Microsoft in talks to name Bernabeu

7 November 2013 Last updated at 07:26 ET

Microsoft has confirmed it is in talks with the Spanish football club Real Madrid to acquire naming rights to its Bernabeu Stadium.

The 85,454-seat venue is currently named after its former president Santiago Bernabeu.

Speaking on Spanish television, the president of Microsoft in Spain said discussions were at an early stage.

"They've raised... renaming the stadium and we're only talking about this possibility," said Maria Garana.

Online reaction to the news included possible new names for the stadium.

"At most the stadium will be called the Microsoft Estadio Santiago Bernabeu," said one forum member.

"The Gates Ground?" was a suggestion on Twitter by @HuffPostUK, in a nod to the company's founder, Bill Gates.

Others wondered whether Microsoft would use the opportunity to promote its products.

"Will it be called the Surface and feature players like Cristiano RonalDOS?" tweeted @tomwarren from technology news website The Verge.

The Surface is Microsoft's tablet computer and DOS was one of the company's former computer operating systems.

Upset fans

The announcement was not well received by all fans of the club.

"I'm a Real Madrid fan, I hate Microsoft forever if they touch anything related to Madrid," said Haidi Farnoud.

If Microsoft are successful in obtaining the naming rights, they will join a group of several other companies whose names are linked to stadiums.

In the English Premier League, the airline Emirates has a tie-in with Arsenal, while Etihad sponsors Manchester City's ground. The German club Bayern Munich play their home matches in the Allianz Arena after signing a 30-year deal with the financial services company.

But not all stadium renaming deals have been successful. When Newcastle United changed the name of their ground from St James' Park to the Sports Direct Arena in November 2011, the local council refused to use the new name on official street signs.

At the time, the council said the decision to change the name would "upset the overwhelming majority of fans".

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Twitter shares priced at $26 each

7 November 2013 Last updated at 05:39 ET

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Newsnight's David Grossman looks at the friends who started Twitter

Twitter shares have been priced at $26 each, ahead of its debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) later.

That is above the $23 to $25 range announced on Monday and values the short messaging service at more than $18bn (£11bn).

That makes it the biggest market debut for a technology firm since Facebook went public in May 2012.

Twitter has attracted 230 million users since starting seven years ago, but is yet to make a profit.

Its losses for the third quarter of 2013 increased to $64.6m, from $21.6m a year earlier and a recent poll by Reuters/Ipsos showed that more than a third of registered users do not use the service at all.

'Sweet spots'

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Just as Google, Amazon and Facebook have become Internet utilities, so too may Twitter"

End Quote Mark Mahaney RBC Capital Markets

Nevertheless there was strong demand for the shares and the company was able to raise the offering price twice.

Some analysts said that investors were excited by Twitter's potential for growth.

"Investors see social media and mobile as sweet spots and it is therefore no surprise that Twitter's IPO is creating so much excitement and is oversubscribed," said Eden Zoller of consulting firm Ovum.

However, she added that "Twitter needs to step up and deliver on the expectations that are fuelling its valuation, and show that it has what it takes to provide a sustainable business model".

The firm has posted an increase in its sales, which more than doubled in third quarter to $168.6m, and it is looking to raise even more revenue from advertisers outside the United States.

Mark Mahaney at RBC Capital Markets said that he expected the firm's shares to rise after listing.

"Just as Google, Amazon and Facebook have become Internet utilities, so too may Twitter," he said.

"As a public, real-time, conversational and distributed platform, Twitter is becoming an essential service for consumers, businesses, media companies, and advertiser."

But the share sale has stoked controversy among those concerned that high-profile internet companies are attracting big investment despite being unprofitable.

Speaking on the eve of the Twitter flotation, Mary Jo White, the chairwoman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), questioned whether investors were reading too much significance into the vast numbers of users quoted by companies.

