March

Security:
Inquiry launched after biggest ever credit card heist - from TK Maxx customers (31st March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2047193,00.html

Internet:
A great article on advertising's move onto the internet and its implications for newspapers and TV (31st March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2047099,00.html

Internet:
'Cheddarvision' webcam becomes internet hit (29th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2044935,00.html

Music:
stars compose new ways to use music... (29th March): http://music.guardian.co.uk/pop/story/0,,2044714,00.html

Internet/Print:
Online advertising share overtakes newspapers (28th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2044199,00.html

Mobile Phones:
Ofcom cuts charges for making calls to mobile phones (28th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2044291,00.html

Mobile Phones:
Teens to get free calls ... if they agree to watch ads and leave feedback (26th March):http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2042684,00.html

Mobile Phones:
'Fans sweep away the boundaries': an article on how English cricket fans using mobile phones filmed Freddie Flintoff's misbehaviour in the cricket world cup (26th March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2042551,00.html

Internet/Print:
An article on how newspapers and advertisisers are waking up to the power of web video (26th March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2042554,00.html

Internet:
Youtube as 'the hustings of the 21st Century'? On the political uses of the site (25th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2042049,00.html

Internet:
Wiki Wars - on Wikipedia cybervandals (25th March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2042423,00.html

Internet:
Father of two commits suicide 'live' online in a chatroom (24th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2041700,00.html

Internet:
Singer Tila Tequila attacks Myspace after it forces her to remove elements from her page allowing fans to buy her music (24th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2041728,00.html

Television:
In February-March the UK television industry was hit by a series of revelations about their use of phone lines. Complaints had been rising for a while about the cost of calling the evening interactive quiz channels; about the charges for dialling regardless of whether callers got on; about the channel's apparent claims that they were waiting for callers, and about their bizarre choice of answers to questions that led to increased calls. The phone-in crisis was triggered, however, by revelations that callers to a quiz on the popular 'Richard and Judy' show were being cheated. What follows is a selection of the stories detailing the major developments.

• Channel 4 and Icstis (a telephone watchdog) announce they are investigating the 'Richard and Judy Show' for accepting calls after their competition had closed (17th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2016334,00.html ITV and other companies had turned to premium-rate phone-ins as a means to offset falling ad revenues (8th Aug 2006): http://media.guardian.co.uk/advertising/story/0,,1839218,00.html
• Other stories about the 'Richard and Judy Show' emerge (22nd Feb): http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,2019143,00.html
• ITV admits it overcharged X Factor fans by £200 000 phoning in to vote in the show (1st March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2023614,00.html
• 'Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Take-Away' becomes the latest show to be investigated for phone-in fraud for encouraging calls after the competition had closed (5th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2027159,00.html
• ITV halts phone-in shows for charges review, taking its interactive channel 'ITV Play' off-air and suspending all its premium-rate interactive services (6th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2027454,00.html
• Channel Five follows ITV in pulling all viewer quizzes after reports it had conned viewers. A lunch-time programme made by Endemol subsidiary, Cheetah Television, called 'Brainteaser' admitted the names of some winners were faked and that it had sent on a member of the production team to pose as a winning contestant (9th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2029900,00.html
• 'Phone TV to face tough controls as crisis deepens' article (10th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2030683,00.html
• 'The dark side of TV' article (12th March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2031472,00.html
• Channel 4 suspends its racing phone-ins after discovering a 'minor technical problem' led to 100 calls being received after a copmpetition had closed (13th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2032770,00.html
• ITV wins some respite on the same day (13th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2032250,00.html though it announces the end of 'ITV Play' the next day (14th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2033164,00.html
• The BBC's 'Blue Peter' becomes the next to admit wrong-doing, owning up to asking a studio visitor to pose as a phone-in winner after a technical problem lost the calls (15th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2034477,00.html
• Vodafone admits errors for the phone-in voting on ITV's 'Dancing on Ice' show (20th March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,2038605,00.html
• Ofcom announces an inquiry into premium rate phone-in TV (22nd March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,2040293,00.html
• Ofcom turns up the heat on phone quizes after more complaints about quiz show answers ... (27th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2043546,00.html

