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PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, have launched a rather surprise attack on everyone's favourite plumber. Mario has been the subject of much controversy among the animal rights group for wearing the 'tanooki suit', a suit that Mario dons in order to gain the ability to fly and glide, which PETA says shows, "Mario is sending the message that it is OK to wear fur."

The group have taken it as far as to create a 2D platforming parody of the beloved Nintendo character letting you control a Raccoon Dog and chasing Mario who is wearing your skin."Tanukis are real life racoon dogs who are beaten and, as PETA's undercover exposes show, often skinned alive for their fur." says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman.

PETA do a fantastic job doing what they do and I support them fully for their protection of animals all over the world, but this is really a bit silly isn't it? If this was the case, surely we should be up in arms against the Simpsons for airing Itchy and Scratchy cartoons in which they beat each other to death on our TVs every week.

Also something probably should have been done a bit sooner; Mario has apparently been an animal hate activist since 1988 with Super Mario Bros 3. Just think about all the turtles and goombas he has eradicated, he is a danger to the environment!

If the game perhaps showed Mario getting the tanooki suit by killing an animal to take it PETA may have more of a case against the Italian plumber but this is very much clutching at straws from their side.

Update: Nintendo have responded to the claims by PETA with the following statement given to Eurogamer:

"Mario often takes the appearance of certain animals and objects in his games. These have included a frog, a penguin, a balloon and even a metallic version of himself. These lighthearted and whimsical transformations give Mario different abilities and make his games fun to play. The different forms Mario takes make no statement beyond the games themselves."

Netflix teaming up with Lionsgate UK

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It was rumoured for many months that the US movies streaming service Netflix would be coming to the UK and after an announcement last month confirmed the cross Atlantic move Netflix has been busy signing contracts.

A multi-year contract has been signed between Netflix and Lionsgate UK containing plenty of licensing agreements that will allow users to watch Lionsgate UK titles on their TV, mobile devices and games consoles for a monthly fee.

There will be a mix of older titles and the new smash hits, from the classic of Reservoir Dogs and the Blair Witch Project to upcoming releases Expendables 2 and The Hunger Games.

The movie streaming company has been having problems recently, with the company's separate DVD rental service,Qwikster, being a massive flop. Causing a customer backlash and stock price drops, with almost 805,000 subscribers leaving the service. Netflix will be hoping to put these times behind it and enter a new market in the UK, it is not going to be all smooth sailing though, they will be competing with the already well established LoveFIlm service for space.

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Steam hit by hack attack

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The online game download service Steam has been hit by a major attack from a group of hackers who are rumoured to have accessed databases containing credit card and ID details.

Steam is a service that allows users to buy, download and discuss all manner of games, not just ones made by Valve. It has a library of some of the biggest releases and a lot of independent games totally around 1,500 titles.

The owners of the website,Valve, found the intrusion after they discovered a security breach in one of the websites discussion forums. Hackers used the information from the forum to access a database where the credit card and ID information was stored. All Valve can confirm is that a few forum accounts had been compromised and used to carry out the hacking.

Valve have so far said there is no evidence that the credit cards have been misused since the original breach happened on the 6th November, when the forums where also removed after the security breach was found.

Valve boss Gabe Newell posted a message on the front page of the forums yesterday revealing that the sites were shut down because of a 'defacement'. He also confirmed that he was not sure whether the full database of steam's 35 million active accounts was accessed or just a smaller total.

For security reasons Valve have asked all forum users to change their passwords when the discussion site re opens, which they are working on to get back open soon. Mr Newell went on to apologize, " I am truly sorry this happened and apologize for the inconvenience."

It is the latest act of hacking this year which has seen some of the largest entertainment companies in the world attacked. The most notorious of which being the hacking scandal involving Sony's Playstation network were the service was shut down for several weeks and some 100,000 accounts being targeted.

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As of today Sony are offering music videos directly through your Sony Home Entertainment products. Sony have teamed up with MUZU.TV one of the leading music video sites, set up in 2008, to bring the latest and greatest music videos to your front room directly through the Sony Entertainment Network.

The service will run through BRAVIA TVs, Blu-Ray Players, Home Cinema devices and Network Media Players. MUZU has a huge range of music video from every corner of the music world ranging from head banging metal to smooth jazz in a collection of over 80,000 videos.

The free service features chart videos as well as some from a wide variety of independent artists and record labels, live performances and all the latest news and interviews from the world of music.

