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Phone has second e-paper screen

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 12 Desember 2012 | 23.58

12 December 2012 Last updated at 08:23 ET

A smartphone with two screens - one of which uses e-ink technology - has been announced by a Russian company.

Yota says having an added low-power screen will help users keep across social network updates and show critical information that stays visible even if the handsets run out of power.

It plans to put the 4G Android device on sale in the second half of 2013.

But one analyst said the innovation was a "gimmick" which might struggle to do well in western markets.

Saint Petersburg-based Yota is best known for making modems and router equipment.

If its plans come to fruition this would be its first mobile phone,

It says it plans to sell its handset at the premium end of the market which is currently occupied by phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One X and Sony Xperia T.

E-ink displays are commonly used for e-book readers and are easier to read in the sun than their LCD equivalents, but offer a slower refresh rate making them unsuitable for videos or most games.

Dual display

Yota says both the colour LCD and black-and-white e-paper displays would be 4.3in (10.9cm) in size, and placed on opposite sides of the device's body.

Both would be protected by impact-resistant "gorilla glass" developed by the US company Corning to reduce the risk of breakage.

Yota's chief executive said he believed other companies had not previously launched similar devices because in the past there had not been a clear need for users to want a second screen.

But, he added, changing habits had created a gap in the market.

"Two years ago we were not so dependent on all the kinds of information we consume now, from Facebook and Twitter to news and other RSS feeds," Vlad Martynov told the BBC.

"The smartphone is now a window onto this virtual life, but today there's a lot of disappointment when you miss information.

"Our electronic paper display with our applications will remove this irritation."

In addition to letting users dedicate different tasks to different screens, Mr Martynov suggested users might want to display important information such as an airline boarding pass or a map on the e-ink screen to take advantage of the fact that the technology only uses power to refresh - and not maintain - its image.

As a consequence the phone keeps showing the last graphic or text sent to its second display even if its battery has died.

Hard sell

Yota says it has been working on the project for two years, but that it still needs to complete work on the five or six apps that will be bundled with the device to make use of its second screen.

Ultimately if the handset proves popular, it says it hopes third-party developers will customise their programs for the innovation.

However, one industry watcher cast doubt over whether that would happen.

"I don't see many users wanting this device in the US or Western Europe," said Francisco Jeronimo, research manager at consultants IDC.

"China may be different - they like more gimmicky phones that can handle several Sim cards and feature unusual types of display - but none of those devices have done well elsewhere.

"Brand is quite a strong purchasing decision factor in western markets as well, so unless this were being promoted by a company like Samsung or being sold at a very low price I can't see much demand."

Yota says it plans to debut its handset at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February.

It says it then aims to manufacture the device in Asia so that it can go on sale in Russia "in the summer", and in Europe and North America before the end of 2013.


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Robot 'race' to fix nuclear plant

11 December 2012 Last updated at 11:37 ET

Japanese company Mitsubishi has unveiled a radiation-resistant robot aimed at cleaning up the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Other firms, among them Hitachi and Toshiba, have also rolled out their own remote-controlled bots recently.

The plant was damaged during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Robots are already working inside the plant, but none has been specifically designed for this kind of work.

One UK expert said that working inside a nuclear reactor was "a challenge for robotics".

Dubbed MEISTeR (Maintenance Equipment Integrated System of Telecontrol Robot), Mitsubishi's "tankbot" is about 1.3m (4ft) tall and has two arms, each able to hold loads of up to 15kg (33lb).

The robot is equipped with various tools and has electronics hardened to withstand radiation.

But Jeremy Pitt, deputy head of the Intelligent Systems and Networks Group at Imperial College London, said it was still a challenge for a remotely controlled machine to successfully replace humans in such harsh conditions.

"Operating in extreme environments requires a remarkable range of human skills that might otherwise be taken for granted," he said.

"Fundamentally, instead of programming a robot to follow a precise series of actions, in open environments the requirement is to programme it to improvise.

"This requires a fusion of conscious reasoning mechanisms, like learning, with subconscious sensing mechanisms."

Different design

Although currently there are several robots inside the plant, they have not been designed to repair a nuclear reactor.

For instance, the devices made by Qinetiq, introduced at Fukushima immediately after the disaster, were built to search for mines, said the firm's spokesman Mark Clark.

Using machines not made for such conditions was "always a compromise", he said, and better robots were needed.

"The operational environment within a large complex such as a power station poses high demands on these robots, which they were never designed to accommodate.