Internet:
NBC Universal and Murdoch's News Corp (two of the US's leading film and TV companies) announce a new joint venture to create an online video service to rival Youtube. They would use their own content to attract new revenue as advertising moves from film and Tv to the net. In 2006 $410m was spent on online video advertising (23rd March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2040928,00.html

Internet:
An article by Mike Scott of the Waterboys about his failed attempt to correct errors about himself on Wikipedia (23rd March): http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2040025,00.html

DVDs:
An article about public confusion over the next generation DVD formats (22nd March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2040206,00.html

Music:
An article on the music industry's ideas concerning P2P networks and the possibility of making money out of them (22nd March): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2040201,00.html

Television:
Ofcom announces a review of the pay-TV market, following the Virgin-Sky row (21st March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2038749,00.html

Mobile Phones:
Google joins Apple in race to launch mobile phones in Europe. Both companies are trying to break into the European market, Apple with an 'iphone' and Google with a 'Gphone' (21st March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2038761,00.html

Television:
Cumbrian homes prepare to become the first in the UK to have their analogue TV signal switched off (16th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2035588,00.html

New Technology:
A new survey on the digital divide in the UK (16th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2035272,00.html

Mobile Phones:
Forthcoming EU deal to cut mobile phone roaming fees by up to 70% (16th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2035352,00.html

Music:
Fans put up money for band's first album. The band 'Second Person' used the website 'Sellaband.com' to raise £26000 for their first recording (anyone interested in this should look up Marillion's pioneering use of an internet fan base too, though they had a fanbase prior to turning to the net) (15th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2034014,00.html

Internet:
The BBC announces it is ending its £150m online learning service, 'BBC Jam', following complaints from commercial rivals (15th March): http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2034229,00.html

Internet:
Google announces they will erase information on billions of internet searches to secure the privacy of their users (15th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2034172,00.html

Security:
An article on the success of phishing fraudsters using fake bank websites, with losses from online banking fraud up 44% to reach £33.5m in the Uk last year (14th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2033243,00.html

Internet:
Youtube faces $1bn lawsuit from MTV's owner Viacom for alleged breach of copyright (14th March): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2033297,00.html

Television:
Al Gore brings his user-generated-content 'Current TV' to the UK (13th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2032528,00.html

Internet:
A report on Google's plans to digitise books and put them online (10th March): http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2030832,00.html

New Technology:
Satnav sent driver on the wrong track - A woman who drove on to a railway line after following directions from her satellite navigation system will not face prosecution, British Transport police said yesterday. The unnamed 52-year-old, from Dorking, Surrey, was waiting at a level crossing at Norman's Bay, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, on January 16 when the device told her to turn left. She drove her Ford Fiesta on to the track, blocking train services between Brighton and Hastings. The BTP said a prosecution would not be in the public interest as the woman had made an honest mistake (9th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2029686,00.html

Internet:
Court blocks YouTube access over Ataturk posts - A Turkish court ordered access to YouTube's website to be blocked yesterday, because of videos allegedly insulting the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Over the past week, Turkish media highlighted what some called a "virtual war" between Greeks and Turks on YouTube, with people from both sides posting videos to belittle and berate the other. The newspaper Hurriyet said thousands of people had written to YouTube and that the Ataturk videos had been removed from the site. Insulting Ataturk or "Turkishness" is a crime in Turkey punishable by prison (8th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2028702,00.html

Mobile Phones:
A critical article on mobile phones and their use (8th March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2028752,00.html

Internet:
An article on students plagiarising websites for their University applications (8th March): http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2028972,00.html

Internet / Television:
The BBC make a deal with Youtube to make clips of its programmes available and set up branded channels on the site (3rd March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2025651,00.html

Internet:
The State of Victoria bans Youtube to counter cyber-bullying (2nd March): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2024696,00.html

February

Television:
The UK Government announce an Ofcom review of Murdoch's BSkyB pirchase of a 17.9% stake in ITV (to thwart Virgin's interest). This is the first review of its kind, only possible after 2002 legislation (27th Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2022313,00.html

Music:
An article on the changing relationship of music companies and bands (26th Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2021280,00.html

