News
![TechCentral - Top Stories [RSS]](/images/rss.gif)
Friday, July 03, 2009
ICT boost for the underserved
KUALA LUMPUR: Rural areas in Sabah, Sarawak and Pahang can look forward to having better telecommunications facilities soon — an initiative that will be funded by the Universal Service Provision (USP) fund.
Tough times for businesses also hard on BSA
SHAH ALAM: The Business Software Alliance, an antipiracy watchdog funded by software companies, is having an even tougher time these days because of the economic hardships.
Facebook to simplify privacy settings
NEW YORK: Facebook is overhauling its privacy controls over the next several weeks in an attempt to simplify its users’ ability to control who sees the information they share on the site.
Pikom plans online megasale
PETALING JAYA: Pikom — the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia — wants to create an online version of the Malaysian Mega Sale, the annual nationwide shopping promotion involving hundereds of malls in the country.
China backtracks on Web filter ruling
BEIJING: In a rare reversal, the Chinese government backed down on Tuesday from a rule that would have required PCs sold in the country to ship with Internet-filtering software.
Swedish software firm buys Pirate Bay
STOCKHOLM: A Swedish software firm has bought the popular Pirate Bay filesharing website and said it plans to overhaul the site’s operations to make the sharing of copyright-protected material legal.
Tell online scammers to beat it
SAN JOSE (California): Minutes after any big celebrity dies, Internet swindlers get to work. They pump out specially created spam e-mail messages and throw up malicious websites to infect victims’ computers, hoping to capitalise on the sudden demand for information.
Brain-controlled wheelchair rolls out
TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp has developed a way of steering a wheelchair by just detecting brain waves, without the person having to move a muscle or shout a command.
Back on the job
SEATTLE: Apple Inc co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs is back at his office a few days a week after taking a 5 1/2-month medical leave and getting a new liver.
Hello Kitty goes online
PETALING JAYA: Hello Kitty Online, the new massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), is coming to Malaysia in July through the game portal, Gloot.net.
News of Jackson’s death first spread online
NEW YORK: It was a where-were-you moment in a digital age. Michael Jackson’s death was not learned from a fatherly TV news anchor. Instead, the news first spread online.
PC makers race to comply with China ruling
BEIJING: Days before a deadline abruptly imposed by China, computer makers are scrambling to comply with an order to supply Web-filtering software with PCs amid concerns about what it might do to their reputations.
Cybercafe raided, RM270,000 worth of pirated games seized
IPOH: Enforcement officers arrested a 29-year-old man and seized RM270,000 worth of pirated computer games during a raid at an cybercafé in Taiping, some 100km from here.
ICT industry holds key to greener world
KUALA LUMPUR: Industries that utilise the least amount of ICT (information and communications technology) are the worst offenders in relation to carbon dioxide emissions, said chipmaker Intel Corp.
Skype online store now open
KUALA LIMPUR: The popular eBay-owned VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service Skype has launched the Malaysian edition of its online store selling Skype-certified accessories.
Mobile Jawi on the iPhone
KUALA LUMPUR: With the release of iPhone OS 3.0 many iPhone developers have jumped on the bandwagon to develop applications that will take advantage of the new update.
Mafia’ muscles in on Twitter
SAN FRANCISCO: Twitter Inc’s founders still haven’t decided how to cash in on their popular Internet messaging service — to the delight of a rapidly growing audience. But the deliberate approach may not prevent a gold rush among opportunistic outsiders.
MySpace makes even more space
LOS ANGELES: Social-networking site MySpace plans to cut 300 jobs, or two-thirds of its overseas work force, in an effort to rein in costs and focus on countries where it has many users and better business opportunities.
China won’t budge on Web filter ruling
BEIJING: China is sticking to its planned launch of a controversial Internet censoring software soon, an official newspaper said last Tuesday, despite Washington’s concerns over the move’s possible impact on trade and access to information.
Hacker gathering to examine public networks
KUALA LUMPUR: This year’s international security conference, HITBSecConf2009 Malaysia, will for the first time scrutinise the technology behind Web-based public services.
The future is inside
KUALA LUMPUR: A sneak peek of tomorrow was provided by chipmaker Intel Corp at the company’s annual Research@Intel Day in the United States recently.
Annoying things device-users do
KUALA LUMPUR: A recent survey in the United States has underscored that there is a lack of mobile etiquette among technology users there, and quite obviously, the world over.
PS Store accepts Ringgit
KUALA LUMPUR: Fans of the Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) and PlayStation Portable (PSP) can now pay in Ringgit when they purchase downloadable content from the PlayStation Store.
Steve Jobs had liver transplant
NEW YORK: Apple Inc co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs — whose recovery from pancreatic cancer appeared less certain when he had to take medical leave in January — received a liver transplant two months ago and is recovering well, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
Google tri-es a different route
PHILADELPHIA: Google’s Street View cameras are now travelling by tricycle to capture images of some areas not accessible by cars.
Blown out of proportion?
MINNEAPOLIS: The attorney for a woman found guilty of sharing copyright-protected music on the Internet says he expects the US$1.9mil (RM6mil) verdict to be reversed on appeal.
Encouraging women entrepreneurs
SUNGAI BESI: We all know the saying: Behind every successful man is a woman. But if Andrew Wong, chief executive officer of the MCA ICT Resource Centre (MIRC), has his way it would also be: Behind every successful woman is a man.
Opera browser now allows content sharing
STOCKHOLM: Norway’s Opera Software ASA has just launched a new feature for its Internet browser which allows users to share photos, music and files online without using external servers.
China reins in Web filter regulation
BEIJING: China appeared to cave in to public pressure on Tuesday by announcing that computer users are not required to install Internet-filtering software — though it will still come with all PCs sold on the mainland.
All that Twitter is not gold
KUALA LUMPUR: Spammers are diversifying their reach to popular social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
HP users get trial backup service
KUALA LUMPUR: Symantec Corp has announced an agreement with Hewlett-Packard to distribute Norton Online Backup on HP consumer desktops and notebook PCs worldwide.
Sing your way to U2’s concert
SHAH ALAM: DiGi Telecommunications is taking music appreciation to the next level for its customers with its latest flyaway contest.
iPhone OS gets an update
PETALING JAYA: The long wait is almost over for iPhone and iPod touch owners as the much-anticipated iPhone OS 3.0 update which will available soon for download June 18.
Blogger gives ‘birth’ to lies and doll
MOKENA (Illinois): A woman from suburban Chicago is sorry for an Internet hoax in which she claimed to be pregnant with a terminally ill child.
Internet eroding family time
NEW YORK: Whether it’s around the dinner table or just in front of the TV, US families say they are spending less time together.
Microsoft tries to pacify EU
SEATTLE: Microsoft Corp will make a separate version of the Windows 7 computer operating software for Europe that does not include its Internet Explorer web browser.
Highlight
Sky's the limit
Rise to the challenge of Creative Media Award 2009 and you may walk off with great prizes. Click here to view
RSS