Boeing uses potatoes to test wi-fi

21 December 2012 Last updated at 09:57 ET

US planemaker Boeing used an unusual substitute for passengers to test its in-flight wi-fi system - potatoes.

Passenger seats on a decommissioned plane were loaded with huge sacks of the tubers for several days as signal strengths were checked.

The company's researchers say that potatoes "interact" with electronic signals in a similar way to humans.

The technique also took advantage of the fact that spuds - unlike humans - never get bored.

Boeing's engineers did a number of tests to ensure that passengers would get the strongest possible wi-fi signal while in the air, all while meeting safety standards that protect against interference with an aircraft's electrical systems.

Wireless signals fluctuate randomly in the enclosed space of an aeroplane cabin as people move about.

This means that signal distribution is uneven throughout the cabin, with weaker and stronger connectivity in different seats.

"You want your laptop to work anywhere it's located on your seat, [but] there can be significant signal changes just due to the location of the laptop," said Boeing engineer Dennis Lewis.

To test the signal distribution, the firm turned to spuds instead of human test subjects, filling the seats with 20,000lbs (9,000kg) of potatoes in sacks.

According to Boeing, potatoes' "interactions" with electronic signals mimic those of a human body, making them "the perfect stand-in for people who would otherwise have had to sit motionless for days while the data was gathered".

The UK Potato Council said many people underestimated the humble potato's alternative uses.

"[The examples are] in paper and ink manufacturing, potato starch is used in clothing to strengthen the fibres so they don't break during weaving, and for sweetening - glucose can be extracted from potato starch," said the council's spokeswoman.

"For beauty and sores - potatoes have calming, decongestant and astringent properties and raw potatoes can calm tired eyes, potato as alcohol, and potatoes can produce electricity."

Frederic Rosseneu of the European Potato Trade Association Europatat said the organisation was "looking forward to other experiments in which spuds can help to make our lives more convenient".

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Steve Jobs' super-yacht impounded

21 December 2012 Last updated at 12:29 ET

Venus, the minimalist high-tech yacht commissioned by the late Apple founder Steve Jobs, has become embroiled in a row over a disputed bill.

French designer Philippe Starck claims Mr Jobs' heirs still owe him 3m euros of a 9m euro fee for the project, according to Dutch paper Het Financieele Dagblad.

Mr Starck called in the debt collectors and had the yacht impounded,

The Port of Amsterdam confirmed that the boat is not allowed to leave.

Jeroen Ranzijn, spokesman for the Port of Amsterdam told the BBC: "The boat is brand new but there is a 3m euro claim on it. The parties will have to fight it out."

Roelant Klaassen, a lawyer representing Mr Starck's company, Ubik, told the Reuters news agency that the boat would remain in port pending payment by lawyers representing Mr Jobs' estate.

"These guys trusted each other, so there wasn't a very detailed contract," he said.

Mr Starck was unavailable for comment.

Gerard Moussault, the lawyer representing the owners of the Venus told the BBC: "I cannot comment at all on this, sorry."

The sleek, 260ft-long (80m) aluminium super-yacht cost 105m euros ($138m; £85m) and was launched in October, at Aalsmeer, The Netherlands.

Mr Starck is known for his striking designs for the Alessi company, including an aluminium lemon squeezer that is shaped like a spaceship.

He collaborated with Steve Jobs for five years on the project, describing the boat as "showing the elegance of intelligence."

The vessel is minimalist in style and is named after the Roman goddess of love and its windows measure 3m (10 feet) in height.

Mr Starck has said that Venus "looks strange for a boat" but said its shape comes from design ideas he shared with Mr Jobs.

Mr Jobs died of pancreatic cancer in 2011 and never saw his boat go to sea.

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EU accuses Samsung of patent abuse

21 December 2012 Last updated at 14:29 ET

EU competition regulators probing Samsung's patent litigation tactics believe the firm has abused its position.

The European Commission's "preliminary view" follows the South Korean firm's efforts to ban Apple products.

Investigators took issue with the fact that Samsung had based its claims on patents which lie at the heart of industry-shared technologies.

