Fund 'would boost games industry'

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23 October 2011 Last updated at 23:39 GMT Tiga said the fund could help put Scotland on the global map as a centre for video games development The UK games industry has called on the Scottish government to establish a fund to boost the video games sector north of the border.

Games industry association Tiga has proposed a creative content fund (CCF) to encourage new studio production.

It also wants to stimulate the creation of new intellectual property.

Under the proposal, the CCF would provide funding of up to £100,000 to game developers and operate on a commercial basis.

Tiga said the measure could help put Scotland on the global map as a centre for video games development.

It claimed the country was losing out after the UK coalition government failed to introduce games tax relief, with investment and jobs going overseas to countries which have tax relief.

Tiga chief executive Richard Wilson said: "The Westminster coalition government is failing to invest in the Scottish and UK game development sector.

'Decisive leadership'

"The Scottish government now has the chance to show decisive leadership in support of the video games industry by adopting Tiga's proposal for a creative content fund.

"Tiga's proposed CCF would improve developers' access to finance, stimulate original IP (intellectual property) generation and promote studio growth.

"It would enhance the independence of developers and strengthen the prospects for the expansion of the Scottish video games industry."

He added: "In the long term it would establish Scotland as one of the best places in the UK to develop games. It would give a really powerful signal to the UK and global games industry that it's open for business."

The proposed CCF would make investment available on a matched-funding basis.

It would be entitled to recoup the money from recipients out of successful sales of the games once they had generated a certain amount of revenue and over an agreed time period, together with a defined share of the additional profits.

These profits could then be used to augment the CCF and be applied to future projects.

'Significant support'

The Scottish government said it already provided "significant support" for the games sector in Scotland, handing out more than £6.75m last year.

That figure included direct support to computer games companies from Scottish Enterprise and Creative Scotland.

A spokeswoman said: "We will continue to put pressure on the UK government to implement tax breaks, which we believe is the best way enhance the competitive edge of our computer games industry on the international stage.

"Giving Scotland control of these tax levers would be the best way of ensuring we support all our key industries."

A UK Treasury spokeswoman said the government was committed to making the UK "the best place to start, finance and grow a business" and making it an attractive location for innovative industries.

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Post Your Pictures, Then Take A Walk Through History

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Imagine standing on a street corner and being able to see what it looked like 20, 50 or even 100 years ago. You could see how it's evolved or, perhaps, stayed the same.

That's what the website Historypin is like — a photographic trip down memory lane of a specific location. It takes modern photos of places and superimposes vintage pictures of the same location over them.

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Historypin is a crowdsourcing project that allows users to pin old photos of various locations to create a photographic time line of a place.

Historypin has already collected 55,000 pictures, videos and audio files since it started last year.

Nick Stanhope is the CEO of the British non-profit behind Historypin, and he tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz the site is a new way to do something people have always done.

"What an amazing idea that we're really most of the time doing the same kinds of things as our ancestors," Stanhope says. "Obviously technology has changed ... but a lot of what's recorded on Historypin is just ordinary people going about their daily business — which is actually very similar through the ages rather than drastically different."

There's also an app for mobile devices, which uses GPS to find content that's been added around your vicinity. "We want people to share history as it happens and as it continues to happen," Stanhope says.

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Homemade Computer Sets Records In The Trillions

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Shigeru Kondo is 56 and has already twice set the record for the most digits of pi calculated. His most recent record, 10 trillion digits, took a year to complete on his home-built supercomputer. Host Audi Cornish found out more about the computer, which caused a little family strife because it had to share electricity.

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AUDIE CORNISH, host: To Japan now, where a food company engineer just accomplished an amazing feat again.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

CORNISH: And who knows, maybe next year he'll do it again. That's because Shigeru Kondo last week calculated the never-ending mathematical constant, pi, to ten trillion digits. That doubles the previous world record held by Shigeru Kondo. Kondo did it all on a 48-terabyte computer he built in his own home. The computer began working on the problem a year ago. Two months in, a drive failure. Back to square one. But from then on, the machine faithfully churned out numbers all the way to the ten trillion digit finish line - even through Japan's monstrous earthquake. Kondo's wife complained about the electric bill - nearly $400 a month - even though the 104-degree temperature in the computer room made it a great place to dry laundry. The computer occasionally overloads the fuse box, but Kondo is always ready with a backup power source, because you have to prepared for the unexpected when you calculate an unending number.

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NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

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The mobile phone patent punch-up

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23 October 2011 Last updated at 16:31 GMT By Leo Kelion Business reporter Google came to HTC's aid in its patent disputes with Apple The patent system was created to spur on innovation. But over recent years it has sparked an arms war between some of the world's leading mobile phone companies.

The likes of Apple and Microsoft do not only sue their rivals to protect their own inventions, but go on to buy third party patents to build up their weapon stockpile.

What is more, they appear increasingly willing to litigate.

The number of handset patent infringement filings to the US courts grew from 24 cases in 2006, to 84 cases in 2010, according to Lex Machina, an intellectual property litigation data provider.

It expects that number to grow to 97 cases this year, reflecting more than a four-fold rise in the space of half a decade.

"Filings in this litigation space appeared to have hit a plateau this summer, but are now strongly back on the rise," says Lex Machina's chief executive, Josh Becker.

Accelerated innovation

Part of the problem is the speed at which the industry is evolving.

The US patent system offers inventors a limited monopoly on new ideas lasting twenty years from when they are filed. However, mobile phone users expect giant leaps in progress over a much shorter time span.

Continue reading the main story

We all lose when the central competitive arena switches from serving customers to winning at high-stakes litigation”

End Quote Prof Kevin Werbach Pennsylvania University As the devices transform into music players, cameras, internet browsers and beyond, they involve an increasing amount of intellectual property.

There are now potentially more than 250,000 active patents relevant to a single smartphone, according to RPX, a San Francisco based patent aggregator and licensor.

"The devices we used 10 years ago to make voice calls have become hand-held computers incorporating a vast array of software and hardware, which increases the breadth of patent exposure," said RPX's chief executive, John Amster.

"And this problem increases with the capabilities of these devices to do new things.

The lawyers become involved when a company either doesn't want to share its advances, or wants to be paid a fee for their use. Some experts believe this is now becoming a default tactic.

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Lawsuits between major mobile handset makers. Click on the names to see who is suing whom

"For some time, the threat of mutually assured destruction among the major technology players such as IBM and Microsoft limited the outbreak of patent warfare," says Kevin Werbach, associate professor of legal studies and business ethics at Pennsylvia University's Wharton School

"Today however, especially in the mobile market, asymmetric threats are widespread. There may be a few local winners in the mobile patent wars, but we all lose when the central competitive arena switches from serving customers to winning at high-stakes litigation."

Keeping track of the tangled web of claims and counter claims is becoming a complex task in itself.

Microsoft is suing handset maker Motorola Mobility over its use of video coding and other patents, but Motorola is counter suing over Microsoft's implementation of email, instant messaging and Wi-fi.

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When you get two technology giants battling each other, they will always ensure there is no sign of weakness”

End Quote Florian Mueller FOSS Patents Motorola is being taken over by Google, which is being sued by Oracle over its use of the Java programming language in its Android operating system.

Google also intervened in HTC's legal fights against Apple, selling some of its patents to the Taiwanese handset maker. HTC claims Apple violates its power management technology and other innovations, while Apple challenges the way HTC uses touch screens and gesture recognition.

Meanwhile, Apple has used patent lawsuits to prevent Samsung Electronics from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in Australia and Germany. The South Korean firm has retaliated trying to ban iPhone sales in Japan and Australia.

Samsung's Tab 10.1 is at the centre of a patent dispute with Apple

LG, Sony, Ericsson, Kodak and Nokia have also been active in the courts.

Litigation contagion

Florian Mueller keeps track of developments at his blog, Foss Patents, and was recently commissioned by Microsoft to study certain types of patent litigation.

"When you get two technology giants battling each other, they will always ensure there is no sign of weakness," he says.

