In Depth: How to sell your old phone for cash
Most people will have seen the plethora of adverts around telling you how easy it is to turn your unwanted mobile phone into cash.
There are around 90 million phones sitting unused in Britain alone, worth a staggering £450 million.
But the thing about an old mobile phone is that you got rid of it for a reason, meaning it's probably a few years old and most people will assume not worth much – no matter how easy it is to send off a phone for recycling, it's not worth the hassle for a couple of quid.
Interestingly there's more to getting rid of your own mobile than just turning into enough for half a pint; not only are more phones holding their value, but most people don't know that you can exchange an old phone for a better new one, get shopping vouchers or air miles for the next trip abroad.
And if none of that appeals, then there's the environmental aspect: it's not the same as putting a few newspapers in a bin when recycling a mobile.
Most handsets contain a large number of harmful materials that will seep into the ground if left in a landfill – so perhaps you should stop and think before chucking you old phone into a drawer when you pick up that shiny new iPhone.
Why recycle?
When you send a mobile phone off for recycling, there are two things that happen to it: either it gets broken down for important materials, or if it's still in good enough condition, cleaned up and sent away, generally to people in developing nations, for re-use.
The average mobile phone contains a huge amount of different metals that can all be recycled: gold, silver, copper, aluminium and lead are all used for various functions within a handset, and it's a possible to extract and re-use these elements.
When you think that in the US alone 125 million mobile phones are thrown away each year, not only is that a lot of gold and silver going to waste, but it's also a hefty amount of landfill too: 65,000 tonnes, in fact.
However Keir McConomy, MD of SellMyMobile.com points out that although there are valuable materials inside, stripping them is fairly rare.
The majority of recycled phones sold online will be repaired and refurbished, either as replacement phones for insurance companies here in the UK or for sale in developing regions such as India, China and Africa.
About 5 per cent of all phones that are sent in are what's known as beyond economic repair (BER). These devices will be sent off and broken down for the precious materials inside, a process known as 'urban mining'.
As well as small quantities of metals such as platinum, gold, silver and copper, mobile batteries contain nickel which can be combined into stainless steel for saucepans, and plastics can be melted down to be made into sheeting or traffic cones.
This is a costly process however, and needs to be carried out by specialist recyclers who run to very strict environmental guidelines, hence why it is less common than simply refurbishing and reselling handsets."
You can also recycle things like old headphones and USB leads that come with your phone – while you won't get cash for these, check with your local council to locate drop-off bins and collection centres where you can get these put to good use and be environmentally conscious.
So it makes a lot of sense to recycle your handset – whether it's putting it in a recycling bin at the local supermarket or seeing what rewards you can get online, you'll either be helping others stay connected where they previously might not have been able to, or at the very least helping keep Mother Nature a bit healthier.
Free and easy
If you've heard about the benefits of recycling your mobile phone, but never had a look at the process, then we've got some good news for you: it's pretty darn simple indeed.
Most outlets offer a freepost service for your phone – simply sign up, state which phone you have and you'll be offered a quote on your handset depending on the condition, age and brand.
If this offer is good enough for you, then it's a simple case of accepting and waiting for a freepost envelope to land on your doormat.
Put your old phone in there, chuck it in a letter box and wait around a week – if the phone is the same as you stated on the website you'll either receive a cheque or, in many instances, have the money transferred to your bank instead.
Old phone still equal cash
While you might think that while today's mobile phones are all-singing and all-dancing, you've probably been stuck with the same phone for the last 18-24 months, meaning it's probably not worth much anymore, right?
You'd be wrong, as even the most basic of mobile handsets will still be worth a few quid despite the age. For instance, the Samsung Tocco F480 has been one of the most popular budget phones since its release in August 2008, but many will be thinking of upgrading it to a snazzier handset by now.
Mobilecashmonster.com will offer you £25 for the handset, send you a postage bag and offer you a range of ways to get your cash too. Even if it's non-working, you can still get up to £22, which isn't bad for a broken phone that you probably got for free on contract.
Or perhaps you were a little more tech-savvy two years ago and picked up the iPhone 3G when it was released – money4urMobile.com will still give you £185 for the device – in fact, even if you've got the first iPhone from three years ago, you can get £90 from the same firm.
McConomy of SellMyMobile.com, commented on the popularity of phones that go on to hold their value when it comes to recycling: "Nokia dominates the most popular recycled mobile phones in the UK, but that is in no small part due to the fact that they remain the most popular manufacturer.
"In particular, the Nokia N95 is a phone which, despite being a good few years old, can still fetch up to £110 through some sites. That's the most popular phone we sell through SellMyMobile.com, closely followed by the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, the N96 and the iPhone 3G 8 GB model, which between the three of them could make you around £370 if you were to sell them online.
"Smartphones such as the iPhone will also hold their value for a longer period of time. Manufacturers that don't offer the same smartphone devices will tend to see their devices depreciate in value much quicker. In short, it's less about the brand you buy, but more about the features a phone boasts and the mass market popularity of that handset."
Smashed and bashed but still worth cash
We've all done the same thing at some point in our lives: dropped a mobile phone in the toilet, watched it slip from our pocket onto the floor or heard it crack as we've sat on it: basically, rendering it useless through our stupidity.
But that's shouldn't mean you can't recycle it because like we mentioned above, many companies will simply strip it down for the important materials inside anyway.
So even if your phone is labelled as 'non-working' (such as a broken / bleeding LCD screen, no power up, speaker / microphone faults, broken aerial, etc) then in most cases you'll still get up to 90% of the cash on offer for a fully functioning mobile, meaning it's worth keeping those broken devices.
More rewarding with rewards
Unsurprisingly, most people don't want to just give away their mobile phone out of the goodness of their heart, as a survey from ABI Research showed that only 1.5% of all those that recycled mobile phones have not received any kind of reward.
But the good news is mobile phone recycling is on the increase, with only eight per cent of the population having recycled their handset in 2008, according to Nokia, now up to around a third of the population.
"We have noticed that [rewards] increase the chance of people bringing back their mobile," said Saara Tahvanainen, communications manager for sustainability at Nokia. The Finnish firm has been working hard to get more people to trade in their mobile, with schemes like cash back offers or planting a tree for every mobile phone recycled.
"Even if the incentive is that we give money to charities interest increases," added Tahvanainen.
Retailers are getting in on the act too; for instance Orange has set up a 'Reward and Recycle' buy-back scheme for the public to make sure recycling is high on the agenda.
The premise is simple – go into an Orange shop, give them your old handset, and after it's examined and checked out, you'll receive money for your handset. For instance, an old Sony Ericsson C905 might be a little chunky these days, but you can still get around £70 for trading it in – and Orange will let your recycle old laptops and MP3 players too.
However, it's not just doing this out of the kindness of its heart: retailers have to adhere to Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) regulations, put in place to make sure it's easy for consumers to recycle their old electrical goods.
Under this directive retailers and manufacturers have to offer a service for their customers to be able to easily take back their products for recycling (or at least be able to direct them to their nearest designated collection facility).
While there's no obligation for you as a consumer to do so, this directive has come into place to stop the thousands and thousands of tonnes of electrical landfill that's being thrown away every year in the UK.
Where to get the most cash
So you've rooted around in the cupboards, loft and drawers of your house and found a number of phones from years gone by you want to get rid of, but where can you get the best deal?
Well, you've got two options: either go through a phone recycling scheme, or sell the thing yourself, generally using an auction site like eBay.
Taking one of the most recycled phones around, the Nokia N95 8GB (despite being three years old), the results vary quite wildly. Over on eBay, there are models going for £150, although these are in quite good condition. However, some sellers are listing faulty units for around £65 too.
To find the best deal on mobile phone recycling sites takes a while, as you have to go through each one carefully to select the right model. Thankfully, there are options to compare all the sites at once, with options like sellmymobile.com presenting the results from 21 other sites to offer you the best deal.
However, even the best deal here will only net you £110, meaning if your phone is still in good working order it's probably best to try selling it online – although you will have to have the box and all the accessories, whereas mobile recycling sites mostly only require the charger and phone itself.
If you've got a broken phone, it's better news though: you can get up to £90 for a broken N95 8GB, much better than that available on eBay.
Vouching for vouchers
But perhaps cash isn't the only thing you want; maybe it's a shopping trip, charitable donation or even a holiday out of your old phone. Well, there are myriad sites that offer just that – and in most cases, you'll get more value using this method than just getting cash in your bank account.
For instance, if you're getting bored of your iPhone 3G, then you could just swap it for £112 at mobilephonexchange.co.uk, which is a pretty good deal on its own.
However, the same site will offer you £120 to spend at M&S, £123 for Argos and a whopping £130-worth of vouchers to spend at Debenhams.
And if you're all shopped out, the over at airmiles.co.uk, you can get 750 air miles, which equals flights to Paris, Amsterdam and, erm, Inverness. Even if you've managed to break your iPhone 3G, you'll still get 500 miles – so it's well worth checking it out.
There's also the charity option – many mobile phone recycling sites will offer the chance to donate your phone's worth to charity. For instance Envirofone.com will not only give you the option of bank transfer, cheque PayPal or vouchers for your phone, but an option to donate a portion of the reward to a charity, such as Children in Need, Barnados and Cancer Care too.
Dealing with data
You've managed to get the best price for your phone, found a reputable site to send it to and you've got your freepost envelope ready to send it off. However there are a couple more things you need to be aware of before you ship your old mobile friend off to the suppliers.
For instance, there are some of you that might have bought the phone somewhere other than a retailer, perhaps off a friend or at a car boot sale. Therefore it's important to check the phone is legitimate first before posting, as not only will most sites not pay your should it be discovered as stolen, but some will pass your details onto the authorities too.
