways of serving advertisers.

In any case the founder Ev Williams, who will now be a billionaire, can be pretty satisfied. A new book, Hatching Twitter, reveals that he turned down an offer from Yahoo to buy the company when it was still a fledgling. The price tag back in 2007? Just $12 million.

Earnings worries

Twitter's share sale on the New York Stock Exchange will make it the biggest internet company to go public after Facebook.

The microblogging site has seen steady growth since its launch seven years ago.

According to its IPO documents, it now has 218 million monthly users and 500 million tweets are sent a day.

However, all those users and tweets have not yet resulted in a profit. Twitter made a loss of $69m in the first six months of 2013, on revenues of $254m.

Some analysts said that while the lower-than-expected pricing may help its share prices in the days after the listing, in the long run investors would still need to see the firm make profits.

"The fact that the valuation is lower than expectations, I think was smart by the underwriters. I think it will help the pop," said Michael Yoshikami of Destinational Wealth Management.

"But in the end, even for $11bn, the question is can they come up with earnings to substantiate that number? And it's unclear that they're going to be able to do that."

Continue reading the main story

Twitter happens in real time, 24 hours a day. Expect to miss stuff if it's not sent direct to you"

End Quote

Advertising

Almost 85% of Twitter's revenue currently comes from advertising on its site.

There are three main ways for a company or an individual to advertise on Twitter: by promoting a tweet that will appear in people's timelines, promoting a whole account, or promoting a trend.

Twitter tends to charge its advertisers according to the amount of interaction their content generates.

Some analysts say the company has showing strong signs of growth, with revenue rising from just $28m in 2010 to $317m by the end of 2012.

One research firm, eMarketer, has even estimated that Twitter's revenues from advertising sales will increase by more than 100% by the end of this year.

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Microsoft profits surge 17%

24 October 2013 Last updated at 17:24 ET

Microsoft reported better than expected earnings of $5.2bn (£3.2bn).

Profits at the technology giant were up 17% from the same period last year.

"Our devices and services transformation is progressing," said boss Steve Ballmer in a statement. He added that Microsoft is launching a "wide range" of new products in the coming quarter.

The report shed no light on who is to replace Mr Ballmer, who announced plans to retire within the next year.

The company has released several new products this quarter, including an update to Windows 8, and recently bought the mobile phone unit of struggling Finnish giant Nokia.

Shares rose 6% in after hours trading on the strong results.

Surface sales

For the first time, Microsoft also announced sales of its tablet computer, Surface.

It said revenues from Surface "grew to $400 million with sequential growth in revenue and units sold over the prior quarter".

Last quarter, the company was forced to take an embarrassing write down of $900m after sluggish sales.

The computer, well-liked by reviewers, marked Microsoft's first foray into hardware manufacturing.

However consumers, many of whom expressed displeasure at Microsoft's update to its popular operating system Windows, did not bite.

The company still did not provide sales figures of the device.

Succession plans

Investors hoping for any information about who will replace Mr Ballmer in the new year were disappointed.

Earlier today, on a conference call to discuss earnings, Ford boss Alan Mullaly declined to comment on rumours that he was being considered for the top job.

Other contenders include Stephen Elop, the former head of Nokia, who resigned as boss after Microsoft announced it would purchase the Nokia's mobile phone unit for 5.4bn euros ($7.2bn; £4.6bn) in September.

Mr Elop is now head of Devices and Services at Nokia, although he is expected to transfer to Microsoft - where he was once a top manager - once the deal is completed.

Mr Ballmer has been at the helm of Microsoft since 2000, and has been at the company since 1980.

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Wikipedia pilots articles via SMS

25 October 2013 Last updated at 10:51 ET By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

Wikipedia has begun piloting a service that sends articles via text message, primarily aimed at users in Africa.

The online encyclopaedia has partnered with mobile operator Airtel to offer the free initiative which is being tested out in Kenya.

It is hoped the service will be used to reach people who do not have internet access.

The trial will be active for three months, said Dan Foy, technical partner manager for the Wikimedia Foundation.

"Throughout most of the developing world, data-enabled smartphones are the exception, not the rule," he wrote.

"That means billions of people currently cannot see Wikipedia on their phones."

To activate the service - called Wikipedia Zero - users need to dial *515#, after which they will receive a text message prompting them to search for articles.

Next five billion

Adoption of cheap mobiles in Africa is widespread, and in many regards the mobile industry across the continent is more advanced than in more developed parts of the world.

For instance, the sending of money via text message is extremely popular - one service, M-Pesa, boasts 17 million users in Kenya alone.

Western technology companies see the region as a major source of future growth. Facebook, for example, is approaching saturation point in its current markets, and so it is looking at methods to adapt its services to suit those with more basic technology.

The social network also launched a drive to get other technology companies looking at ways to make access easier - starting with bringing down costs of accessing mobile data.

Tom Jackson, who edits African technology news website HumanIPO, said Wikipedia's initiative would be warmly welcomed.

"There has been a steady move towards putting educational material online in many African countries, led mainly by the private sector rather than governments, but access to the internet remains a problem given that most Africans surf on their phones rather than browsers.

"This step increases the chances of access, especially as there is functionality to provide Wikipedia via SMS. Feature phones are still dominant in Africa, so this is a helpful addition."

He added: "I just hope it comes with the same warnings that European and American kids are given about taking Wikipedia at face value!"

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

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MEPs vote to suspend US data sharing

24 October 2013 Last updated at 08:52 ET

The European Parliament has voted to suspend the sharing of financial data with the US, following allegations that citizens' data was spied on.

The allegation forms part of leaked documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The vote is non-binding but illustrates MEPs' growing unease over how much data was shared with the US.

It comes a day after it was alleged that German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone calls were monitored.

The European Parliament voted to suspend its Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (TFTP) agreement with the US, in response to the alleged tapping of EU citizens' bank data held by the Belgian company SWIFT.

The agreement granted the US authorities access to bank data for terror-related investigations but leaked documents made public by whistleblower Edward Snowden allege that the global bank transfer network was the target of wider US surveillance.

MEPs also want to launch a full inquiry into the alleged spying.

Merkel phone

The row over exactly how much snooping was done on European citizens appears to be escalating.

Germany has summoned the US ambassador in Berlin over the claims that the US monitored Mrs Merkel's mobile phone calls.

Other leaders are also likely to want further clarification from Washington over the activities of its National Security Agency (NSA) in Europe.

Meanwhile student group, europe v facebook, is launching a fresh attack on how deeply the social network was involved in the US spying programme.

It has won the right for a review of why the Irish data protection commissioner is not investigating the amount of European data shared with the US.

Commissioner Billy Hawkes has previously claimed that there "is nothing to investigate" over Facebook's role in the PRISM programme.

Max Schrem, who heads the group, remains unconvinced.

"When it comes to the fundamental rights of millions of users and the biggest surveillance scandal in years, he will have to take responsibility and do something about it," he said.

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Samsung Electronics profit jumps 26%

24 October 2013 Last updated at 22:50 ET

Samsung Electronics has reported a 26% jump in profit in the third quarter driven by strong smartphone sales and a recovery in its memory chip business.

It made a net profit of 8.24 trillion won ($7.6bn; £4.7bn) in the July-to-September quarter, up from 6.56tn won during the same period a year earlier.

Operating profit rose to a record 10.2 trillion won during the quarter.

The firm said sales of smartphones, a key driver of its growth, are expected to rise further in coming months.

It said that sales "will gain momentum due to year-end promotions over the holiday season and an improved line-up of mass-market smartphones".

Increased competition

Samsung has posted record operating profit in six of the past seven quarters, mostly due to the growth of its smartphone division.

Continue reading the main story

Like Nokia, Samsung may hit a limit in increasing market share"

End Quote Kim Sung-soo LS Asset Management

The firm has enjoyed success in both the top-end as well as lower end of the smartphone market, giving it an edge over rivals such as Apple which makes only top-end phones.

Its growth in the sector has seen it become the world's biggest smartphone maker.

However, there have been concerns over whether Samsung can continue to grow at such a strong pace, not least because of increased competition and saturation of some key markets.

"Samsung has done well, having rapidly caught up with Apple in the smartphone market. But I'm concerned whether Samsung would be able to do better," said Kim Sung-soo, a fund manager at LS Asset Management.

"Like Nokia, Samsung may hit a limit in increasing market share. Apple is also fighting back, signalling an uphill battle for Samsung."

Analysts said that the company needed to come up with more innovative products to help sustain its growth rate.

For its part, Samsung has been taking steps in that direction.

Earlier this month, it launched a smartphone with a curved display screen, beating its rival LG by at least a few months to offer a handset featuring flexible-screen tech.

