Month: May 2004

BT and Vodafone – Joined Together at Last

If Ofcom approve it, BT has entered a deal to make Vodaphone the mobile provider its sole mobile communications provider in the UK. This means that BT will cease its current partnerships with T-Mobile and MmO2, surprising many as BT and Vodafone have long been rivals. In fact, MmO2 was originally a BT operation, but was sold off to repay debts.

One revolutionary change this would bring about is that BT would be able to offer its 250,000 BT Business and 50,000 Commercial customers a single bill for fixed-line and mobile services.

The Daily Telegraph reports the deal

Sony “iPod” Killer Will Play Video

Another week, another “iPod killer” story: Sony have announced that the next version of their Vaio Pocket audio player will play video too.

Sony is keen to get back some of the portable media player market lost to Apple, and is hoping to do so with its next range of machines. Sony’s players will be backed with an online Sony music store, Connect, so the company will be able to provide the entire content process – from PC to content to player. Sony’s insistence on using its own proprietary audio format to reduce piracy may make the job of growing market share harder as customers’ ease of use suffers.

Sony unveiled their new music player in Japan this week, the VGF-AP1. Whilst the device features a 2.2″ colour screen, it’s for the user interface only: it can’t play video.

Sony is working with the Digital Home Networking group to define standards for device interoperability, and will use 802.11g to transmit video from its next generation Vaio Pocket to compatible televisions.

Sony’s new music player

The Matrix Online

Admittedly, we’d be a lot more excited about this had the last two films been any good, but Monolith Production’s new massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based on the Matrix series of films is set to go public in November. The new game will be published by Warner Bros. Interactive and Sega, Monolith have already produced two respectable titles based on licenses: No-one Lives Forever and TRON2.0.

Set directly after the Martrix: Revolutions, Matrix Online (MxO) boasts a story line written by the Wachowski brothers. Mind you, so did Enter the Matrix and look how good that was. The MMORPG is meant to be seen as a fourth instalment, rather like Enter the Matrix being another part of the second film.

MxO is set in a city environment and incorporates the films’ distinctive martial arts fighting theme, but players will also be able to command their own hovercraft and form factions for and against other groups. Bullet time will be incorporated in the game play as apparently there are some people out there who don’t think it’s been completely overused.

Characters’ appearances can be completely customised, so you don’t have to worry about turning up at an event wearing the same sunglasses and trench coat as everyone else.

“Ability codes” seem intriguing, where players download sources of information to create Matrix items and learn special abilities. If you don’t fancy PvP (player versus player combat), then you can create Matrix code and distribute it in the game.

We’ll give it a try when it appears and let you know how we get on.

The Matrix wants you

Ofcom’s LLU Proposals

UK regulator Ofcom have published proposals intended to open up competition in broadband provision for data, content and voice services.

As predicted, Ofcom have announced a market review consultation of local loop unbundling (LLU) – it was the threat of this review that many believe prompted BT to make huge cuts in its charges for LLU. BT hopes to avoid regulatory intervention by improving access to the local loop and charging fairer rates.

To help with local loop unbundling Ofcom are also proposing the establishment of a Telecoms Adjudicator, who will be entirely independent of Ofcom and the industry.

Ofcom Chief Executive Stephen Carter said: “These proposals, combined with the recent proposals on migration charges, mark an opportunity to accelerate the prospects for sustainably competitive investment in Broaderband Britain. Furthermore, Ofcom particularly welcomes BT’s commitment to both price and process improvements in these key wholesale products.”

Ofcom’s release

RIAA’s Sales Claims “Suspect”

Neilsen Soundscan is reporting that CD sales are increasing, yet the Recording Industry Association of America claim that business is bad. So what’s actually going on?

As reported in Digital Lifestyles last month, Neilsen is celebrating a 10% increase in sales, whilst the RIAA is still telling us that CD sales have plummeted because of copying and downloading.

It turns out that the RIAA’s claims are based on the total number of CDs shipped to record shops – not the numbers sold to customers, so this has no reflection on sales at all. Record shops are ordering less stock, but selling the stock they have faster. Having lots of cash sitting in your storeroom doing nothing isn’t good business sense when economies are suffering. Additionally, the RIAA also has a measure of control over the number of CDs shipped to stores, so it can influence the figure in any way it likes.

