Google patents taxi-and-eat ad tech

24 January 2014 Last updated at 09:09 ET

Technology giant Google has patented a way of linking online ads to free or discounted taxi rides to the advertising restaurant, shop or entertainment venue.

The transport-linked ad service could encourage consumers to respond more often to location-based special offers, experts say.

Algorithms would work out the customer's location, the best route and form of transport, Google says.

Analysts have welcomed the idea.

Gregory Roekens, chief technology officer at advertising company AMV BBDO, told the BBC: "This is trying to turn advertising into a utility and remove barriers for consumers. It's a really interesting idea."

Location-based

Advertisers will mine huge databases recording people's habits, likes and preferences so that ads can be highly targeted.

Combining this information with location data gleaned from wi-fi, cellular and GPS tracking will enable businesses to tailor their ads and special offers according to where people are, the time of day and their schedules.

The addition of free or cheap travel to the location will be the icing on the cake, Google hopes.

In August, Google's venture capital arm invested $258m (£156m) in Uber, the San Francisco-based car hire network.

Mr Roekens believes Google is envisaging customers making use of such services when responding to mobile ads in future.

And given the company's major investment in autonomous vehicle technology, the prospect of customers being ferried automatically to nearby business venues after responding to location-based ads on their smartphones does not seem too fanciful.

But this was still "several years away", said Mr Roekens.

"Travel takes a huge amount of people's time," he said. "So if people can use this time more productively and interactively while in the vehicle, there's another opportunity for advertisers."

Transport sweetener

In the same way that advertisers bid against each other for the rights to Google keywords online, the company sees them competing on transport costs too.

The real-time system would help advertisers work out the costs of offering the transport sweetener versus the potential profit margins, Google said.

"Getting a potential customer to a business location in order to conduct a sale may be one of the most difficult tasks for a business or advertiser," Google says in its US patent for the "transportation-aware physical advertising conversions" system.

Alex Kozloff, head of mobile at the Internet Advertising Bureau, told the BBC: "I think this sounds like a really interesting idea, but its success all depends on its execution and the consumer benefit."

She thought that consumers who abused the system - continually taking up the offer of a free ride without making a follow-up purchase - would soon be barred from receiving special offers.

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Strong backing for retina TV system

23 January 2014 Last updated at 09:34 ET

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The BBC's North America technology correspondent Richard Taylor meets Edward Tang, chief executive of Avegant.

A headset projecting images on to the retina has hit its financial target, just hours into a fundraising drive.

Avegant sought $250,000 (£150,000) for the Glyph headset, and has already secured pledges of $425,000 (£256,000).

The Glyph has no screen but instead bounces pictures into the eyes of users using two million tiny mirrors in a narrow reflective band.

The headset is designed for films, TV and video games, but with its screen flipped can be used to listen to audio.

In a video accompanying the launch on Kickstarter, Avegant chief executive Ed Tang said cash was needed to finish design work on the headset, and to establish how to cut production costs so it was cheap enough for the mass market.

Those pledging more than $499 (£300) were promised their own fully functioning prototype.

Pixellation 'reduced'

Avegant claimed that by reflecting light off the band of mirrors, the retina produced an image much sharper than was possible using screens made up of individual pixels.

This also reduced the amount of pixellation seen with many other headset viewing devices, it said.

In addition, said Avegant, reflecting light meant it was possible to update images far more quickly than by refreshing a screen.

This could help with the motion sickness some people report with VR headsets, which often have a perceptible delay when a scene is updated.

The Glyph's big rival is likely to be the Oculus Rift headset, which also enjoyed strong backing on Kickstarter.

That headset uses two small screens to produce an immersive visual display suitable for showing films, TV and video games.

Gartner analyst Paul O'Donovan, said despite Avegant's claims it was unlikely the Glyph headset would be used while people were out and about.

"I just can't see people feeling comfortable wearing something so immersive in a public place, even on a plane," he said. "that limits this product to game players, some specialist scientific uses and perhaps as a novelty device to watch movies in bed without disturbing your partner."

"I think the bigger competition must come from a really big 65in 4K TV with a good surround sound system," he said "That's potentially more immersive and considerably more practical for everyday use, although not at all portable."

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'Revenge porn' site owner arrested

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Snowden sees no chance of fair trial

23 January 2014 Last updated at 17:54 ET

Former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden has said he has "no chance" of a fair trial in the US and has no plans to return there.

He said that the 100-year-old law under which he has been charged "forbids a public interest defence".

"There's no no way I can come home and make my case to a jury," he said in an online Q&A.

The 30-year-old has temporary asylum in Russia after leaking details of US electronic surveillance programmes.

'Minimal value'

He said that his predicament over not having a fair trial was "especially frustrating".

"Returning to the US, I think, is the best resolution for the government, the public, and myself, but it's unfortunately not possible in the face of current whistleblower protection laws, which, through a failure in law, did not cover national security contractors like myself," he told the "Free Snowden" website.

"Maybe when Congress comes together to end the programs... They'll reform the Whistleblower Protection Act, and we'll see a mechanism for all Americans, no matter who they work for, to get a fair trial."

Continue reading the main story

• Accessing internet company data
• Tapping fibre optic cables
• Eavesdropping on phones
• Targeted spying

In December Mr Snowden delivered an "alternative" Christmas message to Britain's Channel 4 TV, in which he called for an end to mass surveillance.

Earlier on Thursday an independent US privacy watchdog ruled that the bulk collection of phone call data by US intelligence agencies is illegal and has had only "minimal" benefits in preventing terrorism.

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board advised by a 3-2 majority that the programme should end.

The report from the PCLOB is the latest of several reviews of the NSA's mass surveillance programme, the details of which caused widespread anger after they were leaked by Mr Snowden.

In a separate development on Thursday, US Attorney General Eric Holder told told MSNBC television that he was unlikely to consider clemency for Mr Snowden.

Mr Holder said that the US authorities "would engage in conversation" about a resolution of the case if Mr Snowden accepted responsibility for leaking government secrets.

But he said granting clemency "would be going too far".

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Samsung's quarterly profit declines

23 January 2014 Last updated at 21:29 ET

Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones and TVs, has reported a drop in quarterly profit for the first time in two years.

Net profit was 7.3tn won ($6.8bn; £4bn) in the October-to-December period, down 11% from the previous three months.

Samsung's earnings were hurt by a drop in margins in its mobile phone division, which saw operating income fall 18% quarter-on-quarter.

A special bonus payment and currency fluctuations also hurt its earnings.

The company paid a special bonus totalling 800bn won to employees during the quarter to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Chairman Lee Kun Hee's management strategy, which is widely credited to have spurred its growth.

Meanwhile, it said that fluctuation in the South Korean currency dented its earnings by 700bn won.

The firm warned that it would be "challenging" for it to improve its earnings in the current quarter as weak seasonal demand "will put pressure on demand for components and TV products".

Growing competition

The success of its smartphone division has been one of the biggest drivers of Samsung's growth in recent years.

Continue reading the main story

Looking at the quarterly earnings trend, we expect 2014 to follow last year's pattern of a weak first half and a strong second half as usual"

End Quote Robert Yi Samsung Electronics

It helped the company displace Nokia as the world's biggest phone maker in 2012.

However, the South Korean firm is facing increased competition in the sector as other manufacturers have launched new models.

One of Samsung's biggest rivals, Apple, launched two new models of its iPhone - the top-end 5S and a cheaper 5C - in September last year.

Nokia - whose phone division has been bought by Microsoft - also unveiled two new phone models in September, while Taiwanese firm HTC launched its latest handset, the Android-powered One Max, in October.

Analysts said the launch of the models had affected Samsung's performance during the October-to-December quarter.

