This MTV clip from 1995 is excellent. It shows reporters and celebrities telling us all about this wonderful new thing called the "internet" - all of a sudden it's everywhere and it's so popular! (Thanks, Sandra Bullock.)

While a lot has changed, the issues of the internet as of 1995 weren't all that different from what they are nowadays, actually. Then as now, the web was mostly being used for chatting to like-minded people. But there was a lot more fear around it, with much concern about hackers and debates about protecting children from porn. Not that you could really look at pictures, porn or otherwise, back then, with dial-up being the connection of the day. Remember those crackly modems? We don't miss those. The word "cyber", on the other hand, that looks due for a revival. Who's with me?

[video via The Awl]

It feels kind of mean to point this out, but here we go. It seems that users of Internet Explorer have lower IQs than users of other web browsers. Really. Or at least this was the result of a study by AptiQuant.

We have unfortunately read nothing to help us understand WHY this had become a topic for study, but here it is anyway: users of Internet Explorer 5 have an IQ score of just over 80. Over 100,000 adults were quizzed for this, and it seems the brain trust uses Opera or Camino. Those preferring Firefox or Chrome can comfort themselves the likelihood of having a more average IQ score, of around 110.

The scientists behind this little nugget of a study have concluded it's not really the browser itself that determines IQ, but how likely the user is to welcome change, as in, upgrade. Internet Explorer is one of the first browsers launched, while Camino remains very niche and would potentially be more likely to appeal to the curiously minded. The study also showed that those with the oldest versions of Internet Explorer had lower IQs than those using the newest version. If that helps.

(via Mashable)

You may keep your personal details to yourself, as well as your gender, location and political afflictions. But it doesn't matter - the internet knows who you are. It may not be able to figure out your name, but when it comes to the other stuff, to what makes you tick, the internet indeed knows.

This was the conclusion when the Mitre Corporation conducted a little study. The researchers fed a host of anonymous tweets into a computer, which had been programmed with the knowledge of which words were most likely to be used by men, and which were likely to be spoken by women. The result? The computer could guess the person's gender 75.8% of the time. This was when the computer could read a person's entire Twitter stream - when constricted to reading only one tweet, the accuracy dropped to 65.9%.

Obviously, this is not a hard and fast rule. Women don't tweet about puppies and chocolate all day (and those who are letting the side down), but according to the art of socio-linguistics, there are definitely patters to how men and women speak. Did you know women tend to laugh more? And use more exclamation points! Computers can be programmed with this knowledge to help researchers find patterns.

Another feature of the study was when the researchers added the phrase "my" in front of certain words. This enlightening little chart shows how likely someone would be to be a Democrat or Republican based on this:

In spite of how it feels at times, Twitter is not a microcosm of life, so the findings are not entirely reflective of the real world. But advertisers may take an interest in this, as it will give them a decent shot at figuring out who we are and what we want in the murky waters of the web. So next time you trot around the internet in your anonymous disguise discussing the merits of Etsy versus Folksy, be aware: they are on to you.

Ever since we learned that nothing in that Alanis Morissette song was actually ironic we've been nervous about using that word - but we're going to take a shot. Because news that digital sales are the reason the music industry can report its first increase in album sales since 2004 - well that's ironic, considering how the music industry has been raging against the new format.

A new report from Nielsen SoundScan, released yesterday, shows that album sales increased in the first half of this year, for the first time in seven years. It's only a 1% increase, mind, but it's significant as the trend has been negative for so long.

In the first half of 2011, 155.5 million albums were sold in the US. If counting single track downloads, counting ten singles as an album, the increase is actually 3.6%, or 221.5 million albums.

"Digital album sales are up 19% through the first six months over 2010 and are on pace to set a new sales record at the end of the year," said Nielsen. With 660.8 million digital units sold in the first half of 2011, this represents an 11% percent year-on-year increase.

Other / proper examples of irony may be left in the comments, thx.

What's in a name?

But it needn't be, so long as you consider a few key factors. We spoke to Paul Roach, SEO pro and CEO of parked-domain monetising specialists Product Wave about what most to look for when buying a domain name.

