October 2006 – Page 10 – Digital-Lifestyles

Stolen Mobiles Get The Screaming Abdabs

Stolen Mobiles Get The Screaming Abdabs Pesky phone thieves may get more than they bargained for if a new anti-theft system proves a hit with punters.

The Remote XT system renders stolen phones useless by emitting a screeching, high pitched electronic scream and disabling the phone.

Launched in Britain today, the system is aimed at smartphone-toting business users who may need to carry around confidential information on their handsets.

The Remote XT software is loaded on to the smartphone, with the system storing personal info like phone numbers, text messages and e-mails on a secure remote server – so even if a phone is nicked, the user can get their data back later.

As soon as the owner realises that some light fingered Fagin has just picked their pocket, they can dial a 24-hour call centre, have it registered as stolen and let the screaming begin.

Panicking thieves can, of course, take out the battery to silence the racket, but as soon as they try to use it again, the noise starts up.

Moreover, the Remote XT software disables the handset itself, so even if a resourceful tea leaf removes the internal SIM card and tries fitting another, the phone’s still a dead duck. And a noisy one at that.

Stolen Mobiles Get The Screaming Abdabs Mark Whiteman, managing director of Remote XT, said: “Theft-proof phones spell disaster for the huge criminal industry that has profited from mobile theft for too long”

“By making mobiles unusable to anyone but the rightful owner, the phones become worthless and we’ll see the market for stolen handsets stamped out once and for all,” he added.

We’d love to agree with the fella, but with the service costing upwards of £9.99 a month, we suspect that many will find it too pricey.

The idea of ‘screaming’ phones isn’t new either, with another UK firm, Synchronica, recently announcing their own version supporting Windows Mobile 2003, Pocket PC Phone Edition, and Windows Mobile 5.

However, Remoter XT claim that their software will work on most phones and not just Windows based handsets.

Meanwhile, Palm Treo users concerned about keeping their data safe can use software like Butler and Warden to remotely lock and or delete the contents of their phone and memory card (although they’ll have to do the screaming themselves).

Tesco Launches Range Of Cheapo Own-Brand Software

Tesco Launches Range Of Cheapo Own-Brand Software The all-conquering uber-supermarket chain Tesco has announced plans to take on Microsoft with the launch of its own-brand software.

The company, started by East End market boy Jack Cohen in 1919, is aiming to offer a range of cut-price software titles which directly competes with Microsoft products.

The titles – all retailing for less than twenty quid – will include an office suite, a personal finance program, two security/anti-virus products, CD/DVD burners and a photo editing product.

The announcement follows Tesco’s decision to sell computer hardware earlier this year, and the company’s own-branded software will start appearing in more than 100 of their stores from this month, with full UK coverage expected over the coming year.

Happy shoppers getting confused between opening a program and opening a can of beans can access a support website, TescoSoftware.com, which will also offer the software for sale.

Tesco buyer Daniel Cook said: “With more people working from home, and schools encouraging greater use of IT, the demand for home computing equipment is bigger than ever.”

Tesco Launches Range Of Cheapo Own-Brand Software “When it comes to software, there is little choice and prices are high. Our new range of software changes this, bringing choice and value to a market that has offered little of either,” he added.

The software comes from a Cambridge company called Formjet, with the range being centred around their well-regarded Ability Office suite.

Of course, many home users will already have equivalent Microsoft products, like Word, installed on their computers, so we suspect that Tesco is looking to score a hit with its Internet security products.

Meanwhile, the company is expected to announce tomorrow that it has raked in half-yearly profits totalling more than £1 billion for the first time.

Fact! Tesco’s name comes from the first two letters of the founder’s surname (CO) and the initials of a business colleague (TES).

TescoSoftware

UK Internet Gambling Firms Hit By US Online Betting Ban

UK Internet Gambling Firms Hit By US Online Betting Ban Millions of game-toughened poker faces are showing signs of impending blubbering as the US Congress unexpectedly passed anti-online gambling laws last week.

Moreover, the new laws are set to hit Britain’s Internet gambling companies hard, with many of the US big players being based in the UK.

Shares of internet gambling sites like PartyGaming, Sportingbet and 888 plummeted as the new legislation made it unlawful for credit-card companies to collect payments for transactions with online-gaming sites.

The laws – contained in The Safe Port Act – are now just a George W. Bush signature away, with the President expected to put pen to paper within the next two weeks.

UK Internet Gambling Firms Hit By US Online Betting Ban The new laws will wipe out US revenue for London-based online-gaming companies, with PartyGaming saying that they’d suspend business with US residents as soon as the law takes effect.

For PartyGaming it’s a calamitous blow. With more than half of the company’s revenue coming from US residents, share prices plummeted by 60 per cent, while 888Holdings – who enjoy a similar percentage of US revenue – saw its share price crash 45 per cent.

In a Stock Market announcement, the company said:

UK Internet Gambling Firms Hit By US Online Betting Ban “After taking extensive legal advice, the Board of PartyGaming Plc has concluded that the new legislation, if signed into law, will make it practically impossible to provide US residents with access to its real money poker and other real money gaming sites. As a result of this development, the Board of PartyGaming has determined that if the President signs the Act into law, the Company will suspend all real money gaming business with US residents, and such suspension will continue indefinitely, subject to clarification of the interpretation and enforcement of US law and the impact on financial institutions of this and other related legislation.”

888 Holdings has already suspended its US operations, commenting that, “the board will continue to seek clarification of the overall US legal position to determine whether and to what extent if any resumption of participation by US customers is feasible”.

“At present however no assurance can be given that this will be possible,” they added.

Bizarrely, the anti-gambling legislation has been bundled in with The Safe Port Act, which is all about raising $3.4bn to “make ports safe” from evil terrorists by adding security measures like increased goods containers inspections.

PartyGaming Stock Exchange statement