Computing.co.uk – Government to simulate “total collapse” of UK phone network
In the first exercise of its kind in the UK, the government will simulate a “total collapse” of the national phone network next week, as part of the National Strategy for Cyber Security launched by Gordon Brown in June. The exercise will take place on 11 and 12 November and be codenamed White Noise. It will be designed to simulate a complete shutdown of the public telephone network.

BBC – EU offers hope to file-sharers
Internet users throughout Europe accused of illegal file-sharing are to receive more protection from being cut off by their service provider. The European Parliament and Council is due to make a decision on its Telecoms Reform Package in late November. The package will entitle users in all 27 EU states to be put through a “fair and impartial procedure” before being disconnected.

IT PRO – Big retailers turn to full e-commerce platforms
The bad year for retailers has forced them to look online, as they invest in the only area that that is growing – e-commerce. According to Frank Lord, EMEA managing director of e-commerce company ATG, larger retailers were now looking at complete e-commerce platforms rather than trying to put together something in pieces by themselves.

The Times – Computer giants forced on to mobile battlefield
More and more they resemble mini personal computers, with internet, e-mail, cameras, keyboards and/or touchscreens and ever bigger memories, and — more and more — PC manufacturers have been waking up to the fact that smartphones are presenting them with a clear and present danger.

The Register – Large Hadron Collider scuttled by birdy baguette-bomber
A bird dropping a piece of bread onto outdoor machinery has been blamed for a technical fault at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) this week which saw significant overheating in sections of the mighty particle-punisher’s subterranean 27-km super cooled magnetic doughnut.

The Daily Telegraph – Inventor of mobile phones says they have become ‘too complicated’
Mobile phones with cameras and music players are too complicated, according to the inventor of the device. Martin Cooper, who was the lead engineer of the Motorola team that developed the mobile phone, told a privacy conference in Madrid this week that today’s phones try to do many things for too many people.

The Financial Times – MySpace abandons race with Facebook
The new chief executive of MySpace has told the Financial Times that the company is no longer interested in competing with Facebook, effectively conceding defeat in the race to become the largest online social network.

BBC – Government opens data to public
An ambitious new website that will open up government data to the public will launch in beta, or pilot, form in December. Reams of anonymous data about schools, crime and health could all be included. Data.gov.uk has been developed by Sir Tim Berners Lee, founder of the web, and Professor Nigel Shadbolt at the University of Southampton.

BBC – Big names support net neutrality
A group of the world’s largest internet companies has written a letter of support to the US Federal Communications Commission. The letter is the latest in an ongoing debate about “network neutrality” – or how data is distribute on the web.

Computing.co.uk – Gartner outlines 10 strategic technologies for 2010
Gartner analysts have highlighted the 10 technologies most likely to have a “significant impact” on business in 2010. The firm categorises technologies likely to have a significant impact as those with a high potential for disruption to IT or the business, including cloud computing, advances analytics, client computing, IT for green, reshaping the datacentre, social computing, security, flash memory, virtualisation for availability and mobile applications.

ITPRO – Bing and Google sign Twitter search deals
Twitter has decided not to play favourites, and instead go for market share, signing real-time search deals with rivals Microsoft and Google on the same day. The two firms will be given access to Twitter’s data for search. The financial terms of the deals weren’t disclosed. For Google, the agreement means results from Twitter will soon be surfaced in search listings, giving users access to real-time information from the social networking site.

The Daily Telegraph – Google ‘to launch own Android phone and music service’
Ashok Kumar, an analyst with Northeast Securities, claims to have spoken to Google’s design partners about the plans. “Google is working with a smartphone manufacturer to have a Google-branded phone available this year through retailers, and not through telcos,” he said.

Computer Weekly – Could new IT system revolutionise air travel?
Researchers are developing an airport operations system which they say could improve the customer experience at airports and cut carbon emissions. They say co-coordinating and computerising four key areas of airport operations could reduce delays, by making each isolated area work in conjunction with the others. The aim is to computerise and co-ordinate: scheduling of take-off; scheduling of landing; gate assignment and baggage handling.

BBC News – Microsoft unleashes new Windows
Personal computers are about to get a makeover with the launch of the latest Windows operating system. Microsoft is hoping the successor to Vista will be more of a hit with users when it launches on 22 October. Many of the features take into account multimedia applications and the fact that users are beginning to store their data on the internet. In the UK some computer stores are due to open at midnight so keen PC users can get their hands on the software.