Every website starts with a domain (but not all domains are equal)

There are 18 (soon to be 19) domain extensions to choose from, but the majority of businesses choose either a .com, .net or a country specific domain (such as .co.uk). You don't see too many sites on .biz or .info domains because they have been somewhat devalued through widespread availability and spam. There are always exceptions to the rule, however and you can use other domain extensions creatively (think bit.ly).
 
 
What should you look for when you're buying a domain?

If you're looking for a .com or country domain you're probably going to have to be pretty creative when you're choosing a new domain name. You can choose to go down the keyword route (user-testing.com is a great example of this, they rank at #1 on Google for their chosen name, mainly due to the keyword-keyword domain) which ensures that (almost) every link you get is going to hit your target keywords, or you can start a brand from the beginning, and build through brand awareness.
 
Whatever you do, don't go down the route of buying-a-great-domain-with-hundreds-of-hypens-in-it.com. How many times have you seen a link to a site with multiple hyphens and clicked on it, never mind bought anything? There is nothing inherently wrong with multiple hyphen domains, but the user perception is bad, and there's good evidence that it counts as a negative factor in search engine ranking algorithms.
 

All the "good" domains are gone

Following on from the point above, it's true that the majority of single (and double) keyword domains have been snapped up already. That leaves you with a couple of options. Try to pick a domain that is very brandable, rather than keyword led (you may still need to buy it from someone, but it will be cheaper) or enter the domain auction marketplace to pick up the perfect one for your business. This can be expensive, so set a budget, and don't set your heart on a specific domain name unless you're willing to break the bank.
 
 
Google doesn't give any love to new domains... does it?

It's true that starting from scratch with a new domain puts you behind the curve as far as immediately competing for high volume search terms, but the idea that you can't compete at all is wrong. You aren't going to rank at #1 for "poker" in month 1 (or probably even month 10) but there are plenty of long tail terms that will drive you qualified traffic while building towards a bigger keyword.

For example, if I'm entering the "fishing" market I'm unlikely to rank for generic top level terms like "fishing" and "fishing equipment". But I can probably rank for secondary and related terms such as "fly fishing equipment" that contain my long term keywords. In this example, a more brandable domain name is probably going to be a better long term bet than fly-fishing-equipment.com (which is not available but the .co.uk and .net are!). Unless all you're going to sell is fly fishing items that is...
 
 
What about the new gTLDs?

Considering they are going to cost $180,000 dollars, and require around the same level of qualification and application criteria as "building a skyscraper" they will be out of reach for the majority of businesses. However, big brands will have to decide if their current domain strategy is adequate, or if they should they move to a new .BRAND domain (or should they simply reserve the domain to stop other companies potentially using it)? A lot will depend on how the new domains are perceived by the public (and the search engines) and whether global brands think it's worthwhile to redo years of domain management. For newer brands, the question will probably be easier to answer; it would be a surprise if .twitter and .google aren't reserved in the first round of registrations.

Product Wave is a new service designed to make the most of un-used or "parked" domains. The platform allows even those with no coding skill to purchase a domain and make cash from it within minutes, quickly turning a dormant domain into a website products for sale and money to be earned from merchant feeds and affiliate marketing programs such as the Commission Junction and Amazon.

Click here for more info on Product Wave.

Amy Winehouse has become the latest high-profile target for hackers. A collective known as Swagger Security or "SwagSec" (and not to be confused with LulZSec, who recently disbanded) gained control of www.amywinehouse.com long enough to deface the stars page.

Though the site is now being re-directed to the Rehab star's Facebook page, SwagSec had littered it with animated GIFs and flashing text, as well as posting quite a rant against the star, who they refer to bizarrely as "the White devil" and, unflatteringly, "AMYcrackheaddevilWINEHOUSE ".

However, SwagSec's real targets seem to be Anonymous, the hacking group who brought Sony's PlayStation Network to its knees.

"ANTISEC, U ALREDY GOT OWNED ONCE... WE RUN THE INTERNET. U RUN F***INBRAZILIAN ROUTERS & A COUPLE SMALL-TIME BRAZILIAN .GOV'S," reads part of the SwagSec rant.

"WE R NOT AFFILIATED WIT ANONYMOUS... DONT U DARE SAY WE R ANONYMOUS U F**IN MORANZ. ANONYMOUSDONT KNOW WTF DEY DOIN."

SwagSec also claim to have hit websites belonging to Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Def Jam and the Klaxons, though we'd be surprised if even the Klaxons themselves noticed that particular attack.