Edd Uzzell, Category Development Manager, for Sony Europe stated that:

"As one of the largest digital entertainment services, Sony Entertainment Network aims to bring new ways for consumers to enjoy music, movies, games and more. By continuing to add new and exciting partners such as MUZU.TV, we feel we are perfectly complimenting the existing music services we prove, giving our customers a wealth of choice for enjoying music content whenever they want it."

A great addition to the vast array of services already offered by Sony, a free music video channel will save you all the time and hassle of flicking between music television channels where you are forced to watch whatever they think you should watch. Browsing on MUZU.TV it is a really well presented website with plenty of content and features to keep your ears, and now eyes, full of music for the foreseeable future.

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It has only been a matter of weeks since the iPhone 4S was released but already it has made an impression on Google Chairman Eric Schidt. The functionality of Apple's voice command technology, Siri, has made Schmidt admit that it is already a threat to Google's search engine dominance.

He was speaking in September in front of an antitrust committee to defend Google over claims that it abuses its power as the world's number one search engine and that they are rigging search results. These claims came from some of Google's main rivals Bing and Yahoo, so take them with a pinch of salt.

At the hearing Schmidt described Siri as "a significant development - a voice activated means of accessing answers through iPhones that demonstrates the innovations in search." Siri, which was released alongside the iPhone 4S, uses voice commands to answer questions and complete tasks accordingly. This includes using its network connections to search the internet for answers which Google is seeing as a threat coming from a new piece of technology that could really harm their position at the top.

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Schidt also commented on the advancement of social networking, how they are evolving into a big hitter in the search engine field, which came in response to earlier statements he made about Apple and Facebook not being web search competitors.

"The importance of social networking to consumers' online experience has changed remarkably - even in the past year. Consumers are looking for answers when they conduct searches online, and social search has become a serious competitor in helping people find those answers online."

Apple says that it has plans to expand Siri, with additional language support as well as bringing over some U.S. only features like maps and local searches at some point next year.

It will certainly be something that the people at Google will need to keep their eyes on but they have built up such a reputation as the biggest and best search engine that it will be many years until someone will be able to knock them off the top spot.

screenshot-secondlife[4].jpgThose of you planning to shift a massive shipment of cocaine/smack/clarkey cat through Second Life; first off, you're idiots. Secondly, think twice; the FBI have got your little virtual world on lock down.

Second Life have been added to the Federal Bureau of Intelligence's latest "National Gang Threat Assessment" list, stating that would-be crooks are using the virtual world to organise criminal activities, making Second Life a threat comparable to the Hell's Angels, Latin Kings and Los Zetas.

Head to page 41 of the report, and you'll find this excerpt on the network:

Second Life is a computer-based virtual world with a simulated environment where users inhabit and interact via avatars, or graphical representations the virtual world may depict a real world or a fantasy world. Users communicate through text-chat and real-time voice-based chat. Second Life provides versatility and anonymity and allows for covert communications. Because of its anonymity and versatility, gang members could potentially use second life to recruit, spread propaganda, commit other crimes such as drug trafficking, and receive training for real-world criminal operations.

Seriously FBI, you've excelled yourselves this year with the wierd additions to the list. As if Second Life wasn't stupid enough as it is, the FBI are also tracking Juggalos, AKA fans of the Insane Clown Posse. Fans of any (c)rap collective capable of anything as unintentionally ridiculous and hilarious as this are surely harmless, right?

F**king Magnets!

Google Maps to begin charging heavy users

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google_maps_logo.pngGoogle Maps is currently free, and, for the vast majority of us will always stay that way. However, Google have today announced that heavy users of their mapping service will face a premium charge in the near future.

So what constitutes heavy usage?

In Google's books, that's around 25,000 hits or more per day. In other words, this is a charge that's most likely to hit the pockets of very large businesses rather than casual users; the likes of popular shops, hotels or visitor attractions that host a Google Maps link on their websites.

It's a move that Google believe will affect no more than 0.35% of all users, and should stay relatively affordable for those who are affected, with suggested pricing coming in at around $4 for every 1,000 views.

"We understand that the introduction of these limits may be concerning," said Thor Mitchell, product manager of the Maps API at Google.

"However, with the continued growth in adoption of the Maps API, we need to secure its long-term future by ensuring that even when used by the highest-volume for-profit sites, the service remains viable."

