Crowdfunders win African app prize

19 February 2013 Last updated at 23:09 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

A Ghanaian start-up planning to popularise crowdfunding in Africa has been selected as one of the winners of this year's Apps4Africa competition.

SliceBiz plans to develop a service that will deliver 30-second pitches recorded by entrepreneurs to potential backers over the phone.

It says investors will then be able to transfer cash into the projects they like via their mobiles.

The Apps4Africa scheme is funded by the US State Department and the World Bank,

It gives awards of $10,000 (£6,500) to three selected projects with the possibility of top-up funds if the winners meet set targets.

Crowdfunded cash

SliceBiz was founded by William Edem Senyo, a Ghana-based businessman who previously worked in banking and on a non-profit project, and Heather Cochran, a former social worker from California.

They aim to shake up Africa's start-up scene by adapting the crowdfunding model that has already proven popular in the West through online services such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe and others.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

"Hundreds of start-up founders can't access credit from banks and other financial institutions," their competition entry explained.

"People all over the world with some disposable income are about to see how they can deploy their funds to better use."

After learning of the win Mr Senyo told the BBC: "Less than three months ago no one would have been able to convince me that I would quit my job, find a great partner, start a possibly disruptive company, and to top that win Apps4Africa.

"This is a major validation for our business."

Investors are asked to provide between $250 and $100,000 depending on how much they earn. Smaller sums can be sent via mobile, while larger ones will still rely on more traditional means.

Unlike some other crowdfunding services, SliceBiz's model involves recipients giving up a stake in their business in return for the money received.

In addition the Accra-based company will ask for equity in any business that manages to raise capital with its help, and also plans to charge an additional matchmaking fee.

Following the Apps4Africa award Mr Senyo said he now planned a New York launch to further publicise the idea.

However, he acknowledged one potential problem - Ghana's financial regulator has yet to approve his crowdfunding business model.

Entrepreneur apps

This is the third year the Apps4Africa competition has been run. It is open to any innovator living and working on the continent.

Last year's event was themed around the idea of software to help farmers and other users tackle issues raised by climate change.

In the latest competition organisers asked applicants for software-based solutions to support entrepreneurs wanting to make the most of business opportunities and create jobs.

"We now want to scale the ideas past the competition to provide additional mentorship and training as well as financial resources to let the winners become successful," said Bahiyah Yasmeen Robinson, speaking on behalf of the Appfrica consultancy which runs the competition.

The other victors this year are Ffene, a Ugandan firm planning to develop a software package to let companies turn data into professional looking reports via tablets, phones and PCs; and Prowork, a Nigerian company creating software to let workers collaborate on projects via an app, text messages and email.

Early adopters

Telecoms consultancy Ovum predicts smartphone shipments to Africa are set to rise from 11.1 million handsets in 2011 to 32.7 million devices in 2014.

These are relatively modest numbers. But the firm says schemes such as Apps4Africa are important to lay the groundwork for wider adoption further down the line.

"Smartphone penetration in Africa is low - even compared to other developing markets," said the firm's principal analyst Adam Leach.

"But because there's not the fixed line infrastructure, it's seen that smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices will be the first online experience many people on the continent will use.

"For now it's not about consumer media consumption such as YouTube and downloading music. It's about helping people run a better business - the equipment must take a pivotal role in their daily life if early adopters are to justify the investment."

23.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

China condemns US hacking report

20 February 2013 Last updated at 02:30 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The BBC's John Sudworth was detained while filming the reported hub of the hacking operation

China's military says a report linking it to prolific hacking of US targets is flawed.

In a statement, the Defence Ministry said the report lacked "technical proof" when it used IP addresses to link hacking to a military unit.

The report identified a Shanghai high-rise used by the military as the likely home of a hackers to whom it attributed multiple attacks on US companies.

The US says it has repeatedly raised concerns with China about cyber theft.

The Chinese ministry statement, posted on its website, said that many hacking attacks were carried out using hijacked IP addresses.

