John Lister

Microsoft is giving students free access to some of its leading tools for developing software and creating web sites. The project, called Dreamspark, is designed to encourage pupils to learn the skills needed for a career in the software and ... computing industry. The package includes Visual Studio (a facility for developing software), Expression Studio (which includes graphic and web design tools) and XNA Game Studio (which is used for creating video games). Around 35 million high school students in the US, China and several Western European countries are eligible for the scheme now. School ... (view more)

The great missing iPhone mystery may have been solved. Bosses at Apple were confused that they'd sold 3.7 million phones in the United States and Europe, but only 2.3 million were actually registered on the phone networks which had signed deals to ... provide service for the iPhones. It turns out around 400,000 phones are registered with China Mobile, the country's leading cell phone carrier. The iPhone isn't sold in Asia, so it appears there's a rather ironic pattern by which the phones are manufactured in China, shipped to the US, and then unofficially imported back to China. Apple had ... (view more)

Two congressmen have proposed laws which would enforce the principle of net neutrality. That's the idea that broadband providers should not be allowed to discriminate against particular sites, companies or technologies. The planned law would be ... called the Internet Freedom Preservation Act. It's a joint effort by political rivals Republican Chip Pickering and Democrat Ed Markey, who described the Internet as "the greatest level playing field ever created". Though net neutrality is already widely seen as the basis of America's broadband network, the new law would specifically define US ... (view more)

Mozilla recently released Firefox 3 Beta 3 : a beta version of the latest edition of its Internet browser which is a rival to Microsoft's Internet Explorer. For those unaware, A 'beta' edition is one that is largely operational but may still have ... some bugs which need finding and fixing before an official release. The software is freely available to download from Mozilla's website, though the firm says it's not ready for 'casual' users. The biggest changes include technical improvements that should make web pages load quicker, easier bookmarking of favorite pages, a progress indicator in the ... (view more)

Firms involved in filesharing technology have protested Comcast's decision to restrict its customers' use of peer-to-peer (P2P) software, such as BitTorrent. P2P is a system of distributing data which involves splitting one file into many pieces. ... Rather than downloading the file directly from a website, users get pieces from a variety of fellow users, with the file reassembled on their computer. This spreads the demand for data and means P2P can be used for files which would be too large for many people to download from a single site. Several firms complained to the Federal Communications ... (view more)

Earlier last week we reported that Best Buy decided to heavily back Blu-Ray in the next generation DVD format wars. We wrote that the battle appeared to be nearing its climax, and now Wal-Mart may be striking the killer blow to the rival HD-DVD ... system. While Best Buy plans to continue stocking both formats (but put all its promotional backing behind Blu-Ray), Wal-Mart is dropping HD-DVD completely. Their head of home entertainment, Gary Severson, said "We've listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-Ray products and movies with their purchases." They'll be ... (view more)

A woman from Washington DC is suing Best Buy for $54 million after it lost a laptop she'd put in for repair. The company already gave Raelyn Campbell the full replacement cost of her $1,100 laptop plus a $500 gift card as compensation. However, ... she's suing for costs including the replacement of software, music, pictures and other data, plus the actions she's had to take to protect against identity theft. Her laptop included material such as her will and tax returns which could have been used for such purposes. (Source: computerworld.com ) She's detailed her case at the tongue-twister-named ... (view more)

The British government is considering plans to force Internet service providers (ISPs) to cut off any users who illegally downloading files. They are looking at a range of possible systems to force ISPs to stop customers downloading; the most likely ... to become law is a three-strike system under which ISPs will email warnings to customers they suspect of downloading movies or music without the copyright holder's permission. If the customer continues to do so, they'll face a suspension. A third offence will see their account cancelled. Internet firms which refuse or otherwise fail to enforce the ... (view more)

Internet users are spending less time on social networking sites. Why? Because they are fed up with excessive advertising; although sites like Facebook and MySpace are still increasing their audience, the average time each user spends on the site is ... falling overall. The average MySpace visitor now spends 203.9 minutes on the site each month, while Facebook visitors are logged in for an average 172.1 minutes. Though Facebook has had more 'online buzz', its users appear to be getting bored with the various applications. Meanwhile, MySpace has copied some of the more popular Facebook features, ... (view more)

If you think the government doesn't listen to people, you're in for a shock. The Transport Security Administration (TSA), which sets the rules for airport security, changed its policy as a direct result of comments on its new blog. The blog, titled ... 'Evolution of Security', aims to explain changes in policy and explain confusing procedures, such as the rules about carrying liquids in hold baggage. It also answers common questions such as why military personnel and veterans have to go through screening, and even includes videos of staff explaining policies to passengers. The site invites ... (view more)