Mickeys

Mobile phone giant Nokia said on Wednesday that its smartphone users could begin making free calls after it teamed up with internet phone pioneer Skype which permits free calls.

“Skype for Symbian will allow Nokia smartphone users worldwide to use Skype on the move, over either a WiFi or mobile data connection (GPRS, Edge, 3G),” Nokia said in a joint-statement with Skype.

Nokia has faced rising competition in the smartphone market.

Industry observers have said that the outdated Symbian operating system, which drives most of its smartphones, is one of the reasons many consumers prefer Apple’s iPhone or Research in Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry, which are easier to use.

taken from News24

A car key costing more than £20,000 has been launched for wealthy James Bond wannabes.

The expensive watch key for the Aston Martin Rapide

The lavish device is implanted inside a watch with a touch sensitive face which will open the door to an Aston Martin car.

If indulgent owners press the space between 8 and 9 o’clock the doors of the car will open, and if they press the opposite side they will lock.

If you touch both sides together, the car’s lights will flash – to help you find it, or just impress your friends.

The gadget is not quite on a par with James Bond’s watches and their lasers, hooks and saws, but a lot of work has gone into its clever design.

The engineers at Jaeger-LeCoultre had to reduce the size of the transponder that sends the locking signal to the car.

They then spent 18 months working out out to install the internal mechanics of the watch around it.

Bond will never have one of his own because of his contract with Omega.

But if you can afford an Aston Martin Rapide, then for a mere £21,850 you can have the luxury watch key as an optional extra.

story from SkyNews

South Africa’s transition from analogue TV broadcasts to digital broadcasts has been postponed by possibly two years or even longer.

The reason was that the South African television industry and the digital Set Top Boxes that viewers would have to purchase to watch TV in future, would not be ready in time.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) recently published the final digital migration regulations for the transitional process from digital terrestrial TV (DTTV) in the government gazette.

The countrywide switch to DTTV, which was originally set for completion in November 2011, would now possibly only happen by November 2013 or even later.

In a separate document about the migration, Icasa said a new final date would later be announced when analogue broadcasts had to cease and only digital broadcasts were available.

taken from News24

Microsoft and Yahoo have received clearance from regulators in Washington and Europe to proceed with a search partnership intended to challenge Google.

The companies announced on Thursday that the partnership had been approved without restrictions by the US Justice Department and the European Commission.

Under the 10-year agreement, Microsoft’s Bing search engine will process search requests and steer search-related ads on Yahoo.

Yahoo is due to get 88% of the revenue generated from the ads placed alongside the search results on its sites.

The companies said they will begin implementing the deal in the coming days by shifting Yahoo’s search platforms to Microsoft.

They hope to move most advertisers and publishers before the 2010 holiday season, but may wait until 2011 if necessary, and expect to complete the process by early 2012.

This deal came about after the Justice Department indicated in 2008 that it would fight Yahoo’s plan to team up with Google on a search partnership. That rejection led Yahoo to turn to Microsoft, which had once offered to buy Yahoo in its entirety.

taken from News24

The majority of South Africans say cellphone costs are excessive, the results of a survey released on Friday by TNS Research Surveys show.

The survey found 56% of metro adults said cellphone companies had not been charging a fair price for their services while 27% were satisfied with current rates.

The remainder – around 13% – gave a “don’t know” response.

Younger people were more likely to agree that prices were fair than were older people (33% for those under the age of 49 years compared with just 19% for those over 60 years) – as were those in the lower to middle income groups.

“The most critical are those in upper income groups,” the survey said.

The survey found there were also some differences by area, with West Rand and Durban people showing the highest level of dissent at 67% and 64% respectively.

While 27% feared if cellphone companies cut their charges, service would get worse, 47% disagreed – with 26% giving a “don’t know” response.

“Hence, about half the metro population do not expect service levels to drop – a clear indication that many people do see cellphone costs as iniquitous.”

People in Soweto and Bloemfontein were the most anxious about poorer service (45% and 50% respectively).