A final ruling will be issued once Samsung has presented its defence.

The two firms make the world's bestselling smartphones - the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5. They have been engaged in a range of patent battles across the globe despite the fact Apple buys some of its components from its rival.

Frand obligations

At the core of the EU's concerns is Samsung's use of what are termed "standard-essential" patents - specifically innovations without which Apple devices could not offer 3G mobile data connections.

Firms register patents as being standard-essential because it is supposed to guarantee them an income from anyone who wants to make use of a commonly offered technology. Other examples include the MPEG movie format and MP3 music standard.

In return for being granted such status the company commits itself to licensing an invention under Frand rules - meaning the terms must be fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory.

Companies owning Frand-registered innovations agree that they cannot discriminate who gets to use their inventions so long as they are paid a fee which cannot be excessive.

After Apple and Samsung failed to agree royalty rates for some of the Asian firm's 3G-related patents, Samsung launched lawsuits in Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere.

Bearing in mind Apple was not opposed to the principle of paying a fee but had rather disagreed about the amount being demanded, the Commission said that Samsung's efforts to seek sales injunctions "harms competition".

"Intellectual property rights are an important cornerstone of the single market," said competition commissioner Joaquín Almunia.

"However, such rights should not be misused when they are essential to implement industry standards, which bring huge benefits to businesses and consumers alike.

"When companies have contributed their patents to an industry standard and have made a commitment to license the patents in return for fair remuneration, then the use of injunctions against willing licensees can be anti-competitive."

Cooperation promise

The Commission first announced it was probing Samsung over possible patent rights abuses in January.

Earlier this week the Galaxy phone maker said it would drop its attempts to ban some Apple products in Europe on the basis of its Frand-type wireless patents.

If the move was designed to convince the EU to drop the probe it failed.

A statement from Samsung said: "We are studying the statement and will firmly defend ourselves against any misconceived allegations.

"We will continue to fully cooperate with the Commission. Samsung is confident that in due course the Commission will conclude that we have acted in compliance with European Union competition laws."

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Queen's message hails Olympic stars

23 December 2012 Last updated at 19:01 ET

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In her Christmas message, the Queen praises the ''skill, dedication, training and teamwork'' of the Olympic athletes

The Queen is to pay tribute to the nation's Olympic and Paralympic athletes in her Christmas broadcast.

She will hail the "splendid summer of sport" and highlight how the sportsmen and women allowed spectators to feel part of the "excitement and drama".

For the first time the address will be broadcast in 3D.

On Sunday, the Queen missed church as she was recovering from a cold, Buckingham Palace said. But she is expected to attend on Christmas Day.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said the speech, which will be broadcast in full on Christmas Day, would focus on "service, achievement and the spirit of togetherness".

During the address the Queen will say: "As London hosted a splendid summer of sport, all those who saw the achievement and courage at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were further inspired by the skill, dedication, training and teamwork of our athletes.

"In pursuing their own sporting goals, they gave the rest of us the opportunity to share something of the excitement and drama."

The Queen had her own starring role in the London Olympics, declaring them officially open after appearing to parachute into the stadium with James Bond.

It has been an eventful year for the royal family, with the Queen celebrating her Diamond Jubilee in June, marked with UK-wide celebrations.

She also became the first British monarch to reach a 65th wedding anniversary.

But there were health scares, with Prince Philip, 91, forced to miss some key events during the Jubilee celebrations after being taken to hospital with a bladder infection.

'Absolutely lovely'

Earlier this month, her grandson Prince William announced that his wife the Duchess of Cambridge was expecting a baby.

Behind-the-scenes footage of the Christmas message, made on 7 December, has been released, showing the Queen meeting senior staff from Sky News which produced the broadcast this year.

In other footage she wears 3D glasses as she watches part of the broadcast.

The message was recorded in Buckingham Palace's white drawing room with the Queen wearing a fine silk tulle gown by Angela Kelly.

The Christmas address is written by the Queen and usually has a strong religious framework, reflects current issues and draws on her own experiences over the past year.

