Facebook 'likes' predict personality

11 March 2013 Last updated at 15:00 ET

Sexuality, political leanings and even intelligence can be gleaned from the things you choose to "like" on Facebook, a study suggests.

Researchers at Cambridge University used algorithms to predict religion, politics, race and sexual orientation.

The research, published in the journal PNAS, forms surprisingly accurate personal portraits, researchers said.

The findings should "ring alarm bells" for users, privacy campaigners said.

The study used 58,000 volunteers who alongside their Facebook "likes" and demographic information also provided psychometric testing results - designed to highlight personality traits.

The Facebook likes were fed into algorithms and matched with the information from the personality tests.

The algorithms proved 88% accurate for determining male sexuality, 95% accurate in distinguishing African-American from Caucasian-American and 85% for differentiating Republican from Democrat.

Christians and Muslims were correctly classified in 82% of cases and relationship status and substance abuse was predicted with an accuracy between 65% and 73%.

The links clicked rarely explicitly revealed these attributes. Fewer than 5% of gay users clicked obvious likes such as gay marriage, for instance.

Instead, the algorithms aggregated huge amounts of likes such as music and TV shows to create personal profiles.

It also threw up some strange pairings.

"Curly fries correlated with high intelligence and people who liked the Dark Knight tended to have fewer Facebook friends," said research author David Stillwell.

Data rethink

The study will be music to the ears of social media firms keen to make more money from customers via personalised marketing.

But the researchers warned that the digital profiles people are creating also threaten privacy.

"I appreciate automated book recommendations, or Facebook selecting the most relevant stories for my newsfeed. However, I can imagine situations in which the same data and technology is used to predict political views or sexual orientation, posing threats to freedom or even life," said Michael Kosinski, lead researcher on the project.

There are simple things users can do, said Mr Stillwell.

"Facebook likes are public by default but it is not that Facebook is forcing you to make them public; you have a choice to change your privacy settings."

He stressed that the results had implications beyond social media to all digital records - from browser histories to search queries.

"This research should ring alarm bells for anyone who thinks that privacy settings are the solution to protecting information online. We need to fundamentally re-think how much data we are voluntarily sharing," said Nick Pickles, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch.

"Sharing individual likes or pages might not seem hugely intrusive, but it allows individuals to be categorised and behaviour predicted in areas that are far more personal and sensitive than people realise.

"Yet again, it is clear the lack of transparency about how users' data is being used will lead to entirely justified fears about our data being exploited for commercial gain."

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Microsoft opens up on Kinect code

12 March 2013 Last updated at 06:06 ET

Microsoft has opened up access to some of the code for its Kinect for Windows motion-sensing device.

The device, first built for the Xbox, lets people play games by moving their body instead of using a controller.

Before now anyone wanting to use the Kinect had to work via an official software toolkit that hid the underlying code.

Microsoft said it had opened the code up to make the Kinect easier to use and get feedback about how to improve it.

Soon after the Kinect's 2010 release, hardware hackers wrote code that let them control the device so they could use it for their own projects.

Later on, Microsoft aided these "home-brew" efforts with the release of a software development kit and a program that allowed the Kinect to be controlled via Windows.

However, both these programs hid the core code of the device, limiting what developers and others could do with the gadget.

Now, Microsoft has released 22 code samples for the Kinect for Windows that expose the computer code that helps it track faces, interpret gestures and determine colours, among other things.

The code has been put on the CodePlex website so developers can freely download and share the software.

Microsoft made the announcement about the code sharing on a blog and said it had taken the step to help those that wanted to use Kinect for their own ends and to help improve the control software.

As the core Kinect code is updated and changed, new samples could be posted to CodePlex, said Microsoft spokesman Ben Lower.

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pirate Bay for 3D printing launched

12 March 2013 Last updated at 13:55 ET

The company that developed 3D printed gun parts has announced plans to launch a new firm, dedicated to copyright-free blueprints for a range of 3D printable objects.

Defcad, as the firm will be known, has already been dubbed the Pirate Bay of 3D printing.

The site will become a "search engine for 3D printing," according to its founders.

But its flouting of copyright is likely to face legal challenges.

Wiki weapon

The firm is the brainchild of Cody Wilson, law student and self-styled crypto-anarchist.

Last year he set up Defense Distributed, a project aiming to print gun parts.

The project provoked controversy with 3D printing firm MakerBot pulling gun part blueprints from its website in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings and 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys refusing permission for its machines to be used by the company.

It is also facing legal challenges to shut the site down.

Despite the set-backs, it released a video this month demonstrating an AR-15 with a 3D printed part firing more than 600 rounds.

