Worm attack bites at Apple iPhone

The first worm to infect the Apple iPhone has been discovered spreading "in the wild" in Australia.

The self-propagating program changes the phone's wallpaper to a picture of 80s singer Rick Astley with the message "ikee is never going to give you up".

The worm, known as ikee, only affects "jail-broken" phones, where a user has removed Apple's protection mechanisms to allow the phone to run any software.

Experts say the worm is not harmful but more malicious variants could follow.

"The creator of the worm has released full source code of the four existing variants of this worm," wrote Mikko Hypponen of security firm F-secure.

"This means that there will quickly be more variants, and they might have nastier payload than just changing your wallpaper."

The picture of Rick Astley is believed to be a nod to the internet phenomenon known as Rickrolling, where web users are tricked into clicking on what they believe is a relevant link, only to find that it actually takes the user to a video of the pop star's song "Never gonna give you up".

'Stupid people'

The worm has so far only been found circulating in Australia, where the hacker - Ashley Towns - who wrote the program lives.

The 21-year-old told Australia's ABC News Online that he created the virus to raise the issue of security.

It only exploits jail-broken phones that have SSH installed, a program that enables other devices to connect to the phone and modify the system and files. The worm is able to infect phones if their owners have not changed the default password after installing SSH.

"What's clear is that if you have jail-broken your iPhone or iPod Touch, and installed SSH, then you must always change your root user password to something different than the default, 'alpine'," wrote Graham Cluley of security firm Sophos.

"In fact, it would be a good idea if you didn't use a dictionary word at all."

After a phone becomes infected it disables the SSH service, preventing reinfection.

The code contains numerous comments from Mr Towns about his motivation.

One comment reads: "People are stupid and this is to prove it."

"It's not that hard guys. But hey who cares its only your bank details at stake."

The worm can be removed by changing the phone's password and deleting some files.

Some estimates suggest that up to 10% of all iPhones and iPod Touch are jail-broken.

The practice allows a phone user to install software and applications that have not been approved by Apple.

"Phone users may rush into jail-breaking their iPhones in order to add functionality that Apple may have denied to them, but if they do so carelessly they may also risk their iPhone becoming the target of a hacker," said Mr Cluley.

"My prediction is that we may see more attacks like this in the future."

Taking Care of Your Gadgets

One of the hottest and the most popular gadgets today are the iphones. These are no ordinary phones because they have features that are way far better than those of ordinary phones. Both in terms of design and functions, they tend to be better than our ordinary phones. Having one of these iphones makes you be recognized by your peers because as we all know, not all are given the privilege to have this gadget, it is then important for us to take care of these kinds of gadgets because they are priced at a considerably high rate. Damaging them even just a bit could probably mean replacing them. We should be very careful when it comes to these things.

If we want to take care of these, we should be able to learn or know more about its parts such as iphone dock to and the proper ways of taking care of them. Having this knowledge would probably mean that we are much capable of taking care of our gadgets. If in case you want to make your iphone have a look that would make others envy it, try having blackberry case for it. This casing will surely give it a look that will make it look great. These products also come with accessories like the bluetooth Headset. This is another one thing that we should be careful about because these accessories are very much sensitive.

Having the latest gadgets is such a great thing that can happen to a person. But if so happen that you have one, see to it that you can properly take care of it because if you don't, there will come a time when these gadgets will be damaged and gone from you. I am pretty sure that you don't want that to happen so I guess, you should really learn on how to take care of these things or else, it will be your great lost. You will lose not only money but also something of great value.

Awards offered for map mash-ups

A competition aimed at making the most of map data has been launched.

Backed by UK mapping agency Ordnance Survey, the GeoVation competition aims to find new ways for geography to empower citizens.

Ideas already submitted include a service that lets pedestrians map safe routes based on the location of CCTV cameras.

Another suggests a text alert service to alert 999 callers to their nearest defibrillator.

The initiative comes as the Home Office releases nationwide crime maps.