Her use of 3D technology comes 80 years after George V first broadcast a Christmas speech on the radio and started the 25 December tradition.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said the monarch thought the broadcast was "absolutely lovely".

She added: "We wanted to do something a bit different and special in this Jubilee year, so doing it for the first time in 3D seemed a good thing, technology-wise, to do."

The message will be transmitted on both television and radio at 15:00 GMT on Christmas Day.

It will be available on the Royal Channel on the YouTube website and will also be shown in Commonwealth countries.

The broadcast will also be screened in standard and high definition.

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Newsweek unveils last print cover

24 December 2012 Last updated at 07:34 ET

The 80-year-old US current affairs magazine Newsweek has revealed the image that will grace the cover of its last-ever print edition.

A black and white photo of the publication's Manhattan headquarters takes pride of place, with the strapline #lastprintissue.

The nod to Twitter is regarded as a backhanded compliment.

The death of the print edition was caused by falling advertising revenues, as audiences moved online.

From the new year, Newsweek will be a digital-only publication. Editor Tina Brown described it as "a new chapter" for the magazine.

In a defiant editor's letter, she wrote: "This is not a conventional magazine, or a hidebound place.

"It is in that spirit that we're making our latest, momentous change, embracing a digital medium that all our competitors will one day need to embrace with the same fervor.

"We are ahead of the curve."

Ms Brown became editor of the publication two years ago, after it merged with The Daily Beast, a news website she co-founded in 2008.

'Bitter sweet'

Newsweek's first edition was published on 17 February, 1933. It made an immediate splash with its front cover, featuring seven photos - one news story for each day of the week.

Although it always took second place to its rival, Time, it gained prominence in the 1960s for its coverage of the civil rights movement.

At its height, it had a circulation of 3 million, but declining readership and advertising revenue saw it fall into losses.

It was sold by the Washington Post Company to businessman and publisher Sidney Harman for $1 in 2010, and was merged with the Daily Beast three months later.

Ms Brown is a former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. She unveiled Newsweek's final front cover via Twitter, saying: "Bitter sweet! Wish us luck!"

One reader commented that the hashtag headline was "like using your final breath to ID the killer".

The move to a digital edition will allow Newsweek to cut costs such as printing, postage and distribution. However it will lose money from print advertisers, who traditionally pay more than their online counterparts.

As the final edition went to the printers, The Daily Beast confirmed it would be making many of its editorial staff redundant.

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Game of Thrones tops TV piracy chart

24 December 2012 Last updated at 07:56 ET

Game of Thrones has emerged as the most-pirated TV show over the internet this year, according to news site Torrentfreak's latest annual survey.

It said one episode of the series had racked up 4,280,000 illegal global downloads - slightly more than than its estimated US television audience.

The site said that overall there had been a "small increase" in the amount of illegal sharing.

That was despite a "levelling out" of the activity the previous two years.

The rise also followed increased efforts to shut down or block websites providing access to copyright infringing material.

Investigations by the US, Mexican and Ukrainian authorities led to two of the best known file-sharing services disappearing earlier this year - digital locker service Megaupload and Bit Torrent link site Demonoid.

The administrators of Newzbin2 - a site which aggregated links to illegally copied material sourced from Usenet forums - also abandoned the operation after the UK courts forced internet service providers (ISPs) to block access.

In addition, UK-based Surfthechannel went offline after its owner went on trial for "facilitating" copyright infringement - a crime which resulted in him receiving a four year prison sentence.

Continue reading the main story

1. Game of Thrones

2. Dexter

3. The Big Bang Theory

4. How I Met Your Mother

5. Breaking Bad

6. The Walking Dead

7. Homeland

8. House

9. Fringe

10. Revolution

(Source: Torrentfreak)

Several countries ISPs have also been ordered to block The Pirate Bay, although political activists at Europe's Pirate Parties continue to offer proxy-based workarounds.

Delayed broadcasts

Despite all the closures, one episode of of Game of Thrones racked up 4,280,000 illegal global downloads, according to Torrentfreak. That was slightly more than than its estimated US television audience.