"So you will see one firm counter-suing against the other, even if their claim is of dubious merit, to make sure they don't go down without a fight."

"Litigants look for jurisdictions that they believe are favourable to their interests, which can give them a quick win... as a result the disputes spread geographically."

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We don't allow others to... get a free ride on the back of our innovation”

End Quote Louise Pentland Chief legal officer, Nokia However, Nokia stresses decisions to take legal action are not taken lightly.

The Finnish phone maker recently settled a patent lawsuit with Apple after the US firm agreed to pay a one-off charge and ongoing royalties.

"Our industry requires significant R&D. Nokia alone has invested around 45bn euros ($61.8bn, £39.4bn) in the past two decades," the firm's chief legal officer, Louise Pentland, told the BBC.

"Companies which use the resulting inventions must have permission and compensate those who took the risks and invested to create them."

"So, though litigation is not Nokia's preferred option, we don't allow others to use our intellectual property without authorisation or get a free ride on the back of our innovation," says Ms Pentland.

Legal logic

While Nokia tackled Apple head-on, the iPhone maker and Microsoft are litigating against handset makers using Google's Android system, rather than the search giant itself.

Google does not charge for the software, but instead relies on its partners' devices driving users to its various search services. The firm's latest results show its mobile advertising business is generating revenue at rate of $2.5bn a year, so giving away Android for "free" makes financial sense.

However that creates a major problem for its rivals.

Microsoft's business model relies on handset makers paying for the right to use its Windows 7 mobile system. Apple has to price in the development costs of its iOS system when selling its iPhones.

Microsoft's solution seems to be to force Android manufacturers to pay it a royalty if they use Google's software. At least that was the outcome of patent talks with HTC in 2010 and Samsung last month.

The terms have never been disclosed, but Citigroup analyst, Walter Pritchard, believes HTC and Samsung pay Microsoft between $1-5 for each Android handset sold.

"I think with approximately 50% of Android handsets covered by royalty arrangements, they will continue to pursue the same course of legal action... for the remaining smaller Android players," Mr Pritchard says.

By contrast, Apple seems more intent on keeping its innovations proprietary.

"We spend a lot of time and money and resource on coming up with incredible innovation and we don't like it when someone else takes those," said Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook, after the firm released its most recent results.

He declined to elaborate further.

However, a recent court filing by one of Apple's lawyers revealed it could be willing to license Samsung some of its "lower-level patents", but in return Samsung would need to agree to "cease copying the features and functionality" of Apple's products.

Apple has agreed to pay royalty fees to Nokia, but has not disclosed the amounts involved Patent price inflation

As patent attacks become more common place, companies are stocking up on ammunition.

In December 2010, Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and the data specialist EMC spent $450m on 882 patents, and patent applications, belonging to Norvell, an ailing infrastructure software provider.

That sum was then dwarfed by the $4.5bn paid in July for a 6,000 strong patent portfolio belonging to bankrupt telecoms manufacturer, Nortel. Microsoft and Apple shared the library with Blackberry maker, Research in Motion, and three others.

Then, in September, Google revealed plans to buy Motorola Mobility, and its 24,500 patent library, for $12.5bn.

Notably, the deal was secured one month after Google's Chief Legal Officer, David Drummond, wrote a blog titled "When patents attack".

"Our competitors are waging a patent war on Android," he said.

Continue reading the main story

We're in a situation now of patent poker where the deck has been redealt and everyone has a new hand”

End Quote Ben Wood CCS Insight "Unless we act, consumers could face rising costs for Android devices - and fewer choices for their next phone."

Although vast sums are involved, experts say it could prove cost-effective if the acquisitions encourage cross-licensing deals under which firms swap permission to use each others' inventions.

"We're in a situation now of patent poker where the deck has been redealt and everyone has a new hand, and all the patent lawyers are saying we need to review our positions," says Ben Wood, chief of research at mobile analysts CCS Insight.

"I would like to think this might result in renewed sanity and a realisation that trying to kill each other in court isn't to the greater good of the industry."

However others are less optimistic.

"As long as major companies feel they need to shore up their patent portfolios, we'll continue to see patents valued as defensive assets in a total war, rather than based on their potential for value creation," says Professor Werbach.

"While in the short run Nortel's creditors and Motorola's shareholders may have benefitted from patent price inflation, the overall impact will be significant market distortion."

On Tuesday, we will look at the role of so-called patent trolls in the mobile patent wars, and whether fair licensing rules can boost the industry.

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Who are the jailbreakers?

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20 October 2011 Last updated at 00:41 GMT By Paul Rubens Technology reporter Users who jailbreak their iPhones can use unauthorised apps. Computer hackers rarely show their faces in public, allowing the stereotype of the socially awkward loner sitting in the dark in front of a computer screen to flourish.

But the reality is rather different - at least when it comes to jailbreaking - a specialist type of hacking which involves removing the restrictions that manufacturers place on their devices and then changing the way they work.

Many of the world's best known jailbreakers converged on London last month to talk about their activities at a conference called MyGreatFest.

The event was entirely dedicated to the jailbreaking "scene", many of the attendees turned out to be articulate and highly charismatic entrepreneurs who simply use hacking as a learning tool and stepping stone to careers in business.

Tinkering with toasters

One such hacker is James Whelton, a smooth-talking 20-year-old from Cork.

Mr Whelton started tinkering with computers at the age of nine, and began programming soon afterwards. "By the age of 12 I was wiring toasters to computer motherboards and learning about voltages the hard way, and more recently I have been developing iPhone apps," he said.

His introduction into the world of jailbreaking was accidental, and happened when he won a pink iPod Nano.

"Basically I was on a plane and I was bored, so I just started tinkering with it and found something interesting," he explained.

He discovered a vulnerability in the iPod's software that could possibly be exploited to jailbreak the device. It was unusual enough that he wrote about it on his blog, before going to bed.

"When I woke up I was stunned to discover that the blog had been viewed over a quarter of a million times around the world. I was absolutely gobsmacked," Mr Whelton said.

Within a few days he was contacted by another hacker known as DarkMalloc - in reality a 16 year old from Wales called Joshua Tucker - who introduced Whelton to other hackers through internet chat rooms.

"There was me messing around with this iPod, and the next minute I had been brought in to the presence of some really clever guys: big names in the hacking scene like chronic and ih8sn0w," he said.

"It was pretty intimidating, but they are all extremely nice guys." Chronic - a teenager from the United States called Will Strafach - is the founder of a jailbreaking team called Chronic Dev while ih8sn0w, a 16 year old called Steven from Canada, is the developer of several well-known jailbreaking tools.

At this point Mr Whelton was spending seven to eight hours every night talking to other hackers on the internet while working on jailbreaking his iPod and doing school homework.

Inevitably, he said, something had to give. "I had final school exams coming up so I made sure our little community could continue without me, and then I left and hit the books."

Instead of taking up a place at university earlier this month, Whelton decided to use the exposure that his jailbreaking activities has earned him to help get investors for a software company called Disruptive Developments that he founded in June.

"I did my final exams on a Friday, and became a chief executive on Monday," he said. Mr Whelton has also set up a network of computer clubs called Coder Dojo, which runs free courses for children to introduce them to programming.

App boy

Aaron Ash is another hacker-turned-entrepreneur who appeared at MyGreatFest.

When Mr Ash was fourteen he got his hands on a calculator which he programmed to do his homework, and mowed people's lawns near his home in Peachtree City, Georgia, to earn money to buy the parts for a computer he built.

After teaching himself to program he worked on video games before getting an Apple iPhone and turning his attention to that.

The young Mr Ash wanted to write apps for his phone, but it turned out that at seventeen he was too young to sign up to Apple's official iPhone development program.

Aaron Ash paid for college with his homebrew applications.

That left him with no alternative but to become a hacker and write apps for jailbroken phones. "This was actually even cooler to my mind, because it let me write programs that change the way the iPhone works - something that you can't do if you are an official developer," he said.

"Although making money was in the back of my mind, having fun was all that I was really interested in."

