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Exclusive In Depth News Feature: 'This is not three strikes and you're out. It is a letter.'

Dan Grabham — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:42:00 GMT

A leading analyst believes that the primary upshot of the BPI's letter-sending will be to cut file sharing amongst children as a result of making their parents aware, while a legal expert we've spoken to believes that ISPs should get at least some of the blame.

Mark Mulligan, VP and Research Director, JupiterResearch, warns the letter may not have the same impact among young adults while Simon Levine, joint global head of the technology, media and commercial group at DLA Piper thinks today's deal could also be "a step too far."

However, Mulligan doesn't see the move as quite that serious. "It is not 'three strikes and you're out'. It is a letter," he muses, adding that it has "a quite specific primary target group: families. 69 percent of UK music file sharers are aged under 35 and 51 percent are aged under 25." He adds that these can be broken down into three categories; children at home, students away from home and young adults.

Of these, Mulligan says that many are perfectly well aware of what they're doing and "only the more nervous and conscientious can be expected to stop after receiving a letter."

All about the kids

Mulligan thinks the letters will have some success though - particularly among children living at home. As recipients of ISP bills, parents will be the ones to receive the letters. "It can be expected that a decent chunk of those will chastise their children and work on changing their ways."

However, many children are more tech savvy than their parents, so Mulligan says there is a risk that file sharing might continue without parental knowledge. "A follow up letter here would probably bring the issue to a head," adds Mulligan.

"If the BPI could get a sizeable chunk of file sharing kids of the network that will be quantifiable success for what is a significantly more palatable approach to the problem than the RIAA has pursued and France is pursuing."

As we talked about earlier, Mulligan also believes that the legal download offerings are another integrated part of this complex puzzle.

ISPs should shoulder some of the blame

Levine also feels that ISPs should get at least some of the blame. "given they ultimately reap the financial benefits of such internet traffic."

"Clearly, the spread of illegal downloading dangerously undermines the entertainment industries and dilutes the value of copyright law," he says, adding that "an attempt to turn ISPs from gamekeepers to poachers, whether via a 'three strikes' system or other 'block and stop' methods, is not the full answer.

"Quite apart from posing a potential contradiction to wider privacy and data protection law, the feasibility of implementing and enforcing such proposals is far from certain."

He feels that any future legislation in this area would be unworkable and "would require an inordinate, and potentially indiscriminate, level of digital surveillance and policing from ISPs." For one thing, telling the legal from the illegal will have to rely on much more reliable methods than those that abound at present. "To avoid a broad brush criminalisation of all file-sharers, blocking techniques will need to become more sophisticated and closely regulated," adds Levine.

And as such, ISPs would need support from legal agencies in order to do this and note be solely responsible. If responsibility was to lie solely with them, Levine points out that they would turn from "'mere conduits' into active arbitrators, opening a can of worms us digital lawyers may never be able to close."

"What is clear is that wholesale solutions are not the answer; a combination of stick and carrot is required. Only when the industry is acting unilaterally and accepts a shared responsibility for piracy, will it have any hope of enduring against it," adds Levine, somewhat finally. But that's only the beginning of the story, isn't it?

600 Euros for driving with mobiles in Portugal

Gareth Beavis — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:14:00 GMT

Using your mobile phone at the wheel in Europe could cost you more than you think if you're travelling about a bit.

A study by Jabra has shown you could be stung for up to €600 if you get caught with your mobile plastered to you ear, with Portugal (€600 / £475) and Italy (€584 / £462) among the highest chargers.

Greece: frightening

If you're feeling a bit risky, you can always try the offence in Greece, where it will cost you a mere €60 (£48) to get nicked, but they'll have your license for a month, which might destroy your fun if you're on a driving holiday.

It seems the place to go if you're into getting fined for using a mobile while driving, but haven't got much money, then Russia is your destination of choice.

For a mere €8.5 (£6.70) you can drive with your tunes playing and chatting to that delightful girl you met in Moscow the night before if the police catch up with you.

Have a look at the handy map if you're planning a mobile-happy holiday across the continent.

Exclusive: Be welcomes BPI campaign, but won’t give out user details

Dan Grabham — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:04:00 GMT

O2-owned ISP Be has spoken to TechRadar of its support for today's announcement of anti-piracy measures by the BPI - but warned it won't be giving out user information lightly.

Oli White, the company's Head of Marketing, told us that it was only right that ISPs should "engage in communicating the issue of illegal file-sharing to their customers."

However, he warned that third parties won't be able to glean information from them without due legal process. "We are getting an increasing number of requests for information about members who [third parties] believe have infringed their copyright or other intellectual property rights," explains White.

The ISP has clear guidelines on how it deals with such requests, specifically that 'requesters' need a Court Order to glean user information from the company.

"To keep members informed of what's going on in most circumstances we will try to contact the member in question to make them aware that we have had a request from the rights holder," adds White.

So far so nice, but when a Court Order is served, Be says it's not able to be so communicative with its customer. "Under circumstances when a Court Order is served on Be, which requires us to supply information about member activity, we will comply with the Order and pass the relevant contact information to the rights holder," White says.

However, in this instance Be admits that it won't tell the member this has occurred as doing so would, most likely "compromise the investigation related to the Court Order."

Ah, the wave of a lawyer's wand.

Blog: Touch screens - fine for iPhones but dumb for desktops

Luis Villazon — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:50:00 GMT

Futurologists are such idiots. The mouse will die out within 5 years, say "analysts" at Gartner. They will be replaced with touch-screens and face recognition, apparently. As if.

