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Tweets in space – geeks report for NASA

November 15, 2009 in News Roundup

Fingers will be flying when space shuttle Atlantis blasts off: About 100 of NASA’s geekiest fans will be on hand, pecking away at iPhones, BlackBerrys, laptops and other Twittering gadgets.

They plan to let loose with electronic messages – provided they aren’t so swept away by the afternoon liftoff that they fall uncharacteristically silent for a moment or two.

The tweeps, as they’re called, represent 21 states plus the District of Columbia, as well as five countries, including Morocco and New Zealand. They’re traveling at their own expense.

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Modern Warfare 2 breaks UK record

November 15, 2009 in News Roundup

Much-hyped video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has smashed UK sales records on its first day of release.

The first-person shooter sold an estimated 1.23 million units and grossed around £47m, according to industry body Elspa.

The game sold almost double that of the previous record holder, Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV).

Hundreds of gamers gathered at shops around the world ahead of its release at 00:00 GMT on 10 November.

“These first day sales figures are astonishing and clear evidence that videogames are now mainstream in the UK,” said Michael Rawlinson, director general of the entertainment and leisure software publishers association (Elspa).

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Switzerland takes Google to court

November 15, 2009 in News Roundup

Web search giant Google faces a court case in Switzerland because of privacy concerns over its Street View service.

The application allows a 360-degree view of any street-level location.

“Numerous faces and vehicle number plates are not made sufficiently unrecognisable,” said data protection commissioner Hanspeter Thuer.

Google said it was disappointed by the move. The firm says it is sure that Street View is legal in Switzerland and will “vigorously contest” the case.

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Xbox console ban is 'permanent'

November 15, 2009 in News Roundup

Thousands of Xbox 360 owners who have been cut off from Microsoft’s Xbox Live service will have to buy a new console if they want to play online again.

Microsoft told BBC News that banned machines will be permanently barred and “unable to connect to Xbox Live”.

A message displayed on affected consoles said there was “no recourse for terms of use violations”.

Microsoft has barred as many as 1m gamers from Xbox live for modifying their consoles to play pirated games.

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Mobile Plus Social Equals Opportunity

November 15, 2009 in News Roundup

Social networking is one of the fastest-growing activities among mobile users around the world. And as one of the primary ways mobile users communicate with one another, it is proving a significant driver of Internet usage on mobile devices.

eMarketer predicts the number of mobile users accessing social networks from their mobile devices will reach 607.5 million worldwide by 2013, representing 43% of global mobile Internet users. In the US, mobile social networkers will total 56.2 million by 2013, accounting for 45% of the mobile Internet user population.

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Nintendo launches dedicated iPlayer channel on Wii

November 15, 2009 in News Roundup

Nintendo is launching a dedicated channel for the BBC iPlayer on the Wii next week as it looks to grow the 900,000 users the service has had since becoming available on the Wii browser in April 2008.

BBC iPlayer

The iPlayer channel will be available to download from the Wii online store for free from 18 November.

When the iPlayer was first made available on the Wii web browser, users reported struggling with the interface. The relaunched iPlayer has been designed to address these problems, placing a stronger emphasis on service and more convenient navigation.

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Profile: Dan Lyons

June 9, 2009 in Micro-Bites

Profile

Profile

Dan Lyons is a technology columnist at Newsweek and the creator of Fake Steve Jobs, the persona behind The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs, a leading technology blog. Before joining Newsweek, Lyons spent 10 years at Forbes. Over the past 25 years Lyons has written for a wide range of publications, including the New York Times Magazine, GQ and many technology trade publications.

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