4/2/2009 · Kategori: Technology
'Human error' hits Google search
 Users were warned that all search results were dangerous |
Google's search service has been hit by technical problems, with users unable to access search results.
For a period on Saturday, all search results were flagged as potentially harmful, with users warned that the site "may harm your computer".
Users who clicked on their preferred search result were advised to pick another one.
Google attributed the fault to human error and said most users were affected for about 40 minutes.
"What happened? Very simply, human error," wrote Marissa Mayer, vice president, search products and user experience, on the Official Google Blog.
The internet search engine works with stopbadware.org to ascertain which sites install malicious software on people's computers and merit a warning.
Stopbadware.org investigates consumer complaints to decide which sites are dangerous.
The list of malevolent sites is regularly updated and handed to Google.
When Google updated the list on Saturday, it mistakenly flagged all sites as potentially dangerous.
"We will carefully investigate this incident and put more robust file checks in place to prevent it from happening again," Ms Mayer wrote.
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4/2/2009 · Kategori: Technology
Facebook clocks fifth birthday
By Maggie Shiels Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley |
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg spoke to the BBC in October 2008
Facebook is giving its 150 million users a mystery virtual gift to celebrate its fifth birthday.
The gift shop's presents usually range from cuddly bears to a pint of beer and from champagne to a four-leaf clover.
Founder Mark Zuckerberg said, "In the spirit of celebrating connections between people, we encourage you to use this gift to give thanks to [those] you are connected with on Facebook."
In the battle for online friends, Facebook is now the world leader.
In a blog post, Mr Zuckerberg acknowledged the company's work in achieving its place as the biggest social network to date.
"Building and moving quickly for five years hasn't been easy, and we aren't finished.
"As we celebrate Facebook's 5th birthday, we continue to work hard to evolve Facebook and make it as simple as possible to communicate with and understand the people and entities that matter to you," wrote Mr Zuckerberg.
In the blog he has also taken a trip down memory lane and shared old images of how the site has changed since it was launched in 2004.
'Pet college project'
For a company that started in a dorm room, Facebook's rise has been regarded as impressive with its 150 million active users beating rival MySpace's 130 million users.
 Facebook says more than 3 billion minutes are spent on the site each day |
"They've gone from a pet college project to a global communications platform," said Jeremiah Jowyang of Forrester Research.
"It's a place where you can communicate with people you actually know. It's different from other places on the web where those people may not be truly your friend - like on MySpace where there are a lot of celebs and fictional characters created by PR companies.
"Facebook is about people you really know and trust and it has great crossover appeal to your real life, family and work," said Mr Jowyang, who is conducting research on the future of social networks.
In his blog, 24-year-old Mr Zuckerberg said, "The culture of the internet has also changed pretty dramatically over the past five years.
"Before, most people wouldn't consider sharing their real identities online. But Facebook has offered a safe and trusted environment for people to interact online, which has made millions of people comfortable expressing more about themselves."
Professor B J Fogg, who ran a course called the "Psychology of Facebook" at Stanford University, told BBC News: "Facebook has changed how people view the world. Today, a friend from any country is just a few clicks away.
"Facebook brings the world together - one trusted place," said Professor Fogg.
The 'in' thing
It was back in February 2004 when Mr Zuckerberg launched "The facebook", as it was then known, from a Harvard dorm room. With the aid of some friends, the aim was to help students keep in touch over the internet and get to know each other better.
 The average user has 120 friends on the site |
Within 24 hours, 1,200 Harvard students had signed up and soon after that the network was quickly extended to other colleges and universities.
By 2005, an internal study showed that around 85% of students in the network had a Facebook account. Another survey by Student Monitor revealed that Facebook was the most "in" thing after the iPod.
At the end of 2005, Facebook hit the UK and today the site is translated across 35 languages with another 60 in development.
When Mr Zuckerberg filed letters of incorporation for Facebook, he listed his job description as "Founder, Master and Commander Enemy of the State."
'Walled Gardens'
Today more than half of the 150 million unique users are not at college and the fastest growing demographic is 30 years old and above.
Everyday more than 15 million users update their status to tell their friends what they are doing. They also show off photographs, upload videos, chat, make friends, meet old ones, join causes, groups, have fun and throw virtual sheep at one another.
"Social networking is nowhere as big a deal as it's going to become. Right now Facebook is the predominant social network, the one the other social networks want to be," seasoned analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group told BBC News.
 Mark Zuckerberg started the site to help students connect |
"As this space evolves, people are going to be living with these social networking tools. They are going to become the new walled gardens and form a more central role in people's lives."
But who will lead the pack? There is a plethora of social networks but Facebook and MySpace are constantly pitted against one another for supremacy.
"MySpace is like the messy teenager's room whereas Facebook is where people will find their mum, cousins and friends hanging out. It's like a hub," brand consultant Phil Edelin of Wolff Olins told BBC News.
However he said Facebook still has a long way to go to prove itself.
"We have been through the phase of enjoyment and self-indulgence on the site. It needs to innovate as a brand.
