Author: Fraser Lovatt

Fraser Lovatt has spent the last fifteen years working in publishing, TV and the Internet in various capacities, and believes that they will be seperate platforms for at least a while yet. His main interests at the moment are exploring where Linux is taking home entertainment and how technology is conferring technical skills on more and more people. Fraser Lovatt was born in the same year that 2001: A Space Odyssey was delighting and confusing people in the cinemas, and developed a lifelong love of technology as soon as he realised that things could be taken apart, sometimes put back together again, but mostly left in bits or made into something the original designer hadn't quite planned upon. At school he was definitely in the ZX Spectrum/Magpie/BMX camp, rather than the BBC Micro/Blue Peter/well-behaved group. This is all deeply ironic as he later went on to spend nine years working at the BBC. After a few years of working as a bookseller in Scotland, ("Back when it was actually a skilled profession" he'll tell anyone still listening), he moved to England for reasons he can't quite explain adequately to himself. After a couple of publishing jobs punctuated by sporadic bursts of travelling and photography came the aforementioned nine years at the BBC where he specialised in internet technologies and video. These days his primary interests are Java, Linux, videogames and pies - and if they're not candidates for convergence, then what is?

Wanadoo Launch Cheap 1 Megabit Service

Wanadoo have have cut the cost of their 1 megabit Broadband service to UK£17.99 (€26.76). This compares rather favourably with the 512k service from BT that costs around UK£29.99 (€44.61).

This new phase in the broadband price war is sure to provoke a rapid response form BT, who will most likely double bandwidth and cut subscription costs – though they will find it hard to match Wanadoo’s offering.

However, the service is capped at 2 gigabytes per month – a move that ISPs are resorting to more commonly. Wanadoo will provide wireless kit for home use for an additional UK£79 (€117).

Pricing like this is a brave move from Wanadoo, as they are currently appealing against a €10.3 million fine (UK£6.9) levied on them last year for predatory pricing.

Price cuts and competition between BT, Wanadoo, NTL and Bulldog have brought Britain forward to one of the fastest growing broadband markets in Europe.

Wanadoo Broadband

SpyWare That Actually Spies On You

Amid groans of “I wonder why it took so long?” a new worm has been discovered that can access a webcam and microphone attached to an infected PC.

Rbot-GR installs itself in the usual spyware fashion, and also includes the traditional payload of key logger and hard drive spy, plus it can launch denial of service attacks against websites. This one is a veritable Swiss Army knife of an infection. It’s yet another variant of the W32/Rbot worm, though this is the first to be able to access a camera to take grabs and capture video.

A Trojan of this sophistication could have any number of uses – from industrial espionage to voyeurism.

Sophos, the anti-virus company, say it’s not spreading very successfully yet, but users should be aware of the possibility of infection.

“More and more hackers are interested in spying on the people they manage to infect with their worms and Trojan horses. In the workplace, this worm opens up the possibilities of industrial espionage. At home it is equivalent to a Peeping Tom who invades your privacy by peering through your curtains,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. “If your computer is infected and you have a webcam plugged in, then everything you do in front of the computer can be seen, and everything you say can be recorded.”

If your webcam has an activity light, keep an eye on it – and get a spyware removal tool.

Sophos

MPAA Takes Action Against Chip Manufacturers

The Motion Picture Association of America has sued two chip manufacturing companies for selling integrated circuits to manufacturers that produce non-approved DVD players.

The MPAA isn’t happy that the makers of some DVD players deviate from the the agreed standards and produce appliances that do not feature the full range of DRM features. Consequently, the MPAA is suing Sigma Designs and MediaTek for distributing Content Scramble System chips to such companies, and thus breaking their original license agreement to distribute the chips only to other CSS-licensed outfits.

CSS and related DVD technologies are controlled by a technology group called the DVD Copy Control Association, and any manufacturer must agree to their contract terms before they can work with the format.

Dan Robbins, MPAA Chief Technology Counsel said: “Responsible corporate citizens honour the contracts they sign. There is no leniency for irresponsible companies that seek to circumvent the system and operate outside of the law.”

This latest action from the MPAA shows that they are keen to use a variety of techniques to protect their business – this doesn’t revolve around copyright law like previous instances, this is about contracts.

DVD Copy Control Association

Six Million Viewers Tune to Olympic BBC Interactive Service

The BBC’s interactive coverage of the Olympics has attracted 6.13 million viewers, meaning that half the available audience has tuned in at some point since the opening ceremony on the 13th August.

The BBC is including viewers who watched for at least a minute in the six million figure – though only 46% of the total watched the service for more than 25 minutes.

Andrew Thompson, head of new media, sports news and development for BBC Sport said: “The Olympics are perfect for interactive television because there are so many events happening at the same time. Before we had the interactive option, hundreds of hours of footage disappeared down a black hole. But now with interactive television, viewers have up to four extra sports to choose from and, judging by the initial figures, they are taking full advantage of that.”

The BBC’s traditional TV coverage has also been a success – a record 6.2 million viewers have tuned to to watch the evening highlights on BBC 2.

UK broadband internet users can get a taste of the BBC’s interactive TV service by following the link below.

BBC Sport Olympics Coverage

Microsoft Music Store and Window Media 10 This Week?

The new MSN Online Music Store is rumoured to appear this week, along with a new version of Windows Media Player.

Since Windows Media Player’s 100 million or so users will need to update their player shortly, what better opportunity to introduce them to a new music service?

The Microsoft online store is expected to carry the industry standard one million tracks when it launches, having signed deals with the big four labels. Early screen grabs of the service, now out of date, pay homage to iTunes in look and feel. Pricing is also expected to be similar to iTunes and Napster. So expect the European and UK stores to cost more.

