US Johansson hacker gets 10 years

17 December 2012 Last updated at 17:35 ET

A US man who hacked into the email accounts of Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera and others has been jailed for 10 years in Los Angeles.

Christopher Chaney, of Jacksonville, Florida, admitted wiretapping and unauthorised access to a computer.

Prosecutors said Chaney had accessed the emails of more than 50 celebrities.

The most notorious incident involved nude photos Johansson had taken of herself for her then-husband that were posted on the internet.

'Operation Hackerazzi'

Chaney, 35, was jailed by US District Judge S James Otero.

"It's hard to fathom the mindset of a person who would accomplish all of this," the judge said, Associated Press reported. "These types of crimes are as pernicious and serious as physical stalking."

Chaney said: "I don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry. I could be sentenced to never use a computer again and I wouldn't care."

Johansson, Aguilera and the Friends With Benefits star, Mila Kunis, agreed to waive protection of their identity in order to highlight the issues surrounding such internet hacking.

Chaney, who initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, was arrested in October 2011 as part of a year-long FBI investigation of celebrity hacking that authorities dubbed "Operation Hackerazzi".

Chaney admitted he hacked into the personal emails of his targets by clicking on the "forgot password" feature of their accounts and answering security questions by using publicly available information about celebrities that he found on the internet.

Once in control of the accounts, he obtained private photos, business contracts, scripts, and other documents.

He also went through contacts lists to find other victims and sometimes posed as friends to request more private photos.

Chaney then forwarded many of the images he found, including nude photos of Johansson, to gossip websites which posted them online.

Johansson told Vanity Fair last December that the photos were meant for her then-husband Ryan Reynolds.

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Fire brigade considers 999 by tweet

17 December 2012 Last updated at 19:03 ET

The London Fire Brigade has said it is considering allowing people to tweet emergencies instead of dialling 999.

It currently advises against using social media to make the service aware of fires as it is not monitored 24 hours a day.

But it has acknowledged that the increasing proliferation of smart phones means they must "improve how we communicate with the public".

It said it would share its experiences with other emergency services.

"With over a billion people now using Facebook and half a billion using Twitter, it's quite clear that social media is here to stay," said Rita Dexter, deputy commissioner of the London Fire Brigade (LFB).

"The London Fire Brigade is the biggest fire service in the country and we think it's important to look into ways to improve how we communicate with the public and how they can get in touch with us."

'Working blind'

Many emergency services around the country are making use of social media to track and monitor fires.

One particular incident, a large blaze in west London in January, had firefighters scouring social media to get as much information about the incident as possible.

Due to the police helicopter not being available, the LFB turned to its Twitter followers who were in the area to take pictures and describe the scene.

Information was relayed back to experts at headquarters who were able to make an assessment as to the severity of the situation.

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At its height, about 75 firefighters tackled the blaze

Without help from social media, the LFB said, it would have taken longer to control the fire.

30 million calls

Other activities by fire brigades includes tweeting awareness campaigns around traditionally busy periods - such as a bonfire night.

Now, accounts like @LondonFire have attracted over 30,000 followers.

"When it was first set up in 1935, people said that dialling 999 to report emergencies would never work," said Ms Dexter.

"Today BT handles over 30 million emergency calls each year.

"It's time to look at new ways for people to report emergencies quickly and efficiently and social media could provide the answer in the future."

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Facebook underwriter is fined $5m

17 December 2012 Last updated at 23:16 ET

Morgan Stanley has been fined $5m (£3m) by the Massachusetts securities regulator for "improperly influencing" analysts before Facebook's share sale.

According to the regulator, there was a conflict of interest when a senior banker coached a Facebook official on what to say to analysts.

It also claimed that the two firms failed to tell all investors that revenues may be lower than forecast.

Many investors criticised Facebook as its shares fell following the listing.

The sale, which was over-subscribed and took place in May 2012, was one of the most hotly anticipated stock floatations in recent history and valued the eight-year-old firm at $104bn.

Facebook sold close to 421 million shares, at $38 a share, raising $16bn.

However, the hype surrounding the listing waned shortly after trading started on the New York stock exchange as shares fell below their listing price on concerns about the pace of future profit growth.

Facebook's shares have dipped almost 30% since its listing in May.

Morgan Stanley did not confirm or deny the allegations by the regulator.

However, it said in statement that it was pleased to have reached a settlement and to have put the matter behind it.

"Morgan Stanley is committed to robust compliance with both the letter and the spirit of all applicable regulations and laws," it added.

Mobile ads

The regulator's case focused on events tied to Facebook and its road show, which promoted the share sale to investors.

It alleged that during this period, Facebook informed Morgan Stanley that it expected revenue for the second-quarter of the year to be at the lower end of its forecast of between $1.1bn and $1.2bn.

Analysts had initially forecast that it would either be at the higher end of that range, or above it.

At the same time, Facebook also said that annual revenues for 2012 may miss its initial forecast of $5bn by as much as 3.5%.

