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Web 2.0: This time it's lucrative

The web is changing. Mighty forces are at work and a new internet is slouching towards a monstrous liquidity event. This reborn web is vast, huge, and unimaginably significant and intense. In fact, it's a new web – it’s called Web 2.0. You may have heard some buzz words: folksonomies, mash-ups, social networking. You may have been to Flickr, Wondr, Del.icio.us, Orkut, or Listl (note the daringly misspelt or awkward names, to ensure a nice Google ranking – very Web 2.0.) But do you really understand Web 2.0 – the way you understand fishing, traffic lights, or tangerines? You may have had to fake it when a colleague mentioned a new website being "totally two dot oh." You nodded. Yeah right. You even made air quotes: "two dot oh." If so, you're a fakr. A losr. Farked. Or at least you were – until you found this bluffer's guide to Web 2.0.

Google slips on $2bn share offering

Shares in Google have slipped in New York after the company said it would make more shares available as a part of its inclusion in the S&P 500 index.

Apple rumour watch: Happy 30th birthday to you

Online Apple watchers are having fun with the countdown to Apple's 30th birthday this Saturday. There's much speculation as to whether the company will announce something magical (see below). We do know from sources close to Apple that the company's PR types are preparing to receive a mysterious "anniversary pack", but that may just be exec bios and cute photographs of the founders as young men.

Chris Stevens at CNET.co.uk has rounded up the rumours, which include a touch-screen video iPod, an iMac for gamers and that long-awaited Apple phone. There's also a nice cartoon on the Joy of Tech, showing anguished journalists leaping from buildings when they realise that Steve Jobs may not pull a tech rabbit out of his polo neck this time. He writes: "There is a collective fear that, come Saturday, the section of the wall-planner marked 'cover massive Apple announcement' will read like a cruel morality tale. Seppuku may be rather fiddly, but if Apple doesn't deliver, will there be any choice for the self-respecting hack but to die with honour?" There's hype, there's tech hype, and there's Apple...

Ready for the iPhone?

While he's not freakin' out, following the Apple vs Apple court case in London, or selling $300 million of Apple shares to pay his taxes, is Steve Jobs getting ready to dial up an iPod phone?

Such are the rumours doing the rounds this week. It seems a note published earlier this month by Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street bank, has sparked the latest bout of speculation – it talked about “a potential iPhone introduction – along with a “large-screen video iPod”.

EBay takes on big pharma and the trolls

The US technology sector, led by eBay, is set for a Supreme Court showdown today with the companies it says risk strangling innovation through their exploitation of intellectual property laws.

The thing is, the world's largest internet auction house isn't just taking on a few pesky patent trolls. Rather, it's setting itself against the legal might of America's largest drug makers.

See you in court, again

Microsoft and the EU continue their regulatory war of attrition with the first skirmish over Vista, the much-anticipated and much-delayed Windows update. XP has already landed the company with the threat of a €2 million per day fine, subject to appeal, and now the EU has said that Vista could land it in similar difficulties.

At issue is whether the systems are open enough to allow companies a fair shot at building software to rival Microsoft original equipment such as Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer. Microsoft says yes; the EU says no.

Don't cut the cord

Can you imagine being constantly unable to find your fridge? Picture it. You're in the living room. You think, "I'd quite like a gin and tonic… ice, a slice, a heavy glass." You go into the kitchen. Cutting board. Lemon. Knife. Aah – that fresh, fresh smell of sliced lemon. Perfect. Two decent glasses.

Then two generous fingers of gin, if the fingers in question belonged to Shaquille O'Neil and had been trapped in a door so they were swollen to twice their already revolting size. All you need is ice and tonic. You go to pull open the door of that overpriced Smeg you just had to have – but it's vanished. Your fridge is not where it should be.

Britannica takes a swipe at Wikipedia

The Encyclopaedia Britannica has released an extraordinary rebuttal of a report that said it had been matched in terms of accuracy by Wikipedia, its upstart online rival.

That Britannica was stirred to publish such a rebuke is bound to prompt speculation that traditional encyclopaedias are battling to remain venerable – and avoid being branded vulnerable – in the era of the interweb.

Dell buys Alienware

PC giant Dell has bought specialist gaming PC manufacturer Alienware, makers of fantastically powerful high-end speed machines for gamers who love flashy PCs but don't want to mod up their own. The deal comes after Dell's own foray into this market with simiilarly powerful machines in its XPS line.

Rory Reid at CNET.co.uk compares the deal to other transactions in which established businesses have gone cool-hunting for more fashionable brands, such as Nike's acquisition of the iconic Converse brand, or Ford's purchase of the Jaguar, Aston Martin and Land Rover marques.

