Embedded projects start with selecting hardware. Based on the requirements of the project, such as cost, battery life, communications, and user interface, a few processors and technologies become obvious choices. For example, low-power consumer devices frequently use ARM processors, and industrial control applications frequently use Intel x86 parts. The hardware selection doesn’t occur in isolation; the team selecting the hardware must at the same time consider the peripheral devices and driver availability.
The trend is toward purchasing off-the-shelf hardware and peripherals and putting them together with standard interconnects, like a PCMCIA or USB bus. Because most chips are SOC designs, that means the system on the chip is most of the hardware found on a typical computer; the peripherals that aren’t on the chip are a bit esoteric, proprietary, or costly, and drivers may not be available in all cases. For instance, wireless network interfaces aren’t part of an SOC and are sold as a separate module that attach to the PCI, USB, or PCMCIA bus on the board.1 Many SOC designs don’t contain storage or RAM, because those are higher cost and power consumption items. In addition, RAM and storage requirements vary greatly between designs.
Embedded projects fall into one of two categories:
• Those that ship with standard-sized hardware boards (COTS): A perfect example of this sort of project is a kiosk containing a consumer application. The case around the device is sufficiently large that the size of the board is of little concern. In fact, for a kiosk, you want to create a casing large and heavy enough to prevent tipping or theft. Although the marketing group at your company may try to give the device a fancy appearance, a PC-AT device can fit into the case with room left over for some eight-track tapes, a turn table, and a boom box. The size and form factor of the board aren’t important because there’s plenty of room due to the design of the case itself. Industrial devices also fit into this classification; most factory floors aren’t space constrained, and the appearance of the end product isn’t as important as it is for a device used by a consumer.
• Those that require custom hardware design (custom): Cell phones are great examples of these devices. For these projects, an industrial designer has authored a case that the hardware must fit into without altering the design too much. For a cell phone, the appearance as much as the capabilities matter to the end user. Products that fall into this class usually have strict power budgets for two reasons: battery life is a selling point, and the battery is the largest and heaviest (and sometimes costliest) component in the design. Making the most out of the battery means more freedom for the designers and a greater profit margin for the manufacturers. Frequently, these projects are built in high volume, so the work put into reducing the per-unit cost can be amortized over tens of thousands of units, making the effort worthwhile.
A half step is emerging between these categories: the stamp form factor, where a small board contains the processor and a few peripherals, like memory or flash, and has leads so it can be plugged into a daughter board. The task of the hardware designer is much less complex than when designing a complete board but much more involved than using a COTS board. The hybrid approach means lower hardware-design costs, a smaller form factor, and more control over the power consumption of the board, because the hardware designer can pick and choose the exact set of peripherals included on the board.
Understanding which category your project falls into helps you understand the development approach and how Linux can be used. In both cases, development begins on a (aptly named) development board that has nearly all the peripherals supported by the chip. Chip vendors like to target their chips to certain market segments (such as cell phone, automotive, or industrial control); they sell development kits containing a board with the processor bundled with the peripherals used by those developers so the engineers can quickly prototype a system. For example, a cell phone development kit includes a small screen, a numeric keypad, and GPRS hardware so software and hardware engineering can begin quickly. The final hardware design includes the same, or a similar, CPU chip on a customdesigned board with the necessary peripherals for the design that are similar to those included with the development kit.
However, teams of the COTS variety select a development board that best meets their requirements and use it as is for the product. Such users pick a standard form factor (like mini-itx) so the company making the case can put the mounting hardware in the right place inside the kiosk or the right case can be sourced for the project. When you’re working on a COTS project, the board used for development is identical to the board deployed in the product. Although a COTS board is more expensive on a per-unit basis, there is little hardware engineering fixed cost to amortize over the production run. Designing a custom board costs at least $50,000, and tooling costs for fabrication are at least that much again, so a product with a production run of a few hundred units has an average cost much higher than the average cost of purchasing an off-the-shelf board.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Virtualization Software for x86 Hosts
If you’re developing code for an x86 host, why bother using virtualization? The host and target are identical, so using virtualization software introduces overhead. Some of the problems introduced by a homogeneous host and target can be latent in nature, resulting in unexpected problems if the software happens to work by chance on the host environment. Virtualization still makes sense as part of the development process for the following reasons:
• Isolates development target dependencies: It’s easy to become careless when you’re compiling programs and depend on a library or configuration file that is present on the host computer but won’t be available when the software is deployed. Testing and validating the boot-up sequence is best done using a clean computer, because the host environment can interfere in unexpected ways.
• Constrains resources: If the target machine has 8MB RAM, a virtual machine can handle that without any problems. If the target device doesn’t have certain hardware like network adapters or serial ports, you can also do that in the virtual machine. For example, many embedded x86 targets have little or no video memory.
• Is highly repeatable: Nearly all virtual machines support the notion of fixed storage, which lets you make writes during the run of the application that are disposed of when the machine reboots. Using virtualization software, the computer can always be returned to a known state.
Approaches to Virtualization
You can use several approaches for x86 virtualization: Sun’s VirtualBox, VMware, and QEMU. VirtualBox and VMware are much easier to use than QEMU; however, QEMU is very Linux oriented and lets you start a virtual machine from a kernel image and an initial RAM disk file, features that VirtualBox and VMware lack. VMware and VirtualBox are commercial software packages that have licensing terms restricting their use in certain commercial situations. Please consult the terms included with the product to determine if you need to purchase a license.
You may be curious about Xen, which is a hypervisor for x86-based systems. Xen is more like an operating system that runs operating systems efficiently. It2 differs from QEMU or VMware in that operating systems run on a Xen pseudo-hardware layer which then partitions the hardware resources to the virtual machines. Installing Xen means overwriting your current operating system and installing Xen on top, which is probably not what you have in mind.
When you use either VirtualBox or VMware, you can boot the target machine over the network using PXE as the boot loader. In the VirtualBox user interface, you configure a
machine to boot from a network device by opening the virtual machine’s definition, selecting General at left, and then clicking the Advanced tab.
In the Boot Order list, unselect every item except Network (see Figure 3-1). When the machine boots, it uses DHCP to request an address and boot information and proceeds to download a kernel and root file system; then, the machine starts running. If you’re planning to use PXE for booting during development or deployment, using virtualization software makes testing the PXE configuration much easier than power-cycling a board, even if the Power On Self Tests (POSTs) are disabled.
Xen is a technology right out of the late 1960s. IBM’s mainframes ran VM/370 on their multiprocessor computers as the base operating system, which then ran the guest operating system (at the time, CMS). This technology is still around, but the guest operating system is Linux.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems
• Isolates development target dependencies: It’s easy to become careless when you’re compiling programs and depend on a library or configuration file that is present on the host computer but won’t be available when the software is deployed. Testing and validating the boot-up sequence is best done using a clean computer, because the host environment can interfere in unexpected ways.
• Constrains resources: If the target machine has 8MB RAM, a virtual machine can handle that without any problems. If the target device doesn’t have certain hardware like network adapters or serial ports, you can also do that in the virtual machine. For example, many embedded x86 targets have little or no video memory.
• Is highly repeatable: Nearly all virtual machines support the notion of fixed storage, which lets you make writes during the run of the application that are disposed of when the machine reboots. Using virtualization software, the computer can always be returned to a known state.
Approaches to Virtualization
You can use several approaches for x86 virtualization: Sun’s VirtualBox, VMware, and QEMU. VirtualBox and VMware are much easier to use than QEMU; however, QEMU is very Linux oriented and lets you start a virtual machine from a kernel image and an initial RAM disk file, features that VirtualBox and VMware lack. VMware and VirtualBox are commercial software packages that have licensing terms restricting their use in certain commercial situations. Please consult the terms included with the product to determine if you need to purchase a license.
You may be curious about Xen, which is a hypervisor for x86-based systems. Xen is more like an operating system that runs operating systems efficiently. It2 differs from QEMU or VMware in that operating systems run on a Xen pseudo-hardware layer which then partitions the hardware resources to the virtual machines. Installing Xen means overwriting your current operating system and installing Xen on top, which is probably not what you have in mind.
When you use either VirtualBox or VMware, you can boot the target machine over the network using PXE as the boot loader. In the VirtualBox user interface, you configure a
machine to boot from a network device by opening the virtual machine’s definition, selecting General at left, and then clicking the Advanced tab.
In the Boot Order list, unselect every item except Network (see Figure 3-1). When the machine boots, it uses DHCP to request an address and boot information and proceeds to download a kernel and root file system; then, the machine starts running. If you’re planning to use PXE for booting during development or deployment, using virtualization software makes testing the PXE configuration much easier than power-cycling a board, even if the Power On Self Tests (POSTs) are disabled.
Xen is a technology right out of the late 1960s. IBM’s mainframes ran VM/370 on their multiprocessor computers as the base operating system, which then ran the guest operating system (at the time, CMS). This technology is still around, but the guest operating system is Linux.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems
Monday, March 29, 2010
Why Target Emulation?
In a word: convenience, but in two respects. The first convenience is that the target board is likely being developed at the same time as the software that’s supposed to run on the board. Second, running in an emulator greatly reduces the complications of communicating with a remote target.
A common practice in embedded engineering is to write code that is compiled and tested on the development host. This makes sense, because the C language is portable enough to make this possible. Although large amounts of code can be written, compiled using the native tools, and tested without the benefit of an emulator, some things, such as the following, require testing using the target processor or emulator:
• Inline assembly: This is the most obvious. Code that has inline assembly for an ARM target won’t compile on that nice new quad core Intel 64 bit host, no matter how much you want it to.
• Endiannesss: This describes the byte order used to store data. In a big-endian system, the high-order bytes precede the low-order bytes; little-endian is the reverse. The date 2009-01-31 is big endian, whereas 31-01-2009 is little-endian.1 If endianness isn’t agreed on, imagine the confusion with a date like 02-05-2009, where the month and day aren’t obvious. This is an example to make plain the notion that endianness, as the internal storage format for a date in a computer, is usually an integer.
• Floating point: The floating-point capacities aren’t the same for all processors and the emulator. One processor’s very large number is another processor’s overflow. Not many embedded systems need high precision, but the ones that do should take these limitations into consideration.
• Optimization: The GCC compiler is smart enough to optimize not only by refactoring and re-ordering the code but also by selecting machine instructions that execute more quickly. This means the classic speed for time optimization may be very different on the host than the target. Optimization is also likely to find bugs in the code generated by GCC
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems
A common practice in embedded engineering is to write code that is compiled and tested on the development host. This makes sense, because the C language is portable enough to make this possible. Although large amounts of code can be written, compiled using the native tools, and tested without the benefit of an emulator, some things, such as the following, require testing using the target processor or emulator:
• Inline assembly: This is the most obvious. Code that has inline assembly for an ARM target won’t compile on that nice new quad core Intel 64 bit host, no matter how much you want it to.
• Endiannesss: This describes the byte order used to store data. In a big-endian system, the high-order bytes precede the low-order bytes; little-endian is the reverse. The date 2009-01-31 is big endian, whereas 31-01-2009 is little-endian.1 If endianness isn’t agreed on, imagine the confusion with a date like 02-05-2009, where the month and day aren’t obvious. This is an example to make plain the notion that endianness, as the internal storage format for a date in a computer, is usually an integer.
• Floating point: The floating-point capacities aren’t the same for all processors and the emulator. One processor’s very large number is another processor’s overflow. Not many embedded systems need high precision, but the ones that do should take these limitations into consideration.
• Optimization: The GCC compiler is smart enough to optimize not only by refactoring and re-ordering the code but also by selecting machine instructions that execute more quickly. This means the classic speed for time optimization may be very different on the host than the target. Optimization is also likely to find bugs in the code generated by GCC
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Cabling
Booting an embedded target requires some cabling that may not be handy. A typical commercial embedded development kit includes cables; however, they tend to get lost over time. If the board in question doesn’t have an integrated display (or display adapter) and keyboard connector, at least a null modem serial cable is required. It’s best to locate these components now, because you’ll need them.
Serial (for Console)
Nearly every embedded development board has a serial console connector in the form of a DB-9 connector. Most boards require a null modem cable that swaps the send and receive pins and connects the clear to send and request to send pins. You can buy a null modem cable at any self-respecting electronics store and most big-box office supply stores. When confronted with the task of finding a null modem cable in a jumble of cables at work, look for one with female connectors on both ends; this doesn’t guarantee that the cable in question is properly wired, but chances are that it is. You can also purchase a null modem converter that makes a regular straight-through cable a null modem. Some boards use a USB connection for the serial console. Linux and Windows include device drivers to make communicating over USB essentially the same as using serial. From a cabling perspective, all you need to do is find a USB cable with the right connectors. The USB specification ensures that the device and computer are wired properly; there's no need for special cabling.
Network
A network connection is also a common way for a board to communicate with the outside world. The Linux kernel is large enough that downloading via a serial cable (even if the connection is fast) is slow. When the boot loader uses the network adapter, downloading the kernel takes just a few seconds.
You can attach an embedded board with an Ethernet port to the network using a standard network cable. However, if the board is connected directly to another network adapter, the Ethernet equivalent of a null modem cable is necessary; it’s called a cross-over cable. This Ethernet cable is wired to the serial null modem: the data wires are swapped from input to output, and the flow control pins are crossed. These cables are readily available at electronics stores but are difficult to find elsewhere. Unlike serial cables, a null modem converter for Ethernet cables isn't readily available. In a pinch, using a Ethernet hub is a workaround, because when it moves data from one port to the next, it does roughly the same as a null modem converter.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems
Serial (for Console)
Nearly every embedded development board has a serial console connector in the form of a DB-9 connector. Most boards require a null modem cable that swaps the send and receive pins and connects the clear to send and request to send pins. You can buy a null modem cable at any self-respecting electronics store and most big-box office supply stores. When confronted with the task of finding a null modem cable in a jumble of cables at work, look for one with female connectors on both ends; this doesn’t guarantee that the cable in question is properly wired, but chances are that it is. You can also purchase a null modem converter that makes a regular straight-through cable a null modem. Some boards use a USB connection for the serial console. Linux and Windows include device drivers to make communicating over USB essentially the same as using serial. From a cabling perspective, all you need to do is find a USB cable with the right connectors. The USB specification ensures that the device and computer are wired properly; there's no need for special cabling.
Network
A network connection is also a common way for a board to communicate with the outside world. The Linux kernel is large enough that downloading via a serial cable (even if the connection is fast) is slow. When the boot loader uses the network adapter, downloading the kernel takes just a few seconds.
You can attach an embedded board with an Ethernet port to the network using a standard network cable. However, if the board is connected directly to another network adapter, the Ethernet equivalent of a null modem cable is necessary; it’s called a cross-over cable. This Ethernet cable is wired to the serial null modem: the data wires are swapped from input to output, and the flow control pins are crossed. These cables are readily available at electronics stores but are difficult to find elsewhere. Unlike serial cables, a null modem converter for Ethernet cables isn't readily available. In a pinch, using a Ethernet hub is a workaround, because when it moves data from one port to the next, it does roughly the same as a null modem converter.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Virtual Linux Machines on Windows
Another approach you can take when working on a Windows host is to use virtualization software. Using this approach means that a virtual machine runs Linux on the Windows host. With today’s commonplace multicore processor, multi-gigabyte machines, this is a reasonable approach. One of the advantages of running a virtual machine is that you don’t need to compensate for Cygwin idiosyncrasies, because the virtual machine is running Linux.
When you run a virtual machine, a window opens on the desktop that looks like the monitor of the running machine. You can adjust this virtual monitor so that it occupies the entire screen area, which gives the applications running on the virtual machine more screen real estate. The virtual machine can also be minimized, and you can then use a terminal emulation program to connect via ssh (this is my preference.)
Several virtualization software packages exist:
• Sun VirtualBox (http://virtualbox.org): This is the recommended solution. VirtualBox is easy to install and lets you easily create new machines.
• VMware (http://vmware.com): VMware has been in the virtualization market for years and offers a very mature product. It’s harder to configure than VirtualBox and requires registration.
• QEMU (http://bellard.org/qemu/): This is an open source tool for system emulation that runs best on Linux. There are distributions for Windows that are precompiled.
Using VirtualBox
VirtualBox is by far the easiest software to install and get running and is the recommended solution. It does a great job with the basics and also offers features like emulation of the serial and USB ports. This is important because the primary way to communicate with a board during startup is through the serial ports. To create a development environment, you need the following:
• VirtualBox software from Sun: Obtain this from the VirtualBox site, and run the installer. The http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads page contains pointers to the URLs for the latest distributions. VirtualBox is a dual-licensed product, meaning that Sun can offer it as open source software and license its use under other circumstances. Commercial VirtualBox users can download and evaluate VirtualBox at no cost. If you’re a commercial user, the VirtualBox terms of use require you to obtain a license.