Internet:
US golfer, Fuzzy Zoeller, angered by remarks on Wikipedia and finding he can't sue the site instead sues an IP address from which the defamatory remarks are said to have come (25th Feb): http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/9913/53/

Television:
An article on the breakdown of talks between Branson's Virgin Media (formerly NTL) and Murdoch's Sky about rights to show certain Sky channels on Virgin's cable television (24th Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2020364,00.html

Internet:
An Egyptian blogger is sentenced to 4 years for insulting Islam by an Egyptian court (23rd Feb): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2019746,00.html

Future Technology:
A breakthrough in computing ...? Scientists have written a message into the DNA of a living organism and retrieved it, though it's a slow process and still experimental. They ssuggest it may serve as the basis for organic computing more resistant than current hard drive technology. 'Information storage using DNA is robust for more than one hundred million years' (22nd Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,2018550,00.html

Music:
US music companies target colleges in new crackdown on illegal downloads(22nd Feb): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2018621,00.html

Cinema:
An article on the hacking of Blu-Ray/HD-DVD DRM and its implications for Hollywood (22nd Feb): http://film.guardian.co.uk/piracy/story/0,,2018631,00.html

Internet:
Jaron Lanier criticises Web 2.0's 'digital Maoism' (22nd Feb): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6379621.stm

Music:
A ruling against Microsoft for infringing copyrighted MP3 technology (22nd Feb): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6388273.stm plus a story about its implications (23rd Feb): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6389501.stm See also (24th Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2020362,00.html

Internet:
A 'bidding frenzy' erupts on ebay with sellers offering locks of Britney Spears' hair after she shaved it off in a Los Angeles hairdressers. The genuine locks, however, have been put up on a separate website to attract bids (20th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2016859,00.html

War:
'Virtual Iraq' images are being used to treat real stress disorders (20th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2016911,00.html

Print:
The Daily Mail launch 'The Mail eReader', as a downloadable digital version of the daily newspaper and Mail on Sunday, combining the print with the web experience as users click through stories or flip through the pages (19th Feb): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2015928,00.html

Television:
The on-going battle between Virgin (and NTL) and Sky continues as Virgin launch a video-on-demand service called 'Virgin Central'. Sky's 'Sky Anytime' isn't accessible through TV's until March (19th Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2016063,00.html

Internet /Television:
The BBC and Endemol plan a new show, The Signs of Life, for Spring. It is to be the first fully fledged interactive drama, launched first on the internet. The BBC also just launched Wannabes, a new broadband drama, last week (18th Feb): http://media.guardian.co.uk/bbc/story/0,,2015701,00.html

Print / Internet:
An article on print readers migrating online and its implications for the print industry, especially magazines (18th Feb): http://media.guardian.co.uk/advertising/story/0,,2015489,00.html

Internet:
Cameron Diaz wins a libel claim against a US website that claimed she had been caught cheating with a married man (17th Feb): http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2015235,00.html

Future Technology:
Six blind people regain partial sight thanks to 'bionic eye' implant (17th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,2015269,00.html

Music:
Warner chief vows to defend copyright and DRM on music against Steve Jobs' call for DRM to be removed (15th Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2013165,00.html

Security:
An article about the use of number plate recognition technology in the UK today (15th Feb): http://society.guardian.co.uk/e-public/story/0,,2012997,00.html

Music:
EMI issues a profit warning as its US sales collapse (15th Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2013167,00.html within a few days Warner had shown an interest in a bbid for EMI (20th Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2017108,00.html and gathered support from Impala, the independents' lobby group (21st Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2017602,00.html

Internet:
A Belgian court rules that Google infringed copyright over its Google news service (14th Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2012370,00.html

Internet:
Film makers and networks accuse google of encouraging pirates through sponsored advertising (13th Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2011680,00.html

Mobile Phones:
UK's Vodafone wins control of the 4th largest Indian mobile phone company, Hutchinson-Essar with an offer valueing the company at £9.6bn (12th Feb): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2011224,00.html

Mobile Phones / Music:
A British company is launching MusicStation in the UK in the Spring, a new mobile music service giving fans access to over 1m tracks for £1.99 a week, being made available over the major existing phone networks as a direct competitor to Apple's iphone service (12th Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2010875,00.html