The wealthier were the least likely to expect a drop in service levels if costs drop where 55% expect no such drop.

In terms of area, people on the East and West Rand, Pretoria and Durban were the least likely to expect such a drop.

“Given the considerable mentions made in the media about cellphone costs and the interconnection fee, it is to be expected that many people will feel that costs have been too high,” TNS Research Surveys said.

“What is perhaps surprising is that as many as 27% feel that costs are fair, showing how much a part of people’s lives cellphones have become.”

However, it was the wealthier parts of society who were the most critical – and who expected the most in terms of continued service levels.

taken from Fin24

Tech experts and gadget fans dampened the early hype on Thursday over Apple’s new iPad, saying the touchscreen computer tablet is not the must-have device the company claims it is.

iPad

Hours after Apple chief executive Steve Jobs unveiled its latest creation, computer and technology bloggers were divided on whether it would after all transform the way we spend our leisure time.

Users eager to judge for themselves will have to wait two months before the iPad is shipped worldwide at an entry-level price of $499.

Jobs showed off various features which include browsing the Web, checking email, working with spreadsheets and charts, playing videogames, listening to music or watching video.

While some critics predicted it would become the best-selling electronics device of 2010, others complained it has no camera or USB, can’t multi-task, can’t be used as a phone and doesn’t support Flash.

“The iPad isn’t going to be a phenomenon with either netbook users or power users,” tech blog Mashable wrote.

“The iPad isn’t the transformational device so many Apple enthusiasts were hoping for. It won’t turn all the content industries upside down, it won’t be your primary computing device and it’s not even a bigger, better iPhone.”

Still, many critics were enthused, some pronouncing it would signal the end of the road for the likes of ebook reader Kindle.

Apple said the basic iPad would be available worldwide in late March from upwards of $499, and the 3G version in April in the United States and selected countries from $629.

The device is “unlocked”, meaning buyers can pick preferred telecom service providers.

It has a 24.6cm colour screen resembling an iPhone, is less than 2cm thick, weighs 0.7kg and has flash memory of 16, 32, or 64 gigabytes.

Screen images flip between portrait and landscape modes depending on how an iPad is held.

Mobile game applications for iPhone also work on the iPad, and developers are adapting software to take advantage of the extra screen “real estate”.

It has a picture frame mode for presenting slide shows of stored photos and Google Maps coupled with geo-location software.

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An online game that sees girls as young as seven give virtual characters contraception and adopt children as fashion accessories has outraged parents’ groups.

My Minx

Players of ‘My Minx’ can clothe their characters in sexy lingerie and other revealing outfits, and buy ‘trophy orphans’, who are named after children adopted by celebrities.

The adoption clinic in the virtual ‘Style City’ features girls called Pax and Maddox and a boy named Zahara after Angelina Jolie’s adopted children.

The adoption centre also boasts a David Banda, four, and Mercy, five, both from Malawi – the same names and ages as Madonna’s adopted children.

Gamers can also adopt children from earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Once they have paid the adoption fees, players can style their new children in over-the-top designer gear and then try to sell image rights for them to celebrity magazines.

The controversial game, by north London firm Blighty Arts, also sees players take their minxes binge-drinking and clubbing as they try to attract men.

My Minx 'Anti-baby pills'

The game, which is being marketed as ‘Barbie meets Chanel’, features virtual condoms and morning-after pills.

Gamers take on rival minxes in ’style-off’ competitions to try and be crowned the ‘minx of minxes’.

There are no age restrictions on the game, which sees players pay via PayPal or text message to top up their accounts in order to kit out their characters.

My Minx was launched shortly before Christmas, and has already attracted 20,000 members, with some as young as seven.

But parents’ groups are horrified at the game’s success and have accused the creators of exploiting children for profit.

Andy Hibberd, spokesman for parents’ rights group Parentkind, said: “There are more than enough pressures on children to grow up already. We don’t need any more.

“Having children getting virtual condoms or morning after pills will not make them any less promiscuous.”