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News flash: the internet isn't some otherwordly place of no consequence to the "real" world. What happens on the internet does NOT stay on the internet, it will follow you around.

42% of students are becoming concerned that some of those embarrassing party photos and oversharing late night blog posts could harm their job prospects, a study by YouGov for the Information Commissioner's Office has found.

After all, the curious animal that is us humans has taken to googling like fish to water, so there's no reason to think your new employer will do a bit of that too. As much as we'd like to think otherwise, job hunting isn't the equally opportunity event we're led to believe it is. Think about it: once a potential employee has been seen with their behind hanging out in some foggy bachelor party shot, it's impossible to forget.

Acas, the arbitration service, recently issued a new guide to employers, telling them to go easy on employers caught mouthing off on the internet. In a guide that for some reason took nine months to complete (time flies when you're lolling away online, doesn't it), Acas concluded that employers should be careful about sacking people just for whining a bit on Facebook after coming back from holiday, which is what happened to one Argos employee.

"A manager wouldn't follow an employee down the pub to check on what he or she said to friends about their day at work. Just because they can do something like this online, doesn't mean they should," Acas chief executive John Taylor said to The Daily Telegraph. He did however add that employees need to be cautious about the information they publish on the internet: "Online conduct should not differ from offline conduct."

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Rebel or Obey? Freedom or Control? Inspire or Oppress? Emancipate yourself!

Welcome to Unthink, a new social network set up as a contrast to Facebook. It's just opened up to the first round of beta testers, aiming to provide a more honest form of social networking.

That's a network where the users own their own data and won't see their personal information sold to advertisers, is the promise from the Tampa-based outfit. It remains to be seen whether $2.5 million in funding and a rebellious attitude is enough to take on the mighty Facebook, but we have to admit the thought of someone bold enough to try is intriguing.

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Unthink CEO Natasha Dedis said [according to TechCrunch] that the idea for Unthink came to her when her son wanted to sign up for Facebook. Dedis became uncomfortable with agreeing to sign up to the terms of service for Facebook, as they could change at any time. But her son became anxious when she told him this, because not being on Facebook was unthinkable: "He was really stressed about it, like he didn't have a choice - he HAD to be on Facebook."

Enter Unthink: "It's not a social network, it's a social revolution". Dedis explained: "The number one thing that had to be 'un-thought' about social media, is who does it belong to? We need to own everything that we put on our page. We can be as private or as public as we want, as long as it's our choice."

Unthink users can choose brands to sponsor their pages, picking one they like and act like an advocate for the brand. Alternatively they can pay $2 a year to avoid any sponsorship. The site at first glance set up similarly to Facebook, but iti has a few extra bits that look like genuinely good ideas, such separate sections for personal and business colleagues. Watch out, LinkedIn.

The "cool" factor?
"Elevate your attitude." "Value a creative environment like oxygen." "Always, always, always be optimistic." These are the kids of things you will find on Unthink's statement of "emancipation". It's a very American attitude, all this, which may seem overly sunny-side-up to us Brits. But then again you don't see us establishing any Silicon Valleys over here, so maybe we have a thing or two to learn.

Whether Unthink can trip of Facebook remains to be seen, as it's much too soon to tell. But as the Mark Zuckerberg character kept saying in the film Social Network: "It has to be cool." Is Facebook cool anymore? ... It seems Unthink may be in with a fighting chance.

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It's official: internet access and mobile phones are more important to young Britons than television.

This is the conclusion from new research from Ofcom, the communications regulator, but at a closer look it's not such a straight shot as it first seems.

While kids care less about watching TV, it's the traditional set-up of scheduled programming watched on the living room set that's suffering. They are actually watching more TV than at any time in the past five years - it's just that it's mostly happening on catch-up services like the iPlayer.

So what this study is really indicating is that the convergence is happening: TV isn't really declining, it's just enjoyed on other devices not traditionally associated with watching programmes.

British teenagers now watch 17 hours and 37 minutes of TV per week, compared with 15 hours 37 minutes in 2007. Ofcom spoke with 1,717 people for this study, concluding that TV, which was rated as equally important as the internet in the same study a few years ago, is now cited as equally important. Kids are more attached to TV if they are very young, but the number of 12-15 year olds who said they would miss TV if it was gone had dropped from 28% to just 18%. 25% of respondents said they would miss the internet.

