John Lister

Tivo has made a deal with Amazon that could genuinely revolutionize how TV advertising works. Viewers will now be able to order products mentioned in shows with a click of their remote. The system will initially involve chat shows such as Oprah, ... Ellen DeGeneres and the Colbert Report. Whenever a guest talks about a product, such as an author publicising a book, viewers will see a link in the corner of their screens. Clicking on it will either allow them to order it instantly by typing in a PIN code, or to put the item in their Amazon shopping basket to examine on a computer later on. At first ... (view more)

A new industry agreement could eventually mean an end to choosing between lower quality TV pictures and a house full of messy cabling. Major audio-visual manufacturers including Sony, Sharp, Hitachi, Samsung, and Motorola have agreed to back an ... industry standard for wireless signals to carry high-definition video. Wireless Home Digital Interface will transmit on the 5GHz band, which means it doesn't need licensing. The system can carry up to 3bBits per second, which means it can cope with the top-end 1080p video format without having to compress the signal. It should also be able to transmit ... (view more)

Apple claims to have sold a million of its new iPhones in three days, but that doesn't mean a million people now have one. The company recently put out a press release saying it had sold the millionth iPhone 3G. Noting the phone is on sale in 21 ... countries, CEO Steve Jobs said "It took 74 days to sell the first one million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world." (Source: apple.com ) However, that figure is somewhat misleading. Fortune magazine reports that Apple only counts its own sales when somebody hands over the money in an Apple store. But ... (view more)

The video games industry has been holding its major trade show, E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo) this week. We've been reporting in-depth on some of the newsworthy events , but here's a summary of the biggest announcements from the big three ... major console manufacturers, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Microsoft is revamping the user interface of its Xbox 360, specifically the way they interact with other players around the world. There'll be a customisable avatar of the type seen in virtual world games such as Second Life. The firm is also ditching its 20GB hard drive for a 60GB version ... (view more)

Facebook has initiated legal action against a German website for allegedly copying its site layout. It's ironic timing as Facebook revamps its own look, with some critics saying it may have itself imitated another website. The court case involves ... StudiVZ, billed as the most successful social networking site in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The name is an abbreviation of the German word for 'student directory'. The two sites do have a history together: at one stage the companies were in takeover talks and early versions of StudiVZ even included a CSS file named 'fbook'. That's pretty ... (view more)

European mobile phone users should see the cost associated with 'texting' other countries on their continent drop by around two-thirds if regulators have their way. The European Commission is to crack down on network carriers which charge 'rip-off' ... prices when sending a text message (also known as an SMS) to somebody in another country. According to the European official in charge of telecoms, Viviane Reading, texts from one country to another cost more than 10 times as much as those sent domestically. She says the fees carriers impose are around 32 times the actual costs they incur in ... (view more)

A security firm has warned businesses that using open-source software could put them at risk. A new study carried out by security consultant Larry Suto for Fortify claims people developing open-source software simply don't meet the security ... standards that would be expected of commercial software companies. Open-source software involves the source code behind the software being publicly available. In most cases there is no charge to use, distribute or modify the software. Indeed, many developers and enthusiasts will share ways to improve the software or adapt it for different tasks. The best ... (view more)

News flash: bonus software is bundled with this spectacular offer and you won't believe what it entails! To find out what's included, click the Download WinOptimizer 5 Now! link near the end of this article. -- Ashampoo delivers once again with ... WinOptimizer version 5: the latest and greatest PC power-washing suite designed to target key performance issues in MS Windows and keep your PC humming in tip-top shape! Now, before you click away thinking that this is *just another* optimization program review -- think again -- because I'm going to explain HOW and WHY WinOptimizer can truly work ... (view more)

eBay has escaped potentially huge compensation claims after a court ruled it isn't responsible for trademark infringement by sellers hawking counterfeit goods. The case followed complaints by jeweller Tiffany ... (view more)

Netflix and Microsoft have struck a deal to allow Xbox 360 owners to legally stream movies to their TV sets. The service, which launches this fall, will be free with any subscription to the Netflix rental-by-mail service. Although a couple of ... dedicated media streaming boxes already carry licensed Netflix content, this is the first time a games console has had the ability. Netflix already lets subscribers on all but its cheapest subscription package watch unlimited movies on-demand through their PC. However, copy protection means PC users can only stream movies to their television sets at a ... (view more)