Continue reading the main story

The scale of the Chinese hacking alleged by the computer security firm Mandiant is striking. Until now the bulk of this hacking has been a digital version of old-fashioned industrial espionage - stealing designs and company secrets.

But there is a more sinister side to this activity as well. Chinese hackers are alleged to have a growing interest in gaining access to key parts of the US infrastructure - gas lines, power grids and waterworks. President Barack Obama himself warned during his recent State of the Union address that the nature of the cyber threat was changing.

Gaining access to critical systems is the key. Once inside the digital perimeter - especially if the intrusion is not identified, there is the possibility of causing real physical damage to the infrastructure that the computers control.

There was no clear definition of what constituted a hacking attack, it went on, and as it was a cross-border, deceptive business, it was hard to pin down where attacks originated.

It suggested that the "everyday gathering" of online information was being wrongly characterised as spying.

'Cyber espionage'

The detailed report, released on Tuesday by US-based computer security company Mandiant, looked at hundreds of data breaches, most of which it attributed to what it termed "Advanced Persistent Threat" actors.

The details it had uncovered, it said, showed that these groups were based primarily in China and that the Beijing government was aware of them.

The most prolific of these actors was APT1, Mandiant said, describing it as "one of the most prolific cyber espionage groups in terms of the sheer quantity of information stolen".

The firm said it had traced the hacking activities of APT1 to a Shanghai building. Unit 61398 of the People's Liberation Army "is also located in precisely the same area" and the actors had similar "missions, capabilities and resources", it added.

APT1, it said, was staffed by hundreds of proficient English speakers. It had hacked into 141 companies across 20 industries, stealing information including blueprints, business plans, pricing documents, user credentials, emails and contact lists.

Spokesman Jay Carney said the White House was "aware" of the Mandiant report and its contents. While not commenting directly, he described cyber espionage as a "very important challenge".

"We have repeatedly raised our concerns at the highest levels about cyber-theft with senior Chinese officials including in the military and we will continue to do so," he said.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, meanwhile, said that the issue came up "in virtually every meeting we have with Chinese officials".

"We consider this kind of activity a threat not only to our national security but also to our economic interests and [we are] laying out our concerns specifically so that we can see if there's a path forward," she said.

China has long been suspected of a role in cyber hacking. But the issue has become more high-profile in recent months following widely reported hacks into media outlets including the New York Times - in that case apparently linked to a report by the paper on the wealth of relatives of outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao.

The Chinese Defence Ministry statement pointed out that China was also a victim of hacking attacks.

A Global Times editorial accused the US and its major allies of hyping up a China hacking "threat".

"China should refute the allegations of US company Mandiant with authoritative reports from its technology sector," it said.

"As a long-term counter-measure, China needs to encourage those institutions and individuals who have been subject to cyber-attacks from US IP addresses to stand up and tell the world what happened to them."

23.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

Apple offers users update after hack

20 February 2013 Last updated at 07:48 ET

Less than 24 hours after admitting some of its employees computers had been hacked, Apple has pushed out a security update to users of its Mac computers.

The patch fixes issues surrounding Java, a popular programming language that had a major security hole allowing malicious code to infect machines.

Apple was among several companies targeted in recent weeks by hackers exploiting the Java weakness.

One expert criticised Apple, saying it "could have been quicker" to act.

Both Facebook and Twitter have made recent admissions of being hacked - with Twitter having to email thousands of users with instructions on how to reset their passwords.

In Tuesday's statement, Apple made a rare admission of a breach.

"We identified a small number of systems within Apple that were infected and isolated them from our network," the company said.

"There is no evidence that any data left Apple. We are working closely with law enforcement to find the source of the malware."

The iPhone-maker went on to say it would be releasing a security patch - which it has now done. Users will be automatically informed about the update.

'Laid back'

But Graham Cluley, from security firm Sophos, has accused Apple of being slow to react.

Continue reading the main story

It is very hard to prove where a hack really has originated from"

End Quote Graham Cluley Sophos

He said Java developer Oracle had released its own fix at the beginning of the month after having discovered exploits that were "in the wild" - a term given to vulnerabilities being used by hackers.