The evidence, we are told, is that the touch-screen powered iPhone and the Wii are really popular and they don't use a mouse. Well my barbeque doesn't need a mouse either but I'm not going to try and control my computer with a spatula any time soon, says our Computing logger Luis Villazon.

Read on for the rest of Luis Villazon's finely-calibrated rant and tell us what you think of the current hype around touch screens.

NESTA supports Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2008

Adam Hartley — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:49:00 GMT

The National Endowment for Science Technology & the Arts (NESTA) has launched the £450,000 Raise the Game initiative to drive growth, collaboration and innovation in the UK games industry - and confirmed its support for the three-day Edinburgh Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2008

Raise the Game is a joint initiative set up by games developers body TIGA, The University of Abertay's Dare to be Digital and Crossover Innovation Labs, "to help the industry build on the world-class creative talent base already in the UK."

Mentoring and recruiting

Raise the Game involves four key strands: a mentoring programme teaming experienced business gurus up with small games companies in order to grow their business; recruitment assistance and help in easing skill shortages; the nurturing of new innovative talent and, finally, Crossover's 'innovation labs' - bringing small games companies in contact with commissioners from other creative industries from beyond the traditional games sector.

EIF's release just in informs us that: "NESTA believes innovation across these areas is vital for helping the billion-pound games sector perform successfully against global competition. The initiative builds on an already world-class creative talent base in the UK to help games SMEs achieve the commercial success their talent deserves."

Nurturing creative talent

Director of Creative Economy Programme with NESTA, Jon Kingsbury, said: "We are delighted to have been invited to this year's [EIF] event to unveil Raise the Game, which is seeking to provide a means by which the industry can work together and draw from the enormous amount of creative talent currently available.

"This new programme will be instrumental in fostering creativity and building relationships throughout the games industry and beyond to ensure the innovation and growth capacities of UK companies are harnessed."

Celebrate innovation

The Edinburgh Interactive Festival is one of the UK's best games related events, in terms of bringing together consumers, avid gamers and creative members of the UK's too-little-celebrated games development industry.

Basically, if you want to get hands on time with the latest games, check out previews of what's in store for Xmas or just do a bit of hob-nobbing to nab yourself a job, then this year's Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2008 (10th-12th August) is the place you need to be.

For full details on who and what you might get to see at the festival you can check out edinburghinteractivefestival.com

Toshiba introduces Centrino 2 laptops

Marc Chacksfield — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:34:00 GMT

Toshiba has announced an updated range of Satellite and Satellite Pro laptops that utilise Centrino 2 technology.

The updates are across the whole range and encompass the P300-18M and the P300-19P, while the Satellite Pro models include, among others, the A300-1EA, A300-1E7 and U400-130.

Portégé range

And it's not just the Satelitte lappies that have been given new intel chips, either. Toshiba's sleek and stylish Portégé M800 also houses a Centrino 2 chip and is out now in a limited edition 'white pearl' design.

Other specs include a: 320GB hard disk drive, 2GB DDR2 (667MHz) + 2GB DDR2 (800MHz) RAM, and a 13.3in WXGA TruBrite TFT Display.

The laptop is, according to Toshiba, is "perfect for the style-conscious business professional as it is for the style-conscious consumer."

The Toshiba Portégé M800 is available now for £749.

Qosmio range

And lastly we come to the company's Qosmio range. And you've guessed it; the laptops have Intel Centrino 2 inside.

As reported last month, the laptops also include Toshiba's new Quad Core HD Processor, which powers things like gesture control and new integrated video upscaling technology.

The F50 and G50 models are available now, with pricing for the series starting at £899.

The X300 model, the company's latest gaming machine, houses Intel Core2 Duo Extreme processors, up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM and dual hard disk drives with capacity of up to 640GB. There's also the welcomed inclusion of an nVIDIA GeForce graphics and a 5.1 channel Harmon Kardon sound system. The price for this laptop begins at £1,199.

Google invests in the electric car

Marc Chacksfield — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:56:00 GMT

Google has announced that it is to fund two companies developing technology for plug-in electric vehicles.

The companies, Aptera Motors of Carlsbad, California and Austin-based ActaCell, are to receive a significant sum of money. Quite how much we don't know as the investment is undisclosed.

So, what will the companies do with Google's hard-earned cash? Aptera Motors will put it towards developing an ultra-high efficiency vehicle based on improved aerodynamics and composite materials.

ActaCell will use it to further their studies in lithium-ion battery technology, looking to further the life of the batteries and lower the costs.

Crucial technology

Speaking about the funding, Google's investments principal Karl Sun said: "We are pleased to announce our first RechargeIT investments in two promising companies tackling the challenge of vehicle electrification.

"Both of these innovative companies and their capable teams are working to develop technology that is crucial to helping us realise the RechargeIT vision of millions of plug-in vehicles on the road."

Musician's Union welcomes BPI piracy crackdown

Adam Hartley — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:49:00 GMT

Following today's piracy crackdown by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) the Musician's Union has come out in favour of the BPI's latest initiative.

"Broadly speaking, we welcome the announcements made today as a step in the right direction," said John Smith, General Secretary of the Musicians' Union.

"Illegal downloading is a massive issue - and is becoming more and more common. Recent research by British Music Rights (BMR) and the University of Hertfordshire showed that 63% of young people download illegally.