Microsoft have just lifted the lid on Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview 2, giving a glimpse at what's to come with their next-generation web browser.

IE10 looks to further the solid work made with IE9, focussing on the "beauty of the web" by continued improvements in HTML 5 integration and fancy interactive web apps, drag and drop support File Reader API, Form Validation, Web Workers, CSS3 Positioned Floats and Media Query Listeners, as well as HTML 5 sandbox functionality and iframe isolation.

"With the second Platform Preview of IE10, developers can start working with several site-ready HTML5 technologies for building interactive Web applications with great performance and security," says Microsoft.

"The Platform Preview can be downloaded from the IE Test Drive site, where you'll also find some new demos which showcase new capabilities within IE10 Platform Preview 2."

Once officially released, Microsoft pledge to support IE10 for ten years. IE10 is expected to leave the preview stage and become a final product alongside the release of Windows 8 next year.

Ryan Cleary, the British teenager arrested last week in connection to the LulzSec hacking collective who ran riot over the internet during the past few weeks before swiftly disbanding, has been granted bail provided he stays offline.

the internet ban includes a confiscation of all of Cleary's web-enabled gadgets, including his computer, PS3 and iPhone.

Accused of involvement in a string of DDoS attacks on websites, Cleary denies all charges, while members of the LulzSec group have now stated that the teen merely owned servers that hosted a handful of the group's sites.

Since his arrest, Cleary has been diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome, a form of autism.

"[Cleary] will now be provided with the professional support that he needs. His obvious intelligence can now be channelled into a worthwhile pursuit," his solicitors told the Financial Times.

LulzSec were responsible for a number of high-profile website hacks, including Sony Entertainment, Nintendo, the NHS, Bethesda Softworks and the Arizona Law Enforcement agency.

LulzSec, the hacking collective that have courted media controversy for the last 50 days, have decided to call it a day.

After popping a final, virus-filled release of data via a torrent, the group are now disbanding as the media and authorities close increasingly in upon them.

"For the past 50 days we've been disrupting and exposing corporations, governments, often the general population itself, and quite possibly everything in between, just because we could. All to selflessly entertain others - vanity, fame, recognition, all of these things are shadowed by our desire for that which we all love. The raw, uninterrupted, chaotic thrill of entertainment and anarchy. It's what we all crave, even the seemingly lifeless politicians and emotionless, middle-aged self-titled failures. You are not failures. You have not blown away. You can get what you want and you are worth having it, believe in yourself," the statement reads.

"While we are responsible for everything that The Lulz Boat is, we are not tied to this identity permanently. Behind this jolly visage of rainbows and top hats, we are people. People with a preference for music, a preference for food; we have varying taste in clothes and television, we are just like you."

The statement then takes a little bit of a strange turn:

Even Hitler and Osama Bin Laden had these unique variations and style, and isn't that interesting to know? The mediocre painter turned supervillain liked cats more than we did,"

Not quite sure what they're getting at there, but they finish off in rallying style:

"We truly believe in the AntiSec movement. We believe in it so strongly that we brought it back, much to the dismay of those looking for more anarchic lulz. We hope, wish, even beg, that the movement manifests itself into a revolution that can continue on without us. The support we've gathered for it in such a short space of time is truly overwhelming, and not to mention humbling. Please don't stop. Together, united, we can stomp down our common oppressors and imbue ourselves with the power and freedom we deserve."

Thought to number some 6 or so people, LulzSec attacked Sony Entertainment websites, Nintendo, the NHS and the Arizona Law Enforcement agency, among other targets.

New data by web experts Comscore has revealed that Apple's iPad and iPhone devices are the gadgets of choice when it comes to mobile web browsing in the UK, and by a wide margin too.

Once computers are taken out of the equation, the iPhone range accounts for 29.9% of mobile traffic in the UK, while the iPad accounts for 21.3% of mobile traffic.

All Android phones on the other hand only make up 15% of UK mobile web traffic, with Android tablets responsible for a miniscule 0.3 per cent, despite the growing availabilty of Android-powered tablets and the promised Honeycomb onslaught.

The results mirror similar data collected from countries including Canada, France and Japan, where iOS devices again are the most popular mobile web browsing units.