The level of piracy may be linked to the fact that the TV company behind it - HBO - does not allow Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime or other US streaming services access to its programmes. It instead restricts them to its own HBO Go online product, which is only available to its cable subscribers.

Outside the US, Torrentfreak noted that Australia was responsible for a disproportionate amount of illegal copies of Game of Thrones and suggested this may have been because episodes were broadcast locally a week later than in the US.

Torrentfreak's editor acknowledged that, despite his findings, HBO might still want to keep its current model.

"Not all of the people who pirate do it because it's free - availability is also a big factor," Ernesto Van Der Sar told the BBC.

"Most of the titles in the top 10 list are behind paywalls and are not distributed very widely. If TV companies offered them online to a broader audience, piracy would be lower than it is now.

"But I'm not sure that would be best for their revenues as they rely on expensive subscriptions which they still sell a lot of. If they allowed people to download individual episodes from Netflix, for example, they might not make as much money."

Ditched laws

The latest effort to combat piracy is a newly announced action plan by Russia and the US.

It involves the two countries:

• Co-ordinating efforts with rights holders and law enforcement agencies to force copyright infringing content off the net and take action against those responsible for putting it online.
• Pledging to seize and destroy equipment used to make the pirated files.
• Working together on legislation, including plans for a Russian law to make ISPs liable for piracy carried over their networks.

"Intellectual property rights not only protect our creators and innovators, but also promote foreign investment, economic development, and job creation." said US Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

It follows success at introducing other anti-piracy action over the past year.

A series of website blackouts and protests led to the US's House of Representatives abandoning its Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) and the Senate its Protect Intellectual Property Act (Pipa) in January.

An attempt to bring in an international treaty - the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta) - was also derailed after the European Parliament rejected it in July.

However, more recently countries have signalled they intend to press forward with anti-piracy efforts,

In September, Japan changed the law to introduce a maximum two year jail sentence for users found guilty of downloading pirated files.

Major ISPs in the US have announced plans to launch a "six strikes system" early next year, under which suspected pirates would be sent a series of warning letters before facing bandwidth throttling and other punitive measures. And the UK also plans to introduce a letter-writing scheme in 2013.

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Child abuse Twitter accounts closed

24 December 2012 Last updated at 08:10 ET

Several private Twitter accounts have been disabled after they were revealed to contain indecent images of children.

Some hacking groups are claiming to have unmasked them, the NSPCC said.

Members of the public have reported the accounts to Greater Manchester Police and North Yorkshire Police, while Ceop - the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre - says it is "aware".

The NSPCC asked people to "be vigilant" and report such suspicious activity.

Ceop - the policing unit dedicated to eradicating the sexual abuse of children - said it had had 25 to 30 reports of these accounts.

A Ceop spokesman said Twitter had disabled the accounts and would be reporting the find to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) - Ceop's US equivalent - which as an American company it was legally required to.

"NCMEC will forward the account details to law enforcement in the countries where the individual concerned is," he said.

It is unclear whether the images were uploaded by a UK user, or a user based abroad.

The NSPCC said the accounts were made public in the early hours of Monday.

"To be honest, it's not a massive surprise. In our experience sex offenders will use whichever mean they can to connect with each other. They are usually quite devious," a spokesman said.

He asked people to be vigilant.

"It you see something, or are aware of something, you should report it."

As for those people storing such content, Professor Alan Woodward, of the University of Surrey's department of computing, said they were increasingly using social media rather than computers.

"If they use the web to keep any pictures then they will be able to claim it wasn't them. The weight of evidence isn't the same."

Twitter is yet to comment.

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DIY Tardis is 'bigger on its inside'

24 December 2012 Last updated at 09:52 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

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Greg Kumparak shows how his Tardis looks bigger on the inside

A US-based Doctor Who fan has built a model of the Tardis designed to look bigger on its inside than its outside.

Rather than circumvent the laws of physics Greg Kumparak has relied on augmented reality (AR).

The actual interior of his wooden model features a zebra-striped fabric.

