Cern to re-create first web page

30 April 2013 Last updated at 03:09 ET By Pallab Ghosh Science correspondent, BBC News, Cern

A team at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern) has launched a project to re-create the first web page.

The aim is to preserve the original hardware and software associated with the birth of the web.

The world wide web was developed by Prof Sir Tim Berners-Lee while working at Cern.

The initiative coincides with the 20th anniversary of the research centre giving the web to the world.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

I want my children to be able to understand the significance of this point in time: the web is already so ubiquitous - so, well, normal - that one risks failing to see how fundamentally it has changed"

End Quote Dan Noyes Cern web manager

According to Dan Noyes, the web manager for Cern's communication group, re-creation of the world's first website will enable future generations to explore, examine and think about how the web is changing modern life.

"I want my children to be able to understand the significance of this point in time: the web is already so ubiquitous - so, well, normal - that one risks failing to see how fundamentally it has changed," he told BBC News

"We are in a unique moment where we can still switch on the first web server and experience it. We want to document and preserve that".

The hope is that the restoration of the first web page and web site will serve as a reminder and inspiration of the web's fundamental values.

At the heart of the original web is technology to decentralise control and make access to information freely available to all. It is this architecture that seems to imbue those that work with the web with a culture of free expression, a belief in universal access and a tendency toward decentralising information.

Subversive

It is the early technology's innate ability to subvert that makes re-creation of the first website especially interesting.

While I was at Cern it was clear in speaking to those involved with the project that it means much more than refurbishing old computers and installing them with early software: it is about enshrining a powerful idea that they believe is gradually changing the world.

I went to Sir Tim's old office where he worked at Cern's IT department trying to find new ways to handle the vast amount of data the particle accelerators were producing.

I was not allowed in because apparently the present incumbent is fed up with people wanting to go into the office.

But waiting outside was someone who worked at Cern as a young researcher at the same time as Sir Tim. James Gillies has since risen to be Cern's head of communications. He is occasionally referred to as the organisation's half-spin doctor, a reference to one of the properties of some sub-atomic particles.

Amazing dream

Mr Gillies is among those involved in the project. I asked him why he wanted to restore the first website.

"One of my dreams is to enable people to see what that early web experience was like," was the reply.

"You might have thought that the first browser would be very primitive but it was not. It had graphical capabilities. You could edit into it straightaway. It was an amazing thing. It was a very sophisticated thing."

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

One of my dreams is to enable people to see what that early web experience was like... It was an amazing thing"

End Quote James Gillies Co-author, How the Web Was Born

Those not heavily into web technology may be sceptical of the idea that using a 20-year-old machine and software to view text on a web page might be a thrilling experience.

But Mr Gillies and Mr Noyes believe that the first web page and web site is worth resurrecting because embedded within the original systems developed by Sir Tim are the principles of universality and universal access that many enthusiasts at the time hoped would eventually make the world a fairer and more equal place.

The first browser, for example, allowed users to edit and write directly into the content they were viewing, a feature not available on present-day browsers.

Ideals eroded

And early on in the world wide web's development, Nicola Pellow, who worked with Sir Tim at Cern on the www project, produced a simple browser to view content that did not require an expensive powerful computer and so made the technology available to anyone with a simple computer.

According to Mr Noyes, many of the values that went into that original vision have now been eroded. His aim, he says, is to "go back in time and somehow preserve that experience".

"This universal access of information and flexibility of delivery is something that we are struggling to re-create and deal with now.

"Present-day browsers offer gorgeous experiences but when we go back and look at the early browsers I think we have lost some of the features that Tim Berners-Lee had in mind."

Mr Noyes is reaching out to ask those who were involved in the NeXT computers used by Sir Tim for advice on how to restore the original machines.

Awe

The machines were the most advanced of their time. Sir Tim used two of them to construct the web. One of them is on show in an out-of-the-way cabinet outside Mr Noyes's office.

I told him that as I approached the sleek black machine I felt drawn towards it and compelled to pause, reflect and admire in awe.

"So just imagine the reaction of passers-by if it was possible to bring the machine back to life," he responded, with a twinkle in his eye.