This involved programming five to six hours a night after school and all day at weekends - something his parents tolerated so long as his school work didn't suffer, Ash recalled.

Mr Ash started selling his programs, called Barrel and Multiflow, but at this point he came face to face with the darker side of the jailbreaking scene: when a device has been jailbroken it can run pirated copies of apps that hackers like Ash produce.

"My Barrel app is being used by three and half million people, but the proportion of people who actually paid for it is now about one in a hundred," he said.

Despite the rampant piracy Ash has earned over $100,000 from his applications - easily enough, he said, to cover his computer science education so far at the University of Georgia.

The problem he faces now is that he knows more than most of the teachers. "I am not really learning much and I think the time would better be spent in self-education," he said.

"I'm actually considering leaving uni and starting a software contracting company with a friend I met in the jailbreaking scene."

Poached

"Going straight" at an early age certainly seems to be the pattern in the jailbreaking world, and the scene has lost several of its senior figures to the lure of business.

George Hotz, the twenty two year old hacker known as Geohot who was responsible for programs that jailbreak Apple's devices as well as Sony's PS3, left the jailbreaking scene earlier this year to take up a full-time job with Facebook.

And Nicholas Allegra - the nineteen year old jailbreaking guru better known in the hacking world as Comex - also found an alternative career.

Apple was apparently so impressed with has programming skills that last month it persuaded him to abandon his jailbreaking activities and take up an internship at the company instead.

It seems that the old notion of poacher turned gamekeeper still exists, even in our technology oriented world.

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Jobs vowed to 'destroy' Android

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21 October 2011 Last updated at 09:40 GMT The relationship between Steve Jobs and Google chairman Eric Schmidt soured over Android Steve Jobs said he wanted to destroy Android and would spend all of Apple's money and his dying breath if that is what it took to do so.

The full extent of his animosity towards Google's mobile operating system is revealed in a forthcoming authorised biography.

Mr Jobs told author Walter Isaacson that he viewed Android's similarity to iOS as "grand theft".

Apple is suing several smartphone makers which use the Android software.

According to extracts of Mr Isaacson's book, obtained by the Associated Press, Mr Jobs said: "I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this."

He is also quoted as saying: "I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion [£25bn] in the bank, to right this wrong."

Sour times

Apple enjoyed a close relationship with Google prior to the launch of the Android system. Google products, including maps and search formed a key part of the iPhone's ecosystem.

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I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this.”

End Quote Steve Jobs Apple co-founder At that time, Google's chief executive, now chairman, Eric Schmidt also sat on the board of Apple.

However, relations began to sour when Google unveiled Android in November 2007, 10 months after the iPhone first appeared.

In subsequent years, Apple rejected a number of Google programs from its App store, forcing the company to create less-integrated web app versions.

Android has subsequently enjoyed rapid adoption and now accounts for around 48% of global smartphone shipments, compared to 19% for Apple.

But its growth has not gone uncontested. Apple has waged an aggressive proxy-war against Android, suing a number of the hardware manufacturers which have adopted it for their tablets and smartphones.

Motorola was one of the first to be targeted, although it is Samsung that has borne the brunt of Mr Jobs' ire.

The South Korean firm is currently banned from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia and Germany because of a combination of patent infringements and "look and feel" similarities. A smartphone ban is also pending in the Netherlands.

Samsung is counter-suing Apple for infringing, it claims, several wireless technology patents which it holds the rights to.

Defence mechanism

Patents blogger Florian Mueller, who has been following the court cases closely, said Apple would be conscious of its past, where other companies exploited some of its early ideas.

"If Apple doesn't want the iPhone and iPad to be marginalised the way it happened to the Macintosh at the hands of the Wintel duopoly, it has to use the full force of its intellectual property to fend off the commoditization threat that Android represents," he told BBC News.

Mr Mueller - who has previously undertaken consulting work commissioned by Microsoft - was also critical of Eric Schmidt's dual role at the time: "The fact that Eric Schmidt stayed on Apple's board while he was preparing an iOS clone was an inexcusable betrayal of Steve Jobs' trust."

Mr Schmidt resigned from the Apple board in August 2009. He was later quoted by Bloomberg as saying: "I was on the board until I couldn't stay on the board anymore."

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ARM chip promises cheaper phones

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19 October 2011 Last updated at 20:32 GMT ARM's chip designs are used in more than 90% of the world's smartphones. UK chip designer ARM has unveiled a new processor, which should allow manufacturers to make cheaper smartphones.

The company hopes the Cortex A7 will enable a mobile computing revolution in developing countries where current technologies are often unaffordable.

Consumers in developed countries should also see a benefit.

The ultra-efficient chip can be paired with more powerful processors in a "hybrid" model to reduce power use.

ARM's designs are used in approximately 95% of the world's smartphones.

A range of big name manufacturers have already signed-up to use the A7 processor along with the company's "big.LITTLE" architecture.

Samsung, LG, NVidia and Texas Instruments were among those to throw their weight behind the technology.

Apple is also known to make use of ARM-designed chips in its mobile devices, although it has historically been reluctant to say so publicly.

Smaller and cheaper

Used as the sole processor in a smartphone, the A7 is said to offer comparable power to current chips at a fraction of the price, while consuming much less battery power.

Its silicon core is only one-fifth of the size of existing technologies, allowing a reduced production price, according to ARM chief executive Warren East.

"You typically make chips on a silicon wafer and it costs roughly the same amount of money for each wafer. If you can get 2,000 devices on a wafer or 1,000 devices on a wafer it makes a huge difference to the cost per device," he told BBC News.

"We can see the developed world moving on and mobile being the nexus for all sort of consumer electronics. In the Bric countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) we are seeing catch-up.

"As we look forward these smartphones are going to be totally ubiquitous and in the much less developed areas, such as Africa, you will see smartphones becoming tools that people use to make their lives easier."

Mr East said that the trend would happen regardless of intervention, but cheaper devices would greatly accelerate that, enabling smartphones to be produced for under $100 (£60) by 2013 or 2014.

Little and large

In countries where price is less of an issue, the Cortex A7 may be combined with high end mobile processors to offer a powerful, yet energy-efficient package, ARM said.

For less demanding tasks such as checking in the background for email and social networking updates, the A7 processor would handle the work.

Using a technology known as big.LITTLE, the phone would instantly switch over to chips such as the Cortex-A15 when more horsepower was needed.

"It's not just trying to solve the issue of doing yet another CPU with higher performance," said Avner Goren, general manager of Omap strategy at Texas Instruments, one of ARM's clients.

"I don't need massive processing all the time, I need it only some of the time, and for the rest I can use A7. This allows me now to continue the path to more and more powerful devices but without sacrificing battery life."

Although ARM currently enjoys a dominant position in the smartphone and tablet markets, the Cambridge-based firm is facing the prospect of stiff competition from Intel, which plans to enter the mobile processor business.

Its forthcoming Medfield and Clover Trail processors are aimed at the smartphone and tablet markets.

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Android debuts Ice Cream Sandwich

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19 October 2011 Last updated at 11:26 GMT Android users will be able to unlock their phones using facial recognition. Google has unveiled the latest version of its industry-leading Android smartphone software.

Ice Cream Sandwich adds a range of new features and a redesigned interface.

The system was launched in partnership with Samsung, whose Galaxy Nexus handset will be the first to use it.

Android's main rival, Apple, released an update to its iOS software last week, although many owners were unable to download it immediately due to overwhelming demand.

Ice Cream Sandwich - also known as Android 4.0 - follows the tradition of naming versions after cakes, confectionery or frozen desserts.

Previous releases have been codenamed Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo and Gingerbread.

Design changes for Android 4.0 include:

Replacing physical buttons on devices with equivalent on-screen icons.New lock screen features - the ability to access camera and notifications.Ability to group apps and shortcuts by dragging icons onto each other.Redesigned multi-tasking screen. Applications are represented by scrollable tiles.