The good news is it's easy to check; simply go to CheckMend, which is the world's largest database of over 40 billion serial numbered items of property with information that is relevant to purchasers of used goods. For £1.99 you can check the history of any item of property including the likes of laptops, mobile phones, Sat-Navs, gaming consoles and iPods.
You'll need the phone's IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number, which can be displayed on most phones by dialling the code: *#06#. The IMEI is also usually printed on the compliance plate under the battery.
After that, make sure that you've taken out the SIM card, memory card and wiped all the data (see Wipe It Clean for more information on how to do this). After all, with all the research you've done to get the best price, you don't want to give a little extra gift of all your text messages, numbers and photos from the last couple of years...
Wipe it clean
If you're looking to get rid of your phone, then you'll need to make sure that you've got rid of any personal data such as messages, contacts or photos.
Simply going through and deleting might do the trick but there's always a chance you've missed something, like your internet browsing history or email passwords.
For some devices, it's a simple process. For instance with Android phones, you can simply browse to privacy settings, click 'Factory Data Reset' and the phone will completely wipe itself.
For Nokia phones, most of the time you can completely eradicate data by tapping *#7370#, or with the iPhone it's a simple case of connecting it up to iTunes and following the on screen prompts.
Mazuma Mobile offers a data delete tool for hundreds of mobile phones, giving you a step by step guide to removing data on your phone via email. It's a simple and free service, offering elements ranging from 'secret' codes that will wipe your phone, guiding you through the menu to the reset function or even which buttons to hold down to automatically reset your handset.
And don't forget to back up your data – in most cases you should install the bundled software that came with your phone (such as Nokia PC Suite, Samsung New PC Studio iTunes for Apple iPhone) and follow the on-screen instructions to backing up photos and contacts. Messages are harder to save, but many smartphones now offer that functionality too when connected to a PC or Mac.
What inside a phone can be recycled?
Screen - The LCD inside a phone (up to 10% of the construction) currently cannot be recycled as a separate part, so has to be ground up and metals extracted from within it. However, researchers hope in the near future the liquid crystals used in these displays can be harvested to save money and waste.
Battery – Mobile phone batteries contain a number of harmful materials, and are one the most important elements to dispose of safely. Cadmium, lead and mercury all will dissipate into the soil when used for landfill putting the local environment at risk, but can be recovered to make new batteries.
Casing – Mobile phone casing is mostly plastic, making up 30% of the phone. While this cannot be easily recycled (due to a large amount of glues and other epoxies present) it can be melted down and used for things like traffic cones and benches.
Circuit board – The brain of the phone is made of a mixture of things, such as copper, gold and plastic. Generally printed for ease of manufacture, this is often saved and re-used in other products where possible.
Ceramics – A mobile phone is made up of approximately 20% ceramics, primarily around the antenna area. This is due to being robust, but also being able to let radio signals pass through the phone structure, and can mostly be recovered for re-use.
Copper – Making up around 15% of the phone's construction in various forms, copper is used on everything from circuit boards to wiring. It can be melted down in a smelting furnace and be re-used in things like ski bindings or roofs.
Aluminium – Used in less than 1% of the phone, aluminium is sold to metal refineries. In the refinery, it is smelted and purified and necessary alloying elements are added. The finished metal ingots can be sold again for production of new parts.
Gold – One of the most widely-used precious metals in a phone, it's used in connections within the handset. While making up less than 1% of construction, it is sent to precious metal plants for recovery. 300 grams of gold can be recovered from approximately 1 tonne of recycled mobile phones. The amount of gold extracted saves mining 110 tonnes of gold ore.
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Opinion: Apple declares that the mouse is dead
With its shiny new Magic Trackpad, Apple is saying more than you might think.On the face of it, the £59 device is a rather innocuous accessory - an enlarged trackpad from a MacBook Pro, but with the same sculpted aluminium styling as Apple's wireless keyboards.
"Use it in place of a mouse or in conjunction with one on any Mac computer," burbles Apple on the Magic Trackpad product page, but what Apple's really saying is this: The mouse is dead. Multitouch is the future.
Since multitouch gestures found their way into Mac laptops, Apple's path has been clear. Apple may not have invented the mouse, but it certainly popularised it, and now it believes it's time to bin it.
iOS has taught Apple that the general public responds extremely well to gesture-based computing, and while Apple trackpads still force a level of abstraction that a touchscreen device does not (controlling something by touching in one place while seeing it elsewhere, rather than direct interaction with content), they nonetheless enable users access to intuitive multitouch gestures that are becoming increasingly commonplace.
It's unlikely that we'll suddenly see iOS apps appearing on an iMac anytime soon, or a fully touch-based Mac (hello, RSI!); but what we will see is Apple increasingly working multitouch lessons learned on iOS into Mac OS X, and consumers happily moving between Mac OS X and iOS without a second thought.
And although Magic Trackpad is a standalone accessory today, don't be surprised if it's suddenly bundled with new desktop Macs in 2011, consigning the suddenly limited-in-scope Magic Mouse and other Apple mice to history.
Point-and-click's time is drawing to a close - Apple's moving towards multitouch alone.
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Apple announces 27 inch LED Cinema Display
Apple has put a stunning 16:9 27 inch LED Cinema Display on sale, offering a 2560x1440 resolution but at the premium price of just under a thousand dollars. With a price of $999 (around £645) the monitor is certainly going to be considered high-end, but the Apple product is droolworthy.
The Apple 27 inch Cinema Display offers a powered USB 2.0 hub, built in iSight video camera, microphone and speakers and universal MagSafe connector.
Ideal for MacBook
"With built-in MagSafe charging, iSight camera, speakers, and USB ports, the LED Cinema Display is ideal for MacBook and MacBook Pro users," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.
"With its massive 2560 x 1440 resolution, the new 27-inch LED Cinema Display is a perfect fit with our powerful new Mac Pro, and it gives iMac users an easy way to double their screen real estate."
Apple describes the product as having a "beautiful 16:9 edge-to-edge glass display on an aluminium stand with an adjustable hinge that makes tilting the display almost effortless."
The monitor includes an ambient light sensor which will adjust the display brightness automatically.
The Apple 27 inch Cinema Display has a UK release date of September, with pricing yet to be confirmed.
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Apple refreshes iMacs with Intel Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 chips
Apple has announced an update to the iMac line, with Intel Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 processors up to 3.6GHz plus new graphics including the ATI Radeon HD 5750. Prices start at £999. The range is now available with dual-core Core i3 and Core i5 chips and quad-core Core i5 and Core i7 processors. The 27-inch iMac has the option of a 256GB SSD as a primary or secondary drive. The iMac SSD supports up to 215MB/s data transfer rates for faster startup and application launch times.
An SD card slot on the iMac now supports the SDXC format to handle the latest high-capacity storage cards.
"We took the world's best all-in-one and made it even better," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With the latest processors, high-performance graphics and signature aluminium and glass design, customers are going to love the latest iMac."
21.5-inch 3.06GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, £999
- 21.5-inch 1,920 x 1,080 LED-backlit display;
- 3.06GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;
- 4GB 1,333MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
- ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics with 256MB GDDR3 SDRAM;
- 500GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7,200rpm;
- slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
- Mini DisplayPort for audio and video output (adaptors sold separately);
- AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
- iSight video camera;
- Gigabit Ethernet;
- four USB 2.0 ports;
- one SDXC SD card slot;
- one FireWire 800 port;
- built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
- Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.
- Configure-to-order options include up to 8GB of RAM
- 21.5-inch 1,920 x 1,080 LED-backlit display;
- 3.20GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;
- 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
- ATI Radeon HD 5670 discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3;
- 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7,200rpm;
- slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
- Mini DisplayPort for audio and video output (adapters sold separately);
- AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
- iSight video camera;
- Gigabit Ethernet;
- four USB 2.0 ports;
- one FireWire 800 port;
- one SDXC SD card slot;
- built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
- Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.
- Configure-to-order options include a faster 3.6GHz Core i5 processor, 2TB hard drive and up to 8GB of RAM.
- 27-inch 2,560 x 1,440 LED-backlit display;
- 3.20 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;
- 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
- ATI Radeon HD 5670 discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3;
- 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7,200rpm;
- slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
- Mini DisplayPort for audio and video input and output (adapters sold separately);
- AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
- iSight video camera;
- Gigabit Ethernet;
- four USB 2.0 ports;
- one FireWire 800 port;
- one SDXC SD card slot;
- built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
- Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.
- Configure-to-order options include a 3.6GHz Core i5 processor, 2TB hard drive, 256GB solid state drive (SSD) and up to 16GB of RAM.
- 27-inch 2,560 x 1,440 LED-backlit display;
- 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 processor with 8MB shared L3 cache;
- 4GB 1,333MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
- ATI Radeon HD 5750 discrete graphics with 1GB GDDR5;
- 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7,200rpm;
- slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
- Mini DisplayPort for audio and video input and output (adaptors sold separately);
- AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
- iSight video camera;
- Gigabit Ethernet;
- four USB 2.0 ports;
- one FireWire 800 port;
- one SDXC SD card slot;
- built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
- Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.
- Configure-to-order options include a 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 processor, a 2TB hard drive, 256GB solid state drive (SSD) and up to 16GB of RAM
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New Mac Pro: up to 12 Intel Xeon cores
Apple has announced a new Mac Pro with up to 12 cores – via two six-core 3.33GHz Intel Xeon processors meaning a 50 per cent increase in processing power. You can also order the unit with quad-core chips, too. Among the other high-end options are up to four 512GB SSDs – though with prices starting at £1,999 we don't expect too low a price point on that one.
The Mac Pro now comes with the ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB graphics processor or you can choose to upgrade to the ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB, too.