The problem affecting Facebook was that an increasing number of people were visiting its website via mobile devices, such as phones or tablet computers.

Facebook warned that because it did not display advertising on the mobile versions of its website, then there may be a decline in revenue from ad sales, its biggest source of income.

According to the Massachusetts investigation, Facebook first filed an amendment to its listing documents on 3 May, in which it warned that revenue growth may be "negatively affected" by this shift from personal computers to mobile devices.

This was followed by a second amendment on 9 May in which it highlighted the weaker revenue trend for the second quarter of the year, running from the start of April to the end of June.

The Massachusetts investigation claims that Facebook told a senior Morgan Stanley investment banker on 8 May about the problem.

The banker then helped orchestrate calls between the company and analysts.

In his order, William Galvin, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, said that the bank helped Facebook give out this information "without creating the appearance of not providing the underlying trend information to all investors".

In this way, Facebook said it would be able to brief analysts covering its stock about the problems, "without someone claiming we are providing any selective disclosure to big accounts only".

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Apple denied Samsung sales ban

18 December 2012 Last updated at 01:45 ET

A US judge has rejected Apple's plea to ban sales of Samsung's smartphones that violate its patents.

Apple had requested the ban after a jury ruled earlier this year that some Samsung products had infringed Apple's patents.

Samsung was also ordered to pay $1.05bn (£650m) in damages, a ruling the South Korean firm has since challenged.

However, the judge said there was not enough evidence that the infringed patents had hurt Apple's US sales.

"The phones at issue in this case contain a broad range of features, only a small fraction of which are covered by Apple's patents," District Judge Lucy Koh said.

"Though Apple does have some interest in retaining certain features as exclusive to Apple, it does not follow that entire products must be forever banned from the market because they incorporate, among their myriad features, a few narrow protected functions."

Losing steam?

Since winning $1.05bn damages in August this year, Apple has suffered setbacks in its various legal clashes with rivals.

Continue reading the main story

The momentum that Apple had gained in the wake of the big billion-dollar judgement seems to be losing its steam"

End Quote Manoj Menon Frost & Sullivan

Last month, Apple was asked to disclose the details of its patent-sharing deal with HTC to Samsung.

It has also lost an appeal against a UK ruling that Samsung had not infringed its design rights.

The US technology firm was also asked by a UK High Court to publish a statement on its website admitting that Samsung had not infringed its designs.

Meanwhile, sales bans sought by Apple against Samsung's Galaxy Nexus phone and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in the US were also lifted in October.

In November, a judge in the US dismissed a case brought by Apple alleging that Google's Motorola unit was seeking excessive royalty payments for patents.

"The momentum that Apple had gained in the wake of the big billion dollar judgement seems to be losing its steam," Manoj Menon, managing director at consulting firm Frost & Sullivan told the BBC.

"It appears that Apple will find it increasingly difficult to convince courts around the world that it has been hurt by alleged patent infringements."

Patent sharing

The smartphone market has seen tremendous growth over the past few years and Apple and Samsung have emerged as two of the biggest players in the sector.

The success of Apple's iPhone has been a key driver of its growth, while Samsung has reported record quarterly profits helped by the popularity of its Galaxy range of smartphones.

However, as their market share has increased, so has the intensity of their legal battles with each other.

The two firms have filed legal cases against each other in more than 10 countries, each accusing the other of violating its patents.

However, analysts said that it was time the two companies sat down together and agreed on an amicable solution to their tussles - a move that has also been suggested previously by a judge in the US.

Mr Menon of Frost & Sullivan said that as manufacturers look to develop even more advanced phones, they will eventually need to use technologies, the patents for which may not belong to them.

"What we are seeing is a convergence of different technologies into one device," he said.

He explained that for innovation to continue in the sector it was key that various companies agreed to licensing terms for their patents.

Last month, Apple agreed such a deal with Taiwanese phone-maker HTC as it signed a 10-year licence agreement that ended their legal battle over patents.

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Comet stores open for final day

18 December 2012 Last updated at 02:45 ET

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Shoppers at Comet's Lincoln store sought closing down sale bargains

Comet stores are to close their doors for the last time on Tuesday, bringing the failed electrical retailer's 79-year history to an end.

Of the 236 stores the firm presided over when it went into administration last month, only 49 are still open.

On Monday, administrators Deloitte said unsecured creditors would get back less than 1% of the money owed to them.

The chain's collapse will also cost the government £49.4m in redundancy payments and foregone tax revenues.

The redundancy money owed to thousands of former Comet workers totals £23.2m and will be paid by the government's Redundancy Payments Service (RPS).

Meanwhile, £26.2m is owed in taxes to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), which is one of dozens of unsecured creditors of the retailer who are owed a total of £233m, none of which will be repaid.

Other unsecured lenders reportedly include landlords owed £135m in rents and other claims, manufacturers unable to reclaim goods delivered to Comet on credit worth £6m, and various other claimants owed £66m, such as ITV and Google, which had reportedly not been paid for advertising.