The initiative coincides with the 20th anniversary of Cern giving the web away to the world free.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Keeping the web free and freely available is almost a human right"

End Quote Prof Nigel Shadbolt Southampton University

There was a serious discussion by Cern's management in 1993 about whether the organisation should remain the home of the web or whether it should focus on its core mission of basic research in physics.

Sir Tim and his colleagues on the project argued that Cern should not claim ownership of the web.

Great giveaway

Management agreed and signed a legal document that made the web publicly available in such a way that no one could claim ownership of it and that would ensure it was a free and open standard for everyone to use.

Mr Gillies believes that the document is "the single most valuable document in the history of the world wide web".

He says: "Without it you would have had web-like things but they would have belonged to Microsoft or Apple or Vodafone or whoever else. You would not have a single open standard for everyone."

The web has not brought about the degree of social change some had envisaged 20 years ago. Most web sites, including this one, still tend towards one-way communication. The web space is still dominated by a handful of powerful online companies.

But those who study the world wide web, such as Prof Nigel Shadbolt, of Southampton University, believe the principles on which it was built are worth preserving and there is no better monument to them than the first website.

"We have to defend the principle of universality and universal access," he told BBC News.

"That it does not fall into a special set of standards that certain organisations and corporations control. So keeping the web free and freely available is almost a human right."

Follow Pallab Ghosh on Twitter @bbcpallab

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Skype now available for Outlook.com

30 April 2013 Last updated at 06:38 ET

Microsoft has built in Skype to its Outlook.com webmail service.

The move allows users to make audio and video calls and send Skype instant messages via the website once they download a browser plug-in.

UK-based customers are the first to be offered a "preview" version of the technology. Germany and the US will follow "in the coming weeks".

However, analysts questioned whether the effort would help Microsoft regain ground lost to Google's Gmail.

"With Skype for Outlook.com, you can choose the right medium for your message, whether it is an email, call, video call or instant message," Skype said in a blog post.

"You can connect with your Skype and Messenger friends all in the same place."

Microsoft announced an overhaul of its webmail service in July 2012.

The firm has begun shifting away from its Hotmail webmail brand - which it has used since acquiring the product in 1998 - by encouraging users to upgrade their accounts which are subsequently renamed Outlook.com.

It has also shut down its Windows Messenger chat tool in most countries and urged users to switch over to Skype.

Market share

Microsoft paid $8.5bn (£5.5bn) to acquire Skype in 2011, buying out eBay and the private investors who owned the service. It remains the Windows-maker's biggest ever takeover.

Adding the service to Outlook.com may encourage users to use the webmail service.

Although its predecessor Hotmail used to dominate the sector, it was overtaken by Google's Gmail last October, according to analysis by net analytics firm Comscore.

Its study - which is based on PC and laptop usage at home and work - indicates Microsoft's market share has continued to slip.

In March Microsoft accounted for 19.7% of global webmail usage compared to Gmail's 20.8% share, according to Comscore. Yahoo Mail came third with 19.1%.

Although the data does not include webmail use on smartphones, the shift can be partly explained by the fact people are increasingly using the devices to check their messages.

That has given Google's suite of apps an advantage thanks to the fact they come preinstalled on Android handsets. Google's mobile platform has proven much more popular than Microsoft's Windows Phone.

"Since Microsoft bought Skype there has been the question: why did they pay that amount of money," said Karin von Abrams, senior analyst at research firm eMarketer.

"This latest move suggests part of the answer is an integrated communications suite, that you are in Outlook.com and can choose whatever kind of tool you want without having to needing to use different applications.

"But I don't think people have had a problem managing the different kinds of messages and calls they are making. If this is more convenient that's great, but I doubt it's enough of a selling point to make people go with Outlook.com rather than other services."

Rival chat apps

Enders Analysis's Benedict Evans said he believed Microsoft's latest move should be viewed as a wider strategy to integrate Skype into all the firm's relevant products. But he too questioned whether the effort would make much difference to Outlook.com's fortunes.

"Skype is huge but it hasn't been setting the agenda for years, arguably since before eBay bought it" he said.

