John Lister

Sony has delayed releasing a much anticipated video game after fears it could offend Muslims. The soundtrack for LittleBigPlanet includes a song which uses lyrics taken from the Qur'an. The song is performed by a Malian musician named Toumani ... Diabate, himself a Muslim. The problem is that while such songs are acceptable to some Muslims, particularly in West Africa, others have a much stricter interpretation of the religion. (Source: foxnews.com ) Unlike the Bible, which is seen by Christians a collection of historical accounts, Muslims view the Qu'ran as literally being the word of God. To ... (view more)

An official report says two IRS computer systems have serious security weaknesses. It also warns information about taxpayers is at risk of falling into the wrong hands. The report, by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, a federal ... agency which monitors IRS performance, details problems with a new billion dollar system which will eventually manage the data for all taxpayers. The Customer Account Data Engine (CADE) already handles 28 million tax returns, around a fifth of the total. The report also covers the Account Management Services (AMS) system, which provides quicker ... (view more)

Telecommunications reforms could bring broadband service to even more American rural areas, but there are fears the changes could also mean nationwide increases in phone charges. The Federal Communications Commission is proposing changes to two ... existing systems: one, the 'intercarrier compensation' scheme, governs how telephone companies split the call revenues when one firm's customer phones somebody in another firm's region. The other is the Universal Service Fund, under which a portion of long-distance phone call revenues is used to pay some of the costs of phone and Internet services in ... (view more)

Tests at the University of Washington have shown it's possible to reroute brain signals to move paralysed limbs. The results could eventually lead to treatment for spinal injury victims. The study works on the idea that, although spinal injuries ... damage the connections which carry nerve signals, victims usually retain both the muscles in the affected limb and the use of the motor cortex, the part of the brain which controls movement. Unlike some parts of the brain, which work on a 'use it or lose it' basis, studies have shown people can retain full control over the motor cortex even after ... (view more)

There's been plenty of talk about this being the first truly Internet-powered US Presidential election. But now it seems Barack Obama has found a new technology for getting his message across: video games. Electronic Arts have confirmed that ... screenshots of the Xbox 360 game Burnout Paradise showing Obama campaign billboards are genuine. The firm told reporters "Like most television, radio and print outlets, we accept advertising from credible political candidates. Like political spots on the television networks, these ads do not reflect the political policies of EA or the opinions of its ... (view more)

YouTube is about to legally broadcast full-length television shows complete with a commercial break. However, for now the programs being featured will be reruns. The video site has previously experimented with commercials before clips, but the ... strategy has not been effective. That's mainly because the commercials seemed too obtrusive in a short clip that may only be a minute or so long. The hope is that online viewers will tolerate commercial breaks in full TV episodes in the same way as watching on a TV set. There is a major drawback, however: TV rights restrictions mean the content is only ... (view more)

Google is to introduce one-click links to buy products associated with video clips on its YouTube site. The move will be the first step towards recouping the $1.65 billion it spent acquiring the company two years ago. The new links allow viewers to ... automatically buy songs through iTunes or the Amazon digital download service. The links will appear next to videos of the relevant songs. There will also be appropriate links to buy the popular video game "Spore." At the moment the music links are restricted to songs produced by EMI or Universal, two of the four major record labels. However, given ... (view more)

eBay is cutting 1,600 jobs, representing around 10% of its work force. The announcement shortly after the company announced it would spend more than a billion dollars purchasing an online payment service and several overseas classifieds sites. The ... job cuts, the biggest in the firm's history, should save around $150 million a year. The layoffs, covering 1,000 permanent employees and 600 temps, will be spread across the company and will include staff at PayPal (which eBay owns). Chief Executive John Donahoe says the savings will fund greater investment in the firm's services, which may include ... (view more)

Apple shares briefly dropped in value by more than 5% in the wake of a false rumour claiming the company's chief had suffered a heart attack. The bogus report has sparked debate about the dangers of so-called 'citizen journalism'. The report claimed ... Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack and been taken to hospital. It gained some credibility by appearing on CNN's website, though it appeared in the iReport section dedicated to 'citizen journalism'. Anyone who wants can post a report and CNN disclaims any responsibility for the accuracy of stories posted there. Apple only took 12 minutes to ... (view more)

Apple has threatened that if royalty rates for digital downloads increase, as is likely to happen this week, it might shut down the iTunes store. But analysts say the firm is highly unlikely to follow through on the threat. Apple first made the ... stern warning at least 18 months ago in a written submission to the Copyright Royalty Board but has only just emerged. iTunes vice president Eddy Cue wrote that if the store " were forced to absorb any increase in the mechanical royalty rates, the result would be to significantly increase the likelihood of the store operating at a financial loss -- ... (view more)