Remember the hullabaloo over the fact that Windows 8 will drop the Start button in the ‘Consumer Preview’? Well, according to Paul Thurrot, it’s not going away anytime soon. It’s just no longer on the taskbar, that’s all.

Thurrott notes that Microsoft is planning to make the Start button a physical button. Why? Well, remember that Metro design for the Start screen? Well, that’s where Microsoft is heading, so it’s a bit redundant to have something on the taskbar to launch the screen where you can simply just press a button.

Also, it’s not like the keyboard isn’t going to change. See that Windows key on the keyboard? It’s still there, so press that and you’ll be taken to the Start screen. Or, alternatively, you can do the ye olde method of CTRL + ESC (as Thurrott notes).

Just because the magical button is going away on screen, it’s not the end of the world.

As you can tell by the images, you simply write you want to say in a text box. Afterwards, set the timing on how fast you want it to go, and start recording. However, it appears that for now it will simply do voice-over recording rather than you simply just standing there on camera, recording yourself. But if you were going to do voice-overs, this is a pretty handy feature so you don’t have to switch back and forth between a word processor (if your cheap) or have to read it on paper.

What’s also interesting is that this patent also will let you read this off a mobile device or tablet – obviously via Wi-Fi. That means that you simply type up your text on a desktop, and you’ll be able to take your tablet to a nearby Mic stand, put your iPad in front of you and simply read off that rather than the monitor.

You can read the full patent below, if your interested in seeing how it works.

Want to own these? Yes, you too can have your own Handheld Portal Device made by Aperture Science for just 16,000 yen (or around AUD$193). I mean, who doesn’t want to own a gun that makes teleporting portals out of thin air?

Yes, of course I know it’s not real. It’s just a replica. But it is a really good replica of the gun, and even comes with lights that can change to blue and orange. And plus, who doesn’t want it. I mean, look at it. It’s the freaking Portal Gun!

You can obviously tell Portal is one of my favourite games. I can also tell you that list isn’t long – it’s like ten games I’ve played. And the only reason why I played it was because my friends strapped me down and forced me to play it. Though, I wouldn’t have played this voluntarily if they hadn’t forced me to do so.

Anyway, it will cost 16,000 yen and will be released on April 2012. You can get it from this Japanese store called Mamegyorai (translation).

BigPond has announced that it will soon switch off its own email service – BigPond Email – and will be migrating its customers to Windows Live. All new customers connected on or after today will be using the new service, with other customers expected to upgraded sometime during 2012.

This will also mean BigPond customers will have access to other Windows Live services such as SkyDrive, Messenger and Office Web Apps via SkyDrive – and the other lesser known services which you also get via Windows Live Essentials.

Why? No idea, but it is most likely a cost-cutting measure since they can now offload all email handling to Microsoft.

And if you are worried about losing any emails, Telstra has reassured that users that you will not lose them, nor your contacts or calendars.

Google Wallet’s week hasn’t been that great. A second major security flaw has been revealed today which could allow a thief to have access to your funds via Google’s prepaid card. This comes on top of revelations that it was possible to crack the PIN on rooted Android devices.

The first, revealed yesterday, is a simple hack – using brute force after gaining access to the encrypted file storing the PIN. The main problem was that it was on device, not on the NFC chip, so it can be accessed by those who have managed to root their phone. So, if you didn’t root your phone, you were fine.

Google, however, denies there is a problem with the study, which was conducted by Zvelo.

“The zvelo study was conducted on their own phone on which they disabled the security mechanisms that protect Google Wallet by rooting the device. To date, there is no known vulnerability that enables someone to take a consumer phone and gain root access while preserving any Wallet information such as the PIN,” it said in a statement.

Now a second vulnerability has bee found, by TheSmartphoneChamp, and this one does not require a PIN. The thief can simply clean the data via Application Settings, reopen the app and start a new PIN. Once that is done, the thief then can add a Google Prepaid card and then has potential access to your funds because the cards are stored.

It should be pointed out that it has to be a pre-paid card. This vulnerability has been independently verified by The Verge. Google has also confirmed that this security hole does exist, and are working on a fix to patch it up.

So basically, if you’re using the service – put a lock screen on it. Or, uninstall it.

Screenshot of the data dump (Image: 9to5Mac)

Controversial manufacturer Foxconn has been hacked in protest over its working conditions, with the group leaking login details of the staff inside the company. This comes as protesters are demanding Apple to make an “ethically-made iPhone 5″.

Yes, because they are stuck between two problems – remain hipster with the iPhone, or support poor working conditions. I know, it’s a really hard decision. (That was sarcasm, by the way – doesn’t really translate well into text).

The hackers, calling themselves Swagg Security, have claimed that the passwords leaked would allow individuals “to make fraudulent orders under big companies like Microsoft, Apple, IBM, Intel, and Dell” and that they wanted to expose Foxconn. After all, they “enjoy exposing governments and corporations.”

9to5Mac have managed to verify that the passwords are real, adding that the server has now closed by Foxconn.

It is unsure if any internal information was leaked out – though, we’ll keep an eye on it.

The full message is below:

Users of Cyberspace,

So Foxconn thinks they got ‘em some swagger because they work with the Big Boys from Intel, Microsoft, IBM, and Apple? Fool, You don’t know what swagger is. They say you got your employees all worked up, committing suicide ‘n stuff. They say you hire chinese workers ’cause you think the taiwanese are elite. We got somethin’ served up good…real good. Your not gonna’ know what hit you by the time you finish this release. Your company gonna’ crumble, and you deserve it.

Upon switching the radio from Nicki Minaj’s self-enforcing, lack of content, stereotypical song, “Stupid Hoe”; We switched on BBC Radio, the leading source of unbiased material. A short segment on the manufacturer giant Foxconn, came up reporting on the inhuman conditions the workers experience. A few days later an almost viral rumor about an Iphone 5 with a 4-inch screen being manufactured, as claimed by an employee from the infamous Foxconn. Now as a first impression Swagg Security would rather not deceive the public of our intentions. Although we are considerably disappointed of the conditions of Foxconn, we are not hacking a corporation for such a reason and although we are slightly interested in the existence of an Iphone 5, we are not hacking for this reason. We hack for the cyberspace who share a few common viewpoints and philosophies. We enjoy exposing governments and corporations, but the more prominent reason, is the hilarity that ensues when compromising and destroying an infrastructure. How unethical right? Perhaps for the layman who has conformed to a society raised by the government that actively seeks to maintain power and quell threats to their ventures. But to us and many others, the destruction of an infrastructure, the act of destruction that does not affect an individual, brings a sense of newfound content, a unique feeling, along with a new chance to start your own venture.