Rich men

She did not mention Twitter by name, but said: "In the absence of a clear description, it can be hard not to think that these big numbers will inevitably translate into big profits for the company. But the connection may not necessarily be there," she said in a speech.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

MySpace is a constant reminder that a high and mighty service can lose its lustre. However, the lessons of MySpace were not lost on Facebook and Twitter"

End Quote Larry Magid CBS technology analyst

"What if only a fraction of those users are paying customers? What does that mean for future financial results? What if the bulk of the growth in the number of users is in an area where the company has not yet figured out how to turn those users into paying customers? What does that then say about the meaning of user growth rates?"

In the short-term however, Twitter's IPO is likely to make its founders very rich.

Twitter's $18bn valuation includes the value of shares in compensation schemes for employees and other share awards.

Co-founder Evan Williams is the biggest shareholder in the firm with a stake of more than 10% worth more than a billion dollars.

Another of the founders, Jack Dorsey, will also become a very rich man. His 4% stake is worth more than half a billion dollars.

Biz Stone, another co-founder, is thought to have made millions by selling holdings over the last few years.

But Noah Glass, also one of the originals, is believed to have made very little from the company's success.

Twitter is selling 70 million shares, which will raise $1.82bn, for the company.

Unlike Facebook, Twitter has chosen to trade its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

Facebook's debut on the Nasdaq - traditionally the market of choice for technology firms - was marred by delays and problems with orders.

The NYSE has already tested trading of Twitter's shares to try to avoid any technical hitches.

The shares will trade under the symbol "TWTR".

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Vodafone fails on 3G mobile coverage

7 November 2013 Last updated at 07:55 ET

Mobile firm Vodafone has been rapped by regulator Ofcom for failure to meet its coverage obligations.

When 3G mobile spectrum licences were awarded in 2000, they included an obligation to roll services out to 80% of the population. In 2010 this was increased to 90%.

EE, Three and O2 are deemed to have successfully met this obligation.

But Vodafone falls short by 1.4%. It has promised to rectify this by the end of 2013.

It will involve rolling out 3G to more mobile masts than it had originally intended.

"Ofcom is fully aware of our plans to ensure compliance by the end of this year," the firm said in a statement.

"Our network investment stands at more than £900m this year alone and we remain on track to deliver indoor coverage across 2G, 3G and 4G to 98% of the population by 2015, two years ahead of the regulator's deadline," it added.

Ofcom will monitor its progress and reassess its 3G coverage in January 2014.

Improved services

Mobile coverage is a huge bugbear for consumers and one that Ofcom is determined to prioritise.

Recently it produced a report suggesting that mobile coverage on Britain's roads was poor. Next year it will report on the mobile coverage on the country's railways.

Matthew Howett, an analyst with research firm Ovum thinks that it will be little hardship for Vodafone to comply.

"I don't see it being very much of an issue for them to catch up and quite probably it will happen before the end of the year,"

Customers can take heart from the current 4G rollouts, he said.

"4G coverage will be better and much more likely to be complied with given the spectrum at 800MHz travels further distances and penetrates buildings well."

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Build-your-own toy robots unveiled

6 November 2013 Last updated at 21:32 ET

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The modular robots need no wires and can be controlled remotely by smartphone or tablet (Video courtesy of Modular Robotics)

A US company has unveiled build-your-own toy robots that can drive, wiggle and react to the world around them.

The modular system, called Moss, uses magnetic balls as joints and hinges, has no external wires, and works without the user having to write any computer code.

By attaching a Bluetooth module, players can control the robots remotely using a smartphone or tablet.

The system has been developed by Modular Robotics in Boulder, Colorado.

The company launched the toys on crowdfunding website Kickstarter.

But chief executive and design director Eric Schweikardt told the BBC: "We're already making Moss so we don't need the Kickstarter funding. But in 2013, it seems like the place where people look for cool new tech products."

The final version of the robot kits would "begin shipping in January or February", he said.

"We're at the very beginning of an exciting time for consumer robotics."