In its earnings release, Samsung warned that it expected competition in the sector to "intensify" this year. It added that as firms looked to grab a bigger share of the market, they could cut prices of their products.

Any such move would likely impact profitability in the sector.

Record year

Despite a decline in profits in the last quarter - Samsung posted record annual earnings.

The firm made a net profit of 30.5 trillion won ($28bn; £17bn) in 2013 - a 28% jump from a year ago.

It said its performance during the year was boosted by the success of its smartphones and tablets, as well as robust demand for TVs.

The firm said it maintained its market leadership in mobile devices, with a 30% share of the smartphone market in both developed and emerging markets.

The firm said that it would offer new products in the smartphone and tablets sectors, as well as expand into areas such as wearable technology which would help it sustain its profit growth in the coming quarters.

"Looking at the quarterly earnings trend, we expect 2014 to follow last year's pattern of a weak first half and a strong second half as usual," Robert Yi, the firm's head of investor relations, said in a statement.

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FBI warns shops on checkout thefts

24 January 2014 Last updated at 05:35 ET

The FBI has issued a warning to US shops telling them to beef up defences against cyber-thieves.

The agency included its warning in a confidential report to large retailers that was obtained by Reuters.

In particular, said the FBI, shops need to look for the type of malware used to steal millions of credit card details from shoppers at retailer Target.

The FBI said it had seen about 20 cases in the last year where data was stolen using the same type of malicious code.

That code has been inserted on to credit and debit card swiping-machines, cash registers and other point-of-sale (POS) equipment.

"We believe POS malware crime will continue to grow over the near term, despite law enforcement and security firms' actions to mitigate it," read the FBI report.

The low cost of the virus code, its wide availability on underground markets and the potential for profit if POS equipment was compromised made it very attractive to thieves, said the agency. One copy of the type of software used to grab data at tills was on sale for only $6,000 (£3,600), said the FBI report.

The report was sent out as more details emerge about the extent of the security breach at US retailing giant Target.

Reports suggest that the attackers who planted malware on Target tills were scooping up card data for 19 days during the busy Christmas season. The thieves are believed to have got away with complete details for 40 million cards and stolen personal data on about 70 million customers.

The attack is believed to have been one of the biggest retail cyber-attacks in history.

Recent arrests suggest the data stolen from Target is already being used to create counterfeit cards. In mid-January two people were arrested at the Texas-Mexico border with 96 fake cards later identified as being from the huge cache stolen from Target.

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'Super-rare' Nintendo game hits eBay

24 January 2014 Last updated at 07:05 ET

An extremely rare Nintendo game is expected to fetch thousands of dollars in an eBay auction.

Only 116 copies of Nintendo World Championships were ever made, as part of a special event in 1990.

The first bid came in at $4,999 (£3,000), but the game is likely to fetch more, one Nintendo expert said.

Unfortunately for collectors, the cartridge is in poor condition - with a ripped label and "Mario" written on it in ballpoint pen.

"This is quite unfortunate but happened many decades ago," explained the seller in his description of the "super-rare" item, adding that whoever wrote on the label did not have "a clue what they actually had".

Continue reading the main story

They are considered the holy grail among Nintendo collectors"

End Quote Chris Scullion Computer and Video Games

Scratched Ferrari

Created for the Nintendo Entertainment System - better known as NES - Nintendo World Championships was designed for a competition, and never went on general sale.

The game features shortened versions of three classics - Super Mario, Tetris and Rad Racer.

Competition entrants were given six minutes to amass points on the games, with whoever came top winning a trophy, a trip to Universal Studios and various other prizes. A detailed history of the contest and its winners can be found on Wikipedia.

Each of the 90 semi-finalists was given a grey cartridge like the one now up for auction.

Rarer still are the "golden" cartridges of the same game, sent out as part of a separate competition by Nintendo Power magazine.

Genuine copies of the game are hard to come by, and so the poor condition would not be too much of a deterrent to keen collectors, predicted Chris Scullion, games editor for Computer and Video Games.

"It's like finding the rarest Ferrari but with a scratch - you'd still buy it.

"They are considered the holy grail among Nintendo collectors."

In 2011, the same game sold at a charity auction for $11,000 (£6,600) - but it was in better condition.

The auction is set to end on 25 January.

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Government 'abused by IT suppliers'

24 January 2014 Last updated at 11:12 ET By Ross Hawkins Political correspondent

The civil servant in charge of government procurement has accused some IT suppliers of conducting an "abusive" relationship with government.

Chief procurement officer Bill Crothers said their behaviour was "appalling".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's the World at One, he accused them of "monopolistic" behaviour.

The Cabinet Office said new rules would limit the size and in some cases the duration of IT contracts with government.

Mr Crothers said: "This is about the oligopoly: the cluster of big suppliers who have had it too good for too long."

Spending cap

"It's reflective of a monopolistic or oligopolistic behaviour. It is not acting as if they're hungry and in a competitive environment. That's appalling."

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Government IT contracts will no longer be automatically extended, and new contracts for web hosting will not last for more than two years.

No IT contracts will be allowed over to exceed £100m in value, unless there is an exceptional reason to make them larger.

The department had previously said they should not be designed to be worth more than that amount.

The Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said in one case a government department was charged £30,000 for changing the text on a web page.

'Small step'

Crothers said a supplier tried to charge £65 for a laptop power cable worth around £20.

Continue reading the main story

This belated set of half measures doesn't take away from the fact the government's handling of major projects such as Universal Credit has been a shambles "

End Quote Michael Dugher Shadow Cabinet Office minister

Andrew Corbett, of the UK IT Association, said: "The main thing that surprises me about this statement is that someone from inside government has been prepared to openly go on record about it.

"This has been a very open secret in the IT industry for some years."

He said the government was poor at buying from smaller firms, adding: "To conjure a picture, one might say that it's like a battered wife, or husband for that matter, who doesn't seem to know how to leave.

Labour's shadow Cabinet Office minister Michael Dugher said: "This belated set of half measures doesn't take away from the fact the government's handling of major projects such as Universal Credit has been a shambles and is haemorrhaging taxpayers' money."

The Labour chairman of the Public Accounts committee, Margaret Hodge, said the announcement was "a small step in the right direction".

Government departments lacked skills to commission new IT projects or manage existing suppliers, she said.

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BBC boss sacked over failed project

24 January 2014 Last updated at 12:18 ET

The BBC's former technology chief John Linwood was sacked in July over the failed £100m Digital Media Initiative (DMI) the corporation has confirmed.

John Linwood was suspended in May over the abandonment of the project to move the BBC away from using video tape.

A BBC spokesman confirmed Mr Linwood did not receive a pay-off after the termination of his contract.

Next month a Commons committee is due to hear evidence on DMI from former BBC boss Mark Thompson.

The news of the termination of Mr Linwood's employment has been delayed for several months due to legal reasons.

The DMI project was set up in 2008 but halted some five years later having never become fully operational.

It was intended to transform the way staff developed, used and shared video and audio material.

Director general Lord Hall said last May, when the project was scrapped, that it had "wasted a huge amount of tax payers' money".

He also expressed "serious concerns" about how it had been managed.

James Purnell, the BBC's director of strategy and digital, admitted that the BBC had "messed up".

A report published in December said the BBC should have realised the scheme was set to fail two years before it was abandoned.

It said a failure of governance and management oversight was to blame, noting senior executives did not have a "sufficient grasp" of the technology to sufficiently monitor its progress.

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Pair jailed over abusive tweets

24 January 2014 Last updated at 16:21 ET

Two people have been jailed for sending abusive messages on Twitter to feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez.

Isabella Sorley, 23, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison and John Nimmo, 25, of South Shields, was jailed for eight weeks.