This is Swagg Security, we aim to to reshape your perspectives, our perspectives, by the inducing of entertainment. A unique approach to spreading a unique philosophy which brings the sought after tranquility. In a way we are “hacktivist”, but in our own views we are Greyhats. We believe there is no reality in hacktivism, even with good intentions. We know those who claim to be “hacktivists” that inside of you, a suppressed part of you, enjoys playing a part in the anarchist event of hacking of an infrastructure. One which at the same time presents a challenge, upon completing reveals an almost unknown feeling of a menacing satisfaction. We encourage not to continue quelling such a natural emotion but to embrace it. Only when embracing what society has taught you to hinder, is when you realize your own identity.

We encourage media, security experts, and other interested individuals to explore our leaks. Foxconn did have an appropriate firewall, but fortunately to our intent, we were able to bypass it almost flawlessly. Of course with funding ourselves we did have our limitations. But with several hacking techniques employed, and a couple of days in time, we were able to dump most of everything of significance. We now appropriately give consent to other individuals reading this release, to scavenge through the leaks acquiring usernames and passwords; while attempting to find if they use the passwords anywhere else. Remember damage is bliss. Without further undue, the leaks.

The Hackers with Swagger,

Swagg Security

Note: The passwords inside these files could allow individuals to make fraudulent orders under big companies like Microsoft, Apple, IBM, Intel, and Dell. Be careful ; )

Meanwhile, 250,000 protesters visited 6 Apple stores around the world and called for reforms on their overseas manufacturing after the working conditions have been in the mainstream press – though, incidentally when Foxconn workers were jumping off buildings, these people didn’t really seem to care. I think it was until it managed to make an appearance on This American Life that they started to protest.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticising their protests. It’s a valid point that Apple should start protecting their workers – especially when Foxconn has a history of overworking its employees and where minimum wage is significantly smaller than what we get here. It feels, however, opportunistic because of the lack of protest during the other Foxconn problems that were reported on.

Anyway, two groups – Change.org and SumOfUs.org, have managed to get 200,000 and 50,000 signatures respectively on their petition pages – and have already delivered them to Bangalore and London; with Washington DC, San Francisco and Sydney to be next. (Sydney, however, is on today).

However, what I have seen, a simple protest will not work to get people change their minds. If there is anything that seems more effective, it is direct action, as evident in the Netherlands where customers threaten to pull out their money from the bank over executive pay bonuses.

Basically, just stop shopping there, and turn everyone else away. Or better yet, ditch your iPhone or other Apple device.

Kodak will no longer produce digital cameras, digital video cameras and digital picture frames sometime in the first half of this year, as it continues to struggle for relevance after rejecting modern advancements to a technology they invented.

Customers who already bought a Kodak camera will not be affected as the company will honour all product warranties and continue to provide technical support.

The company will also see “significant” job losses (of a company that had a workforce of 18,800 employees at the end of 2010) because of the decision to leave the business, and will cost them $30 million. They will, however, save more than $100 million in annual operating savings, according to Reuters.

The main business now will be expanding its brand licensing program, and continue to offer desktop printers, and photo printing services online or in retail stores. It will also continue its commercial-sector business, where it will continue to have entertainment, enterprise services and graphics-related products.

It will also mostly rely on its patents to make itself profitable – unless they are actively looking for a buyer.

The editorial team for Australian gaming website PALGN will leave the site on February 10 – or tomorrow – with the executive editor citing problems with the new management and its owner Roland Kulen.

“The reason for this decision stems from an inability for the editorial team and the PALGN ownership to come to agreement on how the site would function. Whether or not PALGN will continue to produce any video game content will be solely at the discretion of the current ownership, and what they wish to do with the site,” Jeremy Jastrzab said in a statement.

Can’t believe I missed this, but then again, when you don’t check into your gaming news for a while, then you tend to miss this.

Kulen is currently leading the campaign for an R18+ classification, and is also a lobbyist for GAME in Australia. He also owns PALGN since 2008.

Leaked emails have been posted by a “guest” on pastebin, revealing the team’s discontent about the management. They cite several problems including server problems – turns out, it does not have enough RAM to handle the load; the lack of transparency and what appears to be constant infighting between Kulen and the team.

I believe this single email explains it:

Given the dire situation of the site, there is no point holding back any frustrations now:

Server

The biggest issue of all is simple: PALGN IS TOO SLOW. Embarrassingly and unpredictably slow. I don’t know how much more specific we can get. It is a complete shambles when compared to just about every single other internet site currently accessible. I doubt that anyone would argue that this issue has almost single handedly been responsible for eroding our user base, to the point where it will now be extremely difficult, if nigh on impossible, to repair.

The issues that have been listed as causing the site issues reek of being menial. However, while I’m no expert on these matters, it has to be quite clear that they stem from neglect and failure to update. And as mentioned, this isn’t something that can sit around and wait. Too much damage has been done. I don’t know why you’re not discussing a server upgrade. Everything points to that being the most pragmatic immediate fix.

Quote:

Also, I’m pissed off that someone has put instructions on how to check the temperature of a car – BIG joke

Why do we have to keep hearing about this? Four separate administrators have been told about this, at least three months ago but it seems that nothing has been done about it. As I explained before, this is either a remnant from the past administration that tried to tinker with video hosting (pre-2007), or a casualty of a hacker war that we got caught in the middle of in 2007. This has to be the least important issue currently affecting the site, but it still seems to be brought up. Get over it.

The content of the server should not be focus at the moment. The sole immediate focus should be making sure that PALGN runs properly and promptly. Flushing a database table every now and then just doesn’t work. Bringing cars back into it, there is no point of sprucing up the interior and have the car brimming with features if it doesn’t run properly. Once the site is running properly, then clean up the server.

Action

The second biggest issue is timeliness of action. The inability to get any of this done has been an abysmal failure.

I can understand the length of time required by the R18 campaign but the above mentioned site issues are purely mechanical. A Boeing 747 mechanical fault can be fixed in a number of hours ñ a website doesn’t require weeks to fix, let alone more than a year of neglect. Everyone agrees ñ this should not have ever reached the point that it has, nor should it require any longer to fix. October 9th should be the absolute latest for fixing this, not the time to finish taking ësubmissions’.

