Category Archives: News

Syrian internet blackout

Things in Syria have taken a turn for the worst as internet connectivity across the region has been cut off. While the Syrian government claim that “terrorists” are the cause the disconnection, it is currently unclear what has happened. Google have reported that Syrians have been unable to access many services such as YouTube and Facebook.

In Libya, blackouts were common in areas that were controlled by Colonel Gaddafi. “It looks like they are using the same approach as Libya did,” explained Rik Ferguson, vice president of security research at Trend Micro. The method, called black holing routes all internet traffic to a dead-end instead of the intended destination.

Cyber Monday

This coming Monday 3rd December is expected to be the busiest day of the year for online retailers in the UK. The day which is nicknamed “Cyber Monday” is expected to generate 115 million visits to online retail stores (ecommerce websites) which is a 36% increase on last year.

It is estimated that £500m sales will be made on tablets and £330m sales will be made on smart phones, while £3.2bn of in-store sales will be influenced by smartphones. This is believed to be related to the huge increase of retailers using social media to promote their products and services.

Argos to focuses its efforts online

Home Retail Group’s change in strategy means that at least 75 stores across the UK will need to close or relocate. Argos has been struggling to bring in enough money and updating its digital presence online is imperative to modernise, cut costs and turn around profit downfall.

The company added that seven stores lost money, although on average each store made just £172 a week in the six months to September. Continue reading →

Facebook’s Facial-Recognition Acquisition Raises Privacy Concerns

Right now, Facebook’s facial-recognition software can sense who is in your pictures and make tagging suggestions, but what if the social network could further learn behaviors and preferences by reading the Gap sweatshirt you’re wearing and seeing that Coca-Cola can in your hand?

Following Facebook’s recent acquisition of facial-recognition software company Face.com for an undisclosed amount of money last week, some users have expressed concern that the expansion of this type of technology on the social network could encroach on their privacy rights. Facebook hasn’t said what it’s future plans are for Face.com or its technology and would not comment for this story.

The acquisition — which is rumored to cost $60 million — won’t even close for a few weeks. But because Facebook’s rapid user growth has slowed due to so many people joining the site in recent years, it needs to boost engagement in other ways.

For more information visit http://mashable.com/2012/06/25/facebook-facial-recognition-privac/.

Facebook May Launch Smartphone by Next Year

Whilst rumours have been abounding for the last 2 to 3 years over if and when Facebook might launch its own mobile handset range the latest is that Facebook may be gearing up for the launch of its own mobile handsets at some point in 2013.

According to The New York Times, engineers have been sought by recruiters to work on building hardware for a Facebook smartphone. This would be the social network’s third attempt to develop a smartphone, the report said, citing sources close to the matter.

For more information on the launch of Facebook’s Smartphone visit – http://mashable.com/2012/05/27/facebook-smartphone/.

Financial Times could have more digital subscribers than it sells print copies

The Financial Times predicts more digital subscribers than it sells print copies by end of year.

By the end of the year, the Financial Times could have more digital subscribers than it sells print copies, FT.com‘s managing director Rob Grimshaw predicted this week during an on-stage interview with NewsCred‘s CEO Shafqat Islam as part of the Internet Week New York.

According to Grimshaw, who has been heading the newspaper’s digital operations for the last four years, the FT currently has a whopping 270,000 online subscribers – almost as high as its 310,000 print copy circulation, which it may soon exceed.

To carry on reading this article follow the following link http://thenextweb.com/media/2012/05/18/the-financial-times-predicts-more-digital-subscribers-than-it-sells-print-copies-by-end-of-year/.