• An Ubuntu bootable CD image: The Ubuntu project publishes CDs that are ready to boot a running Linux system (what’s called a LiveCD) and can be used for installation as well. To download an Ubuntu LiveCD, visit http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download. The page asks for your location to find a close mirror. The download is a file that is a bit-image of a CD. Of course, any LiveCD distribution will do; there are plenty to choose from, and new ones appear on a regular basis. If you’re partial to Red Hat/Fedora, you can use the distribution at http://fedoraproject.org/get-fedora; it boots from the CD and has an installer. Ubuntu is used as an example because of its trouble-free installation and wide hardware support.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems
When you run a virtual machine, a window opens on the desktop that looks like the monitor of the running machine. You can adjust this virtual monitor so that it occupies the entire screen area, which gives the applications running on the virtual machine more screen real estate. The virtual machine can also be minimized, and you can then use a terminal emulation program to connect via ssh (this is my preference.)
Several virtualization software packages exist:
• Sun VirtualBox (http://virtualbox.org): This is the recommended solution. VirtualBox is easy to install and lets you easily create new machines.
• VMware (http://vmware.com): VMware has been in the virtualization market for years and offers a very mature product. It’s harder to configure than VirtualBox and requires registration.
• QEMU (http://bellard.org/qemu/): This is an open source tool for system emulation that runs best on Linux. There are distributions for Windows that are precompiled.
Using VirtualBox
VirtualBox is by far the easiest software to install and get running and is the recommended solution. It does a great job with the basics and also offers features like emulation of the serial and USB ports. This is important because the primary way to communicate with a board during startup is through the serial ports. To create a development environment, you need the following:
• VirtualBox software from Sun: Obtain this from the VirtualBox site, and run the installer. The http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads page contains pointers to the URLs for the latest distributions. VirtualBox is a dual-licensed product, meaning that Sun can offer it as open source software and license its use under other circumstances. Commercial VirtualBox users can download and evaluate VirtualBox at no cost. If you’re a commercial user, the VirtualBox terms of use require you to obtain a license.
• An Ubuntu bootable CD image: The Ubuntu project publishes CDs that are ready to boot a running Linux system (what’s called a LiveCD) and can be used for installation as well. To download an Ubuntu LiveCD, visit http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download. The page asks for your location to find a close mirror. The download is a file that is a bit-image of a CD. Of course, any LiveCD distribution will do; there are plenty to choose from, and new ones appear on a regular basis. If you’re partial to Red Hat/Fedora, you can use the distribution at http://fedoraproject.org/get-fedora; it boots from the CD and has an installer. Ubuntu is used as an example because of its trouble-free installation and wide hardware support.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems
Friday, March 26, 2010
Configuring the Software Environment - Debian (Ubuntu) Systems
Configuring the Software Environment - Debian (Ubuntu) Systems
Debian systems use the dpkg system to manage the software installed on the host. Wrapped around dpkg is another suite of tools called the Advanced Packing Tool (APT) that you can use to download packages from a central repository. These tools make it easy to install the packages you need for embedded development.
You can install packages with one command and test to see (using the -s switch) what happens by doing the following:
$ sudo apt-get -s install automake autoconf m4 gcc gdb dhcp3-server nfs-userserver
tftpd minicom
This produces output like the following:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
autoconf is already the newest version.
m4 is already the newest version.
gcc is already the newest version.
gdb is already the newest version.
The following extra packages will be installed:
autotools-dev openbsd-inetd portmap
Recommended packages:
lrzsz
The following NEW packages will be installed:
automake autotools-dev dhcp3-server minicom nfs-user-server openbsd-inetd
portmap
tftpd
0 upgraded, 8 newly installed, 0 to remove and 233 not upgraded.
Inst autotools-dev (20070725.1 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Inst automake (1:1.10.1-2 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Inst dhcp3-server (3.0.6.dfsg-1ubuntu9 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Inst minicom (2.3~rc1-2 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Inst portmap (6.0-4 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Inst openbsd-inetd (0.20050402-6 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Inst tftpd (0.17-15ubuntu1 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Inst nfs-user-server (2.2beta47-23 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf autotools-dev (20070725.1 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf automake (1:1.10.1-2 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf dhcp3-server (3.0.6.dfsg-1ubuntu9 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf minicom (2.3~rc1-2 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf portmap (6.0-4 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf openbsd-inetd (0.20050402-6 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf tftpd (0.17-15ubuntu1 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf nfs-user-server (2.2beta47-23 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Some of these packages may already be installed on your system, and others may be out of date. In
some cases, the requested packages require other packages in order to work correctly. No worries—aptget
sorts all that out, figuring out what packages must be installed in what order. After installing the
packages, the system also runs any configuration scripts so the newly installed software is ready to run.
Running the command without –s produces output like the following:
$ sudo apt-get install automake autoconf m4 gcc gdb dhcp3-server nfs-user-server
tftpd minicom
autoconf is already the newest version.
m4 is already the newest version.
gcc is already the newest version.
gdb is already the newest version.
The following extra packages will be installed:
autotools-dev openbsd-inetd portmap
Recommended packages:
lrzsz
The following NEW packages will be installed:
automake autotools-dev dhcp3-server minicom nfs-user-server openbsd-inetd portmap
tftpd
0 upgraded, 8 newly installed, 0 to remove and 233 not upgraded.
Need to get 1261kB of archives.
After this operation, 4432kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]?
Respond with Y, and press Enter. The packages are downloaded and installed on the system.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems
Debian systems use the dpkg system to manage the software installed on the host. Wrapped around dpkg is another suite of tools called the Advanced Packing Tool (APT) that you can use to download packages from a central repository. These tools make it easy to install the packages you need for embedded development.
You can install packages with one command and test to see (using the -s switch) what happens by doing the following:
$ sudo apt-get -s install automake autoconf m4 gcc gdb dhcp3-server nfs-userserver
tftpd minicom
This produces output like the following:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
autoconf is already the newest version.
m4 is already the newest version.
gcc is already the newest version.
gdb is already the newest version.
The following extra packages will be installed:
autotools-dev openbsd-inetd portmap
Recommended packages:
lrzsz
The following NEW packages will be installed:
automake autotools-dev dhcp3-server minicom nfs-user-server openbsd-inetd
portmap
tftpd
0 upgraded, 8 newly installed, 0 to remove and 233 not upgraded.
Inst autotools-dev (20070725.1 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Inst automake (1:1.10.1-2 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Inst dhcp3-server (3.0.6.dfsg-1ubuntu9 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Inst minicom (2.3~rc1-2 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Inst portmap (6.0-4 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Inst openbsd-inetd (0.20050402-6 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Inst tftpd (0.17-15ubuntu1 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Inst nfs-user-server (2.2beta47-23 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf autotools-dev (20070725.1 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf automake (1:1.10.1-2 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf dhcp3-server (3.0.6.dfsg-1ubuntu9 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf minicom (2.3~rc1-2 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf portmap (6.0-4 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf openbsd-inetd (0.20050402-6 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf tftpd (0.17-15ubuntu1 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Conf nfs-user-server (2.2beta47-23 Ubuntu:8.04/hardy)
Some of these packages may already be installed on your system, and others may be out of date. In
some cases, the requested packages require other packages in order to work correctly. No worries—aptget
sorts all that out, figuring out what packages must be installed in what order. After installing the
packages, the system also runs any configuration scripts so the newly installed software is ready to run.
Running the command without –s produces output like the following:
$ sudo apt-get install automake autoconf m4 gcc gdb dhcp3-server nfs-user-server
tftpd minicom
autoconf is already the newest version.
m4 is already the newest version.
gcc is already the newest version.
gdb is already the newest version.
The following extra packages will be installed:
autotools-dev openbsd-inetd portmap
Recommended packages:
lrzsz
The following NEW packages will be installed:
automake autotools-dev dhcp3-server minicom nfs-user-server openbsd-inetd portmap
tftpd
0 upgraded, 8 newly installed, 0 to remove and 233 not upgraded.
Need to get 1261kB of archives.
After this operation, 4432kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]?
Respond with Y, and press Enter. The packages are downloaded and installed on the system.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Configuring the Software Environment - Linux
Linux is the simplest environment to get ready. Very little configuration is required; it’s more a matter of getting the correct software on the system. Most systems require a few packages to be installed for development tools that aren’t normally found on a desktop distribution, such as Automake, Autoconf, and, of course, GCC.
Development on Linux doesn’t require superuser privileges. A root account on the system isn’t necessary; however, if possible, configuring the system to get root access via sudo is a good idea, because in some cases commands must be executed as root. These include creating device nodes for root file systems, installing software, and performing other system-administration tasks. Having root access is less necessary than in years past because the software around building embedded Linux has matured.
Tools Typically Used in Embedded Development
Automake.
A tool for creating make files that can be run on a variety of systems.
Autoconf.
A tool for building the configure scripts that scan the system to figure out the system’s state.
M4.
A macro processing tool much like the pre-processor in C.
GCC.
The GNU Compiler Collection. Many installations don’t include GCC because of its size. When you install GCC, the system also installs some of the tools that GCC uses, such as the assembler (as) and linker (ld). If you type gcc on the command line, the C compiler provided by the GNU Compiler Collection will be invoked.
G++.
The GNU C++ compiler command. Whenever you type g++ on the command line, the GNU C++ compiler will be invoked. This is required when you’re using tools that use C++. Like GCC, G++ requires a lot of disk space; consequently, it doesn’t make the cut for many CD-ROM based installations.
GDB.
The GNU Debugger.
dhcp3-server.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol—the software that’s used to automatically assign IP addresses on a network.
nfs-user-server.
Network File System—a tool from Sun that allows a remote computer to access storage on a remote computer.
tftpd.
Trivial File Transfer Protocol—A simple protocol for transferring files over an IP network. This protocol is easy to implement and makes few demands on the boot loader.
minicom.
An old school, text-based terminal emulation program. When you’re talking to a board over a serial cable, minicom is the perfect tool.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems
Development on Linux doesn’t require superuser privileges. A root account on the system isn’t necessary; however, if possible, configuring the system to get root access via sudo is a good idea, because in some cases commands must be executed as root. These include creating device nodes for root file systems, installing software, and performing other system-administration tasks. Having root access is less necessary than in years past because the software around building embedded Linux has matured.
Tools Typically Used in Embedded Development
Automake.
A tool for creating make files that can be run on a variety of systems.
Autoconf.
A tool for building the configure scripts that scan the system to figure out the system’s state.
M4.
A macro processing tool much like the pre-processor in C.
GCC.
The GNU Compiler Collection. Many installations don’t include GCC because of its size. When you install GCC, the system also installs some of the tools that GCC uses, such as the assembler (as) and linker (ld). If you type gcc on the command line, the C compiler provided by the GNU Compiler Collection will be invoked.
G++.
The GNU C++ compiler command. Whenever you type g++ on the command line, the GNU C++ compiler will be invoked. This is required when you’re using tools that use C++. Like GCC, G++ requires a lot of disk space; consequently, it doesn’t make the cut for many CD-ROM based installations.
GDB.
The GNU Debugger.
dhcp3-server.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol—the software that’s used to automatically assign IP addresses on a network.
nfs-user-server.
Network File System—a tool from Sun that allows a remote computer to access storage on a remote computer.
tftpd.
Trivial File Transfer Protocol—A simple protocol for transferring files over an IP network. This protocol is easy to implement and makes few demands on the boot loader.
minicom.
An old school, text-based terminal emulation program. When you’re talking to a board over a serial cable, minicom is the perfect tool.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Save, store & sync your bookmarks
Bookmarks don’t need to be limited to a menu in your web browser. Petra Jones suggests 17 smart ways to store, share and synchronise your favourite sites
Synchronise bookmarks between devices
Opera Link (www.opera.com/link) offers a useful means of synchronizing your favourite sites on Opera between your laptop and mobile phone. However, if you’re on a pay-as-you-go package, you might not want to waste time and money downloading the necessary Opera Mini web browser. An alternative is to sign up to Memotoo (www.memotoo.com), which doesn’t require any software. Just add your bookmarks to the site and then visit http://wap.memotoo.com on your phone to access them or create new entries. Memotoo is also capable of storing calendar events and to-do lists, although the free version is limited to 100 bookmarks and 10 folders. The unlimited Premium version costs £3 per month.
Share bookmarks via text
Sign up to Yahoo and you can access both RSS feeds and bookmarks on your mobile phone by visiting http://mobile.yahoo.com. You can also share bookmarks via Yahoo Messenger by sending a text message from your PC to a friend’s phone (Yahoo’s service is free, but you should check first that the person won’t be charged for receiving the text via their network). Another option is Mobiseer (www.mobiseer.com), which allows you to organise and create bookmarks on your mobile and offers space-saving filtered views of your favourite sites. You can also create groups to share your bookmarks with other mobile phone users.
Synchronise bookmarks between browsers
Tidy Favourites (www.tidyfavorites.com) lets you view the same list of bookmarks in a whole variety of web browsers, which is extremely handy if you use multiple browsers or on those occasions when you’re working away from home. The program is compatible with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Flock and Opera browsers and offers options to display your most frequently accessed bookmarks and website thumbnails. Tidy Favourites has one drawback: it’s limited to Windows, so Mac users should consider using BookmarkSync (www.bookmarksync.com) instead. This is compatible with Safari, Opera, IE and Firefox and is particularly adept at finding and deleting any dead and duplicate links among your bookmarks.
Get alerts about site updates
Fed up with visiting your favourite websites to check whether they’ve been updated? Sign up to Notify.me (www.notify.me) to receive alerts via text message or instant messenger whenever new content is added to your bookmarks. Notify.me is free and comes with a bookmarklet button for IE, Firefox, Opera and Safari browsers so you can select sites to monitor for changes with a single click. You can also add ‘filters’ or keywords relating to specific types of update, which is useful for monitoring news websites.
Sort and filter your bookmarks
Sign up with free online service Bookmax.net (www.bookmax.net) and then drag and drop the two links provided onto the bookmarks toolbar of your browser. You can then sort your bookmarks by ‘last used’, ‘last added’ or ‘most frequently used’, with the added bonus of a Search box to help you find bookmarks faster. Another way to organise your bookmarks is to use Speedtile (www.speedtile.net). This lets you drag and drop thumbnails of bookmarks to reorder them, filter your collection of Favorites by tag or category and share your saved sites with friends by emailing them a unique web address. Speedtile’s handy web service can be used on any browser.
Publish your bookmarks online
You can share your bookmarks on your website or blog using Xmarks (www.xmarks.com), a browser plug-in for IE, Firefox, Chrome and Safari that works with Windows, Mac and Linux. Xmarks will automatically import your current Favourites and display them in an expandable tree of folders. From here, you can publish your bookmarks to a web page, or turn them into an RSS feed that your friends can subscribe to. Another option for publishing your bookmarks online is Toobla (www.toobla.com). This lets you gather together multiple bookmarks in folders that can then be shared with friends on social networks, including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Toobla also lets you import existing bookmarks from Delicious, Digg and YouTube accounts and share them using a menu at the bottom of your browser.
View bookmarks offline
If you don’t always get time to view interesting web pages as you find them, try Read It Later (www.readitlaterlist.com). Register with the site and drag and drop three bookmarklet links to your browser – select ‘Read It Later’ to save a bookmark offline to read later,
‘Mark as Read’ to remove it from your list, or ‘Reading List’ to view all your offline bookmarks. Read It Later lets you sort your offline bookmarks by pages within a site, alphabetically, or by newest/oldest. You can also filter them by any part of the title, site name or tag.
You can read bookmarks offline on your mobile phone using LaterLoop (www.laterloop.com), which is accessed by visiting http://m.laterloop.com. However, your offline bookmarks will need to have been saved through your browser on your desktop PC.
Scan for broken bookmarks
If you use Internet Explorer or Opera, there’s a free tool called AM-DeadLink (www.aignes.com/deadlink.htm) that will detect and remove broken and duplicate links from your Favourites. Use the green tick icon under Options to scan all or selected bookmarks, and then back up your collection. For Firefox users, there’s an add-on called CheckPlaces (http://bit.ly/check232) that performs a similar clean-up job.
Expand your bookmarks
The free social-bookmarking service Delicious (www.delicious.com) provides links to the profiles and bookmarks of other people who have bookmarked the same sites as you. This helps you find like-minded web users to connect with and get ideas for new bookmarks by browsing their collections. There’s also a Firefox add-on (http://bit.ly/del232) that suggests related bookmarks based on the tags people apply to sites in Delicious.