From an administrator perspective, these three plans have been talked about since before I went to Los Angeles in June, yet nothing has been done about them. Quite frankly, I have no motivation to work on them when:

1) There is clearly no proper leadership or deadlines for completing them.

2) That I only have a ceremonial leadership role, where even if I did try to implement some of these ñ particularly technical items ñ I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

Furthermore, I’ve thought all along that these plans sound like a load of bullshit, and totally redundant. Our editorial standards are constantly evolving, while Adam, Anthony and I have put in a huge amount of work to fix our relationship with our publisher partners. And since James V can no longer access the server, we can’t actually implement a lot of the things that we want. So the lack of action has made a lot of this null and void.

If you are serious about saying you’re here to fix it all, then action needs to be taken NOW. If not, you might as well not bother at all because there won’t be anything of a site left soon.

Communication

While I’m heartened to see that this post was made in the forums, communication between yourself, Roland, and PALGN has been completely unprofessional and unacceptable. Myself and the other administrators are regularly in contact with one another, and I speak to each of the staff whenever I can. Part of the reason that there has been such a vehement reaction is that every single one of us has been that none of us actually know what you’re supposed to be doing? Seriously, what do you do? That’s something that I’m sure EVERYONE would really want to know.

Regular openness and communication, is absolutely essential to a place like PALGN, where we don’t have much face-to-face contact. And that’s what the PALGN forum is for. And this is the first time in THREE years that you’ve actually approached the staff and talked about site related issues on the forum. It wouldn’t have been difficult to, every now and then, pop in and give staff an update on what has been happening. But no, there has been absolutely nothing. And I know that you don’t read much in the forum either, as you tried contacting me while I was away in Nepal, when I clearly had told everyone on the forum that I was away.

Maybe that’s simply because nothing has been happening? And if this is the case, it’s completely unacceptable as well, particularly for the person that is meant to be in control of ownership of the site.

Luke Van Leuvren was asked to leave the site because his communication with the site and its partners had completely broken down and he was using site materials for personal financial gain. Luke Mitchell was also dismissed for complete and utter failure to fulfil his duties in a senior position on the site, and complete failure of communication. In both cases, the reputation of the site took a lot of damage and the core issue was a failure of communication, which is what is occurring here. This is an area that needs significant improvement.

Trust

Quite frankly, my trust that anything will be done has been completely broken. I’m a very loyal and trusting person, but once this has been broken, it’s impossible to recover it. Here are a number of issues that have caused my trust to be lost for good:

*Firstly, why did the administrators have to beg, kick and scream to find out that there had been a change in ownership? James Peter didn’t tell us until March 30 this year: http://palgn.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=60337 but it is very clear that the change of ownership had happened long before that. It’s unacceptable that we had to wait possibly up to 6 months to find this out, for something that would have taken very little effort to relay to us. It only makes us suspicious that there is something to hide.

*Secondly, as extremely disappointed I am that you cut access to the server for James Varoutsos, the manner in which you did it was completely underhanded and unprofessional. The passwords were changed and you refused to tell ANY of us that it happened and even danced around the issue when asked.

I couldn’t care less what happened between you two, but in either case, it’s damaging the site now because James was the one who was taking care of the minor fixes for the site, and there are a fair few lined up now.

Quote:

As you’ll recall, James V I called you on a number occasions – no response.

Still, who am I more likely to trust? Someone who I’m in regular contact with and has implemented the things I’ve asked even if it took a little bit of time, or someone who only contacts me when they feel the need to feed me some intangible and vague musings?

While there are always two sides to every story, I have no reason to believe this one. I don’t care that you, Roland, wound yourself into some deal with Hasbro that required immediate action and got upset that someone couldn’t answer their phone while working. The fact that you went behind James’ back to lock him out of the server and not tell a single one of us, or even have the professionalism explain your actions was pretty much the straw that broke the camel’s back. There is no way I can fully trust a single thing that you say to me after that.

James needs access to the server. Put that on your list for items that require immediate access.

*Thirdly, who is Jason and why is he away now? As far as I understand, he’s had access to the servers for nearly four months now and has done nothing. Ok, maybe he has been flushing a database table here and there, and he helped clean out the portal when it got flooded but he shouldn’t be waiting on us to fix such a major problem. James at least understands the site and the exact functional issue at hand. And again, you told us nothing about this for several months, which makes me scratch my head and wonder, why? What did you have to hide?

I respect that our input is needed before we can redesign, but as I said before, there is no point changing the contents until the engine is fixed.

*Fourthly, why don’t you tell us more about what you’re supposed to be doing and the different partnerships and sponsorships that PALGN has been blessed with? And why are you so clandestine about it, refusing to tell us if something happens ñ where we often don’t know or find out one day when we log onto the site.

For example, why didn’t you tell us anything about PALGN sponsoring Supernova? I only found out from a publisher that we were involved. Couldn’t the staff have been told at least, let alone at least offering the staff in the respective cities a chance to go in without paying?

*Fifthly, why can’t we be told more about the efforts to get PALGN out into the further media? Most of us have seen the video that you filmed with GameTV, but none of us were told that you had something like this lined up. Yes, it was a great opportunity for the site, and as someone who has been working extensively on the R18 campaign, you were the right person to be doing this. However, my biggest worry is that we are representing PALGN on one front, while you are doing so on another. And while we know what we’re doing, we don’t know whether what you’re doing is for the betterment of PALGN or to raise your own profile. Everyone here is happy to follow a common goal, but not only do we have no idea what your goal is, none of us actually have any confidence that it is what we feel is best for the site.

*Finally, I can’t see any tangible gain that you’ve given to the site during your tenure. As we see now, nothing has been done with the site’s future in mind and we’re paying for it dearly now. Everyoneplays was a great cause and the end result fantastic, but you fucked me up the ass with the amount of work I eventually did for this, in the process burning me out and driving me to the brink of leaving the site. I’m staying on now to try and prevent leaving everyone the mess that was left for me. You’ve USED other staff members as well and paid off some good kids with token gestures.

Aspects such as the Hasbro connections, Supernova connections are all good and well, the Sony Ericsson phone was worth a shot, but at the end of the day, PALGN is heading towards oblivion. And fast. The site is barely accessible, load times are unacceptable, advertising is a failure and we can’t even make minor fixes at the moment. And that’s despite the efforts that myself, Adam and Anthony have put in to keeping aspects such as publisher relations, and the effort from EVERY SINGLE STAFF MEMBER to make sure that we’ve covered EVERY SINGLE IMPORTANT TITLE during your tenure.