In September, it unveiled a smartwatch with a colour screen that can show alerts, be used for voice calls and run apps. Again, it edged firms such as Microsoft, Apple and Google to unveil such a device.

Chip demand

Samsung's latest earnings were also boosted by its semiconductor business, which saw profit more than double to 2.1tn won, the highest in three years.

Revenues in the division rose 12% over the previous quarter to 9.74tn won.

The firm saw its bottom line buoyed by stronger chip prices after a fire at a plant owned by rival SK Hynix caused tightened supply in the market.

Samsung supplies chips to other smartphone-makers, including its biggest competitor Apple, and expects demand to pick up as the year draws to a close.

However, its consumer electronics division, which includes TV manufacturing, saw a decline in profit due to a drop in demand in China and Europe.

But Samsung said that it expects the unit to bounce back in the current quarter, not least due to holiday season shopping during the end of the year.

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Amazon sees quarterly loss narrow

24 October 2013 Last updated at 23:07 ET

Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, saw its losses narrow in the third quarter as its sales grew more than expected.

It reported a net loss of $41m (£25m) for the July-September period. That is down from $274m a year earlier.

The firm said that its sales surged 24% from a year ago to $17.1bn.

The firm forecast its sales would grow further in the current quarter. That saw its shares rise by as much as 9.6% in after-hours trading in New York.

RJ Jottovy, an analyst with Morningstar, said that "it looks like the revenue momentum will continue into the fourth quarter" despite the macro business environment being tough.

Amazon said it expects fourth-quarter sales of $23.5bn to $26.5bn. Analysts had forecast revenue of $25.9bn.

'Busy few months'

Continue reading the main story

It's been a busy few months"

End Quote Jeff Bezo Amazon

This is the third quarter in a row that Amazon has posted a net loss.

However, the firm has been taking steps to try to turn around its fortunes.

This includes expanding its Kindle line of e-readers and tablets and boosting its delivery network and cloud-computing services.

The company has also been building more warehouses to reduce shipping costs and is adding robots to increase its efficiency in delivering orders.

Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon, said in a statement that ''it's been a busy few months" for the company.

At the same time some of the services being offered by the firm have also helped to attract consumers.

Mr Bezos added that one Amazon service called Prime had signed up "millions" of new members.

The service offers free two-day shipping for eligible purchases. Members also get access to Amazon Instant Video and have the ability to borrow books from other Kindle owners.

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FBI on the hunt for eBay 'fraudster'

25 October 2013 Last updated at 11:58 ET

The FBI has issued wanted posters for a man they say is behind an eBay car scam that has netted $3m (£1.8m).

Authorities in the US also want to track down six other fugitives in relation to the charges.

The gang were described as "masters of illusion" who convinced people to pay for cars that did not exist.

"They thought their distance would insulate them from law enforcement scrutiny. They were wrong," said US attorney Loretta Lynch.

Convincing scheme

The FBI put out a wanted poster for 33-year-old Romanian Nicolae Popescu, charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

"They siphoned funds from victims to fuel their greedy desires and created false identities, fake websites and counterfeit certificates of title in order to make the scheme more convincing," said FBI Assistant Director, George Venizelos.

"Popescu and his co-conspirators were masters of illusion, but they can't escape their ultimate reality.

"With the help of our law enforcement partners at home and abroad, we will bring them to justice."

In a statement, eBay said: "We have partnered with law enforcement to alert consumers about the type of scams described in the indictment - which involve exploiting well-known, trusted brand names like eBay to attract consumers and then lure them onto fake websites and into fraudulent transactions.

"Auto shoppers can be confident in their purchase by ensuring they start and complete their transactions on eBay Motors and never use money wire services to send payments."

Romanian notoriety

In a recorded conversation, the FBI said Mr Popescu boasted that he was "beyond the reach" of US authorities.

As well as eBay, the gang is said to have used Cars.com, AutoTrader.com, and CycleTrader.com to sell the non-existent cars, usually priced between $10,000 (£6,150) and $40,000 (£24,700).

"After the 'sellers' reached an agreement with the victim buyers, they would often email them invoices purporting to be from Amazon Payments, PayPal, or other online payment services, with instructions to transfer the money to the US bank accounts used by the defendants," an FBI statement explained.

Romania has gained increasing notoriety as a hub for cybercrime.

A report from technology magazine Wired detailed a town dubbed "Hackerville" by locals - where cybercriminals are said to learn their craft at an early age.

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3D printer 'gun parts' found in raid

25 October 2013 Last updated at 12:02 ET

A 3D printer and suspected "homemade" gun components seized during police raids in Manchester are being examined.

Officers initially thought they could be a "plastic magazine and trigger" which would make a "viable" gun.

But a man who was arrested in connection with the raid said the parts were sections of the 3D printer.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has now said it "cannot categorically say" whether the objects are the component parts for a gun.

The arrested man, who has since been bailed, said: "It's nothing to do with a gun whatsoever.

"I have no idea why they think it is part of a gun. It's designed by the company that makes the printer to go in the printer to make it better."

The component suspected as being a magazine for a gun was in fact a "spool holder" for the 3D printer, he added.

Computers analysed

3D printing technology works by building up layer upon layer of material - typically plastic - to create complex solid objects.

The equipment was seized during a series of raids targeting organised crime.

A force spokesman earlier said if the tests showed the parts could make a functioning weapon it would be the "first ever seizure of this kind in the UK".

But experts have cast doubt on whether the printer was sophisticated enough to print gun components.

Brian Derby, professor of material science at University of Manchester, said the seized printer appeared to be a hobbyist's machine.

He said: "It would make something that would look like a gun but it would not work as a gun."

Asst Ch Con Steve Heywood said: "We need to be absolutely clear that at that this stage, we cannot categorically say we have recovered the component parts for a 3D gun.

"What we have seized are items that need further forensic testing by national ballistics experts to establish whether they can be used in the construction of a genuine, viable firearm."

He added: "Clearly the fact we have seized a 3D printer and have intelligence about the possible production of a weapon using this technology is of concern. It is prudent we establish exactly what these parts can be used for and whether they pose any threat."

The BBC's home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said the manufacture of guns through 3D printing was "almost inevitable" because of the relatively few firearms in circulation.

"The worst-case-scenario would be a cheap and 100% reliable device that could be made overnight and then destroyed after just one use, disposing of crucial evidence to pin to a suspect," he added.

'Available guns'

Desktop 3D printers can be bought on the High Street for less than £1,000, but prices more complex models can cost £10,000.

The world's first gun made with 3D printer technology was successfully fired in the US in May.

The group that created the firearm, Defense Distributed, said it planned to make the blueprints available online.

Defense Distributed is headed by Cody Wilson, a 25-year-old law student at the University of Texas, who defended making the design available by saying: "I'm seeing a world where technology says you can pretty much be able to have whatever you want.

"It's not up to the political players anymore."

At the time, Europe's law enforcement agency Europol said it feared criminals would follow suit as the technology became cheaper and more user friendly.

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Grand Theft Auto bags gaming gong

25 October 2013 Last updated at 12:08 ET By Daniel Emery Technology reporter, BBC News

The adult-themed crime game, Grand Theft Auto 5, has won the top prize at the Golden Joystick awards.

Rockstar's controversial game - where players commit crime in the fictional city of Los Santos - was presented with the Game of the Year gong at a ceremony in central London.

Sony's The Last of Us also scooped two awards.

Ken Levine - the man behind Bioshock and System Shock 2 - was honoured with a lifetime achievement award.

The Golden Joysticks are the largest publicly-voted video game awards in the world, with this year more than 10 million people casting a vote.

The Lifetime Achievement is a new addition to the ceremony.

Mr Levine has been a high profile figure in the industry ever since he worked with designer Doug Church, on the first-person shooter, Thief: The Dark Project, credited with being one of the first titles to introduce the concept of stealth into video games.

"The great thing about the still-maturing nature of video games is you get to be inspired by the work of novices and veterans alike," he said.

Continue reading the main story

• Game of the Year: Grand Theft Auto V
• Hall of Fame: Activision: Call of Duty
• Lifetime Achievement: Ken Levine
• Best Newcomer: The Last of Us
• Most Wanted: Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
• Best Indie Game: Mark of the Ninja
• Best Visual Design: BioShock Infinite
• Best Multiplayer: Payday 2
• Best Gaming Moment: Far Cry 3 - The Definition of Insanity
• Studio of the Year: Naughty Dog
• Innovation of the Year: Oculus Rift
• Best Storytelling: The Last of Us
• Best Online Game: World of Tanks
• Best Handheld Game: Assassin's Creed III: Liberation
• YouTube Gamer Award: Yogscast
• Best Gaming Platform: Steam
• Best Mobile/Tablet Game of the Year: XCOM: Enemy Unknown

"We're all figuring out day by day exactly what the medium is capable of."