Fight for your rights

"Illegal downloading is detrimental to performers and seriously limits their ability to earn just rewards for their creativity," Smith added.

The key problem, as Smith outlines is that it is "very difficult for musicians to fight against illegal downloading, because most of them do not own the rights of a song or its recording.

"This means that they have to contact their publisher and record label, who retain these rights, with details of how they think a track's copyright is being infringed.

"Industry groups can then contact internet service providers in the hope that they will take down infringing sites. But the nature of the web means that is rarely a permanent solution."

A permanent solution?

In reality, it's never going to be a permanent solution. However, the Musician's Union has to be seen to be defending it's members, so it really has no option but to be seen publicly to be siding with the BPI on this latest move to combat piracy.

"It is vital that we find a way of dealing with the major problem of illegal downloading, and for this reason we welcome any steps that the Government may take in this direction," Smith says.

"The Government has previously said that it hopes that the music industry and internet service providers can come to their own agreement, but Ministers need to be prepared to resort to legislation if this is unsuccessful and for this reason we welcome the announcements made today."

Sagem plays it cool with So iCE

Gareth Beavis — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:56:00 GMT

Sagem has decided the world needs more low-end phones, and has released the new my721x So iCE to remedy the problem.

The brushed aluminium phone packs a pretty good snapper for the price, with 3.2MP available for you to take snaps to show your friends, family and anyone who you think might be interested in your dog wearing sunglasses.

The talktime is also not too bad for a low-end device, with three hours of chat, and a respectable 200 hours standby time if you totally didn't touch it for the entire time.

Memory included

You even get a 512MB memory card included in the pack for holding up to 250 songs…or about seven minutes of video.

But with a 265k 2in screen, it's unlikely you'd buy this to replace your media player really, isn't it?

Available for just £80 from Argos and T-Mobile stores (and surprisingly, on the T-Mobile network).

Exclusive: Music press slams BPI

Adam Hartley — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:54:00 GMT

Members of the UK's music industry and press have spoken out against the BPI's plans to send 'hundreds of thousands' of warning letters to those downloading music illegally.

"There's clearly a massive problem with piracy, but you cannot put the genie back in the bottle," NME news editor Paul Stokes told TechRadar.

Like 2002 never ended

Stokes feels that the BPI's current initiative is a throwback to similar attempts to crack down on online piracy six or seven years ago.

"It's basically 2002 all over again," Stokes said. "It's an attempt to try to criminalise their market, just because there's a generation now that won't buy music without being able to hear it first.

"It's just a shame that they [the BPI] are barking up this tree again, they need to engage with fans that are doing this [illegally downloading music] and try to bring them back in the fold."

"The BPI is acting like a headmaster telling off a naughty pupil!"

New revenue streams

Stokes feels that the BPI should be looking towards developing new ways of monetising music online, citing initiatives such as such as Radiohead's honesty-box trial and the "360-degree deals that some of the majors are currently looking at."

Joe Wilson, Director of Studies at the University of Gloucestershire's Department of Popular Music concurs with this position.

"The BPI initiative is basically the music industry trying to throw its weight around, using people like Carphone Warehouse to do their work for them," Wilson told TechRadar.

"Really what they should be doing is investing in new revenue streams in order to promote new music. Specifically, the creation of new copyrightable works, as opposed to this over-reliance on old dinosaurs' back catalogues."

In Depth News Feature: Editor's Choice: Top six plasma TVs

James Rivington — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:31:00 GMT

While lots of LCD TVs can wow department store shoppers with their bright screens and shiny bezels, there is a hidden truth.

Even poor televisions can look good underneath bright fluorescent store lights. But only the best can look stunning in pitch black test conditions.

In most LCD TVs, blacks appear more like deep-water greys. Fast moving footage judders across the screen as the panel fails to keep up with the action. And colour accuracy can sometimes be so far from real-life you'd be amazed.

So how do you guarantee you're getting the best TV for all conditions? The answer is to buy a high-end plasma TV. Simply put, they leave LCD televisions in the dust.

Plasma TVs have a larger and more accurate colour range, a higher contrast ratio and better black levels for improved depth of field.

LCD manufacturers often quote wide viewing angles but don't mention that although the picture is still visible at a wider angle, the quality of picture decreases dramatically off axis. Plasma viewing angles are comparable yet maintain the full picture quality at all times.

Motion response times are also better in plasma TVs. That's because they typically have less than a millisecond response time; Even the best LCDs are just about hitting two milliseconds. This is too slow for fast moving action and results in blurred edges especially in fine detail areas.

Ironically, LCDs only hold a 1080p resolution with a static image. When the image moves fast, the perceived resolution your eye resolves from a 1080p LCD is actually less than standard definition.

With this in mind, here's a six-pack of the best (plasma) televisions that money can buy...

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1. Pioneer Kuro PDP-LX6090 - £4200

It's not often that you get to see a product that literally shocks you with its jaw-dropping immense quality. The 9th generation (G9) plasma TV series from Pioneer is one of them. This 60-inch model is the best television in the world.

And that's not an exaggeration. There is not a television out there that you could buy - at any price - that's better than this one.

For its G9 panels, Pioneer has nigh-on eliminated light bleed from individual cells and, therefore, can directly control the luminance of each separate pixel of the 1920 x 1080 resolution without any 'muddying' of colours or, indeed, black itself.

This has a secondary benefit; while blacks retain their integrity, brightness (white) is also represented with pinpoint accuracy.