Other software changes include:

Face recognition unlocking. Rather than entering a pattern code as in previous versions, users can opt to look into their camera.Enhanced email capability - support for nested subfoldersAndroid Beam - users can swap web content or links to apps by touching their phones together.Enhanced voice input featuring a continuously open microphone - meaning phones listen out for instructions.

Leigh Geary from the website Coolsmartphone.com said that Ice Cream Sandwich would be the first version to be optimised for different types of mobile devices.

"It's interesting that Google have chosen to unify the OS across both smartphones and tablets.

"Previously the Honeycomb version of Android was purely for tablets and we assumed that two different flavours of the OS would continue," said Mr Geary.

That integration of Android versions should help in its battle with iOS, said T3.com's deputy editor Mark Mayne: "Google can emulate the Apple ecosystem more closely and cut down on fragmentation, a major problem for Android.

"This means Android apps in general will become a smoother and slicker experience."

Phoney war

Android - which is owned by Google - and Apple are continually leap-frogging each other in terms of design and functions, as both compete for customers in the fast-growing global smartphone market.

According to figures published by Canalsys in August, Android handsets accounted for 48% of smartphones shipped to retailers, compared to 19% for Apple devices. However, many more Android models are available, from manufacturers such as HTC, Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

The fierce competition has, on occasion, brought the two sides into direct conflict.

Apple and Samsung are currently engaged in a number of legal battles, around the world, some of which involve claims of patent infringement and "copying" of device look and feel.

To date, Apple has obtained injunctions on Samsung Galaxy tablets being sold in Germany and Australia, with a ban on some smartphones due to come into effect in the Netherlands.

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Golden Joystick Awards unveiled

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By Dan Whitworth
Newsbeat technology reporter GT5, Fallout: New Vegas and Portal 2 were all among the winners Portal 2 has been crowned the ultimate game of the year at the Golden Joystick video game awards.

It beat competition for the top prize from the likes of LA Noire, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Gran Turismo 5.

With more than two million votes cast across 14 categories, organisers claim it is the biggest video games award ceremony in the world.

However this year, with no game winning more than one award, there was no particular standout title.

Angry Birds continued its seemingly unstoppable rise to the top of the smartphone gaming world, with the best mobile award for its Rio edition.

The biggest seller of the last 12 months, Call of Duty: Black Ops, had a quiet ceremony by the series' standards, picking up just one award, best shooter.

Continue reading the main story Action/Adventure: Assassin's Creed: BrotherhoodMobile: Angry Birds RioRole play: Fallout: New VegasMMOG: World of WarcraftFighting: Mortal KombatRacing: Gran Turismo 5Sports: FIFA 11Strategy: Starcraft IIMusic: Guitar Hero: Warriors of RockFree-To-Play: League of LegendsDownloadable: MinecraftShooter: COD: Black OpsOne To Watch: Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimInnovation: Nintendo 3DSOutstanding Contribution: Sonic The HedgehogUltimate Game: Portal 2

In the best sports game category FIFA 11 pipped its rival Pro Evolution Soccer.

But the big winner at the awards was Portal 2 - a first person puzzle-platform game that sees players trying to make it through a series of chambers by using a special gun to create portals.

The game has also been praised for its humour, with Stephen Merchant - from The Office and Extras - providing the voice for one of the characters.

Sonic 'honoured'

Arguably the second most significant prize is the one to watch award, and that went to Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - good news for its makers ahead of next month's release.

Meanwhile, the outstanding contribution gong was won by Sonic The Hedgehog, who is celebrating 20 years since first being unveiled by Sega.

David Corless, Sonic brand director, said the hedgehog was a timeless character who had transcended video games and whose appeal had been extended by the boom in smartphone gaming.

"It's quite rare in any forms of media that TV or cartoons for kids can endure for such a long time. Even in a video game it's quite rare.

"The fact that Sonic is still around and still doing as well as he is is fantastic, and testament to the little blue blur as we call him."

Mr Corless added that Sonic's traditional rivalry with Nintendo's Mario was now a thing of the past.

"It was a Blur versus Oasis thing about 10 or 15 years ago, but they recently joined forces and appeared in some games together.

"We've put all those dark days behind us," he joked.

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Researchers warn of new Stuxnet

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19 October 2011 Last updated at 12:25 GMT Stuxnet seems to have been designed to target uranium enrichment systems Researchers have found evidence that the Stuxnet worm, which alarmed governments around the world, could be about to regenerate.

Stuxnet was a highly complex piece of malware created to spy on and disrupt Iran's nuclear programme.

No-one has identified the worm authors but the finger of suspicion fell on the Israeli and US governments.

The new threat, Duqu, is, according to those who discovered it, "a precursor to a future Stuxnet-like attack".

Its discovery was made public by security firm Symantec, which in turn was alerted to the threat by one of its customers.

The worm was named Duqu because it creates files with the prefix DQ.

Symantec looked at samples of the threat gathered from computer systems located in Europe.

Initial analysis of the worm found that parts of Duqu are nearly identical to Stuxnet and suggested that it was written by either the same authors or those with access to the Stuxnet source code.

"Unlike Stuxnet, Duqu does not contain any code related to industrial control systems and does not self-replicate," Symantec said in its blog.

"The threat was highly targeted towards a limited number of organisations for their specific assets."

In other words, Duqu is not designed to attack industrial systems, such as Iran's nuclear production facilities, as was the case with Stuxnet, but rather to gather intelligence for a future attack.

The code has, according to Symantec, been found in a "limited number of organisations, including those involved in the manufacturing of industrial control systems".

Symantec's chief technology officer Greg Day told the BBC that the code was highly sophisticated.

"This isn't some hobbyist, it is using bleeding-edge techniques and that generally means it has been created by someone with a specific purpose in mind," he said.

Whether that is state-sponsored and politically motivated is not clear at this stage though.

"If it is the Stuxnet author it could be that they have the same goal as before. But if code has been given to someone else they may have a different motive," Mr Day said.

He added that there was "more than one variant" of Duqu.

"It looks as if they are tweaking and fine-tuning it along the way," he said.

The worm also removes itself from infected computers after 36 days, suggesting that it is designed to remain more hidden than its predecessor.

The code used a "jigsaw" of components including a stolen Symantec digital certificate, said Mr Day.

"We provide digital certificates to validate identity and this certificate was stolen from a customer in Taiwan and reused," said Mr Day.

The certificate in question has since been revoked by Symantec.

Cyber warfare

The discovery of the Stuxnet worm was a game-changer in the world of malware and forced governments around the world to beef up the security behind critical systems such as power and water.

Iran admitted that Stuxnet had damaged some of its nuclear centrifuges.

It brought the issues of cyber warfare, government-to-government espionage and cyber terrorism firmly to the top of the agenda.

Experts who have studied the Stuxnet worm say that it was configured to damage motors used in uranium-enrichment centrifuges by sending them spinning out of control.

Iran later admitted that some of its centrifuges had been sabotaged although it downplayed the significance of Stuxnet in that.

Stuxnet is not the only example of malware designed to cause government-level disruption.

In 2009 China was accused of spying on Google and in the summer US defence firm Lockheed Martin was victim of a "significant cyber-attack" although it said that none of its programmes had been compromised.

This week the US Department for Homeland Security warned that politically-motivated hackers such as the Anonymous co-operative could begin to target industrial control systems.

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DeLorean Goes Electric: Company Plans New Model Of Iconic Gullwing Car

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Enlarge Jerry S. Mendoza/AP

A 1981 DeLorean is seen in a commemorative cruise in Michigan. A Texas company plans to make electric versions of the iconic car.

Jerry S. Mendoza/AP

A 1981 DeLorean is seen in a commemorative cruise in Michigan. A Texas company plans to make electric versions of the iconic car.

There's a new DeLorean DMC-12 coming out — or rather, there's a new version of the same stainless steel wedge of a sportscar that became an icon (and perhaps the lone representative) of '80s cool. But it won't run on gas — it'll be electric.

And unlike the DeLorean that played a vital role in Back to the Future, this one won't require a nuclear reaction that generates 1.21 gigawatts.