Gaming diversity

Now in its 31st year, the awards were first given out back in 1983, with the first Game of the Year award going to Jet Pac on the ZX Spectrum.

Andy Robinson, editor of Computer and Videogames, said that three decades on, the awards still "represent the voice of gamers worldwide".

"We've revamped the categories to reflect the diversity of modern gaming and also added the inaugural Lifetime Achievement award, which has made this year's ceremony the most thrilling for us yet," he said.

The Golden Joysticks are not the only big awards for the video games industry.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts hands out its Video Game Baftas in the spring each year, although the majority of their awards are selected by a panel of experts, rather than a public vote.

Grand Theft Auto 5, released last month, quickly became the fastest selling entertainment product ever, taking just three days to generate $1bn (£620m) in revenue.

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EE rapped over 'misleading' maps

17 October 2013 Last updated at 06:52 ET

The Advertising Standards Authority has ordered EE to change its mobile coverage checker after a customer complained it had wrongly told him he would receive excellent service in his area.

The checker must make it clearer that it is only a guide, the ASA said.

The decision is likely to have an impact on other mobile operators offering similar maps.

Mobile coverage can vary widely from street to street.

It depends on a variety of factors, including the density of buildings and the number of trees in the area.

Amend language

Despite the fact that the EE coverage map has an addendum which states that it is "only a guide and not guarantee of service availability in a particular location", the ASA still felt the ad was misleading

Its ruling stated: "We noted that the claims under the coverage results were presented in language that was not conditional and consider the overall impression of the ad was such that it was likely to be understood to mean that fast reliable internet access and high quality calling was available... to consumers in the relevant postcode."

In response EE said: "The Coverage Checker offers a prediction of our network coverage across the UK. In this instance, we deemed coverage to be Excellent in the postcode as confirmed by testing that found over 98% of the postcode had an excellent signal."

"We take on board the ASA's ruling and will amend the disclaimer language as necessary," it added.

EE customers are given a 14-day cooling off period if they are not happy with the mobile service after signing a new contract.

Daily improvements

O2 also points out that customers have a seven-day window to cancel their service if they find it is not as good as expected.

"Our coverage maps are created on accurate predictions of the network, but unfortunately they can't always take into account a number of factors affecting signal like building structures and natural landscape," the mobile firm said in a statement.

"We're making daily improvements to our network and our coverage maps for 2G, 3G and 4G are updated to reflect these on a weekly basis."

Most operators have ambitious plans for 4G coverage, both indoors and outdoors, with most planning to reach around 98% of the population by 2017.

But it is notoriously hard to produce accurate mobile coverage maps. All the operators produce their own and use different metrics for measuring coverage. Some have called on Ofcom to produce its own coverage map, something that the regulator has rejected.

There are a few independent coverage maps available from firms such as RootMetrics and OpenSignal.

Matthew Howett, analyst with research firm Ovum said: "While the operator's own coverage checkers are usually very accurate, they don't all necessarily measure the same thing. For instance some might only be for outdoor coverage, whereas others will also give you an idea what you can expect indoors.

"Given these peculiarities, they are useful only up to a point for consumers when making comparisons between networks," he added.

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Windows 8.1 gets global release

17 October 2013 Last updated at 06:33 ET

Microsoft has released the Windows 8.1 update for its flagship operating system.

The download seeks to address some of the criticisms levelled at the original version of Windows 8.

In particular, the update restores the start button and allows a computer to boot up with a traditional desktop interface.

The launch comes at a critical time for Microsoft as it seeks a new boss, with PC sales experiencing a long decline.

Windows 8 sought to bridge the gap between touchscreen devices, such as tablets and smartphones, and more traditional form laptops and desktop machines. As such it had an interface built of tiles that could be tapped or swiped to open applications.

However, many people found the tiled interface did not work well for some of the things they were used to doing with a computer.

The changes in 8.1 include:

• start button - tapping once on this brings up the tiled interface and a long press opens up system controls
• desktop mode - lets people avoid the tiled interface entirely
• keyboard shortcuts - removes the need to toggle between different on-screen keyboards when typing numbers and letters
• gesture control - some applications, such as those for cooking, can now be paged through without touching a screen
• tile sizing - the blocks on the touchscreen interface can be in one of four sizes
• web browsing - Windows 8 machines will now display separate web pages side by side

A host of other changes, including better support for multi-tasking and improved links to Microsoft's Xbox game console, are also in the update.

Shrinking sales

Windows 8 was created to capitalise on the growing popularity of tablets and other portable gadgets. Microsoft needs to get people using its software on these machines because sales of desktop machines are in sharp decline.

Global shipments of PCs hit a five-year low in early October, according to figures from market research firm Gartner. Sales of PCs had now fallen for six quarters in a row, it added. The downward trend in sales statistics were confirmed by IDC, which added that the decline would probably continue into 2014.

The shrinking sales are important for Microsoft because traditionally the bulk of its revenue comes from people and companies buying laptops and desktops and office software to run on them.

It is not clear that Microsoft is adjusting to the changes in the types of gadgets that people use. In July, Microsoft wrote off $900m (£559m) following poor sales of its own-brand Surface touchscreen devices.

At the same time, Microsoft has undergone a major reorganisation and has bought phone maker Nokia. It is also launching a new version of its Xbox games console and has begun searching for a new chief executive.

Servers ready to dispense the update were turned on at 07:00 New York time (12:00 BST). The update is free to those already running Windows 8. Charges will apply if users upgrade to 8.1 from Windows 7. The update comes just over a year after the launch of Windows 8.

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Adidas smartwatch has pulse sensor

17 October 2013 Last updated at 08:47 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

A watch with a colour touchscreen and built-in heart monitor that studies the wearer's pulse to create training programmes has been unveiled by Adidas.

The gadget - which is being targeted at runners - also includes a GPS location chip to maximise the accuracy of its readings.

It marks a move by the German firm into the smartwatch sector, although the device does not run third-party apps.

The news comes the same week as rival Nike updated its own activity tracker.

The two companies - which are best known for their sports clothing and shoe ranges - are taking different approaches with their flagship products.

At $399 (£350 in the UK) Adidas's Micoach Smart Run is more than double the price of Nike's $149 Fuelband SE. But it offers a wider range of sensors as well as the ability to play MP3 audio files to wireless headphones via Bluetooth.

It also has the advantage of offering partner apps for Android, Windows Phone and iOS devices. By contrast, Nike only offers a Fuelband app for the iPhone.

The US firm does, however, offer a separate Nike-branded watch made by the Dutch firm TomTom that features a GPS chip and can be paired with a heart rate strap made by another company.

Battery life

Adidas announced its new product at Gigaom's Mobilize conference in San Francisco.

It said athletes could use the watch to create a coaching programme to improve their fitness levels and would then receive feedback via animated graphics on its screen, vibrations, and audio commands - using paired headphones - telling them to speed up or slow down.

The new device is bigger than less advanced digital watches and screenless activity trackers also sold by Adidas, but its 1.45in (3.7cm) display is smaller than the screens on Samsung and Sony's new smartwatches.

The Galaxy Gear and Smartwatch 2 both offer a range of activity apps of their own as well as other Android software, but rely on being paired with a smartphone for much of their functionality.

Adidas says its product's battery lasts about 14 days when its tracking sensors are switched off. However, that drops to just four hours when it is switched into "training mode".

Motorola's Motoactv watch may be its closest competitor. The gadget also features a GPS chip and MP3 player, but not a pulse rate sensor of its own.

Killer app

Consultancy Juniper Research recently predicted the wider wearable tech market will grow from $1.4bn of sales this year to $19bn by 2018.

However, it suggested that sales of specialist fitness tracking equipment and watches that are, in effect, slaves to smartphones will be cannibalised by more powerful standalone devices.

"The products currently available in the market only appeal to a niche demographic, but as we move towards the age of a true multifunctional smartwatch we expect them to become more appealing," said its senior analyst Nitin Bhas.

"We believe players like Apple, Google and Microsoft will release devices that can acts as a fitness tracker, as a digital wallet, as a way of offering ticketing and coupons, and all sorts of other things. To be honest, the market is still waiting for a killer app.

"There is an opportunity for Adidas here - but along with start-ups entering the wearable tech sector, it has a very narrow window and is likely to struggle as the marketplace becomes increasingly crowded."

Adidas said it would start selling the new watch next month.

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No secret files in Russia - Snowden

18 October 2013 Last updated at 04:15 ET

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Edward Snowden said he had acted in the public interest

US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has insisted he took no classified documents to Russia when he fled to Moscow from Hong Kong in June.

He told the New York Times he had given all the papers to journalists in Hong Kong and had kept no copies.