"In the meantime you have rival services like Viber and Whatsapp, which are growing much quicker - there's a lot of people coming up fast on mobile which is where the future is.

"Microsoft is both trying to catch up with all of the stuff that Skype should have done, integrate it with all of their products and also try and work out a route forward. Outlook.com is now certainly a good product and every little bit helps, but there's still not a compelling reason to switch from other services."

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

News companies warned by Twitter

30 April 2013 Last updated at 07:57 ET By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

News organisations including the BBC have been warned by Twitter to tighten security in the wake of several high-profile hacks.

The Guardian became the latest publication to be hit by a group calling itself the Syrian Electronic Army.

A previous attack on the Associated Press caused stocks to dip.

Security experts have said Twitter itself needs to take more action to ensure its users are protected.

An email sent by Twitter to news organisations on Monday urged them to take a close look at their internal measures for dealing with social media.

Advice included making sure passwords were more than 20 characters long and made up of random strings of letters and numbers.

The social network also advised having just "one computer to use for Twitter".

"This helps keep your Twitter password from being spread around," the site added.

"Don't use this computer to read email or surf the web, to reduce the chances of malware infection."

Security researcher Rik Ferguson, from TrendMicro, told the BBC this particular piece of advice was somewhat unworkable.

"The point of Twitter is that it's instant, and you can react instantly.

"If you have to run back to the office to get to a particular computer to use Twitter, that's obviously going to impact upon its use."

Souped-up security

Twitter also encouraged organisations to have a closer relationship with the site to ensure account details are kept up to date.

"Help us protect you," the company said. "We're working to make sure we have the most updated information on our partners' accounts.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Dr Herb Lin, a cybersecurity expert, says media agencies are likely to make security changes to their Twitter accounts

"Please send us a complete list of all accounts affiliated with your organisation, so that we can help keep them protected."

Beyond advice to external organisations, there is increasing pressure on Twitter to bolster its own security.

Specifically, there have been calls from security professionals for two-factor authentication.

This would require two steps, the entry of a password as well as another action.

On Facebook, for example, two-factor authentication is triggered when users try to log in in an unexpected way, such as from a computer in a different country.

A report in technology magazine Wired last week suggested Twitter had begun trialling two-factor technology - but this is yet to be confirmed by the company.

Mr Ferguson noted that as Twitter remained a free service supported by advertising, two-factor authentication could prove costly.

He suggested one way to raise funds for enhanced security would be to charge major users to become "verified" - a status currently given to accounts which Twitter has checked are genuine.

"One thing Twitter should be looking at now is for any account which is verified to have a two factor log-in process," he told the BBC.

"If you make a nominal fee for verifying accounts - they can make sure that the accounts are protected from not only malware-based attacks, but also that staff are more protected from phishing."

White House blast

The Syrian Electronic Army's typical tactics to date have included sending "phishing" emails to glean log-in information from unsuspecting victims.

Once access to an account had been gained, the SEA would then begin to post tweets - in some cases mimicking the style of the victim.

This technique was most damaging in the case of the Associated Press. When the news agency's main account - @AP - was breached, the SEA posted that US president Barack Obama had been injured in a blast at the White House.

It was of course false, and swiftly corrected by other organisations - and later by AP itself - but not before $136bn (£88bn) was temporarily wiped off the New York Stock Exchange.

US financial authorities are to investigate the incident to "make sure that nothing nefarious in markets took place", according to the New York Post.

Meanwhile, the SEA - which appears to support the Assad regime - has vowed to continue its attacks on media organisations.

An anonymous user believed to be working for the group told Vice magazine: "They already started suspending us from the internet by closing our accounts, our pages and suspending our domain names, but they failed and they will keep failing.

"We will not stop or despair. If they close a Twitter account, we will open a new one; if they close a Facebook page, we will create another one; if they suspend our domain names, we will buy new ones."

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

New adverts 'could track your eyes'

30 April 2013 Last updated at 12:13 ET By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

An advertising system which is able to track your eye movements while you shop has been created by researchers based at Lancaster University.

The Sideways project uses software to locate faces and eye movements of shoppers captured on camera.