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
Synchronise bookmarks between devices
Opera Link (www.opera.com/link) offers a useful means of synchronizing your favourite sites on Opera between your laptop and mobile phone. However, if you’re on a pay-as-you-go package, you might not want to waste time and money downloading the necessary Opera Mini web browser. An alternative is to sign up to Memotoo (www.memotoo.com), which doesn’t require any software. Just add your bookmarks to the site and then visit http://wap.memotoo.com on your phone to access them or create new entries. Memotoo is also capable of storing calendar events and to-do lists, although the free version is limited to 100 bookmarks and 10 folders. The unlimited Premium version costs £3 per month.
Share bookmarks via text
Sign up to Yahoo and you can access both RSS feeds and bookmarks on your mobile phone by visiting http://mobile.yahoo.com. You can also share bookmarks via Yahoo Messenger by sending a text message from your PC to a friend’s phone (Yahoo’s service is free, but you should check first that the person won’t be charged for receiving the text via their network). Another option is Mobiseer (www.mobiseer.com), which allows you to organise and create bookmarks on your mobile and offers space-saving filtered views of your favourite sites. You can also create groups to share your bookmarks with other mobile phone users.
Synchronise bookmarks between browsers
Tidy Favourites (www.tidyfavorites.com) lets you view the same list of bookmarks in a whole variety of web browsers, which is extremely handy if you use multiple browsers or on those occasions when you’re working away from home. The program is compatible with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Flock and Opera browsers and offers options to display your most frequently accessed bookmarks and website thumbnails. Tidy Favourites has one drawback: it’s limited to Windows, so Mac users should consider using BookmarkSync (www.bookmarksync.com) instead. This is compatible with Safari, Opera, IE and Firefox and is particularly adept at finding and deleting any dead and duplicate links among your bookmarks.
Get alerts about site updates
Fed up with visiting your favourite websites to check whether they’ve been updated? Sign up to Notify.me (www.notify.me) to receive alerts via text message or instant messenger whenever new content is added to your bookmarks. Notify.me is free and comes with a bookmarklet button for IE, Firefox, Opera and Safari browsers so you can select sites to monitor for changes with a single click. You can also add ‘filters’ or keywords relating to specific types of update, which is useful for monitoring news websites.
Sort and filter your bookmarks
Sign up with free online service Bookmax.net (www.bookmax.net) and then drag and drop the two links provided onto the bookmarks toolbar of your browser. You can then sort your bookmarks by ‘last used’, ‘last added’ or ‘most frequently used’, with the added bonus of a Search box to help you find bookmarks faster. Another way to organise your bookmarks is to use Speedtile (www.speedtile.net). This lets you drag and drop thumbnails of bookmarks to reorder them, filter your collection of Favorites by tag or category and share your saved sites with friends by emailing them a unique web address. Speedtile’s handy web service can be used on any browser.
Publish your bookmarks online
You can share your bookmarks on your website or blog using Xmarks (www.xmarks.com), a browser plug-in for IE, Firefox, Chrome and Safari that works with Windows, Mac and Linux. Xmarks will automatically import your current Favourites and display them in an expandable tree of folders. From here, you can publish your bookmarks to a web page, or turn them into an RSS feed that your friends can subscribe to. Another option for publishing your bookmarks online is Toobla (www.toobla.com). This lets you gather together multiple bookmarks in folders that can then be shared with friends on social networks, including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Toobla also lets you import existing bookmarks from Delicious, Digg and YouTube accounts and share them using a menu at the bottom of your browser.
View bookmarks offline
If you don’t always get time to view interesting web pages as you find them, try Read It Later (www.readitlaterlist.com). Register with the site and drag and drop three bookmarklet links to your browser – select ‘Read It Later’ to save a bookmark offline to read later,
‘Mark as Read’ to remove it from your list, or ‘Reading List’ to view all your offline bookmarks. Read It Later lets you sort your offline bookmarks by pages within a site, alphabetically, or by newest/oldest. You can also filter them by any part of the title, site name or tag.
You can read bookmarks offline on your mobile phone using LaterLoop (www.laterloop.com), which is accessed by visiting http://m.laterloop.com. However, your offline bookmarks will need to have been saved through your browser on your desktop PC.
Scan for broken bookmarks
If you use Internet Explorer or Opera, there’s a free tool called AM-DeadLink (www.aignes.com/deadlink.htm) that will detect and remove broken and duplicate links from your Favourites. Use the green tick icon under Options to scan all or selected bookmarks, and then back up your collection. For Firefox users, there’s an add-on called CheckPlaces (http://bit.ly/check232) that performs a similar clean-up job.
Expand your bookmarks
The free social-bookmarking service Delicious (www.delicious.com) provides links to the profiles and bookmarks of other people who have bookmarked the same sites as you. This helps you find like-minded web users to connect with and get ideas for new bookmarks by browsing their collections. There’s also a Firefox add-on (http://bit.ly/del232) that suggests related bookmarks based on the tags people apply to sites in Delicious.
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Microsoft and EC reach accord in browser dispute
Safari will be one of 12 web browsers offered to Windows users, after Microsoft and the European Commission (EC) reached an agreement on measures designed to provide a level playing field for browser makers. Microsoft has until mid-March 2010 to develop updates to Windows 7, XP and Vista that will install Choice Screen, an application that presents users with the dozen browsers to choose from, arranged randomly. Choice Screen will be sent to around 100 million Europeans who have Internet Explorer set as their default browser. Users who have changed the default won’t receive the software. Apple’s Safari is likely to be one of the five browsers that will be displayed on the opening screen, alongside Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Opera. ‘The software will prominently display the Final Releases of the five highest-ranked web browsers based on usage share in the EEA (that is, only these browsers will be immediately visible without requiring any user action under typical user settings),’ the settlement states, adding that those five will be displayed in a random order. The remaining seven browsers will be displayed if the user scrolls sideways and will also be randomly displayed. The settlement also ensures that PC makers can install any browser they choose without retaliation from Microsoft. ‘Today is an important day for Internet users in Europe,’ said Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for Competition Policy. ‘Today, the EC has resolved a serious competition concern in a key market for the development of the Internet, namely the market for web browsers. Now, for the first time in over a decade, Internet users in Europe will have an effective and unbiased choice between Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and competing web browsers.’ Microsoft’s general counsel, Brad Smith, said he was pleased the agreement had brought the company’s disputes with the EC to an end. ‘We are embarking on a path that will require significant change within Microsoft. Nevertheless, we believe these are important steps that resolve these competition law concerns. This is an important day and a major step forward, and we look forward to building a new foundation for the future in Europe.’
Source of Information : MacUser January 15 2010
Source of Information : MacUser January 15 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Google pits Nexus One against iPhone
Google launched its first mobile phone on 5 January. The Nexus One runs the company’s Android 2.1 OS and incorporates many key Google services, including Gmail, Maps and YouTube. The Nexus One, manufactured by HTC, bears a passing similarity to the iPhone, being 4mm taller, 3mm narrower, around 1mm thinner and 5g lighter. It has a clickable rollerball and supplements it with four soft buttons at the bottom of the 3.7in multitouch OLED screen. In other respects, however, the hardware represents a significant hike on the iPhone’s abilities, with a 5-megapixel camera compared with the 3-megapixel one on the iPhone 3GS, and the ability to record video at 720 x 480 pixels at 20fps compared with 640 x 480 pixels at 30fps on the iPhone 3GS. It features an on-screen keyboard, and supplements this with voice recognition, allowing you to speak into any text field. While the iPhone features 802.11b/g wifi networking, the Nexus One adds the faster 802.11n standard. It features 512MB of onboard Flash and Ram, as well as a 4GB Micro SD Card. The latter is expansible to 32GB, when it will match the maximum capacity of the iPhone 3GS. The iPhone wins back some ground with longer media use and standby times, although the Nexus One boasts similar or better talk times, depending on network. Google calls the Nexus One ‘an exemplar of what’s possible on mobile devices through Android, when cool apps meet a fast, bright and connected computer that fits in your pocket’. The launch marks a change in Google’s approach, as the company had previous restricted its activities in the mobile phone arena to licensing the Android OS to other handset manufacturers and developing applications for competing platforms. That pits the Nexus One against 20 rival handsets on 59 networks in 48 countries worldwide 48 countries worldwide.
Source of Information : MacUser January 15 2010
Source of Information : MacUser January 15 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Apple blocks 1000 apps
Apple has banned a Chinese app developer from the App Store after discovering it had faked glowing reviews for many of its iPhone apps. Apple has banned Molinker from its online store after complaints that the Chinese app developer had posted fake glowing reviews of its 1000-odd iPhone apps. Apple’s action meant it removed nearly 1% of the App Store’s collected offerings in one go. iPhoneography, an iPhone photography and videography blog, alerted Apple, and a friend of the site, known as SCW, discovered that Molinker’s apps seemed to have an unusually large number of glowing five-star reviews from just a few reviewers, who commented on nothing else. They sent Apple senior vice-president for worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller an email that included the following text: ‘Please investigate, for I have just looked at 44 of the reviewers who posted reviews for this Molinker Inc app “NightCam Pro” and every review except two of the 44-plus are all fake five-star reviews… ‘If you investigate, all have only reviewed only Molinker apps. [It’s a] little odd that 42 of the 44 US reviews are poorly written and that all users have only written reviews for either all Molinker photography apps (giving five-star reviews to Molinker apps only, [and] no other apps by any other developer) or the same two apps. ‘Ten reviewers only reviewed NightCam Pro and ColorMagic, 24-plus reviewers have only written reviews for six to seven other Molinker photography apps ([giving them] five stars) and one or two are real reviews giving a one-star review.’ Schiller replied: ‘Yes, this developer’s apps have been removed from the App Store and their ratings no longer appear either.’ Not only have apps of dubious quality been removed from the App Store, but Apple, whose strict control of the App Store has created much bad publicity for it, emerged with credit for acting quickly. Molinker confirmed that it had received an email from Apple, ‘which told us our contract is changed to pending status’.
Source of Information : MacUser January 15 2010
Source of Information : MacUser January 15 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Web Tools for Enhancing Collaboration
Collaborate is one of the most often used terms in education, and there is no better way to collaborate than with 2.0 Web tools. Here are some favorites:
• DABBLEBOARD is a whiteboard that enables you to visualize, explore, and collaborate. Just draw as you would on a whiteboard and you can easily share your ideas.
• COSKETCH is another collaborative whiteboard program, and you don’t have to register or install anything. It works in all browsers, it’s real-time, and you can get an embed code for your drawing after you finish.
• STIXY lets you create an online bulletin board on which to collaborate with family, friends, and colleagues. You can share pictures, files, reminders, and notes using widgets whose sizes and colors you can change—and it’s free.
• GROU.PS lets you create your own social network. You can create your forum and your mailing list; share documents, files, and your agenda to organize events; have your own YouTube; and share links, bookmarks, and photos. You can have real-time chat, and you can let the users have subgroups. Free.
• NING is the one of the best sites for creating and joining new social networks that interest us.
• IMAGINATIONCUBED is a multiuser drawing tool. You can use a pen, stamps, shapes, lines, or type.
• If you are using Twitter, you may want to try GROUPTWEET. It lets you turn your Twitter account into a group communication tool where everyone in the group uses direct messaging. When a member gets a DM, GroupTweet turns it into a new tweet that all followers in the group can see.
• WALLWISHER is an online noticeboard maker. Use this tool to make announcements and keep notes. You can use links, pictures, music, video, and pages. You don’t have to register.
• PAGEFLAKES is a social personalized homepage that you can customize by using “flakes” of all your Web favorites. You can add Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, photos, music, videos, calendar, to-do list, message board, and RSS feed.
• WETOKU is an interview tool that automatically records interviews to play them back. You can embed it and share it with others.
• SPRINGNOTE is an online notebook for collaboration. You can write down your ideas, create to-do lists, schedule, and work together on projects. It also has an iPhone application.
• MEBEAM is a place where you can create your own chat room. You just type the name of the room and tell people to meet you there.
Source of Information : Tech and Learning February 2010
• DABBLEBOARD is a whiteboard that enables you to visualize, explore, and collaborate. Just draw as you would on a whiteboard and you can easily share your ideas.
• COSKETCH is another collaborative whiteboard program, and you don’t have to register or install anything. It works in all browsers, it’s real-time, and you can get an embed code for your drawing after you finish.
• STIXY lets you create an online bulletin board on which to collaborate with family, friends, and colleagues. You can share pictures, files, reminders, and notes using widgets whose sizes and colors you can change—and it’s free.
• GROU.PS lets you create your own social network. You can create your forum and your mailing list; share documents, files, and your agenda to organize events; have your own YouTube; and share links, bookmarks, and photos. You can have real-time chat, and you can let the users have subgroups. Free.
• NING is the one of the best sites for creating and joining new social networks that interest us.
• IMAGINATIONCUBED is a multiuser drawing tool. You can use a pen, stamps, shapes, lines, or type.
• If you are using Twitter, you may want to try GROUPTWEET. It lets you turn your Twitter account into a group communication tool where everyone in the group uses direct messaging. When a member gets a DM, GroupTweet turns it into a new tweet that all followers in the group can see.
• WALLWISHER is an online noticeboard maker. Use this tool to make announcements and keep notes. You can use links, pictures, music, video, and pages. You don’t have to register.
• PAGEFLAKES is a social personalized homepage that you can customize by using “flakes” of all your Web favorites. You can add Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, photos, music, videos, calendar, to-do list, message board, and RSS feed.
• WETOKU is an interview tool that automatically records interviews to play them back. You can embed it and share it with others.
• SPRINGNOTE is an online notebook for collaboration. You can write down your ideas, create to-do lists, schedule, and work together on projects. It also has an iPhone application.
• MEBEAM is a place where you can create your own chat room. You just type the name of the room and tell people to meet you there.
Source of Information : Tech and Learning February 2010
Online Legal Rights - DOWNLOADING & STREAMING
SHARING TORRENTS OF THE LATEST FILMS
Torrents – files that help you download content from peer-to-peer (P2P) networks – are the main method of distributing copyrightinfringing films. P2P filesharing site BitTorrent (www.bittorrent.com) is one of the best-known services and has repeatedly come under fire for providing surfers with tools to download films and music without the copyright holder’s consent. Swedish file-sharing network The Pirate Bay (www.thepiratebay.org) has a swashbuckling response to its raft of legal threats about copyright infringement: “0 torrents have been removed, and 0 torrents will ever be removed.” Its founders were each sentenced to a year in jail for facilitating copyright infringement but remain free pending appeal and, although the organisation said it was abandoning its torrent tracker, lawyers for film studios claim it still functions under a different domain. Individuals are now being prosecuted for illegal file-sharing and, if you don’t pay for films, you can be sued for copyright infringement.
WATCHING LIVE FOOTBALL MATCHES VIA P2P
If you don’t want to pay monthly fees to the likes of Sky Sports, the temptation of watching live football and other sporting events online for free is undeniable. But using a P2P stream from a site such as MyP2P (http://myp2p.eu) infringes copyright laws. While you are downloading a stream, your computer is simultaneously uploading that stream to other viewers, and you are not permitted to redistribute or rebroadcast copyrighted material. Aside from the legality issues, there is the quality issue, with streams subject to annoying time lags and interruptions – so you may miss crucial goals anyway.
ACCESSING CONTENT THROUGH A PROXY SERVER
Hulu (www.hulu.com), the online video service offering online entertainment from the likes of NBC, Fox and Disney has a notice saying its video library “can only be streamed from within the US”. This is because it doesn’t have international streaming rights (although a UK version is set to launch soon). For this reason, access from IP addresses outside the US is blocked. You can, however, get around this and access the restricted content by using a proxy server that lets you browse the internet anonymously by giving you a non-countryspecific IP address. However, this practice could be considered copyright infringement because the proxy server keeps temporary copies of files downloaded from US servers for distribution. Copyright expert Robin Fry confirms this: “Copyright is looked at country by country, so accessing content that’s legal in the US may still be illegal here. Stores that import new-release CDs from the US, for instance, have to get extra permission to bring them into the UK.”
PLAYING ONLINE POKER FOR MONEY
As opposed to many US states, it’s legal in Great Britain to play poker and take part in other forms of online gambling. In this country, there are different rules for different venues, such as pubs and the workplace. If you want to play for larger stakes, you can gamble at casinos licensed by the Gambling Commission, or play online. The ‘Remote gambling’ section of the Gambling Commission’s website (www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk) provides a guide on what to look out for when gambling online. Suggested precautions include ensuring the site is licensed and has a clear complaints procedure, checking the name and contact details of the regulator and verifying the legal age to gamble.