Mr Snowden, who worked for two US spy agencies, also said no confidential information had been passed to China.

The US authorities want Mr Snowden extradited to face trial, but Russia has refused to hand him over.

The Russian authorities gave him a one-year visa earlier this year after he claimed asylum.

Mr Snowden told the US newspaper that he did not take any of the documents because it would not have been in the public interest.

"What would be the unique value of personally carrying another copy of the materials onward," he said.

Claims had surfaced in media reports that China was likely to have gained some intelligence from the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor before he left Hong Kong.

Some analysts had suggested he was working with Chinese intelligence, while others said he was working with the Russians.

But Mr Snowden rebuffed these claims, saying: "There's a zero per cent chance the Russians or Chinese have received any documents."

He said his last job for the NSA had focused on China, and he had "access to every target", so he felt confident that the data was safe from Chinese agencies.

The New York Times report said its interview was conducted over several days via encrypted networks.

The information leaked by Mr Snowden has led to claims of systematic spying by the NSA and CIA on a global scale of governments, businesses and members of the public.

Targets have included rivals like China and Russia, as well as close allies like the EU and Brazil.

The NSA was also forced to admit it captured email and phone data from millions of Americans.

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Myst creators seek cash for new game

18 October 2013 Last updated at 06:23 ET

The creators of legendary adventure game Myst are seeking cash for a new game via Kickstarter.

Cyan Worlds is looking for $1.1m (£679,000) from the crowdfunding site to develop a game called Obduction.

The game-maker said its new title would be a spiritual successor to its earlier point-and-click adventure games Myst and Riven.

If Cyan reaches its funding target it plans to release PC and Mac versions of Obduction in mid-2015.

Hand waving

Released in 1993, Myst was a huge hit thanks to its sumptuous look, detailed world-building and intricate puzzles.

On its Kickstarter page, Cyan said Obduction would continue with these traditions but update them to take advantage of the power of modern computers.

It said the game would use the Unreal 4 game development engine to create a detailed far-flung world that players find themselves upon at the start of the game. Playing Obduction involves exploring the world, solving puzzles and working out why the player has been abducted and taken to the alien planet.

The cash being sought was for the most basic version of the game, said Cyan. Cash raised beyond the original total would go towards making the game world bigger and moving the title to other gaming gadgets beyond PCs.

Cyan said it was turning to Kickstarter because it allowed the company to connect with fans, meant it had control of development and ensured everyone involved had an intimate link to the project.

Nathan Grayson at PC game news website Rock, Paper Shotgun said the "meagre" information provided by Cyan did not give a good idea about how the final game might turn out. He wondered if the game would reach its funding target despite getting pledges of more than $100,000 within a day of being kicked off.

"Obduction really does feel like it'd be a shoo-in if it wasn't currently a pile of napkin scrawlings and a series of excited hand gestures," he wrote.

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Major piracy site to be shut down

18 October 2013 Last updated at 07:34 ET By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

IsoHunt, a popular website offering BitTorrents of mostly pirated material, is to shut down following a court settlement.

The site's owner, Canadian Gary Fung, has agreed to pay $110m (£68m) to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

MPAA chairman Chris Dodd said the move was a "major step forward" for legitimate commerce online.

In a blog post, Mr Fung said: "It's sad to see my baby go."

The site is currently still online, but will soon be shut. It is one of the most popular sites of its kind on the internet.

A group of companies, including Disney, Paramount and Twentieth Century Fox, accused the site of wilfully infringing copyright by listing millions of popular movies and TV programmes - in a court battle that has lasted for more than seven years.

Now Mr Fung has agreed to settle. He added: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race and I have remained faithful. 10.5 years of IsoHunt has been a long journey by any business definition and forever in internet start-up time.

"It started as a programming hobby in my university days that has become so, so much more."

Court documents acknowledged that it is unlikely that Mr Fung's company could pay $110m, and that the MPAA would probably receive between $2m and $4m.

Degree of separation

Like a similar site, The Pirate Bay, that has been blocked in the UK by a court order, IsoHunt did not host pirated material itself.

It instead acted as a directory of sources from which to download illegal files.

Continue reading the main story

The successful outcome of this landmark lawsuit will also will help preserve jobs and protect the tens of thousands of businesses in the creative industries"

End Quote Chris Dodd Motion Picture Association of America

According to court documents, Mr Fung's defence hinged on this degree of separation - and argued that it was the users of IsoHunt responsible for distributing pirated material, not IsoHunt.

The Californian court disagreed.

"It sends a strong message that those who build businesses around encouraging, enabling, and helping others to commit copyright infringement are themselves infringers, and will be held accountable for their illegal actions," said MPAA chairman Mr Dodd.

"The successful outcome of this landmark lawsuit will also will help preserve jobs and protect the tens of thousands of businesses in the creative industries, whose hard work and investments are exploited by sites like IsoHunt."

'Reluctant revolutionary'

Ahead of the ruling, Mr Fung had taken to social news site Reddit to take part in an AMAA - Ask Me Almost Anything - session.

In it, he described himself as a "reluctant revolutionary", and backed calls for copyright reform.

He said he did not hold a disregard for the law, and acted upon requests to remove links to pirated content when the company was made aware.

He also said the industry could render sites like IsoHunt obsolete if it offered simultaneous releases worldwide, as well as digital offerings that were cheaper than physical copies.

His thoughts echoed findings by a trio of researchers at George Mason University in Virginia, US.

Their site piracydata.org has been collating the weekly top 10 most-pirated films and investigating whether legal digital methods were available.

They found that half of the movies in the list were not available to access legally online. Furthermore, none of the 10 titles could be streamed - arguably the most straightforward way to consume media online.

However, in contrast, efforts by Fox to curb piracy of TV series The Walking Dead fell flat.

Despite the first episode of the latest series being made available to stream free online, the programme was still illegally downloaded more than 500,000 times, according to data gathered by Torrentfreak.com.

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

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LED 'li-fi' step closer, says China

18 October 2013 Last updated at 07:56 ET

Wi-fi connectivity from a light bulb - or "li-fi" - has come a step closer, according to Chinese scientists.

A microchipped bulb can produce data speeds of up to 150 megabits per second (Mbps), Chi Nan, IT professor at Shanghai's Fudan University told Xinhua News.

A one-watt LED light bulb would be enough to provide net connectivity to four computers, researchers say.

But experts told the BBC more evidence was needed to back up the claims.

There are no supporting video or photos showing the technology in action.

Li-fi, also known as visible light communications (VLC), at these speeds would be faster - and cheaper - than the average Chinese broadband connection.

In 2011, Prof Harald Haas, an expert in optical wireless communications at the University of Edinburgh, demonstrated how an LED bulb equipped with signal processing technology could stream a high-definition video to a computer.

He coined the term "light fidelity" or li-fi and set up a private company, PureVLC, to exploit the technology.

"We're just as surprised as everyone else by this announcement," PureVLC spokesman Nikola Serafimovski told the BBC.

"But how valid this is we don't know without seeing more evidence. We remain sceptical."

This year, the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute claimed that data rates of up to 1Gbit/s per LED light frequency were possible in laboratory conditions, making one bulb with three colours potentially capable of transmitting data at up to 3Gbit/s.

Unlimited capacity

Li-fi promises to be cheaper and more energy-efficient than existing wireless radio systems given the ubiquity of LED bulbs and the fact that lighting infrastructure is already in place.

Visible light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum and 10,000 times bigger than the radio spectrum, affording potentially unlimited capacity.

But there are drawbacks: block the light and you block the signal.

However, this is also a potential advantage from a security point of view. Light cannot penetrate walls as radio signals can, so drive-by hacking of wireless internet signals would be far more difficult, if not impossible.

Prof Chi's research team includes scientists from the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the report says.

She admitted that the technology was still in its infancy and needed further developments in microchip design and optical communication controls before it could go mass market.

Her team is hoping to show off sample li-fi kits at the China International Industry Fair in Shanghai on 5 November, the report said.

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Ship trackers 'vulnerable to hacks'

18 October 2013 Last updated at 13:28 ET By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

A system used globally to track marine activity is highly vulnerable to hacking, security experts have warned.

Weaknesses in outdated systems could allow attackers to make ships disappear from tracking systems - or even make it look like a large fleet was incoming.

Researchers at Trend Micro said their findings showed the danger of using legacy systems designed when security was not an issue.

But one vessel-tracking specialist said spoof attempts could be easily spotted.

Lloyd's List Intelligence's Ian Trowbridge said that in addition to the vulnerable technology - known as the Automatic Identification System (AIS) - other measures could be used to identify marine activity.

"The spoofing would immediately be identified by [Lloyd's List Intelligence] as a warp vessel," he said, "providing unexplained position reports outside of the vessel's speed/distance capability and thus subject to further investigation and validation."