He added: “As regards child adoption, this game encourages them to think that they don’t need to worry about morals or ethics.

“It is sending out all the wrong messages.”

My Minx creators Blighty Arts did not immediately return requests for a comment.

taken from SkyNews

London – Greek researchers called on Wednesday for more safety studies into electronic cigarettes, saying scientific knowledge of them was “very limited”.

E-Cigarette

Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, were first made in China and are sold mostly on the internet.

They are battery-powered devices which emit a “puff” or fine mist of nicotine into the lungs and are intended to replace normal cigarettes and help smokers quit.

The products are at the centre of a legal battle in the US between manufacturers and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates drugs and which wants to stop e-cigarettes from being imported into the US.

The FDA, which conducted research into e-cigarettes, has expressed concerns about their safety, and teams from Greece and New Zealand have also carried out studies into them.

But interpretations of the three reports vary, with the New Zealand study saying e-cigarettes should be recommended because they are safer than tobacco cigarettes, and the Greek study taking a broadly neutral stance.

“The limited information given in these three reports represents all the knowledge we currently have about e-cigarettes,” Andreas Flouris and Dimitris Oikonomou, of the Institute of Human Performance and Rehabilitation in Greece, wrote in the British Medical Journal.

“This may be one reason why the battle… between the FDA and e-cigarette manufacturers has been so heated.”

A US judge last week granted an injunction barring the Obama administration from trying to ban imports of e-cigarettes, saying the move was part of “aggressive efforts” by the FDA to regulate “recreational tobacco products”.

Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the world, killing more than five million people a year. A report by the World Lung Foundation last August said smoking could kill a billion people this century if trends hold.

Flouris and Oikonomou said that while “alternative smoking strategies are always welcome in an effort to reduce the threat to public health” caused by tobacco, safety was also vital.

“More rigorous chemical analyses are needed, followed by extensive research involving animal studies and, finally, clinical trials in humans,” they wrote.

taken from News24

Was it only a decade ago that a blackberry was a mere warm season fruit? That green was, well, a colour, and reality TV was that one show sandwiched between music videos on MTV?

There were, of course, huge political and social upheavals that roiled the world in the past decade, but there also were the gradual lifestyle changes that people do not always notice when they are happening; kind of like watching a child grow older.

Here is an alphabetical look at 50 things that changed our lives since the beginning of the millennium:

AIRPORTS: Remember when you did not have to take off your shoes before getting on a plane? Remember when you could bring a bottled drink on board? Political terror changed all that.

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE: From acupuncture to herbal supplements to alternative ways of treating cancer, alternative medicine became more mainstream than ever.

APPS: There is an app for that! The phrase comes from Apple iPhone advertising, but could apply to the entire decade’s gadget explosion, from laptops to GPS systems (want your car to give you directions to Mom’s house in Chinese, or by a Frenchwoman named Virginie? There was an app for that.)

AARP (American Association for Retired People) cards … for baby boomers! Some prominent Americans turned 50 this decade: the pop singers Madonna and Prince. Comic Ellen DeGeneres. The Smurfs. Michael Jackson, the King of Pop – who also died at 50. And some prominent “early boomers” turned 60: Rocker Bruce Springsteen and actress Meryl Streep, for example.

AGING: Nobody seemed to look their age anymore: Clothes for 50-year-old women started looking more like clothes for 18-year-olds, tweens looked more like teens, long hair was popular for all ages, and in many ways women’s fashion seemed to morph into one single age group.

Blogger logo

BLOG: I blog, you blog, he blogs … How did we spend our time before blogging? There are more than 100 million of these web logs out there in cyberspace.

BLACKBERRIES: Considered essential by corporate CEOs and moms planning playdates. Introduced in 2002, the smartphone version is now used by more than 28 million people, according to its maker, Research In Motion Ltd.

BOOK CLUBS: Thanks in part to TV personality and business mogul Oprah Winfrey, the decade saw not only a profusion in book discussion clubs but a growing reliance on them by publishers.