Instead, the prototype runs on batteries, which currently give it a range of between 70 and 100 miles. But the company says that its second-generation prototype should have a greater range, thanks to more efficient batteries and a lighter frame.

But as DeLorean CEO Stephen Wynne tells Autoweek, that doesn't mean the car's body isn't made of stainless steel — only the underpinnings have been changed to lighter materials.

"I know my market well, and there are certain things we won't mess with," he says. "It will keep the stainless-steel exterior. We still want it to be a real car."

The car comes as electric vehicles are rising in popularity — and overcoming early doubts about their performance capabilities. As NPR reported back in 2009, there's even a niche group of drag-racers who convert old cars to run quick quarter-miles on maxed-out electric power.

DeLorean Motor Co. announced the new car this past weekend, unveiling the electric model for fans who had gathered in Houston, where the revamped car company was holding an open house. It anticipates putting them on the market in 2013, for a retail price of around $90,000.

Enlarge Michael Stravato/AP

Stephen Wynne walks through the shop at the DeLorean Motor Company in Humble, Texas, in 2007. Wynne purchased all remaining factory parts of the DeLorean line — enough for several hundred cars.

Michael Stravato/AP

Stephen Wynne walks through the shop at the DeLorean Motor Company in Humble, Texas, in 2007. Wynne purchased all remaining factory parts of the DeLorean line — enough for several hundred cars.

The original company's founder, John DeLorean, died in 2005. Since the late 1990s, Wynne has been rebuilding old DeLoreans, as well as building them from scratch — he owns the remaining DeLorean parts inventory, as well as the DeLorean logo.

DeLorean Motor says it will also be converting existing DMCs to run on electric power.

On DeLorean's webpage announcing the news, Joshua Inglima writes:

I would love to convert my 83 to be electric.

I'm also thinking that the front hood could be converted to a substantial solar panel... probably get nearly 200W out of it.

The car could probably top off the batteries sitting in the parking lot while I'm working for the day.

In the meantime, if you'd like a wallpaper image of a DeLorean spreading its wings for your phone, the company can hook you up.

The DeLorean has been a cultural touchstone ever since Michael J. Fox drove one into history — and back — in Back To The Future. As noted in the NPR photo blog The Picture Show, the film even inspired a photographer to create a series of images that recreate moments in her subjects' past.

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Nokia's rocky road to Microsoft

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20 October 2011 Last updated at 10:34 GMT By Leo Kelion Business reporter, BBC News Nokia's first MeeGo device won praise, but it will be superseded by models running Windows Phone 7 Despite all of Nokia's problems, it is worth remembering that until recently the company was still the world's best selling smartphone maker.

A report by the research firm Gartner suggests that in the April-to-June quarter, the Finnish firm accounted for just over 22% of the smartphone market.

Devices running Google's Android system may have claimed roughly double that market share, but they were split between Samsung, HTC and others.

However, Nokia only maintained its lead by making price cuts after it saw a build-up of unsold stock. That only partly masked the truth that sales had been on a downward trend for some time.

Its latest results reveal a 38% slump in sales of "smart devices" over the past year.

Nokia's 16.8 million units sold puts the firm behind Apple's 17.1 million iPhone tally.

Samsung may trump the two when it reports later this month.

Switch from Symbian

One has to ask whether the firm's heart has been really in it.

Over recent months, chief executive Stephen Elop has appeared more keen to talk about Nokia's upcoming Windows Phone 7 handsets than its existing line-up.

Until recently, Nokia's smartphones all used its Symbian operating system. The software dates back to 1997, when it was used to run Psion devices.

Over the years, Sony Ericsson and Samsung both adopted and then dropped the platform, opting to switch to Android.

Legacy issues, involved with trying to update an ageing system, had proved problematic.

"When they tried to take a user interface that wasn't designed for touch into touch, they ended up with a compromise that didn't deliver what it was supposed to," says Carolina Milanesi, a research analyst with Gartner's mobile devices team.

"Developers also found the tools cumbersome to use."

Nokia's original solution, confirmed in June 2010, was to switch its N-series phones to a Linux-based system called MeeGo.

Developed in conjunction with Intel, the software promised to offer Nokia the chance to offer a more polished interface.

But by this point, shareholders were become restless as they saw Apple's iPhones gaining marketshare.

Chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was ousted and the board hired Mr Elop, an outsider, to replace him.

"They went through a review process of their platforms quite rapidly after [Mr] Elop came on board and realised it would take too long to get to where they needed to be competitively with either Symbian or MeeGo," said Marek Pawlowski, editorial director of the mobile industry research firm, PMN.

"They realised they needed to partner with someone who was an expert in software."

Wedded to Windows

That someone was Microsoft, Mr Elop's former employer. He announced the news alongside his ex-boss, Steve Ballmer, in London in February.

So it may have been bittersweet news that when Nokia's first MeeGo device, the N9, was released last month, it won positive reviews.

Even so, most experts agree the decision to focus future efforts on Windows Phone 7 is the right one.

"There is no ecosystem. Meego has a good user interface, but they don't have the applications and that doesn't happen overnight," says Ms Milanesi.

"If they stuck with it, it would have taken over a year to get scale. And Nokia can't afford to take a year and get further left behind Google, Apple and Blackberry."

Nokia hopes the Windows Phone 7 interface will prove popular

Nokia's first device running Windows software, codenamed Sea Ray, is expected to be launched at the Nokia World event in London next week.

The firm may be mindful that Microsoft's system has not won much traction, despite already being offered on devices from Samsung and HTC.

However, experts say other handmakers have preferred to focus on their Android devices while Microsoft worked at improvements, such as adding multi-tasking.

That may play to Nokia's advantage, giving it the chance to become synonymous with the Windows Phone experience.

"What Nokia can do is to offer the Nokia brand - and there are still lots of users who are loyal to the company and are looking for an upgrade," said Ms Milanesi.

"And because of scale, it can offer price points that the other manufacturers might not be interested in."

Nokia can also offer other services that rivals phonemakers lack, such as its Navteq mapping software.

Even so, the company may find it harder to dominate the global smartphone market in the manner it did with its less advanced models.

Google and Apple have only just released updates to their handset software, and Blackberry maker RIM is showing off its upcoming BBX system.

"A lot will depend on what comes out next year when Nokia launch more Windows Phone devices," says Mr Pawlowski.

"They haven't had much time to integrate the system with their hardware yet and the initial devices will be a bit of a stopgap."

"The models released in six months' time will be a much better reflection of the potential for Microsoft's software and Nokia's designs."

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Nokia swings to loss in quarter

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20 October 2011 Last updated at 10:51 GMT Nokia has been slower than rivals to take advantage of the lucrative market for smartphones Mobile phone giant Nokia has said it made a loss in the third quarter as it continued to come under pressure from other phonemakers.

It swung to a net loss of 151m euros (£132m) in the three months to September, from a 322m-euro profit in the same period.

Net sales fell 13% to 9bn euros.

Nokia has lost ground to competitors such as Apple's iPhone and phones using Google's Android operating system.

Shares in the Finnish phonemaker have plunged 41% so far this year.

Nokia said it sold 16.8 million smart devices in the quarter - 38% less than the previous year.

But the volume of mobile phones Nokia sold in total rose 8% to 89.8 million - reflecting its strength in cheaper and simpler so-called "dumbphones".

'Encouraged'

The company's new range of smartphones will use Microsoft's operating system instead of Nokia's legacy Symbian software.

"I am encouraged by our progress around the first Nokia experience with Windows Phone," Nokia boss Stephen Elop said.

"We look forward to bringing the experience to consumers in select countries later this quarter."

Earlier this year, Nokia announced thousands of job cuts as part of a 1bn-euro cost-cutting programme.

In April, it said it would cut 7,000 jobs - with 3,000 of the posts being transferred to consultancy group Accenture - as part of a strategy to focus on smartphones.

"The planned changes we have initiated are difficult, but necessary in order to align the company to our strategy," Mr Elop said.