Internet:
The rise of video downloads threeatens gridlock on the net, a structure that isn't designed for mass consumption of heavy file loads. Already most internet traffic is peer to peer with Bit Torrent responsible for more than 50% of all net traffic ... increased video/television/film downloading could see high-speed broadband connections 'slow to a crawl' in the future ... (10th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2010031,00.html

Future Technology:
A team of neuroscientists have developed a technique allowing them to look into a person's brain and read their intentions before they act... (9th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2009229,00.html

Music:
Steve Jobs' call for an end to DRM (8th Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2007973,00.html His original article can be found at: http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/ . Articles discussing his ideas and the future of DRM include (8th Feb): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2008343,00.html ... And (15th Feb): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/comment/0,,2013530,00.html

Mobile Phones:
Vodafone and Orange plan to share mobile phone networks to cut costs and increase 3G services (8th Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2008067,00.html

War:
Video game expert Stephen Poole asks whether virtual warfare is blurring the army's view of the real battlefield after the release of the cockpit video from one US plane after the friendly-fire death of a UK soldier. Straneg how everything that produced such moral indignation in 1991 when Jean Baudrillard pointed out the processes of virtualisation happening around us and in our production and reception of warfare now seems quite obvious ... (7th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2007402,00.html

Internet:
Paedophiles jailed after hatching plot on the internet to rape two teenagers. This is the first case of anyone in the UK being convicted of such an offence on the basis of online contacts between the three men alone (6th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2006752,00.html

Music:
A settlement is reached between Apple records and Apple computers, in preparation for the Beatles music being available for downloading and for an expected dominance of the charts by their singles (6th Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2006630,00.html

Video Games / Internet:
A ban has been imposed by eBay on auctions of virtual items from online games such as EverQuest. For years, players have sold virtual items that can give an edge. On eBay last week a pair of EverQuest game accounts had a first bid of $200 before they were removed. 'Our standpoint is that everything in our games is the property of Sony Online Entertainment,' said Greg Short, director of web development at Sony, which publishes EverQuest. 'We can't say definitely if it's illegal,' said eBay spokesman Hani Durzy. 'It's complex. And when something is complex like this, we have a history of disallowing the items' (4th Feb): http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2005598,00.html

Future Technology:
A story about a woman with a new, pioneering bionic arm (2nd Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,2004357,00.html

Internet:
Tagging takes off for web users (1st Feb): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6318531.stm
Future Technology:
A story on new developments in nano technology that could power molecular machines (1st Feb): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6318531.stm

Television:
BBC prepares to launch 'iplayer' downloads (1st Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2003039,00.html

Internet:
UK Police claim to have foiled a plan to kidnap a UK muslim soldier and broadcast his beheading on the net (1st Feb): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2003208,00.html

Television:
A story on Sky and its competition with NTL - currently being relaunched as Virgin Media (1st Feb): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2003098,00.html

Internet / Cinema:
An article on Loose Change, a conspiracy-theory film about 9/11 . Since August 2006 it has been viewed online over 4m times - a good case study about how individuals are able to bypass traditional structures, gate-ways and modes of distribution (26th Jan): http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,1998179,00.html

Security:
An article on facial recognition technology (25th Jan): http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1997488,00.html

23rd Jan-end of Jan

Television:
Ofcom warns the BBC about its plans for download services (23rd Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6290745.stm but the BBC trust gives its approval a few days later (31st Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6316857.stm

Music:
Sony agrees compensation for the 'rootkit' PR disaster (30th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6314443.stm

Video Games:
How Sony are using user-generated content to help maximise sales of the PS3 (29th Jan): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2000468,00.html

Future Technology:
Intel announces chips using nano technology (27th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6299147.stm

Music:
Changing digital record buying habits and chart rules lead BBC radio stations to change their playlist policy (26th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1999042,00.html

Internet / Television:
Fox subpoenas Youtube to find out who pirated episodes of The Simpsons and 24 (26th Jan): http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2007-01-26T102643Z_01_N26209477_RTRIDST_0_OUKIN-UK-YOUTUBE-FOX.XML see also: http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1999800,00.html