Get ready for LG's Chocolate phone

If you're interested in the latest and greatest mobile phones, then it's a good idea to keep an eye on the Korean market. Andrew Lim at CNET.co.uk has the skinny on a new phone from Korean manufacturer LG nicknamed the 'Chocolate' phone which is causing quite the stir.

LG launched the phone in Korea last November where it's been flying off the shelves, and it's now garnering much buzz on the net wherever mobile phone obsessives discuss their passion. The phone is a stylish 15mm thick slide phone with a completely smooth surface and a glowing red touch pad beneath a handsome screen.

The exact specs and pricing details have yet to be confirmed, but the mobile phone underground reports that it may surface in the UK in May, so keep an eye out for this little beauty then.

Bill Gates is worth just a little less

A tardy Vista drags Microsoft's stock lower. And Apple reaps the rewards.

Firefox 2 hits the test track

Firefox 2.0 has moved one step closer to launch with the limited release of an alpha version for testing. Features included in the new web browser, which is due for launch this summer, are intended to boost security and improve the usability of the favourites folder and tabbed browsing system.

The existing version of Firefox, created by Mozilla, a charity that relies on a global network of unpaid programmers to build its products, has been taking market share from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer program. Microsoft recently released a beta version of Internet Explorer 7, which incorporates many of the features familiar from Firefox.

Who gets hit by the latest Vista setback?

Vista has been delayed yet again. The question is, how big a blow is this for Microsoft and the PC manufacturers? And how big an opportunity for Apple?

Microsoft’s new operating system, originally planned for release last year, will now only be available for consumers in January 2007. Microsoft is doing its best to put a positive spin on the set-back, but it seems the security glitches the latest incarnation is designed to tackle have proven more stubborn than bargained for.

Libel in the chat room

A UKIP parliamentary candidate has won his libel case against a woman who posted abusive comments about him in an internet chat room. After a disagreement about the Iraq war, Tracy Williams accused Michael Keith-Smith of being, among other things, a Nazi and a lard brain.

A fairly tame exchange by the standards of many chat rooms, but one which prompted Mr Keith-Smith to resort to the courts. Should his victory encourage others who have been insulted on the web to issue writs, judges will soon be spending the majority of their time arbitrating between alleged Nazis and alleged lard brains.

France takes on Apple

France is continuing its campaign against America's domination of the internet.

After Jaques Chirac, the French president, unveiled a plan to take on Google, French lawmakers are expected to deal a blow to Apple's dominance of the online music market today by breaking the exclusive link between the company's iTunes internet music store and iPod players in the country.

The question is, will such a move ultimately benefit consumers?

US tech stocks update

Bellwether technology stocks in the US were looking for momentum - and for the most part failing to find any - in early trading in New York today as gains from Dell and IBM are countered by losses from Apple and Intel.

Could Google be forced to give up its secrets?

Could Google be forced to make public its Page Rank algorithm – the secret formula at the heart of its search engine's success?

Tech stocks move ahead

In New York technology stocks rise in early trading, with Oracle and Dell leading the action.

Oracle rose 2 cents to $13.63 ahead of quarterly results due after the market closes this evening while Dell tacked on 50 cents to trade at $29.59 after saying it would double its workforce in India to 20,000 employees over the next three years.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 3.7 points to 2,310. For more on the US markets you can click here, for more on the technology sector from a business perspective click here.

The latest must-have... if you're German

“Who among us has not dreamed of becoming a great accordion player?” ask the games developers at Schadenfreude Interactive.

Who indeed? “Like wearing socks with our sandals, accordion music is part of being German,” they explain. “Now we have made it easy for you to be an accordion hero in the privacy of your own living room … For Those About To Polka, We Salute You.”

The problem with DAB radio

I'm a big fan of digital radio, but not everyone is sold. Chris Stevens at CNET.co.uk argues that the way DAB has been set up in the UK is short-changing us, actually delivering lower quality audio than we're receiving from FM stations.

It all comes down to the richness of the data that's being sent through the digital broadcast, and Chris argues that we've prioritised quantity over quality – lots more stations, but with lower sound quality.

Put the iPod down and come out quietly

We have to stop the gadget menace now, before it's too late. This iPod thing is not a fad. It's not a craze. It's an arms race, and it's going to end badly. He pulls out a Shuffle. You pull out a Nano. He pulls out a Nano. You pull out a PSP. He nicks the lot. You miss your bus stop and are fifteen minutes late for work.