Teens still rate their mobiles above both TV and the web. Gaming seems to have stabilised at a high plateau: user numbers are stable at 81-92%, depending on age. Internet coverage is solid, with 95% of kids aged 12 to 15 have web access at home via a computer. There is however a socio-economic divide, where only 80% those from more deprived backgrounds have internet access.

US X Factor viewers to vote via Twitter

And in other convergence news: Viewers of X Factor in the US will now be able to vote for their favourite star via Twitter. Fans can send a direct message to the official X Factor Twitter account to cast their votes. "It's a sign of the times," says Simon Cowell. No word yet on the finances of this new arrangement though - or does it mean the karaoke empire is no longer about making money? Well I never.

Thumbnail image for Wikileaks_3-728-75.jpgWikiLeaks have announced that they will temporarily stop publishing leaked wires and confidential government memos and files in order to focus on a drastic fund-raising campaign to keep the organisation alive.

Described as a "fight for survival" by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the whistleblowing site is facing what it calls a "finanical blockade", as the likes of Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and the Western Union have prevented WikiLeaks followers from donating to the site, costing them potentially millions of dollars.

"If Wikileaks does not find a way to remove this blockade, we will simply not be able to continue by the turn of the new year. If we don't knock down the blockade, we simply will not be able to continue," said the controversial Assange.

"In order to ensure our future survival, WikiLeaks is now forced to temporarily suspend its publishing operations and aggressively fundraise in order to fight back against this blockade and its proponents," reads a WikiLeaks statement.

"The blockade is outside of any accountable, public process. It is without democratic oversight or transparency.

"The blockade has cost the organization tens of millions of pounds in lost donations at a time of unprecedented operational costs resulting from publishing alliances in over 50 countries, and their inevitable counter-attacks. Our scarce resources now must focus on fighting the unlawful banking blockade."

WikiLeaks faced a similar financial crisis back in February, causing the website to briefly go offline.

Via: The Guardian

ofcom_logo.jpgOfcom are to being a "three strikes" policy for those repeatedly commiting acts of piracy across the web from 2013, should their plans be met with approval they revealed today.

The initial plan was set in place over a year ago, with Ofcom proposing to send out notification letters to those thought to be file sharers, offering advice to protect the broadband networks of those who suspected a third party was hi-jacking their internet connections for nefarious means, but also to warn those who continually breached piracy laws against their actions.

ISPs will play a role too, being asked to track users who they suspect may be pirates, and having the means to match personal details against offending IP addresses.

However, an ongoing judicial review means that the 2013 start date could still be pushed back further.

Despite the potential set backs, Ofcom aim to have the system put in place in time for 2013, even if a lack governmental approvement means they have to hold back from launching the intiative. Likewise, ISPs are expected to have the technical systems in place to enforce the "three strikes" policy by early 2012.

Via: Tech Radar

REVIEW: Three MiFi HSPA+ (Huawei E586)

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Name: Three MiFi HSPA+ (Huawei E586)

Type: Portable personal Wi-Fi hotspot

Specs: Click here for full specs

Price: £84.99 with 3GB of data/ Free on 18 month tariff at £10.87 per month with 1GB data allowance/ Free on 24 month tariff at £18.99 a month with 15GB data allowance


review-line.JPGThree's latest MiFi personal Wi-Fi hotspot certainly is a looker, and with newly-added HSPA+ connectivity, makes some bold claims when it comes to mobile broadband speeds. Can it deliver superfast downloads when out on the road, or will a standard dongle offer similar results? Read on to find out.
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If you're even remotely interested in consumer technology (if you aren't, God only know swhat you're doing on this site) chances are that you don't leave the house without several web-enabled devices. From smartphones to games consoles, e-readers to tablets to laptops, if it's got a battery in it, chances are it can connect to the web these days. However, when it comes to mobile broadband, keeping each of these devices connected can be expensive.

Here's where Three's MiFi range comes in. Small, pebble-shaped devices weighing just 90 grams, they're portable, pocketable, battery-powered Wi-Fi hotspots that connect to Three's mobile network and let multiple devices connect to the internet at once, wherever you may be.

On the upside, you're likely to save plenty of dough using a MiFi as you only have to shell out for one tariff every month. In the past, the downside however has been that connection speeds can get a little shoddy when split across multiple devices.