They had pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court to improper use of a communications network.

After sentencing, Ms Criado-Perez said she was relieved the judge understood the impact the abuse had had on her.

Their messages were sent last July after Ms Criado-Perez led a campaign using social media for a female figure to appear on a Bank of England note.

Nimmo also targeted Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, who was among the high-profile public figures who backed the bid.

'Heightened fear'

The court heard that one tweet from Sorley started with an expletive and continued: "Die you worthless piece of crap." Ms Criado-Perez was also told to "go kill yourself".

Sorley also sent the message: "I've only just got out of prison and would happily do more time to see you berried!!"

In a separate set of abusive messages, Nimmo told Ms Criado-Perez to "shut up" and made references to rape followed by "I will find you (smiley face)".

District Judge Howard Riddle said the effects on both women were "substantial" and it was "hard to imagine more extreme threats".

Ms Criado-Perez felt "terrified" every time the doorbell rang, he said, while Ms Creasy had a panic button installed at her home.

The judge said of the abusive tweets: "The fact that they were anonymous heightened the fear.

"The victims had no way of knowing how dangerous the people making the threats were, whether they had just come out of prison, or how to recognise and avoid them if they came across them in public."

The court heard that university-educated Sorley had 25 previous convictions, the majority for being drunk and disorderly.

While on bail for this case she also committed two offences of assaulting a police officer and is awaiting sentence for an assault on New Year's Day, the court was told.

Sean Caulfield, defending Sorley, said she herself was a "victim" of new technology as she did not understand the impact of what she was doing.

Paul Kennedy, defending Nimmo, described him as a "somewhat sad individual" who is "effectively a social recluse".

Mr Kennedy said that, when Nimmo's original tweet was responded to and retweeted, it encouraged him to send more messages as he saw it as an "indication of popularity".

'Terrifying and scarring'

Ms Criado-Perez said in a statement: "It's hard to get my thoughts together at the moment as my stomach is churning - hearing the outcome has made me realise how tense and anxious I have been feeling. But here goes.

Continue reading the main story

Nick Beake BBC News Correspondent

---

Isabella Sorley shook her head as her abusive tweets were read out in court. The graduate who already has 25 convictions - mostly for being drunk and disorderly - claimed she sent these messages in the early hours when she was inebriated.

Her lawyer insisted the 22-year-old was herself a victim, "of a lack of understanding of new technology - and how powerful it is".

John Nimmo - according to his lawyer - is a "social recluse" from South Shields who only leaves his house to empty the bins.

The 25-year-old, who had no previous convictions, was said to have no social boundaries and did not appreciate the harm he had caused.

When a producer from BBC Two's Newsnight programme tracked Nimmo down after he had sent the abuse, the former call centre worker told him: "The police will do nothing, it's only Twitter."

Northumbria Police did do something though - and today the recluse who rarely went out was led away to his new, temporary home - a prison cell.

"I did not attend the sentencing as I didn't feel I could cope with being in court with them - and I didn't feel sure that the judge would understand how terrifying and scarring the whole experience has been for me, which again is not something I could face.

"I feel immensely relieved that the judge clearly has understood the severity of the impact this abuse has had on me."

Sorley and Nimmo admitted earlier this month to sending by means of a public electronic communications network messages which are menacing in character, under the Communications Act 2003.

The judge said both defendants would serve half their sentences in custody and ordered them to pay £800 each in compensation. Ms Criado-Perez said the damages awarded to her would go to charity.

The Metropolitan Police said the pair were arrested after an investigation by its Cyber Crime Unit, following complaints from two women who were targeted on social networking sites.

Scotland Yard said a 32-year-old man arrested in Bristol in August remained on bail as part of the same investigation.

A 27-year-old man arrested in York in November has been released with no further action.

David Wright, director of the UK Safer Internet Centre, said the sentences showed the courts took such offences seriously.

He said: "It sets the tone. We've seen a number of cases over the last 12 months; that this notion of trolling, of bullying online, has just grown."

A spokesman for Twitter UK said: "Our Trust and Safety team works 24 hours a day to respond to reports of abusive tweets. We are increasing the size of this team to make out response time even faster.

"We cannot stop people saying offensive things on Twitter. But we take action when content is reported to us that is against our rules or is illegal."

The Bank of England announced last July that author Jane Austen would appear on the next £10 note.

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Fridge sends spam emails

17 January 2014 Last updated at 12:18 ET

A fridge has been discovered sending out spam after a web attack managed to compromise smart gadgets.

The fridge was one of more than 100,000 devices used to take part in the spam campaign.

Uncovered by security firm Proofpoint the attack compromised computers, home routers, media PCs and smart TV sets.

The attack is believed to be one of the first to exploit the lax security on devices that are part of the "internet of things".

Poor protection

The spam attack took place between 23 December 2013 and 6 January this year, said Proofpoint in a statement. In total, it said, about 750,000 messages were sent as part of the junk mail campaign. The emails were routed through the compromised gadgets.

About 25% of the messages seen by Proofpoint researchers did not pass through laptops, desktops or smartphones, it said.

Instead, the malware managed to get itself installed on other smart devices such as kitchen appliances, the home media systems on which people store copied DVDs and web-connected televisions.

Many of these gadgets have computer processors onboard and act as a self-contained web server to handle communication and other sophisticated functions.

Investigation by Proofpoint into the internet addresses involved in the attack revealed the presence of the smart gadgets, said David Knight, general manager of Proofpoint's information security division.

"The results spoke for themselves when the addresses responded with explicit identification, including well-known, often graphically branded interfaces, file structures, and content," he told the BBC.

Mr Knight speculated that the malware that allowed spam to be sent from these devices was able to install itself because many of the gadgets were poorly configured or used default passwords that left them exposed.

He said attacks such as this would become much more routine as homes and furnishings got smarter and were put online.

"Many of these devices are poorly protected at best and consumers have virtually no way to detect or fix infections when they do occur," he added.

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Nintendo hit by weak Wii U sales

17 January 2014 Last updated at 05:06 ET

Nintendo, the Japanese gaming giant and creator of the Super Mario franchise, has issued a profit warning blaming weaker-than-expected Wii U console sales.

It now expects to make an operating loss of 35bn yen ($335m; £205m) for the financial year ending 31 March 2014.

Its initial estimate was for an operating profit of 100bn yen.

Nintendo said the key reason behind the downgrade was weaker-than-expected sales during the holiday season.

"In the year-end sales season which constitutes the highest proportion of the annual sales volume, software sales with a relatively high margin were significantly lower than our original forecasts," the firm said in a statement.

Losing faith

It said weak software sales were "mainly due to the fact that hardware sales did not reach their expected level".

The company cut its global Wii U sales forecast for the business year from nine million to 2.8 million units - a cut of nearly 70%.

It also reduced the sales forecast for its 3DS console from 18 million to 13.5 million units.

Three months ago Nintendo was standing by its sales projections for the Wii U, despite signs, from the UK at least, that retailers were losing faith in the product.

In July last year, UK supermarket chain Asda said it would no longer be selling the Wii U in its stores.

Online streaming

Nintendo has faced tough competition from rival games console makers, such as Microsoft with its new Xbox One, and Sony with its new PlayStation 4.

There is also a general trend towards online streaming of games to make them available over a variety of devices, such as mobiles and smart TVs.

At the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Sony announced that PlayStation Now subscribers will be able to play some of the platform's greatest hits without the need to own a console.

Sony said it may offer its games to third-party products as well.

'Disappointing'

This month Nintendo's shares received a boost after China lifted a sales ban on foreign video games consoles.

The Chinese government said it would allow foreign firms to make consoles in the recently-launched Shanghai free trade zone and sell them across the country.