Hod Lipson, professor of engineering at Cornell University, New York State, said: "Modular robotics have been around for decades, and we've always believed they could be cheap, robust and versatile. In practice, they've proved to be expensive and fragile.

"Modular Robotics is one of the first companies putting in the effort to mass-produce these things."

He believes such toys could help make robotics accessible to young children and interest them in engineering from a young age.

Although he used to teach Mr Schweikardt, Prof Lipson stressed that he had no financial interest in the company.

In October, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology showed off cube-shaped robots that can flip, jump and assemble themselves into different shapes.

The small robots, known as M-Blocks, have no external parts but can move using an internal flywheel mechanism and stick together using magnets.

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Dyson Award for wearable robotic arm

6 November 2013 Last updated at 23:11 ET By Matthew Wall and Carolyn Rice BBC Technology News

A battery-powered robotic arm that boosts human strength has won the 2013 James Dyson award.

The Titan Arm, designed by four mechanical engineering students from the University of Pennsylvania, could help people with back injuries rebuild and regain control of muscles.

It can also be used by people to lift heavy objects as part of their work.

The team, who spent eight months creating the exoskeleton, will share a prize of £30,000 ($48,000).

"Titan Arm is obviously an ingenious design, but the team's use of modern, rapid - and relatively inexpensive - manufacturing techniques makes the project even more compelling," said Sir James Dyson.

"We are ecstatic," team member Nick Parrotta told the BBC. "It was totally unexpected - just incredible."

'Inexpensive aluminium'

The team produced its prototype for £1,200, which they say is a 50th of the typical cost of similar exoskeletons currently on the market.

"We wanted Titan Arm to be affordable, as exoskeletons are rarely covered by health insurance," said Mr Parrotta, 23, currently studying for a masters in mechanical engineering.

"This informed our design decisions and the materials we used. Most structural components are machined from inexpensive aluminium."

Academic and commercial interest in wearable robotics is growing according to Conor Walsh, Professor of of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

But costs will have to continue falling if robotics are to feature more often in daily life, he said.

"Reducing cost will be critical for commercial systems, however the total cost is not just the cost of the hardware but also the added cost associated with research and development, quality assurance and regulatory compliance."

The Titan arm incorporates a rigid back brace to maintain posture, a shoulder featuring rotational joints, and sensors that can track motion and relay data back to doctors for remote prognosis.

It can augment human weight-lifting strength by 40lbs (18kg), say the inventors, while the batteries can last for up to eight hours, depending on intensity of usage and workload.

Electrical signals

The current prototype is operated by a separate joystick, but future versions may incorporate electromyography technology, said Mr Parrotta, which picks up electrical signals produced by muscle tissue, thus allowing users to operate such prosthetics almost without thinking.

All of the inventors who took part in the competition used 3D-printing to develop and produce their prototypes much more cheaply than would have been possible before.

"Prototyping technology, previously reserved only for companies with big research and development budgets, is enabling young inventors to develop sophisticated concepts at university," said Sir James.

"They can revitalise industries on a small budget - it is a good time to be an inventor."

The second prize went to a Japanese team who created Handie, a prosthetic hand with sensors that can read brain signals.

A 3D-printed plastic cast for broken limbs, invented by a team from New Zealand, took the third prize.

The James Dyson Foundation runs the annual award across 18 countries with the aim of encouraging problem-solving inventions.

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Fire hits Internet Archive building

7 November 2013 Last updated at 06:00 ET

The non-profit organisation behind the Internet Archive has made a plea for donations following a fire at its building in San Francisco.

The group runs the popular Wayback Machine, an archive of 364 billion web pages, designed to show people what sites looked like in years gone by.

No data was lost, a spokesman said, but the damage was estimated at $600,000 (£373,000).

He said: "It is in difficult times like these that we turn to our community."

On the group's blog, founder Brewster Kahle wrote: "This episode has reminded us that digitising and making copies are good strategies for both access and preservation.