The map proved so popular that the website initially struggled to cope with demand.

Dragons' Den

There are three broad themes for the GeoVation prize - crime, health and the environment, although entrants can come up with other ideas.

"This is all about investing in worthwhile, exciting and innovative uses of geography," said GeoVation founder John Abbott.

"We believe geography can play a real part in addressing some of the world's big challenges and we want to unleash people's creative potential," he added.

The competition is open to anyone and entrants are free to suggest the use of any resources, such as Google Maps or OS OpenSpace.

The ten shortlisted candidates will be asked to pitch in a Dragons' Den style arena at the end of January.

The outright winner will claim a prize fund of £10,000 to develop their idea. Two runners-up will be awarded £5,000 each.

The closing date for entries is 4 January 2010.

End of an era for early websites

A service that gave many people their first taste of building and owning a web page is set to close.

Yahoo-owned GeoCities once boasted millions of users and was the third most popular destination on the web.

The free site has since fallen out of fashion with users, who have switched to social networks.

Yahoo, which acquired the site for $3.57bn (£2.17bn) in 1999 at the height of the dotcom boom, said sites would no longer be accessible from 26th October.

'Fascinating experiment'

However, many of the pages have been archived and will still be available to view via the nonprofit Internet Archive project.

The giant digital library, which has been archiving the public web since 1996, has set up a special project to archive GeoCities before it is lost forever.

"We've collected a lot of GeoCities sites over the years - but might not have every site and every page," the Internet Archive said.

It is asking for GeoCities users to check whether their site has been archived before Yahoo pulls the plug.

"GeoCities has been an important outlet for personal expression on the web for almost 15 years," it said.

A number of firms - including Yahoo - have also tried to woo GeoCities users to move their pages to paid-for hosting services.

GeoCities started life in 1995 as Beverly Hills Internet, a small web-hosting firm.

The company allowed users to host their web pages in themed cities. For example, "WallStreet" hosted business related sites, whilst "SiliconValley" was used to host computer and technology sites.

Users, known as homesteaders, could build and host their own sites in these online spaces.

At its peak, the site had millions of users.

In April this year, Yahoo said that it was closing the site and would now focus on helping "customers build new relationships online".

When Yahoo announced the end of the site earlier this year, Rupert Goodwins, editor of the ZDNet website, said it was the end of an era.

"I think GeoCities was the first proof that you could have something really popular and still not make any money on the internet.

"It was a fascinating experiment in the pre-industrial era of the internet."

Sales of virtual goods boom in US

Americans look set to spend $1bn (£600m) on virtual goods in 2009, claims a report.

The cash will be spent on add-ons for online games, digital gifts and other items that exist only as data.

Total spend on such items is expected to be up by 100% over 2008 and to double again by the end of 2010, said the analysts behind the report.

In related news, Facebook is updating its gift store so it offers a wider variety of virtual presents.

Social games

Written by games analysts Justin Smith and Charles Hudson, the report says that virtual goods are proving ever more popular with gamers and users of social network sites such as Facebook.

Many players of massively multiplayer online games such as World of Warcraft, spend real money on virtual currency to ensure their in-game avatars have the best gear.

Some games in Asia also use the so-called micro-payments model to fund their games in lieu of a monthly subscription fee.

Now, people playing social games such as virtual agriculture simulation Farmville on Facebook are using real cash to purchase game dollars for additions to their farm. Firms such as Zynga, Playdom and Playfish are all growing fast on the back of the rise in social gaming.

The purchase of virtual goods on smartphones, such as Apple's iPhone, are also starting to take off, said the report.

The figures in the report deal only with sales in the US. Introducing the report, the authors said: "While virtual goods have been driving revenues in Asia and Europe for years, 2009 will be remembered as the year virtual goods-based businesses began to scale in the United States."

Facebook has announced an overhaul of its virtual gift shop to expand the range of digital presents members can buy and send to friends, family and colleagues.

