TechDivision sieves through the IT news using various sources and then highlights the news items we think are relevant to you. If you've read a news item recently you think we should list please write to us at: info@techdivision.co.uk
IT News
Google to limit free news access
December 2009
In what is seen as a minor victory for content providers attempting to maintain control of their intellectual property, Google have agreed to allow content providers to restrict how many news articles people click on in a day, before asking them to register. This is one more frontier in the battle between content providers who want to earn money from their efforts, and freedom of information campaigners, who see the Internet as the perfect tool for 'democratising' the world's knowledge.
Read more about this article here: BBC News Website
November 20th is UK's first 'Home Enterprise' day
November 2009
According to its website, 'Home Enterprise Day will recognise inspiring people who are turning ideas into action, hobbies into business, and the spare room in to a fully functioning workspace'. We're fully supportive of that at TechDivision. With today's modern technology, micro-businesses can punch far above their weight in terms of professionalism, and we're proud to have been a part of launching dozens of these types of businesses over the last 5 years. And remember - it's not the big who beat the small, it's the quick that beat the slow!
Read more about this article here: Global Entrepreneurship Website
Data losses for Apple Snow Leopard users
October 2009
In what might come as a bit of a shock to Apple users feeling smug about Microsoft's troubles with Vista, Apple have now admitted a serious error with Snow Leopard, their latest OS, that wipes out all user data. The only way out of this is to restore from backup. Our advice, as always, is: ALWAYS do your backups - especially when upgrading your Operating System!
Read more about this article here: BBC News
Twitter to charge businesses to tweet
September 2009
For all of you using Twitter as a marketing tool (and it can be a very effective - and cheap - marketing tool for a small business), Twitter is now thinking of offering a 'paid for' service. It won't mean that you will have to start paying to Tweet if you own a business, as Twitter hope to entice users to pay by offering enhanced services, rather than threatening users to make them upgrade.
Read more about this article here: Silicon
Public targeted by 1,500 monitoring bids per day
August 2009
Ever since the government changed the law to enable them to intercept personal communications, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act of 2000 has been dogged in controversy. So what are your chances of having your e-mails read, or your mobile phone calls logged? 1 in 10,000 maybe? More like 1 in 78 according to this article. It's scary stuff, so be careful what you type - remember, once it's out there, it's out there forever!
Read more about this article here: ZDNet UK
Planning a geeky holiday?
July 2009
With the holiday season coming up, at TechDivision this particular article really appealed to us. The concept of a 'geek atlas' of the world, showing where our technological heritage such as the first undersea cable to India, or the code-breaking work done in Bletchley, shows that our geek heritage is something to actually be proud of! Geeks of the world unite - let's face it, you'd miss us if we weren't here! Who'd fix your iPhone then?
Read more about this article here: BBC News
Blueprint for Broadband Britain unveiled
June 2009
The government has announced plans for broadband to be rolled out to every point in the country - subsidised by a 50p per month levy on everyone's phone bills. Although the minimum speed will be a rather miserly 2Mbits, it will greatly help home workers trying to run a business from a rural base or connect to Government services.
Read more about this article here: BBC News
Windows 7 due to ship in 2009
May 2009
Following the much-maligned Windows Vista release, which has left a record number of customers hanging grimly onto Windows XP, Microsoft have rushed to get their new operating system Windows 7 to market. They have finally announced that it will (definitely probably) ship in August 2009. From our experience of it so far, it looks like a good improvement on Vista. Watch this space for more details.
Read more about this article here: The Register
EC starts legal action over browser snooping technology
April 2009
Did you know that if you're signed up with BT, Talk Talk or Virgin, that your web browsing is being monitored without your consent, in order to plug adverts at you? In an interesting twist, the EU is now taking the British Government to task for allowing this practise to take place without user's consent. It just goes to show, there's a lot going on out there in Cyberworld that people just aren't aware of, and people are going to increasingly need experts that they can trust.
Read more about this article here: BBC News
Quarter of techies 'work from home everyday'
March 2009
With office rentals and commuting pressure increasing all the time, why not consider working from home once in a while? According to this article, 25% of us techies do this at least once a week. With government legislation requiring firms to consider flexible working arrangements when asked by their employees to do so, this may be a good way to hold onto key staff in these tough times.
Read more about this article here: Silicon
VoIP not taking off
February 2009
Despite heavy promotion of Voice over IP, most Small Businesses still use traditional telephony. This is due to a combination of aggressive cost-cutting from traditional telephony providers, and the perceived call quality issues with internet telephony. This is a pity, because VoIP has a lot to offer SME's - such as video calling, virtual presence (so you can get a Manchester number, for example) and cheap international calls.
Read more about this article here: Times Online
Government sets out broadband plans
January 2009
The government has recently published a report on the future of Broadband Britain. Their intention is to get 2Mbit standard access throughout Britain by 2012, a target which may seem slow even by today's standards, but is reasonably ambitious in practise. However, if the target is achieved, it does lay the foundations for home working anywhere in the country. Been looking forward to moving your business to the countryside on a permanent basis, but can't find broadband? Well, it might just happen soon(ish).
Read more about this article here: BBC News Website
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