Big losses

The total hole in Comet's balance sheet by the time it was wound up had reached £311m, according to Deloitte's estimations.

Comet's secured lenders will also be stung by the firm's failure, receiving only £50m of the £145m they are owed, as the assets on which their debts were secured could not be sold off at a high enough price.

The company's main secured lender is Hailey, the company set up by private equity firm OpCapita in order to buy up Comet from Anglo-French retail group Kesa last year for a nominal £1 payment.

Continue reading the main story

Founded in 1933 as a business charging radio batteries

Opened its first store in Hull in 1968

Bought by Woolworths and B&Q owner Kingfisher in 1984, which expanded Comet into one of the UK's best-known retail brands

In 2003 Comet became part of Kesa Electricals, after Kesa was demerged from Kingfisher

It was announced in November 2011 that Comet would be sold to private equity group OpCapita for just £1

OpCapita was also given £50m by Kesa as part of the deal

However, OpCapita failed to turn around Comet's fortunes, as the company continued to suffer from the fall in UK consumer spending during the recession and the big growth in online rivals.

Deloitte also revealed on Monday that Comet's losses in the year to April totalled £95m, while its revenues slumped by £200m.

In the subsequent five months, Comet lost a further £31m.

Towards the end, insurers refused to guarantee suppliers, who in turn refused to extend credit on sales to Comet in the run-up to the crucial Christmas sales period.

Comet's demise is one of the biggest High Street casualties of recent years.

The 236-store business, which at the time employed about 7,000 people, was founded in Hull in 1933 and began life selling batteries and radios.

The closure of the final Comet stores comes after Deloitte failed to find a buyer for the company.

It is unclear what will become of the Comet brand, with one possibility being a sale to an online retailer, similar to the fate of Woolworths.

Kesa Electricals was renamed Darty in July this year.

Despite having its headquarters in London, it focuses on the continental market - especially France, where it has more than 200 stores under the Darty name.

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Facebook real name row in Germany

18 December 2012 Last updated at 05:24 ET

A German data protection body has ordered Facebook to end its policy of making members use their real names.

The policy violates German laws that give people the right to use pseudonyms online, said the data protection agency in Schleswig-Holstein.

The agency has issued a decree demanding that Facebook let people use fake names immediately.

Facebook said it would fight the decree "vigorously" and that its naming policy met European data protection rules.

"It is unacceptable that a US portal like Facebook violates German data protection law unopposed and with no prospect of an end," said Thilo Weichert, head of the regional data protection office in Schleswig Holstein, in a statement.

The ability to use a pseudonym on Facebook was "reasonable" said Mr Weichert and would allow people to use the service "without fear of unpleasant consequences".

Facebook's long-standing policy of making people use their real names did nothing to prevent people using the social network to throw insults or to hamper identity theft, he added.

Schleswig Holstein is piloting the action against Facebook and if it is successful the decision is likely to be adopted by the nation's other data protection agencies, it said, adding that the social network now has two weeks to oppose the decree in a German court.

The decree issued by the Schleswig Holstein office was "without merit" a Facebook spokeswoman told tech news site IT World adding that it planned to fight the order.

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Orange tops broadband complaints

18 December 2012 Last updated at 07:22 ET

Internet service provider Orange has knocked TalkTalk off the top position in Ofcom's broadband complaints chart.

Figures for the third quarter of 2012 show a higher proportion of Orange customers lodged complaints about its broadband services than any other firm.

The spike in complaints is believed to be linked to Orange's withdrawal of a free broadband offer.

TalkTalk, which has topped the list since Ofcom started compiling it in 2010, slipped to second place.

Figures from Ofcom reveal that Orange, now known as Everything Everywhere (EE), generated almost twice as many complaints per thousand customers in 2012's third quarter than in the three months before.

In September, EE said customers would lose its free broadband service unless they signed up for line rental at £14 per month from the firm. Ofcom said this policy change generated a surge of complaints as many people expected to keep the free service until the end of their current monthly mobile contract.

TalkTalk was second in the chart of most complained about broadband ISPs. Ofcom added that the number of complaints it was generating had continued to fall. Despite this, it added, complaints about TalkTalk remained above the industry average at 0.35 for every 1,000 subscribers. On average, fixed broadband services generate 0.24 complaints for every 1,000 customers.

Although it did better on broadband complaints, TalkTalk generated the most negative feedback about its fixed landline phone services.

The report is the seventh that Ofcom has produced and it logs complaints about broadband, fixed telephone services, Pay TV and pay monthly mobile services.

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Instagram seeks right to sell photos

18 December 2012 Last updated at 07:37 ET

Facebook's photo-sharing site Instagram has updated its privacy policy giving it the right to sell users' photos to advertisers without notification.

Unless users delete their Instagram accounts by a deadline of 16 January, they cannot opt out.