"Whether they were the same exploits as the ones that hit Apple is a little bit unclear," Mr Cluley told the BBC.

"But it does look like they could have been quicker on this. There has been a history of Apple being a little laid back on patches."

The patch means users will have the most up-to-date version of the Java platform. Additional measures, which had already been in place for most Mac users, included automatically disabling Java if it is not used for 35 days.

Java should not be confused with a different programming language, Javascript, which is also used extensively across the web but is not implicated in these latest security issues.

Unsure origin

A major report released on Tuesday accused a unit working for the Chinese People's Liberation Army of being behind many of the world's attacks.

On Wednesday, a different security firm, speaking to Bloomberg, speculated that the attacks on Facebook, Apple and Twitter may have actually originated from Eastern Europe.

Mr Cluley told the BBC it is difficult to pinpoint the source of attacks: "It is very hard to prove where a hack really has originated from.

"Even if it comes from a Chinese computer - it could have been a hijacked Chinese computer.

He suggested that it was likely most developed countries in the world were engaging in some cyber-activity - including the UK.

"In the past [Foreign Secretary] William Hague has said he would take pre-emptive strikes against foreign hackers if necessary.

"We've well and truly entered this new era of cybercrime. It's now very much about stealing information, spying and of course intelligence services care a lot about that."

23.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

4G auction raises less than forecast

20 February 2013 Last updated at 09:05 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Telecoms regulator Ofcom has raised £2.34bn from its auction of 4G mobile spectrum, less than expected.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had forecast that the auction would raise £3.5bn for the Treasury.

The winning bidders are Everything Everywhere; Hutchison 3G UK; Niche Spectrum Ventures, a BT subsidiary; Telefonica (O2); and Vodafone.

4G mobile broadband should provide smartphone and tablet computer users with superfast download speeds.

The auction netted far less than the £22bn raised from the 3G auction in 2000.

Ed Richards, Ofcom chief executive, told the BBC that the figure was lower because "we are in very, very different times", but he insisted that maximising the size of the auction was not the objective it was set by the government.

Continue reading the main story

What is so great about 4G?

• 4G promises superfast mobile broadband with speeds of up to 100Mbps - roughly five to ten times faster than current 3G networks.
• This should mean you'll be able to watch TV, videos and movies on your smartphone or tablet computer without any annoying glitches in the picture quality.
• You'll also be able to make HD video calls more easily and upload photos and videos to social networking sites in a flash.
• People in rural areas with poor mobile connectivity should benefit from 4G's wider coverage, giving them mobile broadband for the first time.
• But the jury is out on how much of a quality difference we will actually notice, especially if those "up to" speeds are rarely achieved, particularly in peak periods of high usage.
• The jury is also out on how necessary 4G actually is - and whether it will be worth paying more for - given the proliferation of wi-fi networks at home, work and in high-street outlets.

"What we were trying to do was ensure that a valuable economic resource was brought into productive commercial use," he said.

The shortfall has important political implications, because Chancellor George Osborne included £3.5bn worth of 4G auction receipts in his Autumn Statement in December.

BBC political producer Andrew Fagg says this allowed Mr Osborne to play the "trump card" of predicting that the UK's budget deficit would fall in 2012-13.

However, economists have now pointed out that without that full amount, borrowing would have been going up.

"The lower-than-expected windfall means that all bets must now be off on whether the deficit will in fact come down," says our producer. "Next month's Budget will reveal the answer."

Responding to the announcement, a Treasury spokesperson said: "The £3.5bn number at Autumn Statement 2012 was certified by the independent OBR and based on external expert independent analysis based on similar auctions, including the last 3G one.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Even if the Treasury is disappointed, the auction may be good news for the 4G rollout. We can now expect plenty of competition to offer fast new mobile services across the UK"

End Quote Rory Cellan-Jones BBC Technology Correspondent

"The final auction revenue will be accounted for at Budget in the usual way."

The OBR in its turn said it had described the £3.5bn "Government's estimate" as "an area of particular uncertainty" in its December 2012 forecast.