"If you are wishing to operate robots 24/7 inside a debris-filled power station in a radioactive area, it is much better to design the custom robot from the outset to meet specific tasks."

For instance, Toshiba says its robot has a wireless network that can be controlled in high radiation, looking for a better signal when reception is weak.

Mr Clark explained that the biggest problem associated with robots deployed into such zones was maintenance, because if repairs were needed, it would be difficult for humans to get anywhere near.

The solution would be to fix everything remotely, or while wearing heavy protective clothing.

To simplify the task, robots made to work inside a reactor would have to be "stripped of all unnecessary items", he said.

"If nuclear robots start leaking hydraulic fluid, they send an alarm before they fail so they can be quickly recovered. Others have the capability to shed or drop off parts of their manipulators so if they get caught up in debris they jettison the trapping section of robot, thus freeing them from the obstruction.

"Most nuclear robots operate on power provided by a trailing umbilical. This means there are no batteries to change and no refuelling issues to contend with."


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Google reveals UK 2012 net hits

11 December 2012 Last updated at 07:30 ET

"The Olympics" may have seemed like a safe bet for the top search term in the UK this year - but, according to Google, it was eclipsed by "Euro 2012".

"Olympic tickets" came second in Google's annual zeitgeist report, which lists 2012's most searched-for terms.

London was the most searched-for city in the UK, while Rio, host of the next Summer Olympics, was the most searched-for travel destination.

Skyfall reflected its box-office success, as the top trending movie.

Singer Whitney Houston, who died in February, was the most searched-for person, followed by "Kate Middleton", the Duchess of Cambridge.

The people list looked very different on rival search engine Bing, which revealed its top 2012 searches a few weeks ago.

Topping its global list was reality TV star Kim Kardashian, followed by singer Justin Bieber. Kim Kardashian also topped Yahoo's most searched-for list.

Continue reading the main story
  1. Euro 2012
  2. Olympic tickets
  3. Whitney Houston
  4. Kate Middleton
  5. April Jones
  6. Netflix
  7. NatWest Online
  8. iPad 3
  9. Gary Barlow
  10. Gangnam style

Sprinter Usain Bolt was the most searched-for Olympian, according to Google, while the most searched-for British star of the Summer Games was tennis player Andy Murray, followed by diver Tom Daley and athlete Jessica Ennis.

On Bing's list, Bolt only made it in at number nine, with tennis player Serena Williams, athlete Lolo Jones and basketball player LeBron James making its top three.

Nostalgia trip

Cyclist Victoria Pendleton was the most searched-for reality TV star, following her appearance on Strictly Come Dancing, while Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt beat London Mayor Boris Johnson to the top politician's spot, according to Google.

Cbeebies show Mike the Knight beat US hit Homeland to the number one spot for TV shows, with another home-grown hit, the Great British Bake Off, also making the top 10.

Some of the most interesting results are revealed in Google's more esoteric searches.

Topping the "what is" poll was "love", followed by the far less romantic "iCloud" and "3G".

The "how to" list revealed the growing trend of reigniting old skills with "knit" and "crochet" making the top 10, alongside "draw", "kiss" and "hack".

Twitter review

Twitter has also published its own review of the year.

Among the microblogging service's picks were tweets by the BBC's Middle East Chief Paul Danahar about the Syrian uprising.

It also highlighted the Olympics, the US election day and the MTV Video Music Awards as some of its most tweeted about occasions - together the three events accounted for more than 233 million posts.

It added that the two most retweeted messages were President Obama's tweet of himself hugging his wife after winning the US vote, and a picture pop star Justin Bieber posted of himself with a fan to say goodbye after she died of brain cancer.


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No 10 to redraft 'web snoop' plan

11 December 2012 Last updated at 08:02 ET
Jimmy Wales

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Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales: The Communications Data Bill is "absolutely incompetent"

No 10 says the PM remains committed to giving police and security services new powers to monitor internet activity, despite criticism of current plans.

The prime minister's spokesman said he accepted the criticism from MPs and peers of the draft Communications Data Bill and would re-write it.

Deputy PM Nick Clegg had threatened to block it unless there was a "rethink".

No 10 said bringing in new powers was a "government commitment" and everyone was "committed to fixing this problem".

He said: "We recognise this is a difficult issue. We will take account of what the committee said."

The deputy prime minister had earlier said he would block the draft Communications Data Bill and push for plans ensuring "the balance between security and liberty".