Nintendo's shares have risen 56% over the last 52-week period, reaching a two-and-a-half year high in January, but this latest profits warning - issued after the Tokyo markets closed - is likely to affect the share price on Monday.

"The fact that the Wii U strategy has failed is disappointing and will likely trigger a sell-off as soon as the market opens," said Makoto Kikuchi, chief executive of Myojo Asset Management.

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Children can turn off net filters

16 January 2014 Last updated at 10:54 ET

Filters put in place by parents to stop children viewing inappropriate content are easily bypassed by the youngsters themselves, according to a nreport from regulator Ofcom.

It found that 18% of 12-15-year-olds know how to disable internet filters.

Almost half of children aged 12-15 know how to delete their browsing history and 29% can amend settings to mask their browser activity.

Some 83% of eight to 11 year-olds said they knew how to stay safe online.

In response to the report, Culture Secretary Maria Miller said that filters were not "a silver bullet".

"Parents have a central role to play in protecting their children, including by talking to them about how to stay safe online," she said.

According to the report, many parents feel their computing skills are far inferior to their children's.

Almost half (44%) of parents with children aged between eight and 11 say their child knows more about the internet than they do. That rises to 63% for parents of 12-15-year-olds.

YouTube video

The government has put pressure on UK ISPs to introduce network-level filters that screen out pornography and other content deemed inappropriate.

But the filters have proved controversial.

Sky's system hit the headlines when it emerged that it was blocking a legitimate news website that covered file-sharing issues.

Meanwhile a BBC investigation found that filters were blocking out sex education websites.

Sebastien Lahtinen, co-founder of internet news site ThinkBroadband, told the BBC that the filters were easy to bypass.

"As soon as I type the filter name into Google it suggests the search term 'bypass'. The second result is a YouTube video of what sounds like a kid explaining how to work around it," he said.

"The report acknowledges that children often know more about the internet than their parents, and it is therefore no surprise that many children are able to bypass technical limitations put in place to restrict their access or delete their browsing history," he added.

"This only re-emphasises the need for active parenting and regular communications about how children use the internet, particularly at the age where they start doing so away from parents and on their own devices."

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NSA 'collected 200m texts per day'

16 January 2014 Last updated at 21:01 ET

The US National Security Agency (NSA) has collected and stored almost 200 million text messages a day from around the world, UK media report.

The NSA extracts and stores data from the SMS messages, and UK spies have had access to some of the information, the Guardian and Channel 4 News say.

The reporting is based on leaks by ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden and comes ahead of a key US policy announcement.

The NSA told the BBC the programme stored "lawfully collected SMS data".

"The implication that NSA's collection is arbitrary and unconstrained is false," the NSA said.

President Barack Obama is set on Friday to announce changes to the US electronic surveillance programmes, based in part on a review of NSA activities undertaken this autumn by a White House panel.

On Thursday, the White House said Mr Obama had briefed UK Prime Minister David Cameron on the review.

Continue reading the main story

The public disquiet and the shock of allies means [Obama] has to act. As so often, his liberal instincts may be at war with his perceived duty as commander in chief - and he may be doomed to disappoint many on both sides of the debate. "

End Quote

The documents also reveal the NSA's UK counterpart GCHQ had searched the NSA's database for information regarding people in the UK, the Guardian reports.

In a statement to the BBC, GCHQ said all of its work was "carried out in accordance with the strict legal and policy framework".

'Privacy protections'

The programme, Dishfire, analyses SMS messages to extract information including contacts from missed call alerts, location from roaming and travel alerts, financial information from bank alerts and payments and names from electronic business cards, according to the report.

Through the vast database, which was in use at least as late as 2012, the NSA gained information on those who were not specifically targeted or under suspicion, the report says.

The NSA told the BBC its activities were "focused and specifically deployed against - and only against - valid foreign intelligence targets in response to intelligence requirements".

While acknowledging the SMS data of US residents may be "incidentally collected", the NSA added "privacy protections for US persons exist across the entire process".

"In addition, NSA actively works to remove extraneous data, to include that of innocent foreign citizens, as early as possible in the process."

The Guardian and Channel 4 also reported on a GCHQ document on the Dishfire programme that states it "collects pretty much everything it can" and outlines how the GCHQ analysts are able to search the database, with certain restrictions.

The GCHQ statement said: "All of GCHQ's work is carried out in accordance with the strict legal and policy framework which ensures that our activities are authorised, necessary and proportionate and that there is rigorous oversight."

'Cosmetic'

Mr Snowden, a former contractor with the NSA, has been charged in the US with espionage and is currently a fugitive in Russia.

Last month, a US panel gave President Barack Obama dozens of recommendations for ways to change US electronic surveillance programmes.

On Friday, Mr Obama is expected to outline his response to those suggestions as well as his own conversations with a variety of US groups concerned with spying, in a speech at the justice department.

He is expected to support the creation of a public advocate to argue in front of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a secretive bench that approves the bulk records collections, according to details leaked to US media by the White House.

Mr Obama is also expected to extend some privacy protections to foreigners, including more oversight on how the US monitors foreign leaders, and limit how long phone information is kept.

But he is not expected to take the bulk phone collection out of the hands of the NSA, as the panel recommended, instead leaving that question to Congress.

Civil rights and privacy groups were wary ahead of the speech.

"While we welcome the president's acknowledgement that reforms must be made, we warn the president not to expect thunderous applause for cosmetic reforms,'' David Segal of Demand Progress told the Associated Press news agency.

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Google unveils 'smart contact lens'

16 January 2014 Last updated at 22:47 ET

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Google said the sensors on the smart contact lens are so small they look like bits of glitter

Google has said it is testing a "smart contact lens" that can help measure glucose levels in tears.

It uses a "tiny" wireless chip and a "miniaturised" glucose sensor embedded between two layers of lens material.

The firm said it is also working on integrating tiny LED lights that could light up to indicate that glucose levels have crossed certain thresholds.

But it added that "a lot more work" needed to be done to get the technology ready for everyday use.

"It's still early days for this technology, but we've completed multiple clinical research studies which are helping to refine our prototype," the firm said in a blogpost.

"We hope this could someday lead to a new way for people with diabetes to manage their disease."

'Exciting development'

Continue reading the main story

It is likely to spur a range of other innovations towards miniaturizing technology and using it in wearable devices to help people monitor their bodies better"

End Quote Manoj Menon Frost & Sullivan

Many global firms have been looking to expand in the wearable technology sector - seen by many as a key growth area in the coming years.

Various estimates have said the sector is expected to grow by between $10bn and $50bn (£6bn and £31bn) in the next five years.

Within the sector, many firms have been looking specifically at technology targeted at healthcare.

Google's latest foray with the smart contact lens is aimed at a sector where consumer demand for such devices is expected to grow.

According to the International Diabetes Federation, one in ten people across the world's population are forecast to have diabetes by 2035.

People suffering from the condition need to monitor their glucose levels regularly as sudden spikes or drops are dangerous. At present, the majority of them do so by testing drops of blood.

Google said it was testing a prototype of the lens that could "generate a reading once per second".

"This is an exciting development for preventive healthcare industry," Manoj Menon, managing director of consulting firm Frost & Sullivan told the BBC.

"It is likely to spur a range of other innovations towards miniaturizing technology and using it in wearable devices to help people monitor their bodies better."

Open innovation?

Google said it was working with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to bring the product to mainstream use.

It added that it would look for partners "who are experts in bringing products like this to market".

Google said it would work with these partners to develops apps aimed at making the measurements taken by the lens available to the wearer and their doctor.

Mr Menon said it was "commendable" that Google was willing to work with other partners even before the product was commercially ready.