Microsoft claim that the service will be compatible with about 60 music players, with even better functionality promised for Janus-compatible players when they start to appear.

Needless to say, we’ll be signed up and testing as soon at the store hits the web.

It’ll be linked off MSN when it launches

Sharing iTunes With ourTunes

Apple disabled iTunes sharing some time ago, but David Blackman has produced a Java application that puts that functionality back, whilst respecting Apple’s FairPlay copy protection.

Blackman’s ourTunes program allows authorised users to browse iTunes libraries on remote computers and download unprotected songs. DRM-protected tracks bought from the iTunes music store cannot be copied, and the program is not a P2P client. Additionally, MyTunes only works with iTunes clients on the same network, so there’ll be no naughty browsing and copying over the internet.

“ourTunes isn’t that type of program. It’s designed to only function within your local network. This is partially a design constraint of Apple’s iTunes program, and partially a decision on our part. ourTunes is not meant to be Kazaa. It’s only useful for exchanging music with people close by, who you more than likely know.” Blackman explains.

Blackman describes ourTunes as a continuation of several existing open source projects with additional features like a search function a user-friendly interface.

The Java application works on Window, Linux and Macintosh computers with a Java Runtime Environment installed.

OurTunes

The DTI and ENUM

The Department of Trade and Industry in the UK is considering a public database that will link IP numbers to phone numbers. ENUM will be a searchable database of an individual’s domain names, email addresses, IM identities and telephone numbers.

Stephen Timms, Minister of State for Energy, E-Commerce and Postal Services (now that’s a portfolio of three entirely unrelated remits if ever I saw one), said “ENUM is a system that links telephone numbers to Internet names and destinations, increasing the flexibility of electronic communications. It is one of a number of developments that will allow us to operate more easily and effectively in the converging worlds of telecommunications and the Internet. The UK has been one of the foremost players in developing the ENUM concept and the Government wishes to continue to stimulate further development in this area.”

ENUM would enable users to access internet services from a telephone, and vice versa. All telephone numbers would essentially become like IP numbers.

Voice over IP services will benefit greatly from a service like ENUM, but some analysts are concerned about individuals’ privacy. The DTI recognise this from the outset: “ENUM may become an important element in the process of convergence between the traditional telecommunications world and the Internet world. The arrangements for ENUM necessarily include at least one unique registry function and therefore particular care needs to be taken to prevent abuse. The proposed arrangements have been defined by an open group of interested UK parties. DTI is seeking confirmation that the arrangements meet the needs of an open competitive market and adequately protect the interest of all participants and safeguard the public interest.”

The DTI’s consultation on ENUM

CVS Launch Disposable Digital Camera With LCD

CVS have launched a new disposable digital camera with a 1.4” TFT preview screen. Customers can new take up to 25 pictures, preview them, delete the ones they don’t like and take it back to a CVS store for printing.

The camera is fully functional and features an automatic flash, self timer and automatic exposure all for US$19.99 (€16.27). Digital cameras have come from being expensive high technology items to throw away entertainment items very quickly indeed.

Now, I know these things aren’t really disposable – they get recycled and sold onto the next person, and the advantage is that they’re cheap and you don’t worry about losing them. The key difference between this camera and a non-disposable camera is that there’s no way for the end-user to get their pictures off – they have do trot down to CVS and hand the camera back. That US$20 you’re paying isn’t really for the camera – it’s essentially a deposit. I give it a week before someone reverse engineers the electronics in the CVS camera and works out a way for consumers to get the data off.

CVS

P2P Networks Not Responsible for Copyright

Whilst acknowledging that copyright infringements do happen on P2P networks, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has ruled that P2P network owners and software developers can’t be held responsible for them.

Ironically, this is the same appeals court that ruled against Napster in 2001. The difference this time? Napster kept a catalogue of all available titles on a central server. The court made reference to the oft-quoted 1984 Sony Betamax case where film studios attempted to ban video recorders – the Supreme Court ruled that being potentially able to infringe copyright was not reason to ban a technology with legitimate uses.

The presiding judge, Sidney R Thomas said: “The introduction of new technology is always disruptive to old markets, and particularly to those copyright owners whose works are sold through well- established distribution mechanisms. History has shown that time and market forces often provide equilibrium in balancing interests, whether the new technology be a player piano, a copier, a tape recorder, a video recorder, a personal computer, a karaoke machine or an MP3 player.”

He then went on to point out how well studios had done out of home video sales, demonstrating that they were now worth more than cinema ticket sales.

Michael Weiss, head of StreamCast Networks, said in a statement:”As CEO, I am proud that Morpheus has become the first American P2P company to successfully win its fight for the right to continue to develop innovative new distributed communications technologies. In today’s ruling, the 9th Circuit Court has affirmed our strong conviction from day one that developing Morpheus was not just legally our right, but morally was the right thing to do.”

The MPAA and RIAA will not be pleased – the next stop for them is Washington, and Congress.

StreamCast

BT Extends ADSL Range

BT have removed the distance limit from key exchanges, increasing its broadband reach by another million businesses and homes, by improving the line loss profile of its connections.

After trialling the move in Milton Keynes and the Highlands, the telco will be offering 512kbs ADSL services beyond the former 6km distance limit from the 6th September.

BT now say that 99.8% of lines connected to a broadband-enabled exchange should be able to receive at least a 512kbs. The limit for 1mps has been raised from 4km from an exchange to 6km. BT are projecting that next summer will see 99.4% of the UK covered by broadband – around the same percentage of the population that get good quality analogue TV coverage.

Alison Ritchie, BT’s chief broadband officer said: “By pushing the boundaries on broadband reach we are building on our exchange upgrade rollout programme which means the remaining gaps in the broadband Britain jigsaw are getting smaller and smaller.”

BT’s statement