The changes also mean Instagram can share information about its users with Facebook, its parent company, as well as other affiliates and advertisers.

The move riled social media users, with one likening it to a "suicide note".

The new policies follow Facebook's record $1bn (£616m; 758 euro) acquisition of Instagram in April.

Facebook's vice-president of global marketing solutions Carolyn Everson earlier this month had said: "Eventually we'll figure out a way to monetise Instagram."

A notice updating the privacy policy on the Instagram site said: "We may share your information as well as information from tools like cookies, log files, and device identifiers and location data with organisations that help us provide the service to you... (and) third-party advertising partners."

"To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you," it said in its terms of use.

But Instagram said that its aim was to make it easier to work with Facebook.

"This means we can do things like fight spam more effectively, detect system and reliability problems more quickly, and build better features for everyone by understanding how Instagram is used," it said in a statement.

'Suicide note'

However, the updated policy will not change how it handles photo ownership or who is able to see a user's pictures, it added.

But the new policy has triggered a backlash among social media users, with some threatening to quit.

One user tweeted: "Good bye #instagram. Your new terms of service are totally stupid and nonsense. Good luck playing with the big boys."

New York-based photographer Clayton Cubbit wrote on his account that the new policy was "Instagram's suicide note".

Analysts said that the new policies could deal a blow to Facebook's reputation and alienate some users.

Richard Holway, chairman of TechMarketView, said: "Every time Facebook has altered their privacy policy it has led to a backlash and they've been forced to retreat. They tamper with people's privacy at a cost. People are very upset."

Alan Pelz-Sharpe, research director at 451 Research, added: "It's a barefaced tactic that Facebook and Instagram have taken, and one that will likely meet with many challenges, legally and ethically.

"The fact is that Facebook has critical mass, and is quite confident that such moves may cause uproar, but not a flight of business.

"Larger firms like Facebook are essentially trailblazing before specific regulations can catch up with them, and as we have seen with Google in the past, regulations and laws have limited real impact on their business operations - so they tend to move forward regardless of opposition."

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Net name .cymru leaps ahead of .scot

18 December 2012 Last updated at 07:42 ET

Proposed net address endings .tattoo, .transformers and .menu are among the first that could go live next year.

A raffle by regulator Icann has placed them near the top of the list of applications it will review.

Of the proposed new geographic suffixes, Wales's .cymru will be one of the first to be evaluated. However, .scot and .irish are likely to have to wait until 2014.

The first domains to go live could enjoy an early-mover advantage.

The list of 1,917 generic top-level domains (gTLDs) applications was determined by the order tickets were randomly pulled out of drums at a hotel in Los Angeles on Monday.

Companies were charged a $100 (£62) fee for each application they they wanted in the draw.

In some cases they decided not to take part. As a result several of Google's submissions will be among those last to be judged.

Same names

An early evaluation is not an absolute guarantee a suffix will go live early.

Governments have lodged "early objections" to more than 250 of them - meaning the proposed address may be rejected.

In addition, several companies are competing for identical gTLDs.

Continue reading the main story

199 .tokyo

200 .paris

220 .swiss

244 .cymru

258 .thai

288 .budapest

194 .okinawa

635 .london

786 .roma

807 .wales

866 .istanbul

881 .moscow

1,005 .africa

1,069 .persiangulf

1,165 .amsterdam

1,345 .madrid

1,491 .irish

1,453 .scot

1,531 .yokohama

1,653 .zuerich

1,738 .barcelona

1,872 .patagonia

So, for example. Amazon's application for .play is near the top of the list. But it faces having to wait for a submission for the same name from Star Registry - which is 1,792nd in order - to be reviewed and a potential auction held if both are approved before the suffix can be activated.

Icann's raffle did not go without glitch. At one point a live feed of the event failed causing the organisers to temporarily halt the process to ensure it remained transparent.

The event ended up lasting more than nine hours - significantly longer than planned.

Tickets for about 100 non-Latin applications were picked from the drums first, placing a submission for the equivalent of .church in Chinese from the Vatican at the top of the list. It was followed by the Japanese for .store by Amazon.

Of the English-language proposals, unique applications set for an early review include .delmonte from the American food company; .mormon from a firm called IRI Domain Management; .fiat from the car company; and .joy from Amazon.

First movers

Businesses and other users will be able to apply to run websites using the new address suffixes in cases where the new owner decides it does not want to restrict its use.

They will be able to do so so by applying to domain name registration services which will act as middle-men, charging a fee which will be shared with the owner.

One UK-based registrar said that the initial new gTLDs to go live would benefit from their early start.

"Those that go first will get a lot more marketing opportunities," Kelly Salter from names.co.uk told the BBC.

"At the moment there are relatively few extensions to choose from that give you global coverage - so there is the opportunity to get great exposure.

"But if you're number 500 to be approved, our customers will have become desensitised by that point. So the impact to domains launching towards the end of the process will be that they have to work harder to make people want to use them."

