Thoughts from the Shelf

I thought I would take the opportunity to post abut UK broadband speeds after I saw a an article last week that detailed how Virgin Media were forced to pull a press campaign for television and radio after a complaint by a competitor that quoted speeds were in fact inaccurate.

The ‘Hate to Wait’ campaign featured information on download times for TV shows and music tracks in relation to which broadband package users had. It was this information that was said to be misleading, because the traffic management policy implemented by Virgin Media capped downloading speeds at peak times.

It has long been a key marketing factor that Virgin Media provide broadband via a cable network offering superior broadband speeds to rivals, but with the traffic management system in place it seems this in not the case.

In a statement Virgin stated that their traffic management policy “only focused on the heaviest downloaders and uploaders”

The story pushed me to investigate further and in a recent survey of 20,000 lines to find the fastest broadband speeds in the UK by moneysupermarket.com, it was 02 that came out on top, with TalkTalk broadband and Sky broadband making up the top three.

The survey also highlighted concerns raised in the Virgin Media case that customers are not always getting the speeds which are advertised.

In response to the issue of broadband speeds, Ofcom is in the process of putting together a voluntary code of conduct, which will ask ISPs to explain to customers that the further they are from the telephone exchange, the slower their speeds so hopefully we will get some clarity from credible broadband providers in the not to distant future.

It has been announced that internet search giant Google has been ordered by a US court to turn over data on users of its social video site YouTube. The ruling comes as part of Google’s legal battle with Viacom, over allegations that the search giant knowing permitted content to be uploaded across the site that infringed on copyright laws.

The data that will be handed across to Viacom will contain the log in ID’s of users, IP addresses and details of any video clips ever watched.

Digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation called the ruling a “set-back to privacy rights”, whilst others speculated that the ruling was potentially unlawful being that the data contained personally identifiable data.

The Case Details
The billion dollar legal case between Viacom and Google is the biggest case of its kind in history, but is only the latest instance of a company targeting user generated content sites, stating that they are responsible for the content hosted on the site, and subsequent infringement of copyright laws.

Google had consistently denied the allegations that YouTube infringes copyright, saying that it takes down protected videos from the site when asked by content owners, as required by United States law.

Recently EMI also filed a suit against VideoEgg stating similar copyright infringement practices, making the case of Google vs Viacom a landmark ruling, and one that could well have a bearing on how similar disputes are settled in the future.

As part of the legal action Viacom brought against Google, it requested much more than the awarded data on YouTube account holders. For that reason the provision of user data, estimated to total over 12 terabytes, is very much a glass half full/ half empty scenario, with Google scoring a key legal victory keeping all of its trade secrets in tact and Viacom being awarded access to user data.

From a business perspective Google has certainly come out ahead, with Viacom denied access to proprietary code that controls the search facility of both YouTube and Google.com. Viacom had requested access to the code stating it was the only way to truly see if and how Google encourages copyright infringement.

The court denied Viacom’s request for source code stating that the “program’s source code is the product of approximately 50,000 man hours of engineering time and millions of dollars of research and development costs, and maintaining its confidentiality is essential to prevent others from creating competing programs without any equivalent investment”

On the flip side users are the clear losers, with personally identifiable data being handed across to Viacom. This could however have been much worse with access being denied to private video content of YouTube users. This would have entitled Viacom access to videos that can only be viewed by authorised users, video uploaded for personal use, however it was deemed this would be a privacy violation under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

The courts did however award Viacom user data whilst forcing them to respect it, threatening to hold them in contempt of court if it uses that data for anything other than specifically proving the prevalence of piracy on YouTube.

As part of the legal action Viacom were also denied their request for Google to turn over databases with information about each video available on YouTube, including titles, keywords, comments and whether videos had been flagged or not. With this data Viacom wanted to demonstrate that defendants have an ability to control infringements, however their request was denied.

Viacom was also denied Google’s advertising and video content schemas with Google arguing their confidentiality. Viacom had intended to demonstrate how revenues were directly related to infringing content.

On reflection, it therefore seems that Google did in fact score a victory over Viacom, keeping propriety code and advertising schemas in tact, in a move that would certainly have dented their competitive edge. Users too can rest in the knowledge that data on private videos, deleted videos and clip data of each video uploaded to YouTube will remain confidential, and the user data that is to be handed over is bound by legal conditions.

After the ruling Google made a statement saying Viacom was “threatening the way millions of people legitimately exchange information, news, entertainment and political and artistic expression.”

News was released today the Sony Playstaion site has fallen victim to hackers who targeted the site in an attempt to engineer credit card number and other personal data from gamers.