It's a cliché among right-wing libertarian types that an armed society is a polite society - a phrase credited to science-fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein. Nothing could be further from the truth. We now arm ourselves to the teeth in public to protect ourselves from being slightly bored. All we've got is ruder.

Gaming, Chinese style

The brash, shoot-’em-up world of computer games is given a genteel twist by a new title commissioned by the Chinese Government.

In Learning from Comrade Lei Feng, players earn points by helping elderly people across the street and dissuading strangers from swearing and spitting. Those with the most points get the chance to meet Chairman Mao in Tiananmen Square and get his autograph.

Delay station

Leo Lewis, Tokyo Correspondent of The Times and occasional contributor to Mousetrap, responds to the news that the PS3 will be six months late. "To a die-hard gamer of 1980 vintage, it's like Santa Claus shooting Rudolph in the paddock on the morning of December 24," he says. Click here for his full article.

Held hostage

Hackers have created a program that locks up files on infected computers and refuses to release them until users pay a $300 ransom. This example of a Trojan horse program, so-called because it appears to be harmless until it has been installed, searches for documents and hides them in password-protected ZIP files. A ransom note demands cash in return for the password.

It’s not the first time such a program has been developed – Times Online reported a similar attack in May last year – but the approach remains relatively rare. The threat, however, appears to be slight. The security company Symantec said that only two websites are known to be carrying the infection and that fewer than 50 PCs have been infected so far.

Panasonic shows off its wares

Thinking about buying a flat-panel TV? If you're a Panasonic fan you might want to wait until Spring. Yesterday the company showed off its 2006 product line. There were some real goodies on show and Guy Cocker of CNET.co.uk was there to get the details.

Panasonic has a solid reputation in plasma TVs, so this year's PX600 range is worth knowing about. There are 37, 42 and 50-inch models, which are HD ready and have integrated Freeview tuners as well as two HDMI sockets, for that Sky HD and Blu-Ray player your significant other doesn't know you're going to buy yet.

Radio, Radio: it's a sound sensation

If you love radio, it's time to get hip to podcasting. I know you're busy, but you can't put it off any longer. Technological advances mean you can now listen to a lot more radio whenever and wherever you want. It's time to gorge your ears.

It's not just podcasting. It could be a paid-for music service, free media on a website such as Times Online, an MP3 e-mailed from a friend, iTunes on your iPod, an audiobook on your Archos PVR. It doesn't matter. The endgame is audio everywhere -- all the time.

Hourglass technology

There’s been some talk of the hourglass economy recently. The idea is that consumers are spending in an increasingly polarized fashion, concentrating their money on a few top-end purchases and economising on the basics. A supermarket basket might therefore include premium fillet stake and own-brand economy toilet rolls.

At CeBIT, the same principle can be applied to size. People want things that are either really, really big or really, really small. Panasonic’s stand boasts "the world’s largest" high-definition plasma TV, whose 103 inches would dominate all but the most palatial of living rooms. Everywhere else, tiny MP3 players, memory sticks and digital cameras sit on their stands like high-tech jewels.

There’s not much excitement about things that are merely medium-sized. As someone of average build, I find this dispiriting.

Double vision

Sharp’s stand at CeBIT proudly displays its two-way LCD screen, which simultaneously broadcasts two different pictures. Which one you see depends on the viewing angle, so two people sitting next to each other can watch different programmes at the same time.

It works using a filter called a parallax barrier, which sits in front of the screen’s backlight and splits the light into two distinct beams which are sent in different directions. These beams can work either independently, giving a dual display, or together, giving a standard screen that shows the same picture from every angle.

The most practical application on show is a dashboard-mounted screen that directs a sat-nav display to the driver and a TV feed to the passenger. It’s hard to think of too many more uses, although the image of two people sitting side by side, headphones on, watching different films provides an elegant metaphor for the ironies of digital living.

The Logitech lifestyle

One of the big themes at this year’s CeBIT is Digital Living. It sounds like a cable TV channel, but turns out to be what we’re all going to be doing in a few years time, if not before. It’s another of those phrases, like Convergence and the Information Society, which tend to get a good airing at technology fairs.

CeBIT’s second keynote presentation, delivered by Guerrino De Luca, the president and CEO of Logitech, will address "the role of the PC and peripherals in the digital lifestyle." It takes place later today, but Mr De Luca gave Times Online a preview.

An Origami update

Hype and rumour are usually associated more closely with Google than its arch-rival Microsoft, but the reaction to the software company’s mini PCs, codenamed Origami, has surprised even the team that led the project.