Icann has said it plans to let the first batch of new gTLDs in May 2013.

Ms Salter said after the launch date she expected about 20 would be released each week with the final ones going live before the end of 2014.

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SpongeBob in hot water over privacy

18 December 2012 Last updated at 08:41 ET

A SpongeBob app became the latest game to be pulled following a complaint it had violated children's privacy rights.

Nickelodeon removed SpongeBob Diner Dash from Apple's iTunes app store after a US advocacy group contacted the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The Center for Digital Democracy said children's email addresses had been collected without parental consent.

Last week another children's app, Mobbles, was temporarily pulled after the CDD filed a similar complaint.

The Washington DC-based group urged the FTC to investigate Nickelodeon and mobile game-maker PlayFirst's privacy practices.

It said their "deceptive" mobile marketing technologies had violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

"The SpongeBob Diner Dash game asks children to provide a wide range of personal information, including full name, email address, and other online contact information, without providing notice to parents or obtaining prior parental consent, as required by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act," a statement said.

"Nor does the app provide an adequate description of the personal information it collects or how it is used".

The advocacy group said the app's use of technologies such as unique device identifiers (UDIDs) allowed companies to send customised messages to individual children in the form of "push notifications" that required online contact information - considered personal information under the COPPA rules.

Nickelodeon was unable to be reached for comment.

The app is free to download, but is designed to encourage users to buy virtual "coins" that can be spent on items for SpongeBob like shoes or a frying pan, or to buy upgraded versions of the game.

Need for informed choices

Laura Moy, a lawyer at Georgetown Law's Institute for Public Representation, which prepared the complaint on behalf of the Center for Digitial Democracy (CDD), said: "It is disturbing to learn that a well known children's brand such as Nickelodeon is flouting basic privacy protections for children. Even more troubling, Nickelodeon tells parents that it complies with the law protecting children's privacy when it does not."

Last week the game Mobbles, in which children collect and care for virtual pets, was temporarily pulled from the Apple App store and Google Android Play store.

The FTC last week published a report on mobile apps for children that showed parents were not being provided with information about what data an app collected, who would have access to that data, and how it would be used.

The report said that nearly 60% of the apps examined by the FTC were transmitting information about a user to an advertiser or other third party.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said: "While we think most companies have the best intentions when it comes to protecting kids' privacy, we haven't seen any progress when it comes to making sure parents have the information they need to make informed choices about apps for their kids."

"In fact, our study shows that kids' apps siphon an alarming amount of information from mobile devices without disclosing this fact to parents," he added.

"All of the companies in the mobile app space, especially the gatekeepers of the app stores, need to do a better job. We'll do another survey in the future and we will expect to see improvement."

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US Johansson hacker gets 10 years

17 December 2012 Last updated at 17:35 ET

A US man who hacked into the email accounts of Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera and others has been jailed for 10 years in Los Angeles.

Christopher Chaney, of Jacksonville, Florida, admitted wiretapping and unauthorised access to a computer.

Prosecutors said Chaney had accessed the emails of more than 50 celebrities.

The most notorious incident involved nude photos Johansson had taken of herself for her then-husband that were posted on the internet.

'Operation Hackerazzi'

Chaney, 35, was jailed by US District Judge S James Otero.

"It's hard to fathom the mindset of a person who would accomplish all of this," the judge said, Associated Press reported. "These types of crimes are as pernicious and serious as physical stalking."

Chaney said: "I don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry. I could be sentenced to never use a computer again and I wouldn't care."

Johansson, Aguilera and the Friends With Benefits star, Mila Kunis, agreed to waive protection of their identity in order to highlight the issues surrounding such internet hacking.

Chaney, who initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, was arrested in October 2011 as part of a year-long FBI investigation of celebrity hacking that authorities dubbed "Operation Hackerazzi".

Chaney admitted he hacked into the personal emails of his targets by clicking on the "forgot password" feature of their accounts and answering security questions by using publicly available information about celebrities that he found on the internet.

Once in control of the accounts, he obtained private photos, business contracts, scripts, and other documents.

He also went through contacts lists to find other victims and sometimes posed as friends to request more private photos.

Chaney then forwarded many of the images he found, including nude photos of Johansson, to gossip websites which posted them online.

Johansson told Vanity Fair last December that the photos were meant for her then-husband Ryan Reynolds.

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Fire brigade considers 999 by tweet

17 December 2012 Last updated at 19:03 ET

The London Fire Brigade has said it is considering allowing people to tweet emergencies instead of dialling 999.

It currently advises against using social media to make the service aware of fires as it is not monitored 24 hours a day.

But it has acknowledged that the increasing proliferation of smart phones means they must "improve how we communicate with the public".

It said it would share its experiences with other emergency services.

"With over a billion people now using Facebook and half a billion using Twitter, it's quite clear that social media is here to stay," said Rita Dexter, deputy commissioner of the London Fire Brigade (LFB).

