Monthly Archive for March, 2010
The concept of a rebellious teenager mostly applies to how the individual deals with those who are outside his or her peer circle, but for those within, nothing is as conformist or as blind as another teenager in the group. This is the finding that studies have found in terms of determining the music preferred to by teenagers.
Teenagers were made to listen to various kinds of music and were asked to rate each song according to their personal preferences. After which, they were informed regarding which songs were famous, popular and well liked.
After being made aware of the public opinion towards the tracks, they were once again asked to rate the items. Without much surprise, titles that were famous had easily received high marks and those that were not famous had been abandoned for tunes that everyone else liked; so much for individuality. Further reports indicate that the teens were driven by the need to conform and by fear of being cast out or rejected for being different.
While disappointing to hear, the results have given us a new insight not only in the world of teenagers and the power of popular opinion, but also in the how much value there is to having a highly rated song, service or product. While not exactly a merit to the talents of a songwriter or a performer, bringing out a song with plenty of high ratings would certainly sell significantly better than titles with low ratings.
In an effort to blend in and belong, teenagers would opt to change their preference to match that of their peers. This defense mechanism exists to help an individual avoid rejection and find a way to belong.
Get to know more about how peer pressure affects teenager’s choices and music preference at the Times Online UK.
Tags: Music
The future of our society is in the internet. And while business companies can easily employ tutors or send their employees to special seminars to keep them up to date, the British Intelligence agency cannot afford to take such measures. And thus, despite the larger spending budget, the MI5 will be letting go of many of its older agents who are not so familiar with today’s modern technology.
Jonathan Evans, current director general for MI5, has stated that many of their current personnel lack the skills they the agency would need in the future. While field experience is a definite advantage that older agents may have, their lack of familiarity with the internet, social networking and even Twitter is starting to show.
While it was not stated as to exactly how and when these personnel would be removed from active duty has yet to be disclosed, the MI5 will not simply be tossing their agents out –many expect that substantial compensations are to be given to these men and women. MI5 has not exactly announced that it is openly seeking new individuals to occupy open posts, but it is believed that they will be scouting out personnel with more updated skills.
In any case, this latest news is another testament to how much the internet has permeated into our daily lives. With knowledge of computer usage and internet familiarity becoming a constant requirement for employment, educational establishments have made an effort in order to educate children better in the world of digital communication.
For those unfamiliar with the intelligence agency, MI5 stands for Military Intelligence, Section 5. This special agency deals with counter-intelligence, and is under the direct control of the Home Secretary of the Cabinet.
Find out more about aging spies, internet usage and how knowing Facebook and Twitter can be a big thing at the Telegraph UK.
Tags: Internet, MI5, Military Intelligence
Business do not always start out big, in fact, they tend to start small, very small. Benefits such as subsidies, incentives and tax breaks goes a long way when it comes to helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) get past the first few years of operation.
With the elections coming soon, Chancellor Alistair Darling hits several important points in the budget delivery that is certain to earn him much needed support. He outlined several points regarding the borrowing of funds and government investments, as well as some key points with the expansion of broadband services.
The Chancellor also announced the need to start the UK New Fund for Growth, which aims to provide a considerable degree of financial aid to SMEs. It is estimated that the New Fund for Growth would reach up to £500 million. A massive tax reduction and exclusion deal will affect the tax rates for over 500 thousand business –of which, 345 thousand would be exempt from paying taxes for a duration of time.
For the mobile phone industry, none of these announcements will be more significant than the push for tax breaks for video game developers. As many apps are actually games (more than 40% of app store programs are games), many developers would qualify for this much needed tax break. This will not only help expand major development studios, but also smaller startup groups that are still making their name on the scene.
Having tax breaks provide help to both local businesses and in attracting more professionals to start up shop here. The UK has slowly dropped from third to fifth place in the top game developing countries in the world –as countries such as Canada start offering incentives to studios, many are discouraging from investing within the UK. This tax break should help change that situation and possibly, open up new jobs.
Get to know more about Chancellor Alistair’s budget delivery at Mobile Today UK.
Tags: Alistair-Darling, apps, Fund-for-Growth
At a time when the UK and most of the global community is in an economic downturn, would it truly be prudent to offer the video games industry a “tax break”?
Ironically, despite being an industry that produces electronic luxury goods, there remains a solid and consistent market for video games. In fact the game industry contributes around 1 billion GBP to the country’s GDP each year. The reason is simple, while games are not necessary for people to live it is a primary part of many lifestyles. Just like movies, television and other entertainment arts, the demand for video games is growing consistently.
Originally, the UK was one of the top three producers of video games, next to Japan and the United States. However, with many other countries offering subsidies, incentives and other benefits to game developers, most of the UK’s homegrown talent find themselves in search of better pickings outside of the country.