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
Torrents – files that help you download content from peer-to-peer (P2P) networks – are the main method of distributing copyrightinfringing films. P2P filesharing site BitTorrent (www.bittorrent.com) is one of the best-known services and has repeatedly come under fire for providing surfers with tools to download films and music without the copyright holder’s consent. Swedish file-sharing network The Pirate Bay (www.thepiratebay.org) has a swashbuckling response to its raft of legal threats about copyright infringement: “0 torrents have been removed, and 0 torrents will ever be removed.” Its founders were each sentenced to a year in jail for facilitating copyright infringement but remain free pending appeal and, although the organisation said it was abandoning its torrent tracker, lawyers for film studios claim it still functions under a different domain. Individuals are now being prosecuted for illegal file-sharing and, if you don’t pay for films, you can be sued for copyright infringement.
WATCHING LIVE FOOTBALL MATCHES VIA P2P
If you don’t want to pay monthly fees to the likes of Sky Sports, the temptation of watching live football and other sporting events online for free is undeniable. But using a P2P stream from a site such as MyP2P (http://myp2p.eu) infringes copyright laws. While you are downloading a stream, your computer is simultaneously uploading that stream to other viewers, and you are not permitted to redistribute or rebroadcast copyrighted material. Aside from the legality issues, there is the quality issue, with streams subject to annoying time lags and interruptions – so you may miss crucial goals anyway.
ACCESSING CONTENT THROUGH A PROXY SERVER
Hulu (www.hulu.com), the online video service offering online entertainment from the likes of NBC, Fox and Disney has a notice saying its video library “can only be streamed from within the US”. This is because it doesn’t have international streaming rights (although a UK version is set to launch soon). For this reason, access from IP addresses outside the US is blocked. You can, however, get around this and access the restricted content by using a proxy server that lets you browse the internet anonymously by giving you a non-countryspecific IP address. However, this practice could be considered copyright infringement because the proxy server keeps temporary copies of files downloaded from US servers for distribution. Copyright expert Robin Fry confirms this: “Copyright is looked at country by country, so accessing content that’s legal in the US may still be illegal here. Stores that import new-release CDs from the US, for instance, have to get extra permission to bring them into the UK.”
PLAYING ONLINE POKER FOR MONEY
As opposed to many US states, it’s legal in Great Britain to play poker and take part in other forms of online gambling. In this country, there are different rules for different venues, such as pubs and the workplace. If you want to play for larger stakes, you can gamble at casinos licensed by the Gambling Commission, or play online. The ‘Remote gambling’ section of the Gambling Commission’s website (www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk) provides a guide on what to look out for when gambling online. Suggested precautions include ensuring the site is licensed and has a clear complaints procedure, checking the name and contact details of the regulator and verifying the legal age to gamble.
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Online Legal Rights - BUYING & SELLING
IMPORTING ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO
The online home of HM Revenue & Customs (www.hmrc.gov.uk) features a section about shopping on the internet. It points out that you will not be charged customs duty or import VAT if you buy from within the European Union (EU). But alcohol and tobacco products from within the EU can’t be sent to the UK unless arrangements have been made to pay UK excise duty in advance. Importing tobacco and alcohol from a country outside the EU incurs customs duty if the amount is over £7, import VAT if the value of goods is over £18 and excise duty on top for alcohol and tobacco. A spokesperson for HMRC told Web is difficult.” If you go on a booze cruise to France, excise duty will be included in the price you pay for the alcohol and cigarettes, but “online rules are different, as you are not physically going to pick the goods up,” said the spokesperson. “Declarations fixed to packages will be checked by customs to ensure excise duty has been paid. If it has not, it amounts to smuggling.”
RESELLING BRAND-NAME PRODUCTS
If you resell a knock-off brand-name product online, you could be guilty of trademark infringements. The most popular marketplace for such sales is eBay (www.ebay.co.uk), which provides guidelines for selling genuine brand-name products at http://bit.ly/ebay232. It stresses that “you should avoid listing an item that bears the brand name or logo of a company that did not manufacture or authorise the product,” and that you could face account suspension if you do so. Even when selling genuine products, you should ensure brand names are used appropriately. EBay advises you to “avoid suggesting that you’re an official dealer/reseller, if you’re not, and avoid using the manufacturer’s logo, other than as it may appear on the product”.
RESELLING TICKETS ON EBAY
You can find eBay’s advice and information about reselling tickets at http://bit.ly/tick232. It’s important to remember that different countries have different laws about reselling tickets. In the UK, it is illegal to resell tickets to football matches, for example, and it will be illegal to resell tickets for the London Olympic Games in 2012. However, it is not illegal to resell tickets for concerts. Touting on street corners, as compared to online selling, is forbidden because you need a street-trading licence. Ensure that you look at the terms and conditions printed on the back of a ticket, as there may be restrictions regarding reselling.
BUYING PRESCRIPTION MEDICINE
The risks involved in buying medicine over the internet are outlined by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) at http://bit.ly/med232. As an individual, you are not committing an offence if you buy prescription medicines online, but you could be risking your health. “The seller would be committing an offence under the Medicines Act if they are within UK borders and selling prescription-only medicine without a prescription. Prescription medicines should only be sold with a prescription from a registered pharmacy,” said an MHRA spokesperson. Pharmacy websites should display details, such as the name and address of the owner of the business and details of the registration status of the pharmacy and pharmacist. Look out for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain’s (www.rpsgb.org.uk) new logo for participating online pharmacy sites. You can click on it to check that the site is a registered pharmacy.
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
The online home of HM Revenue & Customs (www.hmrc.gov.uk) features a section about shopping on the internet. It points out that you will not be charged customs duty or import VAT if you buy from within the European Union (EU). But alcohol and tobacco products from within the EU can’t be sent to the UK unless arrangements have been made to pay UK excise duty in advance. Importing tobacco and alcohol from a country outside the EU incurs customs duty if the amount is over £7, import VAT if the value of goods is over £18 and excise duty on top for alcohol and tobacco. A spokesperson for HMRC told Web is difficult.” If you go on a booze cruise to France, excise duty will be included in the price you pay for the alcohol and cigarettes, but “online rules are different, as you are not physically going to pick the goods up,” said the spokesperson. “Declarations fixed to packages will be checked by customs to ensure excise duty has been paid. If it has not, it amounts to smuggling.”
RESELLING BRAND-NAME PRODUCTS
If you resell a knock-off brand-name product online, you could be guilty of trademark infringements. The most popular marketplace for such sales is eBay (www.ebay.co.uk), which provides guidelines for selling genuine brand-name products at http://bit.ly/ebay232. It stresses that “you should avoid listing an item that bears the brand name or logo of a company that did not manufacture or authorise the product,” and that you could face account suspension if you do so. Even when selling genuine products, you should ensure brand names are used appropriately. EBay advises you to “avoid suggesting that you’re an official dealer/reseller, if you’re not, and avoid using the manufacturer’s logo, other than as it may appear on the product”.
RESELLING TICKETS ON EBAY
You can find eBay’s advice and information about reselling tickets at http://bit.ly/tick232. It’s important to remember that different countries have different laws about reselling tickets. In the UK, it is illegal to resell tickets to football matches, for example, and it will be illegal to resell tickets for the London Olympic Games in 2012. However, it is not illegal to resell tickets for concerts. Touting on street corners, as compared to online selling, is forbidden because you need a street-trading licence. Ensure that you look at the terms and conditions printed on the back of a ticket, as there may be restrictions regarding reselling.
BUYING PRESCRIPTION MEDICINE
The risks involved in buying medicine over the internet are outlined by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) at http://bit.ly/med232. As an individual, you are not committing an offence if you buy prescription medicines online, but you could be risking your health. “The seller would be committing an offence under the Medicines Act if they are within UK borders and selling prescription-only medicine without a prescription. Prescription medicines should only be sold with a prescription from a registered pharmacy,” said an MHRA spokesperson. Pharmacy websites should display details, such as the name and address of the owner of the business and details of the registration status of the pharmacy and pharmacist. Look out for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain’s (www.rpsgb.org.uk) new logo for participating online pharmacy sites. You can click on it to check that the site is a registered pharmacy.
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Online Legal Rights - COPYRIGHT & OWNERSHIP
USING SOMEONE ELSE’S CONTENT
Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, copyright protects the time, skill and effort put into producing creative content, such as music, literary work (including software), performances, sound recordings, film and broadcast. Copyright infringement comes under civil law and occurs when the work is reproduced without the permission of the copyright owner. ‘Fair use’ and ‘fair dealing’ are terms applied to usage for permitted practices that do not infringe copyright, such as criticism, comment, news reporting and research. Incidental inclusion, such as background music or a poster that happens to be on the wall in the background, is also allowed. For more information on UK copyright law, visit the Intellectual Property Office (www.ipo.gov.uk). If literary copyright has expired (under UK law, this typically means the author died more than 70 years ago), the work will be in the public domain. Julian Heathcote Hobbins, general counsel at FAST IiS
(Federation Against Software Theft – Investors in Software, www.fastiis.org), said: “Copyright is a proprietary right allowing the use of the right by others under condition, therefore I suggest always reading the licence to ensure you adhere to the rights-holder’s wishes.”
REPRODUCING PHOTOS FROM A WEBSITE
Any photo you take, you are automatically granted copyright for and it is up to you what you do with the image. But reproducing a photo from a website requires getting permission from the copyright owner and perhaps paying a fee. However, you could include the photo in a screen grab of the site you’re referring to, provided it is shown in context and not cropped. The UK Copyright Service (www.copyrightservice.co.uk) includes a fact sheet on photography and copyright. For images published online, you should contact the site webmaster unless the site provides contact details for the owner of the image. Big organisations such as the Telegraph Media Group (http://bit.ly/tel232) often have a syndication department you can email about reproducing a photo for your blog or website, but there is normally a charge. Just because you are not using a picture for commercial purposes does not mean you can get away with copyright infringement. You can be sued and, if found guilty, you could face legal costs as well as a fine. The photographic agency Getty Images (www.gettyimages.com), for example, offers web and mobile images designed for emails and websites, starting at $5 (£3.07). However, it uses a firm called PicScout (www.picscout.com) to scan the web for unlicensed use of its protected images.
POSTING MUSIC VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE
Video-sharing websites such as YouTube (http://uk.youtube.com) have been accused of being mass infringers of copyright by record labels because many videos feature the work of artists and songwriters without their permission. The labels tend to go after the sites rather than the individuals, and most sharing services agree to remove content if they receive official notices. Their argument is that they are merely ‘conduits’ for content. However, deals are being made between the sites and the labels. For example, YouTube and Universal Music Group have a deal that lets users create and watch user-generated videos containing UMG sound recordings on YouTube. The video-sharing site gives tips for avoiding copyright infringement at www.youtube.com/t/howto_copyright. It warns: “Accounts determined to be repeat infringers may be subject to termination.” Of course, you could also be sued by the copyright owner for monetary damages. To stay out of trouble, create something original so it’s you that owns the copyright.
USING MUSIC WITH A HOME-MADE ONLINE VIDEO
Creating a soundtrack for a video you’ve made can get you into trouble, if you use someone else’s music. If, for example, you make a video of a wedding, add a well-known song to accompany it and post the video on YouTube, you could be accused of copyright infringement. If, however, you are filming the bride and groom at their reception and a song happens to be playing in the background and is recorded incidentally, it may fall under incidental inclusion and would not count as copyright infringement. To claim incidental use, much will depend on the extent to which the copyrighted music is used. YouTube offers an AudioSwap tool (www.youtube.com/audioswap_main) that lets you add music to your video from its library of licensed songs.
MAKING YOUR OWN RINGTONE
Turning a copyrighted song into a ringtone for your mobile phone is an issue that lawyers are currently getting their teeth into. Robin Fry, a copyright expert at law firm Beachcroft and FAST IiS member, said: “Even if you alter the medium and change a song, it’s still a copy and so, if unlicensed by the music collecting society – MCPS – it will count as an infringement.” Robin says the music industry is keen to make extra money out of ringtones and control them, even if they are not affecting CD sales.
“This is the case even if you legally bought the original CD or download and even if the ringtone is being used by you on just one mobile,” he said.
RECORDING WEB RADIO BROADCASTS
Ripping, or digital media extraction, of music from internet radio broadcasts can be done with software that lets listeners use their computer like a tape deck – but it is illegal. The music industry is concerned that songs streamed over internet radio sites are being pirated and there is an ongoing legal debate concerning how consumers receive the music. In the UK, it is still technically unlawful to record broadcasts and sharing audio content you download is definitely forbidden. Radiotracker (www.radiotracker.com), an internet radio recorder, makes this clear in its legal information covering use of its Audials software.
Online rights are a big issue for the recording industry. The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk), for example, says that it is not possible to download all its radio programmes because certain content, including full-length music tracks, can only be offered with digital rights management protection. However, BBC iPlayer (www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer) lets you listen to radio programmes as audio streams, which can be played for up to seven days after the programme’s original broadcast. Recording songs that you haven’t paid for and turning them into a music library is copyright infringement. However, you can record spoken word radio, providing it’s for personal use, because there are no music rights involved.
SHARING PROGRAMMES RECORDED FROM ONLINE TV
You can record broadcasts from TV for the purposes of viewing them at a more convenient time, a practice known as time shifting. But, as the BBC makes clear in its terms and conditions for the iPlayer (http://bit.ly/bbc232), online BBC content is available for download within the UK only and it has digital-rights security embedded so the BBC can delete it from your computer once its expiry date (normally 30 days after broadcast) has been reached. You can share iPlayer programmes using Windows Media Player – see our online workshop at http://bit.ly/share232 – which will download the required licence, but not via peer-to-peer software. ITV.com’s (www.itv.com) terms and conditions also make it clear that content cannot be “broadcast or transmitted or used in any other way except for your own personal, private and non-commercial use. Aside from personal use, you are not permitted to illegally file share”. For more info about downloading TV programmes, check out the Broadband Choices article ‘How to download TV programmes’ (http://bit.ly/record232).
BURNING DISCS FROM MP3s
Once you have bought a song online, you’re allowed to play the audio file on your MP3 player or computer. However, many of us like to burn tracks we download onto disc to play on a CD or DVD player. Is this illegal? Copyright expert Robin Fry says that currently any formatshifting is still technically an infringement. “The government is consulting on this and it’s likely it will be permitted soon. But the record industry is still fearful that this will deprive them of revenue and unleash huge amounts of sharing where they are anxious to obtain royalties. So expect a battle and delays until this is legitimised.”
SHARING DOWNLOADED MUSIC WITH FRIENDS
When you purchase music, you only own the right to the particular copy you bought. Just in the same way as making a tape of an album or burning a CD for a friend is illegal, it is not legal to share tracks from your iTunes collection with other people, because this is a form of distribution and not personal use. In the same way, sending a friend a song via email or instant message is not legally permitted because it is a form of distributing copyrighted material and is not classified as personal use. That said, you are generally unlikely to be discovered!
READING SUBSCRIPTION CONTENT FOR FREE
Many publishers have subscription websites, such as News Corporation’s Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com), but Google (www.google.co.uk) lets you access their content for free through its First Click Free system for Google News and Google Web Search. It could be argued that users persistently getting access to creative content via First Click Free are effectively committing copyright infringement. In December last year, Google acknowledged in its Webmaster Central blog (http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com) that publishers are worried about “people abusing the spirit of First Click Free to access almost all of their content”. The search engine giant has therefore limited the number of free accesses to five per user each day on a publisher’s subscription website, after which they will be directed to a payment screen.
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, copyright protects the time, skill and effort put into producing creative content, such as music, literary work (including software), performances, sound recordings, film and broadcast. Copyright infringement comes under civil law and occurs when the work is reproduced without the permission of the copyright owner. ‘Fair use’ and ‘fair dealing’ are terms applied to usage for permitted practices that do not infringe copyright, such as criticism, comment, news reporting and research. Incidental inclusion, such as background music or a poster that happens to be on the wall in the background, is also allowed. For more information on UK copyright law, visit the Intellectual Property Office (www.ipo.gov.uk). If literary copyright has expired (under UK law, this typically means the author died more than 70 years ago), the work will be in the public domain. Julian Heathcote Hobbins, general counsel at FAST IiS
(Federation Against Software Theft – Investors in Software, www.fastiis.org), said: “Copyright is a proprietary right allowing the use of the right by others under condition, therefore I suggest always reading the licence to ensure you adhere to the rights-holder’s wishes.”
REPRODUCING PHOTOS FROM A WEBSITE
Any photo you take, you are automatically granted copyright for and it is up to you what you do with the image. But reproducing a photo from a website requires getting permission from the copyright owner and perhaps paying a fee. However, you could include the photo in a screen grab of the site you’re referring to, provided it is shown in context and not cropped. The UK Copyright Service (www.copyrightservice.co.uk) includes a fact sheet on photography and copyright. For images published online, you should contact the site webmaster unless the site provides contact details for the owner of the image. Big organisations such as the Telegraph Media Group (http://bit.ly/tel232) often have a syndication department you can email about reproducing a photo for your blog or website, but there is normally a charge. Just because you are not using a picture for commercial purposes does not mean you can get away with copyright infringement. You can be sued and, if found guilty, you could face legal costs as well as a fine. The photographic agency Getty Images (www.gettyimages.com), for example, offers web and mobile images designed for emails and websites, starting at $5 (£3.07). However, it uses a firm called PicScout (www.picscout.com) to scan the web for unlicensed use of its protected images.