"The London Fire Brigade is the biggest fire service in the country and we think it's important to look into ways to improve how we communicate with the public and how they can get in touch with us."

'Working blind'

Many emergency services around the country are making use of social media to track and monitor fires.

One particular incident, a large blaze in west London in January, had firefighters scouring social media to get as much information about the incident as possible.

Due to the police helicopter not being available, the LFB turned to its Twitter followers who were in the area to take pictures and describe the scene.

Information was relayed back to experts at headquarters who were able to make an assessment as to the severity of the situation.

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At its height, about 75 firefighters tackled the blaze

Without help from social media, the LFB said, it would have taken longer to control the fire.

30 million calls

Other activities by fire brigades includes tweeting awareness campaigns around traditionally busy periods - such as a bonfire night.

Now, accounts like @LondonFire have attracted over 30,000 followers.

"When it was first set up in 1935, people said that dialling 999 to report emergencies would never work," said Ms Dexter.

"Today BT handles over 30 million emergency calls each year.

"It's time to look at new ways for people to report emergencies quickly and efficiently and social media could provide the answer in the future."

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Apple denied Samsung sales ban

18 December 2012 Last updated at 01:45 ET

A US judge has rejected Apple's plea to ban sales of Samsung's smartphones that violate its patents.

Apple had requested the ban after a jury ruled earlier this year that some Samsung products had infringed Apple's patents.

Samsung was also ordered to pay $1.05bn (£650m) in damages, a ruling the South Korean firm has since challenged.

However, the judge said there was not enough evidence that the infringed patents had hurt Apple's US sales.

"The phones at issue in this case contain a broad range of features, only a small fraction of which are covered by Apple's patents," District Judge Lucy Koh said.

"Though Apple does have some interest in retaining certain features as exclusive to Apple, it does not follow that entire products must be forever banned from the market because they incorporate, among their myriad features, a few narrow protected functions."

Losing steam?

Since winning $1.05bn damages in August this year, Apple has suffered setbacks in its various legal clashes with rivals.

Continue reading the main story

The momentum that Apple had gained in the wake of the big billion-dollar judgement seems to be losing its steam"

End Quote Manoj Menon Frost & Sullivan

Last month, Apple was asked to disclose the details of its patent-sharing deal with HTC to Samsung.

It has also lost an appeal against a UK ruling that Samsung had not infringed its design rights.

The US technology firm was also asked by a UK High Court to publish a statement on its website admitting that Samsung had not infringed its designs.

Meanwhile, sales bans sought by Apple against Samsung's Galaxy Nexus phone and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in the US were also lifted in October.

In November, a judge in the US dismissed a case brought by Apple alleging that Google's Motorola unit was seeking excessive royalty payments for patents.

"The momentum that Apple had gained in the wake of the big billion dollar judgement seems to be losing its steam," Manoj Menon, managing director at consulting firm Frost & Sullivan told the BBC.

"It appears that Apple will find it increasingly difficult to convince courts around the world that it has been hurt by alleged patent infringements."

Patent sharing

The smartphone market has seen tremendous growth over the past few years and Apple and Samsung have emerged as two of the biggest players in the sector.

The success of Apple's iPhone has been a key driver of its growth, while Samsung has reported record quarterly profits helped by the popularity of its Galaxy range of smartphones.

However, as their market share has increased, so has the intensity of their legal battles with each other.

The two firms have filed legal cases against each other in more than 10 countries, each accusing the other of violating its patents.

However, analysts said that it was time the two companies sat down together and agreed on an amicable solution to their tussles - a move that has also been suggested previously by a judge in the US.

Mr Menon of Frost & Sullivan said that as manufacturers look to develop even more advanced phones, they will eventually need to use technologies, the patents for which may not belong to them.

"What we are seeing is a convergence of different technologies into one device," he said.

He explained that for innovation to continue in the sector it was key that various companies agreed to licensing terms for their patents.

Last month, Apple agreed such a deal with Taiwanese phone-maker HTC as it signed a 10-year licence agreement that ended their legal battle over patents.

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Facebook underwriter is fined $5m

17 December 2012 Last updated at 23:16 ET

Morgan Stanley has been fined $5m (£3m) by the Massachusetts securities regulator for "improperly influencing" analysts before Facebook's share sale.

According to the regulator, there was a conflict of interest when a senior banker coached a Facebook official on what to say to analysts.

It also claimed that the two firms failed to tell all investors that revenues may be lower than forecast.

Many investors criticised Facebook as its shares fell following the listing.

The sale, which was over-subscribed and took place in May 2012, was one of the most hotly anticipated stock floatations in recent history and valued the eight-year-old firm at $104bn.

Facebook sold close to 421 million shares, at $38 a share, raising $16bn.

However, the hype surrounding the listing waned shortly after trading started on the New York stock exchange as shares fell below their listing price on concerns about the pace of future profit growth.

Facebook's shares have dipped almost 30% since its listing in May.

Morgan Stanley did not confirm or deny the allegations by the regulator.