Full base system specs are below, but the configure-to-order options include:
- one 3.2GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon W3565 processor for the quad-core Mac Pro;
- one 3.33GHz 6-core Intel Xeon W3680 processor for the quad-core Mac Pro;
- two 2.66GHz 6-core Intel Xeon X5650 processors (12-cores) for the 8-core Mac Pro;
- two 2.93GHz 6-core Intel Xeon X5670 processors (12-cores) for the 8-core Mac Pro;
- two ATI Radeon HD 5770 cards with 1GB of GDDR5 memory;
- one ATI Radeon HD 5870 card with 1GB of GDDR5 memory;
- up to 16GB of DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory for the quad-core Mac Pro;
- up to 32GB of DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory for the 8-core Mac Pro;
- up to four 512GB solid state drives (SSD); or
- up to four 1TB or 2TB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm;
- Mac Pro RAID card;
- dual-channel or quad-channel 4Gb Fibre Channel card; and
- up to two 18x SuperDrives with double-layer support.
4-core Mac Pro, £1,999
- one 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon W3530 processor with 8MB of fully-shared L3 cache;
- 3GB of 1,066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 16GB;
- ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory;
- two Mini DisplayPorts and one DVI (dual-link) port (adaptors sold separately);
- 1TB Serial ATA 3Gbps hard drive running at 7,200rpm;
- 18x SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
- four PCI Express 2.0 slots;
- five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire® 800 ports;
- AirPort Extreme® 802.11n;
- Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; and
- Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Magic Mouse.
- two 2.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5620 processors with 12MB of fully-shared L3 cache per processor;
- 6GB of 1,066MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 32GB;
- ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory;
- two Mini DisplayPorts and one DVI (dual-link) port (adapters sold separately);
- 1TB Serial ATA 3Gbps hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
- 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
- four PCI Express 2.0 slots;
- five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire 800 ports;
- AirPort Extreme 802.11n;
- Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; and
- Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Magic Mouse
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Apple takes on mouse with Magic Trackpad
Apple has unveiled a multi-touch peripheral – with the Magic Trackpad working with a whole range of gestures. Apple's latest peripheral will give desktop users the chance to use its now familiar multi-touch technology, and the company's description suggests that it could even replace the familiar mouse for some.
"Use it in place of a mouse or in conjunction with one," says Apple's product page.
Full set of gestures
"The new Magic Trackpad is the first Multi-Touch trackpad designed to work with your Mac desktop computer, adds Apple.
"It uses the same Multi-Touch technology you love on the MacBook Pro. And it supports a full set of gestures, giving you a whole new way to control and interact with what's on your screen.
"Swiping through pages online feels just like flipping through pages in a book or magazine. And inertial scrolling makes moving up and down a page more natural than ever."
Bluetooth
The Magic Trackpad connects to the Mac via Bluetooth wireless technology, and the 'range of gestures' supported includes pinch zoom, rotate and the aforementioned inertial zoom.
In truth, most will probably use the trackpad alongside a mouse rather than instead of one.
But following the Magic Mouse and with touchscreens becoming more prevalent – the trusty old traditional mouse is certainly being challenged.
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Apple takes on mouse with Magic Trackpad
Apple has unveiled a multi-touch peripheral – with the Magic Trackpad working with a whole range of gestures. Apple's latest peripheral will give desktop users the chance to use its now familiar multi-touch technology, and the company's description suggests that it could even replace the familiar mouse for some.
"Use it in place of a mouse or in conjunction with one," says Apple's product page.
Full set of gestures
"The new Magic Trackpad is the first Multi-Touch trackpad designed to work with your Mac desktop computer, adds Apple.
"It uses the same Multi-Touch technology you love on the MacBook Pro. And it supports a full set of gestures, giving you a whole new way to control and interact with what's on your screen.
"Swiping through pages online feels just like flipping through pages in a book or magazine. And inertial scrolling makes moving up and down a page more natural than ever."
Bluetooth
The Magic Trackpad connects to the Mac via Bluetooth wireless technology, and the 'range of gestures' supported includes pinch zoom, rotate and the aforementioned inertial zoom.
In truth, most will probably use the trackpad alongside a mouse rather than instead of one.
But following the Magic Mouse and with touchscreens becoming more prevalent – the trusty old traditional mouse is certainly being challenged.
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ARM smashes targets with latest figures
ARM's second quarter results have shown just how well the British company is doing, with the company beating market expectations. ARM-designed chips are becoming a common factor in consumer electronics, and the growing market for not only smartphones, netbooks and tablet computers, but also more advanced white goods has taken ARM to record pre-tax profits of £43.5 million.
Warren East, chief executive officer, said: "We are pleased to report strong underlying revenue and profit performance in the first half, in improved trading conditions compared with one year ago.
Strategy on track
"Our strategy remains on track for growth in mobile, non-mobile and new technology outsourcing," he added.
"Major semiconductor vendors and consumer electronics companies are making long-term commitments to using ARM technology in their future products.
"Freescale, Microsoft and TSMC all recently announced adoption of ARM's latest technology which will further increase ARM's market penetration, and royalty potential, in a broadening range of end applications.
"ARM continued to gain share in the quarter with shipments of ARM-based chips growing faster than the industry in all target markets."
Interestingly, just over two thirds of ARM's revenue comes from royalties, with 31% from licensing revenues.
ARM has recently announced deals with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC) and, impressively, Microsoft.
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Brit gets key to internet's DNS servers
A UK man is one of seven trusted internet security experts worldwide who have been chosen to hold a cryptographic key to the internet's DNS servers. Paul Kane, CEO of CommunityDNS, travelled to the US to collect his key from a high security facility and has now stored it in a safety deposit box.
In case of terrorist attack or other nasty Roland Emmerich-style global meltdown, Kane may be required to travel to the US to meet four other key holders and recover the master root server signing key – though we guess he might have to set off in a canoe if all hell breaks loose.
"I'm honoured and excited to be recognised for past achievements and current contributions to global internet security as we add additional tools to allow the end user to feel more confident in their use of the internet," said Kane, who is the key holder for Western Europe.
The move is a result of DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security) - a new process to make the web more secure by verifying websites. Essentially the system adds digital signatures to the standard DNS queries to verify their authenticity.
Essentially, the system means the chance of people ending up on the right banking or shopping site is greater, rather than being phished or redirected in some other way – eight per cent of web traffic is currently thought to be fraudulent.
Launched in 2007 and based at the Bath SETsquared Innovation Centre, CommunityDNS provides a globally diverse name resolution service to large corporations and national domain name registries from over 40 countries and handles up to 18 billion queries per day as part of a worldwide network.
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Neo-powered Dell Inspiron M101z arrives for UK
Dell has announced the UK release and pricing of the Dell Inspiron M101z. The laptop, which Dell describes as 'ultra-thin and ultra-portable' is now available from Dell's online store, starting from £379.
The Inspiron M101z boasts an AMD Athlon II Neo processor and integrated ATI graphics which according to Dell 'leaves comparably-sized netbooks in the dust.'
Blending beauty with brains
"Blending brains and beauty, the Inspiron M101z laptop is built around a clever hinge-forward design that moves the display closer and keeps the body rigid for improved strength and durability," explains Dell.
"It features a full-width, ergonomic keyboard that simplifies typing and navigation, while the attractive brushed finishes and smooth curves make it stand out in a crowd.
"And with a choice of four vibrant colours, people also have the ability to add personal style to their PC."
11.6-inch screen
The Dell Inspiron M101z boasts an 11.6 inch 1366x768 screen, and as you would expect from Dell you can customise the specs up to 8GB of RAM and 320GB SATA as well as upgrading the processor and graphics.
"Finally, people can get premium looks, a big display, a full-width keyboard, long battery life and a powerful processor in a laptop no bigger than most netbooks," said Charlie Tebbs, Director of Consumer Marketing, Dell Europe.
"The Inspiron M101z is an affordable, on-the-go companion that can be easily customised to handle individual needs from simple e-mailing and web surfing to HD video playback and editing or watching a favourite TV program."
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Review: Octava HDSA715
Multichannel analogue audio outputs are sometimes absent from Blu-ray players (as indeed are the corresponding inputs of amplifiers and receivers), with manufacturers assuming you're using HDMI throughout. But what if the AV powerhouse at the heart of your system lacks HDMI? You could consider Octava's HDSA71, a useful gizmo which will decode multichannel tracks (up to 7.1) and present them in analogue form to a series of phono connectors. It also acts as a 4-in/2-out HDMI switcher.
The bits we like
This unit staves off obsolescence – who said AV enthusiasts couldn't be 'green'? Within the confines of the compatible signal formats, the HDSA71 sounded pretty credit-worthy when it was fed into the multichannel input of our AV 'guinea-pig'.
An 'auxiliary' 7.1 input, which takes the form of a second bank of phono sockets, ensures that the musically inclined can continue to enjoy DVD-As and/or SACDs.
The HDSA71 can be operated with a handy remote handset, or via RS232. System integrators will appreciate the latter. SmartScan technology automatically-identifies active HDMI inputs.
The bits we don't
The cost of this unit, plus whatever you get from selling your existing amp/receiver, could buy a new unit that builds in the HDMI switcher – and gives you high-res audio decoding too.
16bit 44.1/48kHz uncompressed PCM is the only format handled by the HDSA71 – it has no truck with 'regular' flavours of Dolby Digital or DTS, never mind their high-res successors. You'll need to configure the HDMI audio options of your Blu-ray player accordingly.
Our sample was initially faulty – the problem was eventually traced to a faulty solder joint. We sincerely hope you're luckier...