Silicon.com – Cheat Sheet: Windows 7
Windows 7 is more than just a Vista service pack according to the company, with new features that Microsoft says will make it easier to connect to corporate networks as well as support for multi-touch operations.

IT Pro – Cloud computing and web-based services need to move from the consumer space to the business world, says tech giants
It’s time for businesses to finally make the move to web-based services, well after consumers have, according to SAP and Intel.

ITPRO – Google et al voice support for net neutrality
Industry heavyweights including Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google, Sony and Twitter have joined forces to pledge their support for the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) stance on net neutrality. In a letter sent to the FCC, signed off by the big names, the collective expresses how important it is to them, the economy and innovation that the web stay as open as it has done historically.

Computer Weekly – Home Office launches online local crime maps
The Home Office has launched a national interactive crime map for England and Wales that gives residents statistics on local crime figures and details on neighbourhood policing. The national map replaces 43 individual maps that the UK’s police forces have been running since January this year, averaging 50,000 hits a month.

Computer Weekly – BT overcharged network operators £41.7m
BT will have to refund and pay interest on £41.7m it overcharged fellow network operators for rent on 2Mbps trunk services between 24 June 2004 to 30 September 2008, Ofcom said in a dispute determination. Ofcom will now look into whether BT also overcharged Colt, Thus, Cable & Wireless, Virgin Media, Global Crossing and Verizon for certain other partial private circuits (140/155Mbps terminating segment services and 34/45Mbps trunk services), in the light of actual financial information now to hand for 2008/09.

Computer Weekly – IT-friendly SMEs do better in recession
IT-friendly SMEs suffered less in the recession that firms that dismissed IT by a margin of two to one, the country’s biggest study of the impact of the recession on SMEs has found. The study of 7,200 UK SME decision makers by Vanson Bourne for BT, found that companies with a positive attitude to using technology had a better than average experience of the recession that technology laggards by 69 per cent to 34 per cent.

ComputerWorldUK – Facebook apps hacked to deliver fake antivirus
A number of Facebook applications have been hacked to download fake antivirus, a security researcher has found. While researching websites that host malicious software, Roger Thompson, chief research officer of software security company AVG, noticed something funny. A Russian website known for hosting malware was getting lots of referrals from Facebook.

ITVT – Fox Invites Viewers to Help Create New Character for “The Simpsons”
Broadcast network, Fox, has launched an interactive contest that gives viewers the chance to help create an animated character for its long-running satirical cartoon series, “The Simpsons.” Dubbed “The Simpsons” Character Contest” and designed to mark the show’s 20th anniversary (as part of a year-long celebration entitled “Best. 20 Years. Ever.”)

IT PRO – Social networking use jumps in the UK
Facebook and Twitter might sound like old news, but they and other social networking sites are continuing to spread in the UK. According to a new Ofcom report, 38 per cent of UK web users now have a profile on such a site, up from 22 per cent in 2007.

BBC News – Millions tricked by ’scareware’
Online criminals are making millions of pounds by convincing computer users to download fake anti-virus software, internet security experts have claimed. Symantec says more than 40 million people have fallen victim to the “scareware” scam in the past 12 months.

BBC News – ISP in file-sharing Wi-Fi theft
UK ISP TalkTalk has staged a wireless stunt, aimed at illustrating why it thinks Lord Mandelson’s plans to disconnect filesharers is “naive”. TalkTalk has long been an outspoken critic of government plans to cut off persistent file-sharers. The stunt demonstrates how innocent people could be disconnected from the network if the plans become law.

BBC News – Crystals hold super computer key
Tiny crystals could hold the key to creating computers with massive storage capacity, scientists believe. The crystals could be used as storage devices for desktop computers capable of holding 100-times more data than current systems.

The Daily Telegraph – Searching Google ‘can help delay dementia’
Older people can boost their brain activity by performing simple online searches, according to a study that suggests the web could be used in the fight against mental decline. A team led by Professor Gary Small at the University of California, Los Angeles found that internet searches were more effective than reading at improving brain function.

The Guardian – 70 per cent oppose internet ban for filesharers, poll shows
Plans to force ISPs to disconnect suspected illegal downloaders have been roundly rejected in a new YouGov poll, the first time public opinion has been tested on the issue. Nearly 70 per cent of those surveyed said someone suspected of illegal downloading should have a right to a trial in court before restrictions on internet use were imposed. Only 16 per cent were in favour of automatic curbs based on accusations by copyright holders such as musicians, as is proposed by the business department.