"Their open innovation approach is going to help accelerate the development of this product and get it out to the market much faster," he said.

Other firms have also been looking towards wearable products that help monitor the health of the wearer.

Earlier this month, a gadget called Sensible Baby was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. It is a sensor put in an infant's night clothes that tracks their temperature, orientation and movement.

It sounds a smartphone app alarm if it detects a problem.

Several smartwatches that can monitor data by studying key indicators such as the the wearer's heart rate and temperature have also been launched.

Last year, Japanese firm Sony filed a patent for a 'SmartWig', with healthcare cited as one of its potential uses.

It said the wig could use a combination of sensors to help collect information such as temperature, pulse and blood pressure of the wearer.

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Silk Road forfeits $28m in Bitcoins

17 January 2014 Last updated at 02:15 ET

The clandestine online marketplace, Silk Road, has forfeited Bitcoins worth $28m (£18m), US prosecutors have said.

Prosecutors had seized the Bitcoins - a virtual currency - as they shut the website, which allowed users to trade in illegal drugs, last year.

The seized Bitcoins were allegedly used "to facilitate money laundering", the prosecutors claimed.

Bitcoins have gained popularity recently but there have been fears they may be used for illegal activities.

"We continue our efforts to take the profit out of crime and signal to those who would turn to the dark web for illicit activity that they have chosen the wrong path," US prosecutor Preet Bharara said in a statement.

Continue reading the main story

Bitcoin is often referred to as a new kind of currency.

But it may be better to think of its units as being virtual tokens that have value because enough people believe they do and there is a finite number of them.

Each bitcoin is represented by a unique online registration number.

These numbers are created through a process called "mining", which involves a computer solving a difficult mathematical problem with a 64-digit solution.

Each time a problem is solved the computer's owner is rewarded with bitcoins.

To receive a bitcoin, a user must also have a Bitcoin address - a randomly generated string of 27 to 34 letters and numbers - which acts as a kind of virtual postbox to and from which the bitcoins are sent.

Since there is no registry of these addresses, people can use them to protect their anonymity when making a transaction.

These addresses are in turn stored in Bitcoin wallets, which are used to manage savings. They operate like privately run bank accounts - with the proviso that if the data is lost, so are the bitcoins contained.

Mr Bharara added that prosecutors were treating Bitcoins like any other asset involved in money laundering and criminal activity.

"These Bitcoins were forfeited not because they are Bitcoins, but because they were, as the court found, the proceeds of crimes," he said.

Additional seizures

The US authorities have alleged that Silk Road had been designed to "enable its users to buy and sell illegal drugs and other unlawful goods and services anonymously".

They said they had also filed charges against Ross William Ulbricht, the alleged owner of the site.

Mr Ulbricht is also known as Dread Pirate Roberts, DPR and Silk Road, the prosecutors said.

As part of the action against the Mr Ulbricht, prosecutors said they had seized an additional 144,336 Bitcoins.

These are worth nearly $130m at current value.

Mr Ulbricht has filed a claim contesting the seizure of the Bitcoins, asserting that they were found on his personal computer and belong to him rather than Silk Road.

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IBM in cloud data centre investment

17 January 2014 Last updated at 02:55 ET

IBM, the global computing giant, has said it is investing more than $1.2bn (£735m) expanding its data centres and cloud storage business.

It plans to build 15 new centres around the world, bringing the total number up to 40 during 2014.

IBM bought cloud services company SoftLayer for $2bn last year, and this investment will double the subsidiary's storage capacity, the company said.

IBM believes the cloud services market could be worth $200bn by 2020.

Businesses are increasingly leasing data storage, computing power and web hosting services from a growing number of specialist cloud companies - effectively outsourcing their IT needs to cut costs and improve efficiency.

IBM says it has added 2,400 new clients since it acquired Dallas-based SoftLayer.

Supercomputer investment

In a related announcement last week, IBM said it would spend $1bn creating a new division for Watson, its supercomputer.

Watson, which aims to mimic how people think, using natural language capabilities and analytics, beat its human rivals in the US TV quiz show Jeopardy in 2011.

IBM plans to farm out Watson's abilities to businesses and consumers via SoftLayer, and is encouraging developers to create new apps that tap in to the supercomputer.

The growth of mobile devices, wireless connectivity and cloud computing means businesses and public sector organisations - particularly healthcare providers - will increasingly access intelligent data services remotely from a range of providers, such as IBM.

Investment bank Credit Agricole has predicted that Watson spin-offs could account for more than 12% of IBM's total revenue by 2018.

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UK 'complacent' over spying leaks

17 January 2014 Last updated at 05:57 ET

British politicians have shown "complacency" about revelations of mass surveillance by the security services, the editor of the Guardian has said.

Alan Rusbridger said both Labour and the Conservatives "feel compromised" by the information revealed in documents leaked by Edward Snowden.

The foreign secretary said he had seen no evidence of privacy law breaches.

US President Barack Obama is set to announce new restrictions on the collection of phone records later.

Foreign Secretary William Hague's comments followed new allegations revealed by the Guardian and Channel Four News about a National Security Agency (NSA) programme that has collected and stored almost 200 million text messages per day across the globe.

The programme extracted and stored data from the SMS messages to gather location information, contacts and financial data, according to the Guardian and Channel Four.

'World's strongest system'

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Mr Hague told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he could not address those specific allegations, but said the UK had "very strong legal checks and balances" requiring warrants from himself or the home secretary to intercept the content of the communications of anyone within the United Kingdom.

"That system is not breached," he said. "I've never seen anything to suggest that system is breached.

"We have perhaps the strongest system in the world, in which not only do I and the home secretary oversee these things, there are then commissioners - the interception of communications commissioner, for instance - who oversee our work and report to the prime minister on how we do that."

However, Mr Rusbridger claimed the American NSA liked working in the UK because of the "light legal regime".

Continue reading the main story

• Accessing internet company data
• Tapping fibre optic cables
• Eavesdropping on phones
• Targeted spying

He told the Today programme: "Here, there's been barely a whisper from Westminster.

"I think they are closing their eyes and hoping it will go away. But it's not going to go away, because it's impossible to reform the NSA without that having a deep knock-on effect on what our own intelligence services do."

He said the leaks by former intelligence contractor Mr Snowden - who has been granted asylum by Russia - compromised both main political parties.

"Labour are not keen to get involved because a lot of this stuff was done on their watch," he said.

"That of course has raised the whole question of oversight. We have a parliamentary committee with a tiny budget of £1m overseeing the three agencies [the intelligence service MI6, security service MI5 and communications monitor GCHQ] with over £2bn.

"I just don't believe they've got the technological expertise or the resource to look into this."

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Obama 'to end NSA data hoarding'

17 January 2014 Last updated at 10:29 ET

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LIVE: President Obama's speech

President Barack Obama is expected to order the National Security Agency (NSA) to stop storing data from Americans' phones, after a series of leaks about intelligence operations.

Reports suggest Mr Obama will ask Congress to arrange how the data is stored, and how agencies can access it.

The president is due to announce a number of changes to the spying system.

Former intelligence worker Edward Snowden has leaked an array of details about the NSA's spying programme.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

As so often, [President Obama's] liberal instincts may be at war with his perceived duty as commander in chief - and he may be doomed to disappoint many on both sides of the debate"

End Quote

He is wanted for espionage in the US and now lives in exile in Russia.

The latest revelations claim that US agencies have collected and stored almost 200 million text messages every day across the globe.

An NSA programme called Dishfire extracted and stored data from the SMS messages to gather location information, contacts and financial data, according to the Guardian newspaper and Channel 4 News.

The information was shared with the UK's spy agency, GCHQ.