Soundscan recorded 146 million CDs sold in Q1 2003, against 160 million in Q1 2004 – an increase of nearly 10%. Figures for Q2, released this summer are expected to show yet another increase. The RIAA, on the other hand, are claiming a 7% decrease in revenue – but that’s purely through managing shipments and returns.

RIAA Radar

Cannes: Film Makers Meeting to Discuss Piracy

One of the major topics on the agenda this year at the Cannes Film Festival is the growing problem of piracy. A group of 16 executives and studio heads from around the world got together along with the French Minister of culture last night to encourage directors and actors to adopt their anti-piracy message before it’s too late. They are keen to get directors on board because they’re the major victims of the crime.

The think tank is seeking solutions for film piracy, and has come up with three major points:

Firstly, the recognition that downloading films is illegal, and it’s dangerous for the industry (well, you’ve got to start somewhere).

Secondly, that the public need to be educated that downloading is wrong – Jack Valenti, president of the MPAA has already been speaking on university campuses in America. “We need copyrights that are more stern and the political will to enforce them. We need to educate and change behaviour. Too many think that it is risk free so ‘I can do it too’.”

Thirdly, the group recognised that the industry needs to be technologically savvy to be able to combat piracy. Indeed Renaud Donnedieu, the French Minister of Culture and Communication announced: “The President of France is ready to translate such a plan into concrete action and intends to announce a statement next week addressing prevention, repression, communication and positive action.”

Film Festival website

When Search Engines Strike Back: Yahoo and Google Block Adware Company

Influential search engines Google and Yahoo has disabled links to WhenU, a adware manufacturer that they’ve accused of using “cloaking” to trick search engines into favourably ranking decoy pages that redirect visitors.

Avi Nader, chief executive of WhenU said that the questionable practices were the result of an external search engine optimisation company, and that they expected to be relisted now that they’ve stopped working with that organisation.

WhenU produce an application that keeps tabs on browsing habits – they’re currently embroiled in a debate as to whether this practice is in fact legal.

Adware, sometimes called spyware, are applets that are installed on your PC, sometimes without your consent or even knowledge, and can do a number of things: they can tell companies which webpages you’ve visited, what you’ve been typing on your keyboard (including bank details and credit card numbers), flash ads up on your screen or redirect you away from competitors products. Some people install them by choice (it’s the old “people will do anything for a discount thing”) but often the applications are malicious. There are a number of free tools for ridding yourself of these pests, and we’ve linked to a good one below.

Scan and get rid of adware on your PC free – Ad-aware 6

E3: America’s Army Recruiting Gamers for Special Forces

“America’s Army” is a battlefield simulation aimed (ouch) at promoting the US Amred forces to potential recruits – and now it’s one of the five most popular games hosted online, with 3.3 million registered users.

The US Army find that prospective soldiers who contact recruiters after playing the game have a much better follow-through rate than any other form or advertising or promotion, and is a much more efficient method of providing information to young people.

That’s right: this is a game actively encourages children to use guns and learn to kill people, and society is actually pleased for a change.

All of the scenarios in the game give a realistic view of Army life and require employing real-life tactics – if you go in blasting as if you were playing HalfLife, then you won’t last very long.

If you shoot one of your own, then you end up in prison – though this feature seems to have been omitted in “real life”.

E3 was the first showing of a new follow up to America’s Army: Operations, called America’s Army: Special Forces. Players attempt to earn Green Beret status by completing individual and collective training missions drawn from the Special Forces Assignment and Selection (SFAS) process.

Players who complete the SFAS process have the opportunity to take on elite Special Forces roles and are qualified to play in multiplayer missions with units ranging from the elite 82d Airborne Division to the 75th Ranger Regiment.

The British Army’s two attempts at recruitment games “Britain’s Army: Deepcut” and “Britain’s Army: Blown Up in Our Troop Carrier by an American A10 Warthog” were dismal failures.

My hope is that The Last Starfighter might actually be true and I will be contacted by aliens to save them because of my skills at Ikaruga. Knowing my luck though, it’ll be Super Monkey Ball.

Rumours that a certain group of footballers use Grand Theft Auto: Vice City to brush up their prostitute beating skills are unfounded.

Get your copy of America’s Army here