CABLE: Cable 24-hour news made the evening network news seem quaint, cable dramas reaped Emmys … and at decade’s end, even Oprah was making the move to cable.

Digital camaras

CAMERAS: Remember those trips to get film developed? Nope? Even your grandmother has a digital camera, and she is probably e-mailing you photos right now or uploading them to a photo-sharing site.

CELEBRITY CULTURE: Celebrity magazines fed a growing obsession with celebrities and the everyday minutiae of their lives. By decade’s end, Americans still were obsessed, though Britney Spears and Angelina Jolie had ceded many covers to reality stars like Jon and Kate Gosselin. Celebrity websites like TMZ took hold mid-decade.

CELL PHONES: Cell phones are now used by more than 85% of the US population and for some have replaced land lines. On the downside, they have made cheating on a spouse more difficult – just ask Tiger Woods.

CHEFS: Chefs are hot! The Food Network, whose viewership tripled this decade, reeled in viewers with high-voltage personalities like Rachael Ray and Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse and Giada De Laurentis. Meryl Streep starred in a cinematic pean to the late Julia Child.

CONNECTIVITY: As in, we are all expected to be connected, wirelessly, all the time. Boss e-mails you on a Sunday? Better answer, because unless you are off in Antarctica, you have no excuse.

COUGARS: A new TV series called Cougar Town focuses on a phenomenon that gained its name this decade: women dating younger men.

Crocks

CROCS: Those ubiquitous plastic clogs debuted in 2002 and became the shoes you loved to hate. Kids love ‘em, but there are Web groups dedicated to their destruction. Not to be deterred: First lady Michelle Obama, who wore them on vacation in 2009.

DANCING: Dancing never went out of style, but this decade saw the huge popularity of dancing contests like So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With the Stars.

DATING: Dating was transformed like everything else by internet sites, rendering other ways of meeting people obsolete. And it was not just the territory of the relatively young: Seniors found love online, too.

DVRs: Suddenly, DVR-ing is a verb, and what it means is this: There’s no reason to know anymore what channel your program is on, and what time.

EMBARRASSMENT ENTERTAINMENT: Embarrassment has always been part of comedy – you need only think of Don Rickles – but this is the decade of cringe-worthy Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Ricky Gervais, and of course Sacha Baron Cohen, who as Borat and Bruno shamed perhaps the entire country.

Facebook logo

FACEBOOK: Can you believe this social networking site was once limited only to Harvard students? Now it is a time-sucking obsession for more than 300 million users globally and a whole new form of social etiquette: Whom to friend on Facebook?

FAT: This was the decade that fat became the enemy of the state. New York City banned trans fats, and Alabama – second in national obesity rankings – introduced a tax on overweight state workers.

FOODIE: It is not just that guy in the White House who liked arugula-_ this was the decade of the foodie, when we all developed gourmet palates. Even a burger became a gourmet item – as in Daniel Boulud’s truffle burger, stuffed with foie gras and short ribs.
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Nexus One

California – It’s official: Google Inc will sell its own cellphone in an effort to protect its online advertising empire as people increasingly surf the web on handsets instead of personal computers.

The phone announced on Tuesday had been widely anticipated since Google handed out the device, called the Nexus One, to its own employees three weeks ago.

Consumers will be able to buy the Nexus One for $179 if they commit to a two-year service contract with T-Mobile USA. The phone is going on sale on Tuesday online.

Google also will offer versions of the Nexus One that will give people the option of selecting the wireless networks of other major carriers. That’s a departure from the way most cellphones have been sold in the US.

The price of these so-called “unlocked” phones will be $529.

Verizon Wireless in the US and Vodafone in Europe will begin offering subsidies on the Nexus One this spring, according to Google executives.

The Nexus One escalates Google’s budding rivalry with former Silicon Valley ally, Apple Inc, which has sold more than 30 million iPhones in the past 2 1/2 years.