His comments came as a committee of MPs and peers criticised the bill's scope.

Civil liberties campaigners have described the proposals as a "snoopers' charter", but Home Secretary Theresa May insists they are vital for countering paedophiles, extremists and fraudsters.

The Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaderships agree on the need for new measures, but they disagree over their scope.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg

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Nick Clegg: ''We need a fundamental rethink, go back to the drawing board''

The plans in the draft bill include:

  • Internet service providers having to store for a year all details of online communication in the UK - such as the time, duration, originator and recipient of a communication and the location of the device from which it was made.
  • They would also be having to store for the first time all Britons' web browsing history and details of messages sent on social media, webmail, voice calls over the internet and gaming, in addition to emails and phone calls
  • Police not having to seek permission to access details of these communications, if investigating a crime
  • Police having to get a warrant from the home secretary to be able to see the actual content of any messages
  • Four bodies having access to data: the police, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, the intelligence agencies and HM Revenue and Customs

A report from the Joint Committee on the Draft Communications Bill, made up of MPs and peers, accepted a new law was needed to help police fight crime and tackle security threats organised online.

But it warned ministers would be able to demand "potentially limitless categories of data" unless the draft bill was amended.

Continue reading the main story
  • The Bill would extend the range of data telecoms firms have to store for up to 12 months
  • It would include, for the first time, details of messages sent on social media, webmail, voice calls over the internet and gaming, in addition to emails and phone calls
  • The data would include the time, duration, originator and recipient of a communication and the location of the device from which it was made
  • It would not include the content of messages - what is being said. Officers would need a warrant to see that
  • But they would not need the permission of a judge to see details of the time and place of messages, provided they were investigating a crime or protecting national security
  • Four bodies would have access to data: the police, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, the intelligence agencies and HM Revenue and Customs
  • Local authorities would face restrictions on the kinds of data they can access

It called for "safeguards" over the new powers to prevent abuse and accused the government of producing estimates of the cost of implementing the plans which were not "robust" enough.

The "net benefit figure" was "fanciful and misleading", it said.

The MPs and peers added that the draft bill paid "insufficient attention to the duty to respect the right to privacy" and went "much further than it need or should for the purpose of providing necessary and justifiable official access to communications data".

Mr Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said the committee had raised "a number of serious criticisms - not least on scope, proportionality, cost, checks and balances, and the need for much wider consultation".

"It is for those reasons that I believe the coalition government needs to have a fundamental rethink about this legislation. We cannot proceed with this bill and we have to go back to the drawing board."

But he added: "The committee did not, however, suggest that nothing needs to be done. They were very clear that there is a problem that must be addressed to give law enforcement agencies the powers they need to fight crime. I agree.

"But that must be done in a proportionate way that gets the balance between security and liberty right."

'Secret notices'

In its report, the committee said the home secretary would be given "sweeping powers to issue secret notices to communications service providers, requiring them to retain and disclose potentially limitless categories of data".

But it added: "We have been told that she has no intention of using the powers in this way. Our main recommendation is therefore that her powers should be limited to those categories of data for which a case can now be made."

If these powers needed to be enhanced in future, this should be done with "effective parliamentary scrutiny", it said.

The home secretary wants the bill in place next year.

Continue reading the main story

This bill wasn't dreamt up by Tory ministers in the coalition.

The previous Labour government came up with the first plans after the intelligence and security community said it needed modern tools to combat modern threats - threats organised online rather than through invisible ink messages left under park benches.

So the controversy is not about the bill's aim, but its scope - something we have seen in other pieces of security legislation since the coalition took office. Powers to hold terror suspects in their own home and the current bill to protect state secrets in courts were both cut back as part of coalition compromise. In each case ministers aimed to protect the primary purpose.

The question is whether this particular bill will be able to do its job if it goes through the same exercise - and that's why Nick Clegg will face claims of playing politics with security.

Security minister James Brokenshire told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there was a "legitimate debate" to be had.

He added that he wanted to "rebalance" the bill, so that "it's properly reflecting the needs of the collective and the needs of the individual".

Mr Brokenshire also said: "If there were to be any extension, that would have to be through the full scrutiny of Parliament. We are saying very clearly that we accept that."

He added: "We know that we need to work this through the coalition."

For Labour, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the government was "making a complete mess of a very important issue".

"It is important that the police and security services can keep up to date with modern technology, but this bill is too widely drawn, is unworkable and gives far too much power to the home secretary without proper safeguards."