The Playstaion site that was hit was in the US, and targeted pages promoting PlayStation games such as SingStar Pop and God of War. The malware attack worked by running a fake antivirus scan on users computers, later prompting them to purchase phoney antivirus software in order to solve the inevitable problem it detected.

Insecurity firm Sophos said that the criminals behind the scam had used an SQL injection vulnerability to add unauthorised code to pages.

Talking of the scope of the attack Graham Cluley, from Sophos stated that “There are millions of video game lovers around the world, many of whom will visit Sony’s PlayStation website regularly to find out more about the latest console games.”

He went on to say that “Most would never expect that surfing a website like this could potentially infect them with Malware…It is essential that all websites, especially high profile ones like this, have been properly hardened to prevent hackers from injecting malicious code into legitimate web pages.”

A favourite on The Shelf, the BBC iPlayer is due for a second generation overhaul, as the service gets a facelift a year after it was launched in beta.

As part of the plans the iPlayer will integrate both radio and video services into a single player, with increased functionality and user friendly interface.

“We’ve learned quite a bit over the last 12 months about what our audience likes… and we’ve continued to innovate quite substantially.” - BBC group controller Erik Huggers

As part of the increased functionality of the player users will be able to resume last played clips (dependent on cookies) allowing them to resume half way through a program they didn’t have time to watch in its entirety on their last visit.

Another feature that will be added to the service is a TV schedule, allowing users to plan which programs they wish to view in advance, ensuring the seven day play back restriction of favourite shows doesn’t expire without first having the chance to watch them.

As well as incorporating radio into the service, 250 new television programs a week will be added to enable access to the entire BBC schedule free of charge.

The service was first launched on Christmas day 2007, and has since changed the viewing habits of millions of people who are now able to catch up on a range of shows broadcast across the BBC digital channel catalogue. In the last six months alone the BBC state that there have been over 100m programme requests.

The service has proven to be the reason for the success of a range of shows, including Gavin and Stacy which receives 7% of its viewing figure through the service, and The Mighty Boosh which receives 40%.

Currently only available through Windows on the PC, there are also plans for a version of the download service for Mac and Linux.

The Shelf reported in April in ISPs vs BBC iPlayer of pressure from ISP put on the BBC to pay for extra bandwidth due to the iPlayer’s unprecedented success, but huggers commented on that recently stating:

“All that has literally gone silent. We are partnering and working very closely with the ISP community.”

The BBC is also part of a joint commercial venture with ITV and Channel 4 called Kangaroo which is due to launch later this year, and there are plans to integrate the iPlayer into that service. – Protest of Kangaroo

With plans to make its 80 year archive accessible to the public, as well as provide an overseas service, it could very well mean there will eventually be a commercial arm to the BBC’s on demand offerings.

In a quick follow up from a post on the 23/06/08 titled Proposed Plans to Overhaul the Internet , The Shelf confirms that internet regulator Icann voted unanimously to restrict the rules on TLD usage.

The proposed plans are due to be implemented in 2009, and will change the face of the net, dramatically increasing the scope of the internet as we know it.

News has resurfaced that Sony is planning to release a mobile phone that will incorporate elements of its popular Playstation Portable or PSP. With Sony already lending its name to the Cybershot and Walkman Sony Ericsson mobile it would seem a logical step.

In the mobile market Sony is part of a joint venture with telecommunications giant Ericsson to make mobile phones, and last week launched the motion sensing F305 gaming phone. Motion sensing technology used allows the user of the F305 to play games such as bowling and fishing, imitating the movements required if actually playing the sport.

Although a break through in gaming facilities seem in mobile handsets to date, it had been predicted that the F305 model would include some Playstation branding or a PSP style design. However, leaked information suggests that the Sony isn’t willing to give their converted Playstation branding to a joint venture.

With Sony Ericsson lying a lowly fifth place in the handset market it seems Sony are not wiling to risk their closely guarded PlayStation brand on a joint venture handset quiet yet.

It is rumoured that such decisions has lead to the break down of the Sony Eriksson relationship, and sources have said that relation between the two are frosty.

This further fuels rumours that Sony is in fact working on its own PSP style mobile phone handset which is being tipped for release around Christmas 2009, however contrary to this the joint Sony Ericsson venture has filed a joint patient for a portable mobile communication device that mimics the PSP.

As usual there are no confirmed comments regarding any of the rumours so I guess time will tell.

The internet is set for its biggest shake up in decades if plans to open up the address system are passed by the internets regulators. If plans are passed then the rules on top level domain names such as .com and .co.uk could be relaxed, allowing companies to turn their brands into domain names, whilst at the same time individuals could create their own space on the internet.