Apple announced a deal on Tuesday to buy mobile advertising service Quattro Wireless to counter Google’s proposed $750 acquisition of Quattro rival AdMob.

taken from News24

The world’s tallest building has opened in Dubai as the official height was revealed – 828 metres (2717ft).

The Burj Dubai is visible from 60 miles away

In a surprise move, the Burj Dubai was renamed Burj Khalifa by Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.

The new name is after Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan – the president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of the neighbouring emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The Burj Khalifa towers over its nearest rival, the Taipei 101 in Taiwan, which rises 508m (1,667ft).

That makes it about twice the height of the Empire State Building.

At the opening ceremony, thousands of residents and tourists crowded around the base of the half-mile tall tower, which is at least 160 storeys high.

Dubai’s ruler unveiled a plaque, kicking off inaugural festivities.

They included traditional Gulf Arab dance performances and skydivers with parachutes emblazoned with the colours of the UAE flag.

The top of the building can be seen from 60 miles away and the exterior is covered in about 26,000 glass panels.

The building boasts the most storeys and highest occupied floor of any building in the world, and ranks as the world’s tallest structure, beating a television mast in North Dakota.

“We weren’t sure how high we could go,” said Bill Baker, the building’s structural engineer, who is in Dubai for the inauguration. “It was kind of an exploration … a learning experience.”

The Burj’s opening comes at a tough time for Dubai’s economy with property prices in newer parts of the sheikhdom down by nearly half over the past year.

The city-state turned to its richer neighbour Abu Dhabi for a series of bailouts in 2009 to help cover debts amassed by a network of state-linked companies.

taken from SkyNews

The Hague – The Netherlands said on Tuesday it wants to use body scanners on all passengers flying to the United States from the country, after explosives were allegedly smuggled onto a US-bound flight from Amsterdam.

“What we want to do now is use (body scanners) as a standard measure for all flights to the United States,” Dutch Justice Minister Hirsch Ballin told public television channel NOS.

The minister’s comments came after a 23-year-old Nigerian allegedly hid explosives as he boarded a Northwest Airlines plane at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was arrested and charged in the United States with attempting to blow up the passenger jet on Christmas Day as it prepared to land in Detroit. He allegedly tried to use a syringe of chemicals to set off explosives sewn into his underwear.

He was overpowered by other passengers and is currently being held in a federal prison in Milan, Michigan.

Ballin also said on Tuesday that he had spoken by telephone to US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano about the failed attack.

“From what we know today, there was no mistake on our part,” at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, where the Nigerian changed flights onto the US-bound plane, and “the procedure was applied according to the rules,” Ballin said.

“But (the Nigerian suspect) was carrying something that could not be detected by metal detectors, which is why I think it is important to see if it is possible to use body scanners,” the minister added.

Ballin said the scanners “also detect powders, like the substances he was carrying beneath his clothes”.

The use of body scanners at airport security points is considered effective but privacy advocates oppose the machines because they scan beneath clothing to detect items that may be hidden from ordinary view.

Security experts believe, however, that the scanners could have detected the explosives that Abdulmutallab allegedly hid last week.

The new scanners will be operational in three weeks.

taken from News24

The 3-D extravaganza “Avatar” ruled the worldwide box office for a second weekend on Sunday, while the latest exploits of Alvin and the Chipmunks and Sherlock Holmes helped set a North American sales record.

“Avatar,” an eco-friendly morality tale from “Titanic” writer/director James Cameron, earned $220 million (138 million pounds) in North America and 108 foreign markets, taking its 10-day haul to $617.3 million.

Distributor 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp, said the film was No. 1 everywhere except in India where it followed a local movie. It opens in China on January 2 and Italy on January 15.

British director Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes,” starring Robert Downey Jr. as the Victorian sleuth, opened to $91.4 million in North America and 17 foreign markets. The Warner Bros. release opened at No. 2 in the United States and Canada with a better-than-expected $65.4 million.

