Skill Zone News issue 20
A study this month found that one third of all Europeans have never been online, although a side-effect of the recession is that people are spending more time at home surfing the web. In doing so, they may be discovering that, where technology is concerned, there is often a considerable gap between expectations and reality. Amongst other things, this issue looks at people's expectations of their internet connections, and expectations of their back up media.
26th August 2009
Google books
For some time now, Google has been engaged in a project scanning books from the world's libraries with the intention of putting them all on the web as another vehicle for its advertising engine. But does this infringe on the copyrights of the authors, and will we end up with a Google monopoly on books?
Making a twitter of yourself
Conservative leader David Cameron caused a storm on Radio Four recently when he spoke about Twitter, not because he questioned the value of mundane ramblings that make up the bulk of Twitter postings, but because he used a four-letter alliteration which offended the sensibilities of the innocent listeners. But that isn't the only reason Twitter has hit the headlines recently.
How fast is fast enough?
Our internet connections today are faster and cheaper than we could have dreamed of ten years ago, and few if any use dial-up modems any more, but with each increase in speed comes an increase in expectations, and this is particularly evident with mobile.
What price friendship
ITV, the company which bought Friends Reunited for £120 million in 2005, has sold it to DC Thomson, publisher of The Beano, for just £25 million.
Back to the future
Those of you who, like me, are old enough to remember the invention of the laser disk will also remember how the early TV adverts showed it as "virtually indestructible", seemingly immune to the ravages of both bad handling and baby food. Nowadays we know that isn't really the case.
The British X Files
The MOD has declassified the fourth instalment of documents detailing UFO sightings in Britain, along with the results of any investigations.
This article comes from the SKILLZONE email newsletter, published monthly since January 2008, and covering topics related to technology and the internet. All articles and artwork in the SKILLZONE newsletter are orignal content.