Related Links
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Updated: Top 20 best free games you should play today
Whether you play games all the time or just want something to fill a few quiet moments here and there during the day, passing the time doesn't need to be expensive. Yes, you need to break out your wallet if you want the latest big AAA shooter, but the free route is becoming increasingly interesting. Many older games are now opening out in search of a wider audience, and more and more companies are finding ways to profit from free releases.
For indie developers, it's the perfect way to make a name for themselves, either just for the glory or to build an audience for future games.
US company 2D Boy, for example, launched onto the scene with Tower of Goo, a game that involves building a tall tower out of bouncy balls of stretchy slime. This free download morphed into the amazing full title World of Goo, which took the net by storm.
We've gathered together 20 of the best free games around, covering releases new and old from every genre. With so much choice, you're guaranteed to find at least one you like. Give them a go – there's nothing to lose.
1. Spelunky
Spelunky is about anger, hate and, most of all, death. It looks like a simple enough platform game – an Indiana Jones pastiche set in a cavern full of tricks and traps – and it is. There's nothing complicated about it. Every enemy is avoidable. Every trap can be dealt with.
The catch is that every time you play, the entire game is randomised. In one game you'll stumble through screen after screen of spiked horrors and swarming monsters; in the next, the software will bend over backwards to give you gold and help you on your way.
The trick is learning the ropes, figuring out how to get past every obstacle, and then doing so perfectly as and when the game throws things at you. You will die. You will die a lot. But the important thing is that in death, you learn.
You discover ways of stealing from the shopkeepers who inhabit the levels, or find out that the damsels you can rescue for a health-boost can just as easily be taken to the nearest sacrificial altar, or thrown around to trigger traps before you go down yourself.
You learn how each randomised world ticks and which equipment will give you a fighting chance. And then you'll die some more. And scream. And restart. Again.
www.spelunkyworld.com
2. NetHack
Much like Spelunky, this open-source classic makes heavy use of randomisation to give you a new adventure every time you fire it up. However, instead of being a platform game, it's an epic RPG with the unofficial motto, 'The dev team thinks of everything'.
Do you want to blind a basilisk with a custard pie? Abuse shape-changing spells to lay deadly eggs that can be used as weapons? Get blasted by your patron deity if you try praying to them when they're in a bad mood? It's all in here, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
First released in 1987, NetHack isn't the prettiest game around. There are graphical mods out there, but it's still best played using ASCII characters, and until you can tell your Ps from your #s, it's somewhat confusing.
Unlike Spelunky, chances are that you'll have been adventuring for a while before you die. With only one savegame on your side, which is deleted if you snuff it, it only takes a single careless mistake to lose days of progress to a tough monster or a swig of a health potion that turns out to be poisoned.
With that risk comes great reward, though: retrieve the legendary Amulet of Yendor, sacrifice it to your deity and become king of the nerds.
www.nethack.org
3. Quake Live
This is how far the web has come: one of the best deathmatch games ever created is now available to play from within the confines of your browser.
Well, technically, no, it's not actually in it – Quake Live uses a plug-in and then goes full-screen when you play – but the spirit is still there.
Any modern computer is now able to handle Quake's modest demands, and the game's blisteringly fast action makes it quite unlike any modern shooter. Forget realism. Forget objectives. Sometimes, all you need is a rocket launcher, a perfectly timed shot and the lamentation of the noobs as time permits.
Beware, though: if you haven't played id Software's classic shooter for a while, the frenetic pace of the online action might be terrifying.
www.quakelive.com
4. Beneath a Steel Sky
A classic adventure from British developer Revolution, and one that serves two purposes. First, it's fun – a comic-style sci-fi adventure with a wry sense of humour.
Second, it's a great way to experiment with ScummVM – a tool that enables you to play classic LucasArts games on modern systems. BASS isn't the only free game that runs in it, either.
If you're still thirsty, check out Lure of the Temptress, Drascula (sic) and Flight of the Amazon Queen.
www.scummvm.org
5. Desktop Tower Defence
It's not just a game, it's a whole genre. The idea is simple. In most RTS games, you build units such as soldiers or tanks and pit them against your enemy's army.
In Desktop Tower Defence games, you put down fixed turrets, each with different abilities, with the aim of stopping the enemy making it from one side of the screen to the other. It sounds easy and, like most casual games, for the first few levels it is.
The tactics come in finding ways to force your enemy down specific paths, and using your limited resources to build and upgrade a death-course that can take them all down. It's addictive and simple to play.
No wonder there are a million clones out there, from free Flash games to commercial offerings such as Plants Vs Zombies and Defense Grid: The Awakening.
www.handdrawngames.com/DesktopTD/Game.asp
6. Digital: A Love Story
Remember the excitement of logging into your first BBS? What if you'd found something more than just files and chatter and naked pictures of assorted Star Trek actresses?
To explain Digital: A Love Story would be giving away too much, so let's just say that it's a great nostalgia trip with a bit of future-gazing thrown in for free. Played out entirely on 1988-style bulletin boards, it starts when you respond to an email from a lonely-sounding girl called Emilia.
The relationship plays out as a hacker's romance as you jump between BBS systems to uncover a conspiracy, mostly interacting by firing off emails to the characters. You never get to see what you've said, only the responses, which adds an unusual but effective disconnect to the conversations.
It's not a long game – only an hour or so of action at most – but it's a testament to the writing that you quickly get sucked into what is basically just typing out a lot of phone numbers. The authentic-sounding music and sound effects help: the sweet siren song of a modem connecting still sends a chill down the spine.
www.scoutshonour.com/digital
7. Neopets
Neopets doesn't feature just one game to complete; instead, it's stuffed with hundreds of minigames. Each of these is located in a different area of Neopia, a virtual world that you must explore with your trusty Neopet (which you design and name yourself) by your side.
From the nerve-shredding heights of Terror Mountain to the sweet delights of Faerieland and the pirate-themed festivities of Krawk Island, there's enough content here to keep you entertained for months.
Our favourite games include Dubloon Disaster (recover gold Dubloons from the sea without getting blown up by sea mines), Faerie Bubbles (pop the bubbles by matching colours – but beware of the tricksy combos) and Hannah and the Ice Caves (guide Hannah safely through each cave to collect the treasure).
If you tire of the games, there are plenty of other distractions scattered throughout Neopia. Attempt to steal treasure from ice worm The Snowager; have a snack at Tyrannia's Giant Omelette; adopt a Pet Pet so your Neopet doesn't get lonely; or get lost in one of many secret side-quests.
Just don't feed your Neopet that iced fishcake you found – it won't like it. Trust us.
www.neopets.com
8. Neptune's Pride
Do you have good friends? Want to lose them all over the course of a month? Then this is the strategy game for you.
The idea is that you only need to log in every now and again to direct your intergalactic fleet around the universe. Your friends, hereafter referred to as 'former friends', do the same.
It's very low maintenance – in theory. Really, though, get hooked on it and you'll spend every waking minute deciding who to stab in the back, worrying who's preparing to return the favour and thinking about all the other tactical options you only get when all your opponents are fleshy humans with access to out-of-game instant messaging clients and private email boxes.
Read the diaries to see a typical game played out from start to finish.
np.ironhelmet.com
9. Online poker
Who said you needed a massive bankroll to play poker online? If you know where to go, it's possible to earn fairly large amounts of money without investing a penny through multi-table tournaments known as freerolls.
All of the major online cardrooms run tournaments like this to lure in new users in the hope that they'll become addicted and pump fistfuls of their hard-earned cash into the site for many years to come.
But it's not all doom, gloom and conspiracy theories. Many of today's top poker icons built their bankrolls from cents to millions by playing freerolls. As long as you don't have too much of an addictive personality they're a great way to learn the game, kill some time and, if you're lucky, earn a pound or two.
Sites to keep an eye on are Full Tilt, Pokerstars and PartyPoker – they're always running promotions. For a day-to-day breakdown of freerolls and their UK times, visit: www.bit.ly/dv2giR.
10. Dwarf Fortress
If you find games like SimCity or Civilisation a little too simple, Dwarf Fortress is the game for you. Technically, its full name is Slaves to Armok: God of Blood: Chapter II: Dwarf Fortress, but absolutely nobody calls it that.
It's a mixture of NetHack and SimCity, played out (by default) using ASCII characters, with the focus on building a functional dwarf mine. If that sounds simple, it's only because you haven't played it.
From the dark horrors if you dig too deep to the need to manage the psychological condition of your dwarves and create an economy out of nothing but a hole in the ground, the only thing more impressive than the number of ways you can fail is seeing how much people have done with the simulation engine.