Security:
Confirmation that HD DVD copy protection has been breached (see last posting) (26th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6301301.stm

Mobile Phones:
In Finland a novel has been published written in tx msg (25th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/ptech/01/25/sms.novel.ap/index.html

Internet / Mobile Phones:
Mobile phone footage of a playground beating is posted by children on the web (24th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6294399.stm

Internet:
China to overtake USA as world's largest internet user (24th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6293345.stm see also http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,1998038,00.html

Future Technology:
The military are creating robot insects carrying explosive warheads - 'micro air vehicles' (MAVs) or 'wasps' (23rd Jan): http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72543-0.html?tw=wn_index_1

Security:
Myspace launches a lawsuit against a prolific spammer (23rd Jan): http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/8856/53/

Internet:
The BBC's CBBC announces plans for a child-friendly virtual world (23rd Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6290585.stm

Security:
A report on the current threats from cyber-criminals on the web (23rd Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6290413.stm posted together with a useful glossary of the contemporary forms of crime: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5400052.stm#sniffing

Internet:
An article on the increasing significance of the web for politics and political campaigning (23rd Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/6287749.stm

15-22nd Jan

Internet:
A story about how Hilary Clinton and others are now announcing their presidential campaigns on the web (in favour of a televised speech in a hall) (22nd Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1995721,00.html

Music:
UK independent music labels band together to create 'Merlin' - a new organisation to cocordinate and control their licensing online (22nd Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1995650,00.html

Print:
Why magazine formats are starting to look online (22nd Jan): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,1995276,00.html

Internet:
An article on a US murder motivated by jealousy between two men about their online relationship with a young woman ... who wasn't a young woman (22nd Jan):
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/01/22/deadly.triangle.ap/index.html

Security:
Microsoft Vista's new DRM protection comes under fire (22nd Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6286245.stm

Internet / Video games:
An article about how the right wing, French 'Front National' has become the first political party to open up an HQ online in Second Life and the virtual protests that resulted (including avatar protestors throwing 'exploding pigs' ... (20th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,,1994882,00.html

Security / Cinema:
News that a hacker claims to have cracked the AACs (Advanced Access Content System) used on the new HDDVDs (also used on the Blu-Ray system) (19th Jan): http://redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=20493&hed=Claim%3A+High-Def+DVDs+Cracked§or=Industries&subsector=SecurityAndDefense The story was first posted at the end of December 2006. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061229/tc_nm/dvds_hacker_dc_2

Interfaces:
An article on the drive for new touch-sensitive screens to replace older interfaces (18th Jan): http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1992309,00.html

Music:
A great article on the current state of the digital music market. 'New music players, a growing number of broadband connections and a proliferation of online stores helped digital music sales double last year but the surge was still not enough to reverse a declining music market.
Record companies' digital sales jumped to $2bn (£1bn) in 2006 from $1.1bn a year earlier and continued to take market share, according to the latest update from the global industry group IFPI yesterday. Downloads to mobile phones, computers and music players now make up 10% of global music sales but as sales of physical formats such as CDs continue to fall, digital has not come to the rescue'. (18th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1992749,00.html

Television:
One of the biggest stories this week is the racist abuse of Shilpa Shetty on the UK's Celebrity Big Brother which has provoked protests in India. Whilst much of their knowledge comes from newspaper reports as India cannot receive Big Brother on television and Channel 4 has blocked the live web stream outside the UK, The Guardian (18th Jan, p. 3) say that clips from the programme have been made available on Youtube.

Warfare:
China tests a missile against an old space satellite ... heralding, perhaps, a new development in 'information warfare' (19th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6276543.stm

Internet:
A US lawsuit linking Myspace to sexual assault. News Corp and Myspace sued by parents (18th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/18/myspace.lawsuit.ap/index.html see also (19th Jan): http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1994438,00.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6277633.stm

Music:
An article on CD remastering and the problems of increasing noise (18th Jan): http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1992325,00.html

Cinema:
On the move to digital cinema at the multiplex (18th Jan): http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1992327,00.html

Internet:
Myspace is developing new security software to help parents (18th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/18/myspace.safety.ap/index.html

Mobile Phones / Television:
An article on the failure so far of mobile television (17th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1991842,00.html

