BBC and ISPs clash over iPlayer

Leave a Reply

A row about who should pay for extra network costs incurred by the iPlayer has broken out between internet service providers (ISPs) and the BBC.

ISPs say the on-demand TV service is putting strain on their networks, which need to be upgraded to cope.

Ashley Highfield, head of future media and technology at the corporation, has said he believes the cost of network upgrades should be carried by ISPs.

Simon Gunter, from ISP Tiscali, said the BBC should contribute to the cost.

He said the BBC did not understand the issues involved.

‘Bit odd’

The popular iPlayer service lets users download or stream programmes to a PC.

In its first month of launching, the catch-up TV service saw 1m people download more than 3.5m programmes.

According to figures from regulator Ofcom it will cost ISPs in the region of £830m to pay for the extra capacity needed to allow for services like the iPlayer.

Mr Gunter is leading the call for the BBC to help pay for the rising costs.

"The question is about whether we invest in extra capacity or go to the consumer and ask them to pay a BBC tax," he said.

Full article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7336940.stm

I agree with Ashley on this story. The ISP’s should upgrade their outdated networks themselves and not use the BBC as a way of getting this done at the publics expense since we basically pay the BBC.

A modular Windows 7? What it may mean for Windows Live

Leave a Reply

Word seems to be filtering out about a move to a more modular core for Windows 7, with additional pieces layered on top.  Mary Jo Foley first wrote about it last week, with a hint at what’s to come for Windows Live:

One of my sources close to Microsoft recently told me that “major parts are being removed from Windows 7 (mail, photo, video)” but still will be available as user-selectable services. This plan, if it comes to pass, ought to help lessen the Windows attack surface that has been the target of various Microsoft competitors and antitrust regulators who’ve been critical of Microsoft bundling everything but the kitchen sink into Windows.

..and then Ken Fisher at Ars Technica expounded a bit, with a somewhat different take on what it will mean for users:

So, Windows 7 will be modular, but to an unknown degree. I personally expect the modularization to focus on value-adds, as did Anytime Upgrade on Vista. It allows Microsoft to draw lines between what is and isn’t “in” the OS for DoJ compliance issues. Whether it be Live Services, Windows Media Player, or even Internet Explorer, Microsoft could roll those into modules and then say, “Hey, look, that’s not part of Windows, we’re charging extra for that!” Foley says that she’s heard from sources that Microsoft is working on a Photo + Mail + Video module that would exist apart from the OS, for instance. I’ve heard less specific groupings myself.

…

The software+services side of modularization is what is surely driving this change at Microsoft. As I argued last summer, this is all a critical piece of Microsoft’s software subscription dreams. In “2010, a ‘Windows 7’ software subscription odyssey,” I noted that Microsoft has been reinventing its approach to Windows in order to facilitate the continued sales of multiple levels of the Windows “experience.” Microsoft has confirmed that there will be multiple SKUs for Windows 7 and that there will be different subscription services built around the OS.

Article continues at Liveside.net

Brian destroys the Virgin Radio Beatles Back catalogue

Leave a Reply
 

I listened to this live on Virgin Radio the last week could not stop chuckling at work for several minutes. I find this rather funny myself.

Windows Vista SP1 Slipstreaming Mess!

Leave a Reply

Remember all those slipstreaming tutorials you could find on the Internet? I think we had one or two for Windows XP here on Neowin.net before some data on our servers was wiped due to a run-in with Microsoft; we also lost the Windows Server 2003 as a Workstation guide that way.

Anyway, generally speaking, any self proclaimed geek of the households first duty after the release of a Service Pack for Windows, was to update the original image with the slipstreamed version that made it possible to clean install a PC directly to the latest Service Pack.

That whole process just got a whole lot more tricky!

Article continues here: http://www.neowin.net/news/main/08/02/10/windows-vista-sp1-slipstreaming-mess

New Blackberry Update Details

Leave a Reply

Let’s face it – the BlackBerry line isn’t as cool as the iPhone and other multimedia phones. So it’s good to know that Research in Motion (RIM) is working to improve the software in the competitive mobile phone market. PC Magazine has posted an article regarding the newest BlackBerry software update which wireless providers should be releasing shortly. The biggest new features are the ability to display HTML email, edit Microsoft Office documents and to stream media from places such as YouTube.

This version was originally known as 4.3.1 but will officially be called 4.5.

Here’s the scoop by model number:

Note that an H designates a feature available on the handheld, and and S for the server.

If you have a BlackBerry Pearl 8100 or BlackBerry 8800, you’ll get:

• Spell check (H)
• BlackBerry Maps with Points of Interest (H)
• Improved media player with playlist support and automatic playlist generation (H)
• Voice note recording (H)
• Streaming support for YouTube and Sling Player (H)
• Bluetooth stereo music (H)
• Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo (H)
• Native format attachment downloading (S)
• HTML e-mails (S)
• Over-the-air device upgrades (S)
• Free/busy calendar lookup (S)
• Searching the server for old e-mail messages (S)

Full story and other models to be updated here: http://www.neowin.net/news/main/08/02/03/new-blackberry-update-details

Bank charges court test to open

Leave a Reply

Banks and their customers are awaiting the start of a High Court test case which could bring a fundamental change to UK High Street banking.

The outcome may decide how much banks can charge millions of account holders who go overdrawn without permission.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is challenging seven leading retail banks and the Nationwide building society.

The regulator claims the banks’ overdraft charges are unfair, but the banks say they are entirely legal.

"We have always believed that what we are doing is correct and legal," said a spokeswoman for the British Bankers’ Association (BBA).

"We are confident and think the hearing is an important opportunity to bring some clarity to the legal position," she added.

News article continues here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7178766.stm

Facebook plans ‘User Profile Clean-up’ Tool

1 Reply

Don’t you just love how Facebook has an application for everything possible? Don’t you just love wading through your friends’ Facebook profiles with the simple goal of finding their Wall? Don’t you just love how Facebook is looking more and more like MySpace every single day? Fear no more, the Facebook Platform Team has a plan to unclutter profiles: a “profile clean-up” tool. Essentially, the tool will give users the option to move extra profile boxes to an “extended portion” of their profile. At the bottom of the profile page there will be a link to “Show Extended Profile” which expands the profile for viewing all of the user’s applications. This should mean a cleaner look, and faster loading pages. Personally, I would much prefer a “hide all 3rd party crap” feature, but this move seems to be a step in the right direction.

News source: Neowin.net

My view: About bloody time I say. I have to use some client side scripting in Firefox to hide the junk on various profiles and even then there are one or two that are so cluttered that the scripting times out and briefly locks up the browser.

Facebook Widget Installing Spyware

Leave a Reply

Fortinet Global Security Research Team discovered a malicious Facebook Widget (officially, a “Platform Application”) actively spreading on the social networking site which ultimately prompts users to install the infamous “Zango” adware/spyware.

Full article complete with screenshots here: http://www.fortiguardcenter.com/advisory/FGA-2007-16.html

Note: I too have been invited to install the formentioned “Secret Crush” application and thank god I decline such an invite like with every bit of tat that I get invited to install on my Facebook profile.

This application definitely a pile of crap to say the least in more way than one.