Here for instance is one forum's game, served up in episodic Lets Play format: www.bit.ly/bDkn81. Excellent, yet bewildering.
www.bay12games.com/dwarves
11. Alien Swarm
Why play this one? One word: Valve. It used to be an Unreal mod, but now it's been picked up, polished, and released for free by the PC world's best games company. That at least deserves a download, right? Team up with three friends to survive a deep-space alien infestation. When you're done, expect mods to be ready.
www.alienswarm.com/index.html
12. Canabalt / Canabalt Typing Tutor
Get ready to stare at the screen until your eyes dry up and fall out. Canabalt is a one-button game where you have to precisely time your jumps to get past the collapsing buildings, obstacles and other instant-killers awaiting you. If that's not enough, Canabalt Typing Tutor Edition is the same game, but now you never know which button you're going to have to hit to make the jump. Ouch.
www.adamatomic.com/canabalt
adamatomic.com/canabalt/edu
13. The Wikipedia Game
How many steps does it take to get from Sarah Palin to Winnie The Pooh? This excellent web game challenges you to find out. The winner of each round is the one who Wikis their way from A to B in the fewest steps. Terrifyingly addictive, and possibly even a little educational…
wikipediagame.org
14. Desktop Dungeons
Ah, the quest you can complete without running your appetite for monster-slaying. Desktop Dungeons is as simple as heroics get – really, the entire game is about fighting your way up the local monsters' organisation chart without picking a fight with something capable of crushing you back. It's Rogue without the complexity, but very moreish. The perfect way of killing a boring lunchtime.
www.qcfdesign.com/?cat=20
15. Coma
Platform games have been getting very arty of late. If you're an Xbox 360 gamer, we hope you've already checked out the beautiful Limbo - but if not, Coma offers a similarly beautiful (and much less spidery) world of dreams and make-believe to work your way through. Absolutely stunning attention to detail makes it one of the prettiest Flash platformers around.
www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/541124
16. Loved
Loved is also an arty game, but one with an intriguing premise we don't want to spoil. If we say that it revolves around the nature of relationships, played out in platform game style, hopefully you'll be intrigued enough to check it out. It's only a few minutes long, but deserves at least a couple of replays to understand the metaphors at work. Don't worry. TechRadar will always love you...
www.kongregate.com/games/AlexanderOcias/loved
17. Super Mario Crossover
Of course, art's not everything. This fanboy dream seems to have avoided the Nintendo legal Nazgûl for the moment, letting us find out which classic character really is the best suited to take on Super Mario Bros. (Hint: It's Bill from Contra). Switch between Mario, Link, Simon Belmont and more, using their special weapons and skills to take out Goombas and Koopas without resorting to a butt-stomp.
supermariobroscrossover.com
18. Moonbase Alpha
Not just a free game – a free game from NASA. After an accident strikes the titular moonbase, it's your job to pick up the pieces and save the day. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to play it, but don't expect it to give you an easy time.
www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/ltp/games/moonbasealpha/index.html
19. Go To Hell
Much like office-favourite Spelunky, Go To Hell may as well be a game about digging your own grave. It starts off easy enough, but you'll be hard pressed to get down to your target depth of 666 feet on your first go. Your main enemy for most of the trip is good old water, which you can use to drown enemies and put out torches, but you'll generally be racing to channel out of your way before you drown.
www.killsometime.com/games/4954
20. Runes of Magic
As one of the better free MMORPGs out there, Runes of Magic isn't going to give World of Warcraft any sleepless nights, but it's not a bad alternative if you want to play without paying. Lots of character classes, a decent world and more variety than many free-to-play games makes it at least worth a look. As with the rest of the genre though, it may be free, but the developers will happily sell you items for cash.
www.runesofmagic.com/en/index.html
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Updated: Top 20 best free games you should play today
Whether you play games all the time or just want something to fill a few quiet moments here and there during the day, passing the time doesn't need to be expensive. Yes, you need to break out your wallet if you want the latest big AAA shooter, but the free route is becoming increasingly interesting. Many older games are now opening out in search of a wider audience, and more and more companies are finding ways to profit from free releases.
For indie developers, it's the perfect way to make a name for themselves, either just for the glory or to build an audience for future games.
US company 2D Boy, for example, launched onto the scene with Tower of Goo, a game that involves building a tall tower out of bouncy balls of stretchy slime. This free download morphed into the amazing full title World of Goo, which took the net by storm.
We've gathered together 20 of the best free games around, covering releases new and old from every genre. With so much choice, you're guaranteed to find at least one you like. Give them a go – there's nothing to lose.
1. Spelunky
Spelunky is about anger, hate and, most of all, death. It looks like a simple enough platform game – an Indiana Jones pastiche set in a cavern full of tricks and traps – and it is. There's nothing complicated about it. Every enemy is avoidable. Every trap can be dealt with.
The catch is that every time you play, the entire game is randomised. In one game you'll stumble through screen after screen of spiked horrors and swarming monsters; in the next, the software will bend over backwards to give you gold and help you on your way.
The trick is learning the ropes, figuring out how to get past every obstacle, and then doing so perfectly as and when the game throws things at you. You will die. You will die a lot. But the important thing is that in death, you learn.
You discover ways of stealing from the shopkeepers who inhabit the levels, or find out that the damsels you can rescue for a health-boost can just as easily be taken to the nearest sacrificial altar, or thrown around to trigger traps before you go down yourself.
You learn how each randomised world ticks and which equipment will give you a fighting chance. And then you'll die some more. And scream. And restart. Again.
www.spelunkyworld.com
2. NetHack
Much like Spelunky, this open-source classic makes heavy use of randomisation to give you a new adventure every time you fire it up. However, instead of being a platform game, it's an epic RPG with the unofficial motto, 'The dev team thinks of everything'.
Do you want to blind a basilisk with a custard pie? Abuse shape-changing spells to lay deadly eggs that can be used as weapons? Get blasted by your patron deity if you try praying to them when they're in a bad mood? It's all in here, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
First released in 1987, NetHack isn't the prettiest game around. There are graphical mods out there, but it's still best played using ASCII characters, and until you can tell your Ps from your #s, it's somewhat confusing.
Unlike Spelunky, chances are that you'll have been adventuring for a while before you die. With only one savegame on your side, which is deleted if you snuff it, it only takes a single careless mistake to lose days of progress to a tough monster or a swig of a health potion that turns out to be poisoned.
With that risk comes great reward, though: retrieve the legendary Amulet of Yendor, sacrifice it to your deity and become king of the nerds.
www.nethack.org
3. Quake Live
This is how far the web has come: one of the best deathmatch games ever created is now available to play from within the confines of your browser.
Well, technically, no, it's not actually in it – Quake Live uses a plug-in and then goes full-screen when you play – but the spirit is still there.
Any modern computer is now able to handle Quake's modest demands, and the game's blisteringly fast action makes it quite unlike any modern shooter. Forget realism. Forget objectives. Sometimes, all you need is a rocket launcher, a perfectly timed shot and the lamentation of the noobs as time permits.
Beware, though: if you haven't played id Software's classic shooter for a while, the frenetic pace of the online action might be terrifying.
www.quakelive.com
4. Beneath a Steel Sky
A classic adventure from British developer Revolution, and one that serves two purposes. First, it's fun – a comic-style sci-fi adventure with a wry sense of humour.
Second, it's a great way to experiment with ScummVM – a tool that enables you to play classic LucasArts games on modern systems. BASS isn't the only free game that runs in it, either.
If you're still thirsty, check out Lure of the Temptress, Drascula (sic) and Flight of the Amazon Queen.
www.scummvm.org
5. Desktop Tower Defence
It's not just a game, it's a whole genre. The idea is simple. In most RTS games, you build units such as soldiers or tanks and pit them against your enemy's army.
In Desktop Tower Defence games, you put down fixed turrets, each with different abilities, with the aim of stopping the enemy making it from one side of the screen to the other. It sounds easy and, like most casual games, for the first few levels it is.
The tactics come in finding ways to force your enemy down specific paths, and using your limited resources to build and upgrade a death-course that can take them all down. It's addictive and simple to play.
No wonder there are a million clones out there, from free Flash games to commercial offerings such as Plants Vs Zombies and Defense Grid: The Awakening.
www.handdrawngames.com/DesktopTD/Game.asp
6. Digital: A Love Story
Remember the excitement of logging into your first BBS? What if you'd found something more than just files and chatter and naked pictures of assorted Star Trek actresses?
To explain Digital: A Love Story would be giving away too much, so let's just say that it's a great nostalgia trip with a bit of future-gazing thrown in for free. Played out entirely on 1988-style bulletin boards, it starts when you respond to an email from a lonely-sounding girl called Emilia.
The relationship plays out as a hacker's romance as you jump between BBS systems to uncover a conspiracy, mostly interacting by firing off emails to the characters. You never get to see what you've said, only the responses, which adds an unusual but effective disconnect to the conversations.
It's not a long game – only an hour or so of action at most – but it's a testament to the writing that you quickly get sucked into what is basically just typing out a lot of phone numbers. The authentic-sounding music and sound effects help: the sweet siren song of a modem connecting still sends a chill down the spine.
www.scoutshonour.com/digital
7. Neopets
Neopets doesn't feature just one game to complete; instead, it's stuffed with hundreds of minigames. Each of these is located in a different area of Neopia, a virtual world that you must explore with your trusty Neopet (which you design and name yourself) by your side.
From the nerve-shredding heights of Terror Mountain to the sweet delights of Faerieland and the pirate-themed festivities of Krawk Island, there's enough content here to keep you entertained for months.
Our favourite games include Dubloon Disaster (recover gold Dubloons from the sea without getting blown up by sea mines), Faerie Bubbles (pop the bubbles by matching colours – but beware of the tricksy combos) and Hannah and the Ice Caves (guide Hannah safely through each cave to collect the treasure).
If you tire of the games, there are plenty of other distractions scattered throughout Neopia. Attempt to steal treasure from ice worm The Snowager; have a snack at Tyrannia's Giant Omelette; adopt a Pet Pet so your Neopet doesn't get lonely; or get lost in one of many secret side-quests.
Just don't feed your Neopet that iced fishcake you found – it won't like it. Trust us.
www.neopets.com
8. Neptune's Pride
Do you have good friends? Want to lose them all over the course of a month? Then this is the strategy game for you.
The idea is that you only need to log in every now and again to direct your intergalactic fleet around the universe. Your friends, hereafter referred to as 'former friends', do the same.
It's very low maintenance – in theory. Really, though, get hooked on it and you'll spend every waking minute deciding who to stab in the back, worrying who's preparing to return the favour and thinking about all the other tactical options you only get when all your opponents are fleshy humans with access to out-of-game instant messaging clients and private email boxes.