As well as virtual birthday cakes and pints of beer, Facebook users can now also send music tracks to each other.

The music service will initially only be available in the US. One Facebook credit (10 US cents/6p) buys one streamed song. Ten credits buys a downloadable MP3.

Real-time search rivalry hots up

Twitter has signed deals to put messages sent via the microblogging service into the Microsoft and Google search indexes.

The deals will see messages, or tweets, show up in Bing and Google search results almost as soon as they show up on Twitter.

Microsoft has moved quickly to set up a stand-alone Twitter search page accessible via its Bing site.

Google said its Twitter search service would debut within the next few months.

While some parts of Twitter already show up in some search results they tend to be for individual accounts or messages that have been archived. Both deals will take a feed of all public Twitter streams to make them searchable almost as soon as they are sent.

Rank results

The deals underscore the growing importance of real-time search and intensify the rivalry between Microsoft and Google.

Microsoft announced its tie-up with Twitter at the Web 2.0 conference currently under way in San Francisco.

The Bing Twitter page shows the most popular topics mentioned in the 140 character tweets that are the signature of the micro-blogging service.

Visitors to Bing can also search for specific terms and see relevant messages ranked chronologically.

Soon after the Microsoft announcement, Google unveiled its deal with Twitter via its official blog. In a post written by Marissa Meyer, Google's vice president of search products, she said the inclusion of Twitter's up-to-the minute results would roll out "in the coming months".

Ms Mayer said the inclusion of real-time results could aid some searches.

"...the next time you search for something that can be aided by a real-time observation, say, snow conditions at your favourite ski resort, you'll find tweets from other users who are there and sharing the latest and greatest information," she wrote.

The financial terms of neither deal were disclosed during the announcements.

Both Microsoft and Google are coming slightly late to real-time search. Already there are companies such as OneRiot, Crowdeye and Collecta that provide such feeds. In addition, firms such as FriendFeed offer real-time updates within groups of friends and colleagues.

Broadband test offers street view

There are big variations between broadband speeds in the same street, a new broadband speed test has revealed.

The test, launched by comparison site Top 10 Broadband, allows users to zoom in on their postcode area to see what speed their neighbours net runs at.

It will be a wake-up call for internet service providers, thinks Alex Buttle, marketing director at Top 10 Broadband.

"One person at 1Mbps [megabit per second] could be next door to someone receiving 8.5Mbps," he said.

"We know that broadband speed will vary depending on things like distance from the exchange and the way the wiring and equipment in your house is set up but we do not believe this explains all of the variations we have seen between people in the same street," said Mr Buttle.

"We think some of this may be due to outdated technology some providers use in their local exchanges, as well as the fact that some providers use traffic shaping or throttling at peak times while others do not," he added.

The service, dubbed StreetStats, collects speed test data from users to build an interactive map.

More than 170,000 speed test results have so far been added to the map and the firm hopes to have two million by the end of the year.

Future plans

While many consumers remain focused on their current speeds, the debate about broadband has moved on to how quickly, how far, and at what cost next-generation speeds can be rolled out.

Entering this debate, Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that a Conservative government would scrap the proposed broadband tax, which was intended to provide a fund for next-generation access in difficult-to-reach areas.

The £6 a year tax was aimed at every home with a fixed line phone.

Mr Hunt told the BBC that the Conservatives had a different vision of how to make sure superfast broadband was available across the UK.

"We're saying that this is the wrong time to decide about how to fund comprehensive coverage when we haven't even got the infrastructure in place in the main areas," he told the BBC.

"We accept that to make coverage comprehensive might need public funds at some stage but we need to look at other things too, such as the regulatory framework," he added.

It could be that the UK follows France's example and forces BT to open up its ducting to other parties, he said.

Laptop for every pupil in Uruguay

Uruguay has become the first country to provide a laptop for every child attending state primary school.

President Tabaré Vázquez presented the final XO model laptops to pupils at a school in Montevideo on 13 October.

