Selectitis

Chris Norton, April 28th 2006, 9:57AM

When people watch me browsing they think I'm weird - even when I'm not on hatsofmeat.com - because my name is Chris and I am a selecting-things-on-the-screen addict.

When I'm reading something on the web I compulsively select and deselect text with the mouse. I'll click and drag to highlight from the bottom of a paragraph, all the way up to the top. Then I'll click elsewhere to clear the selection, click and drag from the top of the paragraph to the bottom, lather, rinse, and repeat about fifty times.

The select-itis does not stop there. Give me a windows desktop and a slightly distracted mind and I'll easily spend ten minutes clicking and dragging to bring up that little lasso, making the little icons go all blue and then back to normal. My poor iconic fools, behold the selectifying power of my mighty mouse and weep!

I can't stop. I've been doing it whilst writing this. Is it ny hands trying to keep themselves occupied when they're not flying over the keys? Is it some deep psychological need to make everything... turn... blue? Is it something that always annoys Daz when he's looking at my screen? (yes to that last one). I don't know if anyone else has select-itis, or any similar afflictions, but whilst I'm waiting to find out I'm off back to my PHP code for a bit more click, drag, click... click, drag, click...

Tags: browsing, habits, pcs
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Thought Police here we come

Chris Norton, April 27th 2006, 10:36AM

Behind Winston's back the voice from the telescreen was still babbling away about pig-iron and the overfulfilment of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time.

Fair play to Mr Orwell, he was pretty much spot on with the old telescreen concept. Good job he wrote 1984 - whilst there's precious little reason for me to quote his other books about pot plants and being a tramp, it's de rigeur for every person writing about tech to mention the original Big Bro at some point.

So telescreens are one step closer - and it's Apple, who have famously flirted with a bit of 1984 imagery, who are developing it. The screen that watches you as you watch it - it'll make video chats a lot more natural, and it's undoubtedly exciting tech - but whereas you can turn off a webcam or even cover it up to make sure nobody catches you picking your nose or plotting the downfall of the government, how will we ever be sure that our screen isn't sneaking a peek at us?

Tags: apple, bigbrother, privacy, video
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Internet World filling up

Jonathan Bowers, April 26th 2006, 9:58AM

It's fantastic news that the Internet World exhibition is filling up at a record rate. But it also means that if you haven't booked your place you really need to do it now. You can go direct to the Internet World site, or fill in a more basic form on the UKFast site that we will process for you in our capacity as a platinum sponsor.

There are going to be some incredible stands and key note speakers there. UKFast will be making our presence known, not only in the arena, but on the stage as well. We have elected to talk about the opportunities presented to businesses by the Internet's many new forms of communication. And of course, we are concentrating particularly on blogging and podcasting.

On that note, keep an eye out on ukfastblog over the next few weeks for our new Community section, which we are opening with an ambitious project entitled 'Word From the Street.'

The new blog and podcast aims to harness the incredible energy of 5 time Olympic Gold medallist, turned social broker Geoff Thompson. Geoff's campaign to inspire our country's youth to excel at sport by receiving the social infrastructure they need, began in the suburbs of Manchester and has taken him all over the world. He is currently working towards the 2012 Olympics and is a man worth listening to.

We're very excited about bringing him to a wider audience. He's the kind of person podcasting was made for. Look out for him on our blogging community within the week.

Tags: communities, internetworld
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Microsoft redundant defense in EU case

Jonathan Bowers, April 25th 2006, 10:53AM

Microsoft's EU hearing began in Luxembourg yesterday and things went as expected. The software company's lawyers claimed that the ruling was flawed, which came as no surprise. What did interest me was the use of figures about the sales of Windows XP Home Edition N, the without media player package they have been forced to introduce in Europe.

Under 2,000 units have been bought as opposed to 35m packages with media player. Microsoft's lawyers argued; “The failure to offer a product that nobody wants cannot be an abuse.”

Surely these figures show a much deeper situation that is conveniently ignored and relates to working practices and public perception.

When buying a PC, 90% of people are offered the Window's operating system. Since January, have they all been given the option of Edition N? Moreover we don't know whether sales people see it as a product worth promoting. Why offer the reduced version rather than the one with 'extras.'

For those a little more computer savvy it still comes down to an attitude to technology. If Window's Media Player has worked for you, why change it. Internet culture is based on convenience and efficiency and the maxim 'better the devil' often applies. Human nature means we get comfortable with one way of doing things and wont change unless it's very easy or is forced upon us.

While Microsoft fights this case, it doesn't have to reveal any source code - the same code that will make it easier for competitiors to develop media players as easy to use in Window's as Microsoft's own. In the meantime, users will continue to take the easiest option.

Window's is not just software, it's routine, it's convenience and it's such a part of daily life that it requires a massive shift in user habit to imagine it as a less dominant part of the computer experience. This is why the sales figures shouldn't surprise and why they are unreliable in Microsoft's defence.

Tags: microsoft, monopolies
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eBay - biting the hand that feeds

Jonathan Bowers, April 24th 2006, 1:10PM

The latest news from the Internet super brands arena is that eBay has been in talks with Yahoo! and Microsoft to assess the growing threat from Google.

A Times Online article cites a concern that Google has turned aggressive and is wielding it's pocket full of cash in a dangerous way, buying and developing technologies that bring competition to each of the others on various levels, from GoogleTalk, to Google Calendar.

There is a sophisticated undercurrent here as each squares off against the next. There is no confirmation from eBay as to whether these alliances are official - they are actually playing the whole scenario down - but then, in real terms they have to.

Of the four companies, eBay is the only one that relies on the others for a large percentage of its revenue - as all three are the drivers of traffic to the auction site. In the UK Google is the favoured search engine for 75% of web users, while MSN and Yahoo! take less than 10% each according to recent figures.

Whether eBay are forging alliances or not - when you consider the market share, a story like this one in The Times suggests a case of 'biting the hand that feeds,' which is definitely bad news for the auction site.

Tags: ebay, google, microsoft, yahoo!
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