And none of this mentions the trail of broken promises, unfulfilled potentials and wasted opportunities.

Seriously, I have no faith that anything will be done about this. It’s all completely gone.

Quit dodging questions, start being open with us and get things done. Everything that needs to be done is quite simple, it’s just a matter of doing it. No stuffing around with vague plans and vapid discussions. The initial problems are clear, and once they’re fixed, I’m sure every single person on board will happily give their suggestions for improving the functionality of the site.

And I won’t be answering the phone on these issues. A phone call is too ëoff the record’, and everything should be written here and discussed in the open. I’m sick of keeping the staff in the dark, whom I have a great deal of respect for, and they deserve to know what’s going on.

It’s now or never. Show me and everyone else that you’re going to fix this.

The email also appears to show that the email was conducted for weeks before the editorial site decided to leave. Talking to MCV, managing editor Adam Ghiggino said that the email leak was “unfortunate.”

“It’s unfortunate that the circumstances of our departure have come to light like this, as we would have preferred if those private conversations had remained as such.”

“However, I can confirm that the remaining members of PALGN’s editorial staff intend to leave in the near future, after tying up some loose ends. Most of us will be leaving to pursue other projects, both in video games journalism and other fields.”

The site’s future is up in the air, so it may or may not shut down. But those former contributors, if you still want to contribute to video gaming journalism, could you help us with ours?

If you were like me, you were pretty upset when ABC had to pull The Daily Show and the Colbert Report from air after Foxtel acquired exclusivity of the two. And in Australia, the only way to watch them was via Foxtel or acquire it via different means. But, their geoblock is not like the ones you see on Hulu. It has a weak spot, which we have found.

The message, even if you were watching a clip from 2007, if you were in Australia without the technique.

And it works. I’ve been enjoying it for most of the year – and was pondering whether or not to post this (because I wasn’t sure of its legality). But hey, you watch it with ads provided by Viacom, so it’s like a win-win situation (except for Foxtel).

Plus, it’s the US Election season. So, why not get a fix of some ‘alternative’ commentary about the frontrunners.

How to do it?

First, what you need is to get Firefox and install a plugin called Modify Headers – yes, and the name suggests what we are doing. We are going to slightly alter the headers whenever we connect to a page – like The Daily Show or the Colbert Report.

After installing it, you should see a new menu on the Navigation Toolbar with the logo similar to where you see above “Start” in the image on top. Click the button and find the option “Open Modify Headers”. If you don’t have the button, then you have to right click the toolbar, select “Customize” and drag and drop the “Modify Headers” button.

The idea is that we want to add something to our headers to tell the servers that we’re coming from America via a HTTP proxy (which many workplaces use). So, under “Select Action”, choose “Add”. Now, under “Header name”, type in X-Forwarded-For. Now, for a value, we want something that looks like an American IP address. I personally chose 12.13.14.15 – but feel free to be a bit creative (just make sure it works). You can also put in a comment – though it’s not necessary; and when finished, press Add. It should be added to the list.

Afterwards, we want to make sure it’s enabled – you’ll see in the last column that there should be a green or red indicator. Click the “Enable/Disable” button the right hand side of the dialog box, and the light should be green if it’s not enabled. If it’s already green, don’t worry.

And you are done. Now all you have to do is simply go back to the Modify Headers button and click on “Start”. The logo should now be red. To test it out, go to The Daily Show’s website and watch a clip from the show. It should now play.

As well from playing clips, you can now play full episodes of the show. Though, for both watching clips and full episodes, you’ll see ads in between. However, for some unknown reason, many of the ads I’ve encountered are for Australian companies. But hey, all we care about is you and I, watching The Daily Show and not buying Foxtel just to see it.

Are there any more sites that I could do this to?

Well, there is one more notable site that falls victim from this little trickery. And that’s VEVO. Remember that site? For those not in the know, VEVO is a music video site launched by YouTube and Universal Music. While many of us were stuck using YouTube as a way to watch videos, the US had access to VEVO and more artists because of rights restrictions. So using this technique, you can now see what VEVO is all about.

I can personally tell you, it’s not much you’re missing.

Also, for some unknown reason, I found ABC’s own iView having problems loading with this on. What does that say? Maybe nothing, or maybe a way for those in the United States and anyone else in the world to watch stuff from the ABC outside of Australia?

A new draft in the W3C could potentially add something new and pretty interesting. A team of developers (from Google) are working on a way to have data variables in CSS.

Yes, soon we can now name repetitive values like PHP, Java and almost every single programming language in the world.

And every developer has jumped up in joy.

Essentially, what it does is allow properties called “data properties” that let you predefined variables that you have given a name. In order to create a data property, then you’ll need to add this inside an element – for now, we’re going to use the :root pseudoelement:

:root {
       data-header-color: #06c;
}

With that declared, I can now use it anywhere in the code by simply calling the variable “header-color”, like so:

h1 {
     background-color: data(header-color);
}

It makes things so much easier. But, if you’re looking for ways to do this right now, well there are a couple of ways to sort of do this – but of course, not natively. One way is simply redirect your stylesheet to a PHP file.

You can read the public draft spec on the W3C page.

The UK Cabinet Office has warned that internet services may be slower during the 17 days, and that users could even experience drop outs and data rationing because of an unusual amount of traffic during “peak time”.

“It is possible that internet services may be slower during the Games or in very severe cases there may be drop outs due to an increased number of people accessing the internet,” the report warned.

“In addition, ISPs may introduce data caps during peak times to try and spread the loading and give a more equal service to their entire customer base.”

The report did also note that no ISP in the UK has confirmed that they will be rationing data usage.

But it also appears that companies are not ready with potential internet problems. Talking to The Guardian newspaper, Kathryn Hurt from MWB Business Exchange said, “A lot of businesses have still not prepared for the enormous risks presented by the London Games”

“There’s been a lot of discussion about traffic hotspots, but very little about potential internet traffic problems. The risk is that home workers are unable to work effectively due to over-capacity.”

As with every event of a large magnitude, telephone networks might also experience slowness during “peak times”, but the Games organisers have set up additional mobile capacity and coverage to reduce the strain on those networks. But of course, they can only go so far – so, just don’t expect some of your messages and calls going through.