Internet:
2m Chinese teens addicted to the internet, according to report (17th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/17/china.internet.addicts.reut/index.html

Economics:
Apple reports a 78% surge in profits in the 3 months to Dec 30th 2006, boosted by Christmas sales of the ipod (17th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6272051.stm

Future Technology:
On the development of a new robot to help combat snipers (17th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/01/17/robotic.head/index.html

Music:
Digital music sees sales double: global digital music sales have almost doubled to around $2bn (£1bn) in 2006, according to an industry report, now constituting 10% of all sales. The IFPI's 2007 Digital Music Report said consumers last year downloaded 795 million tracks, up 89% on 2005, from almost 500 legitimate online music services available in 40 countries (17th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6270855.stm But see also a recent report that US album sales fell 4% in 2006 (5th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6233553.stm
Mobile Phones:
Naomi Campbell admits she hit her maid with a 'jewel-encrusted cellphone' ... (17th Jan): http://www.themoneytimes.com/articles/20070117/naomi_admits_hitting_her_maid_with_cellphone-id-102719.html

Future Technology:
An article on the spread of virtual reality technology in the business world (17th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/01/15/virtual.reality.ap/index.html

Internet /Television:
Skype founders move into internet TV broadcasting with a new service called 'Joost' (16th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6266391.stm This month's Wired magazine has a story about it at: http://www.wired.com/news/wiredmag/0,72506-0.html?tw=wn_index_1 as does The Guardian (22nd Jan): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,1995274,00.html

Video Games:
An expansion pack for World of Warcraft goes on sale (16th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6263987.stm

Internet:
A story from Wired on how Yahoo was overtaken in online advertising by Google: http://www.wired.com/news/wiredmag/0,72497-0.html?tw=wn_index_2

Internet / Cinema:
Netflix introduces an instant-viewing service for subscribers to watch TV shows and movies over the web (16th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6261509.stm

Mobile Phones:
a Californian man is apparently set alight by his cellphone ... (16th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/15/cell.phone.fire.ap/index.html

Television:
Iraq's newest cult hit - an insurgent satellite television channel (an example of new media digital television niche programming ...) (15th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1990353,00.html

Television:
UK's Channel 4 faces a funding gap as profits 'plummet' - caused by advertisers reducing their spending on television (implicitly shifting their spending to new media) (14th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1990376,00.html

'Happy hanging': Saddam and the mobile phone

Undoubtedly the biggest new media story of the new year has been the mobile phone footage of Saddam Husssein's execution.

The Iraqi government released an 'official' video that was silent, heavily edited and ended before his death (see the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6218485.stm ) But within days unedited mobile phone footage was released, with sound, showing the abuse and taunts he received and also showing his death (see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6224531.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6221751.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6220829.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6218875.stm )
And new unofficial video of his body in the morgue was also posted online (9th Jan: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6243747.stm )

I'm not sure the events need any more commentary but it's a remarkable - and historic - example of the power of new media and especially of how the era of official, managed and edited, top-down news decided for us by Governments, businesses or media industries etc. is over: now one person with a phone potentially has as much broadcasting power as any media corporation. The ease with which the phones were carried into the exceution chamber and morgue and the ease with which the videos were globally disseminated by the internet also highlights how difficult these new media forms are to control. The videos also demonstrate how new media are changing the rules of broadcasting, as the person taking the video had no interest in the ethical issues traditional journalists face or any risk of comeback from a public or advertisers or the law. Plus it demonstrates the taste of the audience for whom an execution video is perfectly acceptable viewing - something that isn't often addressed in traditional, paternalistic journalism.

What's also interesting is both the way in which the mobile phone video blew away the constructed reality promoted by the Iraqi government, showing how one 'reality' can be presented in completely different ways, and how much more 'real' the mobile phone video footage was. The realist aesthetics of the hand-held camera are obvious but the mobile images made for a very uncomfortable sight, giving much more 'reality' than the first video.

