Sunday 3 May 2009

Digital Media News: February-March 2009

March 2009

Online Advertising:

The EU signals new rules to protect privacy against online advertisers (31st March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/31/online-adverts-eu-privacy-law

Surveillance:

The government is backing a project to install a ‘communication box’ in new cars to track their whereabouts anywhere in Europe (31st March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/31/surveillance-transport-communication-box

Music:

Google launches a free music site in China as part of an attempt to compete with the dominant Chinese search engine Baidu (31st March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/31/google-china-digital-music

Social Networking/Crime:

Police warn that a Facebook page showing CCTV images of a rape suspect could affect a prosecution. The woman’s partner put the images online in an attempt to identify the rapist (30th March):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/30/rape-suspect-facebook-police-warning

Social Networking:

Myspace shrinks as rivals grab its users (29th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/29/myspace-facebook-bebo-twitter

Music:

An article praising the virtues of the 45rpm vinyl single (27th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/mar/27/45rpm-vinyl-singles

Newspapers:

The creator of the TV show The Wire warns about an explosion of corruption by politicians if the newspaper industry and journalism is allowed to collapse (27th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/27/david-simon-wire-newspapers

Future Technology:

An article on China’s investment in nanotechnology research (26th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/26/nanotechnology-china

Education:

In a shake-up of the primary school curriculum children will no longer have to study the Victorians and WWII but will be required ‘to master Twitter and Wikipedia’ (25th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/mar/25/primary-schools-twitter-curriculum

Surveillance/Security:

On the use of virtual border patrol deputies on the US-Mexico border. With cameras that can be watched from any internet connection (23rd March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/23/texas-mexico-patrol-webcam-australia

Surveillance:

The right to privacy is being broken by a quarter of the public databases, according to a new report (23rd March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/23/dna-database-idcards-children-index

Newspapers:

A good article on the problems faced by the newspaper industry (23rd March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/22/newspapers-layoffs-online-advertising

Television:

BSkyB is granted leave to appeal against the court ruling against its stake in ITV (21st March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/21/bskyb-itv

Mobile Phones:

Sony Ericsson issues a profit warning due to a slump in mobile phone sales with the recession (21st March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/20/sony-mobilephones

Bloggers:

An Iranian blogger dies in prison from an overdose a month after receiving a two and a half year sentence for insulting the country’s religious leaders (20th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/20/omidreza-mirsayafi-iran-blogger-rouznegar

Google Street-View:

Google launches street-view in the UK, soon coming under attack for its claimed invasion of privacy (19th March+): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/mar/19/google-street-view-uk See also: (20th March) http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/20/google-street-view1

(20th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/20/google-street-view And (21st March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/21/google-street-view-privacy-images

Virtual Worlds:

The UK Home Office has defended its use of taxpayer’s money to set up an ‘innovations centre’ on Second Life (19th March): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7952213.stm

Google:

Google’s legal fight with Louis Vuitton over the selling of trademark terms in its advertising continues (17th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/17/google-louis-vuitton-legal-battle

Mobile Phones:

Vodafone and O2 plan to pool their networks in the biggest shake-up of the UK’s mobile phone industry since the introduction of wireless broadband at the beginning of the decade (12th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/mar/11/vodafonegroup-mobilephones See also (23rd March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/mar/23/o2-vodafone-mobile-networks

Youtube:

A sandwich bar worker was filmed by a friend at work stuffing lettuce up his nose and the video was seen by a customer on Youtube. He avoided a jail sentence but was ordered to do 300 hours unpaid work (11th March): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/7937945.stm

Social Networking:

Facebook launches an Arabic version (11th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/10/facebook-launches-arabic-version The BBC reports new versions in both Arabic and Hebrew (12th March): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7939375.stm

File-Sharing:

The French government plans an anti-piracy bill that will punish downloaders by cutting off their internet access (11th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/11/france-internet-anti-piracy

Youtube/Music:

Youtube refuses to reverse its decision to block music videos for UK users after failing to reach a new licensing agreement with the performing rights society (10th March): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7933565.stm

Security:

A police force loses a memory stick containing information on hundreds of police investigations (9th March): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7932228.stm

Video Games:

An article about the thousands of Chinese ‘gold farmers’ working in virtual worlds for a living (5th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/05/virtual-world-china

Television:

ITV announces job cuts and changing plans as the recession and its economic position causes problems (5th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/05/itv-television-recession-michael-grade

Future Technology:

An article about the Pentagon’s investment in research into nanotechnology (5th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/05/micro-darpa-microchips

Future Technology:

A man who lost his sight 30 years ago can now see flashes of light after being fitted with a bionic eye (4th March): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7919645.stm

Youtube/Crime:

A man has been fined £200 after posting a video on Youtube of the cannabis plants he was growing (4th March): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/7922737.stm

Twitter:

A young British man dies snowboarding in the Alps despite a mountain rescue operation played out over Twitter (4th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/04/twitter-death-entrepreneur-rob-william

Music:

Virgin Megastores announces it is pulling out of the US in another blow to real-world music retailing (3rd March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/mar/03/musicindustry-useconomy

Mobile Phones:

How mobile phones have transformed Africa (3rd March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/03/mobile-phones2

Mobile Phones:

Mobile phone use passes a mile-stone as a UN report reveals that half the globe now pays to use one (3rd March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/03/mobile-phones1

Crime/Social Networking:

Facebook is targeted by malicious hackers trying to steal data from its members (2nd March): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7918839.stm

Surveillance:

An article about Westminster council’s CCTV control room: the ‘spy capital of the world’ (2nd March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/02/westminster-cctv-system-privacy

February 2009

Newspapers:

An article on the problems newspapers face and the possibility of charging for online content (29th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/23/newspapers-online-content

Privacy:

The DNA details of 1.1m children are on the National DNA Database (27th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/feb/27/dna-database-children-criminal-record

Social Networking:

A 16 year old from Essex is fired after describing her office job as ‘boring’ on Facebook (27th Feb): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/7914415.stm

Mobile Phones:

O2 reports it has sold over a million iPhones in the UK (26th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/26/o2-rise-iphone

Surveillance:

An article about Sir David Omand’s new Institute of Public Policy Research paper and his warnings about a database state (25th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/25/database-state-ippr-paper

A related piece the same day traces the modes of surveillance we are moving towards: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/25/data-surveillance-identity

Video:

A young Indian woman is given police protection after a video clip of her undressing in a bedroom was circulated on the internet becoming India’s most searched item on Google (23rd Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/23/privacy-law-internet-phone-video-india

Google:

Google scotches claims that users of its Google earth program have discovered Atlantis… (21st Feb): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7903169.stm

Future Technology:

The iCub robot makes its UK debut (20th Feb): http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hP_LvoR-T3hcpH6Mq-l0ta7ZEVZw and http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/technology/s/1097231_cute_and_clever_meet_the_icub

Privacy:

A US judge dismisses a claim by a couple that Google Street View violates their privacy (19th Feb): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7898407.stm

Mobile Phones:

Two of the world’s largest mobile phone companies – Telefonica (owners of 02) and the UK’s Vodafone warn that without a change in the European regulatory structure their business will suffer in the recession (18th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/18/mobile-telecoms-regulators

Privacy:

Facebook backs down on changes to its terms of service after outrage online (18th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/18/facebook-u-turn-on-privacy-changes and http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/19/facebook-personal-data

Mobile Phones:

Vodafone wins the race to sell the next generation of ‘Google phones’, planning to launch the ‘Magic’ phone in the spring (17th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/17/vodafone-google-phone

Music:

BSkyB announces its plans to launch a music download store to rival iTunes (16th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/16/bskyb-digital-music-service

Mobile Phones:

With sales of mobile phones down in the recession the only section of the industry showing growth is the ‘smart phone’ (16th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/15/mobile-world-congress-report-fewer-delegates

Television:

ITV puts Friends reunited up for sale as part of its cost-cutting drive in the face of the worst advertising downturn for a decade (15th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/15/itv-sells-friends-reunited A few days earlier an article discusses the problems ITV is facing (13th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/13/itv-staff-hundreds-job-cuts

Advertising:

How companies are using TV spots to launch their adverts online and how ads are becoming ‘cult’ videos (15th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/15/tv-ads-internet

File Sharing:

The trial is due to start in Sweden of four men behind the world’s largest filesharing site, ‘The Pirate Bay’ (14th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/14/pirate-bay-trial A few days later half the charges are dropped (17th Feb): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7895026.stm

Social Networking:

Facebook pays $65m (£45m) to settle a rival’s claim that the site was its idea (13th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/13/facebook-inventor-claim-payout

Video Games:

An EU report suggests video games are good for children (12th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/12/computer-games-eu-study

Wikipedia:

Following a dispute at Prime Minister’s questions as to the date of Titian’s birth a Tory party worker at Conservative Central Office amended his Wikipedia entry to reflect David Cameron’s claims (12th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/feb/12/gordon-brown-david-cameron-titian

Music:

An article on the UK launch of ‘Spotify’, the new ad-funded music streaming service and its problems with the music industry (11th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/11/digitalmusic-downloads

Crime:

Police are bing equipped with a new generation of data extraction devices to accelerate the downloading of information from seized mobile phones (10th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/10/police-checks-mobile-phones

Newspapers:

A discussion of the rise of online ‘comments’ sections at the end of articles and their ‘abuse’ by the public (9th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/09/newspaper-comment-pages

Privacy and Surveillance:

A series of articles on a new House of Lords report on surveillance in Britain (6th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/06/surveillance-freedom-peers see also http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/06/surveillance-privacy-dna-database and http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/06/surveillance-privacy-dna-database2

Social Networking:

A woman discovered her marriage was over when her husband announced it on Facebook (6th Feb): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/7874273.stm

Cyberwar:

A report on cyberwar following the DDoS attack on Kyrgyzstan’s ISPs in January (5th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/05/kyrgyzstan-cyberattack-internet-access

Mobile Phones:

Mobile phone sales are falling as customers hold on their handsets and trade-down to cheaper deals -although the article doesn’t make the point that the ‘smart phone’ market is the one part of the industry holding up well (4th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/04/vodafone-nokia-mobile-phones

Economics:

Time Warner reports a $16bn loss in the fourth quarter of 2008, with cable subscription losses in the downturn being blamed for more than half of the loss (4th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/04/time-warner-loss-16bn

Privacy:

Facebook intends to capitalise on its wealth of information it has about users by offering its 150 million-strong customer base to corporations as a research tool (1st Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/01/facebook-seeks-to-exploit-user-information

Google:

Google announces an extension of its Google earth project that will map the world’s oceans and offer underwater imagery (1st Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/01/google-earth-oceans-project

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