Head over the pond to the USA though and it's all quite different. Though the iPad is still the king of tablet browsing, smartphone browsing is dominated by Android devices, not iPhones, with 35.6 per cent of non-computer web traffic conducted via Google's OS-packing devices, compared to just 23.5 per cent of mobile web traffic on iPhones stateside.

Via: Comscore

News International publications including The Sun's online presence and The Times are reportedly the latest targets for hackers following the recent wave of attacks on major web destinations.

Initially, the attacks were being attributed to LulzSec, the hacking collective whose recent high-profile attacks have seen them garner lots of media coverage. It was thought that they were responding to the coverage of the arrest of Ryan Cleary on June 22nd, one of their number who has since been charged with 5 offences, accused of DDoS on SOCA, the BPI and IFPI.

However, LulzSec have taken to their Twitter account to deny involvement.

"Clearing up yet more failed attempts at framing: we didn't attack The Sun or The Times in any way with any kind of DDoS attack. Cheers," reads the tweet on the LulzSec account.

Seemingly becoming increasingly frustrated with the media coverage following their actions, a later tweet read: "A shout-out to all the real journalists on the Internet; writing to give people the real facts, not writing to meet the evening deadline."

LulzSec have recently claimed responsibility for attacks on the NHS, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo.

There have been more whispers surrounding Pottermore, the newly-announced Harry Potter-themed social network, than those surrounding "He Who Must Not Be Named" himself, the books' evil baddie Lord Voldemort.

So it got us thinking about what we'd want to see from such a site. Here's what the Muggles over at Tech Digest hope Pottermore will conjure.

Crowd-sourced new novels

You've got all the series' fans collected in one place, all crying out for more stories that Rowling isn't willing to write. The web is full of fan-fiction, so why not harness that? Sure, fan-fiction is mostly rubbish, but what if there was the chance for one of the more skilled fan-fiction writers to collaborate with Rowling on a new adventure starring some of Potter's supporting cast, with perhaps plot developments chosen by the network users? That'd seriously be giving something back to the fanbase, and offer a new writer a shot at publication too.

Web episodes from the world of wizardry

As well as the culmination of the series of books, the Deathly Hallows also obviously marks the end of the popular Harry Potter movie adaptations. Though they've not always been stellar films, they certainly nailed the feel of Rowling's universe well. How about if Pottermore offered bite-sized chunks of video of plot developments cut from the movies, or fresh video altogether. A "Hagrid's Guide to Hand-Rearing Dragons" starring Robbie Coltrane would be great fun.

A "Second Life" style Hogwarts to explore

This one's probably a bit of a long shot, but the Harry Potter world is so rich visually, it'd be a shame to have its online presence merely a predominately static social network. Why not turn Hogwarts into a "Second Life" style online game? Even a limited MMO browser game can look great these days, and with the "freemium" model employed by the likes of Lord of the Rings Online, everyone could play for free, while die-hard fans could pay a little extra for premium content. Being able to meet up with some pals online and take a stroll around the Chamber of Secrets would be pretty awesome.

Safer security from Severus Sony

Now we know this one isn't based on Pottermore content, but it's an important one nonetheless. With Pottermore you'd imagine aimed predominately at children, Rowling's "safe" network isn't in the most reliable hands at the moment, what with it being in partnership with Sony. Sony's security measures over the past few months have proved to have more holes than the Leaky Cauldron. After the PlayStation 3's PSN hack, lets up Pottermore doesn't fall foul to Secrecy Thief Death Eaters, or "computer hackers" as they are known in the Muggle world.

Interactive Harry Potter eBooks

One of the biggest announcements to go along with Pottermore was the news that it would be the sole portal for downloading official Harry Potter eBooks. Which is great for newbies to the series who want to load them up onto a Kindle or other such ereader. But what about those who already own the books, and still want an digital copy? While an e-ink ereader can't really offer much more than words on a digital page, tablet editions of the Harry Potter books, in some sort of app format, could be superb. As well as having built-in audiobook support, they could have illustrations, animations, interactive games, spell casting, creature sounds; the works. There's the opportunity here to make the digital books the definitive magical reading experience, if some time and effort is put in.

What do you think of our Pottermore suggestions? Do we deserve a butterbeer or are we waving our wands in the wrong direction? Let us know in the comments below or via our Twitter page, @techdigestnews.