POSTING MUSIC VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE
Video-sharing websites such as YouTube (http://uk.youtube.com) have been accused of being mass infringers of copyright by record labels because many videos feature the work of artists and songwriters without their permission. The labels tend to go after the sites rather than the individuals, and most sharing services agree to remove content if they receive official notices. Their argument is that they are merely ‘conduits’ for content. However, deals are being made between the sites and the labels. For example, YouTube and Universal Music Group have a deal that lets users create and watch user-generated videos containing UMG sound recordings on YouTube. The video-sharing site gives tips for avoiding copyright infringement at www.youtube.com/t/howto_copyright. It warns: “Accounts determined to be repeat infringers may be subject to termination.” Of course, you could also be sued by the copyright owner for monetary damages. To stay out of trouble, create something original so it’s you that owns the copyright.
USING MUSIC WITH A HOME-MADE ONLINE VIDEO
Creating a soundtrack for a video you’ve made can get you into trouble, if you use someone else’s music. If, for example, you make a video of a wedding, add a well-known song to accompany it and post the video on YouTube, you could be accused of copyright infringement. If, however, you are filming the bride and groom at their reception and a song happens to be playing in the background and is recorded incidentally, it may fall under incidental inclusion and would not count as copyright infringement. To claim incidental use, much will depend on the extent to which the copyrighted music is used. YouTube offers an AudioSwap tool (www.youtube.com/audioswap_main) that lets you add music to your video from its library of licensed songs.
MAKING YOUR OWN RINGTONE
Turning a copyrighted song into a ringtone for your mobile phone is an issue that lawyers are currently getting their teeth into. Robin Fry, a copyright expert at law firm Beachcroft and FAST IiS member, said: “Even if you alter the medium and change a song, it’s still a copy and so, if unlicensed by the music collecting society – MCPS – it will count as an infringement.” Robin says the music industry is keen to make extra money out of ringtones and control them, even if they are not affecting CD sales.
“This is the case even if you legally bought the original CD or download and even if the ringtone is being used by you on just one mobile,” he said.
RECORDING WEB RADIO BROADCASTS
Ripping, or digital media extraction, of music from internet radio broadcasts can be done with software that lets listeners use their computer like a tape deck – but it is illegal. The music industry is concerned that songs streamed over internet radio sites are being pirated and there is an ongoing legal debate concerning how consumers receive the music. In the UK, it is still technically unlawful to record broadcasts and sharing audio content you download is definitely forbidden. Radiotracker (www.radiotracker.com), an internet radio recorder, makes this clear in its legal information covering use of its Audials software.
Online rights are a big issue for the recording industry. The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk), for example, says that it is not possible to download all its radio programmes because certain content, including full-length music tracks, can only be offered with digital rights management protection. However, BBC iPlayer (www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer) lets you listen to radio programmes as audio streams, which can be played for up to seven days after the programme’s original broadcast. Recording songs that you haven’t paid for and turning them into a music library is copyright infringement. However, you can record spoken word radio, providing it’s for personal use, because there are no music rights involved.
SHARING PROGRAMMES RECORDED FROM ONLINE TV
You can record broadcasts from TV for the purposes of viewing them at a more convenient time, a practice known as time shifting. But, as the BBC makes clear in its terms and conditions for the iPlayer (http://bit.ly/bbc232), online BBC content is available for download within the UK only and it has digital-rights security embedded so the BBC can delete it from your computer once its expiry date (normally 30 days after broadcast) has been reached. You can share iPlayer programmes using Windows Media Player – see our online workshop at http://bit.ly/share232 – which will download the required licence, but not via peer-to-peer software. ITV.com’s (www.itv.com) terms and conditions also make it clear that content cannot be “broadcast or transmitted or used in any other way except for your own personal, private and non-commercial use. Aside from personal use, you are not permitted to illegally file share”. For more info about downloading TV programmes, check out the Broadband Choices article ‘How to download TV programmes’ (http://bit.ly/record232).
BURNING DISCS FROM MP3s
Once you have bought a song online, you’re allowed to play the audio file on your MP3 player or computer. However, many of us like to burn tracks we download onto disc to play on a CD or DVD player. Is this illegal? Copyright expert Robin Fry says that currently any formatshifting is still technically an infringement. “The government is consulting on this and it’s likely it will be permitted soon. But the record industry is still fearful that this will deprive them of revenue and unleash huge amounts of sharing where they are anxious to obtain royalties. So expect a battle and delays until this is legitimised.”
SHARING DOWNLOADED MUSIC WITH FRIENDS
When you purchase music, you only own the right to the particular copy you bought. Just in the same way as making a tape of an album or burning a CD for a friend is illegal, it is not legal to share tracks from your iTunes collection with other people, because this is a form of distribution and not personal use. In the same way, sending a friend a song via email or instant message is not legally permitted because it is a form of distributing copyrighted material and is not classified as personal use. That said, you are generally unlikely to be discovered!
READING SUBSCRIPTION CONTENT FOR FREE
Many publishers have subscription websites, such as News Corporation’s Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com), but Google (www.google.co.uk) lets you access their content for free through its First Click Free system for Google News and Google Web Search. It could be argued that users persistently getting access to creative content via First Click Free are effectively committing copyright infringement. In December last year, Google acknowledged in its Webmaster Central blog (http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com) that publishers are worried about “people abusing the spirit of First Click Free to access almost all of their content”. The search engine giant has therefore limited the number of free accesses to five per user each day on a publisher’s subscription website, after which they will be directed to a payment screen.
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
CONSUMER CHAMPION
Be wary when using PayPal abroad
One of PayPal’s (www.paypal.co.uk) security checks when account holders make an online payment is to monitor unusual activity or use of the account. If PayPal spots suspicious activity, it sometimes temporarily freezes the account, leaving legitimate users frustrated. PayPal account holders need to be especially wary when using the service abroad. Some people have complained that after using PayPal while on holiday, they’ve returned home to find their account suspended and the payment reversed – because they made the payment from an IP address they’ve not used before. PayPal can capture the IP address of account logins and can build a pattern of behaviour if an account tends to log in from the same IP or group of IPs. Web User spoke to PayPal, which confirmed that using its service abroad can trigger the temporary freezing of an account. “If a user logs in or tries to send money from a location around the world that is unusual for the account – for example, if they were a British account holder and have transacted with PayPal for three years from a British IP only – then they try to log in from a holiday hotel room in Bali to buy a digital camera, this might prompt a security check for suspicious behaviour,” said a PayPal spokeswoman. Although this type of scenario can lead to an account being frozen, the spokeswoman said: “In most cases a user will be asked a few short security questions in order to ‘unfreeze’ the account so they can continue with their login.” These questions appear on-screen during the login process when the customer tries to make a purchase. Further advice on how to stay safe online when using PayPal for buying or selling on the internet can be found at www.paypal.co.uk/securitycentre.
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
One of PayPal’s (www.paypal.co.uk) security checks when account holders make an online payment is to monitor unusual activity or use of the account. If PayPal spots suspicious activity, it sometimes temporarily freezes the account, leaving legitimate users frustrated. PayPal account holders need to be especially wary when using the service abroad. Some people have complained that after using PayPal while on holiday, they’ve returned home to find their account suspended and the payment reversed – because they made the payment from an IP address they’ve not used before. PayPal can capture the IP address of account logins and can build a pattern of behaviour if an account tends to log in from the same IP or group of IPs. Web User spoke to PayPal, which confirmed that using its service abroad can trigger the temporary freezing of an account. “If a user logs in or tries to send money from a location around the world that is unusual for the account – for example, if they were a British account holder and have transacted with PayPal for three years from a British IP only – then they try to log in from a holiday hotel room in Bali to buy a digital camera, this might prompt a security check for suspicious behaviour,” said a PayPal spokeswoman. Although this type of scenario can lead to an account being frozen, the spokeswoman said: “In most cases a user will be asked a few short security questions in order to ‘unfreeze’ the account so they can continue with their login.” These questions appear on-screen during the login process when the customer tries to make a purchase. Further advice on how to stay safe online when using PayPal for buying or selling on the internet can be found at www.paypal.co.uk/securitycentre.
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Going with Google Sites
Many clubs and organisations find it difficult to find the funds and expertise to put their communities on the web. I have started using Google Sites (http://sites.google.com) to build websites for various sports leagues and clubs associated with Crown Green Bowls. The sites I’ve made include www.scgba.co.uk, www.midshropbowls.com and www.albrightonbowls.co.uk.Google Sites offers the same benefits that many professional sites with secure pages enjoy, such as to allow officials of the organisation to enter and maintain their own pages. It also lets individual members of the organisation access competition entry forms, minutes of meetings and that kind of thing. This vastly reduces the admin cost of the organisation concerned and increases the efficiency of communication. There is no specialist software or skills required and it is all absolutely free. Google allows the addition of a domain name to give the site a professional feel. And, unlike similar sites, you don’t have to host its adverts, though you can optionally allow Google AdSense adverts, which will bring in revenue for the organisation. Madmax58, via Webuser.co.uk/
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
TOP TIPS FOR USING THE WINDOWS CLIPBOARD
Clipboard enhancement
The Windows clipboard is a very useful tool for copying things (text, images, hyperlinks, files and much more) and pasting them elsewhere. The most obvious use for the clipboard is for copying and pasting text in a word processor like Word or WordPad, but the copy and paste function in almost every program makes use of the clipboard. It also works between programs, so you can copy text from a web browser and paste it into a spreadsheet. Of course, the program you are pasting into needs to be able to use the item you’re pasting – you can’t paste an image into Windows Notepad, for example.
Add a clipboard gadget
The clipboard has one irritating limitation – you can only use it to copy one item at a time. If you copy another item, it will replace anything you’ve currently got in the clipboard. Wouldn’t it be useful to be able to copy several things and then select the one you want to paste? There’s a gadget for Windows 7 and Vista that does exactly this. Go to http://bit.ly/exptips1233 and install Clipboard Manager. If it doesn’t immediately appear, right-click the Desktop and select Gadgets (in Windows 7), or start the Sidebar (in Vista), and add it. Clipboard Manager shows the most recent items that were copied to the clipboard and you can click any of them to make it current – the one that’ll be pasted into a program. The size of the gadget limits the number of clipboard items that are visible but clicking the More link at the top shows all the items – 250 by default but up to 999 if you want to configure it.
Copy multiple items in Firefox
If you are browsing the web using Firefox and you want to copy some text, you can highlight it with the mouse and then press Ctrl+C. You can then switch to another program and press Ctrl+V to paste it in. If there are several items on the web page you want to copy, you could repeat the process or, better still, copy them all in one go. Click and drag over the first block of text to select it and then hold down the Ctrl key as you click and drag over other blocks of text on the page. When you’ve selected everything, press Ctrl+C and all the selected blocks are copied to the clipboard and can be pasted elsewhere.
Automatic copy in Chrome
If you copy a lot of text from web pages, you should use Google Chrome with the AutoCopy extension. Select any text on the page and it is automatically copied to the clipboard, without you having to click a menu or press a key. It’s even better when used with the Clipboard Manager gadget because you can browse the web, selecting text as you go, and each item will automatically be copied to the clipboard and stored. You can then browse through all the items and copy and paste them afterwards. To install extensions, you need Google Chrome Beta 4 (www.google.com/landing/chrome/beta). Then download the AutoCopy extension from www.chromeextensions.org/utilities/autocopy.
Take the clipboard with you
If you use more than one computer, either at home or between home and work, you might find it useful to have a single clipboard manager to use on both. Visual Clipboard (www.visualclipboard.com/download.html) does this, and comes in a portable version. Just unzip the file and put it on a USB memory drive. When the program is run, it restores all the items you copied to the clipboard, no matter which PC you copied them on. Hold down Ctrl and click the mouse or press Ctrl+Alt+V to display the Visual Clipboard window and then select the item you want to paste from a list. A small Desktop widget shows the current clipboard text and you can click the icon to display the clipboard history.
More clipboard tools
There are many more clipboard tools and they all have a slightly different set of features and functions. Some will be more suitable for your particular needs than others, so try them out and see which you like best. Here are just some of the tools you can try: Clipdiary (http://clipdiary.com/karpolan2.php), ClipMate Clipboard Exender (www.thornsoft.com), PasteCopy.NET (www.pastecopy.net) and xNeat Clipboard Manager (www.xneat.com/clipboardmanager).
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
The Windows clipboard is a very useful tool for copying things (text, images, hyperlinks, files and much more) and pasting them elsewhere. The most obvious use for the clipboard is for copying and pasting text in a word processor like Word or WordPad, but the copy and paste function in almost every program makes use of the clipboard. It also works between programs, so you can copy text from a web browser and paste it into a spreadsheet. Of course, the program you are pasting into needs to be able to use the item you’re pasting – you can’t paste an image into Windows Notepad, for example.
Add a clipboard gadget
The clipboard has one irritating limitation – you can only use it to copy one item at a time. If you copy another item, it will replace anything you’ve currently got in the clipboard. Wouldn’t it be useful to be able to copy several things and then select the one you want to paste? There’s a gadget for Windows 7 and Vista that does exactly this. Go to http://bit.ly/exptips1233 and install Clipboard Manager. If it doesn’t immediately appear, right-click the Desktop and select Gadgets (in Windows 7), or start the Sidebar (in Vista), and add it. Clipboard Manager shows the most recent items that were copied to the clipboard and you can click any of them to make it current – the one that’ll be pasted into a program. The size of the gadget limits the number of clipboard items that are visible but clicking the More link at the top shows all the items – 250 by default but up to 999 if you want to configure it.
Copy multiple items in Firefox
If you are browsing the web using Firefox and you want to copy some text, you can highlight it with the mouse and then press Ctrl+C. You can then switch to another program and press Ctrl+V to paste it in. If there are several items on the web page you want to copy, you could repeat the process or, better still, copy them all in one go. Click and drag over the first block of text to select it and then hold down the Ctrl key as you click and drag over other blocks of text on the page. When you’ve selected everything, press Ctrl+C and all the selected blocks are copied to the clipboard and can be pasted elsewhere.
Automatic copy in Chrome
If you copy a lot of text from web pages, you should use Google Chrome with the AutoCopy extension. Select any text on the page and it is automatically copied to the clipboard, without you having to click a menu or press a key. It’s even better when used with the Clipboard Manager gadget because you can browse the web, selecting text as you go, and each item will automatically be copied to the clipboard and stored. You can then browse through all the items and copy and paste them afterwards. To install extensions, you need Google Chrome Beta 4 (www.google.com/landing/chrome/beta). Then download the AutoCopy extension from www.chromeextensions.org/utilities/autocopy.
Take the clipboard with you
If you use more than one computer, either at home or between home and work, you might find it useful to have a single clipboard manager to use on both. Visual Clipboard (www.visualclipboard.com/download.html) does this, and comes in a portable version. Just unzip the file and put it on a USB memory drive. When the program is run, it restores all the items you copied to the clipboard, no matter which PC you copied them on. Hold down Ctrl and click the mouse or press Ctrl+Alt+V to display the Visual Clipboard window and then select the item you want to paste from a list. A small Desktop widget shows the current clipboard text and you can click the icon to display the clipboard history.
More clipboard tools
There are many more clipboard tools and they all have a slightly different set of features and functions. Some will be more suitable for your particular needs than others, so try them out and see which you like best. Here are just some of the tools you can try: Clipdiary (http://clipdiary.com/karpolan2.php), ClipMate Clipboard Exender (www.thornsoft.com), PasteCopy.NET (www.pastecopy.net) and xNeat Clipboard Manager (www.xneat.com/clipboardmanager).
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Improve your FIREWALL protection
Is your firewall giving your non system the strongest security possible? Petra Jones suggests 10 smart ways to make the most of firewall software
Get a free firewall
Firewall software is essential for keeping your PC safe from hackers, viruses and other malware, but you don’t necessarily have to pay for the protection. Several powerful firewalls are available for free, including Outpost Firewall Free (http://free.agnitum.com) and Online Armor Firewall (www.tallemu.com). If you’re not sure which is the best firewall for you, visit the Security Focus site (www.securityfocus.com) for an in-depth article about what to look for when choosing a firewall. You can also read our reviews of free and paid-for firewall software at http://bit.ly/fire233.