Family audiences spent $86.7 million on Fox’s “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” a follow-up to the cartoon characters’ 2007 worldwide smash. In North America, the film ranked No. 3 for the weekend with $50.2 million, also exceeding studio forecasts. Thanks to an early start on Wednesday, its tally stands at $77.1 million, taking its worldwide haul to $113.6 million.

Fox said “Alvin” opened in 42 markets, and was No. 2 in at least 20 of them.

SALES RECORD SMASHED

The three films helped set a new weekend sales record in North America, according to tracking firm Hollywood.com Box Office. The top 12 releases grossed $278 million, smashing the mark of $261 million set in July 2008 when “The Dark Knight” was the top film, it said.

The firm also forecast record sales of $10.5 billion this year, up 9 percent from 2008. Even with higher ticket prices, it predicted the number of tickets sold would rise almost 5 percent from last year to 1.4 billion — the highest tally since 2006.

The other major new release in North America, “It’s Complicated,” opened at No. 4 with a solid $22.1 million. The Universal Pictures comedy, starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, also pulled in $5.4 million from 11 foreign markets. Spain chipped in $2.1 million.

The only sour note was struck by the Weinstein Co. musical “Nine,” which earned just $5.5 million in its first weekend of wide release, good enough for only No. 8. The closely held studio said the film struggled to connect with moviegoers in the heartland, but did better in the big cities.

STRONG HOLD FOR “AVATAR”

“Avatar” has earned $212.3 million after 10 days of release across the United States and Canada. The film enjoyed a surprisingly strong hold, losing just 3 percent of its opening-weekend audience.

It garnered almost as much attention for its reported record-breaking budget of at least $300 million as for its tale of a disabled ex-Marine sent from Earth to infiltrate an alien race of 10-foot (3 metre)-tall blue people in order to save his polluted planet.

“Sherlock Holmes” looks set to give Downey his second movie franchise after “Iron Man.” It ranks as the fifth-biggest December opener in North America, and it set a Christmas Day opening record of $24.8 million.

Warner Bros. is talking about sequel prospects but no decisions have been made yet, said Dan Fellman, president of distribution at the Time Warner Inc unit. Downey reinvents the staid Holmes as a dashing superhero; Jude Law co-stars as Watson.

The “Alvin and the Chipmunks” sequel ranks No. 7 among all-time December openings in North America. “Alvin” and “It’s Complicated” come from female directors, Betty Thomas and Nancy Meyers, respectively, a rare appearance by two women in the top tier.

The No. 5 spot went to “Up in the Air,” which rose three places in its first weekend of wide release. Director Jason Reitman’s meditation on love and loneliness in corporate America has earned $24.5 million since Viacom Inc’s Paramount Pictures released it in 15 theaters on December 4.

taken from EWN

A new infra-red camera could help solve crimes by detecting hidden tattoos, researchers believe.

Forensic scientists and detectives already look at tattoos as a way of identifying suspects or finding leads in investigations, but they can easily be changed or removed.

A traditional colour camera only picks up what is on the surface of the skin.

But now scientists at the University of Derby say an infra-red digital camera could help determine if a tattoo is original, or if it is a second tattoo covering up an old one.

By using the gadget, researchers were able to see if there were hidden layers or changes to the original tattoo deeper in the skin.

A recent experiment on a student’s back found a butterfly image had been used to cover up an image of an imp in the original tattoo.

Mr Bryson shows off the new technology

David Bryson, senior lecturer in applied photography and forensic science at the university, said: “Identifying individuals using tattoos has been an established part of forensic science practice for some time, but there can be cover-ups of tattoos.

“It is now possible to take a control photograph and a separate photograph with an infra-red filter to take images of the tattoo, and determine if it is indeed the original or is a cover-up, or altered tattoo on the surface.”

He added: “Digital photography means that, moments after the images have been taken, they can be viewed on a laptop or computer screen – making this interesting approach now more feasible for use in everyday forensic work.”

Mr Bryson is hoping to try out the new technology in police forces as an everyday tool for checking tattoos on suspects.

taken from SkyNews