"It's been through the faddish phase and is now in a sticky phase. But there are so many other social networks, it needs to stay true to its brand and innovate and create," said Mr Edelin.
It is a sentiment that Mr Zuckerberg seemed to acknowledge in the birthday blog posting.
"The challenge motivates us to keep innovating and pushing technical boundaries to produce better ways to share information," he wrote.
'Investing in vapour'
The perennial question for Facebook has been how to monetise the site and cash in on its 150 million users who critically spend more than two hours each day on-site. Analysts Neilsen compared that figure to the 90 minutes users spend hanging out on MySpace.
As the pressure mounts on the Facebook team to make money, the job becomes harder amid the present economic downturn.
 More than 70% of users are outside the United States |
Market research company eMarketer predicted that US advertising spending on Facebook will fall by 20% to $208 million (£144m).
Despite the focus on the bottom line, Mr Zuckerberg has so far seemed in no particular hurry to come up with a business strategy that will translate into dollars and cents.
"We've thought about a number of different things, but that's not something we've figured out. It's pretty clear that we haven't figured out the optimal way for us to do this yet."
Forrester's Mr Jowyang suggested that for the moment, time is on Facebook's side.
"They are not in a rush and they don't need to be. They have capital backing and they need to make sure the experience is good and that people are really hooked into the system and then turn on the monetisation," said Mr Jowyang.
Mr Enderle however said he believed the clock is ticking fast.
"At some time the economic model has to grow with the rest of the firm.
"Investors will want a return on their money and in this market, investing in vapour can be very difficult. Their time is up for doing this without making money.
"They need to develop a business model soon before they find their funding sources start drying up," warned Mr Enderle.
Professor Fogg sees things from a completely different view.
"Facebook has changed the game for all consumer-facing companies. If you want to reach and influence everyday people, you've got to understand Facebook.
"In the past five years, Facebook has shown us the future.
"The genius of Facebook isn't the technology or the interface. Facebook is winning because it puts friends first. Our relationships shape our online experience. No technology is better than our friendships," said Professor Fogg.
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4/2/2009 · Kategori: News in world
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Unverified footage said to show government troops firing towards Tamil Tiger positions on Monday was aired on Sri Lankan TV station Derana
The United Nations says that 52 civilians have been killed in the past day of fighting in Sri Lanka.
A UN spokesman also said that cluster bombs had hit a hospital, which has been subject to several attacks.
The military denies responsibility for the attacks. There has been no comment from the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Meanwhile President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the rebels would be "completely defeated in a few days" and asked people who had fled to return.
A UN spokesman told the BBC that the last major hospital in rebel-held territory was being hit by cluster bombs.
He said the main hospital in the town of Puthukkudiyiruppu had been evacuated after 16 hours of shelling. It is not clear who fired those shells.
The 52 civilians the UN reported killed were in Sudanthirapuram, in Mullaitivu district. The organisation said another 80 were injured.
Some reports said a hospital had been hit there too but this has not been verified.
Army spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara told the BBC that the military was not responsible for the incidents.
He said the army did not have "the facility or capability to deliver cluster bombs".
Brig Nanayakkara said: "Confrontations are taking place in the Sudanthirapuram area. The rebels remove weapons from their dead cadres and put their bodies in civilian areas to show that civilians were killed."
Claims by either side cannot be verified as independent journalists are not able to reach the front lines.
Call for return
Separately, in a speech to the nation on the country's national day, President Rajapaksa said the rebels' defeat was imminent.
"Today we have been able to nearly destroy terror," he said.
"At this moment I urge all Sri Lankans from all communities who fled the country because of the war to return to their motherland."
 | INSURGENCY TIMELINE 1976: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam form in the north-east 1987: India deploys peace-keepers to Tamil areas but they leave in 1990 1993: President Premadasa killed by Tiger bomb 2001: Attack on airport destroys half Sri Lankan Airlines fleet 2002: Government and rebels agree ceasefire 2005: Mahinda Rajapaksa becomes president 2006: Heavy fighting resumes 2009: Army takes main rebel bases of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu  |
The government and rebels have come under more pressure to declare a ceasefire in the ongoing war.
This will allow casualties to be evacuated from the war zone in the northeast of the country.
A joint statement issued following a meeting between the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and the British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, said there should be a truce so that humanitarian aid could be allowed in.
The Sri Lankan government has previously ruled out any ceasefire and has vowed to crush the rebels.
The Tigers have said they will not lay down their arms until they have a "guarantee of living with freedom and dignity and sovereignty".
Earlier Sri Lanka's key international donors, the United States, Japan, Norway and the European Union called on the Tamil Tiger rebels to consider laying down their arms to avoid more civilian casualties.
 Mr Rajapaksa said his government had nearly "destroyed terror" |
It is also the first international acknowledgement that the rebels may be near to defeat.
Up to 250,000 civilians may be trapped by the fighting.