NBN Illustration about the two satellites (Image: NBN Co/via @JuliaGillard)

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Communications Minister Senator Stephen Conroy have announced that NBN Co has reached an agreement to buy two satellites to allow fast broadband service to rural and remote parts of the service.

The deal, worth $620 million, was awarded to Loral. They will be designed and developed in California, and will be launched in 2015 – with the first to be launched in Q1, and the second launched in Q2. They will be Ka-band and will push out 100Gbps speed.

Conroy has said in a press conference that the new satellite service will improve from the “fairly average” service provided currently, and says that it will connect those who need satellite the same speed those in metro areas receive today. He also adds that those who are in the fibre network will not be getting access to those services.

Conroy also answered questions about why an Australian company was not selected to the deal. “There are only five companies in the world that can build these satellites,” he said, adding three of them are in the US and two in Europe.

NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley, also present, refused to reveal any unsuccessful bidders.

The announcement also means that the NBN will expand to Australia’s outlying territories, including the Norfolk, Cocos and Christmas Islands.

“We are honored to be a part of the Australian government’s initiative to provide universal broadband service to all of its citizens,” John Celli, president of Space Systems/Loral, said in a statement. “Today, access to the internet is crucial for education, safety, and economic development.”

Until then, however, the NBN is using an Interim Satellite Service to provide broadband service to rural and outlying areas in Australia. The speeds are up to 6Mbps, and more than 2500 premises have already been connected to the service.

There haven’t been any names for the new satellites – though, one journalist asked if they would be named “Julia” and “Kevin”. So, if you have any suggestions, I bet Julia will love to hear them.

Now you can battle the Dark Lord himself (Image: LucasFilm/Microsoft/Supplied)

Kinect Star Wars has now a release date. The new game in the massive franchise, allowing fans to experience the entire universe (apparently), will go on sale on April 5 for AU$69.95 – two days after it goes on sale in the US on April 3. After the jump, you can see some gameplay footage and gallery of new images for the upcoming game.

Podracing on Kinect Star Wars

The game features five dynamic modes – Jedi Destiny: Dark Side Rising, Podracing, Rancor Rampage, Galactic Dance Off, and Duels of Fate; and all five are essentially all mini-games attracting to different types of people. For instance, the Dance Off mode is a Star Wars-branded Dance Central, while Jedi Destiny is more a typical story game. Duels of Fate, which was also announced, lets you pretend to be a Jedi and fight against the Dark Side – so if your into that, feel free to get the game.

Microsoft will also sell limited edition for AU$549 that will include the game, a White Kinect unit, and a themed unit and controller. In addition, the Limited Edition will give you an exclusive C-3PO character for Dance Mode.

Yes, I know. I don’t get it either.

To be honest, I personally don’t really care much for Star Wars – I know, a total nerd who doesn’t like Star Wars; and maybe should have consulted any of my friends about anything about the series before writing this post. But, if you want to play it and/or a massive fan, feel free.

Gallery, trailer and some gameplay footage can be found below.

Google’s popular Chrome browser is now heading to Android with the launch of Chrome for Android beta for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This means, you can now experience the same speed and simplicity of the browser on your phone or tablet.

While the version for your smartphone looks almost like the native browser on Android ICS, the tablet version is more like its desktop counterpart – including having the tabs on the top. Despite the stylistic changes, the browser includes many privacy tools – including Incognito mode if you wanted to do a bit more private browsing on your tablet or phone.

Other new features include easy bookmark syncing between your phone/tablet with your computer, so all your favourite sites are present no matter where you are; and you can even open tabs you left open on your computer – so if you had to leave when you’re seeing live coverage of something, you can switch to your phone or tablet to continue seeing it.

It is now available on the Android Market – and again, only for ICS sadly and only for selected countries (which also include Australia, so don’t worry, you can use it).

Canon has announced a new camera joining the PowerShot line with the SX260 HS. It promises to deliver stunning image quality, even at a distance, thanks to its 20x optical zoom – a big feat for a camera at that size.

It has a 12.1-megapixel lens that is optimal, apparently, for low-light shooting; and also records in 1080p HD video. Other features include GPS geotagging, elevation information to help you plot exactly where you took the photos, and high-speed burst shooting at 10.3 frames per second. It will ship in March for a pricetag of US$349.99.

No word on Australian availability. Galley is below.

Canon PowerShot ELPH 320 HS

The PowerShot line is about to be expanded with the new announcement of the ELPH 530 HS and the ELPH 320 HS by Canon today. The three new cameras promise powerful optical zoom, Wi-Fi functionality  and excellent image quality despite being in a pocketable size.

The ELPH 530 HS and 320 HS will both have Wi-Fi functionality which allow users to upload images and videos instantly to its iMAGE GATEWAY service, which will then cross post them to Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. The ELPH 530 HS will also include a 12x optical zoom; a 10 megapixel CMOS sensor lens that can also take 1080p video; and a 3.2-inch LCD touch screen display to navigate. It is expected to be out in black or white for an estimated retail price of US$349.99. It ships in April.

The ELPH 320 HS, however, has a 16.1-megapixel CMOS sensor with 5x optical zoom and records 1080p HD video. It also comes with a 3.2-inch LCD touch screen; and comes in four different colours (black, silver, blye and red). The digital camera will be out with a price tag of US$279.99 and ships in March.

No word on Australian availability with both.

Canon has announced a brand new sporty digital camera. Called the PowerShot D20 digital camera, it is being touted as a sturdy camera for extreme sports or for trekking outdoors. Canon claims that this camera is waterproof, shock proof and freeze proof – and can easily switch to different modes at ease even with gloves.

Because, that’s a big feature that everyone wants.

The camera features a 12.1-megapixel lens with a 5x optical zoom and can record in 1080p full HD. It also includes a 3.0-inch LCD screen, GPS capabilities for geotagging, and includes wind reduction technology to capture audio even in breezy conditions.

Canon is touting a May 2012 shipping date with a price tag of US$349.99. No word on Australian availability.

I’ve seen my fair share of horrible PowerPoint presentations, and I’ve noticed that they tend to follow common trends. So, I’ve decided to compile what I see from these very bad (and often nightmarish) presentations with my very own knowledge of how I design presentations to give you a guide on the 5 Things To Do when you make are making presentation in PowerPoint.

Also, while it is not included, don’t use WordArt. I’ll tear your presentation to shreds if you do use WordArt.

