We’re already big fans if the BBC’s iPlayer service, so our bottoms almost squeaked with excitement when we heard that the Beeb is to start offering high definition streams and downloads of selected programmes.
The iPlayer has grown to be a true smash-ban-wallop hit, registering more than 387 million streams or download requests since launching on Christmas Day 2007.
We thought he’d been retired and sent off to an old people’s home to be looked after by kindly searchbots, but Ask has brought back Jeeves in an attempt to claw back some market share from the all dominating Google.
Named after PG Wodehouse’s fact-stuffed, smartarse butler, Jeeves formed the face of Ask’s search engine until 2006 when he was unceremoniously booted off after an interface overhaul.
Continue reading Ask Jeeves Returns As Search Engine Battles Against Google
The long awaited follow up to the T-Mobile G1 ‘Googlephone,’ the HTC Magic has now gone up for pre-order on Vodafone UK’s site.
The second Android-based phone in the known universe, the Magic dispenses with the slide out QWERTY keyboard of its predecessor, serving up a slimmer, sleeker package which Vodafone will sets shoppers pockets a-tingling.
Continue reading Android-Powered HTC Magic Gets Vodafone UK Release Date
It’s had a bit of a spluttery launch, but the bigwigs at LG are now ready to lob their LG GC900 Viewty handset at the general public and hope they feel the love all over again.
The original Viewty proved to be one of LG’s biggest hitters, shifting over 6.5m units and the second version sees the high end handset get a comprehensive leg-up in the spec department.
Continue reading LG GC900 Viewty Handset Rams In The Features
Looking at videos on YouTube recently we noticed a light bulb sitting on the top right of the video playing back.
As it was the first time we’d used it, we felt duty bound to give it a try.
Continue reading Google Video: Turn Out The Lights: New Feature
The UK’s Information Commissioner has ruled that Google’s Street View is not a threat to privacy after mulling over an official appeal by privacy campaigners, Privacy International.
Launched in the UK last month, the nifty add-on to Google Maps and Google Earth lets users view an unfurling panorama of pannable, zoomable street-level photographs of major streets and cities.
Continue reading Google Street View Gets OK; EU To Sue UK Over Privacy
Google Translate has long taken over from the BabelFish translator that Alta Vista had way-back in the dim, distant past.
We use it whenever we can’t make sense of block of foreign text – nothing new in that.
Presented with a language we weren’t sure of recently, we selected Swedish as a guess, but the translation didn’t make sense to us.
Continue reading Detect Language Option In Google Translate: Brilliant
Vast clouds of backslapping dust were seen rising over Virgin Media’s offices after the company announced a partnership with Google to power its email service.
The new service aims to offer better inbox management and more storage space and is being launched as a pilot for the first 20,000 to sign up today
Following the piece we wrote on AudioBoo, there’s been a development.
Mark Rock, CEO of Best Before, told us that they have a new service in Beta that lets any phone – not just iPhones, as is currently the case – call in to leave a Boo. They’re playing with the name PhoneBoo to describe it.
Processor heavyweights Intel have announced an almighty drop in operating income for 2009, yet remain confident that PC sales will rise over the coming months.
The company recorded a whopping 56 per cent drop in its operating income for the first quarter of 2009, yet cheery Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO remained upbeat, “We believe PC sales bottomed out during the first quarter and that the industry is returning to normal seasonal patterns.”
Continue reading Intel Profits Plummet, But Company Keeps Chirpy