Add in excellent colour fidelity and you get an astonishing picture. A simple example is illustrated with many disclaimer scenes at the front of DVDs or Blu-ray discs, which are generally white text on a black background.

Most, if not all, TVs will show glowing or ghosting around the edges of the words, not so here.
On both of these Kuro screens, they are as solid as if they'd been printed.

And the white is, well... completely white. Not yellow or grey, but Duluxstyle white.

Oh, and there's the small matter of the fact that, even in our own Tech Labs, we tested the contrast ratio of the LX6090, in real world circumstances, at almost 47,869:1 - not claimed - tested. Read our full review.

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2. Pioneer Kuro PDP-LX5090 - £2500

It's no real surprise then that the second best television in existence is the Pioneer Kuro LX-5090. It's essentially the same telly but with a 50-inch screen instead of a 60-inch one.

Amazingly, the contrast ration on this model beat that of the 60-inch version in our test lab - 50,615:1 instead of 47,869:1.

No other screens tested have ever come anywhere close.

What that means is that even though you won't get quite as much of a cinematic feel as the larger set, quality is retained and even improved in the smaller model.

The shadow detail on these sets is simply amazing, giving images an almost 3D appeal.

And without any intricate tweaking, we were able to get the colour temperature to a perfect 65K without compromise. And therefore we could spin the Blu-ray edition of Men in Black safe in the knowledge that we were seeing it as the director intended - at 24 frames per second, with a wholly accurate colour field.

Absolutely stunning

As has been widely reported, these will be the last Kuro TVs to feature Pioneer-made glass. From 2009, the company will source its substrates from rival Panasonic.

It remains to be seen how they'll compare to these beauties. TV connoisseurs should care less, though; resisting these screens is futile. Our advice is buy now and enjoy. Read our full review.

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3. Pioneer Kuro PDP-LX608D - £4000

And here comes another telly from Pioneer. This is the flagship model from the last generation. That doesn't mean it's out of date though - because while it's been outstripped by Pioneer's latest models, this ones is still one of the best TVs out there on the market.

The LX608D is a remarkable TV in so many ways. We could enthuse about the cinematic impact it delivers, and how it still has amazing black levels.

We could even say that its performance is so good, that this is the TV that put to rest any ghosts of Toshiba's now-dead SED technology. But perhaps it's sufficient just to say that this is probably one of the most accomplished TVs in the world - even though it's now a year old.

The key consideration for anyone thinking about buying this TV is price. If you can get it for considerably less than the £4200 that the LX6090 is going for, then it's certainly a good option. However, if prices fail to come down, you might be better off going for the newer model. Read our full review.

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4. Panasonic TH-58PZ700B - £2300

Enthusiasts of TV techno-bling troubled by the sheer choice of 50-,52- , 60- and 65in screens now have a new configuration to ponder: 58in.

More than some, less than others. Actually, the size transpires to be a great fit for plasma-king Panasonic.

The brand's new TH-58PZ700B is a glossy Full HD TV, with plenty of clever tech to justify the £2300 asking price. We were particularly impressed by the barely visible 'SmartSound' stereo speakers, which deliver probably the best audio we've heard on a flatscreen.
In terms of performance, the TH-58PZ700B transcends expectations.

With the exquisite HD DVD version of Blade Runner, Ridley Scott's dystopian LA has never looked better.

Thanks to this Panny's wide contrast range, the city's grime, rain and shadowy depths are all brought to stunning life - even though the TV falls short of delivering a true black.

The sheer resolution of HD comes across well; everylit window in the Tyrell offices is individually discernable.

As the movie's frequent neon lighting demonstrates, saturated colours are superbly-rendered, but so to are more subtle hues and shades.

Digital TV is a little on the 'soft' side, which admittedly helps to mask artifacts. A digital noise reduction facility is only effective in the removal of 'grain' from analogue sources.

Overall, the Panasonic TH-58PZ700B is a superior plasma television, perfect for big-screen movie viewing.

This may not be as good as the 60-inch offerings from Pioneer, but the significantly cheaper retail price makes it a real contender. Read our full review.

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5. Samsung PS-63P76FD - £2600

The glossy, ultra-minimalist black bezel on this TV gives it at least a modicum of predictable style.

Although it looks more like an overweight version of one of the brand's 32in LCDs than a genuinely-styled 63-inch panel.

Connectivity is good. The 63P76 features three HDMI v1.3 inputs, compatible with DeepColor (the expanded colour palette from specific software, such as AVCHD format home movies and certain PlayStation 3 games), and automatic lip-syncing.

Image quality is high. The set is compatible with 1080p/24 source material, be it HD DVD or Blu-ray, meaning that pans are more-or-less judder-free on film material.

Also undeniably impressive is the Samsung's black level response. The darkness of the Berlin Warehouse assault on the HD DVD of Mission: Impossible: III looks rich and three-dimensional; it's genuinely cinematic.

The Samsung easily outguns its rival Fujitsu 63in model in this area.

It's very difficult to make a self-emitting technology like plasma look bright on such a large screen.

It is possible to get better performance from some of its rivals, but then you'll almost certainly pay more for the privilege. Read our full review.

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6. LG 50PG6000 - £800

LG claims the 50PG6000 offers the blackest ever blacks on a plasma TV.

Pioneer's 8G Kuro plasma promised a 20,000:1 contrast ratio, whereas this sumptuous plasma giant claims to top that by 50 per cent.
So is there a catch? Well, yes. Unlike pretty much every other big-screen plasma available, it does not use a Full HD panel.