Meanwhile its blueprints at non-profit Defcad.org have seen 400,000 downloads since the site was launched, according to founder Cody Wilson.

Announcing the new for-profit Defcad.com at the South by South West conference in Texas, Mr Wilson said it was an obvious next step for the wiki weapon project.

"Help us turn Defcad into the world's first unblockable, open-source search engine for 3D printable parts," says Mr Wilson in the video posted on the website looking for funding.

In the video, Mr Wilson said the revolution which many predict 3D printing will bring about will only happen if it can be freed from corporate ties.

The blueprints available on the site will be for "important stuff", he said. "Not trinkets, not garden gnomes but the things institutions and industries have an interest in keeping from us; access, medical devices, drugs, goods, guns."

"Supplying consumers with blueprints to print products designed by third parties is a business model fraught with risk," said Lorna Caddy of law firm Taylor Wessing.

"Many of those products will be protected by intellectual property rights, such as design law. Owners of those rights could assert them in the courts to prevent their designs being further distributed and to seek financial compensation," she added.

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Google hit by $7m Street View fine

12 March 2013 Last updated at 14:13 ET

Google has agreed to pay a $7m (£4.6m) fine for collecting people's personal data without authorisation as part of its Street View service.

In a settlement with 38 US states, the internet giant agreed to destroy emails, passwords, and web histories.

The data was harvested from home wireless networks as Street View cars photographed neighbourhoods between 2008 and 2010.

Google said it was pleased to have resolved the issue.

"We work hard to get privacy right at Google. But in this case we didn't, which is why we quickly tightened up our systems to address the issue," the firm said in a statement.

"The project leaders never wanted this data, and didn't use it or even look at it. We're pleased to have worked with Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen and the other state attorneys general to reach this agreement."

Advertising campaign

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced the legal settlement.

"Consumers have a right to protect their vital personal and financial information from improper and unwanted use by corporations like Google," he said.

"This settlement addresses privacy issues and protects the rights of people whose information was collected without their permission."

As well as agreeing to delete all the harvested data, Google has also been required to launch an employee training program about privacy and data use which it must continue for at least ten years.

It must also launch a public service advertising campaign to educate consumers about how to secure their information on wireless networks.

Peanuts

Google claims it collected wi-fi data because of rogue code mistakenly included in the software by a lone engineer.

The controversy led data authorities around the world to demand Google made changes.

This is the biggest fine of its type to date, said Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at research firm Ovum.

But he said it was "peanuts" to a giant such as Google.

"What would be a bigger threat to Google is if regulators changed their stance about how it uses data, for instance telling it that it can no longer collect information about browsing habits," he said.

Nick Pickles, head of UK privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said the US had handled the issue better than the UK.

"British regulators barely managed to slap Google on the wrist for this, so yet again British consumers seem to be left with weaker protection of their privacy than other countries," he said.

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Google pays executives $15m bonuses

12 March 2013 Last updated at 19:11 ET

Internet search giant Google is paying nearly $15m (£10.1m) in bonuses to four of its top executives for their performances last year.

Neither of Google's two co-founders, including chief executive Larry Page, will get a bonus though.

Executive chairman and former boss Eric Schmidt will get $6m - the largest reward.

The rest of the money will go to its top lawyer, chief financial officer and chief business officer.

Lawyer David Drummond is getting $3m, while Patrick Pichette and Nikesh Arora are to receive $2.8m each, the company said in regulatory filings.

Mr Page and co-founder Sergey Brin have usually settled for a $1 salary since Google went public in 2004 - but through their stock are worth billions.

It comes on the same day it agreed to pay a $7m fine in the US for collecting people's personal data without authorisation as part of its Street View service.

As well as agreeing to delete all the harvested data, Google has also been required to launch an employee training program about privacy and data use which it must continue for at least ten years.

It must also launch a public service advertising campaign to education consumers about how to secure their information on wireless networks.

In January, Google said its net profit for the final three months of last year was $2.89bn, up 7% on a year earlier. Revenues were up by more than a third at $14.4bn.

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dreamliner battery redesign approved

13 March 2013 Last updated at 06:02 ET

The US airline regulator has approved a plan to redesign the lithium-ion batteries of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Boeing's plan, which it said requires it to "conduct extensive testing and analysis".

But the FAA gave no indication of when the planes might be allowed to carry passengers again.

All 50 Dreamliners in operation were grounded after the batteries emitted smoke on several separate occasions.

The plane is the first plane in the world to use the lithium-ion batteries, which are lighter, hold more power and recharge more quickly.