On the other hand these images don't exist in a vacuum - they take their place in a contemporary, rapidly expanding 'atrocity exhibition' that includes beheading videos, the Abu Ghraib images of tortured Iraqi prisoners, the 'shock and awe' fireworks of the second Gulf war, the World Trade Centre explosions, the copter-cam close-ups of the trapped victims, the scenes of the jumping people and the smart-bomb camera images of the first Gulf War ... all the way down to You've Been Framed, the World's Wildest Videos and happy slapping mobile phone videos. As Baudrillard says in Fatal Strategies: 'ours is a pornographic culture par excellence ...'

7-14th Jan

Music:
An unsigned band make UK chart history, entering the top 40 on download sales without being signed to a label (14th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6260995.stm see also (16th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1991104,00.html

Video games:
A US woman dies after a water-drinking contest to win a Wii - a 'hold your wee for a Wii' game! (14th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6261509.stm

Mobile Phones:
A man is awarded damages after the wrong phone number is given on TV: a Chinese man who received thousands of text messages when his mobile phone number was accidentally used in a TV series has been awarded compensation (13th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6258939.stm

Internet / Video games:
An article on Second Life and its virtual economy (11th Jan): http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/comment/0,,1988163,00.html

Internet:
Myspace launches a French service (11th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/11/myspace.france.reut/index.html

Music:
A new download store taps the boom in interest in classical and jazz (11th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1987312,00.html

DVDs:
Warner officially announce the launch of their dual format HDDVD/Blue-ray discs (10th Jan): http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5659

Mobile Phones/Music:
Apple announce the production of the iphone (9th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6246063.stm Other articles on the phone and its features can be found at (10th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1986895,00.html and (11th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1987514,00.html

Mobile Phones:
Yahoo! announce their new 'Go' mobile service with a new internet interface (9th Jan): http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/8466/52/

DVDs:
News on the current state of the format war between HDDVD and Blu-ray (9th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6243383.stm

Radio:
An article on a new, popular US radio station called 'Jack' described as like an Ipod shuffle - another great example of how old media rejuvenate themselves either by beoming new media (going digital), including new media in their content (discussing new media) or simulating new media (taking on their features and benefits such as by imitating the music player shuffle function) (9th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6214080.stm

Television:
An article on a new technology called ShapeshifterTV that allows users to influence story lines by texting the programme as they watch (8th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1985078,00.html

Internet:
A journalist announces that he isn't interested in audience feedback and participation. An interesting corrective to Web 2.0 hype (8th Jan): http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,1984740,00.html

Music:
Changes to the UK singles chart mean that all downloaded tracks now count towards the chart (8th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6239415.stm

Internet /Video Games:
Creators of the online game Second Life open source part of their code for game users (9th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6245599.stm

Internet:
A survey on myspace use and attitudes among young people (8th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/08/myspace.teens.reut/index.html

Internet/Mobile Phones:
Mobile Phone company Vodaphone becomes the latest company to offer a UK broadband service (8th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6240851.stm

Music:
An opinion piece on why digital rights management (DRM) in music may be dead soon (8th Jan): http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,72412-0.html I don't buy it myself. Actually what we're seeing is an extension of DRM as television and cinema look to implement their own DRM systems as they explore digital/net delivery so it's going to become an even bigger part of the consumer model of the future. The music industry similarly will not give up DRM, seeing it as the only way to retake control of their product. What's holding back the spread of music DRM at the moment is the online industry's own competition. Inflated prices aiming to maximise profits from a poorer quality product (the download), proprietal formats and hardware restrictions designed to secure the maximum monopolistic market position through consumer-lock-in and convoluted DRM imposing arbitrary restrictions on transferral, playing and copying are all working against the success of the digital music sector. Cheaper pricing and an industry agreed interoperability would improve the customer experience and the industry could use this to smuggle through a single set of DRM standards that would normalise restrictions such that the majority of consumers would accept them as necessary and intevitable. Luckily for us the music industry is too competitive and greedy to move in this direction. If they do we're going to see the massive development of DRM, or, more rpecisely, to give it its real name, increased 'digital user management'.