This is a 720p product - one of the reasons why it's a lot cheaper than the others listed heree. So does that make it a non-starter with Full HD sources such as Blu-ray and HD DVD?

Amazingly, the answer appears to be 'No'.

We've been long convinced that Full HD is the only way to go if you want to enjoy every ounce of available HD goodness, but this modest monster went some way to blowing our preconceptions asunder.

In a PQ battle with Sony's hi-spec 1080p KDL-46W3000 LCD it wins by a country mile.

Clearly the lack of Full HD resolution will limit the LG 50PG6000's appeal to high-enders and future-proofers alike, but this screen remains a bargain. Read our full review.

Exclusive: Carphone Warehouse kowtows to BPI

Marc Chacksfield — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:16:00 GMT

Carphone Warehouse has finally agreed terms with the BPI, who had been threatening the company with legal action for not cutting off its customers for downloading music illegally.

TalkTalk, which is a subsidiary of Carphone Warehouse, was the first ISP to state publicly that it would NOT enforce the BPI's 'three-strikes and you're out' policy.

Back in April this year, Charles Dunstone, CEO, The Carphone Warehouse Group, spoke to the The Telegraph and said: "[The BPI] have been quite heavy-handed in the way they have threatened us.

"They are trying to position this as 'we are friendly and we all want to work together,' but they are threatening legal action in their first letter to me."

About turn

It seems that the company is now following the line with the BPI, having signed up to the institutes's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) - one of six main ISPs to have done so.

In a statement today, Dunstone explained Carphone Warehouse's stance on the new BPI initiative: "It is not our job to tell customers what they should or shouldn't be doing but we believe it is in their interests to warn them that they are being accused of wrongdoing," says Dunstone.

"We will not divulge a customer's details or disconnect them on the say so of the content industry, but we will work with rights holders to develop a sensible and legal approach founded on protecting consumer rights and privacy."

Testing times

In the statement, the company also calls the MOU a "test", explaining that: "As part of the agreement TalkTalk will take part in a test to write to customers to tell them that rights holders (such as music or film companies) are alleging that their broadband connection has been used to illegally offer content for upload."

The MOU is part of a three-month consultation period that is being conducted by BERR (the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform).

The consultation is titled: 'Consultation On Legislative Options To Address Illicit Peer-to-Peer File-Sharing', and is available to read on BERR's website . Warning: at 66 pages long it's a bit of a beast!

Five ways musicians can flourish in a P2P world

Patrick Goss — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:15:00 GMT

Believe it or not, musicians are not all greedy, money-grabbing attention seeking primadonas, some of them actually want you to listen to their music as well.

Now the early manoeuvrings of the BPI may not be the most effective way of stopping the illegal downloads that they suggest are killing the cash-rich music industry, but as they battle to put the cat back in the bag alternatives are available.

In fact, there are many ways that musicians can make money in the modern day world even if their tracks are being ripped and transferred without them getting a penny per play, so we at TechRadar have gone through and picked out some ways for our bards to flourish in the modern world.

Honesty Box

Radiohead are one of the biggest bands in British music, and among one of the most listened to groups in the world, but that didn't stop them offering fans an 'honesty box' approach to their last album 'In Rainbows'.

To great media attention, the band offered fans a DRM free download of their album for a fee nominated by the downloader. Want the album for free? Set the amount to 0. Want to pay £50? Hey, it's your money.

The final figures on what the band made have not been announced, but it certainly got the album into the public consciousness and we'd hazard a guess that Thom Yorke et al aren't raiding the back of their sofa for change as a result.

Concerts

When Prince chose to give away his latest album 'free' on the front of a paper the music industry was up in arms. Here was one of the most popular musicians in the world giving away his music for nothing.

But in actual fact Prince had spotted that most of his revenue came not from his dwindling album sales but from the concerts that he received a share of ticket receipts for.

Bands are increasingly looking to live events to make their money and to be picked as a headline act or to fill that football stadium you need to have your music in the ears of today's discerning punter.

And what better way than giving it to them for nothing?

Internet advertising

You may have noticed that there are quite a lot of websites around, and you probably also know that for many it is the adverts from major (and minor) companies that makes them money.

If you have an internet destination that receives thousand of visits daily then you can make a lot of cash.

So couldn't a musician (or their record label) set up a website and make a pretty penny from advertisers as fans flock to the site to get a track every week?

MySpace is still the site du jour for music, but money is already being made by the likes of portal sites, which offer 'free' downloads. Surely the musician can start getting a little bit of that revenue?

Total music services/computer games

Think of the likes of Nokia 'Comes with Music' or the latest Rock Band. These are things that rely on having the latest and greatest tracks.

They also pay money to have them. If big business is buying rights to tracks to be used on their services then the musician and the industry benefits.

Nokia pays to keep its service up and running and Guitar Hero and Rock Band compete to offer the tracks that their audience will buy the games to play on plastic instruments.

Make the physical more attractive

Fans are, well, fanatic and a digital download only gives them a part of the package that they want.

People already love the physical nature of things like vinyl - with glossy album covers and something you can display and the music industry needs to concentrate on this.

Want a full size poster of McFly (we're projecting, obviously)? Perhaps getting it when you buy the album would be an incentive.

People like to collect stuff and downloads just don't scratch that particular itch for most people. So give the collectors something tangible.

Horror directors make movies for the Xbox

Marc Chacksfield — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

A number of horror directors have been given the chance to make a series of short films for Xbox Live.