It could allow for video screens which change adverts depending on what you look at in a shop.

The team told the BBC they hoped the technology would be in use in shops within five years.

The technology can also be used to allow people to use their eyes to control content on screens, such as scrolling through items on a list.

"The system uses a single ordinary camera that is placed close to the screen," explained senior researcher Andreas Bulling. "So we don't need any additional equipment.

"The system detects the faces of people walking by and calculates where the eyes are relative to the eye corners."

Stumbling block

Mr Bulling has worked on the project with fellow researchers Hans Gellersen and Yanxia Zhang from Lancaster's School of Computing and Communications.

Existing eye-tracking technologies tend to require a lengthy set-up process, and can only be used by one person at a time.

The Sideways system, Mr Bulling says, can track up to 14 people simultaneously.

Continue reading the main story

Eye-tracking is definitely something that is currently a hot topic"

End Quote Andreas Bulling

"With normal systems you always have to calibrate the tracker to the specific user," he explained to the BBC.

"Calibration is a major stumbling block for interactive gaze-based applications at the moment because people always have to go through this calibration procedure - it's time-consuming and annoying."

In a video demonstrating the system, one example for potential use is a shopper scrolling through album covers in a music shop.

Hot topic

Eye-tracking is starting to become more commonplace within popular technology products.

One company, Tobii, has been backed by the likes of IBM and has shown off prototypes of a gaze-controlled television.

Last month, Samsung launched its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4. It monitors whether the user is looking at the device by tracking eye movement.

"Eye-tracking is definitely something that is currently a hot topic," said Mr Bulling.

"It is really gaining momentum. I fully expect this technology to become available widely in the near future."

However, as with many new technologies designed to learn more about how we act, concerns over privacy are likely to arise as the systems are rolled out.

"I guess it always depends how this information is used," Mr Bulling said.

"If the system is only there to improve the shopping experience, customers will probably be fine with such a system.

"If it's a more passive monitoring system of gaze-information, so the user is not aware of it, this could really have considerable privacy challenges."

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mobile phone data redraws bus routes

30 April 2013 Last updated at 19:02 ET By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter

Researchers at IBM have redrawn the bus routes of Ivory Coast's largest city using mobile phone data.

The research was completed as part of the Data for Development competition run by Orange which released 2.5 billion call records from five million mobile phone users in Ivory Coast.

The anonymised data is the largest of its kind ever released.

Such data could be used by urban planners for new infrastructure projects, said IBM.

Currently the project is just a research exercise although IBM is hoping to implement it in a number of cities.

Its AllAboard project used call data which pinpoints location based on which phone mast a person is close to when he or she makes a phone call.

While this data is less accurate than GPS data, it provided enough information for the researchers to conclude that the city needed to add two routes to its existing infrastructure and extend another.

They concentrated on bus routes in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's largest city, where the network is made up of 539 large buses, complemented by 5,000 mini-buses and 11,000 shared taxis.

"We found that we could reduce the travel times of people by 10% across the city," said Olivier Verscheure, senior scientist at IBM's research laboratory in Dublin.

But the project only scratched the surface of what is possible with such datasets.

"If we could have merged the telco data with city data, such as the bus timetables we could have the potential to completely change the existing network," he said.

Access to such data could play a crucial role in new infrastructure projects such as designing city-wide bike-sharing schemes or charging stations for electric vehicles.

"Analysis of public transport and telco data would show how people move in a city and allow planners to create a bike sharing infrastructure from scratch, for example," said Mr Verscheure.

"It is about understanding how people use a city, their movements and the digital signatures left by public transport to optimise the city's infrastructure."

The project will be presented at a conference at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on 1 May. At the same time the winner of the Orange Data for Development competition will be announced.

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Apple taps markets for record $17bn

30 April 2013 Last updated at 20:45 ET

Apple has raised $17bn (£10.9bn) via a bond sale, the biggest ever by a non-banking company, to help fund its plan for extra payouts to shareholders.

Last week, it said it will buy back $60bn in shares, and raise its dividend to shareholders by 15%.