A relaxation of the rules could also result in the creation of the .xxx domain to serve adult content, a topic that has been widely discussed for a number of years.

Currently TLDs are restricted to countries such as .uk and institutions such as .net or .org. Because of the current restrictions small countries have often hired their TLD domains out to relevant industries. For example Tuvalu has leased .tv domains to many television firms. The country of Tokelau significantly increased its profile by offering free domain names in return for a served advert, a move which has transformed the communications infrastructure of the island.

Internet regulator ICANN has been has been working towards opening up internet address for years, and if successful new domain name could be internationalised.

ICANN spokesman said of the plans “It’s a massive increase in the geography of the real estate of the internet.”

Hundreds of new domain names could become available by the end of 2008, with thousands more likely to follow.

The effects of the credit crunch are being felt in the UK jobs market as official figures show the claimant count has risen.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics released this week shows that unemployment rose for the fourth consecutive month in April, approaching a million.

Despite the news, the Chartered Institute of Personnel (CIPD) report that employers are still hiring and say there is no sign yet of a rise in redundancies, which indicates that the labour market overall is cooling only moderately.

However it has been suggested that a more sinister method of “letting go” is being undertaken and that managers are being encouraged to monitor the time their staff spent online on social media sites such as Facebook and Youtube with a view to adopting “highest time wasters will be first to go” as a disciplinary matter thus avoiding redundancy pay outs.

HR Zone reported that the amount of time online at work averages as much as an hour and a half per week with over half of workers spending time booking holidays or even checking for latest vacancies.

Can’t have it both ways

On the back of the grey clouds surrounding UK jobs another survey highlights that even in a difficult job climate many have issues with the remuneration received - adamant that wage gazumping should not begin to happen in the UK.

The survey has revealed that well over 70% of workers believe they will never earn their ideal salary in their current job.

The research of four and a half thousand workers by Jobbies - an online recruitment site found that the country’s ideal salary is £38k, with over 40% of people saying they will keep moving jobs in order to achieve this.

In addition, three out of 10 workers are unhappy with the amount of money they earn at the moment, while 19% feel underpaid for their job.

When it comes to pay rises, 27% timidly confessed that they’ve never had a raise, while a third have waited a year or more since their last increase.

Yet 51% claimed to be too shy shy to discuss pay in their job interview or request a pay rise in their current jobs.

A spokesman from Careers and Jobs a leading online UK jobs site said: “Far from wanting to be squillionaires, the true British Worker has a fairly realistic annual salary in mind..

The key to negotiating a good salary at interview or with your current employer is having the confidence to show what your skills and expertise are worth.

“Failing that constant moaning and griping in the staff room will go a long long way to improving your standing with colleagues and bosses alike.

Eagle eyed Pasty Muncher - an early subscriber and occasional commenter on The Shelf (we’ve still yet to answer the question he asked at the beginning of January) suggested that the Smart Pants which measured the wearers blood pressure we revealed would be an ideal Valentine gift for a lover to give the man in their lives and suggested they be re-branded ‘Smart Heart Pants’.

Valentines Day is a long way off, so too is Christmas but it has been noted on some shopping information sites that the 7th Wonder of the Shopping World - Trago Mills already has full Christmas displays on show beating their record of last year when a shelves were brimming with Christmas goodies well before the schools returned after the summer holidays.

Every year chaps are forced into panic buying Christmas presents at the last minute and every year our other (and often considerably better) half’s smugly remind us how they had completed the present buying task way back in October. So it is time to make early preparations.

A couple of items caught my eye on a price comparison site which I think may be ideal gifts - who could not feel the pride whilst wearing a Spurs shirt signed by Gazza or at very least appreciate slipping into bed under a stylish Spurs emblazoned luxury duvet cover?

They say Christmas gets earlier every year but I, like The Wizard, wish it could be Christmas every day.

Cheddar Gorge, one of the most spectacular places to visit in South West England - home of pasties. Situated above the rural village of Cheddar, Cheddar Gorge is Britain’s largest gorge, whilst the Cheddar Yeo in Gough’s Cave is Britain’s biggest underground river, and the Gorge Cliffs are Britain’s highest inland limestone cliffs.

I had the pleasure of visiting Cheddar Gorge not too long ago for a day out. Although I don’t live too far away, I’d never actually been before. The views from the cliff top footpath is breathtaking, I don’t think that even a Freelander could descend the slopes safely. The Cheddar Cheese visitor centre is another feature well worth a visit, they still make the famous cheese there and you can watch the process from start to finish.

I would definitely recommend it as a day out, or even just driving through the gorge is amazing. If you’re of a mind to do some Freelander off-roading, I doubt you’d get very far, but you might have fun trying!