However, it said in statement that it was pleased to have reached a settlement and to have put the matter behind it.

"Morgan Stanley is committed to robust compliance with both the letter and the spirit of all applicable regulations and laws," it added.

Mobile ads

The regulator's case focused on events tied to Facebook and its road show, which promoted the share sale to investors.

It alleged that during this period, Facebook informed Morgan Stanley that it expected revenue for the second-quarter of the year to be at the lower end of its forecast of between $1.1bn and $1.2bn.

Analysts had initially forecast that it would either be at the higher end of that range, or above it.

At the same time, Facebook also said that annual revenues for 2012 may miss its initial forecast of $5bn by as much as 3.5%.

The problem affecting Facebook was that an increasing number of people were visiting its website via mobile devices, such as phones or tablet computers.

Facebook warned that because it did not display advertising on the mobile versions of its website, then there may be a decline in revenue from ad sales, its biggest source of income.

According to the Massachusetts investigation, Facebook first filed an amendment to its listing documents on 3 May, in which it warned that revenue growth may be "negatively affected" by this shift from personal computers to mobile devices.

This was followed by a second amendment on 9 May in which it highlighted the weaker revenue trend for the second quarter of the year, running from the start of April to the end of June.

The Massachusetts investigation claims that Facebook told a senior Morgan Stanley investment banker on 8 May about the problem.

The banker then helped orchestrate calls between the company and analysts.

In his order, William Galvin, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, said that the bank helped Facebook give out this information "without creating the appearance of not providing the underlying trend information to all investors".

In this way, Facebook said it would be able to brief analysts covering its stock about the problems, "without someone claiming we are providing any selective disclosure to big accounts only".

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Comet stores open for final day

18 December 2012 Last updated at 02:45 ET

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Shoppers at Comet's Lincoln store sought closing down sale bargains

Comet stores are to close their doors for the last time on Tuesday, bringing the failed electrical retailer's 79-year history to an end.

Of the 236 stores the firm presided over when it went into administration last month, only 49 are still open.

On Monday, administrators Deloitte said unsecured creditors would get back less than 1% of the money owed to them.

The chain's collapse will also cost the government £49.4m in redundancy payments and foregone tax revenues.

The redundancy money owed to thousands of former Comet workers totals £23.2m and will be paid by the government's Redundancy Payments Service (RPS).

Meanwhile, £26.2m is owed in taxes to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), which is one of dozens of unsecured creditors of the retailer who are owed a total of £233m, none of which will be repaid.

Other unsecured lenders reportedly include landlords owed £135m in rents and other claims, manufacturers unable to reclaim goods delivered to Comet on credit worth £6m, and various other claimants owed £66m, such as ITV and Google, which had reportedly not been paid for advertising.

Big losses

The total hole in Comet's balance sheet by the time it was wound up had reached £311m, according to Deloitte's estimations.

Comet's secured lenders will also be stung by the firm's failure, receiving only £50m of the £145m they are owed, as the assets on which their debts were secured could not be sold off at a high enough price.

The company's main secured lender is Hailey, the company set up by private equity firm OpCapita in order to buy up Comet from Anglo-French retail group Kesa last year for a nominal £1 payment.

Continue reading the main story

Founded in 1933 as a business charging radio batteries

Opened its first store in Hull in 1968

Bought by Woolworths and B&Q owner Kingfisher in 1984, which expanded Comet into one of the UK's best-known retail brands

In 2003 Comet became part of Kesa Electricals, after Kesa was demerged from Kingfisher

It was announced in November 2011 that Comet would be sold to private equity group OpCapita for just £1

OpCapita was also given £50m by Kesa as part of the deal

However, OpCapita failed to turn around Comet's fortunes, as the company continued to suffer from the fall in UK consumer spending during the recession and the big growth in online rivals.

Deloitte also revealed on Monday that Comet's losses in the year to April totalled £95m, while its revenues slumped by £200m.

In the subsequent five months, Comet lost a further £31m.

Towards the end, insurers refused to guarantee suppliers, who in turn refused to extend credit on sales to Comet in the run-up to the crucial Christmas sales period.

Comet's demise is one of the biggest High Street casualties of recent years.

The 236-store business, which at the time employed about 7,000 people, was founded in Hull in 1933 and began life selling batteries and radios.

The closure of the final Comet stores comes after Deloitte failed to find a buyer for the company.

It is unclear what will become of the Comet brand, with one possibility being a sale to an online retailer, similar to the fate of Woolworths.

Kesa Electricals was renamed Darty in July this year.

Despite having its headquarters in London, it focuses on the continental market - especially France, where it has more than 200 stores under the Darty name.

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Facebook real name row in Germany

18 December 2012 Last updated at 05:24 ET

A German data protection body has ordered Facebook to end its policy of making members use their real names.

The policy violates German laws that give people the right to use pseudonyms online, said the data protection agency in Schleswig-Holstein.