But Rachel Reeves MP, Labour's shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: "This is yet another blow to George Osborne's failing economic plan. It shows how foolish and short-termist the chancellor was to bank this cash in the Autumn Statement to make his borrowing figures look less bad.

"He couldn't bring himself to admit that borrowing was up so far this year, but his trickery has now badly backfired."

Even senior Tories took the opportunity to criticise Chancellor George Osborne's figures.

John Redwood, MP, said: "The figure for the 4G auction was optimistic, just like most of the numbers in George Osborne's strategy. This is a dent, but there are far bigger dents in the public finances."

Radio frequencies

Ofcom says 4G will provide £20bn of benefits for UK consumers over the next 10 years.

But the culture secretary, Maria Miller, is even more bullish, saying: "Spectrum use is worth more than £50bn to the UK economy and 4G mobile broadband is a key part of our digital growth strategy, so I am delighted the auction has been completed."

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Everything Everywhere chief executive Olaf Swantee: 'Auction pricing fair'

The regulator auctioned the spectrum in two bands, 800MHz and 2.6GHz, equivalent to two-thirds of the radio frequencies currently used by wireless devices, such as tablet computers, smartphones and laptops.

This "will allow 4G networks to achieve widespread coverage as well as offering capacity to cope with significant demand in urban centres", said Mr Richards.

"4G coverage will extend far beyond that of existing 3G services, covering 98% of the UK population indoors - and even more when outdoors - which is good news for parts of the country currently underserved by mobile broadband", he said.

Vodafone bid £791m, the most of all the bidders, for five chunks of spectrum; EE, the T-Mobile and Orange joint venture formerly called Everything Everywhere, paid £589m for four chunks.

EE was the first to launch a 4G service in late 2012, but has struggled to attract users, leading it to run a cut-price special offer in January.

Its chief executive, Olaf Swantee, said: "One in four consumers and businesses are already buying this service when they are in a 4G area."

23.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

New Google Glass features unveiled

20 February 2013 Last updated at 09:28 ET

Fresh details about Google's eagerly-anticipated smart glasses have been released by the company.

A YouTube video uploaded by the company shows Google Glass in action - including the interface which appears in the wearer's line of sight.

The search giant has also opened up the trial of the product to "creative individuals" and developers.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin was recently spotted on New York's subway testing the device.

The product was first unveiled as part of a demonstration at a Google launch event last year where developers were offered early access to the device for $1,500.

The company is now inviting people in the US to use the hashtag #ifihadglass to suggest ways they would make use of the headset.

"We're looking for bold, creative individuals who want to join us and be a part of shaping the future of Glass," Google said.

"We're still in the early stages and, while we can't promise everything will be perfect, we can promise it will be exciting."

'OK, Glass'

The demo video showed how Glass can be used to take pictures and record video, as well as share content directly via email or social networks.

Voice commands such as "OK, Glass, take a picture" were used to control the device.

Other features appeared to include Skype-like video chats, and other related information such as weather reports and map directions.

All of this information appeared in a small, translucent square in the top right of the wearer's field of vision.

The display is considerably less intrusive than previously published concept videos.

Wearable technology is seen as a major growth area for hardware makers in 2013 and beyond.

In 2008, Apple patented a laser-based "head mounted display system" that it suggested could stream video from its iPod, among other features.

Other patents obtained by Sony and Microsoft allow for creation of miniature displays to go over users' eyes.

Oakley recently launched Airwave - ski goggles with built-in sensors which provide information on an in-built screen about an owner's speed, the size of their jumps and what music they are listening to.

Away from the head, the newly released Pebble watch links directly to a smartphone - a concept Apple is also rumoured to be working on.

23.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sony announces PlayStation 4 console

21 February 2013 Last updated at 01:32 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Everything but the console... watch Sony launch the PS4 in New York

Sony has announced its next-generation gaming console - the PlayStation 4 - at an event in New York.

Its new hardware is designed to offer superior graphics as well as new social features including the sharing of recorded gameplay clips.

It will succeed the PlayStation 3, which went on sale in 2006 and has sold about 75 million units.