The FAA has also approved limited test flights for two aircraft to test the changes in the batteries.

"This comprehensive series of tests will show us whether the proposed battery improvements will work as designed," said US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "We won't allow the plane to return to service unless we're satisfied that the new design ensures the safety of the aircraft and its passengers."

Approval 'milestone'

Boeing said its plan included three "layers" of improvements:

• Improving the battery design to stop faults occurring
• Enhancing production, operating and testing processes
• Introducing a new battery enclosure system to keep any overheating from affecting the plane

Boeing chief executive Jim McNerney said in a statement: "Our top priority is the integrity of our products and the safety of the passengers and crews who fly on them.

"Our team has been working around the clock to understand the issues and develop a solution based on extensive analysis and testing following the events that occurred in January."

Mr McNerney described the FAA's approval as "a critical and welcome milestone toward getting the fleet flying again and continuing to deliver on the promise of the 787".

The 787 is said to be one of the most fuel-efficient in the industry, and Boeing delivered 46 Dreamliners to customers in 2012.

But a series of events in January brought its safety into question.

Problems occurred on several planes owned by Japanese airlines. One plane had a cracked cockpit window, another had a fuel leak and a third plane made an emergency landing after a smoke alert went off.

On 7 January, a fire started in a lithium-ion battery pack of a Japan Airlines 787 in Boston, prompting the US regulator to step in and ground the 787s.

Japanese carrier ANA lost some 1.4bn yen ($15m; £9.5m) in revenue through January's disruption alone.

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Call of Duty dominates 2012 sales

13 March 2013 Last updated at 06:45 ET

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 was the UK's biggest selling entertainment release of last year - beating the top-selling music album, by Emeli Sande, by 1.2 million copies.

Activision's game sold almost 2.7 million copies, and was closely followed in the chart by EA's Fifa 13.

Film titles The Dark Knight Rises and The Twilight Saga took third and fourth spot.

Overall, sales of entertainment products were down 12% year-on-year.

In what has been described by the Entertainment Retail Association (ERA) as a "poor" year across the board, sales of the Top 40 titles were down 25% when compared to last year's big hitters.

Continue reading the main story

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (game) - 2,672,364 sales
2. Fifa 13 (game) - 2,601,877
3. The Dark Knight Rises (film) - 1,694,434
4. The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (film) - 1,515,604
5. Emeli Sande, Our Version of Events (album) - 1,446,844
6. Now 83 (album) - 1,389,006
7. Avengers Assemble (film) - 1,349,937
8. Ted (film) - 1,188,295
9. War Horse (film) - 986,870
10. The Hunger Games (film) - 946,592

Source: ERA

Kim Bayley, director of the ERA, blamed the slump on a weak year with few blockbuster hits.

"2012 was a tough year for entertainment due to a number of factors, but this sharp 25% shrinkage in sales of the biggest titles suggests that the quality of releases was at least partly to blame.

"Luckily 2013 has got off to a good start with Skyfall already selling more than two million copies - way ahead of last year's biggest-selling video, The Dark Knight Rises."

Skyfall, the latest James Bond film, is on course to beat Call of Duty's tally within just a couple of months of its release, the ERA said.

Sande's Our Version of Events was the top-selling music title by some considerable distance, aside from two "Now That's What I Call Music" compilations.

Other video games making a strong showing include Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed 3 - which shifted 886,198 copies - and Microsoft's Halo 4, with 753,489.

The chart also showed a strong showing for television series Mrs Brown's Boys.

The chart aggregates sales data from the Official Charts Company and GFK Chart-track to determine the year's standings.

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hotmail and Outlook hit by fault

13 March 2013 Last updated at 09:15 ET

Users of Outlook and Hotmail webmail services have been hit by a lengthy fault, Microsoft has confirmed.

A status message informed users on Wednesday morning about the issues, with the company adding it was "working to restore service right now".

Users reported not seeing emails that should have reached their accounts.

Microsoft is in the process of migrating millions of users from Hotmail, which launched in 1998, to new Outlook.com accounts.

Problems began to hit the services on Tuesday evening, with Microsoft acknowledging it had a problem at 21:35 GMT.

According to reports, some users noted being unable to see certain emails in the accounts, while others reported email was simply inaccessible altogether.

A message posted to Microsoft's service status page on Wednesday morning said: "Fixing the problem is taking longer than we hoped. We apologise for the lengthy interruption in service."

It said a further update would be posted by Wednesday at 13:12 GMT.

'Seamless and instant'

Some users have suggested there have been similar issues on the SkyDrive cloud storage service, but Microsoft has offered no comment on those reports.