Over the last two years 362,000 pupils and 18,000 teachers have been involved in the scheme.

The "Plan Ceibal" (Education Connect) project has allowed many families access to the world of computers and the internet for the first time.

Uruguay is part of the One Laptop Per Child scheme, an organisation set up by internet pioneer Nicholas Negroponte. His original vision was to provide laptops at $100 (£61) but they proved more expensive.

The Uruguay programme has cost the state $260 (£159) per child, including maintenance costs, equipment repairs, training for the teachers and internet connection.

The total figure represents less than 5% of the country's education budget.

Around 70% of the XO model laptops handed out by the government were given to children who did not have computers at home.

"This is not simply the handing out of laptops or an education programme. It is a programme which seeks to reduce the gap between the digital world and the world of knowledge," explained Miguel Brechner, director of the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay and in charge of Plan Ceibal.

"A revolution"

In the run up to Uruguay's general election on 25 October, the project is being promoted as an achievement of the Tabaré Vázquez government.

"It's been a revolution, which has helped us enormously, but it hasn't been easy," explained Lourdes Bardino, head teacher of School 173 in Las Piedras.

Ms Bardino said that some teachers were originally opposed to the introduction of the XO laptops.

"We have a lady who's been teaching for 30 years and when they gave us the computers and the training, she asked for leave because she didn't want to have anything to do with the programme. Later she changed her mind and now computers have changed the way she teaches."

All the teachers have been given training, but the extent to which they use the laptops in the classroom is up to them.

Research carried out recently by the State Education authorities revealed that some teachers have chosen not to include computer-related work in their lesson plans.

Confused message on UK broadband

Finland has made broadband a 'legal right', leading experts to question whether the UK government is similarly committed.

In a speech to MPs this week, Digital Britain minister Stephen Timms seemed to firm up the government's plans.

He told MPs that the government's promise of broadband to all homes by 2012 was "an obligation".

Previously the government has spoken only of a "commitment", which would not be legally binding.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said the comments were "a slip of the tongue" and that the plans for broadband remained a "commitment", meaning they would not be legally binding when they enter the statute book.

The idea of providing a baseline of broadband to all citizens was first touted in the government's Digital Britain report, which lays out its strategy for broadband.

It said that the government would "commit" to a minimum level of 2Mbps (megabits per second) for all homes by 2012.

But in a speech to the All Party Parliamentary Communications Group, Digital Britain minister Stephen Timms appeared to strengthen that commitment.

It comes in a week which sees the Finnish government move a step further than other nations by making 1Mbps broadband a "legal right".

Fibre plans

"As yet the USO [Universal Service Obligation] or USC [Universal Service Commitment] has not been defined properly, the forthcoming Digital Economy bill and various groups working to implement it should hopefully flesh out the detail, but as is often the case we see grand plans announced, which are slowly watered down to cope with those harder-to-deal-with areas," said Andrew Ferguson, editor of broadband news site ThinkBroadband.

"In the UK we are at a juncture where a minister is calling for something tougher than what the original Digital Britain report laid out, but is certainly more in line with what many of the public we suspect always believed the report meant," he added.

The UK already has a USO for fixed line telephones, which means BT must provide service to every home.

However, there are clauses in it which allow the telecoms provider to ask for a contribution from the home-owner if the costs of installation are greater than £3,000.

Finland is also promising to make 100Mbps (megabits per second) broadband via fibre available to citizens by 2015, two years earlier than the UK's plans.

EU consults on Microsoft pledges

The European Union has begun an investigation to determine whether Microsoft is upholding pledges to curb anti-competitive practices.

It is consulting PC makers, software firms and consumers on Microsoft's offer to allow users to pick different browsers when they install Windows.

The bloc ruled in 2004 that Microsoft had abused its dominant market position by freezing out rivals.

It said Microsoft must let competitors' products run on its operating system.