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Digital textbooks open a new chapter

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18 October 2011 Last updated at 23:00 GMT By Gary Eason  ­­­­­­ South Korea's classrooms will be switched to digital textbooks over the next four years South Korea, one of the world's highest-rated education systems, aims to consolidate its position by digitising its entire curriculum.

By 2015, it wants to be able to deliver all its curriculum materials in a digital form through computers. The information that would once have been in paper textbooks will be delivered on screen.

South Korea's Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Ju-Ho Lee, said that his department was preparing a promotion strategy for "Smart Education", focusing on customised learning and teaching.

The project, launched during the summer, will involve wireless networks in all schools to allow students to learn "whenever and wherever", as well as an education information system that can run in a variety of devices including PCs, laptops, tablets and internet-connected TVs.

He said the government would support an open content market containing a variety of learning materials, aimed at keeping up quality while keeping down costs.

"Smart Education will change how we perceive textbooks," said Mr Lee.

"The transfer from the traditional paper textbooks to digital textbooks will allow students to leave behind their heavy backpacks and explore the world beyond the classroom."

Tech-friendly teenagers

The intended benefits include extending the choice of subjects for students in rural areas who previously have lacked specialist teachers and to make it easier for pupils to study from home.

South Korea's teenagers should be particularly receptive to such educational technology.

Continue reading the main story South Korea is second in global rankings for reading, fourth for maths and fifth for scienceFamily spending on education is the highest in the world, as a proportion of household incomeIt has been among the most improved education systems in the world. In 1945, 78% of the population were illiterate. It now outperforms all European countries and the US at readingIn the 1980s, South Korea banned private tutoringThis year it introduced a ban on corporal punishmentAn Organisation for Economic Co-ordination and Development (OECD) international assessment found that 15-year-olds in South Korea were the most competent users of digital technologies in a survey of 16 developed countries.

They were best at evaluating information on the internet, assessing its credibility and navigating web pages.

South Korea's pre-eminence has not come about by chance.

Unesco has documented the way that South Korea has carefully controlled the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in education.

The government has understood the importance of having formal standards, so that systems can work with each other and quality can be assured.

The United States, alarmed by its relative international educational decline, is now also increasing the resources it devotes to digital learning.

But its move appears to be an acknowledgement of a lack of joined-up thinking in the past.

President Barack Obama's "Digital Promise", announced last month, involves a new national centre to advance technologies that can supposedly transform teaching and learning.

The remit is "to determine quickly what is working and what is not, and transform today's fragmented learning technology market, paving the way for the widespread use of learning technologies that deliver the best results for students, parents, and teachers".

Teaching gap

"With more than 14,000 school districts, and an outdated procurement system, it's difficult for entrepreneurs to break into the market, and it's also tough to prove that their products can deliver meaningful results," the White House said.

Continue reading the main story The Indian state of Tamil Nadu is giving 6.8 million free laptops to school pupilsUruguay plans to be the first country where all school pupils are given their own laptopApple says 600 US school districts are switching to digital textbooks on iPadsAmazon has launched a rental service in the US for digital textbooks for studentsGiven the way education in the US is so highly devolved there are bound to be continuing questions over how much the initiative can achieve.

Another question is whether technology in the classroom is what really makes a difference.

A study by the Department of Educational Research at Lancaster University found that digital technology in the classroom might help to engage pupils in their learning and could save schools money.

But the Achilles' heel - commonplace with educational technology - was the teachers. They felt they needed far greater training in how to integrate the resources into their lesson plans.

"The sad truth is that students can learn just as badly with a class full of computers, interactive whiteboards and mobile technology as they can with wooden desks and a chalkboard," said science and ICT teacher David Weston, founder of the consultancy Informed Education.

There might be enormous potential for software or gadgets to engage and challenge students in new and imaginative ways.

"But unless there is a focus on developing the teaching expertise to support this then you run the risk of wasting time, money and opportunity," he said.

And it may be that technology is seen as a way to achieve cost savings by - to put it crudely - replacing teachers with robots.

Digital tutor

Setting out its Digital Promise ambitions, the White House said: "For years, researchers have been working on developing educational software that is as effective as a personal tutor."

Digital Promise has been launched by US President Obama to keep up with global competitors

Preliminary results from a US military "digital tutor" project suggested the time needed to become an expert in information technology could be reduced from years to months, said the White House.

"Achieving similar results in subjects such as math would transform K-12 [primary] education." It certainly would.

And although children tend to be quicker on the uptake than their teachers where anything with a screen is involved, this cannot be taken for granted.

The OECD's study of the technology-friendliness of 15-year-olds highlighted crucial differences between printed and digital texts, with their non-linear navigation.

"Individuals who develop the skills needed to use these texts efficiently and effectively will be at an increasing advantage in accessing higher education, finding and succeeding in a well-paid job, and participating fully in society."

So policy makers must guard against creating a new "digital divide" between those who could and who could not use these new technologies, it warned.

Big Brother?

But is there a bigger, darker concern about such a centralised digital curriculum? If you put all your educational eggs in one digital basket you might hatch a monster.

An unscrupulous government could relish the fact that everything a child learns is controllable through one, easily manipulated, digital portal.

Do we trust the written word in digital books in the same way as the traditional printed editions?

Such fears have been examined in the novel, The Book, by M Clifford. The US author presents a dystopian civilization in which all information is accessed through an e-reader. The people discover that the digital content has been subtly altered by a corrupt government.

"There is something about paper that commands trust," Mr Clifford said. "And reading is very personal. A bonfire of books used to make us cringe because it represented the destruction of that trustworthy bond."

In an increasingly paperless society, we can trust the technology, but questions need to be raised when governments are involved, he says.

"The scare for me was always the subtlety. The delicate manipulation, one word at a time, to alter someone's perception of the truth.

"Not only is there a fear of changing historical record, but of tailoring someone's perspective on the world. If you think that what you are reading is authentic, then your guard is lowered and you accept it as reality."

He debunks his own dark scenario - but has doubts. "As we've seen, the world is becoming more interconnected on an individual level and so it is unlikely that factual information could be so widely altered. We are probably safe.

"But the fact that it could happen without anyone knowing is the real nail-biter."

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Future chips could 'self rewire'

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19 October 2011 Last updated at 13:14 GMT By Katia Moskvitch Technology reporter, BBC News Computers of the future may be nothing like today's ones Future microchips may have only one type of component, capable of rewiring itself to do different jobs.

Researchers from Northwestern University in the US have developed a material that can radically change its electronic properties.

A resistor made from it could become a transistor or a diode, according to the report in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

The discovery could lead to cheaper, smaller and more powerful computers.

As electronics advance and demands for portability increase, one of the main challenges has been decreasing the size of elementary components.

Technology firms have attempted to address this with a number of innovations, including new ways of building circuit tracks so signals do not suffer damaging interference at ultra small sizes.

The Northwestern University team took a different approach.

"It's becoming more and more challenging to make devices smaller and you need to think of new ways rather than just shrinking things down because you're reaching a fundamental scientific limit here of how small you can make a device," said David Walker, one of the researchers.

"Our solution to this is instead of making things smaller, why don't we try to make them more versatile - by taking all these hardware components and building them into one.

"Think of this as a Swiss army knife of computer hardware, so to speak, where you package a lot of different things all into one device."

Rewiring itself By controlling how the ions (blue) are distributed, it is possible to "steer" current flows - and change the properties of a particular component

To achieve this, the scientists have created a new material that consists of a "sea" of small negatively charged particles and larger, positively charged particles, which are "jammed" in place.

Because the negative particles form conductive regions, they act like conventional copper tracks in a circuit.

Once an electrical charge is applied to the material, those particles can be shifted around and reconfigured.

"Like redirecting a river, streams of electrons can be steered in multiple directions through a block of the material - even multiple streams flowing in opposing directions at the same time," explained the lead researcher, Professor Bartosz Grzybowski, of Northwestern University.

This unusual property could allow a component made from this material to change its functions - allowing, in turn, a future computer to redirect and adapt its own circuitry as required.

"So the computer could send some set of electrical impulses or some type of electrical potential, and that would actually reconfigure the device to operate in a different way," said Mr Walker.