The movies are being produced by the Safran Digital Group, and the directors include Zack Snyder (of 300 and soon-to-be Watchmen fame), Darren Lynn Bousman (director of three of the Saw movies), and Andrew Douglas (Amityville Horror).

Once made, the short films will be streamed through Xbox Live and shown in the 26 countries that support the service.

Complete creative control

Speaking to the Financial Times about the upcoming movies, CEO of Safran Digital Group Peter Safran said: "This is an opportunity that filmmakers don't usually get." He also added that the filmmakers will get "complete creative control."

The line-up of movies seem to be more comedy-based than horror, though, with titles like 'Meat Dog' and 'Humanzee', a short film about a human/chimp hybrid.

They will be shown free of charge on Xbox Live under the banner 'Masters of Horror Take on Comedy'.

Samsung i8510 breaks cover as INNOV8

Gareth Beavis — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:20:00 GMT

Samsung has taken the covers off its latest handset to boost its mobile presence and has morphed the i8510, its first 8MP camera, into the INNOV8.

The likelihood is it will launch in UK as early as August this year, making it the first 8MP snapper on the market.

The OS is based on Symbian OS v9.3 and is the latest version of the system. It also packs DivX support like a number of recent LG handsets, as the Koreans look to bring video properly to the mobile market.

Duck

3.5G high-speed capabilities are a no-brainer in a handset like this, as without it the phone would have been like a duck with no feet.

But throw in some GPS navigational abilities, a WiFi connection for…well, wireless internet and all that comes with it and an optical mouse a la the Omnia (the latest Samsung power-phone) and quickly it shows Samsung has grown a formidable Nokia N96-beater.

It will launch within a month over here, and be expanded to other territories around the world during September. Keep an eye on this one, as it could be a really big seller if Samsung's previous models are anything to go by.

LG adds to its monitor range

Marc Chacksfield — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:19:00 GMT

LG has announced the arrival of a new range of TV monitors, the M94D series.

Sporting a gloss black curved frame and electric blue power light, the monitors combines a 20,000:1 Digital Fine Contrast ratio with an in-built digital tuner.

The M94D range also has a 5ms on-off response time, 16:10 aspect ratio and 300 nits brightness.

Multi-functional monitor

LG is targeting both film and game enthusiasts with this new range, with the press release stating: "The M94D series boasts superior image clarity, whether it's for playing the latest high-graphic games or watching action-packed films."

Fiona Landsberg, IT marketing manager at LG Electronics, says about the monitor: "The superior screen clarity and high-spec features of our latest range enable viewers to enjoy the sharpest images available today on a multi-functional monitor.

"By combining the PC with a digital TV, consumers can still be fully entertained without taking up that unnecessary space in the home or office."

There's no news on pricing and availability as of yet, but we will update as soon as we get word.

Nokia walks away from RIM

Gareth Beavis — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:58:00 GMT

Nokia has announced it will be splitting with Research in Motion (RIM) in an attempt to win back superiority in the business market.

Mobile has revealed the new Nokia business handsets, the E66 and E71, due in stores in the next week, will not use the BlackBerry Connect application.

This means consumers will be forced to choose between the two brands, with Nokia users likely picking up the Microsoft Exchange application, like customers using the new iPhone 3G.

Competition

Nokia UK MD Simon Ainslie said to Mobile: 'RIM are a competitor and have done a reasonable job in a space that is traditionally ours, so it's no great surprise that we see this as an opportunity to give consumers a proper choice on what email solution they want.

'Our approach is to make email a mass-market proposition for everybody, not just for the corporate boardroom group of individuals where BlackBerry has established itself.'

Rim has recently unveiled a slew of new devices, such as the BlackBerry Bold and Pearl, as it aims to make its portfolio more diverse and attractive to a greater range of users.

Ubuntu sponsor to beat Apple at its own game

Gareth Beavis — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:18:00 GMT

Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of Ubuntu, the community developed, Linux-based operating system, wants to create a desktop to rival Apple.

According to the Register, Shuttleworth, whose company Canonical is the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, pledged to put more effort into bringing the OS to something that moves away from the hardware.

"I think the great task in front of us in the next two years is to lift the experience of the Linux desktop from something stable and usable and not pretty, to something that's art," Shuttleworth said.

Mo' money

Funding might be a problem, as a number of similar systems rely on advertising banners and similar to fund the projects, which can be distracting and annoying for users.

"There is an emerging emphasis on services - that is the engine to invest in free software applications," he said. "We [Canonical] are hiring guys to work on the desktop... the rationale is online services. This must be a shared platform."

Shuttleworth acknowledged there might be issues further down the line for the system and open source in general, thanks to the disparity between different projects and systems.

He posited: "Imagine if we could talk in particular about the summer 2009 release, and there'd be differences in the platform. To be able to have this pulse across the entire free software ecosystem - how would that elevate the awareness we could generate in the rest of the world?"

In Depth News Feature: What it does: Intel's Centrino 2 explained

Jeremy Laird — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:59:00 GMT

Another year, another revision of Intel's suffocatingly successful Centrino mobile PC platform. Except this time Intel think it's different enough to call it 'Centrino 2'. Thanks to faster processors, jazzed up wireless networking and hardware HD video support, Intel's newest mobile platform is apparently revolutionary enough to merit the new moniker.

At least, that's what Intel reckons. In reality, this is actually the fifth version of Centrino, which dates back to the original Carmel iteration of early 2003. So, is this latest effort, previously codenamed Montevina, really worthy of the second generation banner?