"The commission will formally market test proposals made by Microsoft to address concerns regarding the tying of Internet Explorer to the Windows PC operating system," said the EU's competition commissioner Neelie Kroes.

"The preliminary view is that Microsoft's commitments would indeed address our concerns," she added.

"PC users should have an effective and unbiased choice between Internet Explorer and competing web browsers."

Long history

In July, Microsoft proposed a consumer choice screen that allowed users to pick from a number of different browsers.

The commission then asked Microsoft to improve the choice screen, which it has now done.

The latest proposal, and the one which the EU is consulting on, features a choice of 12 browsers.

"Today's decision is a significant step toward closing a decade-long chapter in competition law concerns in Europe," Microsoft said in a statement.

Back in 2004, the EU fined Microsoft and forced it to offer a version of its Windows operating system without Microsoft's own media player.

The company was also told to give rivals more information about how Windows works, so they could make their own software integrate better with the operating system.

Microsoft appealed against the decision but lost its case in 2007.

Robot fish could prevent crashes

Robots that mimic the behaviour of fish have been developed by Japanese car firm Nissan, who believe the technique can be used in crash avoidance systems.

The tiny robots, called Eporo, can move in a fleet without bumping into their travelling companions.

It is the second time the firm has looked to the animal kingdom for inspiration for its designs.

Last year, the manufacturer unveiled its BR23C robot, which was modelled on the behaviour of bumblebees.

The bee also displays anti-collision behaviour but tends to fly solo.

The new three-wheeled robot, which will be shown off at Japanese design fair Ceatec on 6 October, is designed to travel in a group of up to seven vehicles.

Each uses a laser range-finder to measure the distance between obstacle.

The data is constantly shared between peers via radio, allowing the group to travel as a "shoal" without bumping into each other.

The technique allows the cars to travel side-by-side or quickly switch direction as a group.

"We, in a motorised world, have a lot to learn from the behaviour of a school of fish in terms of each fish's degree of freedom and safety," said Toshiyuki Andou, principal engineer of the project.

Court order served over Twitter

The High Court has given permission for an injunction to be served via social-networking site Twitter.

The order is to be served against an unknown Twitter user who anonymously posts to the site using the same name as a right-wing political blogger.

The order demands the anonymous Twitter user reveal their identity and stop posing as Donal Blaney, who blogs at a site called Blaney's Blarney.

The order says the Twitter user is breaching the copyright of Mr Blaney.

He told BBC News that the content being posted to Twitter in his name was "mildly objectionable".

Mr Blaney turned to Twitter to serve the injunction rather than go through the potentially lengthy process of contacting Twitter headquarters in California and asking it to deal with the matter.

UK law states that an injunction does not have to be served in person and can be delivered by several different means including fax or e-mail.

Danvers Baillieu, a solicitor specialising in technology, said it was possible for anyone to approach the court about any method of serving an injunction if the traditional methods are unavailable.

"The rules already allow for electronic service of some documents, so that they can be sent by e-mail, and it should also be possible to use social networks," he said.

Mr Blaney decided to use Twitter after a recent case in Australia where Facebook was used to serve a court order.

The blogger, who is also a lawyer and owns the firm serving the order, said that he thought that it was the first time Twitter had been used to deliver a court order.

The injunction - known as the Blaney's Blarney Order - is due to be served at 1930 BST and will include a link to the text of the full court order.

Sony shows off 3D TV technology

Sony has shown off a new single-lens camera able to capture 3D images.
The majority of existing 3D set-ups use two-camera systems to record images tailored specifically for the left and right eye of the viewer.
The new camera takes a single image that is split by mirrors and recorded on two sensors, resulting in a "smoother" picture, according to Sony.
The prototype camera will be unveiled at next week's Ceatec electronics show in Tokyo, Japan.
Viewers will be able to watch the 3D images using special polarised glasses. Without them, they will just see normal 2D television, according to the firm.
The firm said the camera, which is able to capture images very quickly, is especially suited to sporting events.