The PS4 will eventually compete against Microsoft's still-to-be-unveiled Xbox 360 successor and Nintendo's Wii U.

Sony also confirmed a range of big-name software for the machine including Bungie's upcoming "shared-world shooter" Destiny, which will include exclusive content for the PS4.

The developer's previous title, Halo, helped drive sales for the rival Xbox platform.

A successful launch might spur on sales of Sony's new televisions and other consumer electronics, helping turn around its fortunes.

Sony posted a 456.7bn yen loss ($4.9bn; £3.2bn) in its last financial year, marking the fourth year it ended in deficit.

But the firm has forecast a 20bn yen profit for the current financial year ending in March.

Sony said the console was "coming holiday 2013" suggesting it will go on sale in at least some countries in or around December.

It did not give any indication of its price nor did it show what the console would look like.

There was also no mention of whether the console would support 4K - or ultra-high definition - video. However, Sony told the BBC it would have more to say on this matter "at the appropriate moment".

PC-based chip

Sony described the machine as being like a "supercharged" PC.

It runs off an x86-based CPU (central processing unit) - similar architecture to that found in most desktop computers - and an "enhanced" PC GPU (graphics processing unit). Both CPU and GPU are designed by the US firm Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

It comes with the new DualShock 4 controller, which includes a touchpad, a "share button" and a lightbar, which allows a separate camera to track its movement.

"This is a complete controller upgrade with touch, share and better responsiveness," said Brian Blau, an analyst at the tech consultancy Gartner.

"The new controller is the key to a better PS4 experience. It has the ability to share content easily, and brings in a component of touch that allows even more ways to interact with games."

The console also includes new hardware dedicated to video compression to make it a more social device.

Continue reading the main story

The PlayStation 2 was the most popular console of its generation

It launched ahead of Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube and trounced them in sales. Between 2001 and 2006 its market share ranged between 59% and 86%, according to IHS Screen Digest.

But the PS3 had a rougher ride.

Its $599 (£393) launch price was criticised as being too high and it suffered as a consequence of launching about a year after the Xbox 360 in the US and Japan.

A shortage of supplies meant Sony had to postpone the European and Australian launch by a further four months to March 2007.

Initial sales were slower than expected causing the firm to release a revised, cheaper model, which featured fewer USB ports and ditched a chip that had allowed compatibility with PS2 games.

Pitched against the Wii and Xbox 360, the PS3 only achieved a 24% share of sales in 2007, according to IHS.

By 2012 it had increased that figure to 43%, but overall the Wii proved the most successful model of its generation.

Ken Kutaragi - the so-called father of the PlayStation - was moved from his role as the boss of Sony's Computer Entertainment division shortly after the PS3's troubled launched.

His replacement was Kazuo Hirai whose success at helping turn the PS3's fortunes around saw him promoted to chief executive of Sony last year.

Users will be able to pause a game, select a few minutes of recorded video of their most recent activity, and instruct the clip to be uploaded to a social network.

This will then occur in the background while they can return to their game. The firm said it wanted to make sharing video clips as common as it is today to share screenshots.

Another new feature is that gamers can let one of their friends connect to their machine and take control of their character to help if they have got stuck, or allow several friends to watch their live progress as spectators. This facility uses technology from Gaikai - a cloud-based service Sony acquired last year for $380m.

Gaikai's technology is also being used to allow PS4 games to be streamed and played via the PlayStation Vita handheld console, which may boost its sales.

Sony said it was also exploring the possibility of using its Gaikai unit to allow PlayStation 3 games to be played on the new machine as well as other devices.

However, at the moment PS3 games will not run on the new console.

"The decision to not make the PlayStation 4 backwards compatible is disappointing and means the 5.5 million plus people who own a PS3 in the UK will essentially have to start their gaming collection from scratch," said Alex Simmons, UK editor-in-chief of the gaming site IGN.

"PlayStation 3 games - and indeed PSone and PS2 games - will be available to download at some point, but most likely at an additional cost, which might turn consumers off."

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The PS4's lead system architect outlines some of its new social features

Designed for developers

Sony invited developers on stage to preview some of the PS4 games being worked on.