But when a smartphone is held in front of it running an AR app, it appears to show a spacious interior modelled on the ninth and tenth Doctors' time machine.

Mr Kumparak, former mobile editor at the Techcrunch news site, said he decided to embark on the project over his Thanksgiving break.

He had carved the exterior out of wood, painted it blue and attached a working light to its top before coming up with the idea of creating the illusion that the inside was huge.

"There's a running gag in Doctor Who, wherein new characters are always dumbstruck by the Tardis being bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside," he wrote on his blog.

"Once I realised I had a rough idea of how to pull that off, I couldn't not do it."

Digital dimensions

To bring his idea to life, the Silicon Valley-based designer first created a 3D computer model of the Tardis's interior using the free-to-use open source computer software programme Blender.

He then used the Unity graphics rendering engine - commonly used by independent video games developers - and Vuforia - an AR app development platform made by the chip maker Qualcomm - to allow a smartphone to interact with his creation.

The only problem was that the software needed to latch onto a specific part of the model to be able to map out the appropriate view of the Tardis's interior.

Mr Kumparak initially tried using the sign on the police box's door which says: "Free for use of public", but it proved to be too small to work.

So, he ultimately detached the front door and added a piece of material with a black-and-white pattern. The smartphone software could then use this to work out which part of its camera's image should be superimposed and what angle of the interior image should be shown.

Reaction to the invention has been overwhelming positive on Twitter and YouTube - a site notorious for attracting some of the web's harshest feedback.

"Insanely cool," wrote one admirer. "You have just made my Xmas," posted another.

One user suggested the inventor might like to add features - perhaps even allowing the Doctor and some of his companions to appear inside.

"The feedback has been resoundingly positive so far," Mr Kumparak told the BBC.

"Almost shockingly so, really. Doctor Who fans might be some of the nicest people on the internet."

He added that there might be an opportunity to develop the idea further.

"I originally made this just to brush up on a few new skills and to have something fun for my desk - that so many others got excited about it is really just a wonderful surprise.

"I've had more requests than I can count to make it into something others can obtain, be it as a store-bought toy or a printable kit.

"If anyone in the right department at the BBC is reading this and wants to make that happen, I'd love to lend a hand."

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Retailers launch online bargains

24 December 2012 Last updated at 12:20 ET

The battle for the consumer has moved online with retailers bringing forward the start of sales after reports of lacklustre spending on the High Street.

Marks & Spencer and John Lewis are among major names to start discounting online in the hope that shoppers will be browsing sites over Christmas.

Sales online have traditionally begun on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.

Reports that millions of consumers will spend the holiday shopping online prompted a warning from Church leaders.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey said Christmas was a "special time" and should be spent with family and not logging-on. "We are now in danger of the gadgets taking over our lives and we are not in control of them," he said.

And Steve Jenkins, a spokesman for the Church of England, urged people to make time to go to church and "maybe spend a bit of time online spending their new Christmas vouchers".

But with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) warning that Christmas sales generally were likely to be "acceptable" rather than "exceptional", retailers are looking for every opportunity to maximise sales.

M&S began its sales online at midday on Monday, while department store John Lewis said it would cut online prices when its stores close at 1700 GMT.

Debenhams has already started its online sale. Online giant Amazon will start its sale on Christmas morning, a day earlier than usual.

Continue reading the main story

We suspect that people will likely be more careful in buying - or reluctant to buy - items that they don't really want or need in the sales"

End Quote Howard Archer IHS Global Insight

A report from Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, has estimated that shoppers spend an average £1,000 a year online each year. This is more than in any other country, including the US.

The popularity of online retailing contrasts with continued problems for the High Street.

'Modest'

The BRC forecast that £5bn would be spent in the shops on Saturday and Sunday combined, the last weekend before Christmas. But Richard Dodd, the BRC's head of Media and Campaigns, said that was nothing to get excited about, adding: "It's been a very busy weekend which will be crucial to delivering a Christmas that is acceptable, rather than exceptional."

He forecast a modest increase in cash spending on a year go, but not necessarily any significant increase because household finances are under pressure.