Above image: Ryan Vaarsi/Flickr (Creative Commons)

1. Make it readable

The biggest thing in PowerPoint faux pas is that you have made it hard to read. Either by making the size of the text too small that no one can see, or making the text and background colours clash that make it impossible to read.

If you are typography nerd, then you would know something about the “Classic Scale”. This makes the readability of your PowerPoint smoother and not awkward. Headings should be the biggest of whatever point from the scale you start at, then the next one down for your dot points.You should stop at 24, because that will most likely be the smallest size when looking far away. Remember, if you can see it close up, and its below 24, then it will most likely not be seen by people far away.

Also, keep your titles and text consistent on each slide. Don’t make one slide’s heading appear big in one slide and smaller in others. They should be all the same. Though, you can slightly deviate from it. Also, key thing – maintain one or two fonts on your presentation. Don’t switch from the Calibri to Arial to Georgia to Wingdings in the same presentation.

For backgrounds, remember yin and yang. If you use a light background, use dark or black colour for text. If you have a dark background, use white or light colour for text. The text needs to stand out from the background.

Also, when in doubt. Keep it simple!

2. Don’t put your ENTIRE speech

Another common faux pas I have seen from people’s PowerPoint presentations is the simple copy and paste job from their speech. Your speech should be on palm cards or in Presenter View (see below), not up on your presentation. The key for a successful presentation is that you are interacting with the audience, not interacting with the screen.

Your PowerPoint is to summarise what you are going to say. However, don’t make the presentation too wordy – because they’ll focus on the screen and not on you; and don’t simply read dot points. The main idea is that these points are the main points that you are talking about. The finer details are in your speech – so they’ll stay focus on you to hear those.

Look at what you see above. It’s simple, and summarise the main points – especially in comparing the two formats of Web Video. It is also not what you see below (and yes, I have seen people do this before).

3. If it’s too long for words, summarise with images

The old saying goes “A picture tells a thousand words” – and in PowerPoint presentations, it holds true. If you can’t summarise something in text, use a picture. They quickly sum up your point to your audience without a wordy explanation. Graphics also are helpful when you are trying to convey something complex.

They can also be used to inject a bit of humour into your speech to keep it a bit interesting (and awake). Take, for instance, these two Ignite speeches. Both use images to highlight their points and keep their audience interested, despite being boring and/or geeky topics to talk about in public.

However, don’t expect to use funny images on the internet if you have to present it to your boss. I don’t think he’ll like seeing Wikipedia’s unofficial mascot, or the Megaflicks logo.

4. Don’t make it too distracting

While it’s great to use images and custom animations – there are several ways they could be distracting. One is simply splurge a bunch of images at the same time, and placing them on top of each other with no clear focus on where your eye should look at. DON’T DO THAT!

Also, don’t make everything a custom animation, where text or images move up, down or in a random part of the screen. From personal experience, I cringe when I see people do that. It’s essentially prolonging the torture of me sitting there waiting for you to move on.

Below is simply the very definition of distracting.

A simple fade on an object – which should be set to “on click”, which we will get to in a moment – will suffice. It means that they will appear at the same time and appear relevant to whatever you are talking about.

5. Use Presenter Tools

One of the best presentations I’ve seen from people are when they have this handy tool (and, of course, combining the tips). This is like a fancier version of simply pressing the left and right keys on the keyboard; but there is one good reason why you should get this. It makes you sound a bit more professional and puts you in control on how the slides move.

Having another person to move the slides, especially one who doesn’t know what to do, is annoying as the person can move to a slide prematurely. Also, again, you have more control on how each slide shows up, making it flow with your speech. And if you are the one in control of the slides, you have more freedom to move around and not simply moving to and from the computer to transition to the new slide or new animation.

Speaking of which, another tool you should use is PowerPoint’s Presenter View – you can find it under the “Slide Show” Tab under the “Monitors” section. This will let you see your current slide, notes and what’s coming up easily. You just need to make sure that you have it set up where the projector shows the PowerPoint slides and your laptop screen shows Presenter View. It’s a great way to keep track of your presentation.

Extra 1: Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse

In order to make a good presentation, your speech should be timed with your presentation. So, you should do a dry run to see what works and what does not – and this will let you know what to add, remove or alter before your live performance. As well, timing is important. Keep it short – maybe around 5 minutes if you are doing a short presentation.

We all get nervous, but just keep practicing over and over again in front of your friends – if they allow you to. You don’t have to be the best public speaker in the world to present well, you just need some confidence in what you are saying. And as many say, practice makes perfect.

Extra 2: Don’t copy Wikipedia

Also, don’t copy from Wikipedia. I know this is one of the most obvious things, but DON’T COPY FROM WIKIPEDIA. Do some research once in your own life (via Google or, if you’re weird, Bing), rather than relying on a bunch of editors who managed to make this as their own unofficial mascot (but, I bet 4chan and/or Reddit are proud of them).

Though, if you must – just remove the links. It does make it look obvious. Also, don’t copy big chunks and paste that into your presentation – that is why we have introduced Presenter Mode. You can simply read off that and make yourself sound smart.

Do you have your own tips on how to make a good presentation? We want to hear them. Send them in the comments below.

So, last Sunday was a pretty windy and humid day. The 33-degree day saw a number of homes blacked out, and (as usual) problems on our public transport network. Well, turns out, it also managed to shut down BigPond connectivity for 3 days – and still ongoing.

Wait, you may be wondering why I have this problem yet managed to produce this post? Well, I have two internet connections – the BigPond Cable is used as a backup connection just in case the ADSL line goes down (and of course, it has a lower download limit since it is a backup connection). As well, it was also convenient because I have a Foxtel subscription – which is also down after the blackout.

A simple power outage does not take down entire cable connection for this long, unless something big happened. But still, I’m getting the same answer from BigPond suport. I’m getting the same answer from Foxtel support. They are waiting for the power company to restore power to their system.

And I was stuck in in long queues. I’m assuming this is a big problem in Melbourne, or somewhere in my area. But hey, I haven’t heard a peep about it on Whirlpool – and it could be because no one on BigPond can actually express their problem.

They say they will hopefully get power again by the end of today.

At least, it’s a bit reassuring that Telstra, like all of us, still has to wait for a power technician to show up.

Update: Okay, so Telstra has clarified it is a “localised fault” that just affects my area. It’s still a pain in the butt to not have connectivity for three days.

