IT PRO – BT halts its graduate scheme
BT has temporarily stopped its graduate recruitment scheme, citing the recession. The scheme traditionally employs 130 graduates to be trained in one of three areas – ICT, professional management or HR/marketing. The company receives thousands of applications each year.

IT PRO – Media multitasking not a good move
Watching YouTube while writing an email and talking on the phone might sound like an effective use of time, but a new study has suggested such multitaskers actually perform all their tasks poorly. Researchers at Stanford University said the results had surprised them. They were looking for the secret to good media multitaskers but instead found broad-based incompetence.

ITVT -Schematic Forms New Division Focused on Interactive Out-of-Home Experiences
Interactive design company, Schematic (note: the company’s chief creative officer is high-profile interactive TV industry figure, Dale Herigstad), last Thursday officially launched a new interactive, out-of-home (IOH) division, called Schematic Touch, which it says will help brands and venues connect with consumers by creating interactive experiences in public places.

ITVT – Cablevision Launches “iO Shortcuts” Interactive TV Application
New York-area MSO, Cablevision, announced Thursday the launch of iO Shortcuts, an application that it bills as providing subscribers to its iO TV digital cable platform (note: the latter enjoys 94% penetration with the MSO’s customer base) with “one-click access” to various services and content offered by the platform, including interactive and on-demand local news, traffic and weather updates from News 12, information on new service enhancements, and new on-demand movies.

Computing – BT closes graduate recruitment scheme
T has closed its graduate recruitment scheme as part of its cost-cutting programme. The firm says it will not set a date for renewing the scheme but will maintain relationships on campus with students, faculty and career management services. BT said in a statement: “BT can confirm that it has decided to cease its graduate recruitment programme for the time being, as a result of the current economic environment and pressure on staff numbers.”

ComputerWorldUK – Hackers turn to Opera browser to ward off other criminals
Hackers using multi-exploit attack “toolkits” take defensive measures of their own against other criminals, a security researcher said today. “Exploit kit operators do use mainstream browsers, but they’re much more likely to use Opera than the average user, because they know that the browser isn’t targeted by other hackers,” said Paul Royal, a principal security researcher with Atlanta-based Purewire.

ComputerWorldUK – New virus uses Borland compiler as attack vector
A new virus that infects programs as they are being compiled has claimed its first scalps, infecting software sent out on a cover CD by a major German computer magazine and even other malware programs. The software is also believed to have infected a second program, Any TV Free 2.41, and Sophos reports with some irony of having discovered it inside several unnamed bank-hacking Trojans.

ComputerWorldUK -Revamped Yahoo vows to fight Microsoft despite search alliance
Yahoo showed yesterday that it intends to keep fighting Microsoft on multiple fronts, demonstrating an array of improvements in the way it presents search results and other offerings. The long-time rivals announced an alliance last month designed to keep them within sight of Google, the internet search leader. But that deal is confined to search, and Yahoo’s comments made clear the Microsoft tie-up leaves room for antagonism even there.

CBR Online – Cloud computing gaining critical mass among large enterprises: survey
Cloud computing is gaining critical mass among large enterprises, with more than 80% of respondents are at least in trial stages for public and private cloud computing deployments, according to a survey conducted by F5 Networks.
In addition, despite the maturing rate of adoption of cloud computing among enterprises, the study shows that there is considerable confusion and concern around the definition of cloud computing.

Silicon.com – Wake up, brush teeth, log on: Most techies check email before 9am
The traditional nine-to-five office day is ebbing away, with techies seemingly unable to resist checking their email before breakfast. The majority of IT workers are now checking their email, either on a PC or a mobile device, before 9am, according to a poll of silicon.com readers.

The Register – Pillar offers storage clunkers cash too

Pillar is running a cash for Storage Clunkers promotion, following in Xiotech’s footsteps. The company is offering to replace a customer’s whole storage array and is working with a technology financing company, Key Equipment Finance, so the customers can turn in old products from any vendor, get a value for the old product and use that value (or quote) towards the purchase of a new Pillar Axiom.
The Guardian – Internet cut-off threat for illegal downloaders
People who persist in swapping copyrighted films and music will have their internet connections cut off under tough new laws to be proposed by the government today. The measures also include taking the power to target illegal downloaders away from regulator Ofcom and giving it to ministers to speed up the process.

Computer Weekly – Met Police hires consultancy to monitor social media sites
The Metropolitan Police has hired a firm of consultants to help it monitor social networking sites. The police force says it wants to monitor peoples’ perception of the Met, and counter rumours about what the police are doing ahead of this week’s Climate Camp, which is due to take place during August bank holiday weekend. The Met Police is two months into a six-month contact with 6Consulting, which is monitoring sites like Flickr and YouTube.

Computer Weekly – SMEs’ phone bills to treble for premium rate numbers
Tens of thousands of small and medium businesses face a trebling of their phone bills in September if they have not already moved off their old premium-priced non-geographic numbers. The numbers affected start with 0870, 0871, 0872, 0873 and 09. Opal, the B2B division of the TalkTalk Group, said up to a third of UK businesses could face increases of up to 200%, because they have not responded to new Ofcom rules.