She added: "It is astonishing that the Home Office have had so little discussion with the internet companies who need to deliver this legislation. The Government have been slipshod with this bill from the word go."

A person using a laptop

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A Home Office spokesman said: "This legislation is vital to help catch paedophiles, terrorists and other serious criminals and we are pleased both scrutiny committees have recognised the need for new laws.

"We have now considered the committees' recommendations carefully and we will accept the substance of them all. But there can be no delay to this legislation. It is needed by law enforcement agencies now."

The Intelligence and Security Committee, which has sent a classified report on its findings to Prime Minister David Cameron, after speaking to the security services, called for more detail to be included in the draft bill.

It recommended that it be "future-proofed" to ensure extra powers are not added without scrutiny, adding that there had been "insufficient consultation" between ministers and internet providers.


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MEPs vote to unify patent system

11 December 2012 Last updated at 09:57 ET

Euro MPs have voted to introduce a unified patent system.

The system would allow inventors to register their innovation with a single European Union (EU) authority rather than in each of its 27 member states, and is designed to save time and money.

There would also be a unified patent-court system. The move is due to be introduced in 2014.

But Spain and Italy continue to oppose the change, saying the new regime would discriminate against their languages.

The new rules would say applications and approvals need only to be made available in one of three languages, English, French and German.

At present, applicants are spending thousands of pounds translating their paperwork into each country's native language.

Italy and Spain suggest that as a result "commercial trade in innovative products will be favoured for undertakings which work in German, English or French".

But a senior adviser to the European Court of Justice has advised that it reject their plea. A panel of judges has still to consider the case.

Software patents
Raffaele Baldassarre MEP

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MEPs debated the European patent.

Eurochambres - an organisation that represents EU countries' chambers of commerce - called the vote in favour of the scheme a "breakthrough".

"[It] will significantly reduce administrative burdens and boost European innovation," it said in a statement.

However, April - a French free software-advocacy group - has warned the move could open the door to software-patent litigation on a scale recently seen in the US.

It says the European Patent Office (EPO) has shown itself willing to grant thousands of software patents - and worries the EU could end up with a system in which appeals against such judgements are decided according to the EPO's own rules.

"MEPs voted in favour of a legally uncertain system that does not not provide any checks and balances against threats to innovation such as software patents," said spokeswoman Jeanne Tadeusz.

"The European Patent Office will gain amazing powers, even though its governance has been highly criticised, especially with regard to its practice of granting software patents, against the letter and the spirit of European patent law."


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Warning over online trolling law

12 December 2012 Last updated at 03:17 ET

Plans to tackle internet trolling could have a "chilling effect" on online freedom of expression, a committee of MPs and peers has said.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights warned that libel law reforms might cause website operators to delete statements that had not broken the law.

"There should be a higher threshold put in place before material has to be removed," chairman Hywel Francis said.

The government has accused the committee of over-complicating matters.

Proposals in the Defamation Bill aim to protect website operators such as Facebook or Twitter from claims against them when defamatory statements are published by their users, while making it easier to identify the people accused of making such statements.

'Serious harm'

To be entitled to this protection, the websites must either facilitate contact between the complainant and the author or remove the offending material when they cannot establish contact.

Continue reading the main story

We think there is a real risk that website operators... will too readily make decisions on commercial grounds to remove allegedly defamatory material "

End Quote The Joint Committee on Human Rights

Announcing the plans in June, then Justice Secretary Ken Clarke said the measures would mean an end to "scurrilous rumour and allegation" being posted online without fear of adequate punishment.

Mr Francis, a Labour MP, commented: "We are also glad to see steps taken to protect website operators who are merely hosting content, but, as drafted, the bill could have a chilling effect on those publishing material online."

Under the bill, a statement is regarded as defamatory if it "has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to the reputation" of a person or a company, but any claim for damages will fail if it can be shown, for example, that the defamatory statement is "substantially true".

However, complainants would not have to declare whether any such defence applied in their case.

The committee's report explained: "We think there is a real risk that website operators will be forced to arbitrate on whether something is defamatory or lawful, and will too readily make decisions on commercial grounds to remove allegedly defamatory material rather than engage with the process."

The bill therefore "risks removing material from the internet, which, although it may be defamatory, may be lawful if a relevant defence applies", the report added.

Mr Francis said: "If we are to protect against that threat, there should be a higher threshold put in place before material has to be removed."