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Three's latest MiFi, the E586, more-or-less sidesteps the issue of speed by being the first device to offer a HSPA+ connection. In theory, this gives you download speeds as fast as 21.6Mbps and upload speeds of 5.76Mbps. This, in theory, makes it far more attractive than a regular dongle's 7.2Mbps max download speed.

Great in theory, but how about in practice? Nowhere near as fast, but not too shabby either. In areas of strong signal we regularly topped speeds of 8Mbps, which just wouldn't be possible on a standard dongle, averaging out at 5 or 6Mbps elsewhere. This extra speed boost made connecting multiple devices for simultaneous usage far less of a pain too, making this MiFi kit a real work tool for teams needing reliable web access when out of the office.

Those looking to use the MiFi in a professional capacity will be pleased to hear the many security features built in here too. Though you can easily just pop in the supplied SIM-card and battery, switch on and connect your devices using the SSID/password card, those looking for extra protection can visit http://3.home in their browsers and tweak settings like WPA2-PSK and AES TKIP WPA encryption. You can also use this page to send and receive messages using the MiFi, though the practical application of this feature is limited.

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Three still suffer from intermittent coverage blackspots (like, annoyingly, the area of our Central London office specifically where I sit it would seem) but it was very impressive just how often it picked up a HSPA+ connection when out around town. Of course London is likely to have better coverage than more rural spots, so double-check with a coverage tracking site to before a purchase, but even with a standard 3G mobile broadband connection the dongle performed well.

As we alluded to earlier, the new MiFi looks pretty snazzy too. Available in black or white, a small but clear OLED screen shows info on signal strength, connection type, connected devices (as many as five at a time), connection status, messages, battery level, total data usage and roaming state. Charging over USB (or using a supplied cradle) the USB connection can also be used to access the microSD slot on the side of the MiFi (card not included) potentially turning the unit into a portable 32GB drive too. Overall, battery life is excellent too, managing 5.5 hours of heavy usage and as much as 100 hours on standby from a single charge.

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Verdict:

Without the HSPA+ capabilities, Three's latest MiFi hotspot would still be a stylish mobile broadband unit capable of reliable, on-the-go connectivity. With HSPA+, and with the flexible tariff system Three have in place, it becomes a genuinely viable alternative to a fixed broadband connection for light internet users. Three still suffer from the odd blackspot, but if you're lucky enough to be within range of a HSPA+ connection here, it's a genuinely excellent bit of kit.

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4/5
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ISPs to roll out porn-blocking powers

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logo-no-porn-480.gifA new government-planned initiative in the UK will see internet service providers blocking access to pornographic websites as a measure to prevent children from accidentally accessing adult material.

New subscribers to BT, Virgin Media, Talk Talk and Sky will have to "opt in" to adult content when they open a new account, which could lead to some of the most hilarious customer service phone calls of all time. "Booty call" may get a whole new meaning if the planned block comes to pass.

Ed Vaizey first suggested the block late last year in December, with Prime Minister David Cameron sealing the move after meetings with Christian charity Mother's Union, who had been asked to look into ways children access explicit content.

Further Monther's Union proposals include introducing a new website called ParentPort, where parents can flag innappropriate imagery on the net, as well as saucy advertising campaigns.

It is not yet known how the sites to be blocked will be chosen, but we imagine "naughty bits" are high on the list of criteria.

schedule-clean.pngHotmail users will soon see a new version of the webmail service roll out to their accounts, as Microsoft set out to rid our email accounts of "greymail".

The update includes categories and more advanced folder management, newsletter filters and clean-up scheduling for those too lazy to go through their mail manually, new flagging options for dodgy mail and mouse-over pop-up controls.

"We've reduced true spam in the Inbox to under three per cent using SmartScreen filtering," said Dick Craddock, Group Program Manager, on the Hotmail blog.

"But we realised that getting rid of true spam wasn't enough, because 75% of the email people reported as spam are really legitimate newsletters, offers, or notifications that you don't want anymore.

"We call this unwanted email graymail, and we're excited to announce five powerful tools to help our customers take control of their inbox, get rid of graymail, and keep track of the important mail in their inbox."

Smart newsletter filtering, which among its many features lets you choose to keep only the most recent mail from a contact, sounds very useful, but I'm always a bit wary of too much automated scheduling. Before you know it every over eager pal in your email is being flagged as a bot and important mail doesn't get through. Here's hoping the Hotmail team have got this right.