'No checking'

The AIS system is used to track the whereabouts of ships travelling across the world's oceans.

For ships over a certain size, having AIS fitted is mandatory under international maritime law.

Continue reading the main story

It has long been thought that the pirates are basically using AIS as a shopping list"

End Quote Rik Ferguson Trend Micro

It is designed to transmit data about a ship's position, as well as other relevant information, so that movements can be seen by other boats as well as relevant authorities on shore.

One other use is to alert nearby ships when a man or woman is overboard - an alert that can easily be spoofed, says Trend Micro's Rik Ferguson.

"It boils down to the fact that the protocol was never designed with security in mind," he told the BBC.

"There's no validity checking of what's being put up there."

Using equipment bought for 700 euros (£600), the researchers were able to intercept signals and make vessels appear on the tracking system, even though they did not exist.

In one example, the team was able to make it look as if a ship's route had spelled out the word "pwned" - hacker slang for "owned".

Somali pirates

The information broadcast by AIS is public - but when the system was first put in use, in the early 1990s, the technology required to receive the information was prohibitively expensive for those not directly involved in the industry.

But now, a typical internet connection can be used to see the locations of boats, as well as an indicator of what type of cargo they may be carrying.

There has been speculation that Somali pirates have been making use of the system.

"It has long been thought that the pirates are basically using AIS as a shopping list," Mr Ferguson said, "seeing what's coming into local waters, and what cargo it may have."

However, Lloyd's List Intelligence noted that captains are permitted to disable AIS if they feel their crew could be endangered by it.

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

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Google shares rise above $1,000

18 October 2013 Last updated at 16:52 ET Continue reading the main story

Google shares have topped $1,000 (£617) for the first time, jumping 13.8% on Friday after the company reported better-than-expected earnings.

Shares in the online giant closed 122 points up at $1,011.4, and have risen 42% since the start of 2013.

Friday's share price rise followed the company posting a 36% jump in net profits to $2.97bn for the July-to-September period on Thursday.

Google's revenues also beat forecasts with a 12% rise year-on-year.

"We are closing in on our goal of a beautiful, simple, and intuitive experience regardless of your device," Google's chief Larry Page said in a conference call with analysts.

Continue reading the main story

Look at a graph of Google's share price and you'll see a mountain range with two prominent peaks - one back in 2007 when it climbed above $700, another today as it breaks through $1000.

When it floated in 2004, early scepticism about the search giant's real value was quickly dissipated, as investors marvelled at the fast growing earnings from its advertising formula.

Then, from 2007 the shares halved in value as doubts surfaced about whether the growth story could continue.

But, over the last four years, as Google has shown that it can be as big a force in mobile advertising as it has been on the desktop, confidence returned sending the shares ever higher.

And 18 months after Facebook floated, its story is looking rather similar.

Facebook shares, which halved in value in the months after its stock market listing, reached a new high today - and again it's the social network's proven ability to make money from mobile advertising which has restored confidence.

Two companies battling for the upper hand in a vast new industry - but right now investors are betting that both can deliver spectacular growth.

The strong earnings report also helped other online companies, with Facebook shares adding 4.4% to a new high of more than $55. Amazon rose 3.4%.

Google's market value is about $334bn, which is still well below Apple's $461bn.

Google was floated in August 2004 at $85 a share, giving the company a market value at the time of $23bn.

The company reported its quarterly earnings on Thursday after US markets had closed.

Google said that paid-for clicks increased by a quarter during the July-to-September period, from a year earlier, the highest rate of growth in the past year.

This offset an 8% fall in average cost-per-click, the price advertisers pay Google when consumers click on their ads.

"We view solid paid clicks growth to be a good indicator of demand, driven by the continued shift to mobile," JP Morgan analysts said in a note.

Video ads

Several brokers have raised their share price target for Google on the back of the company's new initiatives to attract advertisers.

In February, the company launched a service to help advertisers market through a mix of smartphones, tablets and desktop computers. And analysts believe there is still significant potential to generate revenues from its video-streaming website YouTube.

YouTube-branded video-ads surged more than 75% in the quarter from a year earlier, with 40% of traffic now coming from mobile devices.

"We estimate that Google's key YouTube asset generated approximately $4bn in revenue in 2012, positioning Google extremely well for the strong growth in video advertising," RBC Capital Markets analysts wrote in a note.

Analysts at Jefferies said Google is best positioned to benefit from mobile devices with one billion activations of its Android system. Google sells applications and content through its Google Play store.

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'Clampdown' on UK-US child abusers

20 October 2013 Last updated at 05:21 ET

Criminals who trade in child abuse images are to be targeted in a new British-American task force.

Police Minister Damian Green will fly to the US later to formalise arrangements for the new body.

The agency will be co-chaired by Mr Green and US Attorney General Eric Holder.

Mr Green said: "Child abuse and exploitation online are not restricted by borders and our efforts to combat them should not be either."

Continue reading the main story

This agreement will only strengthen our ability to crack down on this sickening crime."

End Quote Damian Green Police Minister

He went on: "British and American parents rightly expect us to do all we can to protect our children and that is why I want to agree to a much closer working relationship in this area.

"This agreement will only strengthen our ability to crack down on this sickening crime."

Mr Green will sign a memorandum of understanding between the two countries in the next few days.

The Sun on Sunday reported that as part of the trip Mr Green will meet senior figures within the FBI, Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies.

Internet companies are also being called on to share information with their British counterparts.

Keeping children safe

The move follows the 22 July announcement from Prime Minister David Cameron that most households would have sexually explicit material blocked by the internet provider unless they chose to opt out.

Joanna Shields, UK business ambassador for Digital Industries and a former Google and Facebook executive, will be the industry lead for the project.

She told the Sun on Sunday: "The US-UK Taskforce will play a critical role in taking forward the Prime Minister's commitment to eradicating exploitative material from the internet and keeping our children safe online.

"I strongly believe that industry and government can successfully tackle this problem together.

"I look forward to working with the brightest minds in the industry to develop truly innovative and creative technical solutions that will help protect the most vulnerable in our society."

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Foxconn admits labour violation

10 October 2013 Last updated at 21:47 ET

Foxconn, the world's biggest contract electronics maker, has admitted student interns worked shifts at a factory in China that were in violation of its company policies.

The firm, which makes products for some the world's biggest brands, has been under scrutiny for labour practices.

It had admitted to hiring underage interns at the same unit last year.

Foxconn said actions had been taken to bring the factory "into full compliance with our code and policies".

"There have been a few instances where our policies pertaining to overtime and night shift work were not enforced," the company said in a statement.

Labour issues

The manufacturing giant is owned by Taiwanese group Hon Hai Precision and employs about 800,000 workers around the globe.

Foxconn, while not a household name in itself for many consumers, is used by most of the big technology giants around the world, including Apple, Sony, Microsoft, HP, and Nokia.

It first came under scrutiny for its labour practices when 13 employees committed suicide at its Chinese plants in 2010.

The incidents raised concerns over working conditions at its units in China and drew attention to growing labour strikes.

For its part, Foxconn responded by raising wages, shortening working hours and employing counsellors on site.

It also installed suicide nets to factory living-quarters at its Shenzhen factory.

Also in 2010, Foxconn temporarily shut down a unit in India after 250 workers fell sick.

And in May 2011, two people were killed after an explosion at a company plant in Chengdu.

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Global PC sales dip to five-year low

9 October 2013 Last updated at 21:37 ET

Global shipments of personal computers (PCs) have hit a five-year low, according to new figures from the research firm Gartner.

Shipments totalled 80.3m units in the three months to September, down 8.6% from a year ago.

PC sales have now fallen for six quarters in a row, hurt by the growing popularity of tablets and smartphones.

Gartner said falling prices of tablets had further hurt sales of PCs in emerging markets.

"Consumers' shift from PCs to tablets for daily content consumption continued to decrease the installed base of PCs both in mature as well as in emerging markets," Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner, said in a statement.

"A greater availability of inexpensive Android tablets attracted first-time consumers in emerging markets, and as supplementary devices in mature markets."

Decline

Research firm IDC, also released figures on Thursday, which showed global shipments of PCs fell by 7.6% to 81.6m units over the period.

Gartner and IDC use slightly different methods to calculate PC shipment data.

IDC said it was likely the ongoing decline in PC sales would continue into next year.

"Whether constrained by a weak economy or being selective in their tech investments, buyers continue to evaluate options and delay PC replacements," Loren Loverde, vice president of IDC's Worldwide PC Trackers, said in a statement.

In July this year, IDC had said it was still looking for some improvement in growth during the second half of the year. It has now reversed that view.

"The third quarter was pretty close to forecast, which unfortunately doesn't reflect much improvement in the PC market, or potential for near-term growth," said Mr Loverde.