Read the diaries to see a typical game played out from start to finish.
np.ironhelmet.com
9. Online poker
Who said you needed a massive bankroll to play poker online? If you know where to go, it's possible to earn fairly large amounts of money without investing a penny through multi-table tournaments known as freerolls.
All of the major online cardrooms run tournaments like this to lure in new users in the hope that they'll become addicted and pump fistfuls of their hard-earned cash into the site for many years to come.
But it's not all doom, gloom and conspiracy theories. Many of today's top poker icons built their bankrolls from cents to millions by playing freerolls. As long as you don't have too much of an addictive personality they're a great way to learn the game, kill some time and, if you're lucky, earn a pound or two.
Sites to keep an eye on are Full Tilt, Pokerstars and PartyPoker – they're always running promotions. For a day-to-day breakdown of freerolls and their UK times, visit: www.bit.ly/dv2giR.
10. Dwarf Fortress
If you find games like SimCity or Civilisation a little too simple, Dwarf Fortress is the game for you. Technically, its full name is Slaves to Armok: God of Blood: Chapter II: Dwarf Fortress, but absolutely nobody calls it that.
It's a mixture of NetHack and SimCity, played out (by default) using ASCII characters, with the focus on building a functional dwarf mine. If that sounds simple, it's only because you haven't played it.
From the dark horrors if you dig too deep to the need to manage the psychological condition of your dwarves and create an economy out of nothing but a hole in the ground, the only thing more impressive than the number of ways you can fail is seeing how much people have done with the simulation engine.
Here for instance is one forum's game, served up in episodic Lets Play format: www.bit.ly/bDkn81. Excellent, yet bewildering.
www.bay12games.com/dwarves
11. Alien Swarm
Why play this one? One word: Valve. It used to be an Unreal mod, but now it's been picked up, polished, and released for free by the PC world's best games company. That at least deserves a download, right? Team up with three friends to survive a deep-space alien infestation. When you're done, expect mods to be ready.
www.alienswarm.com/index.html
12. Canabalt / Canabalt Typing Tutor
Get ready to stare at the screen until your eyes dry up and fall out. Canabalt is a one-button game where you have to precisely time your jumps to get past the collapsing buildings, obstacles and other instant-killers awaiting you. If that's not enough, Canabalt Typing Tutor Edition is the same game, but now you never know which button you're going to have to hit to make the jump. Ouch.
www.adamatomic.com/canabalt
adamatomic.com/canabalt/edu
13. The Wikipedia Game
How many steps does it take to get from Sarah Palin to Winnie The Pooh? This excellent web game challenges you to find out. The winner of each round is the one who Wikis their way from A to B in the fewest steps. Terrifyingly addictive, and possibly even a little educational…
wikipediagame.org
14. Desktop Dungeons
Ah, the quest you can complete without running your appetite for monster-slaying. Desktop Dungeons is as simple as heroics get – really, the entire game is about fighting your way up the local monsters' organisation chart without picking a fight with something capable of crushing you back. It's Rogue without the complexity, but very moreish. The perfect way of killing a boring lunchtime.
www.qcfdesign.com/?cat=20
15. Coma
Platform games have been getting very arty of late. If you're an Xbox 360 gamer, we hope you've already checked out the beautiful Limbo - but if not, Coma offers a similarly beautiful (and much less spidery) world of dreams and make-believe to work your way through. Absolutely stunning attention to detail makes it one of the prettiest Flash platformers around.
www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/541124
16. Loved
Loved is also an arty game, but one with an intriguing premise we don't want to spoil. If we say that it revolves around the nature of relationships, played out in platform game style, hopefully you'll be intrigued enough to check it out. It's only a few minutes long, but deserves at least a couple of replays to understand the metaphors at work. Don't worry. TechRadar will always love you...
www.kongregate.com/games/AlexanderOcias/loved
17. Super Mario Crossover
Of course, art's not everything. This fanboy dream seems to have avoided the Nintendo legal Nazgûl for the moment, letting us find out which classic character really is the best suited to take on Super Mario Bros. (Hint: It's Bill from Contra). Switch between Mario, Link, Simon Belmont and more, using their special weapons and skills to take out Goombas and Koopas without resorting to a butt-stomp.
supermariobroscrossover.com
18. Moonbase Alpha
Not just a free game – a free game from NASA. After an accident strikes the titular moonbase, it's your job to pick up the pieces and save the day. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to play it, but don't expect it to give you an easy time.
www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/ltp/games/moonbasealpha/index.html
19. Go To Hell
Much like office-favourite Spelunky, Go To Hell may as well be a game about digging your own grave. It starts off easy enough, but you'll be hard pressed to get down to your target depth of 666 feet on your first go. Your main enemy for most of the trip is good old water, which you can use to drown enemies and put out torches, but you'll generally be racing to channel out of your way before you drown.
www.killsometime.com/games/4954
20. Runes of Magic
As one of the better free MMORPGs out there, Runes of Magic isn't going to give World of Warcraft any sleepless nights, but it's not a bad alternative if you want to pay without playing. Lots of character classes, a decent world and more variety than many free-to-play games makes it at least worth a look. As with the rest of the genre though, it may be free, but the developers will happily sell you items for cash.
www.runesofmagic.com/en/index.html
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Review: Eminent iTRIO EM7100
Here's the 21st Century equivalent of the wireless 'video senders' that proved quite popular in the last decade. And like these old analogue products, the Eminent iTRIO EM7100 will let you watch video playing out in one room on a TV located in another – over a range of 30metres, according to Eminent. The EM7100 supports analogue sources and displays connected via component, Scart and VGA, but will also deal with HDMI.
The technology behind the device? The manufacturer told us that the EM7100 is 'a combined 2.4/5GHz 802.11n wireless link'.
Easy setup
This is easy to use. Plug the source into the transmitter and connect the receiver to the TV in the second room.
The aerials are internal to the devices, and so nothing to fiddle with or worry about snapping off accidentally. The supplied remote control switches between sources, if you've connected more than one.
The HDMI port supports 1080p/24, 720p and 1080i, as are standard-definition resolutions. Up to two HDMI sources can be connected.
There is also a handy infra-red remote control 'repeater', so that you can remotely-operate your source equipment from the second room.
I obtained reliable results within a 20-metre range, in a house cluttered with RF-unfriendly junk...
Compressing the uncompressed
Uncompressed video is 'recompressed' using H.264 so that it can be conveyed over the radio links. iTrio says the data rate used is somewhere between 50 and 75Mbps. Some very slight compression artifacts are noticeable on occasions.
Multichannel soundtracks aren't catered for. Regardless of how your source equipment has been configured, Dolby Digital and DTS formats (even the HD variants) are downmixed into two-channel 16-bit/48kHz PCM by the time they leave the receiver's HDMI port. Fine for TVs maybe, but a home-cinema no-no.
Also worth noting is that the boxes run a little warm in use.
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Virgin Media uses electricity masts to extend rural broadband
Virgin Media has announced plans to use electricity poles to extend its ultra-fast broadband network into rural areas, stringing fibre-optic cables overground between the wooden poles, instead of burying them underground.Virgin has teamed up with Welsh company Surf Telecoms, a division of electricity firm Western Power Distribution, to extend its ultra-fast broadband to Crumlin, a rural village near Pontypool in Wales, currently unserved by Virgin's fibre-optic network.
Innovative solution?
"Virgin Media today announced that residents of the Welsh village of Crumlin, Caerphilly, will be the first in the UK to trial ultrafast broadband delivered over existing electricity poles," reads Virgin Media's press release.
"Following a landmark agreement with Surf Telecoms… homes in the village of Crumlin will be connected directly to Virgin Media's fibre optic network, effectively increasing local broadband speeds ten-fold in a community that has previously relied on BT's copper infrastructure."
The partnership marks "the first use of existing commercial infrastructure to aerially deliver ultrafast broadband to a community currently beyond the reach of a fibre optic network."
In addition to the access to Virgin Media's super speedy 50Mb broadband, villagers will be offered Virgin Media's TV service, including around 5,000 hours of catch up TV and on demand content.
The trial will start next monthand is scheduled to run into 2011.
On paper, it sounds like an innovative and common-sense solution to solve the problem of the city-countryside divide in fast broadband access in the future. However, Virgin does note that to roll such a solution out across Britain would require "some focused measures from government."
Virgin Media notes that: "Initial analysis suggests that 'non-traditional' approaches of the kind being explored in Crumlin and Woolhampton could…significantly accelerate delivery of next generation broadband to millions of extra homes right across the UK."
Jon James, executive director of broadband, Virgin Media, said of the latest trial in Wales: "We're already bringing broadband speeds of up to 50Mb and, soon 100Mb, to over half of all UK homes and are pushing the boundaries to ensure that homes right across the UK benefit from ultrafast broadband.
"Working in partnership with companies like Surf Telecoms, we can more rapidly and efficiently expand the reach of fibre optic networks to towns, villages and communities right across the UK."
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Review: Crystal Acoustics TX-T2-12
At just over 10 years old, Crystal Acoustics is a relatively young company, but the career of its top honcho, Vassilis Tsakiris, as a respected loudspeaker designer and maker, spans three decades. As per Teufel Lautsprecher and M&J subwoofers, Crystal is a direct seller that depends on its products looking attractive, while offering a generous five-year guarantee and a 60-day return policy to ensure potential buyers' confidence. Our review set is the newest iteration of the company's THX product.
Adhering to the Select and Ultra 2 specifications, they are made to perform in certain ways and, crucially, still look stylish. This is helped by the shiny, piano black, laminated surfaces in places such as the top of the subwoofer and the face of the towers. A posh, black Ash veneer is used for the rest.
