Orange and 3 bring TV to 3G mobiles

TV broadcast to mobiles has arrived in the UK, as Orange and 3 launch new channels. Big Brother is the flagship product that the operators hope will win them a new audience for their TV channels. Due to start within a week or so, the annual excruciating insight into the lives of the dull and desperate will be available 24/7 on 3G phones running the new TV services. ...more

ISPs slam attempts to reveal alleged file sharers

UK Internet service providers have slammed attempts by the music industry to persuade them to give up the identities of alleged file sharers. The Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA), an umbrella organisation for UK ISPs, described a letter by the BPI to two of its members, Tiscali and Bulldog, as 'detrimental to the spirit of co-operation' that the Internet industry wants to foster with the music business. While insisting that it does not support 'abuses of copyright and intellectual property theft', the ISPA said that its members would be acting outside the law if they co-operated with BPI demands. ...more

Net uses getting lost in new technology terms

Internet users are generally unfamiliar with the plethora of new terminologies, such as phishing, RSS and podcasting. A US study by Pew Internet and American Life found that 70 per cent of Web users have never heard of phishing and are unaware that it refers to email scams designed to elicit personal, usually financial information. Podcasting, which recently received much mainstream press coverage after Apple integrated support for podcasts into iTunes, is equally mysterious to 87 per cent. ...more

Macs turn around UK school

Apple is trumpeting the change in fortunes of a school in Hampshire after it equipped a new building with a complete Mac-based IT infrastructure. Wildren School has seen the pass rate for five or more A* to C grades rise from 38 per cent of pupils to 86 per cent, and headteacher Jeffery Threlfall says that it is the Macs that have made the difference. 'Our focus is on quality teaching and improving opportunities for children to learn, not on technology for its own sake. ...more

IR35 goes to Judicial Review

The High Court in London today sees the start of a Judicial Review of the IR35 tax regulations, which have a particular impact on IT contractors. Justice Burton will be hearing the Judicial Review over the course of three days - it is due to finish on Thursday 15 March. The Review cannot rule on the merits of the original legislation, however, but only oversee the legality of introducing it in the first place. ...more