Both agencies have defended their activities, saying they operate within the constraints of the law.

FISC shakeup

While he initially defended US surveillance practices, Mr Obama said in August that the US "can and must be more transparent" about its intelligence gathering.

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In Friday's speech, scheduled to take place at the Department of Justice at 11:00 (16:00 GMT), he is expected to approve a number of recommendations made by a panel that the White House commissioned last year.

Senior officials said the centrepiece of the reforms, if approved, will be the order to stop the NSA from storing information about Americans' phone calls.

Storage of the data will instead fall to firms or another third party where it can be queried under limited conditions.

It will be a programme that "preserves the capabilities we need without the government holding this bulk metadata", one official told AFP news agency.

Continue reading the main story

How intelligence is gathered

• Accessing internet company data
• Tapping fibre optic cables
• Eavesdropping on phones
• Targeted spying

Mr Obama is expected to leave the decision as to how that is implemented to Congress and the intelligence community.

Another proposal likely to be approved is the creation of a public advocate position at the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), where government agencies request permission for mass spying programmes.

Currently, only the US government is represented in front of FISC judges.

Mr Obama is also expected to extend some privacy protections for foreigners, increase oversight of how the US monitors foreign leaders, and limit how long some data can be stored.

In late 2012 it was revealed that the US had spied on the communications of several foreign allies, including monitoring the personal mobile phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

'More confidence'

It is unclear whether Mr Obama's speech will make any reference to Mr Snowden, who is hailed as a hero who should be pardoned by civil liberties groups, but whose actions many believe put lives in danger.

Civil rights groups had been hoping for significant reductions in the powers of government agencies to collect data.

But analysts say the proposals appear to be structured in terms of broad rules that do little to limit intelligence-gathering activities.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Thursday the aim was to make intelligence activities "more transparent".

He said this would "give the public more confidence about the problems and the oversight of the programmes".

The White House also said Mr Obama had briefed UK Prime Minister David Cameron on the review of NSA activities.

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Intel to cut thousands of jobs

17 January 2014 Last updated at 16:38 ET

The world's biggest computer chip maker, Intel, says it will cut its workforce by 5% as it expects no revenue growth in 2014.

The company told Reuters news agency that it would reduce its global workforce of 107,000.

Intel's gloomy earnings report this week knocked its share price, which was down 2.6 at the close.

A spokesman, Chris Kraeuter, said: "This is part of aligning our human resources to meet business needs."

The weak forecast comes as chip makers continue to be hurt by a drop in sales of personal computers (PCs).

Revenues at Intel's division which makes chips for desktop computers fell 4% in 2013.

However, the company said there had been signs in the past few months that the PC sector was "stabilising".

According to its latest earnings, the PC chip division generated revenues of $8.6bn (£5.2bn) in the October-to-December quarter of 2013, compared with $8.5bn a year ago.

"We had a solid fourth quarter with signs of stabilisation in the PC segment and financial growth from a year ago," said Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich.

For the full year 2013, the firm reported a net profit of $9.6bn, down 13% from a year ago.

'Disappointed again'

Continue reading the main story

We've built a strong foundation for our business by bringing innovation to the market more quickly across a wide range of computing platforms"

End Quote Brian Krzanich Intel

Sales of PCs have fallen for six quarters in a row, hurt by the growing popularity of tablets and smartphones.

As a result, computer chip makers have been looking to boost growth in other divisions and areas to try and sustain their growth.

In case of Intel, analysts have been focussing on the performance of its data centre business.

Intel said the division's revenues rose 8% in the last quarter of 2013, from a year earlier. However, the rise was less than what some analysts had expected.

"The incremental nugget we got from fourth quarter earnings was that data centre group disappointed again," said Patrick Wang an analyst with advisory firm Evercore. He said investors were anticipating a healthy performance from the division.

Intel's chief financial officer, Stacy Smith, said the division's revenues in 2014 would probably come in toward the bottom of the previous estimate of 10% to 15% growth.

'Bringing innovation'

Intel has also taken other steps to create new growth areas and offset the impact of slowing PC sales on its business.

At the recently held Consumer Electronics Show (CES), in Las Vegas, the firm showcased various new technologies.

That included a 3D-camera technology, where one of its depth sensors could be used to interpret gesture controls and to separate foreground objects from the background.

It said laptops featuring the technology would go on sale this year.

The company also unveiled a series of new concept wearable technologies - seen by many as a key growth area in the coming years.

The products showcased included Smart earbuds -which act as an activity tracker as well as play music and a smartwatch hat can connect to the internet without needing to be linked to a phone.

"We've built a strong foundation for our business by bringing innovation to the market more quickly across a wide range of computing platforms," said Mr Krzanich.

"At [the] CES, we demonstrated multiple devices that weren't on our roadmap six months ago."

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3D food printers debut at CES

8 January 2014 Last updated at 00:47 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

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BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones tests some of the 3D printers on show at CES

Two food-creating 3D printers that will launch later this year have been unveiled in Las Vegas.

The machines make chocolate and sugar-based confectionery shaped in ways that would be difficult to produce using traditional methods.

The smaller one, Chefjet, is limited to monochrome creations, but the larger Chefjet Pro can create multicoloured objects.

However, experts said their prices would be likely to limit sales.

The basic version will cost about $5,000 (£3,000) and the more advanced one double that price.

US firm 3D Systems is showing off the machines at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

It also has a new $10,000 model that prints ceramics and another $5,000 one that creates multi-coloured plastic objects.

Until now one of the most common uses for 3D printers within these price ranges has been rapid prototyping - the creation of models used to envisage the look of a design rather than to make products that could be put on sale themselves.

Sugar photographs

3D Systems developed its new "food-safe" models after taking over a Los Angeles-based start-up in September, which had customised one of its machines.

Both models can print using chocolate, or sugar infused with vanilla, mint, sour apple, cherry and watermelon flavours.

The larger one has the advantage of being able to create "photographic-quality" pictures by mixing together different ingredients that can then then be wrapped around cakes and other surfaces.

The designs are built using a layer-by-layer printing process.

Sweets are created by spreading a fine layer of the flavoured sugar, and then painting water on top using a jet print head to turn the substance into hardened crystals.

The process is then repeated to make the resulting edible objects, which can even have moving parts.

The firm is also releasing Digital Cookbook, an app to help customers - who might not be experts in computer-aided design - make such treats .

3D Systems is not the only company expanding into this area.

Natural Machines, a Spanish start-up, recently unveiled a prototype called the Foodini that can create chocolates and ravioli pasta among other choices.

Nasa has given funding to the founder of a Texas-headquartered engineering firm to build a food printer that could be used by its astronauts.

And British start-up Choc Edge is already selling a printer that can create chocolate printed patterns.

However, 3D Systems' machines would be the most advanced of their kind to become commercially available.

Printing rivals

The South Carolina-based company is a pioneer in its field.

Its founder, Chuck Hall, was granted the first patent for the Stereolithography additive manufacturing process on which the 3D printing industry was built in 1986.

Until recently it and Stratasys - a US firm that owns the Makerbot brand - had little competition since many of the technologies they used were patent protected.

However, several of these patents have now expired, letting others enter the industry.

This year there are about 30 firms exhibiting 3D-printing tech at CES, putting pressure on the more established players to innovate.

"A lot of the start-ups are producing variations on the themes already out there: variations in accuracy, in speed, and the types of plastic that can be used," said Duncan Wood, publisher of 3D printing-themed TCT Magazine.

"But there's no doubt that 3D Systems remains the dominant player in the market thanks to the range of the machine categories it offers and the size of its R&D team. And with the new products over here at CES they've really stolen the show in many ways."