Checklist

The committee also called on the government to abandon its "inflexible" approach to another part of the bill, which aims to strengthen legal protections for defamatory statements "on a matter of public interest" that are published "responsibly".

The MPs and peers criticised the government for including a checklist to help the courts determine whether the defence applies, designed to supersede the so-called Reynolds defence.

The committee backed a proposal from Lib Dem peer Lord Lester of Herne Hill, a long-time campaigner for libel law reform, to scrap the checklist and re-write the defence to protect those who "acted honestly and reasonably believed at the time of publication that the making of the statement was in the public interest".

The bill is due to begin detailed scrutiny in the House of Lords on 17 December.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said the government would "give careful consideration" to the committee's recommendations.

"We have already taken steps in areas where the committee has concerns, for example by tabling amendments on the public interest defence in clause 4 of the bill for debate at committee stage in the House of Lords next week," the spokesman added.


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Police in Facebook global arrests

12 December 2012 Last updated at 07:31 ET

An alleged cybercrime ring said to be responsible for losses of $850m (£530m) looks to have been foiled by the FBI - by using Facebook.

In a statement, the US authority said 10 suspects had been arrested globally, including from the UK and US.

Facebook users were targeted over two years beginning in October 2010.

A gang was said to be using a botnet to steal credit card, bank account and other personal identifiable information from victims.

Facebook worked with authorities to reveal the alleged source of the attacks, as well as identifying which users may have been hit.

Other suspects were arrested in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, New Zealand and Peru.

Property raid

A botnet is a network of computers that have been infected by a virus that allows a hi-tech criminal to use them remotely.

In this particular attack, 11 million computer systems were said to have been compromised by multiple variants of malicious software known as Yahos.

Cybersecurity teams from around the world were involved in the investigation, including the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca).

In a statement, Soca said they had raided a property in Molesey, Surrey, on Tuesday morning.

A man was arrested on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act. He has been released on bail.

The world's largest social network is no stranger to instances of cybercrime.

Most common are so-called phishing attacks, attempts to trick users into divulging their personal details such as passwords or payment information.

Computer security experts have warned users to be careful over how much personal information they share on the service, and to consider carefully their privacy settings.

Facebook has also been used effectively to fight crime.

Scotland's Lothian and Borders Police trialled a scheme in 2011 to allow people to report criminals via the site, while in India, Delhi Traffic Police's Facebook page is a popular destination for angry motorists keen to upload evidence of dangerous driving.


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Hackers dump 1.6m log-in details

12 December 2012 Last updated at 07:00 ET

Log-in details from 1.6 million accounts have been posted on the web by hacktivist group Ghost Shell.

The group gathered the data during a series of attacks on Nasa, the FBI, the European Space Agency and many other government agencies and contractors.

Included in the dump were log-in names, passwords, email addresses and CVs, plus the contents of online databases.

The group said it had sent messages to security bosses about 150 insecure servers it had targeted in the attacks.

In a statement posted online Ghost Shell said the attacks were part of its #ProjectWhiteFox campaign to promote freedom of information online.

The data stolen was posted on several different sites to stop it being swiftly found and deleted.

Images posted to a Pastebin page suggest the hacking group accessed some sites by attacking the databases many companies use to catalogue and curate website content.

With cleverly crafted queries, attackers can make these databases cough up data they should be concealing.

As well as mounting attacks on government agencies, the group also targeted contractors and firms working for the US Department of Defense.

In all, 37 separate organisations, agencies and businesses were hit during the campaign.

The group, which is an offshoot of the Anonymous hacking collective, has carried out a series of attacks in 2012.

Details from millions of accounts held at businesses, universities and Russian government departments and companies have all been posted by the group.

It said #ProjectWhiteFox was the last operation it would carry out in 2012.


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Twitter adds Instagram-like tool

12 December 2012 Last updated at 08:20 ET

Twitter has added photo-sharing features to its mobile service, allowing users to edit images and enhance them with artistic filters.

The features are similar to those of photo app Instagram, which stopped users from displaying its pictures on Twitter over the weekend.

Users can now only post a link to Instagram's site.

One expert said the action was designed to help the social networks make more money from their users.

Twitter explained its move in a blog post, saying that users would now be able "to edit and refine photos, right from Twitter".

"Every day, millions of people come to Twitter to connect with the things they care about and find out what's happening around the world.

"As one of the most compelling forms of self-expression, photos have long been an important part of these experiences."