Not that the UK is low on talent, developers such as Media Molecule are still around. But if we want to keep having these industries in the UK, then the tax break should push through –among other forms of support.
The reverse of the situation also applies here, with the UK offering tax breaks to game developers it will attract companies from other countries to open up development studios here. This will in turn not only generate income for the country, but it will also generate plenty of job opportunities. At the same time, having plenty of game developers would foster a good degree of competition, pushing the quality of products even more.
Of course, justifying the need to recognize the gaming industry is simple. Even BAFTA (the British Academy of Film and Television Arts), recognizes the many creative talents behind video games.
Learn more about the effects of the tax break at the Telegraph UK.
Tags: BAFTA, video-games
The iPhone OS 4.0 gets a confirmed universal email inbox system from none other than the world-famous Apple CEO, Steve Jobs. The feature has long been the request of many iPhone operating system fans and has been a frequent request since its initial launch.
The email came from Julio Rodriguez. He asked whether the new iPhone operating system would sport something close to the Android’s universal mailbox to help manage several email accounts at the same time without being required to log off and switch between them. This is an excerpt from his email:
“…anyway, I just have one question for you; will iPhone ever have a universal mailbox just like Mail has on my Mac? It would be so much easier and efficient.”
The answer he got from Steve Jobs was a simple “Yep” from his iPad which probably indicates that the system will be available in the 4.0 version of the iPhone operating system. Rumors about the iPhone OS version 4.0 features are plenty. Theories of included features involve a multitasking feature and a means to automatically add related contacts.
The reply is a good sign indeed. Apple has been known to slowly improve their services based on user requests and common issues. One example is the copy and paste function that was given as an update last year. Is this a hoax? Steve Jobs does have the habit of occasionally replying to mail sent trough his official email address (steve@apple.com).
He may have sent the reply to finally assure the fans and have them quiet down about the issue. Even though very little information about the next generation of iPhone’s features is known at this point, some specs may be released soon because Steve Jobs just gave his employees a briefing about it after the iPad reveal last January.
Read Julio’s full email at Geek.
Tags: Apple-iPhone
Determining which part of the bill will remain intact to be debated upon this coming April (when the Digital Economy Bill will be re-read on the 6th) is pretty much close to impossible, but we can paint a pretty good picture of how the UK would turn out if they pass the Bill the way it is now.
First off, Ofcom will have a lot on its hands. Establishing 2mbps connections is all a matter of time, as technology trends would eventually allow networks to reach that point. If the bill introduces a deadline however, expect to see plenty of petition and motions to push the date back to a more reasonable time.
Game distribution companies will have to contend with a new classification system (though players would simply raise a curious eyebrow since we already have Pegi). Game developers on the other hand, would enjoy a new tax break that would allow them to allocate more funds in game development –potentially opening up new job opportunities within the industry.
ISPs, businesses and establishments offering internet and WiFi services would have to restructure their operations. ISPs would have to spend millions in the monitoring of internet activity and for creating a system that would enable them to notify government officials, users in question and other related parties should a subscriber be suspected of engaging in illegal internet activities.
For businesses and other establishments, having internet connection accessible would leave them vulnerable to problems arising from activities of their users on the system. Expect to see free WiFi hotspots to start shutting down one after the other and internet cafes to close up shop.
The worst part of this all is that the internet will lose its charm. The UK would have sacrificed freedom and connectivity for a blind shot at curbing piracy –which, as no prediction is needed, would hardly even cease.
Get to know more about the effects of the Digital Economy Bill at V3 UK.
Tags: Piracy
We all want positive change, which is why the phrase “change the world” often alludes to wonderful things, but in reality, there are plenty of world-changing things that are not so great; the atomic bomb, global warming, AIDS, and now Twitter.
Like all things of tech, the micro blogging tool Twitter is just that, a tool. But as a potential bearer of updates, news and information, Twitter can prove to be an extremely powerful tool.
As shown with societies striving hard in order to bring awareness to the world of their plight, Twitter is a blessing enabling everyone to know about major tragedies, accidents, disasters and more. Relief efforts to help out victims of two major earthquakes were spread about and partially conducted through Twitter with surprising success.
At the same time, Twitter can be used as a tool for bringing misfortune –intentionally or unintentionally. This is mostly due to a simple misunderstanding; all it takes is for a few people to misinterpret a joke or opinion as a fact before they spread it to other people as truth.
This is the case for French President Sarkozy who has become the target to a rumor involving him and his wife. The shameful news reports have even leapt from the internet to tabloids –proof of how much trouble misinformation can cause.
This is not a sole case, many famous individuals have been reported dead, missing, in trouble and in other fictional states that has caused a degree of concern and worry –often with drastic results; the Egyptian stock market lost plenty of money when it was rumored that the president had died in a gall bladder operation. In truth, President Mubarak had a successful operation and the man is alive and kicking. The stock market loss however, was unrecoverable.