While some of the smaller players may be happy for now to focus on less advanced but cheaper models, one expert at the tech show was not convinced their products would find mass appeal at this stage.

"At the moment where we are at is comparable to the early 1980s when the odd person had a dot matrix paper printer but most people went to a shop to print their documents," said Stuff Magazine's deputy online editor Stephen Graves.

"And that what's happening with 3D printing.

"At the moment all you can really do is rapid prototyping with the plastic-using low resolution ones available on the high street. They're more of a curio more than anything else."

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Gmail update fuels privacy fears

10 January 2014 Last updated at 06:36 ET

Users of Google's Gmail service will soon be able to send messages directly to other Gmail accounts, regardless of whether the recipient has shared their email address.

The new feature will include everyone signed up to both Gmail and Google+, the web giant's social network.

The change has caused concern among some privacy advocates, who say people could be contacted by strangers.

Google says it will make it easier for users to communicate with friends.

But privacy campaigner Marc Rotenberg, of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, called the new feature "troubling", and compared it to a privacy flaw in a previous Google product.

"There is a strong echo of the Google Buzz snafu," he said, referring to an early incarnation of the company's social network, which initially made a list of Gmail users' contacts available publicly online.

'Easier to connect'

Gmail members will see a list of their Google+ connections when they begin to type a name in the 'To' field of their messages, even if they do not know the email address of the person they are attempting to contact.

The update was announced on Google's Gmail blog on Thursday by product manager David Nachum, who said the change would make it "easier for people using Gmail and Google+ to connect over email".

Users will have the option of disabling the new feature and can choose to allow only those within their 'Circles' to contact them.

However, the default setting allows anyone on the network to get in touch without prior consent.

Address hidden

Mr Nachum said that all users would be alerted to the new feature and how to change the default setting, within the next few days.

He also explained that email addresses will not be visible to a Google+ connection until a user replies to that person's initial message.

Google's update to Gmail messaging is the latest in a series of moves designed to bring its email service and social network Google+ closer together.

Users signing up to Gmail are now automatically given a Google+ account, unless they choose to disable it.

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PlayStation games go console-free

7 January 2014 Last updated at 16:28 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

Sony has announced plans to roll out its cloud gaming service.

PlayStation Now will allow subscribers to play some of the platform's greatest hits without the need to own a console.

It works by streaming data from the company's servers. The firm's latest smart TVs will be among the first devices to support it, but Sony also intends to offer the facility to other third-party products.

One expert said the firm had a rich back catalogue to draw on.

"It's a pretty big asset," said Brian Blau from the tech consultancy Gartner.

"You can imagine the hundreds of years of manpower that went into building it up, and now they can get value from it for a long time into the future."

Sony said it would launch a restricted test of the service in the US later this month before a wider launch in the summer.

It has not provided details of plans for other markets yet or information of which smartphone and table platforms will be the first to get apps to run the facility.

The announcement was made at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Tackling lag

The new facility is based on technology developed by Gaikai, a cloud gaming start-up that the Japanese firm acquired for $380m (£232m) in 2012.

Its rival Samsung had previously announced plans to partner with the firm to let its TVs offer games.

Sony said the service would also allow its new PlayStation 4 console to run titles from the PS3's library.

Since the two machines use different types of processors, the PS4 cannot currently run the previous generation's titles.

It also said that its handheld, the PS Vita, would use PlayStation Now to gain access to a wider catalogue.

Sony added that another benefit of hosting titles in the cloud was that subscribers would always be playing the most up-to-date versions.

Demo titles on show at CES include The Last of Us, Beyond: Two Souls, and God of War: Ascension.

Tech bloggers who tested the kit have noted that it does have some limitations.

"There's a slightly perceptible lag between button presses and the corresponding action onscreen," wrote Chris Welch for The Verge.

Others noted that the visuals were not as crisp as would be the case if they were running natively on a PS3. But they said the games were still playable.

Sony is not alone in offering such a service. OnLive has offered a cloud-based gaming platform since 2010, and is already available in the UK.

However, it lacks many of the big-name titles that Sony will be able to offer.

Mr Blau said that he expected that PlayStation Now would suit some titles better than others.

"I imagine that for the games that don't require a very fast frame rate that lag won't make any difference at all," he said.

"But for those that run at 50 to 60 frames per second it could be an issue if you're not close to a Sony server.

"However, I imagine the firm has the capability to ensure that most of the connected PlayStations and TV will be close to at least one of its data centres.

"And as the years go on that will become less of a problem as the internet's infrastructure matures."

PS4 v Xbox One

Sony also announced that it had sold 4.2 million PlayStation 4 consoles as of December 28.

Its rival Microsoft had previously said that three million Xbox One machines had been sold by the end of 2013.

Jason Kingsley, chief executive of developer Rebellion, suggested the numbers reflected the firm's different strategies.

"Microsoft seemed to have a US focused launch with an emphasis on TV and US sports," he said.

"Sony played the hardcore gamer card well in the UK.

"All sales are good for the development scene though and it is still early days. They are both excellent machines."

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Phones become tricorder and stun gun

9 January 2014 Last updated at 03:23 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

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The Yellow Jacket smartphone case has the power to deliver a 650,000 volt electric shock - and would be illegal to own in the UK

Add-ons that turn smartphones into Star Trek-like tricorder medical diagnostic kits, Predator-style thermal vision cameras and even electric "stun guns" are being promoted at the Consumer Electronics Show.

The inventions join a growing list of hardware that adds abilities to existing handsets.

Most will go on sale this year.

But one expert said the ambition of many was to see themselves taken over by one of the big manufacturers.

That is what happened to Authentec, which attended CES for several years before its fingerprint tech was acquired for use in Apple's iPhone 5S.

"If you come up with a good idea the reality is that you're going to get sold for a high price," explained Ben Wood from the tech consultancy CCS Insight.

"It's palpable here - you can feel there are people scouting the show floor desperately looking for that next big thing."

Tricorder tech

California-based Scanadu is already attracting attention before its first product's release.

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Scanadu's scanner is designed to be held up to a person's head to deliver a diagnosis to their smartphone

The start-up is developing a health-checking scanner packed with sensors called Scout, which the user holds up to their head to let it check their vital signs.

It promises to be able to measure heart rate, skin and core body temperatures, respiratory rate and blood oxygen levels among other readings.

It has no screen of its own, but relies on a smartphone app to interpret the data in order to warn of potential problems or help its owner manage a chronic condition.

At least that's the theory.

Although a prototype has been developed it's not fully functional yet. If and when the tech is shop-ready it will still need health regulators' approval to go on sale.

Even so, the firm's founder is already planning follow-ups.

"The Scanadu Scout is the first of many products to come," Walter De Brouwer told the BBC.

"Down the road we see consumers collecting all of their health data and even sharing it with each other to learn what works and what doesn't. This all happens through our smartphones.

"Right now we use our smartphone as a hub for our personal data - our emails, our photos, our entertainment, our fingerprints even. Why not use it for your health?"

While Scanadu tries to create an all-in-one Star Trek-like scanner, others are giving the smartphone more limited health powers.

San Diego's Sensor Jacket is at CES with a case that contains a "non-contact" infrared thermometer.

It suggests the device could appeal to the parents of newborns who want an easy-to-hand way of checking their temperature.

Sound and vision

As smartphones continue to decimate sales of standalone cameras and music players, several of the exhibitors are trying to enhance the handsets' capabilities.

Izzi Gadgets and Olloclip are both at CES with new cases that offer fisheye, wide-angle and macro lenses to increase the style of pictures that can be taken.

Flir Systems is attempting something even more radical.