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Amazon removes abuse-themed e-books

12 October 2013 Last updated at 14:12 ET By Matthew Wall and Dave Lee BBC Technology News

Retailer Amazon has removed several abuse-themed e-books from its Kindle Store after a report highlighted titles depicting rape, incest and bestiality.

Titles such as Taking My Drunk Daughter had been on sale.

Amazon and Barnes & Noble both say they are removing books found by technology news site The Kernel, but many others still remain, the BBC has found.

WHSmith and Kobo, which feature titles with similar themes, are yet to respond to requests for comment.

The BBC found that on Amazon's store, the search function automatically suggested explicit topics to users typing seemingly innocuous keywords - without age verification taking place.

Amazon has not responded to the BBC's request for comment on the issue, except to confirm that the specific books listed by The Kernel had been removed.

Barnes & Noble said in a statement the titles were "in violation" of its policy on content offered in the NOOK Bookstore and were in the process of being removed.

"When there are violations to the content policy that are brought to our attention, either through our internal process or from a customer or external source, we have a rapid response team in place to appropriately categorize or remove the content in accordance with our policy," it said.

Justice Minister Damian Green told the BBC "the government shares the public's concerns about the availability of harmful material."

Self-published

The titles can be found in the self-published section of the retailers' sites - an area where authors can offer their own work. The companies take a percentage of the sales made through their stores.

One lawyer told the BBC that the retailers could find themselves guilty of a criminal offence for allowing such content to be found without protection mechanisms.

"The directors of Amazon have a very difficult question to answer: why are they making profits from pornography which, on the face of it, seems to be criminal?" said Mark Stephens, former chairman of the Internet Watch Foundation, a body responsible for monitoring criminal content online.

However, many of the authors have taken measures to stay within the law, adding disclaimers to their descriptions, such as saying characters were "over 18" or "step-daughters".

On Amazon, guidelines for self-publishing state: "We don't accept pornography or offensive depictions of graphic sexual acts."

It adds: "What we deem offensive is probably about what you would expect."

The other retailers give similar guidance.

In July, Prime Minister David Cameron said the government intended to make it illegal in England and Wales to possess online pornography depicting rape.

But it is unclear whether the written word - currently governed by the Obscene Publications Act (OPA) - will come under the proposed legislation.

Under the OPA, publishers have a duty to protect the public from accidentally encountering material that could outrage public decency, said Mr Stephens.

A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers told the BBC: "Rape is a serious criminal offence which has a physical, emotional and psychological impact on victims. It's very unpleasant and distasteful to use such a harrowing experience as the basis for entertainment and enjoyment.

"Investigating offences of rape is a particularly complex process because it often rests on the issue of consent."

'Censorship'

John Carr, secretary to the Children's Charities' Coalition on Internet Safety, said parents would be "shocked" at what content was discoverable.

"At the very least there should be a certain class of material that is adult, which ought not to be universally accessible," he told the BBC.

However, others felt that Amazon's removal of some titles amounted to censorship.

"We outlaw snuff films, child porn and, increasingly, revenge porn, because actual people are harmed during their production," wrote PJ Vogt on OnTheMedia.org.

"Erotic fiction concerns fake characters who don't exist in real life."

Mr Carr stressed that he did not condone censorship, but that the content needed to be walled off.

"If this was a Soho sex shop, I wouldn't take the same view. I am concerned that this is next to things kids could search for."

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Malware mastermind suspect arrested

9 October 2013 Last updated at 08:00 ET

Russian police have reportedly arrested a man on suspicion of masterminding two infamous hacking tools.

He is suspected of being the man behind the alias Paunch - the nickname used by the creator of the Blackhole and Cool exploit kits, sold to cybercriminals to infect web users with malware.

The Russian authorities have not confirmed the details.

But security firms said they had already detected a decline in the programs' use.

A spokesman for the law enforcement agency Europol told the BBC: "Europol and the European Cybercrime Centre has been informed that a high-level suspected cyber criminal has been arrested.

"We can only refer you to the Russian authorities, they are the ones who should speak about this topic."

The Russian police's press office said it had nothing to add at this time.

However, Alexander Gostev, chief security expert at the Moscow-based internet protection provider Kaspersky Lab, said the arrest had been confirmed to him by "anonymous sources".

Spreading malware

The Blackhole kit, released in 2010, dominated the crimeware market throughout 2012 and the start of 2013, according to Fraser Howard, a researcher at the anti-virus company Sophos.

He said the code had been sold for an annual licence of $1,500 (£940) or could be rented from its creator for $200 (£125) for one week's use, among other price plans.

The software targeted a range of vulnerabilities in the Java programming language, Adobe's Flash media player, Windows software and PDF files.

It had two ways of doing this:

• adding malicious code to hundreds of thousands of legitimate websites, which then copied malware to visitors computers
• creating links in spam messages to specially created sites that infected PCs

Among the malware downloaded was:

• fake anti-virus software that falsely claimed the PC was infected and urged the user to pay a fee to remove viruses
• Trojans that attempted to steal financial records stored on the PC
• the ZeroAccess rootkit, which downloaded other software that hijacked the PC for use in a botnet - a facility used to overwhelm websites with traffic and force them offline
• key loggers that took a record of what was typed on the PC
• ransomware that attempted to blackmail the PC owner

Although Mr Howard said Blackhole was once the biggest threat of its kind, he added that in recent months it had been overshadowed by rival kits, including Sweet Orange and Neutrino.

According to the researcher, the Blackhole and Cool kits put together were only involved in about 4% of all malware detected by Sophos in August, down from 28% the previous year.

The figure had since dropped to 2% in recent days, he added.

Another independent security blogger stressed that the arrest was still significant.

"If it's true that the brains behind the Blackhole has been apprehended it's a very big deal - a real coup for the cybercrime-fighting authorities, and hopefully cause disruption to the development of one of the most notorious exploit kits the web has ever seen," said Graham Cluley.

"However, it's worth remembering that nature abhors a vacuum, and there would surely be other online criminals waiting to take their place, promoting their alternative exploit kits and malicious code."

Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, agreed.

"If indeed it is Paunch that they arrested, that is a major arrest - he is a big deal," he told the BBC.

"He was clearly the biggest player in providing exploit kits - not just by selling them, but also renting and leasing them to online criminals.

"Both Blackhole and its successor Cool have been very popular.

"Users didn't have to be very technical to operate them - there was a manual that came with them - they just had to get them running and be able to break into a high-profile website, or create a new one from scratch, to install something bad on your computer."

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Ford car wrests control of steering

9 October 2013 Last updated at 11:01 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

A car that takes control of the steering wheel when it detects the risk of a collision is being tested at a research facility in Germany.

Ford said the Obstacle Avoidance system first warned the driver of danger and then took charge if they did not react.

The firm said the equipment had been fitted to one of its vehicles as part of a project involving other carmakers and suppliers.

One analyst said it was a staging post on the route to "driverless cars".

The system scans up to 200m (650ft) ahead by using three radars, a number of ultrasonic sensors and a camera, which are all installed in the vehicle.

An additional built-in display shows a warning sign and sounds a chime. Then, if necessary, it applies the brakes, scans for a gap in the road ahead, and steers to avoid a crash.

"You're driving down the road and a pedestrian or something comes out from either side of your vehicle from your peripheral vision where you don't have a good look at it," said Barb Samardzich, vice-president of product development at Ford's European division.

"Obstacle Avoidance can sense that the pedestrian or that object is coming across the front of your vehicle. If it doesn't sense you responding accordingly in your vehicle by braking or manoeuvring, it will take over."

The firm showed off the tech at a facility in Lommel, Belgium, earlier this week.

Safety race

The new technology builds on safety features already offered by Ford.

Last year it introduced Lane Keeping Alert, a feature that vibrates the wheel - but does not take control - if it detects the driver is drifting out of a lane without using an indicator.

Ford's existing Active City Stop facility also aims to reduce the severity of collisions by applying the brakes if it detects an object in front of the vehicle. But it works only if the object is static or travelling less than 30km/h (19mph) faster than the car.

By contrast, the company said the new tech was being tested at speeds of over 60 km/h (38mph).

Other manufacturers involved in the project at Aachen include BMW, Fiat, Daimler, Volvo and Volkswagen. They will share data from the tests to develop systems of their own.

Volvo - which is owned by China's Geely - has already introduced its own pedestrian and cyclist alert system, which sounds an alarm and applies the brakes. The firm told the BBC in March that it was now adapting the system so it would soon be able to recognise animals.

'Significant step'

There may be resistance from some to the idea of a car taking control from its driver.

But Ford points out that fewer than one-third of all drivers involved in rear-end collisions had attempted to steer clear of the accident, according to data collected by Germany's Federal Statistical Office.