Removing integration

Instagram was bought by Facebook in April 2012 and has more than 100 million users.

It stopped supporting Twitter's Cards feature last week.

The facility used to ensure that images taken with the photo app and shared on Twitter were displayed in people's feeds.

But over the weekend, it became impossible to integrate Instagram photos in tweets; the only way to share one now is by posting a link taking users to the Facebook-owned site.

In a statement, Instagram's chief executive Kevin Systrom said it was done to encourage people to use his website.

"[Users can] engage with Instagram content through likes, comments and hashtags," he said.

"Now we believe the best experience is for us to link back to where the content lives."

Advertising revenue

One social media expert told the BBC that the tit-for-tat action had been motivated by Instagram's desire to make money.

"It's all about holding on to users, preventing them from spending too much time on rival social networks," said Mark Little, principal analyst at Ovum.

"[It's all about] potential eyeballs for advertising revenues.

"So it's interesting that this partnership that built up in the earlier days and benefited both parties was never permanent - because once they gain enough benefits from each other it becomes more like rivalry.

"The next step is to get enough subscribers and to monetise them, to start defending their ecosystem from the past partners to stop themselves from losing users."

He added that since the integration between Instagram and Twitter was very popular among users, it now remained to be seen whether Facebook would introduce a Twitter-like functionality of its own.

Flickr filters

Following in its rival's footsteps, photo-sharing service Flickr - which is owned by Yahoo - launched its own photo filtering service on Wednesday.

A new version of its iPhone app contains 16 filters to alter the look of uploaded pictures.

When compared to Instagram and Twitter, Flickr is a veteran of social networking.

But while still a popular destination, particularly for serious photography enthusiasts, it has lost more casual users to the likes of Facebook.

Flickr was bought by Yahoo in 2005 for a reported $35m (£22m).


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Facebook changes privacy settings

12 December 2012 Last updated at 10:50 ET

Facebook has updated its privacy settings to allow users greater control over the content they put on the site.

The updates include new privacy shortcuts, more accessible information about where content will appear and new ways of removing tags from photos.

The firms says that the changes are part of its drive to help users manage content on the site.

Some experts think the site tidy-up comes ahead of the much rumoured launch of a search engine.

Erin Egan, Facebook's chief privacy officer, told the BBC: "We don't want our users to be surprised. We want everyone to understand how they can control their information and have the best experience. It is part of our goal to be better, we constantly want to improve."

The three key elements to the changes are:

  • Privacy shortcuts - a new icon on the toolbar will allow users to access it from whatever page they are on and asks three key questions - who can see my stuff?, who can contact me?, and how do I stop someone from bothering me?
  • In-product education - this means that when you post something Facebook will explain where it appears - reminding users that while a post may be hidden from their own timeline it will still appear in search, news feeds and other places on Facebook.
  • Request and removal tool - allows users to go to a tab and select multiple photos and untag them on their page. They can also send a direct message to the person who tagged them asking them to remove the tags and explaining why they do not want their photo posted.

Other changes include new permissions for third-party apps and easier-to- use activity logs which allows users to see all the things they have posted on Facebook.

The new tools will roll out this month and all one billion plus users will be notified about the changes, said Ms Egan.

Search me

Facebook has made no secret of the fact that it wants to make search a much more prominent part of its social network.

At an industry conference in September, founder Mark Zuckerberg spoke about plans to build a search engine.

Some believe that the privacy tidy-up could be a precursor to such a launch.

A search engine could be of huge commercial value to the social network but would also raise fresh privacy issues, said Mark Little, an analyst with research firm Ovum.

"Facebook will effectively be organising its members information and making it easier for others to find it," he said.

"We don't yet know what information they will be able to access but I assume that Facebook will give people to option to opt in or out of sharing such information. It will be interesting to see how it does that," he added.

The changes come as Facebook also overhauls the way it manages users' data. Over half a million users voted on the changes, with the vast majority against them.

In a blog post Facebook acknowledged that the vote was "the biggest in Facebook history" but said that, as it fell short of the 30% of users needed to effect change, the proposed updates would be adopted with immediate effect.

They include allowing for greater data sharing across Facebook-owned services such as Instagram, getting rid of a setting to control who can contact users via its email system and scrapping the process that allowed users to vote on changes to its privacy policy.

Mr Little thinks that Facebook could have handled the changes better.

"I'm not sure that giving users a week to vote was long enough, given that many don't go on Facebook on a weekly basis," he said.


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