The pair of TX-T2 towers have a brace of drivers and a tweeter, plus a centre that dares to be different and is endowed with one of the drivers that characterise the bigger towers. This is probably far less daring than it at first looks, since conventional speaker design dictates that the central enclosure is voiced equally to the left and rights, even if they are floorstanding.
So, when you get a pair of six-inch drivers in a tower with a tweeter between them, the centre tends to have the same driver array, but simply hits slightly higher due to its smaller enclosed volume.
In this system's case, the two alluring drivers in the towers have quite different real estate. While they are both the same driver – each with a nice, fat-chromed phase plug protruding from the middle and a smooth-weave glass fibre cone – one has a small-ported cubic (just like the centre speaker) while the lower driver has another, bigger lump of cubic and its own dimpled fat-mouth port. In the towers, this gives a rich depth down to 35Hz, but far less bass in the centre with a bottom cut off at 45Hz.
You needn't worry about the bass end, though, as the system comes with a very bog-standard box, with an amplifier in one end and a woofer in the other. This THX-12SUB has a pair of big curvy-mouth ports on the same end as the amplifier's fins and you simply plug the LFE phono right in as mono. It has only 200W of onboard power, which seems a lowish figure until you fire it all up and find it does fill the room.
Having been designed to meet THX standards, the rears are Dipoles. This means they are not directed straight to your ears in those channels, but instead produce a diffused rear sonic field with sound effects emanating generally. This is done with push-pull tweeters sharing a midbass.
You get the same 7in phase-plugged driver with an identical and attractive looking glass fibre cloth cone, and two high-frequency drivers that perform contrasting functions. They fire along the side walls of your cinema room, with one going in while the other goes out, as it were. If they were to do the same thing and fire outwards along the wall in equal and opposite sound fields, the effect would be called Bipolar.
Going by the book
What it adds up to is a set that does what the boys at the THX company say it aughta do. Which is spread left and right by the correct amount, while keeping vertical directivity high, with less up and down dispersion to avoid ceiling and floor reflections, and to fill the room with enough boom to make explosions believable.
Some of this steering comes courtesy of the clever 'eyeballs' atop the speakers. These tweeter housings can be swivelled a few degrees in either direction to allow toe-in of the speakers and complete line-of-sight HF directivity for on-axis use. Their construction is critical, as any flexibility fore and aft in movement would allow for a smearing of the detail. In use, however, they were crisp and sweet.
I positioned the subwoofer and set it to what I know is a good crossover point for my room (a bit below the 80Hz and lower that pumps from my Pioneer LX-81's LFE feed) and played Avatar on Blu-ray.
Pandora's box
The planet Pandora is supposed to be richer and grander in scale than any other – and its jungle soundscapes must be all the grander – and this Crystal Acoustics system delivers an impact, realism and sheer scale that utterly belies its compact size.
The woven cones possess a snap and edgy detail that is comparable with the outrageously expensive carbon fibre ones used by Morel and the super-posh jobs made of Kevlar used by Bowers & Wilkins. The chaps at Crystal have cleverly designed a kicking drive unit that's far less costly.
But THX is not about economy; it is about it hitting the 'preferred listening curve'. When asked, people genuinely liked a steep slope of increasing high-frequency response to make it all 'tinkly' and a fat basso shelf of lifted low-end boom. This very concept is not about musicality, but rather movie excitement, so when you are engineering up to the edge to keep costs down, it is hard to make the speakers kind to music, too.
I noted, as Avatar started up, that the system has a vast dynamic and immense impact, and that while I was worried that the tweeter mounts would be flimsy and muffled in output, they are in fact breath-takingly fast, making tinkles and the edges of explosions come across on an epic scale.
The midrange presentation was smooth with great intelligibility and definition, even in the midst of sonic mayhem. I loved the accuracy of the placement of the other-wordly creatures, and the Dipolar rears created a lovely spread of jungle to my sides and behind my head.
The depth of the soundfield was good too, with sounds placed near or far depending upon the stunning visuals, and I ran the system at a whopping zero dB reference level until it was a bit oppressive.
On turning it down slightly, I found that the system was so specialised to do the Big Beastly THX Thing that it was not as linear or easy on the ear at lower levels. It likes to be driven hard. I tried some multichannel music on it and while it was glossy and tinkly, it did lack a certain smooth fidelity that some much more costly speakers can bring to the party.
You have to remember that the whole set costs £200 less than my B&W reference HTM3 centre speaker on its own, though. Without its stand.
This set offers bold, super-scaled output. Great fun comes as standard, as does a really clean and crisp sound field when it gets hectic. They're not ideal for picking out the third triangle on the left in the orchestra, but they are awesome for the prehistoric dragonfly buzzing behind your head. I'd give six out of five for VFM if I could.
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Google Apps for Governments unveiled
Google has announced Google Apps for Government, with the internet giant's latest venture specially built to deal with the policy and security needs of the public sector. The special government flavoured Google Apps has awarded Federal Information Security Management Act certification, a major seal of approval.
"Today we're excited to announce a new edition of Google Apps, blogged Kripa Krishnan, the technical program manager for Google Apps for Government.
"Designed with guidance from customers like the federal government, the City of Los Angeles and the City of Orlando, Google Apps for Government includes the same great Google applications that people know and love, with specific measures to address the policy and security needs of the public sector."
Added security
The added security measure mean that Google calendar data and email are stored in a segregated system located in the United States.
"The suite is a "community cloud"—as defined by the National Institute for Science and Technology—to support the needs of our government customers, added Krishnan.
"Google Apps for Government is available now to any federal, state or local government in the United States."
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Review: Netgear ReadyNAS NVX Pioneer Edition
There's something reassuringly business-like about ReadyNAS NVX Pioneer Edition. It has an aesthetic that shouts 'I'm small/home office and proud,' and it's weighty, too.With clean lines and impressive spec, it's a tempting plug-n-play solution for those that want both a competent media server and bullet-proof data storage with back. Our review model is actually part of a five-strong line-up of lookalike models from the brand with capacities which range from 2TB to 8TB.
The version tested is the RNDX4250, which ships with two 500GB drives and space for two more (four hot-swappable bays in all). Typical price is around £500.
The unit itself is reasonably quiet, if not whisper silent. In a living room environment it could be deemed rather intrusive. If you, like me, use a boot room to house your NAS, this is less of an issue.
The good news is it stays cool. Even running constantly over a couple of months, power management seems excellent.
Easy setup
This ReadyNAS requires little real effort to install on a network. Control is via a straightforward web interface and a setup wizard holds your hand during the installation process. As a media centre the NVX is accomplished.
Out of the box, ReadyDNLA ensures playback of videos, music and snaps from DLNA/UPnP AV network media players and devices, and the unit was recognized by all devices when I placed it on my review network. Naturally Netgear would like you to use it with its own EVA-branded media streamers, but it seems to work with everything.
Play-out of 720p MKV files was smooth and stutter free; standard-def AVIs likewise. Streamed music retained all the integrity of the ripped files. As an AV system it's difficult to fault.
Functionality is good. There's a built-in Apple iTunes server, as well as support for other popular music distribution systems, such as the Logitech Squeezebox, Sonos and Roku SoundBridge. There's also an integrated Bittorent client, meaning you can download straight to the NAS without needing to keep PCs powered during the process.
Connectivity
Connectivity includes a trio of USBs (one front-mounted). This means USB print server sharing (turn any USB printer into a network printer) and provision for extra capacity expansion via external drives.
There are two Gigabit Ethernet ports and a handy front-mounted LCD display which reveals its IP address and capacity usage.
The unit was run in Netgear's proprietary X-RAID2 mode, which means files are written to two drives as backup against a drive failure. There's also an integrated backup manager that enables one-button backup to an external USB drive.
Overall, I can't fault this NVX NAS. Aside from its dour demeanour and relatively high ticket price, it's fast, reliable and easy to use. And significantly, I never felt my sound and vision was in unreliable hands.
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AMD releases driver to support 3D graphics in browsers
3D graphics within your browser has moved a significant step closer, with AMD announcing the availability of the first drivers that support the WebGL industry standard, The WebGL standard is a key advance, with major companies keen to utilise the hardware in your computer with Open GL and enable much more advanced graphics within browsers.
The AMD OpenGL ES 2.0 driver should enable what many are describing as an 'application-like' browser experience, which could include 3D graphics and enhance the next generation of the internet.
Steadfast supporter
"AMD is a steadfast supporter of industry standards, including those that unlock the power of GPU acceleration," said Manju Hegde, corporate vice president, AMD Fusion Experience Program.
"At AMD, we see the future of computing as being intensely visual, requiring a variety of rich media 2D and 3D applications.
"With functionality like the OpenGL ES 2.0 driver and technology breakthroughs made possible by AMD Fusion APUs, we aim to deliver the ideal development platform for immersive experiences both online and natively on virtually any PC form factor."
The OpenGL ES 2.0 driver from AMD will arrive alongside the ATI Catalyst 10.7 beta for OpenGL ES 2.0 which should be available in the course of today.
All currently available AMD graphics products released since 2008 should be able to handle the new drivers, including including ATI Radeon desktop graphics, ATI Mobility Radeon graphics, and ATI FirePro professional graphics cards.
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Sky+ app arrives for Android phones
Android users can finally get their hands on the Sky+ App, with the broadcaster announcing that the popular iPhone app has made the move to the Google Apps Marketplace. Sky announced the latest arrival along with the news that the company has seen 5 million downloads of its range of apps in less than a year.
The Sky+ for Android application is free to download, and will allow people with connected Sky+ and Sky+HD boxes to set their recordings from their phone – making sure you don't miss out on the latest episode of Sherlock Holmes just because you forgot to set it to record before you left the house.