Spying on players in order to get personal data, no wonder Facebook and Zynga need each other. A former ex-Zynga staff member has opened up an IAmA Reddit post, revealing both the good and the not-so-good bits of the company.

“No, this isn’t payback, or about a grudge. This is just word from someone who’s seen what this industry is capable of doing,” he writes explaining his motivation to do so.

So, what did the former employee reveal?

• Zynga hires contractors and “treats them like second citizen employees, they almost have no feedback or say on their work schedule… they are [also] NOT welcome to company events, they are openly excluded from them. Yet they want them to work twice as hard as regular full timers.”
• They spy on their players, “getting intimate gaming data, their habits, their networks and how to effectively monetize given X”. Also revealed was to skew gameplay in order to profit.
• Worst things on the office? “Color Wars”, which was a company ‘cheerleading’ event apparently; and their walls covered with old memes. If you need an image – “Just imagine a bunch of noobs in /b/ mass bukkakeing your workspace with old memes.” Good luck getting that image out of your head.
• “If you can’t buy em, clone em.” He even reveals that the core technology for FarmVille was bought. Though, he does point out that MafiaWars2 was “homegrown”. Also, to any developer, “Lawyer up” and “resist the urge to get bought out”.
• What are some of the good things? “An awesome chowhall for food. 2 meals a day. Arcade machines all over the campus. Living in the carcass of the old SEGA building. Brogrammers committing bad XML and pretending to be programmers. (entertainment value) Designers and Artists committing bad XML. (moar entertainment value)”
• All the best coders are flagged for Farmville, and all the crap games are “shipped to India, to die. Zynga India is ‘maintenance’”.

So, if you do find anything else interesting, do post in in the comments.

A threat of a crackdown “like China” by India has forced Google and Facebook to remove content that were deemed offensive to religions in the country. The threat comes after a lawsuit by one person claiming that both companies were violating Indian law.

The decision came after a lawsuit by a Muslim petitioner, Mufti Aijaz Arshad Qasmi; with the court asking all 21 sites listed in the case to file a report within 15 days of content removed.

“The review team has looked at the content and disabled this content from the local domains of search, YouTube and Blogger,” Google spokeswoman Paroma Chaudhry told the Reuters news agency.

The law in question makes content providers responsible for all content that users upload, and they have only 36 hours to take down offensive material if there was a complaint. This was the basis of another successful lawsuit brought by a Hindu petitioner in the High Court. Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Yahoo are seeking to appeal the decision.

The Indian Government has been supportive of the move to seek Google, Facebook and others to remove content that are deemed objectionable to religious sentiments.

As Reuters have also pointed out:

While civil rights groups have opposed the new laws, politicians say posting offensive images in a socially conservative country, which has a history of violence between religious groups, presents a danger to the public.

India does have a history of religious conflicts, the last major was in 2008 that saw over 20 killed and 12,000 displaced because of riots. And obviously, they have a right to maintain stability in the country as, after all, a country of over one billion people with all different religious backgrounds can create some instability based on religion.

However, while the Indian Government want to see this implemented by companies, it is realistically impossible to monitor what is uploaded to their servers. The only move they can do is simply be reactive to what is happening, not proactive. It sort of echos the copyright lobby groups who, in SOPA, to make Google responsible to what searches come up or what appears on YouTube that is copyright infringing.

But it also does have a frightening impact on what you can and cannot say. While we can obviously identify what is highly intolerant comments, there are some areas where this can be abused. I mean, take the recent example of a Christian teacher in Perth going to ACMA over a simple 7.30 sketch by Clarke and Dawe. The teacher was offended by this, saying it vilified Christians:

Dawe: A lot of them must realise the damage they are doing?
Clarke: Oh, they do. A lot of them are Christians.
Dawe: So there would be a lot of guilt?
Clarke: A lot of guilt. A lot of denial.
Dawe: Look what they are doing to the asylum seekers.
Clarke: Perfect example. Perfect example.
Dawe: So they’d be blaming each other too, I’d imagine.
Clarke: Blaming everybody. I mean you can’t get anybody to admit to owning up to anything in the whole place.

If you saw the clip, and thank God for ACMA’s finding, it was not offensive to – as ACMA puts it – “an ordinary, reasonable viewer”.

It’s a very fine line, one that any decision should not go too far.

Image: Sudhamshu/Flickr (Creative Commons)

The Samsung GALAXY Nexus (Image: Samsung/supplied)

The flagship phone for Ice Cream Sandwich – Android 4.0 – is on our review desk. However, does it live up to the hype what Google and Samsung have produced, or will it fall flat like many Android phones? Plus, is ICS an improvement to the Android ecosystem?

Terence Huynh reviews.

Design & Features

As we may have noticed, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a slim touchscreen phone – not as slim as the Motorola RAZR, but is pocketable. The phone also features a unique curve, mainly because of the 4.65-inch curved Super AMOLED display. Speaking of the display, the colour reproduction is good and are vibrant (and it should, especially since it is considered the flagship phone for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich). The phone also features a dual core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM; and 16GB storage that is not expandable via a microSD card.

As well, you have the standard headphone jack and a microUSB port at the bottom; a volume rocker at the left side; and power button on the right. You also have a camera – 5 megapixel that can record 1080p video – with a LED light at the back; in addition to a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera.

The body, typical of Samsung’s high-end smartphones, is perfection. It is beautifully designed. However, playing with the phone longer than anticipated, I started comparing it to the other phones I had to review, and the phones I previously reviewed – and it has a problem.

The body feels bland. It’s perfectly designed, but just doesn’t excite me as much – and it’s because of the colour, or lack thereof.

After playing around with the Nokia N9, you do sort of miss the bright and screaming colours of magenta and blue (I did have the Black version to review, but I did also play around with the two colours).The shade of black and/or grey and a mesh pattern at the back of the phone just gets boring when you see it on every single phone.To be fair, it’s not Samsung’s fault. Every single phone manufacturer is guilty of simply sticking to a monochromatic colour scheme.

Being the flagship phone of Android by Google, it does have to add hardware features that developers will be (hopefully) using for their apps. This phone includes Near Field Communication (NFC) and is one of the few phones that supports Mobile High-Defintion Link (MHL) – where you can connect the phone (via microUSB) to your HDTV. It is also sort of a way to reproduce 1080p content since the phone lacks a microHDMI port.

