April, 2009
Google Street View (UK) Cleared Of Privacy Concerns
April 30, 2009
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has finally given a verdict on the legality of Google Street View going live in the UK, and fortunately for Google (and the millions of people that find the novelty useful and entertaining) it is one that says the online service including the continuing expansion should not be stopped.
This follows claims by many people that it should not be allowed for many different reasons – the most common two being that it infringes people’s privacy, and that it facilitates crime by allowing potential burglars to map out their route and identify weak spots without leaving their home.
However the ICO ruled that although it carries a small risk of privacy invasion removing Google Street View would be “disproportionate to the relatively small risk of privacy detriment”. It is definitely encouraging to see a watchdog use some common sense – listening to the quiet majority rather than the very vocal minority.
Continue reading »7 Mac Desktop Twitter Apps
April 29, 2009
Twitter is the thing right now. From Jonathan Ross to Jamie Oliver, from Peaches Geldof to Zath’s very own Simon Barker, over 4 million people are using Twitter to communicate and share ideas.
There are some cool ways to use Twitter from the comfort of your Mac desktop, rather than keeping a browser tab open and hitting refresh every 12 seconds – so, for all you Mac users out there, here’s seven of the best Mac desktop applications to make Twittering easier:
Continue reading »GAME Voucher Code For Cheap Nintendo Wii Or DSi
April 29, 2009
Here at Zath we’re big fans of gaming and as such made good use of the last GAME voucher code (£5 off) that Game was offering as a discount for all us eager gamers to use on the GAME website.
Well we’re pleased to announce that GAME have released another voucher for us gamers to use exclusively on their website, clearly they’re in the bank holiday spirit already which is must be why given that this voucher code is only valid until the end of the bank holiday weekend – this voucher code expires at the end of Monday 4th May.
Continue reading »Facebook – Pirate Language Added!
April 28, 2009
Did you know that Facebook has an English (Pirate) language option within the standard settings? I certainly didn’t and don’t know how long it’s been there (probably ages), but have just seen it mentioned on Twitter by Jamie Harrop and had to give it a try.
All you need to do is scroll down to the bottom of any Facebook page and click on the link which say English (UK) or whatever current language you’re using, a popup window appears with a selection of standard languages, except one of the options is for English (Pirate) – you then simply select this and when you’re returned to your Facebook pages, you’ll see that most of your Facebook interface has now become Pirate-ised and ye will be talking like a pirate in no time!
Continue reading »How To Be Safe Online – Internet Security/Safety For Students
April 28, 2009
Yesterday I brought up the issue of technology giving us more than we can handle with the case of highlighting Swine Flu, but it can also have worrying implications with our safety and how susceptible we are to giving out our personal emails.
In a recent survey commissioned by ‘Get Safe Online’ it was found that internet users in full time education were far more vulnerable to online crime and security threats than any other demographic, which may be surprising as both the people in question and the general population see them as being ‘very computer literate’.
We have all got the spam emails from our friend who is stuck in Nigeria and needs £3000 to get back, and apart from the first time where we went through our phone book to find out if any of our friends were on holiday in Africa we delete them instantly. But although this may seem like the most prominent threat, and although it is so widely publicised, young people are still falling foul to the internet.
Continue reading »Samsung LED TV Range
April 28, 2009
We’ve covered many high definition, widescreen TVs here on Zath, of both LCD and Plasma varieties, but Samsung have now responded to their competitors by announcing their new range of Samsung LED TVs (Series 6 & 7) – yes you read it right, Light Emitting Diode (LED), you’re probably thinking that’s different, not heard of that one before…
The thing to realise here is that these LED TVs are still using a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) like you may have at home now; however the main difference is that LEDs are used as a backlight for the LCD display, as opposed to the usual LCD TVs that use fluorescent lamps as backlighting system which ultimately add to the depth/thickness and power consumption of the TV.
Continue reading »Swine Flu ‘Pandemic’ – Real-Time Tracking With Google Maps
April 27, 2009
No-one can deny that technology has made the majority of our lives that bit better, and in fact we would struggle to live without certain aspects of it (e.g. life support systems). However sometimes it can have some fairly negative effects – such as fuelling the fire of hysteria.
Unless you have spent the weekend in a cave you will know that the threat of a pandemic (which has been prophesised by scientists for years) is now coming from a mutated form of Swine Flu which has originated from Mexico, and cases are popping up across the world; so what better to do than follow it’s spread in real time using Google Maps?
Continue reading »Living in HD – Panasonic Camera Competition
April 27, 2009
Living in HD is a community site for enthusiasts of things to do with digital video, photography and HDTV who are looking for a place where they can learn from others and also share their own knowledge in what is becoming an increasingly popular field as more and more people take up hobbies around digital video, photography and HDTV.
Since the Living in HD community is driven by its users then it means that they will tend to be less biased than similar information found on the manufacturers’ websites, however this site would appear to be a part of or at least sponsored by Panasonic still.
I can see this type of website being very useful to both beginners and more experienced users all round and the whole peer-to-peer knowledge aspect is somewhat like you’d find in a forum. However this community website is presented in a much better way that makes the experience of using it more engaging than a simple forum as people can share the results of their creativity.
Continue reading »LG LCD & Plasma TV Collection 2009
April 27, 2009
LG recently held a TV event at the Ideal Homes Show at Earls Court in London in which they showed off some of their new TVs for 2009 and also answered some questions about their new products, similar to their previous events in which they showcased their new LG Plasma TVs.
First of all, to outline some of these new TVs and some features to note of this new LG TV range are:
Continue reading »3rd Generation iPhone Gets Front-Facing Camera & Enlarging Interface?
April 27, 2009
One of Apple’s latest patents that has recently emerged would suggest some interesting features in an upcoming Apple product, one which could end up being the 3rd generation iPhone.
As you can see from the technical patent image below, there is a front-facing camera detailed at the top-centre of the device (the item labelled 180) which would bring the more business-focussed uses to the iPhone such as video calling – the only real instance right now that I can see people using video calling – I don’t know anyone who uses it for leisure purposes due to the 3G requirements and associated costs, is it something that you’ve used on mobile phones in the past? No doubt that this will become a commonly used application as the technology develops.
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