"We have copies of the data in the Internet Archive in multiple locations, so even if our main building had been involved in the fire we still would not have lost the amazing content we have all worked so hard to collect."

However, the fire did cause the loss of some materials that were being prepared for digitisation - the full extent of which is still being assessed.

'The web's backup'

The Internet Archive was founded in 1996 with the intent to store the world's digital content, such as web pages, music, moving images and e-books.

In October last year, the group announced that it had stored more than 10 petabytes - 10 million gigabytes - of information.

As well as the Wayback Machine, the group also runs other archiving schemes - such as TV Search and Borrow, a collection of US national news programmes that can be obtained, for free, on DVD.

The Internet Archive system was praised recently for allowing access to US government websites that were knocked offline thanks to the federal government shut-down last month.

Thanks to the fire, the scanning centre in San Francisco will need to be either heavily repaired or rebuilt, Mr Kahle said.

In the meantime, as well as donations, the group is seeking help in setting up scanning operations in different locations.

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Tech giants offer net bug rewards

7 November 2013 Last updated at 06:39 ET

Rivals Microsoft, Google and Facebook have joined forces to offers bounties to "friendly hackers" who can hunt down web bugs.

The tech giants have put their differences aside in pursuit of a "safer internet".

Dubbed Hackerone, the bug bounty programme offers cash rewards between $300 (£186) and $5,000 (£3,110) for discovering security holes.

The size of the reward will be determined by a panel of employees.

It may go higher if the discovery is deemed important enough.

Anyone is eligible to enter the competition, except those from countries with which the US has trade restrictions, such as Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria.

Children are also welcome to join in although they will need to claim their bounties from their parents.

The bounties will be paid by Microsoft and Facebook with Google supplying a member of staff to sit on the panel.

The team has suggested areas that people may want to look at.

It includes some of the key pieces of software that make the web work as well as offering a category simply labelled "the internet", which comes with a minimum bounty of $5,000.

Image flaw

Tech firms are stepping up efforts to battle hackers and ensure the internet is safer.

Microsoft has its own independent bounty programme and it recently raised the prize fund to $100,000.

The need for such bounty hunters was illustrated as Microsoft announced on the same day that a brand new security hole in Windows could allow criminals to get control of users computers via malware-injected image files.

The flaw means that anyone opening a malware-filled TIFF image could find malicious code installed on their computer without them knowing.

The bug is a so-called zero-day vulnerability, which means that it was not known about until real-life instances of attacks became apparent.

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UK town to get driverless cars

7 November 2013 Last updated at 07:46 ET

Driverless cars will be tested for the first time in a UK town after £1.5m was made available from the government.

The "pods", which will travel at 12mph (19km/h), will ferry people around Milton Keynes on designated pathways.

Twenty driver-operated vehicles will be running by 2015, but it is hoped 100 fully automated versions will be introduced by 2017, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said.

Similar pods currently operate at Heathrow Airport.

It forms part of a £75m government scheme to enable businesses to make and test low carbon technologies, which it says will keep the UK at the forefront of engine design and help to safeguard up to 30,000 jobs in engine production.

The electric-powered pods can be booked via a smartphone app and will be able to accommodate two passengers.

While travelling, they will use sensors to avoid obstacles.

'Cutting edge'

In the automated versions, passengers travelling to their selected destination will be able to browse the internet, check emails, read the newspaper and play games inside the pod. The cost of each journey has not yet been decided.

If successful, they could be used in other towns and cities across the UK, the government said.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "By 2050, very few - if any - new cars will be powered solely by the traditional internal combustion engines, so it is important that the UK car industry is at the cutting edge of low carbon technologies."

Early collaborators on the project include the engineering firm Arup and the universities of Cambridge and Oxford.

Google has been licensed to experiment with driverless vehicles in the US, claiming that in testing it logged more than 300,000 miles (482,803km) in its cars without an accident.