Adobe have revealed that Flash 11 will hit the web in "early October", and will push 3D content as a major feature as the company gear up to position themselves as a major force in web gaming. Air 3 will also launch fully in October, though both Flash 11 and Air 3 are currently available in release candidate versions.

While HTML5 seems to be the future of web developing (a technology Adobe are increasingly supporting) the company are hoping that developers will be drawn to Flash 11 thanks to its 3D content creation suite, Stage 3D.

"Today, approximately 70 per cent of web games are powered by Flash, along with 9 of the top 10 games on Facebook, about 70 per cent of the games on Google+, and the top social games from companies like Zynga and EA," reads a post on the Adobe blog.

"Games at their best are fluid, immersive experiences, and the unmatched consistency of Flash Player allows game developers to focus on making great games rather than fight fragmented technology.

"Games just play. And play big: Flash Player brings an audience over 11 times larger than that of the best-selling current generation game console... Flash Player 11 is the next-generation console for the web."

Other features set for inclusion in Flash 11 and Air 3 include native 64-bit support for Mac, Windows and Linux browsers, and improved Air 3 extensions to help make for swifter "one-click" app installs on Android, Windows, and Mac OS.

UK man first to be jailed for "trolling"

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Sean Duffy of Reading, Berkshire has become the first man in the UK to be jailed for internet trolling.

Trolling, for those not familiar with the term, is the act of posting messages on social networking channels or emails to groups or individuals with the purpose of causing distress or inciting an angry response.

Basically, trolls are the anonymous bullies of the web.

Duffy was a particularly spiteful troll, targeting Facebook pages set up in rememberance of dead teenagers. Duffy in particular targeted the page dedicated to Natasha MacBryde, a 15 year old who took her own life by jumping in front of a train following a separate, unrelated spate of cyber-bullying. Duffy posted insults including calling MacBryde a "slut", as well as creating an elaborate YouTube video that placed the teenager's face onto a clip of kid's TV show character Thomas the Tank Engine.

Duffy has been given an 18 week jail sentence. Needless to say, the internetz won't miss him.

Firefox set for Chrome-style makeover?

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firefox-chrome-look.jpgThe Firefox web browser looks all set to get a minimalist re-design. Mock-up designs from Mozilla designer Stephen Horlander have popped up online, giving a glimpse at a very Chrome-like future for the browser.

A settings and tasks tab now sits to the far right of the URL bar, which houses bookmarks, print, extension and cut, copy and paste functions. The URL bar and search bars are merged too, much like in Chrome.

You can view all the screenshots by clicking here.

While still very much in the design stages, Mozilla's new 18-week release cycle for the Firefox browser means we could see these changes implemented sooner than they would have been 6 months ago. According to TechCrunch, Horlander's designs have been met with much praise, and could make up the bulk of a future release.

With Firefox now playing second fiddle to both Internet Explorer and Chrome, expect to see a fair few more changes to the browser's look as it aims to become the world's favourite web-surfing program.

Via: TechCrunch

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After our article about what your browser choice says about your IQ, class, today's insights into the browser wars will focus on popularity.

While scoring only average in the intelligence stakes, Google Chrome is the winner in terms of grabbing market share. Now serving 22% of all UK web users, a nifty TV advertising campaign has ensured Chrome has now overtaken Firefox as the second most popular browser in the UK. In fourth place is Safari with 9% share.

(On a related note - the new version of Safari (5.1) just launched has a very clever feature, the 'Reading List'. A little pair of glasses on the shortcuts bar lets you save articles to read for later. Like it.)

And the most popular browser in the UK? Internet Explorer. Really. ... It goes to show that having a look around your immediate surroundings is not a good way to ascertain what is 'normal', as I don't know anyone who uses IE. Anyone?

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It's almost suitable, as the happy couple met online, at a site aptly called "Sweet On Geeks". So when the big day approached, and the groom couldn't find a priest free to conduct the ceremony, he decided to make one out of cyberdust.

At least Houston-based web developer Miguel Hanson had a sense of humour about it when he made his solution: he called it "Reverend Bit". Said the good reverend: "If anyone here has anything to say that might change their minds or has any objections, they do not want to hear it and I will not recognise your objections since Miguel has programmed me to only recognise his commands."

So then last Saturday Reverend Bit greeted Hanson, fiancée Diana Wesley and 30 guests. He talked everyone through the story of the happy couple, before seeing to their vows and declaring them husband and wife. A true tecchy love story.

[via CNET]

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