Continue reading the main story

Eventually down the road it has the possibility to replace silicon-based devices and to make electronics in a completely new way”

End Quote David Walker Northwestern University He explained that there was not yet a name for the new material, but it was unlike any other material that exists today.

Smaller and more powerful

As computers would have fewer components, the scientists believe, it would inevitable be less costly to produce them - and for consumers to buy them.

If such a component were manufactured today, said Mr Walker, it would be four times larger than "IBM's best sized technology out there", but at the same time it would be able to simultaneously fulfil the functions of five different devices - so the overall efficiency would soar by 20%.

And eventually, these components would decrease in size, he added.

"The technology has got the propensity to be smaller, cheaper and more powerful.

"Eventually down the road it has the possibility to replace silicon-based devices that we use and to make electronics in a completely new way that may turn out to be much more promising than the current technology used in all of today's devices."

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OnStar's Privacy Dust-Up: It's Over, and Didn't Apply to OnStar FMV

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My latest Technologizer column on TIME.com is about OnStar FMV, the first version of the car safety-and-information service available as an aftermarket add-in for most cars, cleverly built into a rear-view mirror. When I shared the story on Twitter, Facebook and Google+, I heard from some folks who said FMV sounded neat. But a few said they were disgruntled with OnStar over privacy issues, and therefore weren't interested.

What they were referring to was a kerfuffle that cropped up late last month. GM announced it was making changes to OnStar's privacy policies that would allow it to continue to use the GPS incorporated into OnStar hardware to track a car even if its owner had canceled OnStar service. The company said it reserved the right to capture information such as a car's speed and location, and then sell that information, aggregated and anonymized.

(MORE: Creepy: OnStar Will Track You Whether You're Subscribed or Not)

People weren't happy with this new wrinkle. So much so that GM quickly reversed course and decided not to give itself the right to track OnStar-equipped vehicles after service had been canceled. (It does track cars that have OnStar enabled: In fact, that's the whole point of the service, which uses this information for driving directions and to send help in case of emergencies.)

A GM representative told me, incidentally, that the new privacy policy never applied to OnStar FMV in the first place.

Bottom line: If you're intrigued by OnStar FMV but alarmed by the idea of GM monitoring you after you drop the service, you don't need to fret. Unless you're a privacy absolutist and wish to eliminate all possibility of GM or anyone else spying on your location. But if you are, you don't want GPS in your car, period. In fact, you don't want to carry a GPS-enabled anything.

I wonder how many people refuse to carry a modern smartphone on such privacy grounds?

MORE: Magic Mirror: GM Brings OnStar to Non-GM Cars

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South Korea's virtual grocery

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20 October 2011 Last updated at 23:01 GMT By Jason Strother PRI's The World A young woman shops at Seoul's Seolleung station, using her smartphone Online shopping is nothing new, especially in plugged-in South Korea. But one company says it's going further. It's testing out a virtual supermarket in a public place.

At Seolleung underground station in Seoul, there's a row of brightly lit billboards along the platform, with hundreds of pictures of food and drink - everything from fruit and milk to instant noodles and pet food.

Standing on the platform, a man in his 60s who gives his name as Mr Bae, says it looks to him like an advertisement for a convenience store.

When I explain it's a virtual supermarket that you access with your smartphone, he doesn't seem impressed. He says he doesn't have a smartphone, so it's not for him. But he says, it's a good idea for younger Koreans.

And that's who this virtual supermarket is primarily designed for, according to Homeplus, the South Korean affiliate of the British supermarket chain Tesco.

No time to shop

Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that the number of smartphone subscribers in South Korea had passed 10 million, up from just a few hundred thousand in 2009.

Continue reading the main story

Our customers are really busy and many don't have the time to go to the supermarket ”

End Quote Jo Hyun Jae Project co-ordinator That might be why Homeplus's project co-ordinator, Jo Hyun Jae, is sounding so confident.

He says young Koreans increasingly rely on smartphones to take care of many of their daily tasks.

"Our customers are really busy and many don't have the time to go to the supermarket to do their shopping," he says. "So our virtual store allows them to save time."

Kim Yoona, 25, volunteers to give the virtual supermarket a try.

After downloading the Homeplus app to her smartphone, Kim stands on the platform, checking out what's on offer.

She has more than 500 of the company's most popular grocery products to choose from.

Several "shelves" at the virtual store

"I'm thinking of buying the Maxin Mocha Gold Might, an instant coffee mix," she says. "They have one, two, three, four, five, six kinds of coffee mix lines. Because Maxin is my favourite, I will buy this."

Kim holds her phone over the black-and-white QR - the Quick Response code - just under the picture of the coffee.

There's a beep, and the picture of the coffee appears on her phone screen.

She selects what bag size she wants, then the app asks her to enter when and where she'd like the product delivered.

'Quick to adapt'

If orders are placed before 13:00, the company pledges to deliver the groceries the same evening.

Homeplus's Jo Hyun Jae said there are plans to put virtual stores in other underground railway stations, especially those close to the city's universities.

And the company wants to introduce them in other countries too, he says.

"We think this concept can work outside of Korea, since many young people around the world are adopting smartphone technology."

A display of virtual groceries on the platform

But Kwon Ki-Duk, at the Samsung Economic Research Institute in Seoul, says there are aspects of local consumer culture that make technology like the virtual grocery more likely to take off in South Korea than elsewhere.

She points out that Koreans are very quick to adapt to new technology products.

"Koreans are really interested in converging and cramming many different functions into a single gadget, and mixing technologies, in order to find novel ways to complete ordinary tasks," she says.

But, says Kwon, South Koreans are not ready to abandon today's supermarkets - not yet at least.

The country is famous for its long working hours and tough work culture. Going shopping, she says, is a way for people to relax when they are not working.

She includes herself in that group.

Continue reading the main story Tesco entered South Korea in 1999 in a joint venture with Samsung. Homeplus in South Korea is Tesco's most successful international business. Tesco has 409 stores in South Korea and employs 25,000 staff.

Source: Tesco

After trying out the virtual store, Kim Yoona agrees that for her, it does not yet replace a physical supermarket.

That is because she likes to see and touch items before she buys them.

"When I go to the real store, I can check the quality of the vegetables or fruits," she says.

There doesn't seem to be a smartphone app that can do that.

Not yet, anyway.

Additional reporting by Rob Hugh-Jones.

You can hear a radio version of this piece at PRI's The World, a co-production of the BBC World Service, Public Radio International, and WGBH in Boston. The radio report was first broadcast on October 6, 2011.

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BlackBerry Customers Offered Free Apps As Apology

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Last week, Research in Motion apologized for the service outages that swept around the world last week, leaving millions of its BlackBerry users unable to send or receive messages.

Today, it said it's offering customers about $100 worth of free apps and a month's worth of free technical support in "appreciation for their patience during the recent service disruptions."

Enlarge Damien Meyer /AFP/Getty Images Damien Meyer /AFP/Getty Images

Among the apps subscribers can select:

— SIMS 3.

— Texas Hold'em Poker 2.

— iSpeech Translator Pro.

— Drive Safe.ly Enterprise.

— Vlingo Plus: Virtual Assistant.

The free app offer begins on Wednesday and lasts four weeks, the company said.

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Who is winning the war on piracy?

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21 October 2011 Last updated at 12:28 GMT By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter The UK's controversial legislation is failing to capture any pirates The UK's Digital Economy Act (DEA) was meant to make pirates quake in their boots, but so far it has failed to shiver any timbers.

Parliamentarians, policymakers and industry leaders gathered at a seminar in London this week to ask why.

The guilty-looking elephant in the room turned out to be the DEA itself.

It is currently languishing in Brussels, waiting for the European Commission to approve changes to who should should pay for implementing it.

Meanwhile the code drawn up by Ofcom a year ago to lay out how it will work in practice is lying in a drawer in the Department of Culture.

Search engines

The Digital Economy Act (DEA) has always been controversial. Originally conceived by the Labour government, it was rushed through parliament in the wash-up at the end of its administration.