Turn on your built-in firewall
Most operating systems now come with a built-in firewall. If you use Windows XP, go to http://bit.ly/ xpfire233 and click the Fix It logo to activate the Windows Firewall using Microsoft’s wizard. Similar pages are available for Vista (http://bit.ly/vistafire233) and Windows 7 (http://bit.ly/win7fire233). However, we only recommend using the Windows Firewall as a temporary solution because it doesn’t offer the same level of security as third-party software and there are much better alternatives available for free. Mac OS X users also have a built-in firewall they can take advantage of. Download the free tool NoobProof (www.hanynet.com/noobproof) to set up and configure your Mac’s firewall.
Search for rootkits
Firewalls protect your PC from the moment you install them, but it’s worth checking whether any rootkits are already lurking on your system. These are hidden programs designed to provide someone with root (administrator) level access to your PC, usually for malicious purposes. Sophos Anti-Rootkit (http://bit.ly/sophos233) is a free tool that will detect and remove these nasties. Download the software to scan your Windows Registry, local hard disks and system processes.
Test your firewall
If you’re not sure whether your existing firewall is protecting you adequately, why not test it online for free? GRC Shields Up (http://bit.ly/grc233) checks whether your ports are adequately protected by scanning your PC for vulnerabilities. The website also offers some general firewall security advice. Another online firewall checker is SecurityMetrics (http://bit.ly/secure233). This also offers a port test and sends you recommendations for improving your firewall configuration via email. Finally, AuditMyPC (www.auditmypc.com/firewalltest.asp) offers a thorough test of either one or a range of ports to check your firewall’s effectiveness.
Optimise your firewall Configuration
Rather than testing your firewall’s ability to protect your PC, Firewall Auditor (www.fwauditor.com) checks that the software meets the 15 firewall-specific requirements of the PCI Security Standards Council (https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org). Firewall Auditor is free to download but is limited to Cisco, Check Point and Juniper firewalls. Alternatively, there’s Athena Firewall (www.athenasecurity.net), which has support for Netscreen firewalls. There are also commercial tools, such as Nipper (www.titania.co.uk), which audits network switches and routers as well as a wide range of firewalls.
Get a firewall for your mobile phone
Firewalls aren’t just for computers – they can now protect your phone and other mobile devices. MCleaner (www.mcleaner.com) offers a free trial of a firewall that filters incoming calls and text messages according to phone numbers and keywords. Designed to block junk texts and annoying callers, this compact 200KB firewall works on a wide range of mobiles, including the iPhone (see www.mcleaner.com/support .shtml). The full version costs $11.99 (around £7.37). Another option is ProtectStar Mobile Firewall (www.protectstar.com), which is aimed at Windows Pocket PCs and smartphones. Visit http://bit.ly/protect233 to get a 10-day free trial.
Get a USB firewall
If you frequently use PCs while away from home, why not get a firewall you can take with you wherever you go? Yoggie Firewall Pico (www.yoggie.com/Firewall-Pico) is a hardware firewall in the form of a small USB device that is capable of isolating a PC from public hotspots and internet connections. The Firewall Pico costs £60 but is limited to Windows Vista and XP. The same manufacturer also sells an all-in-one USB firewall, anti-virus and spyware stick for Mac users. This is called Gatekeeper Pico and is priced at £100.
Set up a VPN
To create a secure connection to an office PC or other network, you need a virtual private network (VPN) that protects your information from being intercepted while it’s in transit between firewall-protected PCs. It’s worth spending time evaluating VPN tools to get software that offers you the right level of encryption. In the meantime, you can download the free VPN client Ultra (https://www.ultravpn.fr). As with firewalls, VPNs are also available as USB sticks, such as the flash drive from SurfBouncer (www.surfbouncer.com). Remember to check that your firewall doesn’t already come with a VPN included.
Get wireless firewall protection
Mi-Fi (intelligent mobile) hotspots provide up to five wireless mobile devices with both an internet connection and firewall protection, whether they’re laptops, netbooks or mobile phones. To use them, ,buy a Mi-Fi router such as the Novatel 2532 (www.novatelwireless.com). Only slightly larger than a credit card, this comes with both a firewall and VPN installed. The 2532 is priced around £209.99 including VAT and is available on T-Mobile (www.t-mobile.co.uk). A cheaper option is 3’s Huawei E5830 Mi-Fi wireless modem (http://bit.ly/mifi233), which is available for £69.99 on pay-as-you-go with a 3GB data allowance and includes VPN and firewall support.
Monitor your traffic
Firewalls are great at protecting PCs but they’re often less effective at revealing the patterns of incoming and outgoing traffic between your PC and the internet. To find out which trusted programs are getting online through your firewall, download the free tool NetLimiter 2 Monitor (www.netlimiter.com). This analyses the web traffic on your PC and provides a list of all applications communicating with the internet, along with their connection and transfer rates, and any hidden apps.
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
Get a free firewall
Firewall software is essential for keeping your PC safe from hackers, viruses and other malware, but you don’t necessarily have to pay for the protection. Several powerful firewalls are available for free, including Outpost Firewall Free (http://free.agnitum.com) and Online Armor Firewall (www.tallemu.com). If you’re not sure which is the best firewall for you, visit the Security Focus site (www.securityfocus.com) for an in-depth article about what to look for when choosing a firewall. You can also read our reviews of free and paid-for firewall software at http://bit.ly/fire233.
Turn on your built-in firewall
Most operating systems now come with a built-in firewall. If you use Windows XP, go to http://bit.ly/ xpfire233 and click the Fix It logo to activate the Windows Firewall using Microsoft’s wizard. Similar pages are available for Vista (http://bit.ly/vistafire233) and Windows 7 (http://bit.ly/win7fire233). However, we only recommend using the Windows Firewall as a temporary solution because it doesn’t offer the same level of security as third-party software and there are much better alternatives available for free. Mac OS X users also have a built-in firewall they can take advantage of. Download the free tool NoobProof (www.hanynet.com/noobproof) to set up and configure your Mac’s firewall.
Search for rootkits
Firewalls protect your PC from the moment you install them, but it’s worth checking whether any rootkits are already lurking on your system. These are hidden programs designed to provide someone with root (administrator) level access to your PC, usually for malicious purposes. Sophos Anti-Rootkit (http://bit.ly/sophos233) is a free tool that will detect and remove these nasties. Download the software to scan your Windows Registry, local hard disks and system processes.
Test your firewall
If you’re not sure whether your existing firewall is protecting you adequately, why not test it online for free? GRC Shields Up (http://bit.ly/grc233) checks whether your ports are adequately protected by scanning your PC for vulnerabilities. The website also offers some general firewall security advice. Another online firewall checker is SecurityMetrics (http://bit.ly/secure233). This also offers a port test and sends you recommendations for improving your firewall configuration via email. Finally, AuditMyPC (www.auditmypc.com/firewalltest.asp) offers a thorough test of either one or a range of ports to check your firewall’s effectiveness.
Optimise your firewall Configuration
Rather than testing your firewall’s ability to protect your PC, Firewall Auditor (www.fwauditor.com) checks that the software meets the 15 firewall-specific requirements of the PCI Security Standards Council (https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org). Firewall Auditor is free to download but is limited to Cisco, Check Point and Juniper firewalls. Alternatively, there’s Athena Firewall (www.athenasecurity.net), which has support for Netscreen firewalls. There are also commercial tools, such as Nipper (www.titania.co.uk), which audits network switches and routers as well as a wide range of firewalls.
Get a firewall for your mobile phone
Firewalls aren’t just for computers – they can now protect your phone and other mobile devices. MCleaner (www.mcleaner.com) offers a free trial of a firewall that filters incoming calls and text messages according to phone numbers and keywords. Designed to block junk texts and annoying callers, this compact 200KB firewall works on a wide range of mobiles, including the iPhone (see www.mcleaner.com/support .shtml). The full version costs $11.99 (around £7.37). Another option is ProtectStar Mobile Firewall (www.protectstar.com), which is aimed at Windows Pocket PCs and smartphones. Visit http://bit.ly/protect233 to get a 10-day free trial.
Get a USB firewall
If you frequently use PCs while away from home, why not get a firewall you can take with you wherever you go? Yoggie Firewall Pico (www.yoggie.com/Firewall-Pico) is a hardware firewall in the form of a small USB device that is capable of isolating a PC from public hotspots and internet connections. The Firewall Pico costs £60 but is limited to Windows Vista and XP. The same manufacturer also sells an all-in-one USB firewall, anti-virus and spyware stick for Mac users. This is called Gatekeeper Pico and is priced at £100.
Set up a VPN
To create a secure connection to an office PC or other network, you need a virtual private network (VPN) that protects your information from being intercepted while it’s in transit between firewall-protected PCs. It’s worth spending time evaluating VPN tools to get software that offers you the right level of encryption. In the meantime, you can download the free VPN client Ultra (https://www.ultravpn.fr). As with firewalls, VPNs are also available as USB sticks, such as the flash drive from SurfBouncer (www.surfbouncer.com). Remember to check that your firewall doesn’t already come with a VPN included.
Get wireless firewall protection
Mi-Fi (intelligent mobile) hotspots provide up to five wireless mobile devices with both an internet connection and firewall protection, whether they’re laptops, netbooks or mobile phones. To use them, ,buy a Mi-Fi router such as the Novatel 2532 (www.novatelwireless.com). Only slightly larger than a credit card, this comes with both a firewall and VPN installed. The 2532 is priced around £209.99 including VAT and is available on T-Mobile (www.t-mobile.co.uk). A cheaper option is 3’s Huawei E5830 Mi-Fi wireless modem (http://bit.ly/mifi233), which is available for £69.99 on pay-as-you-go with a 3GB data allowance and includes VPN and firewall support.
Monitor your traffic
Firewalls are great at protecting PCs but they’re often less effective at revealing the patterns of incoming and outgoing traffic between your PC and the internet. To find out which trusted programs are getting online through your firewall, download the free tool NetLimiter 2 Monitor (www.netlimiter.com). This analyses the web traffic on your PC and provides a list of all applications communicating with the internet, along with their connection and transfer rates, and any hidden apps.
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
SeeSaw TV trials get rave reviews
Initial feedback on the beta tests of the SeeSaw TV-on-demand platform has been largely positive. The service offers content from BBC Worldwide, Channel 4 and Five for free, though nothing from ITV at the moment. The site began sending out invites for its beta test at the end of January. “The streaming quality is better than Sky Player with no buffering problems so far,” said one tester writing on the Digital Spy forums.
However, visitors to the TVForum.co.uk site weren’t enamoured with the name. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance of us having enough influence to cause a rethink of the name. It sounds like a programme you’d find on CBeebies,” wrote one forum member. SeeSaw is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux systems and only requires an up-to-date browser with Adobe’s Flash Player version 10 installed to run. You can sign up to take part in the beta tests on the SeeSaw website.
www.seesaw.com
www.digitalspy.co.uk
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
However, visitors to the TVForum.co.uk site weren’t enamoured with the name. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance of us having enough influence to cause a rethink of the name. It sounds like a programme you’d find on CBeebies,” wrote one forum member. SeeSaw is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux systems and only requires an up-to-date browser with Adobe’s Flash Player version 10 installed to run. You can sign up to take part in the beta tests on the SeeSaw website.
www.seesaw.com
www.digitalspy.co.uk
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
BT’s super-fast products criticized
BT’s download limits for its new fibre-optic broadband services have drawn fire from consumers. Visitors to the Webuser.co.uk site were unimpressed with the 20GB permonth limit on Option 1 of BT’s Infinity broadband package, which offers download speeds of up to 40Mbps and upload speeds of 2Mbps. “They offer amazing speed and then restrict how much you can use it. I wonder what happens if you go over the 20GB. Does it cut you off, slow you to a dial-up speed or put a penalty fee on your next bill?” wrote one visitor to Webuser.co.uk. Option 1 costs £19.99 per month on an 18-month contract, with a £50 set-up fee. There is no set-up fee for Option 2, which costs £24.99 per month, offers the same download speeds with upload speeds of up to 10Mbps and comes with no download limit, though a fair-usage agreement does apply. BT Infinity products are currently only available in areas where BT has deployed fibre-optic technology. Find out whether you can get the service by using a postcode checker on BT’s site. www.bt.com/infinity
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Google Chrome 4.0
It’s easy to forget that Chrome is relatively new to the browser market. Unveiled in September 2008, it now has a 5.2 per cent share of the market – larger than both Apple’s Safari and Opera – placing it third in popularity after Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Nationwide advertising in newspapers and on billboards has alerted everyone to Chrome’s presence but, given that it is only around 18 months old, it’s surprising that we’re already onto version four – Firefox, launched in 2004, is only at 3.6. If you’ve used previous versions of Chrome, you won’t immediately notice much difference, but there are a couple of new functions that have been added that should make your life easier.
Firstly, there is a bookmark sync feature that lets you synchronise bookmarks across several PCs so that your home computer, laptop and work computer all have the same quick links to the sites you visit regularly. Handy, though the same can be achieved in Firefox or Opera with the relevant add-ons.
Secondly, Chrome now has a huge selection of extensions that offer everything from quick access to web applications from sites such as eBay to the ability to compare prices when you shop online using InvisibleHand (www.getinvisiblehand.com). There are already some 1,500 extensions in the Chrome gallery and there’ll be more to come. If you’ve been using the latest version of Firefox or Opera, you won’t find Chrome 4.0 that much quicker though we found it to be noticeably faster than Internet Explorer 8.
One thing we have always liked about Chrome is that once a new version is released, it is automatically updated on your system without you having to do anything. None of the other major browsers do this.
Unlike Opera and Firefox, though, new versions of Chrome don’t come for all platforms at the same time – there is no version 4 for those on Mac or Linux-based systems at the moment. But, if you are running Windows and haven’t given Chrome a go yet, this latest version is definitely worth a try.
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
Nationwide advertising in newspapers and on billboards has alerted everyone to Chrome’s presence but, given that it is only around 18 months old, it’s surprising that we’re already onto version four – Firefox, launched in 2004, is only at 3.6. If you’ve used previous versions of Chrome, you won’t immediately notice much difference, but there are a couple of new functions that have been added that should make your life easier.
Firstly, there is a bookmark sync feature that lets you synchronise bookmarks across several PCs so that your home computer, laptop and work computer all have the same quick links to the sites you visit regularly. Handy, though the same can be achieved in Firefox or Opera with the relevant add-ons.
Secondly, Chrome now has a huge selection of extensions that offer everything from quick access to web applications from sites such as eBay to the ability to compare prices when you shop online using InvisibleHand (www.getinvisiblehand.com). There are already some 1,500 extensions in the Chrome gallery and there’ll be more to come. If you’ve been using the latest version of Firefox or Opera, you won’t find Chrome 4.0 that much quicker though we found it to be noticeably faster than Internet Explorer 8.
One thing we have always liked about Chrome is that once a new version is released, it is automatically updated on your system without you having to do anything. None of the other major browsers do this.
Unlike Opera and Firefox, though, new versions of Chrome don’t come for all platforms at the same time – there is no version 4 for those on Mac or Linux-based systems at the moment. But, if you are running Windows and haven’t given Chrome a go yet, this latest version is definitely worth a try.
Source of Information : WebUser February 11 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
ONLINE LEGAL RIGHTS - LIBEL & PRIVACY
USING A VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK
Most Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are used within a commercial environment, but some wireless networks do not have strong enough security measures – for example, poor firewall management. This may lead to them being exploited for free internet access. A network intruder – or hacker – is in breach of the Computer Misuse Act with offences punishable by fines and/or conviction. The severity of the punishment is determined by what you do once you have gained access to the internal and private network and the valuable – sometimes sensitive – information stored on it.
ACCESSING ANOTHER PERSON’S SOCIALNETWORKING ACCOUNT
Recent research by internet security firm Trend Micro (http://uk.trendmicro.com) revealed that more than four out of 10 UK teenagers have logged into another person’s social-networking profile without that person’s permission. Another survey by security firm Sophos (www.sophos.com) found that 21 per cent of people have been ‘phished’ on a social-networking site such as Facebook (www.facebook.co.uk), Bebo (www.bebo.com) and MySpace (www.myspace.com) by hackers trying to gain access to their account details. Hacking – gaining unauthorized access to a computer system – is an offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (http://bit.ly/hack232). “Whether you have authorized access to the account or not is the key thing. If someone asks you to log in on their behalf, it is not against the law, but unauthorized access is. To keep accounts secure, make passwords hard to guess and update your anti-virus software,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.