"It’s got more buzz than we expected," said Robert Williams, the director of business development at the firm’s mobile platforms division. "We really haven’t hyped this at all. There’s been stories that this is an iPod-killer or that it’s a PSP-killer, but it’s absolutely not. If you look at the size, the design, you can see it’s not competing in that market."

Photocopiers aren’t sexy

… which is not their fault. Allure is hardly a part of the job description, but you can’t help feeling sorry for those in the copying business when they’re vying for attention with high-definition television and shiny black gadgets that will do anything you ask of them.

Next to Samsung and Benq’s high-impact stands, poor old UTAX was having trouble persuading people that their CD 1060 photocopier was worth a moment of their time, notwithstanding its 8,100-sheet capacity and 600 dpi resolution. An employee noticed my furtive notetaking and asked if I wanted to put the machine through its paces. She looked so lonely that I couldn’t say no, and agreed to copy a page of my notebook.

It worked a treat.

Origami - a new kind of PC

At an event the size of the CeBIT technology fair, which occupies a vast complex of exhibition halls on the edge of Hanover, companies need to do something a bit unusual if they're going to be noticed. Microsoft managed to do just that this morning with the launch of what the firm describes as a new category of product.

Crowds quickly gathered around the small corner of the Microsoft stand dedicated to the Origami project, the result of which is a family of very small, keyboardless PCs. They will be built by a range of hardware manufacturers, but all will have a similar core design and will run the full version of Windows XP. What they will not do, as some had predicted, is kill off the Sony PSP and the iPod.

Is Microsoft's origami concept worth the paper it's folded on?

The massive CeBIT trade show for computers and communications gear opened today in Hanover in Germany, and so far all the buzz has been around Origami, a heavily leaked new hardware and software concept from Microsoft and Intel. It's a specification for small portable PCs, somewhere between a small tablet and a portable video player, with touch-sensitive screens. The devices will run Windows XP, and eventually Windows Vista, and Microsoft is doing everything it can to give the project a bit of Apple-style consumer buzz, releasing viral video adverts for the concept and drip-feeding titbits out online.

Simple pleasures

A good example of how the very best technology is always the simplest: Chris Glass on how to catch mice without a mousetrap...

- Get a toilet paper tube and crease two lines to form a flat sided tunnel.
- Put a treat on one end of the tube: A cracker and dab of peanut butter works great.
- Get a tall (at least 20 inches) bucket. A trash can works well.
- Balance the tube precariously on the edge of a table or counter with the treat hanging directly over the tall sided receptacle.
- The mouse will scurry to the treat (they like tunnels) and fall into the trap.
- Set the fella loose at least a mile away from your abode.

Postnote: Chris says it worked within the hour.

Do you think you pay too much for online music?

The US Justice Department has launched an inquiry into possible price fixing in the online music industry. It is thought the probe will investigate allegations that music labels have colluded to fix the wholesale prices they charge online retailers such as Apple, which sells digital music through its iTunes website.

The pressure on the labels has been building for a while. In December Eliot Spitzer, the combative New York Attorney General, subpoenaed music company records to search for information on the prices they charge online vendors. Last year, Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, accused the music industry of being "greedy" for wanting to raise digital download prices.

Even so, there's no guarantee of the Justice Department's enquiry being translated into charges. The last time it investigated the online music scene, no action was taken against anybody.

Apple's new Filofax accessories

The tech world, and Apple's many fanboys, greeted the announcement of a press conference from Steve Jobs this week with excitement. After the launch of the impossibly small iPod Nano, and then the news that the company would be movings its computers to Intel chips, we expect big news when Steve puts on his jeans and black polo neck. However, the 'news' couldn't have been more ho-hum: Intel core duo processors inside the Mac mini, and some pricey iPod accessories.

The expensive leather iPod cases seemed particularly absurd: £69 pounds to dress up your MP3 player? Apple's stores are full of daft accessories produced by third-parties, and the company obviously decided it wanted a piece of the really high-margin iPod bells-and-whistles action, not content with taking 80% of the U.S. market for MP3 players.

Digital Living: life without wires

Getting a wireless network at home seems ridiculous until you do it. Once you've done it, it seems ridiculous that you once had to connect your laptop to a cable to make it work, as though it were a puppy that needed to be kept on a leash at all times. Depending on where you are on the adoption curve, having a wireless network at home will seem either a bit technical, or entirely unremarkable. Technology trickles down, like rain, and diffuses amongst the wider population over time. The important people in this process are the early adopters, as the rest of us consumer sheep tend to follow their technical lead.