It has been subject to various changes but, at its heart, remains a letter-writing campaign aimed at making those identified as downloading films and music without paying for them think again.

Anyone receiving three warning letters goes on a blacklist and could face legal action.

The rights-holders who lobbied so hard for the legislation seem to have got fed up with waiting for it to come into force and are already setting their sights on new targets.

Trevor Albery, Warner's anti-piracy vice-president, told the conference that the written warnings were only one strand in its ongoing battle against pirates.

Now, he said, it is turning its attention to Google and Facebook.

There are growing calls for search engines and social networks to get involved in the fight against piracy, with some calling for search engines to de-list sites linking to illegal content completely.

In a recent speech culture minister Jeremy Hunt said that measures along these lines could be introduced in the upcoming new Communications Act.

Traffic lights

PRS for Music, which oversees rights issues for the music industry, is also looking at new ways of alerting people about illegal content.

Frances Lowes, its director of regulatory affairs, outlined a traffic light system the firm would like to see put on search engines to allow the public to distinguish between legal and illegal sites.

Rightsholders are also finding quicker and more successful ways of blocking access to illegal sites.

Newzbin, a site which links to illegal downloads, will shortly be blocked by the UK's biggest ISP BT, following a successful court case brought by the movie industry.

It is expected that other ISPs will soon also face court orders to block the site.

Okke Delfos Visser, deputy general counsel for the Motion Picture Association of America could barely contain his glee that the bete noire of the industry appeared finally to be tamed.

"It is a criminal organisation whose business model is based on wholesale copyright infringement," he said.

The victory has turned the heads of the creative industry, thinks Andrew Heaney, director of regulation at TalkTalk and the company that has led the anti-DEA campaign.

"Two years ago the creative industries said they couldn't live without the DEA but now they are all focused on site blocking. It is no longer top of the agenda," he said.

The creative industries may be winning some small battles against the pirates but the larger war is far from over, the conference heard.

James Myring, from market research firm BDRC Continental reported that a new breed of "supapirates" remain unfazed by the threat of legal sanctions.

So-called supapirates are tech-savvy, usually male consumers who delight in finding new ways to get at free content.

They make up just 15% of 1,000 people the firm interviewed but their influence went far wider, he said.

"They like the idea of getting around blocks and are happy to share what they get with friends and family as well as giving advice on how to do it," he said.

'Tread carefully'

Such pirates are sharing whole hard-drives worth of free stuff with others and, said Mr Myring, there were plenty of "second-hand pirates" happy to take advantage of it.

While the creative industries who lobbied for the DEA have always been keen to stress the measures are more about education than punishment, persistent pirates may face court action.

But Simon Clark, head of intellectual property at law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, warned copyright holders to "tread carefully" if they wanted to bring legal proceedings.

Recent high profile cases brought by ACS: Law and its predecessor Davenport Lyons had put judges in no mood to support file-sharing actions.

In both cases, judges found in favour of the accused and the law firms ended up facing heavy fines.

"The courts will be protective of individuals. My advice would be tread very carefully," he said.

Cultural history

Critics of the DEA and punitive measures against pirates have long argued that the real answer to the problem lies in compelling legal alternatives.

But, according to the Open Rights Group, legal alternatives remained difficult to get hold of, poorly priced and are of questionable quality.

It found that only 43% of the top 50 British films can be bought or rented online while only 58% of the BAFTA Best Film awarded winners since 1960 have been made available.

"A wealth of British cultural history is simply not available through legal providers," ORG's Peter Bradwell told the conference.

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Is it worth reinventing the wheel?

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Click's Peter Price looks at the evolution of driverless pods

Rail transport has not fundamentally changed in the 200 years since the invention of metal rails but a new wave of transport ideas - from ones already in development to "concept" contraptions - could change the way we commute forever.

A personal car that drives itself automatically to your destination may sound like science fiction but new "pods" at Heathrow Airport in London have achieved just that - taking passengers from car park to terminal quickly, easily and driven entirely autonomously.

The idea of Personal Rapid Transit, as it is called, is to make public transport more personal, allowing on-demand journeys at the push of a button, all controlled by computers and lasers rather than a human.

The system has been heralded as a solution to transport congestion in years to come. And this is not the only futuristic idea for public transport that has been developed.

The Aero-Train is said to drive more like an aeroplane than a train

One blue-sky idea is the Aero-Train - a plane-like vehicle which travels at up to 350km/h (220mph) just 10cm above the ground.

The vehicle uses a technology known as ground-effect which removes the friction that makes conventional rail transport less efficient and uses aerodynamics to reduce drag.

Its speed relies on aerodynamics similar to those used in a plane or a hovercraft, using the air as a cushion to prevent it from touching the floor.

While currently in prototype, developers at the Tohoku University in Japan have already demonstrated the idea and hope it can be in public use by 2020.

But there are trains in use right now that never touch the ground.

Maglev trains, most famously in use in China between Shanghai Pudong International Airport to an interchange with the Shanghai Metro, operate just centimetres from the track's surface.

The train is held from the ground by a magnetic field - the term maglev is short for magnetic levitation - and powered by motors that, without as much friction, allow it to go at very high speeds.

Maglev trains have been tested to run up to 581km/h (361mph), according to Guinness World Records, quite a pace considering there is no contact between the train and the ground.

Japan is planning to connect Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka by maglev train by 2027 but the first train of this kind was actually used in Birmingham, UK in the 1980s.

Travelling over short distances to Birmingham International Airport at low speeds, it never quite contested the test-run speeds of more modern iterations. It is no longer in use.

What was once widely considered the successor to high-speed rail, maglev networks has struggled with investment in recent years, especially outside of east Asia.

'Steel juggernaut'

So is reinventing the wheel likely to change public transport forever?

Some people think that changing opinions within the industry is - to mix metaphors - akin to turning a tanker around.

Maglev trains lessen friction by being held centimetres above the track

"The steel wheel on steel rail has been in existence for nearly 200 years and it hasn't fundamentally changed in all that time," says Richard Anderson, managing director of the Railway and Transport Strategy Centre at Imperial College London.

"There's a momentum in the industry that steel rail is a juggernaut that can't be stopped. It's here to stay."

And that is where most governments are targeting their funding. While the future of public transport as a whole is one of much debate, high-speed rail seems to be close to widespread global adoption.

Around the world more and more high-speed networks are appearing, costing billions to develop with the promise of improved infrastructure and vast economic benefits.

The UK plans to spend around £32bn on a new high-speed rail network connecting London with Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and then Scotland.

A consultation has been completed, with some critics saying the network risks "being a vast white elephant that is out of date before it is even completed".

But elsewhere, a conference in New York has already looked at plans to spend $600bn (£380bn) and China already operates 16 high-speed rail lines.

So what can high-speed rail offer?

Surprisingly, it seems like speed may not be the most important thing about implementing new networks at all.

"The thing about high-speed rail is not so much speed as capacity," says Mr Anderson.

"The best metros and trams around the world provide mass transport - they move lots of people very efficiently. The advances in technology are going to be important but, after safety, the amount of people that can travel is vital."

And safety is the one thing that causes most concern among commuters.

With the general definition for High-Speed Rail being around 150mph (240km/h), any minor malfunction could lead to catastrophe.

Many high-speed solutions have failed to deliver the speeds promised

In July this year, 39 people died in China when a high-speed train ran into the back of another which had stalled. This was meant to be impossible because of the electronic safety system that was in place.

But in general, driverless public transport is believed to be around 30% more reliable than if it was being driven by a human.

Recent examples include an entirely automated North East MRT Line in Singapore, the last station of which opened earlier this year. It remains completely underground and is entirely driverless for its 20km (12.4 miles) route.

Lesser known is that a significant part of the London Underground network has been automated to some extent, including the Central, Jubilee and Victoria Lines along with the Docklands Light Railway.

"Most modern metros are automatic, which increases reliability," says Mr Anderson.

"This is because you're cutting out a certain level of human involvement which inherently causes problems."

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