Web 2.0 flowers in IBM's Lotus Connections productivity suite

IBM's Lotus unit is set to launch a service called Connections, dubbed as a 'MySpace for office workers' IBM is taking the battle for productivity software into the social networking arena. Up against the latest offerings from Office 2007, IBM's Lotus unit is set to launch a service called Connections featuring the online sharing of information. In a bid to improve the workings of groups it combines five components: member profiles, activities, blogs, communities and something called 'dogear', which is IBM's term for how users share web bookmarks with colleagues. ...more

A fifth of kids using youth chatrooms are approached by paedophiles

A draft report issued by the Internet Crime Forum (ICF), a joint venture between the Government, law enforcement agencies and ISPs, quotes recent research in the US that 20 per cent of children using chatrooms are approached by paedophiles. It continues: "65 per cent of these approaches were initiated in chat rooms, although generally such relationships are subsequently developed through instant messaging, email and telephone contact." The report found that many children go online in their bedrooms and recommends that instead parents install computers in the lounge in order to monitor them more closely. ...more

ASA slaps AOL's wrists over exaggerated Megabit broadband claims

AOL has fallen foul of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over its claims for a broadband service. The standards body has upheld objections over an advert for a '1MB service' - according to the complainant, a 1Mbit/sec connection was unlikely because the service would be shared with other users. AOL had run a national press advertisement headlined 'AOL Introduces 1Mb Broadband . ...more

Mobile phone growth not so smart

According to new research, mobile phone leftovers from last year have resulted in sluggish shipment figures during the first three months of 2007, as manufacturers try to shift excess handsets. Around 252 million units were shipped in Q1, representing just 12 per cent growth year-on-year and marking the first time in almost two years that annual growth has dipped below 20 per cent, according to figures from Strategy Analytics' Q1 2007 Global Handset Market Share Update report. During the last six quarters, global mobile shipments have been racking up growth of around 25 per cent on average, which is a stark contrast to the most recent market activity. ...more

UK gamers look but don't touch on games sites

Games sites are attracting visitors by the truck load in the UK, but only a small proportion are actually playing online, says monitoring firm NetValue. According to figures, 20 per cent of UK surfers visit games sites, but only around eight per cent of those actually participate in multi-player gaming. In the US, 28 per cent of surfers visit games sites and 20 per cent of those play online. ...more