Hotmail users will be migrated to the new Outlook.com service, but can retain their Hotmail.com email address should they wish.

The move has been seen as an attempt by the Windows-maker to claw back ground lost to competitors such as Google, whose Gmail service has proved immensely popular since its launch in 2004.

In a blog post explaining the changes, Microsoft's David Law wrote: "When we say that we're confident Outlook.com is the best email choice for consumers, we mean it.

"As Outlook.com comes out of preview, we're also announcing that we will soon upgrade every Hotmail user to Outlook.com.

"The upgrade is seamless and instant."

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Value of Google ads queried by eBay

13 March 2013 Last updated at 09:47 ET

A report by auction website eBay has found that paying for advertising in the form of keywords on search engines has little effect on sales.

Platforms such as Google and Bing offer companies the option to "buy" words.

This means their websites appear more prominently if a person searches for a particular term.

The eBay study found that most people who clicked through as a result of this service were loyal customers who would have come to the site anyway.

"Incremental revenue from paid search was far smaller than expected because existing customers would have come to eBay regardless, whether directly or through other marketing channels," said an eBay representative.

In carrying out the study, presented at an economics conference held at Stanford University, eBay removed its paid-search keywords from MSN and Yahoo platforms in the US, while retaining them on Google.

Natural search

They found that without the advertising, users still clicked through as the results appeared on the search engine anyway.

"Removal of these advertisements simply raised the prominence of the eBay natural search result," read the report by Thomas Blake, Chris Nosko, and Steve Tadelis from eBay.

"Shutting paid search advertisements closed one (costly) path to a firm's website but diverted traffic to the next easiest path (natural search), which is free to the advertiser."

There is no suggestion that eBay now plans to change the way in which it currently spends on search engine advertising.

Google said that its own research suggested there was a significant increase in clicks as a result of search advertising.

But a company representative added: "Since outcomes differ so much among advertisers and are influenced by many different factors, we encourage advertisers to experiment with their own campaigns."

Household name

Dr Philip Alford, director of the Digital Hub in the School of Tourism at Bournemouth University, told the BBC that the size of the brand made a big difference to the effectiveness of paid searches.

EBay has become a household brand name, they already have a highly engaged user base," he said, adding that many people would search the website directly when shopping online.

"With Google ad words, particularly for smaller organisations, it can make a lot of sense because for some of them, their websites aren't at a stage yet where they have been sufficiently indexed by Google, so they struggle to come up in natural searches for terms.

"The more click your ad gets, you get rewarded over time with a higher listing as you are perceived by Google as being relevant," he added.

"But it is interesting that a lot of people still are paying for terms that actually appear quite high up the listings in the search results anyway."

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

iPhone turned into microscope for £5

13 March 2013 Last updated at 12:23 ET

Scientists used an iPhone 4S to diagnose intestinal worm infections in schoolchildren in rural Tanzania.

They attached an $8 (£5) ball lens to the handset camera lens, and used a cheap torch and double-sided tape to create an improvised microscope.

Pictures were then taken of stool samples placed on lab slides, wrapped in cellophane and taped to the phone.

They were studied for the presence of eggs, the main symptom of the parasites.

When the results were double-checked with a laboratory light microscope, the device had managed to pick up 70% of the samples with infections present - and 90% of the heavier infections.

The study has been published this week in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Researcher Dr Isaac Bogoch, who specialises in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Toronto General Hospital, told the BBC he had read about smartphone microscopes being trialled in a laboratory and decided to "recreate it in a real world setting".

"Ultimately we'd like something like this to be a useful diagnostic test. We want to put it in the hands of someone who might be able to use it," he said.

"70% (accuracy) isn't really good enough, we want to be above 80% and we're not quite there yet," he added.

"The technology is out there. We want to use materials that are affordable and easy to procure."

Camera key

Dr Bogoch and his team, which included experts from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, said the only reason he used an Apple iPhone was because it was his own handset.

"You need the ball lens to help with the magnification - but any mobile phone with a decent camera and a zoom function will be sufficient," he explained.

The smallest eggs visible using the smartphone were 40-60 micrometres in diameter.

"From an egg standpoint that is not tiny but it's not enormous either," said Dr Bogoch.

"The microscope was very good at diagnosing children with heavier infection intensities as there are more eggs, so they are easier to see."

Intestinal worms are estimated to affect up to two billion people around the world, mainly in poor areas.

"These parasitic infections cause malnutrition, stunted growth, and stunted mental development," added Dr Bogoch.

"It's a big deal, a big problem."

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More