Apple's bond sale, its first in nearly two decades, comes despite the firm having cash reserves of $145bn.

However, most of that money is sitting in accounts outside the US and would be liable for US taxes if repatriated.

At the same time, interest rates in the US are currently near record lows - helping drive down cost of raising funds for companies.

That makes it cheaper for Apple to raise the money through a bond issue, even though it will attract interest payments.

'Something everyone wants'

The money will be used to fund special payments to shareholders who, after years of seeing their shares rise in value, have become frustrated in recent months.

Apple shares have dipped nearly 40% after hitting an all-time-high in September last year.

The fall has been triggered by concerns over future growth of the firm, not least due to the success of rivals such as Samsung which have increased their share of the smartphone and tablet PC markets, which Apple used to dominate.

Continue reading the main story

Apple is something everyone wants in their portfolio"

End Quote Rajeev Sharma First Investors Management Co

Earlier this month, Apple reported its first quarterly drop in profits in 10 years.

It made a net profit of $9.5bn in the January to March quarter, down from $11.6bn last year.

But the results were better than many had expected, as strong iPhone and iPad sales boosted revenues to $43.6bn.

Despite the drop in earnings, Apple unveiled plans to pass some of its giant cash pile back to investors, sparking a slight rebound in its shares over the past week.

The bond sale generated massive interest among investors. According to some reports, the company had received orders for nearly $50bn, almost three times the amount being offered.

Analysts said that Apple's dominant market share in various product categories, coupled with a strong balance sheet, made it an attractive investment option.

"Apple made its intentions clear that this deal is for shareholder-friendly activity, but they have tremendous metrics and brand recognition," said Rajeev Sharma, portfolio manager at First Investors Management.

"Apple is something everyone wants in their portfolio."

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fifty Shades boosts UK book sales

1 May 2013 Last updated at 03:55 ET

British publishers have reported record sales for 2012, despite the recession and the rise of e-readers.

Total spending on printed and digital books rose 4% to £3.3bn last year, the Publishers Association said.

Digital spending rose by 66% to £411m. But it does not appear to have led to a marked decline for print, with physical book sales down by just 1% at £2.9bn.

EL James's Fifty Shades trilogy were the best-selling titles in 2012, with combined sales of 10.5 million.

The series took the top three spots in the 2012 best-sellers chart, according to figures released by sales tracker Nielsen at the end of the year.

The rise of such e-readers as Amazon's Kindle has sparked a surge in digital sales in recent years. But fears they would kill off physical books have so far proved exaggerated.

Publishers Association chief executive Richard Mollet said the figures proved that publishers had reacted quickly to the changes in the industry and the move towards e-readers.

He said British publishing was "a healthy industry which continues to grow".

Premium books

"What publishers were very quick to do [was] to make works available," he told the BBC.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

BBC News joined the Camden Girls Book Group to get their take on Fifty Shades of Grey

"That's the key to succeeding in the digital world - having them capable of being read on any device on any platform.

"That's what readers said they wanted and that's what publishers have been able to provide. It's now the case that a quarter of all fiction is read on e-readers."

Mollet said the Publishers Association was working closely with high street booksellers and would soon launch a scheme to help them overcome challenges in the physical books market.

"At the moment we are concerned that independent book shops are finding it tough. Everybody wants there to be a range of ways of getting books, online and on the high street."

Philip Jones, editor of industry magazine The Bookseller, said shops such as Waterstones were seeing a "rebound" in sales of physical books, thanks to children's and non-fiction areas and the "growing" market of books such as Fifty Shades of Grey.

The 'death' of the physical book was a long way off, he continued, pointing out that physical book sales still made up around 80% of the overall market.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

"Digital is overtaking it in some areas but not all areas, so I think the physical book is going to be with us for a long time," he told the BBC.

"The premium physical book, the £20 hardback... attracts a certain type of person who wants to keep that book on their shelves."

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nevada opens first online poker site

1 May 2013 Last updated at 06:57 ET

Nevada has become the first US state to allow residents to play poker online for money.

Online poker was legalised in the state in February. And states across the US, probably starting with New Jersey and Delaware, look likely to follow suit.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board has issued a 30-day licence to allow websites to compete for customers, with UltimatePoker.com the first to go live.