They included Killzone Shadowfall - an addition to its bestselling Killzone science fiction first-person shooter series; the racing game Driveclub; superhero game Infamous: Second Son; and Diablo 3.

Developer Ubisoft also confirmed that its much-discussed title WatchDogs, which involves a hacker taking control of a smart city's systems, is indeed being developed for the PS4.

Jim Ryan, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, told the BBC that his firm's shift to an x86-based processor would make it easier for other developers to create games for the platform.

"One of the fundamental design principles was to make the PlayStation 4 considerably easier to develop for than some of its predecessor platforms," he said.

"It is much more of a generic PC environment. It's not a bespoke development environment as was very much the case with the PlayStation 3.

"So it's something developers are aware of, are comfortable with and they don't have to relearn the rules."

Improved graphics

While the graphics shown during the demonstrations were more advanced that those in current games for Nintendo's Wii U, Sony must also convince gamers to choose its platform over PC-based systems.

Continue reading the main story

The PlayStation meeting was a surprisingly top-level unveiling for a bit of pending consumer electronics.

We didn't get a price, we didn't get a firm date, we only saw a half-dozen games in action and most importantly, most surprisingly, we didn't actually see the device itself.

Instead the nearly two-and-a-half hour show was more about the pending console's philosophical approach to next-generation gaming.

Despite the lack of firm details, the ideas that Sony promises to build their PS4 upon are intriguing.

So much has changed since the PlayStation 3 was launched. In today's entertainment landscape gaming is ubiquitous and to keep up consoles need to embrace that.

It looks like the PS4 will do that through two key approaches: sharing and smart shopping.

Gamers on the PS4 will be able to tap a button to instantly share their gaming achievements, not just through messages, but with screenshots and videos of their gameplay.

The system will also detect your gaming habits and pre-load your console with the sorts of games it thinks you will like. If you like them you tap a button to buy them.

The PS4 seems to be promising to provide seamless, easy access to gaming and entertainment in a way that hopes to makes the console as ubiquitous as gaming has become.

PCs will be capable of offering increasingly impressive visuals as the PS4 ages thanks to their ability to have their processors and other hardware upgraded.

US firm Valve, in particular, has been vocal about its ambition to bring PC-based gaming to living room TVs.

Even so, Stephen Totilo, editor of the gaming site Kotaku, was broadly impressed with what he had seen.

"The PS4 games we saw today don't look that much better than the best beauties on the PS3 - until you look for the smaller details," he said.

"It seems like you can see further into the distance in these games' worlds. More sparks fly, more smoke swirls.

"This is nice, but it has the feeling of the spectacle of visuals alone is reaching a point of diminishing returns.

"More impressive is how much more social the PS4 seems - to be able to capture video of what you play while you play and share that with people brings console gaming closer to the cutting edge of modern gaming on a PC.

"This system seems smarter and more connected - it doesn't seem like a dinosaur."

How much?

Sony did not announce how much it plans to charge - perhaps holding the news back for the E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles in June or a later announcement.

The PlayStation 3 was initially sold at a loss, so if that practice is repeated with the new model its launch may initially put fresh strain on the firm's finances.

Even so, one analyst suggested that Sony would be willing to take the pain to maximise early demand.

"Without the established user base and community of PS3 and PlayStation Network, Sony would be without a significant home entertainment foothold allowing it to connect many of its other consumer electronic devices, products and services," said Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games at IHS Screen Digest.

"Sony's next generation device is likely to take on more importance not less."

The Japanese firm's shares closed 1.8% lower in Tokyo trade following the announcement.

23.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

Online university giant gets bigger

21 February 2013 Last updated at 03:52 ET By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent

One of the emerging giants among online universities has announced that it is signing up a further 29 universities, including institutions in the US, Europe and Asia.

Coursera, set up by academics from Stanford University, will now offer online courses from 62 universities.

There are 2.8 million online students registered, says Coursera.

Co-founder Andrew Ng said this was helping universities to "raise their impact both on and off campus".