With that in mind, one independent analyst said it should not be too hard for manufacturers to convince motorists of the innovation's benefit.

"The logic behind the technology is impeccable - anything that can avoid a potentially dangerous situation that can cause injury or death sounds like a good piece of equipment," said Tim Urquhart, senior analyst at consultants IHS Automotive.

"Obviously it will come at a price. But there will be less resistance to a piece of technology like this than there will be to the concept of totally driverless cars.

"But autonomous vehicles are already being tested by Google, Daimler and others, and taking steering control in an emergency situation is obviously a pretty significant step along the road."

Ford said more tests were needed and it was not yet ready to announce a launch date for its Obstacle Avoidance system.

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US Army plans 'Iron Man' armour

10 October 2013 Last updated at 07:22 ET

The US Army is working to develop "revolutionary" smart armour that would give its troops "superhuman strength".

It is calling on the technology industry, government labs and academia to help build the Iron Man-style suit.

Other exoskeletons that allow soldiers to carry large loads much further have already been tested by the army.

The Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (Talos) would have such a frame but would also have layers of smart materials fitted with sensors.

The suit would also need to have wide-area networking and a wearable computer similar to Google Glass, the US Army said.

Increase strength

It should be made of smart material fitted with sensors to monitor body temperature, heart rate and hydration levels.

The exoskeleton, which could be attached to arms and legs, would be likely to use hydraulics to greatly increase strength.

"The requirement is a comprehensive family of systems in a combat armour suit where we bring together an exoskeleton with innovative armour, displays for power monitoring, health monitoring, and integrating a weapon into that," said Lt Col Karl Borjes, a science adviser at the US Army's research, development and engineering command.

"It's advanced armour. It's communications, antennas. It's cognitive performance. It's sensors, miniature-type circuits. That's all going to fit in here, too," he added.

Magnetic field

According to US Army Sgt Maj Chris Faris, "no one industry can build it".

Instead the army is calling on research and development organisations, private industry as well as government labs and academia to support the project.

The US Army said it was likely that scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology would be involved in the design.

An MIT team is currently developing liquid body armour - made from fluids that transform into a solid when a magnetic field or electrical current is applied.

Large robot

In an interview with US news site NPR, MIT professor Gareth McKinley compared the futuristic armour to that seen in Hollywood films.

"It sounds exactly like Iron Man," he said.

"The other kind of things that you see in the movies... would be the kind of external suit that Sigourney Weaver wears in Aliens, where it's a large robot that amplifies the motions and lifting capability of a human."

The aim is the get the Talos armour out in the field within three years.

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Ofcom price hike alarms mobile firms

10 October 2013 Last updated at 07:54 ET By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

Mobile network operators may have to pay more than four times the current amount to use the radio spectrum, under new proposals from Ofcom.

The regulator said the new licensing fees reflected market value based on other European countries.

Operators told the BBC the increase was "excessive". Vodafone said it was "disappointed".

Some analysts have raised concerns the increased costs might be passed on to the public.

"The size of these figures may come as bad news to the mobile networks, but more worryingly could sound alarm bells for consumers," said Adam Kirby, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com.

"The proposed new costs reflect a huge leap in the amount networks will have to pay the regulator for using the spectrum - our concern is that it will be consumers who are left to foot the bill.

"However, the good news for concerned consumers is that no increases have been confirmed as yet - Ofcom are now consulting on the fees. It remains to be seen how much these costs will actually rise, and if the networks can fight back and keep a lid on these increases."

An Ofcom spokesman told the BBC that while it had no control over how much operators charged customers, it did not expect the rise to have an impact on bills.

Continue reading the main story

We welcome the views of our stakeholders. Nothing's final at this stage"

End Quote Ofcom

In an advisory note, financial services firm JP Morgan said it expected the competitiveness of the mobile market would stop costs being passed down.

On the cheap

However, operators contacted by the BBC expressed concern that the rise had been higher than they had budgeted for.

The affected companies - Vodafone, O2, EE and Three - each told the BBC that they would respond to Ofcom's announcement in due course.

EE said it would aim to stress that "there must be a balance between licence fees and the critical 4G network investment consumers and businesses are demanding to drive growth and jobs for the UK economy".

Vodafone criticised Ofcom, saying: "We are disappointed that Ofcom is proposing a 430% increase in the fees we pay for our existing spectrum at a time when we are investing more than ever in vital national digital infrastructure.

"The regulator should be encouraging such private sector investment in infrastructure and new services like 4G, which will benefit consumers, businesses and the wider British economy for many years to come."

Prices for the 900Mhz and 1800Mhz spectrum bands were set when it was used for 2G services several years ago. Ofcom has since "liberated" the spectrum - the term given when a certain band is freed up for different purposes.

In this case, it meant that operators could use the bands for higher-speed services such as 4G.

In 2010, the government instructed Ofcom to revisit the cost of the licences for 900Mhz and 1800Mhz which - in comparison with other equivalent services across the EU - were considered to be very cheap.

The new prices will see Vodafone and O2's individual fees rise from £15.6m to £83.1m. EE will pay £107.1m, up from £24.9m, and Three will go from £8.3m to £35.7m.

The increase comes at a time when operators are facing a drop in income via calls made while customers are overseas. The European Union is pressing hard for far lower roaming costs in a bid to reduce so-called "bill shock".

4G auction

A source at one of the affected operators said he expected operators would now engage in a tug of war with Ofcom to see the proposed amounts lowered.

In response, the regulator said: "It's a consultation - we welcome the views of our stakeholders. Nothing's final at this stage.

"They've been expecting this for some time and we've based our proposed annual license fees on market value."

Ofcom also dismissed the suggestion that the price hike is in response to a lower-than-expected return from the recent auction of 4G spectrum, which took place earlier in the year.

That sale raised £2.3bn - less than the £3.5bn expected by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

The shortfall is being investigated by the National Audit Office, which expects to publish its findings early next year.

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC.

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Ultrasound offers gesture control

10 October 2013 Last updated at 11:27 ET

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The smartphone you control by gestures

Ultrasound technology that enables mobiles and tablets to be controlled by gesture could go into production as early as next year.

Norwegian start-up Elliptic Labs is in talks with Asian handset manufacturers to get the chip embedded in devices.

The technology works via an ultrasound chip that uses sound waves to interpret hand movements.

The move towards gesture control has gathered pace and there are now many such products on the market.

Big gestures

What sets Elliptic's gesture-control system apart from others is its wide field of use, up to a metre away from the phone. It means it can identify mid-air gestures accurately.

Because it uses sound rather than sight, the sensor can recognise gestures from a 180-degree field. It also consumes less power and works in the dark.

By contrast Samsung's Galaxy S4 uses an infrared sensor that can only interpret hand movements within a very small zone.

"The user needs to learn the exact spot to gesture to instead of having a large interactive space around the device," said Erik Forsstrom, the user interface designer for Elliptic Labs.

Allowing users more freedom in how they gesture is vital if such products are to become mainstream, he thinks.

"With a small screen such as a phone or a tablet, the normal body language is not that precise. You need a large zone in which to gesture."

If consumers can quickly see the effects their gestures have on screen, he thinks, "it is quite likely that this is the next step within mobile".

The technology was recently shown off at Japanese tech show Ceatec.

In the demonstration, an Android smartphone was housed in a case containing the ultrasound transmitters.

But Elliptic Labs said it had formed partnerships with a number of Asian handset manufacturers who are looking at building the ultrasound chip into devices, as early as next year.

Mass market

Continue reading the main story

It is ideal if you have dirty or sweaty hands"

End Quote Ben Wood CCS Insight

Increasingly firms are experimenting with gesture control.

PrimeSense, the company that developed gesture control for Microsoft's Kinect console, has also made strides towards bringing the technology to mobile.

By shrinking down the sensor used in the Kinect, the firm showed it working with a Nexus 10 at a Google developers' conference in May.

Meanwhile Disney is testing technology that allows users to "feel" the texture of objects on a flat touchscreen.

The technique involves sending tiny vibrations through the display that let people "feel" the shallow bumps, ridges and edges of an object.

Ben Wood, analyst with research firm CCS Insight thinks such devices could be ready for the mass market.

"Apple's success has made gestures a part of everyday life. Now consumers understand they can manipulate a screen with a gesture or a swipe everyone is racing to find innovative ways to exploit this behaviour.

"Ultrasonic is particularly interesting as you don't need to touch the screen which can be an almost magical experience.

"It is ideal if you have dirty or sweaty hands. A common example people use is flicking through a recipe when cooking. Other examples include transitioning through a slideshow of photos or flicking through music tracks or turning the page on an ebook," he said.

"The big challenge that remains is how you make users aware of the capability."