Economist analyst Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight said the weakening in household finances could not come at a worse time for retailers, and it highlighted why Christmas spending was so modest.

"The suspicion has to be that consumers will be especially keen to take advantage of genuine major bargains in the sales to acquire items that they cannot otherwise afford or are reluctant to make at the moment," he said.

"However, we suspect that people will likely to be more careful in buying - or reluctant to buy - items that they don't really want or need in the sales."

Nevertheless, some shops reported brisk trading.

Sainsbury's reported its busiest ever hour in terms of customers served from midday to 1pm on Sunday, while 35 branches opened at midnight and traded until 6pm on Monday.

More than a million visitors were expected in London's West End during the three-day period from Saturday to Christmas Eve, during which more than £100m was expected to be spent.

'Critical condition'

Bluewater shopping centre in Kent was also anticipating a surge in sales on Monday as Saturday's footfall was up 14% from the previous week.

And the problems facing retailers was underlined on Monday in a report by business recovery group Begbies Traynor. It estimated that tough Christmas trading conditions had left nearly 140 firms in a "critical" condition.

Book retailers were among those in significant distress, hit by competition from players such as Amazon, while convenience stores have suffered from the rising dominance of supermarkets.

However, online retailers have seen sales figures improve, Begbies said.

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Iran 'fends off new cyber attack'

25 December 2012 Last updated at 10:19 ET

A power plant and other industries in southern Iran have been targeted by the Stuxnet computer worm, an Iranian civil defence official says.

But the cyber attack has been successfully rebuffed and prevented from spreading, Iranian media report.

Iran's nuclear enrichment efforts were hit hard in 2010 by the Stuxnet worm, which was also blamed for problems at industrial plants and factories.

Tehran accused Israel and the US of planting the malware.

Provincial civil defence chief Ali Akbar Akhavan said Iranian industry was constantly being targeted by "enemy cyber attacks" and companies in Hormozgan province had recently been infiltrated, the semi-official Isna news agency reported.

"The Bandar Abbas electricity supply company has come under cyber attack," he told a news conference. "But we were able to prevent its expansion owing to our timely measures and the co-operation of skilled hackers."

The Bandar Abbas plant, on Iran's southern coast in the Strait of Hormuz, is said to supply power to neighbouring provinces as well as Hormozgan.

Spyware

Iran has regularly claimed success in defeating computer viruses, such as Stuxnet and Flame, which have affected its industries.

In April, a malware attack on Iran's oil ministry and national oil company forced the government to disconnect key oil facilities, including the Kharg Island oil terminal that handles most of Tehran's exports.

Late last year, Iran said some of its computer systems were infected by the Duqu spyware which was believed to have been designed to steal data to help launch further cyber attacks.

The attacks have affected its energy exports as well as its controversial uranium enrichment programme, which Western countries suspect is aimed at constructing nuclear weapons. Tehran insists it is solely for peaceful purposes.

Continue reading the main story

• Stuxnet worm hits Iranian centrifuges - from mid-2009 to late 2010
• Iran complains facilities hit by Stars malware - April 2011
• Duqu trojan hits Iran's computer systems - November 2011
• Flame virus targets computers in PCs across the Middle East, including Iran and Israel - June 2012
• Iran says Stuxnet worm returns - December 2012

The biggest cyber attack so far was from the Stuxnet worm, believed to be the first known virus specifically targeted at infrastructure such as power stations.

In 2010, Iran accused the West of trying to disrupt its nuclear facilities with the Stuxnet worm.

Researchers estimated that five industrial processing organisations in Iran were hit repeatedly between June 2009 and April 2010 by the worm which they believed had been created by a "nation state" in the West.

Iran said centrifuges used in uranium enrichment had been sabotaged and the UN nuclear watchdog said the enrichment programme had been temporarily brought to a halt.

Reports suggested that the worm had infected the personal computers of staff at Iran's first nuclear power station at Bushehr.

In September this year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations General Assembly that time was running out to stop Tehran having enough enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb.

US President Barack Obama has said the US will do "what we must" to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.

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