Get to know more about the various troubles that Twitter and misinformation can cause at Times Online UK.
Tags: Twitter
Google thinks big. Big meaning they want to be visible in virtually every medium they can possibly cover. That being said, Google is out to showcase the Android operating system’s power by bringing it to your television screen. That is going to be the biggest screen used to surf the web and access their variety of online services.
Now this would only be possible if they have actual television and technology partnerships running. That is why they enlisted the help of Sony, Intel and Logitech to bring the online experience to your television screens. For branding and product distribution, Sony is on the job. Intel will be providing the hardware powering the product as a whole and Logitech will provide the navigation related peripherals.
While Google TV is still an unconfirmed project, the New York Times has confirmed that the companies involved all have pending jobs from Google. This project may still be hush-hush for now but the sources having Android related projects are a dead giveaway.
All of the big names involved in the project obviously have a stake in the success of it. Google’s aim is easy to see, they want to reach beyond the smart phone world to showcase the power of the Android. Sony will benefit the most from selling their brand of LCD TVs and the actual set-top boxes. Logitech would get the profit from the accessories and peripherals needed for the product and Intel would have steady revenue from their Atom processor.
If the project is a success, Google TV may be appended as a feature built inside new television models to get rid of the required set-top box. Who doesn’t want PC power built right into the television? If this venture comes into fruition, then Google TV will definitely dominate the market since it is already a loved operating system. Thanks to the Google Android on smart phones of course.
More details about Google TV can be found at Geek.
Tags: Android, Android-TV, Google-TV
HTC has announced its stand against Apple’s previous lawsuit regarding over 20 Apple patents with regards to iPhone’s underlying technology, user interface and specific hardware designs. The Taiwanese mobile phone manufacturer has openly declared that they respect healthy competition for their supporters and will be prepared to face Apple’s charges head on. Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation clearly said this in his statement:
“HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible.”
The public announcement then continues with a list of innovations from HTC such as the first Windows PDA (1998), the first Windows Phone (June 2002), the first gesture-based smart phone (June 2007), the first Google Android smart phone (October 2008), HTC Sense user experience (2009) among others.
The vice president of HTC America has also released his views regarding the matter. He states that collaboration has always been a key factor in their overall success:
“HTC has always taken a partnership-oriented, collaborative approach to business. This has led to long-standing strategic partnerships with the top software, Internet and wireless technology companies in the industry as well as the top U.S., European and Asian mobile operators. It is through these relationships that we have been able to deliver the world’s most diverse series of smart phones to an even more diverse group of people around the world, recognizing that customers have very different needs.”
If Apple does get a one up over HTC, then consumers may suffer with the lack of options. The iPhone manufacturer does tend to keep a tight hold of its partnerships unlike other non-exclusive team ups with other phone companies. Having the Taiwanese phone manufacturer as a competitor in the smart phone industry is truly an asset for consumers.
Knowing the myriad of patents that Apple holds, they may be facing more companies in court but that is only if HTC fails to thwart Apple’s plans of dominating the industry.
More information about HTC’s stand can be read at Engadget.
Tags: Apple, HTC
With all the press covering the Windows Phone 7 updates, it is a wonder why coverage of the device actually making a phone call was nonexistent for a while. Lucky enough, it can call other mobile phones. Sure, this sounds like a silly thing to debate on, but with the release of two big (and very disappointing) announcements, a lot of people held their breath.
First would be the lack of multitasking support for Windows Phone 7. How can this be? Microsoft has seen fans trying to convince Apple to release multitasking for its iPhone. Just when rumors start circulating about Apple bringing multitasking to their iPhone operating system version 4.0, Microsoft decides to follow the older, incomplete Apple business model that lacks multitasking. That would have been a huge asset for Microsoft, seeing as they are still new to the market, but they passed it up.
Now another disappointment rears its ugly head with the lack of a copy and paste functionality for the Windows Phone 7. This is very interesting news indeed because the Windows Phone 7 has a plethora of business apps courtesy of Microsoft Office. Instead, users will have to settle for a “smart linking” feature wherein addresses and phone numbers are identified by the phone and will be ready to transfer by double clicking on it. What this means is say goodbye to user-friendly Office applications and say hello to tedious amounts of text inputs.
At least the Windows Phone 7 demo units are able to call each other. And Microsoft has confirmed that a simple tap on an icon would expand into options such as speaker phone, mute and conference calls, although as of now those functions are not available yet.
Since Windows Phone 7 is only in the horizon and not launching anytime soon, Microsoft still has time to revise their plans and include the previously omitted functions. We will just have to see how things go.
Watch the Windows Phone 7 demo video at Engadget.
Tags: Windows-Phone-7
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