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December 10th, 2010 by Speed Budapest (Matt)

Unprintable PDF format ‎unveiled by WWF

I’m probably a little late to the party with this, but I’ve just found out that the World Wide Fund for Nature (previously known as World Wildlife Fund) has developed and launched a file format that it hopes will benefit the environment. The new WWF file format is a bit like Adobe’s widely used Portable Document Format (PDF), but it has one importance difference; WWF files cannot be printed. Not even if you ask nicely!

The launch of the WWF file is a great way for the organisation to highlight the problems that are created by deforestation, but I think it’s unlikely that we’ll all switch from PDF to WWF files overnight. That’s not really a problem though. Even if most of the population never send or receive a WWF file, news coverage of the initiative should help to raise awareness of the problem and encourage people to be more selective about what they print, which is a great result for the World Wide Fund for Nature. And for the trees too, who are no doubt whooping with glee at the prospect of not being cut down.

Unfortunately the software needed to create WWF files is currently only available for the Mac at the moment, but there is a Windows version on the way. If you’re lucky enough to own a Mac you can download the WWF plugin by clicking here: http://www.saveaswwf.com/en/what-is-it.html

June 2nd, 2010 by michael.frier

Daily News – 02/06

Computer Weekly – BT to roll out Facebook-style social networking

BT is to roll out Facebook-style social networking services to its 100,000 employees, in a move that will allow staff to collaborate more effectively on projects whether they are in the office or working remotely. The company, which reported £1m profits this month, said the system would lead to significant gains in productivity and help the organisation keep track of the skills of its workforce.

The Daily Telegraph – ‘Quit Facebook’ protest day flops

A day of planned protests against the social networking site Facebook appeared to flop after just over 30,000 of the site’s 500 million users deleted their Facebook accounts.

ZDNet – NHS top culprit as UK data breaches exceed 1,000

More than 1,000 security breaches involving the loss of personal data have now been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office, with the list topped by the NHS, the privacy watchdog said on Friday.

IT PRO – Google ditches Windows for ‘security’ reasons
Employees of the internet giant have claimed they are being moved away from Windows operating systems after the hack attack the company faced in December.

IT PRO – Bing may replace Google on iPhone 4G
Rumours have resurfaced that Apple may be planning to snub Google on the next version of the iPhone and iPad by making Microsoft’s Bing the de facto search engine.

Total Telecom – Google crowns Facebook king of Internet visits
Google on Friday released Web traffic data indicating that Facebook is king when it comes to online visitors despite criticism about privacy at the social-networking service.

ComputerWorldUK – Hackers promise demo of Google Android rootkit
Security researchers will demonstrate a malicious “rootkit” program they’ve written for Google’s Android phone next month at the Defcon hacking conference in Las Vegas.



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February 9th, 2010 by Steve

Daily News 08/02

BBC – Digital Economy Bill could ‘breach rights’

An influential group of MPs and peers has said the government’s approach to illegal file-sharing could breach the rights of internet users.

BBC – Microsoft to patch 17-year-old computer bug

A 17-year-old bug in Windows will be patched by Microsoft in its latest security update. The February update for Windows will close the loophole that dates from the time of the DOS operating system.

Computing.co.uk – Lib dems propose scrapping large parts of NHS IT

Liberal Democrat shadow health secretary Norman Lamb has issued proposals to scrap NHS Connecting for Health and the Care Records Service.

CRN – Samsung and Ricoh make green list

Samsung and Ricoh are the only two audiovisual and imaging vendors named on a list of the 100 most sustainable corporations in the world, announced at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The Register – Google’s Nexus One sales still sluggish

As Google’s Nexus One smartphone celebrates its one-month birthday, word comes that Mountain View has sold a mere 80,000 of the devices.

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December 21st, 2009 by Lisa Francis

Daily News: 21/12

Silicon.com – Windows users to get browser choice as antitrust dispute settled
The European Commission has accepted Microsoft’s plan to offer a choice of browsers with Windows PCs sold in Europe.

BBC – Chinese proposal to meter internet traffic

China wants to meter all internet traffic that passes through its borders, it has emerged. The move would require international agreement – but it is being discussed by the United Nations body in charge of internet standards.

BBC – Thousands of shopping websites ‘could be breaking law’
Thousands of internet retailers may be breaking laws that protect customers, claims a consumer advocacy group.

Total Telecom – Nokia, ST-Ericsson sign long-term technology deal
Nokia Corp., the world’s largest mobile handset maker, and chipmaker ST-Ericsson said Friday they are partnering in a long-term technology deal, in a move to enhance their position in the fast growth Chinese market.

Total Telecom -Twitter hacked by ‘Iranian Cyber Army’

Popular microblogging site Twitter was briefly shut down overnight, its home page replaced with an image claiming the site had been hacked by the “Iranian Cyber Army.”

IT PRO – One in five pounds to be spent online by 2020
The internet will account for one in every five pounds of British retail spending by 2020, when online sales of electricals and books will overtake purchases made in store for the first time, according to a new study.

December 17th, 2009 by Lisa Francis

Daily News: 17/12

BBC – UK consumers enjoy ‘advanced’ digital communications
The UK is one of the world’s most advanced countries in terms of digital communications, an Ofcom report says.

BBC – UK community groups win free wi-fi

Mother and toddler groups, youth clubs and unemployment centres are among the winners of a competition offering free wi-fi to remote areas.

The Guardian – EU ends case as Microsoft offers choice of browsers
European computer users who rely upon Microsoft Windows and its Internet Explorer application to get online are to be offered the chance to switch to a competing web browser. The deal today between the software company and European Union regulators ends more than a decade of legal wrangling.

The Guardian – YouTube considering subscription fees

YouTube may begin offering subscription services that allow users to watch major new TV shows and films online, according to a senior Google executive.

IT PRO – Facebook and Google are most wanted on our mobiles

The ability to access Google and Facebook rank highest on the public’s most wanted list when choosing a new mobile phone. A survey from market analyst Strategy Analytics asked respondents in the UK and US which applications and services were most important to them on a new phone’s list of features.

July 8th, 2009 by Chris Measures

Chrome OS – will consumers join the Cloud?

With the dust settling on Google’s announcement of its first PC operating system there are two main areas that stand out.

Firstly, it is not the threat to Microsoft that commentators are trumpeting – Google is targeting the netbook market with Chrome OS. While this is growing (21 million units this year according to Gartner) it is less than 10 per cent of the estimated 278 million PCs sold. And a large chunk of netbooks already use Linux, around which Chrome is based. So there’s a fair dose of hype in the ‘this drops a bomb on Windows’ comments.

The interesting thing behind Chrome is how it aims to bring Linux and cloud computing into the mainstream. Consumers generally haven’t got involved with Linux (even Firefox has only 20 per cent of the browser market) and if Chrome is to succeed it’ll need to change that. As a lean, web-based OS it’ll also need to convince people that the Cloud is the best place to store their data and applications. These are the challenges Google has to overcome – time to focus its PR on consumers if Chrome is to take off.
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