giffgaff, the new "people-powered" mobile network, is set to launch on 25th November.

In a novel approach to mobile network operating, users who go out of their way help promote the service will be rewarded with free calls, texts and mobile broadband. You scratch giffgaff's back and they will scratch yours, so to speak.

To help in this process, giffgaff users can hire "tools" to take out and use to introduce the world to the giffgaff brand. They are pretty wacky; radio controlled baseball shoes, a three-person "Cuddle Monster" suit for handing out hugs. Users upload videos making use of the crazy gear, and are then rewarded by becoming a V.I.G member (a Very Important Giffgaffer), eligible then for all the freebies.

There is even a cash reward of £5,000 for the best videos uploaded.

For more information, check out http://giffgaffnews.com/

Still walking around with your old wireless, bending a wire coat hanger around the aerial in a desperate bid to get a reception good enough to hear the shipping forecast? If so, give up you technophobe, head to a cash machine and grab yourself one of these budget DABs.

Click the image below to get started.

Google's Chrome OS asks just one simple question of its prospective users; do I really need a desktop space on my computer? According to Google, the answer to that question is no; you just need a feature rich web browser that can do everything that your desktop and applications can do, and do them much faster.

Google are of the belief that the majority of PC users do everything they need their PCs for within a web browser, or if they can't right now, they at least could with Chrome OS. Which is handy for them, as time on the web equates to money in the Google coffers.

First announced in July, more and more details of Google's OS are starting to trickle through. Here are the main points you need to know about Chrome OS:

Chrome is totally web based:

A user's time on the web gets the Google cash registers ringing, so it's no surprise that the OS encourages you to be connected to the internet. All applications are web based, with very little data stored locally on the PC, meaning that you can access anything you save from anywhere in the world via cloud storage. By being web based, Google hope to circumnavigate the hassle of managing and updating programs, with the OS handling all of this in the background.

Chrome should be super-secure:

Google's Chrome OS trusts no-one, not even its own applications. Every app runs within a "security sandbox", protecting you from malware and viruses. On top of this, each time you restart your computer, Chrome will check its code to hunt down any unwelcome guests, hopefully fixing any problems before the system has even booted up.

Chrome is fast. Really fast:

If you've used Google's Chrome web browser, you'll likely have been impressed with its speed. The Chrome OS wants you to be browsing the web within ten seconds of pushing your computer's "On" button. It's optimising every operation and removing all unnecessary processes to make this possible.

It's free to use:

Chrome won't cost you a penny, so it appears that the information they gather from your use with the OS will be very valuable to advertisers looking to target their campaigns with pinpoint accuracy. The OS will be open source for its users too, meaning anyone can have a go at tinkering with what's on offer.

It will be headed to netbooks first:

That may be the case, but Google's seven-year plan for the OS has them hoping to be a dominant force on desktops and laptops not long afterwards. Check out a demo of the Chrome OS here.

It's an ambitious project by Google. The desktop and local storage are pretty much synonymous with what many PC owners still understand as computing, and while Google are making brave steps to address the undeniable shift towards an increasingly online world, getting users to give up their familiar desktop may take some convincing.

While the Chrome OS looks set to be pretty well protected when it comes to PC security, perhaps its users should be more concerned with privacy. Certainly, Google have been instrumental in the growth of the web and in key innovations which have lead to its worldwide adoption. But there is the nagging doubt that with Chrome OS and the push to make everything web based, innovation is a cover for an attempt to harvest and monetise every last detail of the Chrome OS user.

Look at it this way. Being offered up completely for free, Google Chrome relies on the monetisation of every aspect of your daily PC usage. Hence the cloud storage; Google currently can't harvest information that is only stored locally on your PC, and so cloud storage ensures Google have access to every facet of information concerning your time in front of a PC screen. It would be completely naïve to view Google as some sort of online charity company, but the pervading feeling that Google are the "good guys" taking on the "money-hungry, evil" Microsoft is a stance that needs reassessing.

It's going a bit far to place an Orwellian, Big Brother-like mistrust in Google's motives. It's just that I'm a bit wary of booting up my netbook and finding a "WEB IS PEACE" mantra emblazoned all over it.

Logic3 today unveiled their new line of portable speakers, the iStationGo range.

The fold-away iStationGo speakers come in pink, blue, silver and black, with rounded edges that should make the speakers go easy on the lining of your bag. The speakers ship with a protective cloth carry case and four AAA batteries.

Thanks to a 3.5mm headphone jack, the iStationGo speakers will be compatible with a whole range of MP3 players and mobile phones. The four included AAA batteries will power the speakers for 15 hours, a pretty reasonable amount of time for portable speakers. The speakers also feature a cradle to place the iPod Touch, iPod Nano and iPhone either vertically or horizontally which should be useful for movie lovers.

The iStationGo speakers cost £19.99 and are available here directly from Logic3.

Comparison site Broadband Expert has revealed figures showing that mobile Pay as You Go broadband sales have overtaken traditional contract deals for the first time.

53% of mobile broadband customers now opt for Pay as You Go deals compared to 47% who take contract deals.

The trend is set to continue, according to Rob Webber, Broadband Expert's commercial director: "We've seen Pay as You Go sales rise sharply since the end
of 2008 as customers realise that they only need to pay for the broadband
they use and don't need to enter into a lengthy contract."

He continued, "We expect that this trend will continue over the Christmas period when Pay as You Go mobile broadband and phones typically perform well compared to contract mobile services. Prepaid mobile broadband makes an ideal gift -
especially for the types of people who may not be able to get credit such as
the under 18's or the very old."

If you've ever suffered the crushing heartbreak of being cast asunder by an online pal, you're probably pretty familiar with the term "unfriend".

Well, it look as though even the internet-phobic are set to become accustomed to the phrase, as "unfriend" enters next year's edition of the New Oxford American dictionary.

The term, which originated on social-networking sites such as Facebook beat "sexting", "intexticated", "netbook", "funemployed", "hashtag", "paywall" and "greenstate" for the title of Word of the Year.

According to a senior lexicographer, the term has (we kid you not) "lex appeal"...

Via: Silicon Republic

Myspace have acquired music streaming service Imeem for an undisclosed sum that industry experts estimate is a figure in the region of $8 million.

The service pioneered ad-based music streaming, but the $8 million sum will not go far towards covering the $30 million dollar investment the company initially received.

As a result, up to half of Imeem's workforce now faces unemployment.

The Imeem buyout follows Myspace's acquisition of iLike, another troubled music streaming website. Both iLike and Imeem could not support licensing costs from the major labels on ad-based revenue alone, despite Imeem receiving heavily subsidised licenses from all four majors.

Myspace itself has fallen on hard times, recently conceeding defeat in the social-networking race to Facebook. How it plans on incorporating Imeem and iLike into its Myspace Music service, which the company now claim is its main focus, could decide whether Myspace sinks or swims.

Via: CNet