Choice and control
David Gibbs, Sky Mobile General Manager said: "The success of the Sky+ app indicates that there is a real demand for innovative products such as Remote Record, which gives our customers more choice and control to plan their viewing over the TV love when they are on the move and away from home".
Users will also get access to Sky's seven-day EPG, where they can browse listings by time, programme name or day.
"The Sky+ app has had over a million downloads to date and is part of a wide range of apps available from Sky which include Sky Mobile TV, the RTS award-wining Sky News app, Sky Sports Football Score Centre and Sky Sports Cricket Score Centre," adds Sky's release.
"There have been over 5 million downloads of Sky apps in under a year."
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Jailbreaking iPhones is legal, says US government
A change to US copyright law confirms that it is completely legal for users to 'jailbreak' their iPhones or to unlock carrier restrictions and use an alternative mobile phone provider to those favoured by Apple.The US Library of Congress, in a recent review of copyright rules, has now changed a 1998 position that banned phone owners from bypassing technical locks.
Jailbreakers go free
In a statement this week, Librarian of Congress James Billington said phone owners who jailbroke their phones would "not be subject to the statutory prohibition against circumvention."
Unsurprisingly, Apple opposed the latest revisions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), with the company claiming that hacked iPhones will be open to security holes and viruses.
"The Copyright Office recognizes that the primary purpose of the locks on cell phones is to bind customers to their existing networks, rather than to protect copyrights," noted Jennifer Granick of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
"We are thrilled to have helped free jailbreakers, unlockers and vidders from this law's overbroad reach," Granick added.
"By granting all of EFF's applications, the Copyright Office and Librarian of Congress have taken three important steps today to mitigate some of the harms caused by the DMCA."
Jailbreaking will let you add unauthorized apps to your iPhone. However, it should be made clear that should you jailbreak your phone, you will still void the warranty (and, potentially, and more importantly, cripple your iPhone's battery life!).
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Ask.com returns to its Q&A roots
Ask.com is returning to its question-and-answer roots, testing out a new service which seeks human help in order to answer your tricky questions and queries online.Embracing social networking, the new Ask.com lets users submit questions to other visitors, no longer relying on computer algorithms to provide answers.
Ask.com currently only has a mere 3.6 per cent share of the US search market, according to analytics company comScore. The latest initiative may well prove to be a way of distinguishing itself from rivals such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo.
Answers tech plus human insight
"Today we've officially launched the public beta for the new Ask.com, which combines our proprietary answers technology (specifically tailored to extract questions and answers from the Web) with the human insight of the thriving Ask.com community drawn from our 87 million monthly uniques," notes a post on the Ask.com blog.
The new service is currently available on an invite-only basis (invites available here), with the company claiming that, "the capability to pose questions to real people is now possible for those complex, subjective and/or time-sensitive queries that, no matter how advanced, computers simply can't address.
"That means that Ask.com is now uniquely able to offer the most comprehensive and convenient approach to getting answers, combining pages and people to help users find the answers to all questions – even questions for which no answer is published online," continues the Ask.com blog post by Tony Gentile, SVP of Product & Lisa Kavanaugh, SVP of Technology.
Re-energized focus on Q&A
"Why the re-energized focus on Q&A? From a macro trend perspective, the explosion of the social Web underscores both the cultural shift and massive technical innovation of the last 15 years.
"Simply put: people are using the Web as a conversational medium, ergo, consumers are increasingly asking questions (evidenced by demonstrated interest in Q&A from Google, Facebook and an entire cadre of start-ups)."
Google currently has a 62.6 per cent share of the US search market. Yahoo and Microsoft have market shares of 18.9 per cent and 12.7 per cent, respectively.
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Ask.com returns to its Q&A roots
Ask.com is returning to its question-and-answer roots, testing out a new service which seeks human help in order to answer your tricky questions and queries online.Embracing social networking, the new Ask.com lets users submit questions to other visitors, no longer relying on computer algorithms to provide answers.
Ask.com currently only has a mere 3.6 per cent share of the US search market, according to analytics company comScore. The latest initiative may well prove to be a way of distinguishing itself from rivals such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo.
Answers tech plus human insight
"Today we've officially launched the public beta for the new Ask.com, which combines our proprietary answers technology (specifically tailored to extract questions and answers from the Web) with the human insight of the thriving Ask.com community drawn from our 87 million monthly uniques," notes a post on the Ask.com blog.
The new service is currently available on an invite-only basis (invites available here), with the company claiming that, "the capability to pose questions to real people is now possible for those complex, subjective and/or time-sensitive queries that, no matter how advanced, computers simply can't address.
"That means that Ask.com is now uniquely able to offer the most comprehensive and convenient approach to getting answers, combining pages and people to help users find the answers to all questions – even questions for which no answer is published online," continues the Ask.com blog post by Tony Gentile, SVP of Product & Lisa Kavanaugh, SVP of Technology.
Re-energized focus on Q&A
"Why the re-energized focus on Q&A? From a macro trend perspective, the explosion of the social Web underscores both the cultural shift and massive technical innovation of the last 15 years.
"Simply put: people are using the Web as a conversational medium, ergo, consumers are increasingly asking questions (evidenced by demonstrated interest in Q&A from Google, Facebook and an entire cadre of start-ups)."
Google currently has a 62.6 per cent share of the US search market. Yahoo and Microsoft have market shares of 18.9 per cent and 12.7 per cent, respectively.
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Rumour: Twitter to enable multimedia in streams
Twitter is rumoured to be planning on introducing videos and photos into its streams, if a recent feature test from the company is adopted.Mashable was first to notice a new setting in Twitter earlier this week, with a setting called "Tweet Media," only made available to a limited number of users.
Tweet Media
This new "Tweet Media," feature was described as follows:
"By default, you'll only see images and videos shared by people you're following, and reveal those by people you're not. Check this box to see media from everyone on Twitter."
Which looks very much like Twitter is planning to let users embed video and photos into their stream, augmenting their 140-character quips and bon-mots.
Twitter removed the feature soon after Mashable had highlighted it and a company rep said: "We're constantly exploring features and settings. What you saw was a small test of a potential consumption setting for inline media."
Could this be the end of third-party Twitter apps such as TwitPic?
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Ofcom broadband speed figures show stark truth
Ofcom has finally released its long awaited research into UK broadband speeds, with the data showing the stark truth of just how misleading 'up to' can be. Ofcom's data, which was compiled with specialists SamKnows, showed that although fast broadband is beginning to become more common, thousands of us are getting less than half of our advertised levels.
Interestingly, Ofcom's press release only deals with 'single thread' performance, basically downloading a single file and testing the speed rather than multi thread tests that download files simultaneously and probably more fairly represent household usage.
Ofcom's full report does contain the multithreaded comparison, but the watchdog chose to go with single thread – which is kinder on DSL.
But, as the data shows, not much kinder – with the power of fibre optic obvious in Virgin Media's massively superior showing.
Taking the 'up to 20/24Mbps' data, for instance, the actual average over all ISPs is a paltry 6.5Mbps considerably less than half the upper rate.
Virgin Media's single thread results are an average of 15.2 to 16.5Mbps over 24 hours compared to 6.5 to 8.4Mbps for TalkTalk (up to 24Mbps) ,7.0 to 8.4Mbps for Sky (up to 20Mbps) and BT languishing at the bottom of the table with 6.1 to 7.6Mbps.
Virgin Media reaction
Virgin Media is understandably buoyed by the data, with executive director of broadband Jon James saying: "Ofcom's broadband speeds report again proves Virgin Media is consistently more than twice as fast as any of our DSL competitors.
"Because we use a next generation fibre optic cable network, our customers can be confident of receiving 90% of the headline speed they buy from us.
"And we're continuing to invest in our network so we can deliver more of what our customers are paying for - whether on 10Mb, 20Mb, 50Mb or our soon to launch 100Mb broadband service.
DSL criticism
"Whilst Ofcom's report is good news for our customers, it's clear that our DSL competitors just aren't keeping up with their promises of 20Mb broadband," James added
"No DSL customer receives 18Mb, only 2% are receiving more than 14Mb and, on average, DSL providers are delivering just 33% of their advertised 'up to 20Mb' speed.
"We need to ensure people are not being ripped off and the lack of transparency in broadband advertising risks damaging consumer confidence in superfast broadband.
"The Advertising Standards Authority has announced a review into the way broadband is advertised and the need for change is now urgent."
Ofcom needs to change code
Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith believes that the Advertising Standards Association needs to change what ISPs are allowed to advertise in terms of speed
"Its great that Ofcom has taken action to improve the information provided by ISPs at the point of sale, and that customers are now able to end their contract without penalty if the service they receive is significantly different to that promised," he said
"However, some internet service providers continue to advertise ever-increasing speeds that bear little resemblance to what most people can achieve in reality.
"We want the Advertising Standards Authority to step up to the mark and put an end to these misleading claims once and for all."
BT Response
John Petter, managing director of BT's Consumer Division, said: "BT already gives customers the most consistently accurate prediction of the speed specific to their line.
"We support OFCOM's Code but want to go even further and are investing in systems to make our predictions even better - and to have them confirmed in writing.
"BT is investing £2.5 billion in superfast fibre broadband. This will bring speeds of up to 40Mbs/s to two-thirds of the country with a quarter of those premises getting speeds of up to 100Mb/s, the fastest in the UK.
"Our investment will deliver superior broadband to that offered by Virgin, at a much cheaper price and unlike Virgin's will be open for other companies to use, and so will be good news for the UK.
"We continue to invest heavily in our network, bringing speed improvements to customers nationwide. We give our customers comprehensive help and advice to get the best speed out of their line.
"For example, all BT Broadband customers can get the BT Broadband Accelerator, which can eliminate electrical interference, free of charge".
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