Government backs call for classroom coding
The teaching of computer science must become more relevant to modern needs, said the government. The government said the current teaching of IT was "insufficiently rigorous and in need of reform". The call for change came in a response to an industry report which looked at technology teaching in the UK. Without reform future UK workers would lack key skills and the nation ...full article >>
Parts of Norfolk gain faster broadband via Wireless ISP
A new wireless ISP thinkingwisp.co.uk has launched with an offer of free installation for the first 200. The service uses a fixed link from Norwich airport to a transmitter near Marsham that then rebroadcasts out to the local area, with service currently available in Aylsham, Cawston and Reepham, though the providers website shows more places being covered, so do check by using their online con...full article >>
Voice recognition: has it come of age?
The man sits down in front of the computer and says, affably: "Computer!" Nothing happens. In a now-hear-this tone, the man repeats: "Computer?" Still nothing happens. Puzzled, he picks up the mouse and speaks into it: "Hello, computer?" Beside him, the impatient owner says: "Just use the keyboard." The first man replies, "A keyboard?" T...full article >>
Facebook users average 3.74 degrees of separation
There are on average 3.74 degrees of separation between any one Facebook user and another, a study suggests. The number of degrees represents the number of people in a friendship chain, excluding the people at either end. Or, as the authors put it: "When considering another person in the world, a friend of your friend knows a friend of their friend." The study was carried ...full article >>
Our 4G future
Over the last week, I've had a taste of our mobile future. I've downloaded an episode of David Attenborough's Frozen Planet in about a minute and viewed YouTube videos in the middle of London without a hint of buffering. I've even tested a live broadcast using nothing but a laptop connected to a mobile phone network. All of this has been thanks to 4G - a technology which...full article >>
Google kills off seven more products including Wave
Google has announced that it is dropping seven more products in an effort to simplify its range of services. The out-of-season "spring clean" brings an end to services including Google Wave, Knol and Google Gears. It is the third time that the US firm has announced a cull of several of its products at the same time after they had failed to take off. Experts said the strate...full article >>
Broadband's rush-hour revealed
UK broadband speeds drop by an average of 35% from their off-peak highs when most people are online in the evening, according to a report. The research, conducted by the comparison site Uswitch, was based on two million broadband speed tests. The peak surfing times between 7pm and 9pm were the slowest to be online, the report said. There were also huge regional variations between ev...full article >>
Suffolk residents and businesses broadband survey time
Suffolk is the latest County Council to be seeking input from those within the county via a survey, only by standing up and making your voice heard will the spending of some £45m be able to be targeted at the right parts of the county. The £45m is a mixture of BDUK funding, council money and private investment. Suffolk has a population of 715,700 with only one third living in th...full article >>
A phone call for Mr Sellan
The phone rang at home the other day, and when I picked it up a voice down a crackly line asked if a "Mr Sellan" was there. He then proceeded to tell me that a problem had been detected with my Windows computer. Having had similar calls before, I thought I knew what was coming. So instead of putting the phone down, I decided to play along and record the call. The man at the other ...full article >>
Western European PC shipments fall 11% in third quarter
PC shipments in Western Europe fell 11% in the third quarter, according to the technology research firm Gartner. A total of 14.8m units were shipped by the major manufacturers, which was a fall of 11.4%. The mobile-PC market was particularly hard hit with a 12.6% decline, driven by more than a 40% decrease in mini-notebook shipments in the third quarter of 2011. Shipments of desktop...full article >>
UK faces superfast digital divide say network providers
Broadband firms have warned that a new digital divide is emerging. Speakers at the Westminster eForum said that around 10% of the UK will not be able to get superfast broadband in the next decade. Government funds set aside to address so-called notspots were insufficient, they said. BT said that EU targets for all citizens to have speeds of at least 30Mbps (megabits per second) by 2...full article >>
Wanted: a cheap laptop for gaming
John Abbott wants to buy his computer-game-loving grandson a laptop for around £500, but it's hard to get a PC gaming system for that sort of price. Over Christmas, I have a 13-year-old grandson visiting from New Zealand. I would like to get him a laptop that he could use for schoolwork, but his great love is computer games. Any suggestions around the £500 mark? John Abbot...full article >>
Illegally downloaded games up 20% in five years
The number of illegally downloaded video games has gone up nearly 20% in the last five years. Figures from research firm Envisional also suggest the top five games from 2010 were pirated online almost a million times. Industry executives are worried these figures mean a generation of people will expect to get games for free. But some gamers dispute industry claims about how much of ...full article >>
Superfast broadband digital divide - will we or won't we?
