John Lister

Google has unveiled a $35 plug-in device that brings online video to your television. It's intended to provide an alternative to expensive set-top boxes and video game consoles. The Chromecast works with a range of online services -- such as YouTube ... and Netflix -- but will also play any video you can access through a web browser. The device is only a couple of inches long and has no buttons. It plugs into an HDMI port on your television and has a small USB socket for supplying power. The Chromecast also has built-in WiFi that connects to your Internet router. You can then control it through ... (view more)

Facebook has revealed plans to give its members the option of explaining why they remove content from their 'News Feeds'. Officially the plan is designed to help the average Facebook member, but it may also benefit advertisers. The move is somewhat ... surprising for Facebook. So far the firm has mainly concentrated on finding out what people do like (hence the iconic 'Like' button) and creating advertising based on those preferences. However, while users can click to remove (or rather, 'hide') content from their News Feed, there's no way for the user to explain why they dislike something. ... (view more)

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they've developed a system that could help speed up the Internet. The research is designed to find an alternative to the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) system. TCP is the set of ... rules that govern the way data moves around the Internet. Whenever data travels online, it's broken down into small chunks known as 'packets' (in effect, info packets!). Often, these packets take different routes around the various connections that make up the net, then get reassembled at their destination. Net Currently Favors Accuracy Over Speed ... (view more)

It appears unlikely that Internet regulators will allow US-based online retailer Amazon to register and control the domain suffix '.amazon'. The ruling does not affect website names, such as www.amazon.com . Instead, it's related to the new ... top-level domain system, which covers the last part of an address (otherwise known as a domain suffix). Previously, this had been limited to a few terms -- such as '.com' and '.org' -- plus individual country codes, such as '.ca' for Canada. Under the new system, run by Internet regulators ICANN, organizations can apply to register virtually any term, ... (view more)

A security researcher says hundreds of millions of mobile phones could easily be hacked with nothing more than a specially crafted text message. The hacker could then intercept calls or use the compromised phone to make cash. Karsten Nohl says the ... problem is with SIM cards, which are used to tell a phone which account to use and the number on which to send and receive calls and messages. He says many SIM cards still use an outdated algorithm for encryption to stop other people accessing information about the account. (Source: srlabs.de ) Nohl says his testing found a major flaw with these SIM ... (view more)

Microsoft has revealed that poor sales of its Surface RT tablet computer will cost it $900 million -- making a significant dent in the company's quarterly profits. Earlier this week Microsoft revealed price cuts across the full range of its Surface ... RT devices. That's the type of Surface running Windows RT, a special, slimmed-down version of Windows 8. Microsoft has now published its accounts for the three months ending in June and has included a $900 million writedown for Surface RT "inventory adjustments." (Source: cnet.com ) A writedown is where a company decides one of its assets -- in ... (view more)

Microsoft has flatly denied claims that the National Security Agency (NSA) has direct access to Outlook email accounts. The firm is also criticizing the US government for preventing it from discussing NSA snooping with the public. Last week, several ... sources claimed Microsoft had given the National Security Agency help bypassing the encryption meant to keep its webmail services, such as Outlook.com, confidential. The same reports suggested Microsoft had allowed the NSA to intercept Skype conversations and access files stored through the SkyDrive service. (Source: pcworld.com ) Microsoft's ... (view more)

Apple says it will fully cooperate with police investigating the suspicious death of an iPhone 5 user. The Chinese woman is believed to have been electrocuted, with the phone charger at the center of the investigation. Ma Ailun of the northwestern ... Chinese region Xingiang recently died while picking up her iPhone as it was being charged. Reports are split as to whether she was making or answering a call. It's reported the deceased had just got out of the bath before using the phone. If she was still wet, that may have affected the danger of electrocution. For some time experts have debated the ... (view more)

European regulators have raided the offices of three Internet Service Providers (ISPs) said to have intentionally slowed Internet traffic over a business dispute. The officials are exploring a new legal tactic that could also be used to stop such ... slowdowns in the US. The dispute involves Cogent Communications, which is effectively an Internet middleman. It transfers data between major websites and the Internet Service Providers that carry data to customers' homes. Last month Cogent claimed US-based Verizon was intentionally slowing down the traffic it handles for video streaming sites like ... (view more)

It's estimated that up to 99 per cent of all Android smartphones are vulnerable to a new security vulnerability. The bug involves two of the main security measures used on phones running the popular Android operating system from Google. The first ... security measure affected by the bug is the security check used on all applications that run on an Android phone. Every application has a cryptographic signature, which is a code that confirms the application is genuine. The signature directly correlates to the contents of the application itself, meaning that any attempt to tamper with the contents ... (view more)