JK Rowling, author of the mega-popular Harry Potter series of books, has today revealed Pottermore, an online portal for fans of the teenage wizard and his magical adventures to explore.

"It's the same story with a few crucial additions. The most important one is you," teased Rowling in an introductory video posted on the site (an embedded above here).

Part social network, part Harry Potter encyclopaedia and part online game, it'll play host to "additional information" on the world of witchcraft and wizadry that Rowling claims she has "been hoarding for years".

Though details are still very sparse, Pottermore will definitely feature interactive elements called "Moments", taking their inspiration from key scenes from the books. Pottermore users for isntance will be able to stroll down a virtual Diagnon Alley, learn how to cast spells in a wizarding lesson, and be sorted into one of the magical school Hogwart's four rival houses.

For the first time, the Harry Potter books will be offered as official eBooks too, exclusively through Pottermore, while audio book versions will be sold through the site too.

Though the site is set to officially open to all in October, select fans will be able to access the site early, with Rowling cryptically inviting fans to "Follow the Owl" to get involved earlier than the general public.

Heading over to www.pottermore.com reveals an extra clue, with a registration link alongside the words "Come back on 31st July to find out how you can get the chance to enter Pottermore early."

Though we're still not entirely sure what to expect, the announcement will come as music to the ears of Potter-fans the world over; with this summer seeing the final big screen adaptation (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two) hitting cinemas, and with no plans for further novels, Pottermore looks set to be the spot where the Potter universe will live and expand over the coming years.

The web is set for one of the biggest shake-ups its ever seen after the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) have voted to allow a much longer list of domain endings to be available to site owners.

There are currently 21 generic top-level domain names (gTLD); aero, asia, biz, cat, com, coop, edu, gov, info, int, jobs, mil, mobi, museum, name, net, org, pro, tel, travel and the recently luanched adult xxx.

However the new motion will expand upon this massively, allowing pretty much any ending to a domian name of an indviduals choosing for a price of $185,000 and a lengthy application process.

"Today's decision will usher in a new internet age," said Peter Dengate Thrush, chairman of Icann's board of directors. "We have provided a platform for the next generation of creativity and inspiration. Unless there is a good reason to restrain it, innovation should be allowed to run free."

So, you could very well see sites such as www.darthvader.starwars or www.supermario.nintendo popping up before long.

Country-level domains, such as Britain's .co.uk or Germany's .de, will not be affected by these changes.

Via: Guardian

Moshi Monsters, the UK based social network aimed at kids that takes many a visual cue from Nintendo's Pokemon series, has hit a landmark 50 million registered users. The figure means that now 1 in 2 UK children aged between 6-12 own a Moshi Monster account, with 1 new sign up every second from over 150 nations across the globe.

Letting kids interact and play online in safe, colourful environment, Moshi Monsters lets kids care and nurture for their own little online monster pet.

"We're thrilled to see Moshi Monsters experience such rapid growth across the globe" said Michael Acton Smith, CEO and founder of Mind Candy.

"We've hit 50 million users and have even more ambitious plans ahead. Our vision is to build the largest entertainment brand in the world for this new digital generation of kids."

"Thrilled" is probably an understatement from the Mind Candy CEO; in 2008 the company was near bankrupt, but the exponential growth Moshi Monsters is now expereincing has seen the brand expand into other lucrative areas such as toys, books, trading cards and video games. As such, Moshi Monsters and its related products is now expected to generate over £60 million in 2011.

Over half of the UK's pensioners feel "silenced and ignored" according to a new study by the Nominet Trust. With 43% unable to recall the last time someone asked their opinion, many are now turning to the internet to have thier voices heard.

"Our study shows that more pensioners fire off emails on a weekly basis (70%) than pen letters (17%) and many older people are using the Internet to start businesses, to run voluntary groups, to engage with their local communities and yet we continue to marginalise this important and growing segment of our society," said Annika Small, Director of Nominet Trust.