Future gazing is always difficult, but if asking enough people who are involved in that future you can often get a pretty good idea. At the Westminster eForum, the consensus appeared to be that the UK is set for a digital divide in 2015, with the last 10% of homes and businesses stuck with a basic 2 Mbps broadband connection, while others enjoy a fast, reliable, content rich 25 Mbps or faster. ...full article >>
Adobe abandons work on Flash plug-in for mobile devices
Software developer Adobe Systems is halting development of its Flash Player plug-in for mobile devices. The multimedia software is used to run movies, games and other applications. Adobe says it now believes the alternative HTML 5 technology offers the "best solution" because it is "universally supported". The Flash plug-in works on Android devices and Blackberry...full article >>
Suffolk Online Helpdesk Unavailability - 1pm to 2pm today
This message is to all Suffolk Online subscribers. From 1pm to 2pm today the Suffolk Online helpdesk will be unavailable to be contacted. Our building is having some electricity supply changes during this time and all power will be off which will affect our access to telephone and computer systems. If you have a query during this time, please call after 2pm when power should be resumed....full article >>
Rural Britons 'trapped' on mobile networks
One in four mobile phone users is prevented from using the network of their choice, new research has revealed. Customers in rural areas in particular often receive no signal at all, or are limited to just one ‘3G’ network, communications regulator Ofcom found. Modern 3G networks from all the major operators were not available to 27 per cent of UK premises. The new data w...full article >>
Smartphone scams: Owners warned over malware apps
A national computer security campaign is urging smartphone users to do more to protect themselves from unwittingly downloading malware applications. Get Safe Online says that there has been an increase in smartphone malware as the market has grown. Criminals are typically creating Trojan copies of reputable apps and tricking users into installing them. Once on the phone, the app can...full article >>
Record Industry gives deadline for BT to block The Pirate Bay
The Telegraph reports that various record labels have issued a 14 day deadline to BT for it to add The Pirate Bay to its CleanFeed blocking system. The short history of this request is that it follows the High Court requiring BT to block access to Newzbin and that The Pirate Bay has not acted to remove links to some 1,000 pirated songs and albums. If BT does nothing then it is likely that t...full article >>
Cloud computing: the lowdown
Much of our computing (including the storage of our personal data) is now being done remotely via the 'cloud'. But what is it? Here is a brief history of this radical shift while, below, we assess the relative merits of four cloud computing services. 'Where did the computer go?" was the slogan Apple used in 2004 when it launched the first of its current range of iMac deskto...full article >>
Essex Online is here - £300 Bursary available for Essex organisations
Suffolk Online is delighted to announce the launch of a new service - Essex Online. Working in partnership with it's partner organisation Suffolk ACRE and Essex RCC (RCCE), Essex Online will be a multi product ICT Service Provider for Third Sector organisations based in Essex. Offering the same products that Suffolk Online currently offers to Suffolk based organisations, ...full article >>
Free wi-fi in central London courtesy of Nokia
Nokia has switched on a trial of a free wi-fi service in central London. From today until the end of 2011, the public will be able to use the high-speed service in certain parts of the city courtesy of the phone firm. If the two-month trial is deemed a success, the Finnish company plans to turn it into a fully fledged free wi-fi service early in 2012. The initiative is one of many t...full article >>