See more tech from the Ceatec show on Click this weekend

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Apple 'should buy big companies'

11 October 2013 Last updated at 07:59 ET By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

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Apple should use its enormous cash reserves to make some big-name acquisitions, the company's former boss John Sculley says

Apple should use its enormous cash reserves to make some big-name acquisitions, the company's former boss John Sculley has said.

He said it could shift the "whole landscape of e-commerce" if it bought, for example, eBay.

He said it should ignore the wishes of activist investor Carl Icahn, who wants the company to buy back stock.

"Apple's about building great products, building and shaping markets," Mr Sculley said.

"Carl Icahn has suggested to [Apple chief executive] Tim Cook, 'Why don't you buy more stock back or make a bigger dividend?'

"I'd rather see Apple continue to invest in building... even make big acquisitions that were strategic, as opposed to buying more stock back, or giving more dividends."

Mr Sculley was the chief executive of Apple between 1983 and 1993.

During his tenure, he famously engineered the "forcing out" of Steve Jobs from the company - a decision he later said was due to his own inexperience in appreciating Mr Jobs' vision for future products.

Change of strategy

Traditionally, Apple has not acquired large scale companies - instead buying smaller companies with specific technologies, and folding them into the business.

One recent example of this is Siri, a company Apple acquired in 2010 when it wanted to provide an integrated personal assistant on its iPhone and iPad products.

Mr Sculley said that while he had "no insider knowledge" of the firm he left in 1993, he said he now wonders if it is time for Apple to change its growth strategy.

Continue reading the main story

I think Steve Ballmer has a lot he ought to be proud of [at Microsoft]"

End Quote John Sculley

"Apple's never been an acquirer of big companies before, and when you look at the [Apple digital ticket system] Passbook, and fingerprint recognition - what would it mean if Apple went out and bought eBay? And they had PayPal, and integrated that?

"My guess is you'd suddenly see the whole landscape of e-commerce shift.

"You have Amazon, which is on the fast-track to dominate every aspect of e-commerce - suddenly the game, the landscape, would change."

Sensor hopes

Mr Sculley was in London ahead of the UK launch of the latest product he is working on - the Misfit Shine, a wearable device that monitors various aspects of a person's health.

"The future of wearable products has the potential to have a huge impact on healthcare," he said.

He also, at the age of 74, offers his services as a mentor to up and coming Silicon Valley chief executives - something he said he wished he had while at Apple.

"When you're dealing in industries where there's such a thin line between success and failure, having another set of trusted eyes can be a real nice advantage."

Mr Sculley also offered warm words for the soon-to-be-departing Microsoft boss, Steve Ballmer.

"Here's a man who has spent 33 years at Microsoft, loves the company," he said. "He really did not get enough credit for what he did accomplish.

"I can't name a CEO who didn't make some mistakes in the hi-tech industry.

"I think Ballmer has a lot he ought to be proud of. So he didn't get everything right - not many people do."

He added: "I think it's important the CEOs do move on."

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

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Dark web 'will evolve' - cyber boss

11 October 2013 Last updated at 09:17 ET

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Andy Archibald, head of the UK's National Cyber Crime Unit, says the "dark web" of criminal activity will continue to evolve

The "dark web" services used by criminals will continue to evolve in an attempt to evade authorities, the UK's cybercrime boss has warned.

Last week, notorious drugs market place the Silk Road was shut down after a lengthy investigation.

Andy Archibald, interim head of the National Cyber Crime Unit (NCCU), said officers identified individuals who were using the site.

But he said new methods were needed to keep up with the threat.

"[Online anonymity service] Tor evolves, and will resecure itself," Mr Archibald told the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones.

"The success we've had may not necessarily mean that by the same routes and same approaches we can get into other criminal forums.

"We have to continually probe and identify those forums and then seek to infiltrate them and use other tools.

"It's not simply a case of because we were able to infiltrate Tor on this occasion that we'll be able to do it next time around as well."

Mr Archibald's comments came as the NCCU announced its first conviction. Twenty-seven-year-old Olukunle Babatunde received a five years and six month prison sentence.

The man, from Croydon, south London, pleaded guilty to using "phishing" scams in an attempt to defraud banks, financial institutions and their customers.

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Campaigners bid to change spying law

3 October 2013 Last updated at 14:41 ET

Campaigners are trying to force a change in UK law after accusations of mass UK internet surveillance.

Three privacy campaign groups have open legal proceedings in Europe in a bid to alter UK bugging legislation.

The groups are trying to get the court to decide if UK surveillance rules give spies too much leeway to collect huge volumes of data.

UK signals intelligence agency GCHQ declined to comment on Thursday.

Three privacy groups have launched a bid to take the UK government to court in Europe after revelations of mass surveillance schemes.

Under Tempora, UK agencies allegedly tapped cross-Atlantic fibre-optic cables to scoop up data headed for the US.

The scheme was revealed by the Guardian newspaper in June.

According to leaked documents, the UK also participated in the US Prism scheme, which allowed law enforcement access to detailed mass records of smartphone and internet activity.

The campaigners allege that internet communications taps collected huge amounts of data traffic in a way that went against European human rights law.

The groups want the European Court of Human Rights to force the UK government to tighten up a UK bugging law called the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa).

Big Brother Watch, the Open Rights Group, and the English Pen campaign groups opened legal proceedings with the European Court of Human Rights this week.

The groups sent a detailed letter to the court stating their concerns, Daniel Carey of Deighton Pierce Glynn solicitors told the BBC.

Mr Carey, who is acting on behalf of the groups, said that the court could make a decision within two to three months about whether it will take the proceedings any further.

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Instagram to start allowing ads

3 October 2013 Last updated at 18:53 ET

The photo sharing service Instagram announced it will start placing ads in US users photo streams in a posting on its website.

"We have big ideas for the future, and part of making them happen is building Instagram into a sustainable business," it said.

Ads will appear in a few months and involve just a handful of firms.

Instagram was bought by Facebook for $1bn (£619m), but has never made a profit.

The company, which now has 150 million users, has been a favourite among consumers but has long left analysts wondering how it could turn enthusiasm among photographers into a business model.

Early efforts by Instagram to generate revenue were met with user backlash, such as when the company changed the terms of service to seemingly indicate that it would own user images and could sell those images to advertisers.

The failure of this move was acknowledged in the company's posting.

Social media boom

"As always, you own your own photos and videos. The introduction of advertising won't change this," it said.

In an interview earlier this year with the BBC, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom said that Instagram must "fund its own future."

Social media advertising is a booming business in the US.

According to research firm eMarketer, advertisers will spend $9.5bn on social network ads worldwide this year.

Facebook has boosted its efforts to gain a larger share of this ad spending.

This year, the company's share of global mobile ad revenues will rise to 15.8% from 5.35% last year.

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Samsung forecasts record profits

3 October 2013 Last updated at 21:20 ET

Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest mobile phone and TV maker, has forecast record profits for the July-to-September quarter.

It expects operating profit of 10.1 trillion won ($9.4bn; £5.8bn) for the quarter, a 25% jump from a year ago.

The profit guidance beats many analyst forecasts.

Samsung has enjoyed tremendous success with its Galaxy range of smartphones, but there had been concerns recently that its growth rate may be slowing.

"The company is doing a phenomenal job of continuing its growth rate," said Andrew Milroy, an analyst with consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.

"One would have expected that its growth rate may be hit by the emergence of other cheaper mobile phone makers.

"But it doesn't seemed to have happened, at least not yet," he added.

'Smart enough'

Continue reading the main story

Samsung realises that growth opportunities in emerging markets are key to overall success of their business, and they have been smart enough to tap into it"

End Quote Andrew Milroy Frost & Sullivan

The success of its Galaxy range of smartphones has seen Samsung become the leading player in the global mobile phone market.

Analysts say the company's policy of catering to the low and high-end segments of the market has proved particularly effective.

Samsung has launched top-end products such as the Galaxy S4 in a bid to take on the likes of Apple's iPhone.

It has also introduced low-cost smartphones targeted at customers in emerging markets such as India and China.

Many mobile phone operators in those markets do not subsidise phones, making low-cost devices a much more attractive option for many consumers.

"Samsung realises that growth opportunities in emerging markets are key to overall success of their business, and they have been smart enough to tap into it," said Mr Milroy.

"They have covered both ends of the spectrum really well."

Bendy and curved

Last month, Samsung said that it is planning to launch handsets with curved displays.

It exhibited prototype products with bendy and extendable screens in January this year, but there are doubts as to how this technology can be mass-produced cheaply and reliably.

The firm also launched a smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear, last month - beating Microsoft, Apple and Google in the race to bring this type of technology to market.

The smartwatch has a colour screen that can show alerts, be used for voice calls and run apps.

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