Coursera, set up less than a year ago, has become one of the pace setters in the rapidly expanding field of online universities - often described as MOOCs (massive open online courses).

It provides an online platform for universities to offer courses for people to study from home.

Global reach

This latest crop of new recruits widens its reach outside the United States, with institutions including the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Ecole Polytechnique in France, Leiden University in Holland, Sapienza University of Rome in Italy, the University of Tokyo in Japan, National University of Singapore and the University of Geneva in Switzerland.

US universities joining the online platform include Northwestern, Penn State and Rutgers,

Another significant step was announced recently which will make Coursera's online courses count towards a full degree.

Continue reading the main story

We're in the middle of an exciting time for higher education in which anything is possible"

End Quote Martin Bean Open University and Futurelearn

At present, such online courses might be as difficult as their campus-based versions, but most of them are not formally recognised as counting as course credits.

But a first group of five courses on the Coursera platform, including a genetics course from Duke University and algebra at University of California, Irvine, have been recommended for accreditation.

Sarah Eichhorn, from the University of California, Irvine's maths department, said this represented an "online education milestone" which would put such maths courses in reach of students around the world.

The accreditation of online courses raises questions about the impact on traditional campus-based courses, where a degree course in the US can cost more than $50,000 (£33,000) per year.

It will also raise questions about the charging structure of online courses, which in this pioneering stage have mostly been free or low cost.

Coursera intends to become a financially viable, profit-making university project - but raising income from internet traffic and add-on services, rather than directly charging users.

The rival edX online university project on the US east coast has been funded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard and is not for profit.

UK online project

There have also been developments in the UK's fledgling online university platform, Futurelearn, announced by the Open University last year.

Five more universities are joining Futurelearn - Bath, Leicester, Nottingham, Queen's Belfast and Reading.

The British Library is also going to develop online courses using material from its collections.

It means there will be 18 universities and institutions which intend to provide courses with Futurelearn.

Martin Bean, the Open University's vice chancellor and head of the Futurelearn project, has joined Prime Minister David Cameron's delegation to India, which has been trying to promote UK universities.

"We're in the middle of an exciting time for higher education in which anything is possible," said Mr Bean.

Coursera co-founder Daphne Koller said online university networks could "offer a high quality learning experience to anyone who wants it".

"One of our top priorities is to reach the people who need education the most, including those who would not otherwise have access."

23.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

Amazon faces German antitrust probe

21 February 2013 Last updated at 07:31 ET

US online retailer Amazon's pricing policy for its third-party traders in Germany is being investigated by antitrust authorities.

A clause bans traders signed up to its Marketplace platform from offering products elsewhere for cheaper - including in their own online shops.

The Federal Cartel Office is to question 2,400 people who sell their products directly to Amazon customers.

It said the company may be breaching antitrust rules.

"Amazon's price parity clause - which denies traders the freedom of offering a product cheaper elsewhere - may breach general cartel rules," said the FCO's head Andreas Mundt.

"This is particularly the case if restricting a trader's price-setting freedom also hampers competition between different internet market places."

If the e-commerce giant is found to be in breach of antitrust rules, it could be forced to drop the clause.

Amazon declined to comment to the BBC.

Employment conditions

The inquiry comes just days after a TV documentary showed Amazon's seasonal workers in Germany being harassed by security guards.

Last week, German authorities asked the retailer to explain the documentary, filmed by state broadcaster ARD, which said employees' rooms were searched, they were frisked at breakfast and constantly watched.

Employment Minister Ursula von der Leyen said some employment agencies could lose their operating licences.

In a statement, Amazon said it would follow up complaints.

23.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hacking group victim of Twitter hack

21 February 2013 Last updated at 07:38 ET

Hacker collective Anonymous has suffered an embarrassing breach, as one of its popular Twitter feeds is taken over by rival hacktivists.

Little-known group Rustle League said it had hacked the @Anon_Central account which has 160,000 followers.

It follows some high-profile Twitter hacks in recent days - including accounts for Burger King, Jeep and BBC Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson.

Experts warn that users need to strengthen their passwords.