Falling power consumption

We're already extremely familiar with the benefits of Intel's latest 45nm Penryn processor core in the context of its desktop CPUs. In fact, such are the efficiency gains of 45nm, we're surprised it has taken Intel this long to roll out a full range of 45nm mobile chips.

Nevertheless, Centrino 2's new 45nm chips look like being a real boon for both battery life and performance. Power consumption at any given clockspeed falls by approximately 30 per cent compared with Intel's older 65nm processors.

That means you can either have the same performance and more battery life or more performance with same mains-free longevity. The fastest of the new Core 2 chips clocks in at 3.06GHz. And remember, the original Core 2 Extreme desktop processor ran at just 2.93GHz.

Add in a few architectural tweaks along with a boost in cache memory to fully 6MB and Intel's best mobile CPU now offers significantly more performance than its top desktop processor of just two years ago. Impressive. Later this year, Intel will raise the bar even further with the first quad-core mobile CPU.

Intel has also announced it will widen the range of small-form-factor Core 2 Duo mobile processors. These are the chips that allowed Apple to create the astonishingly thin MacBook Air. By the end of 2008, small-form-factor CPUs ranging from 1.2GHz up to 2.4GHz will be available.

How it works

In performance and efficiency terms, the new Mobile 45 Express chipset's key features are improved memory support and bus speeds. DDR3 memory brings lower operating voltages and hence improved battery life. A bus speed boost to 1,066MHz will help keep those hungry processor cores fed with data.

The other big change with the Centrino 2 chipset is a heavily revised integrated graphics core. Intel says the new GM45 core is around 70% quicker than the X3100 graphics processor used in the outgoing Santa Rosa revision of Centrino.

Sounds impressive, doesn't it? However, the X3100 core was so slow that even a 70% boost is unlikely to deliver decent gaming performance.

More significant, therefore, are two further features that come with the GM45 upgrade. The first is support for "switchable" graphics. The idea here is to specify a notebook with both the GM45 core and a more powerful discrete graphics chip.

Users can then hop between the two according to demand - integrated graphics for lightweight work on battery power, for instance, and the discrete GPU for gaming on the mains. That's not a new concept. However, Intel's twist is the ability to execute the switch between the two graphics cores without the need to reboot. Both AMD and NVIDIA's discrete GPUs are supposedly compatible with this feature.

Disc playback power savings

But arguably the GM45's killer feature is a new hardware video decode core. That's because high definition video streams as used by Blu-ray disks are extremely computationally intensive. Although a quick Core 2 CPU has the raw oomph to smoothly decode Blu-ray movies, the implications for battery life are pretty disastrous.

With hardware decode support, Intel reckons a full two hour HD movie can be played on a single charge.

Funnily enough, hardware support for Blu-ray is also a key feature of AMD's competing Puma platform. As notebook designs based on the two platforms emerge in the coming months, we'll be looking extremely closely at the relative decode performance and whether the battery life claims stand up to scrutiny.

Better Centrino 2 wireless

The final piece of the Centrino 2 puzzle is improved wireless networking. The new WiFi Link 5000 card finally delivers full support for the latest 802.11n standard. In simple terms, that should mean better wireless range and more bandwidth.

Potentially much more exciting is the addition of optional WiMax support later this year (note that WiMax will initially be reserved for North American markets - Intel declined to put a date on a European roll out). Intel has been promising much from WiMax for a long time. The concept of combining the speed of WiFi with the longer range of cellular networks is certainly exciting.

But the pace of progress has been pretty pathetic to date. WiMax has yet to gain any significant traction in the market. Here's hoping the inevitable domination of Centrino 2 will help it hit critical mass.

In the meantime, Intel says Centrino 2 has already chalked up 240 notebook design wins from as many manufacturers as you care to mention. In that sense, it already looks like a roaring success.

Whether it really deserves the Centrino 2 branding is another matter. Hopefully we'll get to the bottom of that question as we get our hands on a wide range of Centrino 2 notebooks over the next month or so.

For now, however, we can't help suspecting Intel might have been better advised to reserve Centrino 2 for its upcoming Nehalem processor architecture.

With fancy new features like an integrated memory controller and graphics, it's arguably Intel's biggest shift in CPU design in a decade. It could appear in notebook PCs in less than a year.

100,000s of letters going to illegal downloaders

Adam Hartley — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:48:00 GMT

Six of the UK's biggest internet service providers have agreed a plan with the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) to try to deter their customers from downloading music illegally via peer-to-peer (P2P) online sharing.

BT, Virgin, Orange, Tiscali, BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse have all now signed up to the BPI deal will result in hundreds of thousands of letters sent to those customers who the BPI suspects are illegally sharing music.

6.5 million pirates in UK

There are an estimated 6.5 million web users involved in illicit file-sharing of music and films in the UK, according to reports in the Guardian this week.

"Many technophobic parents are oblivious to their children's internet activities, and in some cases they will learn for the first time how their children use their bedroom PCs and laptops for piracy," notes that report.

Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI, which represents the British music industry, said that it had taken years to get the ISPs to agree to this, noting:

"All of the major ISPs in the UK now recognise they have a responsibility to deal with illegal file-sharers on their networks."

Nose, spite, face

However, the ISPs are not prepared to go the whole BPI hog, and threaten to cut off their own customers should they ignore repeated warnings to stop downloading music files illegally.

The six ISPs have signed up to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which was drawn up by governmental body, the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR).