In a joint statement, Sri Lanka's key international donors expressed "great concern" for the plight of civilians.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's military said there was no sign of the rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in the bunker found in the north-east earlier this week.
The two-storey-deep bunker was found hidden in a coconut plantation in Mullaitivu district during fighting on Monday, the army said.
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4/2/2009 · Kategori: News in world
Cannot play media. Sorry, this media is not available in your territory.
Unverified footage said to show government troops firing towards Tamil Tiger positions on Monday was aired on Sri Lankan TV station Derana
The United Nations says that 52 civilians have been killed in the past day of fighting in Sri Lanka.
A UN spokesman also said that cluster bombs had hit a hospital, which has been subject to several attacks.
The military denies responsibility for the attacks. There has been no comment from the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Meanwhile President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the rebels would be "completely defeated in a few days" and asked people who had fled to return.
A UN spokesman told the BBC that the last major hospital in rebel-held territory was being hit by cluster bombs.
He said the main hospital in the town of Puthukkudiyiruppu had been evacuated after 16 hours of shelling. It is not clear who fired those shells.
The 52 civilians the UN reported killed were in Sudanthirapuram, in Mullaitivu district. The organisation said another 80 were injured.
Some reports said a hospital had been hit there too but this has not been verified.
Army spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara told the BBC that the military was not responsible for the incidents.
He said the army did not have "the facility or capability to deliver cluster bombs".
Brig Nanayakkara said: "Confrontations are taking place in the Sudanthirapuram area. The rebels remove weapons from their dead cadres and put their bodies in civilian areas to show that civilians were killed."
Claims by either side cannot be verified as independent journalists are not able to reach the front lines.
Call for return
Separately, in a speech to the nation on the country's national day, President Rajapaksa said the rebels' defeat was imminent.
"Today we have been able to nearly destroy terror," he said.
"At this moment I urge all Sri Lankans from all communities who fled the country because of the war to return to their motherland."
| INSURGENCY TIMELINE 1976: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam form in the north-east 1987: India deploys peace-keepers to Tamil areas but they leave in 1990 1993: President Premadasa killed by Tiger bomb 2001: Attack on airport destroys half Sri Lankan Airlines fleet 2002: Government and rebels agree ceasefire 2005: Mahinda Rajapaksa becomes president 2006: Heavy fighting resumes 2009: Army takes main rebel bases of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu |
The government and rebels have come under more pressure to declare a ceasefire in the ongoing war.
This will allow casualties to be evacuated from the war zone in the northeast of the country.
A joint statement issued following a meeting between the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and the British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, said there should be a truce so that humanitarian aid could be allowed in.
The Sri Lankan government has previously ruled out any ceasefire and has vowed to crush the rebels.
The Tigers have said they will not lay down their arms until they have a "guarantee of living with freedom and dignity and sovereignty".
Earlier Sri Lanka's key international donors, the United States, Japan, Norway and the European Union called on the Tamil Tiger rebels to consider laying down their arms to avoid more civilian casualties.
| Mr Rajapaksa said his government had nearly "destroyed terror" |
It is also the first international acknowledgement that the rebels may be near to defeat.
Up to 250,000 civilians may be trapped by the fighting.
In a joint statement, Sri Lanka's key international donors expressed "great concern" for the plight of civilians.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's military said there was no sign of the rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in the bunker found in the north-east earlier this week.
The two-storey-deep bunker was found hidden in a coconut plantation in Mullaitivu district during fighting on Monday, the army said.
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4/2/2009 ·
Summer swap will suit Chelsea and Man City
CHELSEA will sign Manchester City star Robinho at the end of the season and finance the move with the sale of Didier Drogba.
Blues boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has made it clear the London club MUST buy the Manchester City star. There was even a chance a deal could have been struck before the end of the January transfer window but that was torpedoed by City boss Mark Hughes.
Click here for live commentary on Liverpool v Chelsea from 4pm
A plan which would have seen Drogba go to Eastlands for £27million was hatched with City paying three instalments of £9m for the Ivory Coast striker. That would have seen Chelsea pay just £6m to bring Robinho to the Bridge. But the swap floundered after Hughes insisted he wanted Blackburn’s Roque Santa Cruz rather than Drogba.
But there are doubts over whether Hughes will still be in charge in the summer which would clear the way for the deal.
A well-placed source said: “It is all very complicated and there’s a lot of people involved. Some things could get ugly but Robinho will end up a Chelsea player in the summer.”
Chelsea will sell Drogba and expect to get at least £20m for him which would allow them to buy Robinho while staying within the financial guidelines laid down by owner Roman Abramovich.
The Russian has ordered an end to Chelsea’s lavish spending but will sanction a move for the Brazilian. He withdrew from negotiations last year when City made it clear they wanted Robinho as a statement signing.
Sources close to Robinho claim he ‘regrets’ joining City and we understand third parties are already working on an exit deal which may even see Robinho accept some from of wage ‘cut’ on his £160,000 a week salary to comply with Chelsea’s new structure. But his pay would be bolstered with an improved image rights deal.
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