"The reason Anonymous fell victim is probably human weakness," said Graham Cluley, senior consultant at security firm Sophos.

"Chances are that they followed poor password practices, like using the same password in multiple places or choosing a password that was easy to crack.

Everyone should learn better password security from incidents like this - if it can happen to an account run by Anonymous supporters, it could happen to you," he said.

On Monday, the account for Burger King was breached and on Tuesday that of Chrysler-owned Jeep was broken into.

One message on the Burger King account claimed that the company had been sold to McDonalds while the Jeep account tweeted about rival cars.

Meanwhile, BBC presenter Jeremy Clarkson's account was hacked by spammers advertising weight-loss tablets.

Profit question

Twitter has told its account holders that they need to be smarter with their passwords.

In a blog post published on Tuesday, Bob Lord, director of Information Security, said: "Over the past couple of days, there's been a fair amount of conversation about account security on Twitter,"

He urged users to have strong passwords. "Your password should be at least 10 characters that include upper and lower case characters, numbers and symbols," he said.

The Anonymous hack on Thursday morning was short-lived. Three hours later, those running the feed tweeted that they had gained back control of their account.

As well as raising issues about password security on Twitter, the incident also raises questions about the status of Anonymous.

The hacktivist group was rarely out of the headlines in 2012.

But in a recent report, security firm McAfee suggested that Anonymous could fall into decline this year.

"Many are starting to prefer making a profit over a political point, not only through carrying out actions themselves but also offering a hacking-as-a-service to those less technically able."," said Raj Samani, McAfee's chief technical officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

"The authorities have launched a crackdown on Anonymous and quite a number of its key members have been arrested," he added.

Chinese links?

Much of the focus on cyber crime has shifted this week to the extent and scale of Chinese hacking.

But a report linking hackers to the Chinese army suggests members of Anonymous may have played a crucial role in allowing researchers to link hackers to the Chinese army.

Published by US security firm Mandiant, the report names three hackers believed to be working for the Chinese military.

Mandiant got the information from rootkit.com, an online forum where hackers share information about techniques.

In 2011, Anonymous gained access to the website and published personal data of more than 40,000 registered users online.

23.34 | 0 komentar | Read More

Smart device games secure milestone

21 February 2013 Last updated at 08:21 ET

Spending on video games for Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms has eclipsed that for Sony and Nintendo's handhelds, according to a study.

The data covers global sales between October and December 2012 and comes despite the fact that games for the PlayStation Vita and 3DS typically cost more than their smartphone equivalents.

In-game ad revenues were excluded.

Despite the findings, the researchers said they believed the Japanese firms would release further handhelds.

The Portable Gaming Report by IDC and App Annie is the first of its kind produced by the companies.

It helps build on NPD's influential monthly study of US games sales which does not include smartphone and tablet games.

One more Vita?

Looking at the final three months of the year should have favoured the handheld consoles since spending on their packaged games and downloads is typically much higher than normal in the weeks before Christmas.

Continue reading the main story

iOS: Clash of Clans by Supercell

Android: Puzzle & Dragons by GungHo Online

Dedicated handhelds: Pokemon Black/White Version 2 by NDS/Game Freak

Even so, the study suggests they were narrowly beaten by combined sales of iOS and Android game apps over 2012's final quarter.

A breakdown of the data also indicates that iOS games made three-and-a-half times more money than Android ones over the period.

But Android games were growing at a faster rate. And in South Korea - Samsung's home - video games from the Google Play store did outsell those from Apple's App Store.

"If you rewind the clock a year you will find the dedicated handhelds were clearly ahead, and this year they are more or less tied with an edge going to Android and iOS games," IDC's Lewis Ward told the BBC.

"If we fast forward to the end of 2013 we should see a decisive edge for smartphone and tablet gaming.

"I think a further version of the Vita could be the last dedicated handheld from Sony, but I suspect Nintendo will continue for a while. They are three to four times as large as Sony in this business and I think they have a much more defensible niche."

The research firms did not collect data for Windows, Symbian or Blackberry games.

23.34 | 0 komentar | Read More