What's New in IT

• Yahoo defends Google advert deal
  BBC News, 2008/09/12
  Yahoo said it will implement its much-criticised search ad deal with Google despite possible anti-trust hurdles.
  Under the agreement, from October Google will sell ads alongside Yahoo search results on some of its pages.
  Rumours the US justice department would challenge the deal grew this week when it hired a veteran anti-trust lawyer.
  Hilary Schneider, executive vice-president of Yahoo US, told the BBC the agreement was "fully within the guidelines of the law".
  Both companies voluntarily agreed to have the US Department of Justice (DoJ) examine the plan, which was announced in June.
  They also committed themselves to wait three and a half months to give regulators time to scrutinise it.
  Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt recently said both companies were aiming to go forward with the deal.
  Now Yahoo has said even if the plan is not cleared by regulators, it will go ahead as planned.
  "We are confident the agreement makes sense. We are committed to moving ahead," said Ms Schneider.
  "Remember this is a voluntary process we engaged in and we think it's really working in terms of helping the Department of Justice understand the issues." Read More »

• 12 unnecessary Vista features you can disable right now
  September 5, 2008 (PC World)
  The latest Windows packs a lot of code -- more than any version of Windows ever -- and some of it is just plain unnecessary. All of that excess code has a way of slowing down an operating system. You can regain some PC performance by removing unneeded features.
  I've identified a dozen Vista features that you can turn off right now. Some are shiny baubles that slow down graphics performance, while others are optional utilities that hog memory when they shouldn't. A few can actually be quite useful, though they play a major role in bogging down your PC.
  Should you really turn off all of the following features right this minute? That depends on your computer, your work habits and your tastes. (I've turned off only seven and a half on my PC, because while none of these features is required for Vista to function, some are still kind of nice and my computer is fast enough to handle them.)
  Just to be on the safe side, make sure to create a restore point before you turn any of the items off. That way you can quickly return your machine to its present state should you decide that you don't like the change. To make a restore point, click Start, type sysdm.cpl and press Enter. Choose System Protection, Create and then follow the prompts. Read More »

• eBay launches socially conscious retail site
  CNN 2008/09/05
  NEW YORK (AP) -- Most consumers probably associate eBay Inc. more with vintage lunch boxes and low-priced electronics than with laptop bags made from recycled plastic by women in New Delhi.
  The online auction operator is trying to change that perception with WorldofGood.com, a Web that launched Wednesday to sell goods produced with social and environmental goals in mind.
  EBay developed the site with World of Good Inc., a startup focused on "ethical supply chains" behind consumer products, and licensed the group's name for the marketplace. World of Good will get a share of the revenue from the site, which had been operating for the past six months as an online community focused on the social impact of business.
  The site sells fixed-price goods that purportedly have some positive effect on people and the planet. The goal is to help consumers align their social values with their shopping decisions, WorldofGood.com general manager Robert Chatwani said. Read More »

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• One Laptop signs up with Amazon
  BBC NEWS 2008/09/05
  The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organisation has signed a deal with Amazon to sell its low cost laptops.
  The online retailer will help with its next Give 1 Get 1 (G1G1) programme that is due to begin in late November.
  Under this scheme people can buy one of the XO laptops for themselves and donate the other to a school child in a developing nation.
  It is hoped the deal with Amazon will iron out the problems OLPC encountered when it ran the G1G1 programme itself.
  
  Novel model
  
  Dreamed up by MIT Professor Nicholas Negroponte, the OLPC was set up to create and build a powerful laptop for school children in developing nations that sold in the millions and cost less than $100 (£56).
  Read More »

• Google launches internet browser
  BBC NEWS 2008/09/03
  Google is launching an open source web browser to compete with Internet Explorer and Firefox.
  The browser is designed to be fast, and to cope with the next generation of web applications that rely on graphics and multimedia.
  Called Chrome, it will launch as a beta for Windows machines in 100 countries, with Mac and Linux versions to come.
  "We realised... we needed to completely rethink the browser," said Google's Sundar Pichai in a blog post.
  The new browser will help Google take advantage of developments it is pushing online in rich web applications that are challenging traditional desktop programs.
  Google has a suite of web apps, such as Documents, Picasa and Maps which offer functionality that is beginning to replace offline software.
  "What we really needed was not just a browser, but also a modern platform for web pages and applications, and that's what we set out to build," Mr Pichai, VP Product Management, wrote. Read More »

• Ofcom seeks help on mobile rules
  BBC News 2008/08/31
  The good and bad aspects of the UK's mobile phone networks are being sought by Ofcom.
  The telecoms regulator wants help from consumers and industry on areas that need more regulation or where the rules can be loosened.
  It is also looking for ideas on how best to extend mobile networks across the entire nation.
  It said rule changes might be necessary given the rapid pace of technological change in the industry.
  
  Strong signal
  
  The consultation has been prompted by the rising number of complaints lodged with Ofcom about mobile services.
  It said although 90% of mobile phone owners were happy with their handset, that left about 1.4 million people who were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their service.
  "With significant market and technology developments under way, now is the right time to ask some tough questions about the future approach to regulation," said Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards in a statement. Read More »