POSTING DEFAMATORY COMMENTS ONLINE
The UK has strict libel laws covering the publication of statements that damage the reputation of an individual or company. Traditionally, claimants have used libel laws to sue journalists and their publishers. In terms of the web, libel now also applies to defamatory comments published on a forum, blog or website. The writer, the website owner and your ISP can be sued, so think carefully before posting any potentially derogatory comments online. If your target is identifiable and what you have written exposes them to ‘hatred, ridicule or contempt’, hurts their reputation or causes them to be ‘shunned or avoided’, you could end up in a civil court, defending an expensive libel claim. It would be up to you to prove your comments are true and, if you are not successful, you could pay out a lot of money in damages to compensate the claimant. See the BBC article ‘How to avoid libel and defamation’ (http://bit.ly/libel232) for more details. But don’t be too scared. Under the defence ‘fair comment’, you can post honestly held opinions, columns and reviews about a service being rubbish, for example, or your dislike of a particular celebrity. An advantage of the web over a newspaper is that content is less permanent and comments can be taken down in the event of a complaint. Struan Robertson, a legal director at law firm Pinsent Masons and editor of Out-Law (www.out-law.com) said: “If you have a blog, are a webmaster or forum moderator and are made aware of defamatory comments, you should act quickly in taking them down. The law says if you act ‘expeditiously’, your defence is ‘stronger’”.
CHANGING WIKIPEDIA ENTRIES
Anyone with internet access can make changes to the publicly editable pages on the free online encyclopaedia Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org). However, the site recognises that this public participation means the process is “vulnerable to certain kinds of abuse and counterproductive behaviour,” including vandalism, harassment of other users and disruptive behaviour. To prevent this, the Wikimedia Foundation warns that – under its Privacy policy – when investigating abuse, the IP addresses of users may be used to identify the source of the abusive behaviour. Recently, the High Court ordered Wikipedia to divulge the IP address of someone suspected of blackmail who edited the alleged victim’s Wikipedia entry. Although Wikipedia is outside the British courts’ jurisdiction, the Wikimedia Foundation said it would abide by the ruling. The message is that no-one can make changes to Wikipedia for suspected criminal reasons and expect to hide behind anonymity.
POSTING PHOTOS OF PEOPLE ONLINE
You do not necessarily need permission to take a photo of someone, but be careful how you use the image – for example, sharing it on Facebook (www.facebook.com) or Flickr (www.flickr.com). Protection of children is a big consideration and many people are concerned about ‘invasion of privacy’. Although the UK does not have a dedicated privacy law, Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (http:// bit.ly/priv232) gives people “the right to a private life” and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 (www.legislation.org.uk) protects how people’s information is processed. For example, the privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (www.ico.gov.uk), told Google that it should blur images of adults and children on its Street View service, but the ICO does ask for a commonsense approach. “It is not illegal to take a photo of someone in the street, but how it is used could lead to identification issues and a possible breach of the DPA. However, the DPA does not cover personal use and publication of online albums,” said an ICO spokeswoman.
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
Most Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are used within a commercial environment, but some wireless networks do not have strong enough security measures – for example, poor firewall management. This may lead to them being exploited for free internet access. A network intruder – or hacker – is in breach of the Computer Misuse Act with offences punishable by fines and/or conviction. The severity of the punishment is determined by what you do once you have gained access to the internal and private network and the valuable – sometimes sensitive – information stored on it.
ACCESSING ANOTHER PERSON’S SOCIALNETWORKING ACCOUNT
Recent research by internet security firm Trend Micro (http://uk.trendmicro.com) revealed that more than four out of 10 UK teenagers have logged into another person’s social-networking profile without that person’s permission. Another survey by security firm Sophos (www.sophos.com) found that 21 per cent of people have been ‘phished’ on a social-networking site such as Facebook (www.facebook.co.uk), Bebo (www.bebo.com) and MySpace (www.myspace.com) by hackers trying to gain access to their account details. Hacking – gaining unauthorized access to a computer system – is an offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (http://bit.ly/hack232). “Whether you have authorized access to the account or not is the key thing. If someone asks you to log in on their behalf, it is not against the law, but unauthorized access is. To keep accounts secure, make passwords hard to guess and update your anti-virus software,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.
POSTING DEFAMATORY COMMENTS ONLINE
The UK has strict libel laws covering the publication of statements that damage the reputation of an individual or company. Traditionally, claimants have used libel laws to sue journalists and their publishers. In terms of the web, libel now also applies to defamatory comments published on a forum, blog or website. The writer, the website owner and your ISP can be sued, so think carefully before posting any potentially derogatory comments online. If your target is identifiable and what you have written exposes them to ‘hatred, ridicule or contempt’, hurts their reputation or causes them to be ‘shunned or avoided’, you could end up in a civil court, defending an expensive libel claim. It would be up to you to prove your comments are true and, if you are not successful, you could pay out a lot of money in damages to compensate the claimant. See the BBC article ‘How to avoid libel and defamation’ (http://bit.ly/libel232) for more details. But don’t be too scared. Under the defence ‘fair comment’, you can post honestly held opinions, columns and reviews about a service being rubbish, for example, or your dislike of a particular celebrity. An advantage of the web over a newspaper is that content is less permanent and comments can be taken down in the event of a complaint. Struan Robertson, a legal director at law firm Pinsent Masons and editor of Out-Law (www.out-law.com) said: “If you have a blog, are a webmaster or forum moderator and are made aware of defamatory comments, you should act quickly in taking them down. The law says if you act ‘expeditiously’, your defence is ‘stronger’”.
CHANGING WIKIPEDIA ENTRIES
Anyone with internet access can make changes to the publicly editable pages on the free online encyclopaedia Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org). However, the site recognises that this public participation means the process is “vulnerable to certain kinds of abuse and counterproductive behaviour,” including vandalism, harassment of other users and disruptive behaviour. To prevent this, the Wikimedia Foundation warns that – under its Privacy policy – when investigating abuse, the IP addresses of users may be used to identify the source of the abusive behaviour. Recently, the High Court ordered Wikipedia to divulge the IP address of someone suspected of blackmail who edited the alleged victim’s Wikipedia entry. Although Wikipedia is outside the British courts’ jurisdiction, the Wikimedia Foundation said it would abide by the ruling. The message is that no-one can make changes to Wikipedia for suspected criminal reasons and expect to hide behind anonymity.
POSTING PHOTOS OF PEOPLE ONLINE
You do not necessarily need permission to take a photo of someone, but be careful how you use the image – for example, sharing it on Facebook (www.facebook.com) or Flickr (www.flickr.com). Protection of children is a big consideration and many people are concerned about ‘invasion of privacy’. Although the UK does not have a dedicated privacy law, Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (http:// bit.ly/priv232) gives people “the right to a private life” and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 (www.legislation.org.uk) protects how people’s information is processed. For example, the privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (www.ico.gov.uk), told Google that it should blur images of adults and children on its Street View service, but the ICO does ask for a commonsense approach. “It is not illegal to take a photo of someone in the street, but how it is used could lead to identification issues and a possible breach of the DPA. However, the DPA does not cover personal use and publication of online albums,” said an ICO spokeswoman.
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
BEST NEW WEBSITES
Babbel
www.babbel.com
Foreign-language expert Babbel has relaunched its online collection of courses and tutorials. The site looks very smart, is incredibly easy to navigate and has a simple but really effective design; it’s basically all about learning a language in the best, most interactive way possible. Babbel’s web-based courses in English, French, Spanish, German and Italian are very well-structured and tailored according to your previous experience of the language. The testing process doesn’t leave you feeling overwhelmed, and you can get a free taster of each course before you pay from around £4.50 per month, with a 20-day money-back guarantee. You can also chat to and practise with other students. Some of the example phrases given are a little random but that’s our only criticism of this brilliant educational resource.
National Rail Enquiries
www.nationalrail.co.uk
The National Rail Enquiries website has been a source of national embarrassment for the past few years. However, the terribly dated design has at last been addressed and the refreshed website is now much less frustrating to use. Start and destination fields now autocomplete, for instance, and clickthroughs are provided to vendors selling journey tickets. There are other welcome touches, too, such as the ability to generate week-long ‘pocket timetables’ (in PDF format) of any chosen journey. The website is still far from perfect but at least it’s getting back on the right track.
Bid & Deliver
www.bidanddeliver.co.uk
Similar to Shiply (www.shiply.com) – reviewed in Web User last year – this service helps you arrange delivery of large items with people who have the means to transport them. List your goods on the site and couriers and haulers will contact you with shipment quotes. You can then select the best offer to get your item delivered as cheaply as possible. The system is simple to use and real-time bids are displayed at the bottom of each page – we saw a Ford Fiesta when we visited. Yet the design is uninspiring and some prices are given in dollars.
Britainthinks
www.britainthinks.com
Is immigration good or bad for Britain? Are footballers good role models? Is democracy dead? Share your thoughts on these topics and more and find out what other people think at this site, which aims to serve as an independent space for public opinions. Categories include Business, Politics and Sport, and you can watch and rate clips of folk expressing their views, vote in polls and submit your own comments and videos. Britainthinks is neatly laid out, with colour-coded sections, thumbnail images of contributors and a strong interactive element.
PPI Claims
www.ppiclaimsspecialists.co.uk
This site has been set up by Q&A Law solicitors to help you claim back mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) from your bank, credit card company or loan provider. Clarity of information is important in this area and the site succeeds by providing key points in plain English. We also like the fact that you only pay (25 per cent plus VAT) Q&A Law if your claim is successful and there are no upfront fees. On the downside, you can’t interact with the team directly through the website – only by phone.
Bookatree.co.uk
www.bookatree.co.uk
If you love reading but worry about the drain on natural resources that books entail, you’ll appreciate this green online bookstore. Bookatree.co.uk promises to replace the wood used to create its wares by putting 15 per cent of its profits towards planting trees in or near your neighbourhood. It sells a wide range of paperbacks, hardbacks, maps and audiobooks at competitive prices – some cheaper than Amazon. It won’t win any prizes for design but Bookatree.co.uk’s eco-friendly approach is very commendable.
SellMyMobile.com
www.sellmymobile.com
Phone-comparison websites are ten a penny but SellMyMobile.com turns the concept around. Instead of hunting for the lowest price for a particular handset, the site compares the best cash offers mobile-phone recyclers will make you for your old one. Just tap in your phone model and peruse the chart to see which company will pay you the most in cash, credit, vouchers or loyalty points, then click through to complete the deal if you’re tempted. It’s a great idea that seems to work well. The site did throw up a few errors, but these are probably teething troubles.
Bigwardrobe.com
www.bigwardrobe.com
Popular clothes-recycling community Bigwardrobe.com has relaunched with a spruced-up design and useful new features. The eye-catching layout now includes a Bottom Drawer area, where you can buy, sell and swap books, CDs, gadgets and more; an Alerts tool that notifies you when your favourite brands and most wanted clothes, shoes and accessories are listed; and a social-networking function that lets you set up groups of friends and send instant messages. Unlimited access to this superb site now costs £12 per year, but you can still browse and swap stuff (one item per month) for free.
Dwink
www.dwink.com
If you want to know what, where and how to drink, check out this online magazine. Dedicated entirely to the wet stuff, Dwink has been set up by two alcohol experts aiming to broaden our imbibing horizons with drinking advice, bar reviews, cocktail video recipes and much more. Design and content are both on the quirky side – there’s an area called Muckin’ Abaht, a page about French wrestler Andre the Giant and entertaining news stories – which all give the site a distinct flavour. It’s a shame there’s no blog or forum, but with lots to quaff, great competitions and a fun, friendly tone, Dwink is well worth a sip.
iWikiPhone
www.iwikiphone.com
This social network for iPhone users provides a place to discuss, share and build killer apps. You can browse and download thousands of the things in the Apps section, which spans everything from books to weather and includes both paid-for and free options. Each app can be rated, reviewed and commented on, which helps create a community feel, as does the ability to see who has added an app to their collection. Best of all is the App Farm area, where you can suggest an idea for an app and earn $500 (about £312) if iWikiPhone develops it. With an airy, ad-free design, there’s lots here to keep iPhone addicts happy.
Best Buy
www.bestbuy.co.uk
US electronics chain Best Buy is opening its first UK high-street stores in spring and has launched this swish-looking site to whet your appetite. You can browse categories such as TV & Home Cinema, Computing and Mobile for in-depth buyer’s guides, FAQs and glossaries of technical terms. There’s an impressive emphasis on community, with blogs, social-networking pages and forums for sharing your views and tips, and a useful Inspiration & Advice section where you can find out about home-help service Geek Squad. The main gripe is that the site hasn’t actually started selling anything yet, but watch this space!
The Zouk
www.thezouk.com
Booking hotel accommodation online can take hours of comparing rates and availability before finding the perfect room. The Zouk saves you time by doing the hard work for you. Simply submit a request specifying your preferred dates, destination, price range and other requirements and the site will search for matching hotels. You can then review the results and accept the best offer to arrange your room. This ‘reverse bidding’ system is a fantastic idea and is complemented by the site’s friendly design that couldn’t be easier to use. It’s completely free, too. Accommodation types include apartments, pubs and private residences.
Airfarewatchdog.co.uk
www.airfarewatchdog.co.uk
Save money when booking flights online using Airfarewatchdog.co.uk. Owned by TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.co.uk), this UK version of a popular US site lets you instantly view the lowest air fares by entering the name of a departure city on the homepage. It presents its hand-picked results as an alphabetical list from which you can then choose a destination, before viewing details and checking availability for your desired dates. Alternatively, you can search for fares to a specific city or browse the Top 50 fares to find out which place is currently the cheapest to fly to. Airfarewatchdog.co.uk is very easy to use and offers handy email alerts and airline route maps.
Start4Life
www.nhs.uk/start4life
The NHS has launched Start4Life to help new and prospective parents give their baby “the building blocks for a healthier and happier future”. It covers such topics as the benefits of mother’s milk, the best food to give your child from birth up to the age of five, and how to keep your tot active to help develop brain and muscle power. There’s a very short video explaining the purpose of the site and a set of links to family-help websites. While Start4Life’s intentions are honourable, it’s skimpy on content compared to most other online parenting resources and the garish, cartoony design seems more geared towards kids than parents.
Wispa
www.wispa.co.uk
Wispa is a brand that inspires real affection – just ask the Facebook users who successfully campaigned for its return to the shelves in 2007 – and this is reflected in its revamped online home. The lively site offers lots of fun things for fans of the Cadbury chocolate bar to do, from creating a personalised virtual Wispa to composing a song celebrating its tastiness. You can also view a video about ‘the Facebook affair’ in the ‘Wis-tory section’ and read the latest chocolate news. The illustrated layout is pleasantly messy yet easy enough to navigate, and it’s sweet that Cadbury is acknowledging the loyalty of Wispa lovers.
Virtual Farmers Market
www.vfmuk.com
This site applies the concept of a virtual-shopping mall to the traditional farmers market, letting you buy fresh, independently produced food from the comfort of your PC. Stroll around dozens of stalls in a 3D environment and click anything that takes your fancy to watch videos of the producers discussing their fare and farms. It’s a brilliant idea and there’s tons of tasty stuff, including meat, cheese and seafood – all delivered to your doorstep in a temperature-controlled box. To experience the full 3D market, you’ll need to download the 27MB farm file, or you can browse in the usual way.
Japan Journeys
www.japanjourneys.co.uk
If you’re considering a trip to the land of the rising sun, this relaunched site has a selection of tours on offer, whether you’re interested in Japanese cuisine, Manga or bonsai. There are also options for exploring the country’s gardens and hidden islands. Information is presented clearly, if a little too concisely, within the tasteful red-and-white design, and the site includes a new About Japan section covering topics such as etiquette and expenses. Sadly, you can’t book your trip or rail pass online – instead you’ll need to pick up the phone or download and post a reservation form – and it’s a shame there aren’t any videos to further entice you.
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
www.babbel.com
Foreign-language expert Babbel has relaunched its online collection of courses and tutorials. The site looks very smart, is incredibly easy to navigate and has a simple but really effective design; it’s basically all about learning a language in the best, most interactive way possible. Babbel’s web-based courses in English, French, Spanish, German and Italian are very well-structured and tailored according to your previous experience of the language. The testing process doesn’t leave you feeling overwhelmed, and you can get a free taster of each course before you pay from around £4.50 per month, with a 20-day money-back guarantee. You can also chat to and practise with other students. Some of the example phrases given are a little random but that’s our only criticism of this brilliant educational resource.
National Rail Enquiries
www.nationalrail.co.uk
The National Rail Enquiries website has been a source of national embarrassment for the past few years. However, the terribly dated design has at last been addressed and the refreshed website is now much less frustrating to use. Start and destination fields now autocomplete, for instance, and clickthroughs are provided to vendors selling journey tickets. There are other welcome touches, too, such as the ability to generate week-long ‘pocket timetables’ (in PDF format) of any chosen journey. The website is still far from perfect but at least it’s getting back on the right track.
Bid & Deliver
www.bidanddeliver.co.uk
Similar to Shiply (www.shiply.com) – reviewed in Web User last year – this service helps you arrange delivery of large items with people who have the means to transport them. List your goods on the site and couriers and haulers will contact you with shipment quotes. You can then select the best offer to get your item delivered as cheaply as possible. The system is simple to use and real-time bids are displayed at the bottom of each page – we saw a Ford Fiesta when we visited. Yet the design is uninspiring and some prices are given in dollars.