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Instagram grapples with drug adverts

7 November 2013 Last updated at 08:13 ET

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#BBCTrending looks at how drugs are offered on Instagram

Instagram has blocked searches for certain terms associated with the suspected illegal sale of drugs via its service.

The photo-themed social network took the measure after being asked to respond to an investigation by #BBCtrending - a new social media series.

The journalists had uncovered many pictures and videos of narcotics posted alongside text advertising their sale.

Instagram is owned by Facebook.

The firm has a policy of acting on posts reported as being inappropriate, but it believes it would be impractical and invasive to search for such material.

"Instagram has a clear set of rules about what is and isn't allowed on the site," a spokeswoman told the BBC.

"We encourage people who come across illegal or inappropriate content to report it to us using the built-in reporting tools next to every photo, video or comment, so we can take action.

"People can't buy things on Instagram, we are simply a place where people share photos and videos."

Among Instagram's "report photo/video" choices is the option to identify suspected drug use.

The BBC understands Facebook's staff aim to review posts flagged to either of its social networks within 48 hours. They also have the option of blocking terms classed as "bad hashtags" - ones that promote banned activities - if they are mentioned in the press or in user reports.

The only content Facebook does actively search for is images of child abuse.

Hidden identities

Most of the drugs-related activity appears to be taking place in the US.

"Just getting a few packs ready for tomorrow morning... Place your order today, it gets shipped out at 8AM tomorrow," read one post placed beneath an image of bags of marijuana.

Another picture showed a variety of pills, adding: "$2 a pop for xans, $10 a pop for roxys."

This refers to Xanax, a psychoactive anxiety treatment, and Roxicodone, an opiate used to treat pain.

Both require prescriptions in the US and the UK, but are sometimes bought on the black market.

Crystals of MDMA and other amphetamine-related substances were among other drugs advertised via photos and videos.

In many cases the buyer and seller arranged to finalise their deals using WhatsApp or Kik - instant messaging apps in which they could keep messages private. Like Instagram, accounts can be set up on these services without revealing either party's true identity.

Class-A drugs

Instagram is not the only social network on which drugs are advertised.

The BBC has also seen instances of the practice in comments below some videos on Google's YouTube service.

But while it is relatively common for the person who uploaded a drug-themed photo or video on Instagram to be the one advertising the sale of the substance, on YouTube the person posting the ad tends to do so below videos belonging to others.

Like Facebook, Google relies on users reporting a problem before taking action.

"We take user safety seriously and have guidelines that prohibit any content encouraging dangerous, illegal activities," said a spokeswoman for YouTube.

"This includes content promoting the sale of drugs. YouTube's review teams respond to videos flagged for our attention around the clock, removing millions of videos each year that violate our policies."

One drugs abuse researcher - who has advised the UN, World Health Organization and the UK government - said he was concerned by what he had seen.

"I'm not particularly sophisticated on the internet, and it took me 10 seconds to see posts selling class-A drugs on Instagram," said Prof Neil McKeganey, founder of the Centre for Drug Misuse Research, in Glasgow.

"Here is a public space being used to trade some of the most dangerous substances that we know are being abused.

"I absolutely feel there is a responsibility to take proactive action.

"It seems to me far too serious for those who own the companies that provide the public space through which this is occurring to simply say it's up to contributors to bring this to their attention."

UK-based drugs treatment charity Addaction said it too wanted social media companies to act "swiftly and vigilantly", adding that it believed the companies could make a positive difference if they did.

"Social media is a great way of reaching out to millions and millions of people," said spokesman Elliot Elam.

"That's why we'd like to see providers of these sites work with organisations like ours, so they can find ways to engage with any users who may be struggling with drug or alcohol problems."

Google and Facebook are not the only companies that rely on user reports to indentify potential drugs deals.

Yahoo's blogging service Tumblr confirmed it had the same policy.

"For legal reasons, we do not proactively monitor the site," said a spokeswoman.

"We respond to reports of activity that is illegal or against our policies pursuant to those policies and relevant law."