The Motion Pictures Association of America and BERR have also signed.

The MOU places joint commitments on the signatories to continue developing consumer education programmes and legal online services. Most importantly, for the first time ISPs will be required to work with music and other rightsholders towards a "significant reduction" in illegal filesharing.

Deterrent

The BPI's Geoff Taylor said: "The focus is on people sharing files illegally; there is not an acceptable level of file-sharing. Musicians need to be paid like everyone else…File-sharing is not anonymous, it is not secret, it is against the law."

He added: "There should be effective mechanisms in place (to deter file-sharing) and as long as they are effective, we don't mind what they are."

Before now the BPI has called for a "three-strikes" system which would see net connections of persistent pirates terminated if three warnings went ignored.

Feargal Sharkey, formerly of The Undertones added: "Government, particularly in the UK, has now realised there is an issue, there is a problem there."

Hitachi offers new Blu-ray camcorder

Marc Chacksfield — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:48:00 GMT

Hitachi unveiled the world's first Blu-ray camcorder last year and since then no other company has followed suit. So, it's up to Hitachi to trump its own wares.

The company did this in January by releasing the DZ-BD9H, and now it has taken them just six months to come up with a new-and-improved model.

The update to the DZ-BD9H, which in turn was an improvement on the first-generation DZ-BD7H, is unsurprisingly titled, the DZ-BD10H.

Forgoing its precursor's black look, the BD10 has gone back to the original silver finish with a slimmer chassis and more pixel power.

Blu movies

Recording is to 8cm Blu-ray discs, but there's also a 30GB hard drive included and a 7MP CMOS sensor. Other features include a 2.7-Inch LCD screen, HDMI output, a face detection function and a SD/SDHC slot. There's also a handy 10x optical zoom.

In HX mode, at Full HD resolution, the camcorder musters up a 15Mbps bitrate, and the hard drive can house 4.5 hours of footage. You'll have to keep a few spare batteries if you want to do that in one sitting though as battery power lasts around 80 miinutes.

The cam's new diminutive frame measures just 3.1 x 5.5 x 3.4in. The camcorder is out in Japan in August for around 150,000 Yen (around £700). There's no word as of yet on a UK release.

Creative gets...creative with Mozaic

Gareth Beavis — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:28:00 GMT

Creative has decided that just decent features in a media player aren't going to cut the mustard any more…now they have to look bizarre too.

The ZEN Mozaic (crazy spelling too…the kids will be down with this one) comes in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB flavours, with a 16GB version coming in the summer.

The 1.8 inch screen isn't really big enough to view videos on, though the capability is there. You can also view your photos on there if you've forgotten your phone, the device you probably took them on anyway.

The Romans would have been proud

The big selling point is the way the keys are melded into a mosaic (are you seeing what they did there now?), and comes in a variety of colours, with a speaker on the back to annoy people on buses.

The battery is tipped to last over 30 hours on a single charge though, which is almost reason alone to shell out £80 for the 8GB version, especially when there's an FM radio and voice recorder packed in too.

Google's Knol opens doors to all

Gareth Beavis — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:01:00 GMT

Google has been beta testing a concept called Knol, which allows users to create articles on subjects they think they're expert in.

Although drawing many similarities with Wikipedia in that users post authoritative articles on any given subject, Knol has the author's name at the bottom so you'll know who to email when you find out canoe's weren't invented by George Bush Snr.

Users can add comments and suggestions, though the author has to approve these before they go live.

Ads make sense

Google has also allowed users to include ads from the Adsense program, so can get some revenue share from click-throughs.

To illustrate each article, Google has struck a deal with the New Yorker magazine to supply one article from its cartoon library, so each article will look funny if you haven't got the picture to match.

Go to knol.google.com to type up that article on mugs from Swaziland you've been dying to write.

Super 3G: 250Mbit/s mobile downloads next year

J Mark Lytle — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:24:00 GMT

When we recently tipped you the nod from inside NTT DoCoMo that the Japanese mobile carrier would be ready to roll out next-generation networks by the end of next year, we didn't expect the proof to be quite so forthcoming.

Still, the evidence that Super 3G is on track is now public, after a full-scale demonstration in Tokyo this week.

DSL, FTTH slowcoaches

Using 4 x 4 MIMO equipment in a so-called LTE (long-term evolution) test network, DoCoMo was able to show mobile downloads at 250MBit/s and uploads at 50Mbit/s.

To compare that to fixed connections, the average domestic fibre connection in Japan is rated at 100Mbit/s both ways, while DSL in countries like the UK languishes far behind at around 3Mbit/s.

2009 inked in

DoCoMo says it will start building its Super 3G network in late 2009, meaning - thanks to the fact that it only needs to upgrade the software powering its existing 3G service - that 2010 likely marks the start of the LTE era.

Wii channel to deliver Japanese manga comics

J Mark Lytle — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:59:00 GMT

Japanese Wii users must be thinking it's their week, after word first of the new-fangled Wiimote charger and now of a new way for them to get a hit of their favourite comics through the Great White Console.

Four major manga publishers there have teamed up with a games developer to create a new company called Librica that will deliver comics to the Wii via a special browser.

DS takeouts possible

That needs to be downloaded first from the WiiWare section of the Wii Shop Channel for around 500 Wii Points, although the exact price is to be confirmed.

Once signed up, users can browse comic collections, and - if the rest of Librica's plans bear fruit - transfer their favourites to a DS Lite for manga on the go.