Britainthinks
www.britainthinks.com
Is immigration good or bad for Britain? Are footballers good role models? Is democracy dead? Share your thoughts on these topics and more and find out what other people think at this site, which aims to serve as an independent space for public opinions. Categories include Business, Politics and Sport, and you can watch and rate clips of folk expressing their views, vote in polls and submit your own comments and videos. Britainthinks is neatly laid out, with colour-coded sections, thumbnail images of contributors and a strong interactive element.
PPI Claims
www.ppiclaimsspecialists.co.uk
This site has been set up by Q&A Law solicitors to help you claim back mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) from your bank, credit card company or loan provider. Clarity of information is important in this area and the site succeeds by providing key points in plain English. We also like the fact that you only pay (25 per cent plus VAT) Q&A Law if your claim is successful and there are no upfront fees. On the downside, you can’t interact with the team directly through the website – only by phone.
Bookatree.co.uk
www.bookatree.co.uk
If you love reading but worry about the drain on natural resources that books entail, you’ll appreciate this green online bookstore. Bookatree.co.uk promises to replace the wood used to create its wares by putting 15 per cent of its profits towards planting trees in or near your neighbourhood. It sells a wide range of paperbacks, hardbacks, maps and audiobooks at competitive prices – some cheaper than Amazon. It won’t win any prizes for design but Bookatree.co.uk’s eco-friendly approach is very commendable.
SellMyMobile.com
www.sellmymobile.com
Phone-comparison websites are ten a penny but SellMyMobile.com turns the concept around. Instead of hunting for the lowest price for a particular handset, the site compares the best cash offers mobile-phone recyclers will make you for your old one. Just tap in your phone model and peruse the chart to see which company will pay you the most in cash, credit, vouchers or loyalty points, then click through to complete the deal if you’re tempted. It’s a great idea that seems to work well. The site did throw up a few errors, but these are probably teething troubles.
Bigwardrobe.com
www.bigwardrobe.com
Popular clothes-recycling community Bigwardrobe.com has relaunched with a spruced-up design and useful new features. The eye-catching layout now includes a Bottom Drawer area, where you can buy, sell and swap books, CDs, gadgets and more; an Alerts tool that notifies you when your favourite brands and most wanted clothes, shoes and accessories are listed; and a social-networking function that lets you set up groups of friends and send instant messages. Unlimited access to this superb site now costs £12 per year, but you can still browse and swap stuff (one item per month) for free.
Dwink
www.dwink.com
If you want to know what, where and how to drink, check out this online magazine. Dedicated entirely to the wet stuff, Dwink has been set up by two alcohol experts aiming to broaden our imbibing horizons with drinking advice, bar reviews, cocktail video recipes and much more. Design and content are both on the quirky side – there’s an area called Muckin’ Abaht, a page about French wrestler Andre the Giant and entertaining news stories – which all give the site a distinct flavour. It’s a shame there’s no blog or forum, but with lots to quaff, great competitions and a fun, friendly tone, Dwink is well worth a sip.
iWikiPhone
www.iwikiphone.com
This social network for iPhone users provides a place to discuss, share and build killer apps. You can browse and download thousands of the things in the Apps section, which spans everything from books to weather and includes both paid-for and free options. Each app can be rated, reviewed and commented on, which helps create a community feel, as does the ability to see who has added an app to their collection. Best of all is the App Farm area, where you can suggest an idea for an app and earn $500 (about £312) if iWikiPhone develops it. With an airy, ad-free design, there’s lots here to keep iPhone addicts happy.
Best Buy
www.bestbuy.co.uk
US electronics chain Best Buy is opening its first UK high-street stores in spring and has launched this swish-looking site to whet your appetite. You can browse categories such as TV & Home Cinema, Computing and Mobile for in-depth buyer’s guides, FAQs and glossaries of technical terms. There’s an impressive emphasis on community, with blogs, social-networking pages and forums for sharing your views and tips, and a useful Inspiration & Advice section where you can find out about home-help service Geek Squad. The main gripe is that the site hasn’t actually started selling anything yet, but watch this space!
The Zouk
www.thezouk.com
Booking hotel accommodation online can take hours of comparing rates and availability before finding the perfect room. The Zouk saves you time by doing the hard work for you. Simply submit a request specifying your preferred dates, destination, price range and other requirements and the site will search for matching hotels. You can then review the results and accept the best offer to arrange your room. This ‘reverse bidding’ system is a fantastic idea and is complemented by the site’s friendly design that couldn’t be easier to use. It’s completely free, too. Accommodation types include apartments, pubs and private residences.
Airfarewatchdog.co.uk
www.airfarewatchdog.co.uk
Save money when booking flights online using Airfarewatchdog.co.uk. Owned by TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.co.uk), this UK version of a popular US site lets you instantly view the lowest air fares by entering the name of a departure city on the homepage. It presents its hand-picked results as an alphabetical list from which you can then choose a destination, before viewing details and checking availability for your desired dates. Alternatively, you can search for fares to a specific city or browse the Top 50 fares to find out which place is currently the cheapest to fly to. Airfarewatchdog.co.uk is very easy to use and offers handy email alerts and airline route maps.
Start4Life
www.nhs.uk/start4life
The NHS has launched Start4Life to help new and prospective parents give their baby “the building blocks for a healthier and happier future”. It covers such topics as the benefits of mother’s milk, the best food to give your child from birth up to the age of five, and how to keep your tot active to help develop brain and muscle power. There’s a very short video explaining the purpose of the site and a set of links to family-help websites. While Start4Life’s intentions are honourable, it’s skimpy on content compared to most other online parenting resources and the garish, cartoony design seems more geared towards kids than parents.
Wispa
www.wispa.co.uk
Wispa is a brand that inspires real affection – just ask the Facebook users who successfully campaigned for its return to the shelves in 2007 – and this is reflected in its revamped online home. The lively site offers lots of fun things for fans of the Cadbury chocolate bar to do, from creating a personalised virtual Wispa to composing a song celebrating its tastiness. You can also view a video about ‘the Facebook affair’ in the ‘Wis-tory section’ and read the latest chocolate news. The illustrated layout is pleasantly messy yet easy enough to navigate, and it’s sweet that Cadbury is acknowledging the loyalty of Wispa lovers.
Virtual Farmers Market
www.vfmuk.com
This site applies the concept of a virtual-shopping mall to the traditional farmers market, letting you buy fresh, independently produced food from the comfort of your PC. Stroll around dozens of stalls in a 3D environment and click anything that takes your fancy to watch videos of the producers discussing their fare and farms. It’s a brilliant idea and there’s tons of tasty stuff, including meat, cheese and seafood – all delivered to your doorstep in a temperature-controlled box. To experience the full 3D market, you’ll need to download the 27MB farm file, or you can browse in the usual way.
Japan Journeys
www.japanjourneys.co.uk
If you’re considering a trip to the land of the rising sun, this relaunched site has a selection of tours on offer, whether you’re interested in Japanese cuisine, Manga or bonsai. There are also options for exploring the country’s gardens and hidden islands. Information is presented clearly, if a little too concisely, within the tasteful red-and-white design, and the site includes a new About Japan section covering topics such as etiquette and expenses. Sadly, you can’t book your trip or rail pass online – instead you’ll need to pick up the phone or download and post a reservation form – and it’s a shame there aren’t any videos to further entice you.
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Facebook privacy row rumbles on
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has caused controversy with his latest comments about privacy on the web. After Facebook angered many of its members by changing privacy settings on the site, as Web User reported in Issue 230, Zuckerberg went one step further by declaring that the age of privacy on the web was “over”. “People have really gotten comfortable, not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people. That social norm is just something that evolved over time,” Zuckerberg said. As a result, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) in the US has amended a complaint that it, along with nine other privacy bodies, had put to the Federal Trade Commission in the US. The updated complaint includes Zuckerberg’s comments and states that they “demonstrate unfair and deceptive trade practices”. Meanwhile, Facebook has partnered with security firm McAfee to offer all members of the social network a free security software suite for six months.
www.facebook.com
http://epic.org
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
www.facebook.com
http://epic.org
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Firefox 3.6
Firefox 3.6 is the latest browser to be created by the Mozilla Foundation and, like previous versions, it remains true to its principles of usability and customisation. If you’ve never used Firefox before, it’s worth trying it out, particularly at a time when there are doubts about the security of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (see page opposite). At the time of writing, the final version hadn’t been publicly released but, barring a major bug, you should be able to download the full release of Firefox 3.6 by the time you read this. As the name Firefox 3.6 suggests, it’s not a massive change from Firefox 3.5 – the interface is largely the same and visually there is little to distinguish between versions. It’s under the surface that Firefox 3.6 differs from its predecessor.
Firstly, it’s faster - or so Mozilla says. We’ve not been able to test this rigorously enough to confirm the claim. It’s also worth pointing out that the speed of your browsing experience will depend a lot on your web connection and the hardware you are using. But we didn’t notice any difficulty in loading web pages during our tests.
Secondly, there is now a feature that ensures all your plug-ins – Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight, for example – are up to date, and which prompts you to do something about it if they are not. Other browsers leave you to check whether you have the latest version of a plug-in, but Firefox 3.6 has taken over this responsibility, which is all the more commendable when you consider that out-of-date plug-ins give cybercriminals an easy way into your PC.
If customising your browser is a priority, you’ll love the Personas feature. This tool that lets you choose a theme for your browser interface and, with 35,000 templates to choose from, you’re bound to find something you like. In the unlikely event that you don’t, there’s an option to create your own skin.
Available as a free download for Windows, Mac and Linux systems, there is no excuse for not having Firefox 3.6 installed on your computer. It’s slick, customisable and reduces security headaches – we can’t find a bad word to say about it.
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
Firstly, it’s faster - or so Mozilla says. We’ve not been able to test this rigorously enough to confirm the claim. It’s also worth pointing out that the speed of your browsing experience will depend a lot on your web connection and the hardware you are using. But we didn’t notice any difficulty in loading web pages during our tests.
Secondly, there is now a feature that ensures all your plug-ins – Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight, for example – are up to date, and which prompts you to do something about it if they are not. Other browsers leave you to check whether you have the latest version of a plug-in, but Firefox 3.6 has taken over this responsibility, which is all the more commendable when you consider that out-of-date plug-ins give cybercriminals an easy way into your PC.
If customising your browser is a priority, you’ll love the Personas feature. This tool that lets you choose a theme for your browser interface and, with 35,000 templates to choose from, you’re bound to find something you like. In the unlikely event that you don’t, there’s an option to create your own skin.
Available as a free download for Windows, Mac and Linux systems, there is no excuse for not having Firefox 3.6 installed on your computer. It’s slick, customisable and reduces security headaches – we can’t find a bad word to say about it.
Source of Information : WebUser January 28 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Anatomy of an Embedded Linux System - uClibc
As you’ll find out reading this book, nearly everything in an embedded Linux system is fair game for some sort of substitution—even things you take for granted. One such item that most engineers use frequently but never give much consideration to is the implementation of the standard C library. The C language contains about 30 keywords (depending on the implementation of C), and the balance of the language’s functionality is supplied by the standard library.4 This bit of design genius means that C can be easily implemented on a new platform by creating a minimal compiler and using that to compile the standard library to produce something sufficient for application development. The separation between the core language and the library also means there can be several implementations. That fact inhibited the adoption of C for a while, because each compiler maker shipped a C standard library that differed from their competitors’, meaning a complex project needed tweaking (or major rework) in order to be used with a different compiler. In the case of Linux, several small library implementations exist, with uClibc being the most common. uClibc is smaller because it was written with size in mind and doesn’t have the platform support of glibc; it’s also missing some other features. Most of what’s been removed has no effect on an embedded system.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems (December 2009)
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems (December 2009)
Friday, March 5, 2010
Anatomy of an Embedded Linux System - BusyBox
BusyBox is a multicall (more later on what this means) binary that provides many of the programs normally found on a Linux host. The implementations of the programs are designed so that they’re small both in size but also with respect to how much memory they consume while running. In order to be as small as possible, the programs supply a subset of the functionality offered by the programs running on desktop system. BusyBox is highly configurable, with lots of knobs to turn to reduce the amount of space it requires; for example, you can leave out all the command-line help to reduce the size of the program.
As for the multicall binary concept, BusyBox is compiled as a single program. The root file system is populated with symlinks to the BusyBox executable; the name of the symlink controls what bit of functionality BusyBox runs. For example, you can do the following on an embedded system:
$ls -l /bin/ls
/bin/ls -> /bin/busybox
When you executes /bin/ls, the value of argv[0] is "/bin/ls". BusyBox runs this argument through a switch statement, which then calls the function ls_main(), passing in all the parameters on the command line. BusyBox calls the programs it provides applets.
BusyBox is a key component of most embedded systems. It’s frequently used in conjunction with the uClibc project to create very small systems. I dedicate a chapter to the nuances of BusyBox and uClibc so you can understand when and how to take advantage of these great projects.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems (December 2009)
As for the multicall binary concept, BusyBox is compiled as a single program. The root file system is populated with symlinks to the BusyBox executable; the name of the symlink controls what bit of functionality BusyBox runs. For example, you can do the following on an embedded system:
$ls -l /bin/ls
/bin/ls -> /bin/busybox
When you executes /bin/ls, the value of argv[0] is "/bin/ls". BusyBox runs this argument through a switch statement, which then calls the function ls_main(), passing in all the parameters on the command line. BusyBox calls the programs it provides applets.
BusyBox is a key component of most embedded systems. It’s frequently used in conjunction with the uClibc project to create very small systems. I dedicate a chapter to the nuances of BusyBox and uClibc so you can understand when and how to take advantage of these great projects.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems (December 2009)
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Anatomy of an Embedded Linux System - The GNU Compiler Collection
The GCC compiler, like the kernel, is designed for portability. Like all open source programs, GCC is available in source form, and you can compile the code to create your own compiler. Part of the compilation process of GCC involves configuring the project; during that step, you can configure GCC to produce code for a different target processor and thus become a cross-compiler.
However, the compiler is only one part of the tool chain necessary to produce running code. You must also get a linker, a C standard library, and a debugger. These are separate, albeit related, projects in Linux. This separation is vexing for engineers used to tools from a certain company in Redmond, Washington, where the tools are monolithic in nature. But not to worry; when you’re working on an embedded project, this separation is an advantage, because the additional choice lets you select the right tool for your application.
The GCC compiler installed on your host machine is preconfigured to use the GNU C Standard Library, frequently called glibc. Most embedded projects use an alternate, smaller library called uClibc for embedded development.
GDB
The GNU Debugger (GDB) project deserves a special mention. It’s the most commonly used debugger on Linux systems. Although it’s frequently included in the tool chain, GDB is a separate, independent project.
For embedded development, GDB is compiled so that it can debug code running on a different processor than the debugger, much like GCC can cross-compile code. This sort of debugging adds another complication: the machine running the debugger is rarely the machine running the code to be debugged. Debugging code in this fashion is called remote debugging and is accomplished by running the program to be debugged with a stub program that communicates with another host where the debugger is running.
The stub program in this case is gdbserver, and it can communicate by serial or TCP connection with a host running GDB. Using gdbserver also has practical considerations because at only 100KB, give or take, it’s small enough in terms of size and resources required when running on even the most resource constrained targets.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems (December 2009)
However, the compiler is only one part of the tool chain necessary to produce running code. You must also get a linker, a C standard library, and a debugger. These are separate, albeit related, projects in Linux. This separation is vexing for engineers used to tools from a certain company in Redmond, Washington, where the tools are monolithic in nature. But not to worry; when you’re working on an embedded project, this separation is an advantage, because the additional choice lets you select the right tool for your application.
The GCC compiler installed on your host machine is preconfigured to use the GNU C Standard Library, frequently called glibc. Most embedded projects use an alternate, smaller library called uClibc for embedded development.
GDB
The GNU Debugger (GDB) project deserves a special mention. It’s the most commonly used debugger on Linux systems. Although it’s frequently included in the tool chain, GDB is a separate, independent project.
For embedded development, GDB is compiled so that it can debug code running on a different processor than the debugger, much like GCC can cross-compile code. This sort of debugging adds another complication: the machine running the debugger is rarely the machine running the code to be debugged. Debugging code in this fashion is called remote debugging and is accomplished by running the program to be debugged with a stub program that communicates with another host where the debugger is running.
The stub program in this case is gdbserver, and it can communicate by serial or TCP connection with a host running GDB. Using gdbserver also has practical considerations because at only 100KB, give or take, it’s small enough in terms of size and resources required when running on even the most resource constrained targets.
Source of Information : Pro Linux Embedded Systems (December 2009)
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