Online gambling is expected to generate billions of dollars for US authorities.

Losing money

Each year an estimated 10 million Americans play online poker, but the sites are currently based offshore, meaning state and federal authorities make no money from them.

Internet gambling was banned by Congress in 2006, but states across the US now hope to relax the rules.

Under the terms of the Nevada licence, players must be at least 21 years old and residents of the state. Initially, only online poker will be played.

UltimatePoker is a subsidiary of Station Casinos, which operates 16 casinos across Las Vegas.

US group Stop Predatory Gambling has said the alliance between government and the gambling industry is "actively encouraging people to lose money".

More addicts

The UK is often cited as a leader in gambling regulation. Online sites are required to verify identities and link and provide support to help services for addicts.

Butt there has been a big increase in the number gambling addicts in the UK, where online betting is a £2bn industry.

In 2010, research from the Gambling Commission estimated there were 450,000 problem gamblers in the UK, with an average debt of £17,500, 200,000 more than in 2007.

Microgaming Software Systems, based in the Isle of Man, created the world's first online casino 20 years ago.

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

US scientists develop smart paper

1 May 2013 Last updated at 10:03 ET

US scientists have developed a way to embed radio frequency identification chips on to paper that they say is quicker, cheaper and offers wider applications than current methods.

The technique could be used to prevent fraud as well as provide a new meaning to the term 'paper trail'.

The process uses lasers to transfer and assemble the chips on paper.

Such smart paper could be used for banknotes, legal documents, tickets and smart labels, the team said.

The findings are due to be presented at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers conference on RFID in Orlando, Florida.

Cheaper and faster

Some RFID-enabled paper is already on the market but the chips are much thicker, resulting in either bulky paper or a bump on the surface that would mean such paper could not be printed.

The process developed by the team at North Dakota State University is known as Laser Enabled Advanced Packaging (Leap).

Firstly the chips are thinned down using a plasma etcher.

The patent-pending technology uses a laser beam's energy to precisely transfer the ultra-thin chips. Antennas are also embedded using the same method.

Head of the project Prof Val Marinov said that the process is twice as fast as current methods of manufacturing and is cheaper because there is less material used and the equipment is less expensive.

He sees huge potential for the technology.

"About ten years ago the Bank of Japan and the European bank signalled their intention to develop such technology but they aren't there yet," he told the BBC

"I believe our scheme is the first to demonstrate a functional RFID tag embedded in paper."

As well as being used on banknotes and other documents to prove authenticity, the process could also be used in other areas, such as reading train or concert tickets.

It could also be used to improve the tracking of paper documents.

The team is currently looking for commercial partners.

"The technology needs to leave the lab and find a place in industry," said Prof Marinov.

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Spyware "hiding" under Firefox brand

1 May 2013 Last updated at 12:39 ET

The Mozilla Foundation has accused UK software group Gamma International of falsely associating one of its products with the Firefox name.

Finfisher is a legitimate surveillance software thought to be used by governments to covertly obtain data.

It is installed unknowingly by its target computer user, often by disguising itself as an update to a well known programme such as Firefox.

Gamma International has not responded to emailed requests for comment.

University of Toronto research group The Citizen Lab claims it has found possible evidence of Finfisher in the servers of 36 different countries, reports the Associated Press.

In 2011 the BBC found documents in the state security building in Egypt, looted during the uprising, which suggested that the Hampshire-based firm had offered to supply Finfisher to the Egyptian government to monitor activists.

Gamma International denied supplying it but the files seen by the BBC described a five month trial which included successful access to email accounts and the recording of encrypted Skype calls.

The Mozilla Foundation has now sent a cease and desist letter, warning Gamma International not to use the name of Firefox, its open source browser, as camouflage for the programme.

"Our brand and trademarks are used by the spyware as a method to avoid detection and deletion," said Mozilla chief privacy officer Alex Fowler in a statement.

"As an open source project trusted by hundreds of millions of people around the world, defending Mozilla's trademarks from this abuse is vital to our brand, mission and continued success."

23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More