The study also found some interesting regional results too:

§ London pensioners most likely to use emails on a weekly basis (91%)
§ Pensioners in Yorkshire are the least likely to be asked their opinion (63%) followed closely by Welsh pensioners (62%)
§ Older people in the South East are most likely to feel their voice has been silenced (67%)
§ North West OAPs find it the hardest to get their opinions heard (84%)
§ Pensioners in the North East would most like to flirt with Simon Cowell via Twitter (15%)
§ Wales has the most Facebook users over 65 years old (54%)
§ Scotland has the most pensioners eager to learn to use Twitter (17%)

With over half (57%) of the older people questioned wishing there were more internet forums for OAPs to express their views, the Nominet Trust are offering £20,000 worth of funding and support to the person with the most innovative idea for getting pensioners' voices herad online. The Nominet Trust are also launching the GreyMatters blog to help in this process.

"We hope our GreyMatters channel will highlight the personalities out there that are eager to express their thoughts and views. Discussing news and politics is of course high on the agenda but our older generation is also well aware of the fun to be had online," added Small.

You check out the Grey Matters blog by heading over to www.nominettrust.org.uk/GreyMatters.

There's a strict age limit of 13 on Facebook at the moment, but it seems Mark Zuckerberg has ambitions of stretching his empire further by hooking'em in while they're young.

The idea isn't revolutionary - after all reports have it 7.5 million kids under the age limit are already using Facebook. According to TechEye, Zuckerberg told the NewSchools Summit in California that Facebook is a great place for children to learn from each other, but it remains to be seen whether the Facebook empire will be able to recruit among the young. At the moment, a pesky law called the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act means kids under 13 cannot join internet sites that collect personal data.

Facebook would need to put forward some convincing arguments as to the benefits of kids being on Facebook, along with, we assume, a host of security measures to protect them from unsavory influences. But Zuckerberg has achieved many things deemed far-fetched already in his young life, so we wouldn't put it past him to find a way to get his way also this time.

Oh how embarrassing to be a certain footballer right now. He's been busted, the game's over, and we're all just waiting for him to lower his head and do the apology dance. But lo and behold, this isn't at all what's happened. Instead, the cad-du-jour has gone ahead and sued Twitter. Seriously? Does this mean Fred the Shred will sue the House of Lords next, the culprit that broke his own superinjunction?

The embarrassment is no longer so much about the footballer's actual affair, but now it's more about how he's handled being exposed. You know the footballer in question - we all know. It's all over Twitter, and yesterday he was even pictured on the front page of the Sunday Herald. The Scottish newspaper claims the superinjunctions have no power across the border, and whether or not that's the case is another debate. But either way, the Scottish paper went ahead and published a photo with only the eyes covered, leaving it obvious who the person was. So now that's all over Google too, if you are one of the few who don't know already.

While celebrity dalliances are good tabloid fodder, the more interesting issue here (for the geek squad at least) is how this issue may affect the internet. Twitter is an American company, meaning it's not likely to expend any resources to enforce a gagging order from a foreign country - even if it's Britain and not some 'obscure' country with draconian laws. If online businesses were made responsible for adhering to laws in all the countries where people accessed the site, it would be a very slippery and messy slope.

Filtering tweets in real time may be difficult, but the lawsuit is simply calling for Twitter to reveal the identities of the people who broke the superinjunction on the site. But this is starting to veer onto the issue of censorship. You could argue no one would be hurt at being forced to stop talking about cheating footballers, but if we open the door at any kind of censorship it will be hard to close again. We tut at stories about China allegedly censoring Gmail and shake our heads at the Chinese not being allowed to access Facebook - but it's all sides of the same story. Okay, so it's sad about the exposure of the footballer's kids. But the issue here is so much bigger than that.

The changes are not final yet, but recommendations for new copyright rules include making it legal for people to transfer their own CDs onto their MP3 players. Did you know this was illegal? The fact that most people probably would answer "no" to that question is testament to how outdated the rule is.

The UK's copyright laws need to be overhauled to keep up with how technological advances are affecting how we interact with music, film and media, according to an independent review published today. The Hargreaves Independent Review of IP and Growth, commissioned by the government, recommends allowing the transfer of own music files, as well as using new music sharing services such as the Amazon Cloud Drive.

Business innovation
The issue of personal data transfers is not the only thing facing an overhaul; technological innovation will also likely benefit if the changes are accepted. Google has in the past said how it could never have started business in the UK, as copyright laws would have stood in the way.