Internet:
A comment piece on the ruling that Youtube has to take down a video of a model taken by a member of the public (see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6233693.stm ). The article explains how difficult it is to destroy or take down all copies of videos on the net and the issues facing Youtube (8th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6242817.stm

Up to 7th January

Filling in the news stories of the last week or so:

Internet:
Youtube ordered by Brazilian judge to take down video of a model on a beach (5th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6233693.stm

Future Technologies:
Bill Gates predicts a future of home-help robots (5th Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1983267,00.html

Internet:
ecommerce doing well - more evidence that UK shoppers are moving online (5th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1983183,00.html see also (31st Dec): http://www.guardian.co.uk/christmas2006/story/0,,1980362,00.html

Television:
The first hybrid DVD player, able to play both blu-ray and HDDVD is announced by the South Korean firm LG whilst Warner Bros have announced new double-side hybrid discs (4th Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6230925.stm

Mobile Phones/Internet:
Some US mobile phone users will now be able to access and update their Myspace page via phone after the deal with Cingular Wireless (4th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/biztech/12/18/cingular.myspace.ap/index.html

Mobile Phones:
Record numbers of texts sent in the UK over Xmas and the New Year (4th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1982212,00.html

Television:
TV companies will be offered digital adverts (rather than on video tapes), making it easier to put commecials on air and perhaps attracting advertisers back onto TV from the net (4th Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1982293,00.html

Cinema/Internet:
Movie studios agree on trhe use of the Content Scrambling System (CSS) for downloaded movies to enable burned discsto be played without problems on DVD players. The story forgets to highlight how it also helps the studios by adding DRM to the discs ... (4th Jan): http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/04/movie.downloading.ap/index.html

Television/Internet:
ITV poaches digital chief to mastermind UK's first free video-on-demand service. ITV, suffering on terrestrial television, recognises the need for an early lead in television delivery over the internet. The proposed servcie will let viewers download all of ITV's programmes, 'heralding the end of prime time TV'. All content from its four channels will be available on PC via the net either live or over a 30 day watch-again window (3rd Jan): http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2121717.ece

Internet:
Rising numbers of UK broadband users. 'More than 69% of UK net users have broadband connections according to the latest figures from the UK's Office of National Statistics' (3rd Jan): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6228367.stm

Internet:
Ryanair fails to shut down critical website - Ryanair has lost a fight with a disgruntled customer. The World Intellectual Property Organisation ruled that Michael Coulston's website ryanaircampaign.org did not use the trademark in bad faith, and it was unlikely customers would mistake it for the company's website. "Tarnishment in this context does not mean criticism. If it did, every website critical of a brand owner could be branded a tarnishing use." Mr Coulston said he hoped the company would get the message. "I think they don't understand the human nature of people who don't happen to be driven by greed or fear," he said (2nd Jan): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1981108,00.html

Internet/Mobile Phones:
Vodafone becomes the next mobile phone provider to begin offering broadband access to attract new customers and cling on to existing users (2nd Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1981018,00.html

Mobile Phones/Cinema:
Orange adds its internet users to its cinema deal, as part of the mobile phone company's strategy to retain/increase customers in a highly competetive market - synergy between media plus special offers are becoming the new marketing tool (2nd Jan): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1981017,00.html

Theory:
An essay by Zizek on Time magazine's decision to give the 2006 award for person of the year to 'You' - to user generated content. Zizek provides a critique of this claimed digital democracy (30th Dec 2006): http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1980156,00.html

Internet:
The number of Chinese web suers grows by a third, rising to 132m people online, up 30% on last year (30th Dec 2006): http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,1980144,00.html

Music:
Making claims of its demise look premature, iTunes is overwhelmed by shoppers in the holiday season (all of whom want to fill their new ipods ...) (28th Dec 2006): http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/12/28/itunes.slowdown.ap/index.html

Internet:
News of a court case starting soon over a sex blog by a woman in Washington DC. She's being sued for invasion of privacy by one man she slept with and wrote about on her blog: 'The case dating from the 2004 blog is expected to go to trial soon. In establishing whether people who keep online journals are obliged to respect the privacy of those they interact with offline, the case could have a profound effect on the content of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook'.(28th Dec 2006): http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1979111,00.html

Mobile Phones:
Vodafone tries to move into the Indian mobile phone market - the fastest growing market in the world (22nd Dec 2006): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1977422,00.html although their bid is challenged within days (28th Dec): http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1979086,00.html