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The Flir One case produces a thermal image of cats and anything else put in front of it

The Oregon-headquartered firm has adapted the thermal imaging tech that it developed for US army helicopters and put it into an iPhone case.

It promises potential purchasers a new way of looking at the world in which your cat is a psychedelic mix of yellows and pinks, and your child's eyes appear to glow.

Meanwhile Germany's Beyerdynamic is targeting audiophiles with its new A200p amplifier.

The gadget plugs into a phone's Micro-USB or Lightning cable slot to bypass the handset's own audio signal processing equipment and carry out the conversion process itself.

It offers a mind-boggling 135 different volume levels - and a steep price of $300 (£182), making it potentially more expensive than the phones it will be plugged into.

Touch my back

Other innovative products include Canopy's Sensus App-Enhancing case, which includes resistive force pressure sensors.

It allows users to control a handset by touching its product's back and sides, and can detect how firmly they are pressing. The company aims to ship the first copies later this year, but will require app developers to support the case for users to enjoy the benefits.

Fancy something a bit more extreme? Well, Yellow Jacket's case will turn your mobile into an electric stun gun.

The "self-defence" feature packs 650,000 volts - enough to provide an unpleasant sting rather than a Taser-like knock-out blow - and comes in a range of colours including pink.

Just beware, you could be arrested for owning one in the UK.

Battery bugbear

The problem facing many of the manufacturers is that they either have to make your mobile bulky to include their own battery power or risk draining the life out of the handset.

"Advancements in battery technology are lagging the advancements in mobile telephony technology," explains Chris Jones from tech advisors Canalys.

"With many of the phones now using bigger, richer, higher resolution screens, if you plug in accessories or connect them via Bluetooth you will drain their battery pretty quickly."

Several firms are trying to turn this problem into an opportunity.

Mophie is one of the better known portable battery pack makers. Its latest version- unveiled at CES - is the Space Pack, which has the added benefit of offering extra storage to iPhones.

Prong has taken a different approach. Its PocketPlug case features two pop-out strips of metal that let a phone be plugged directly into the US mains.

There are various add-on wireless charging solutions on show too, to try and take the pain out of the problem.

But perhaps the most unusual solution comes from Salt Lake City's Power Practical.

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Caleb Light demonstrates the 'Power Pot' at CES 2014

The firm has developed a camping cooking pot with a built-in electric thermogenerator that both cooks your food and simultaneously recharges your phone.

You need never go hungry for BBQ beans or another go on Angry Birds again.

Whether the likes of Samsung, Sony or Apple will be interested in the idea is another matter.

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Intel chips will be 'conflict free'

7 January 2014 Last updated at 06:27 ET By Joe Miller BBC News

Intel will no longer use minerals mined in conflict zones to build its microprocessors, the company has said.

Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Intel's chief executive Brian Krzanich urged the "entire industry" to follow suit.

Gold, tungsten and other minerals used in electronics manufacturing are mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and surrounding countries.

Production and trade of the materials are often controlled by armed groups.

Intel's policy comes after increased international pressure for technology firms to investigate the sources of their raw minerals.

Tracing origins

The company, which is the world's largest chipmaker and has factories around the world, says all the microprocessors it ships in 2014 will be "conflict free".

Most electronic devices contain either gold, tantalum, tin, or tungsten, much of which originates from sub-Saharan Africa and is mined in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuses.

In 2010, US President Barack Obama introduced a law requiring public companies to report whether their products contained minerals from these areas.

Mr Krzanich, who took over as the head of Intel last year, told the audience at CES that the company had been trying to determine the sources of the metals used in its chips for some years.

"We felt an obligation to implement changes in our supply chain to ensure that our business and our products were not inadvertently funding human atrocities," he said.

'Important issue'

The company is already a member of the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative run by the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition, which encourages environmental and ethical responsibility.

"This is not an issue we would normally be talking about at CES. But it's an issue that is important to me," Mr Krzanich said.

"You begin to think about the impact of the supply chain and the potential issues you can be causing."

At the same keynote session, Intel also announced it would be scrapping the McAfee anti-virus brand name and replacing it with Intel Security.

Software rebrand

The move is intended to sever the connection to the software's eponymous founder, John McAfee, who has been mired in legal troubles, and has confessed to extensive drug use.

But Mr McAfee told the BBC he was was elated by Intel's decision.

"I am now everlastingly grateful to Intel for freeing me from this terrible association with the worst software on the planet," he said.

"These are not my words, but the words of millions of irate users."

Last year Mr McAfee released a video showing how to "uninstall" the firm's anti-virus software by blasting a laptop with a bullet.

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Yahoo unveils news summary app

7 January 2014 Last updated at 20:03 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

Yahoo has launched a news summary app that aims to deliver two daily briefings of eight to nine stories most likely to interest its users.

The News Digest app claims to present readers with "all the stories you need to know about" and brings up a graphic saying "Done" when they have been read.

It is based on Summly, an app created by British teenager Nick D'Aloisio, who now works for Yahoo.

Media analysts are split over the need for such a product.

Mark Mulligan, editor of the Media Industry Blog said the facility could address the needs of busy consumers.

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Rory Cellan-Jones meets Yahoo's Nick D'Aloisio who developed the app's underlying technology when he was just 15-years-old

"There's a huge amount of information of varying quality being created, and people require a way to steer through all the news - it's a tyranny of choice," he told the BBC.

"The idea of cutting through the clutter and being a trusted curator that can offer quality bite-sized chunks of information definitely addresses a need."

But consultant Bob Eggington, who helped launch BBC News Online, was more sceptical.

"If people are being told they have read enough news they are being misled," he said.

"What Yahoo is saying is: 'We will try to tell you the things we know about that we think are of interest to you' - and both of those statements are highly imperfect."

News of the app's release was revealed by Mr D'Aloisio during a presentation hosted by Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Atomised news

Yahoo News Digest uses software algorithms to scour a variety of online publications including Reuters, Associated Press, Business Insider and Sky News.

It then assembles the information gathered into what it terms "atoms", which are selected chunks of text, infographics, maps and Wikipedia extracts about each topic alongside photos, videos and links to the news sources.

"We found that people were willing to consume more content when it was boiled down to the most important bits," said Mr D'Aloisio on the company's blog.

At present the app is only available on the US iPhone App Store and does not allow users to customise the type of stories most likely to interest them.

Android app acquired

Yahoo's news ambitions extend beyond the app.

Ms Mayer's Keynote Address revealed that Yahoo Tech, a advertising-supported technology news site overseen by ex-New York Times writer David Pogue, was now online.

The chief executive also introduced a new digital magazine called Yahoo Food.

In addition, Ms Mayer revealed her firm had taken over Aviate.

The Android app analyses a phone's wi-fi signal, GPS location data and accelerometer sensor to study a user's habits in order to anticipate their needs.

For instance it can then bring up a selection of installed workout apps when it believes the handset owner is at the gym or display bus arrival information when it thinks they are waiting for transport.

Advertising overhaul

Investors will probably be more interested in news that Yahoo has unified its suite of digital advertising products.

Facebook recently overtook Yahoo to become the US' second biggest digital ad seller, according to research firm eMarketer. Google remains the market leader.

It adds that the Yahoo's share of worldwide digital ad revenues dropped from 3.4% in 2012 to 2.9% in 2013.

To help address this the web portal has launched three new products and platforms:

• Yahoo Audience Ads - a service that aims to ensure each advert is delivered to the right audience
• Yahoo Ad Manager - a new platform to help advertisers select and manage Yahoo's products
• Yahoo Ad Exchange - a way for "premium publishers" to control how advertising appears on their sites

In addition the firm announced that sponsored posts on Tumblr - the blogging platform it acquired in May - would now be powered by the firm's Yahoo Advertising products.

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