The recommended new rules include easing the access to "orphan works", which is a piece of music or a book where the author cannot be traced. This usually applies to archive materials, where any confusion about authorship would mean the item is off limits for use. Loosening these rules would make it easier to make new versions, parodies and spin-offs, and the BBC and the British Film Institute are among those that would benefit from a change in this rule.

The Hargreaves report also recommends the creation of an online copyright shop, where all copyrighted material such as music and film can be traded online.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Neil Allcock, a licensing specialist at Deloitte, said: "The creative industries will react in two ways: they will say the measures are a good idea but that they are very hard to implement."

Maybe so, but it sounds like it needs doing.

Name: Home Hub 3 (BT)

Type: Wi-Fi Broadband Router

Specs: Click here for full specs

Price: Free with new BT Broadband packages, £46 for existing customers, £92 without a BT contract

BT's Home Hub 3 aims to eliminate Wi-Fi woes by employing a new "Smart Wireless" technology. But does this new channel hopping system do enough to glaze over a few other notably absent features?

Wireless internet has become the standard for so many laptops and mobile devices that it's hard to remember a time when there was no choice but to wire a connection to your PC in order to connect to the net. However ubiquitous Wi-Fi connections have now become, so too have frustratingly frequent drop outs and wireless interference. As the headline feature of the BT Home Hub 3 router, Smart Wireless technology aims to do away with this.

Though the majority of routers these days scan for the most interference-free channel when first setting up your Wi-Fi connection, over time the channel can become flooded with interference from other devices in the vicinity, meaning only a hard reset or manual signal change will do the trick to fix connection issues. BT's Smart Wireless technology consistently scans for interference and dynamically changes the wireless channel to maintain the best possible connection.

And it seems to work too. I live in flats notorious for Wi-Fi drop out thanks to a number of gadget-happy neighbours, and experienced the first consistent wireless connection that I've enjoyed in many years. Even when I placed an analogue video sender near it, the router adapted quickly to the problem and changed channel accordingly. Though we couldn't judge how consistently the router would perform when surrounded by other routers in close proximity, the router should suit most home set ups without a hitch.

It's not just the consistency of the connection that's impressive, but the quality too. Even two floors up through solid walls it managed respectable speeds, with a maximum of 12Mbits/sec clocked outside thirty metres away from the router, using 802.11n wireless. Depending on your connection speed, data rates potentially can max out at 144 Mbit/sec or 300 Mbits/sec using the optional 40 MHz mode.

It's a pretty little device, as far as routers go aswell. A curved black sloping box, it features 3 front-facing indicator lights which change colour according to the power supply and quality of the broadband connectivity and wireless connections.

On the rear you'll find four Ethernet ports (though only one is Gigabit) and two WAN ports (an RJ11 port for the built-in ADSL modem, and another RJ45 port that supports the VDSL2 protocol used to connect to BT's Infinity fibre-optic broadband service). There's also room for a USB port, acting as a network storage space or printer sharer. A pull out tab that slips out of the rear of the device with the WPS pin and password written on it is a nice touch too, meaning you'll always have a portable code to hand as you set up devices around the house.

Those nice looks carry over into the simple set-up of the device too, making it perfect for novice users. A web interface allows you to adjust the hub's settings, such as wireless security protocols and eco-friendly standby scheduling. Though the web interface defaults to only the most basic commands, it opens up when you click the advanced view to carry out more complex tasks such as port forwarding and firewall details.

However, those using older Wi-Fi devices will be frustrated to find that 128-bit WEP isn't supported, leaving you only with 64-bit WEP instead. Though WPA and WPA2 should be sufficiently secure for the majority of devices, users of gadgets making use of older security standards may find this omission a little disquieting. Heavy media streamers and gamers alike may also be frustrated to see that there is also no support for QoS, meaning there's no way of prioritising traffic for smooth web video playback or stutter-free online gaming.

Though it's hard to judge the number of people who made use of the feature, the BT Home Hub 3 also drops Broadband Talk support. Those who make use of the service on previous Home Hubs and BT packages should therefore avoid this latest unit.

Verdict:

Though it may be a hard sell on its own, the BT Home Hub 3 is a consistent and reliable router. Maintaining a solid connection over-the-air at respectable speeds in our notoriously interference-rich testing spot, it's well worth a £46 upgrade for existing BT subscribers, and is a real bargain as a free part of the telecom giant's broadband packages.