The Camera

The camera touts “zero shutter lag”, and the claim does stand up. The photo is taken and saved instantly when you press the on-screen button to shoot. However, while it does have continuous auto focus – meaning, it will constantly readjust to make sure the image is mostly clear -  you can get a bit of blurriness in the photo. It also comes with a panorama mode, so you can take 360 degree shots at ease.

In all honesty, the photos could have come out better. The camera’s weak spots are in low-light conditions. The flash when doing close-ups over-saturates, and does kind of make a person look like he or she has jaundice. Not a great look.

But the big improvement has to be the interface. It’s clean, simple and the settings are not hidden through menu, after menu. It has been a bit simplified, and stripped down to the basic features of zoom, changing the white balance, turning off or on the flash and changing the quality of the photos. It doesn’t have the weird oddities such as effects – like HTC has done; but who cares about the effects. All of us want simple snapshots.

Ice Cream Sandwich also lets you have quick access to the camera in the lock screen. So now, you’ll never miss a moment.

Ice Cream Sandwich

Now, let’s get straight to the main business – it is currently (at the time of writing) the only smartphone running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich that is available in Australia. Combined with the dual-core processor, it runs smoothly in comparison to the heavily customised versions from manufacturers – I still have bad nightmares from Motorola’s MOTOBLUR.

It pretty much takes Honeycomb and slaps it onto a smartphone. However, ICS ditches all physical buttons on the front of the phone, instead relying on the static buttons on the bottom of the screen – representing back, home and a way to see currently running applications. Also new to ICS is the ability to now close apps in the background, a new data usage manager, screenshot capture and the ability to create folders. Widgets now are in its own tab with the Apps menu, and like Honeycomb, you can now resize them.

But those are considered minor to Google. It is touting two things – Android Beam and Face Unlock. Unfortunately, we couldn’t test Android Beam since we don’t have another phone with us on our review desk that has NFC, but its a new way to share contacts, web pages, YouTube videos, apps, etc without using the cumbersome pairing process of Bluetooth.

Face Unlock, however, isn’t all that great either. The ads somewhat blemish the uselessness of this feature. In fact, Google admits that it is “less secure than a pattern, PIN or password”. So why put it in there? Because simply, iOS and Windows Phone 7 doesn’t have it. To its credit, it managed to unlock my face instantly – after tying to get it to angle correctly in the circle so many times; but it didn’t work in different lighting conditions (it could be because parts of the face were obscured). So, if I was you, I’ll stick with the traditional pattern or PIN.

However, back to ICS – in its purest form, it is brilliant. Perfectly designed (and as a typography nerd, the font Roboto looks really good for the display) and its complexities mostly simplified, it is the best version of Android yet – despite the gimmick known as Face Unlock.

Conclusions

Calling this phone the best Android phone might be a bit over-the-top, but definitely is one of the better smartphones in the market – if you ignore the gimmicks. The camera does let it down a bit, but most of the hardware doesn’t. The processor makes ICS run smoothly; and ICS itself makes me want to convert to an Android fanboy simply because of its design.

But of course, Samsung will create a better version for its Galaxy line, like every other manufacturer – so I’ll be eagerly awaiting what manufacturers will release with ICS at this year’s Mobile World Congress.

SITE NEWS: Oh look what has returned. After a few months of tinkering and finding a new approach, we have brought back our own link shortner URL – tgau.co.

We’ve decided to ditch our old internal system for a more better approach using bit.ly’s own custom domain feature, which is free for all to use. Plus, this has an added bonus of letting us use it on anything that supports bit.ly.

So, if you look at the bottom of the post, you’ll see a link shortened URL with tgau.co, rather than bitly.com or any of its sister domains.

Enjoy using it!

Facebook files an IPO, we learn Zynga makes 12 percent of its revenue, and Anonymous manages to swipe a recording about them from the FBI? Wow, and we thought Sony’s security was lax. All this and more on TECHGEEK Weekly.

Stewart is away this week, so Terence, Chris and Tom are joined by the wonderful (and often replacing Stewart whenever he isn’t on the podcast) Harley McEvoy.

Don’t forget to listen and subscribe!

You may be wondering why this was late on schedule. Well, we had some technical issues with CDN. It’s all fixed now. Sorry for the problems. – Terence

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Show Notes

The Top Stories

Facebook files IPO, wants to raise $5 billion

Facebook Goes Public: Surprising Facts Learned From IPO Paperwork

Zynga made up 12% of Facebook’s revenue in 2011

Zuckerberg will take a $1 annual salary starting next year

Facebook Javascript API Goes Down, Taking Down Likes, Comments And Apps With It

Howard Stringer to leave Sony CEO role, promotes Kazuo Hirai

Remember that rumoured February iPad 3 event? Make it March

Anonymous gain access to FBI and Scotland Yard hacking call

Pwnage Playtime

GAME looks to offload Australian stores after Christmas disaster in UK

Minecraft Will Never Be Finished

Nintendo Announces Online Gaming Network

Tom’s Stockings (1)

Exetel founder John Linton has passed away, after having a stroke. Linton was known for his opinions on technology and the ISP industry. His family has asked those to donate to his favourite charity – the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Micron CEO Dead At 51

Microsoft’s head of Windows Phone developer experience, Brandon Watson, leaves for Amazon

In Other News

Microsoft’s terrible ‘Gmail Man’ video becomes official, attacks Gmail’s ‘lack of privacy’

Windows Phone 8 ‘Apollo’ video details Skype plans, Windows 8 integration, and hardware support

Apple: Piper’s Munster Finds More Evidence TV Coming Soon

Feds: Megaupload user files may be deleted starting Thursday

Megaupload data to get two-week extension

Google must pay $660,000 for offering Google Maps for free

Is This the First BlackBerry 10 Phone? [PIC]

WiFi Kindle Touch gets its passport, now available internationally

Tom’s Stockings (2)

The latest update of Skype (version 5.8) for Windows is now available. The update, while fixing some bugs, also brings several key new features – including full HD video calling, Facebook video calling and group desktop sharing. Some, however, require you to have Skype Premium. You can download the latest version on its website.

Tweets by Scott Browning, marketing director for JB Hi Fi, has noted that the company has plans to release the app for its JB Hi Fi NOW streaming service “by the end of March” and has confirmed that it will allow users to download songs on their mobile devices for offline use.

Panasonic has announced that it will post a $10 billion annual loss – a record – for the year, blaming restructure changes and writedowns. As well, Sony and Sharp are expected to post heavy losses as all three are trying to fix their TV business.