Although the BBC found photos of illegal drugs on Tumblr, searches for the terms that brought up associated adverts on Instagram did not appear to do so on Yahoo's service.

Gun sales

This is not the first time Instagram's self-policing policies have been called into question.

In August the Fusion.net blog suggested that the illegal psychedelics 2C-I and 2CB were also being advertised via the app.

However it suggested that banning related hashtags would not solve the problem, saying "users would get more creative and choose other labels".

More recently US senator Edward Markey wrote to the service's chief executive, Kevin Systrom, asking him to look into reports that unregulated gun sales were being conducted through the app.

"Other companies that enable online sales have enacted commonsense protocols," he wrote.

"I encourage Instagram to take similar steps and adopt safe business practices that curb the marketing and sale of guns."

#BBCtrending is a hand-picked selection of stories trending on social media around the world. Have you seen an interesting trend? Tweet us.

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Web inventor criticises spy agencies

7 November 2013 Last updated at 09:56 ET

The British computer scientist who created the world wide web has said encryption cracking by UK and US spy agencies is "appalling and foolish".

Sir Tim Berners-Lee told the Guardian that the practice undermined efforts to fight cybercrime and cyberwarfare.

He called for a "full and frank public debate" on internet surveillance.

It comes as a parliamentary committee has quizzed the heads of the UK's spying agencies - GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 - together in public for the first time.

Security weakened

Sir Tim said the system of checks and balances to oversee GCHQ and its US counterpart the National Security Agency (NSA) had failed.

Details about intelligence work carried out by the agencies and reported in the Guardian have been leaked by US whistle-blower Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor.

Sir Tim said the agencies had weakened online security by cracking the encryption employed by internet users to protect their data privacy. He also said it was a betrayal of the technology industry.

Continue reading the main story

• Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ): Safety and security of the UK's cyber connections and infrastructure
• Security Service (MI5): Protection of national security against threats from espionage, terrorism and sabotage
• Secret Intelligence Service (MI6): Collects Britain's foreign intelligence

Source: GCHQ, MI5 and MI6

"Whistle-blowers, and responsible media outlets that work with them, play an important role in society," he said.

"We need powerful agencies to combat criminal activity online - but any powerful agency needs checks and balances and, based on recent revelations, it seems the current system of checks and balances has failed," he said.

Sir Tim said media coverage of the Snowden leaks "has been in the public interest and has uncovered many important issues which now need a full and frank public debate".

Meanwhile a group of Conservative MPs has urged the Guardian to take responsibility for the security implications of reporting the information and "act accordingly".

In their letter, 28 Tory MPs said publishing the leaks in such detail "runs the risk of compromising the vital work of the institutions, processes and people who protect the safety of this country".

They asked the newspaper's editor, Alan Rusbridger, to discuss with the intelligence services the implications for national security that publication would have, and be explicit about any information they have released that could threaten the safety of intelligence services personnel.

'Significant step'

Highlighting security risks that might occur if information intended for journalists fell into the hands of terrorists or "hostile foreign powers", the MPs also urged the paper to be open with the government and security agencies about exactly what information it had shared, and with whom.

"We are asking you to do no more than to share with our intelligence services, the very people who protect the freedoms which the Guardian champions, that which you have already shared freely with international bloggers and journalists who have no concept of the UK national interest," they said.

Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has questioned GCHQ director Sir Iain Lobban, MI5 director general Andrew Parker and MI6 chief Sir John Sawers.

Mr Parker took over as head of the security service MI5 earlier this year. MI6 is charged with gathering intelligence and GCHQ with monitoring communications.

Intelligence chiefs have given evidence to the committee in private for many years.

The session was shown on the BBC News Channel, with a short time delay to prevent anything that might endanger national security or the safety of those working for the agencies being broadcast.

The ISC, made up of senior MPs and peers, said the committee meeting was "a very significant step forward in terms of the openness and transparency of the agencies".

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