The agency has issued a decree demanding that Facebook let people use fake names immediately.

Facebook said it would fight the decree "vigorously" and that its naming policy met European data protection rules.

"It is unacceptable that a US portal like Facebook violates German data protection law unopposed and with no prospect of an end," said Thilo Weichert, head of the regional data protection office in Schleswig Holstein, in a statement.

The ability to use a pseudonym on Facebook was "reasonable" said Mr Weichert and would allow people to use the service "without fear of unpleasant consequences".

Facebook's long-standing policy of making people use their real names did nothing to prevent people using the social network to throw insults or to hamper identity theft, he added.

Schleswig Holstein is piloting the action against Facebook and if it is successful the decision is likely to be adopted by the nation's other data protection agencies, it said, adding that the social network now has two weeks to oppose the decree in a German court.

The decree issued by the Schleswig Holstein office was "without merit" a Facebook spokeswoman told tech news site IT World adding that it planned to fight the order.

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Orange tops broadband complaints

18 December 2012 Last updated at 07:22 ET

Internet service provider Orange has knocked TalkTalk off the top position in Ofcom's broadband complaints chart.

Figures for the third quarter of 2012 show a higher proportion of Orange customers lodged complaints about its broadband services than any other firm.

The spike in complaints is believed to be linked to Orange's withdrawal of a free broadband offer.

TalkTalk, which has topped the list since Ofcom started compiling it in 2010, slipped to second place.

Figures from Ofcom reveal that Orange, now known as Everything Everywhere (EE), generated almost twice as many complaints per thousand customers in 2012's third quarter than in the three months before.

In September, EE said customers would lose its free broadband service unless they signed up for line rental at £14 per month from the firm. Ofcom said this policy change generated a surge of complaints as many people expected to keep the free service until the end of their current monthly mobile contract.

TalkTalk was second in the chart of most complained about broadband ISPs. Ofcom added that the number of complaints it was generating had continued to fall. Despite this, it added, complaints about TalkTalk remained above the industry average at 0.35 for every 1,000 subscribers. On average, fixed broadband services generate 0.24 complaints for every 1,000 customers.

Although it did better on broadband complaints, TalkTalk generated the most negative feedback about its fixed landline phone services.

The report is the seventh that Ofcom has produced and it logs complaints about broadband, fixed telephone services, Pay TV and pay monthly mobile services.

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Instagram seeks right to sell photos

18 December 2012 Last updated at 07:37 ET

Facebook's photo-sharing site Instagram has updated its privacy policy giving it the right to sell users' photos to advertisers without notification.

Unless users delete their Instagram accounts by a deadline of 16 January, they cannot opt out.

The changes also mean Instagram can share information about its users with Facebook, its parent company, as well as other affiliates and advertisers.

The move riled social media users, with one likening it to a "suicide note".

The new policies follow Facebook's record $1bn (£616m; 758 euro) acquisition of Instagram in April.

Facebook's vice-president of global marketing solutions Carolyn Everson earlier this month had said: "Eventually we'll figure out a way to monetise Instagram."

A notice updating the privacy policy on the Instagram site said: "We may share your information as well as information from tools like cookies, log files, and device identifiers and location data with organisations that help us provide the service to you... (and) third-party advertising partners."

"To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you," it said in its terms of use.

But Instagram said that its aim was to make it easier to work with Facebook.

"This means we can do things like fight spam more effectively, detect system and reliability problems more quickly, and build better features for everyone by understanding how Instagram is used," it said in a statement.

'Suicide note'

However, the updated policy will not change how it handles photo ownership or who is able to see a user's pictures, it added.

But the new policy has triggered a backlash among social media users, with some threatening to quit.

One user tweeted: "Good bye #instagram. Your new terms of service are totally stupid and nonsense. Good luck playing with the big boys."

New York-based photographer Clayton Cubbit wrote on his account that the new policy was "Instagram's suicide note".

Analysts said that the new policies could deal a blow to Facebook's reputation and alienate some users.

Richard Holway, chairman of TechMarketView, said: "Every time Facebook has altered their privacy policy it has led to a backlash and they've been forced to retreat. They tamper with people's privacy at a cost. People are very upset."

Alan Pelz-Sharpe, research director at 451 Research, added: "It's a barefaced tactic that Facebook and Instagram have taken, and one that will likely meet with many challenges, legally and ethically.

"The fact is that Facebook has critical mass, and is quite confident that such moves may cause uproar, but not a flight of business.

"Larger firms like Facebook are essentially trailblazing before specific regulations can catch up with them, and as we have seen with Google in the past, regulations and laws have limited real impact on their business operations - so they tend to move forward regardless of opposition."

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Net name .cymru leaps ahead of .scot

18 December 2012 Last updated at 07:42 ET

Proposed net address endings .tattoo, .transformers and .menu are among the first that could go live next year.

A raffle by regulator Icann has placed them near the top of the list of applications it will review.

Of the proposed new geographic suffixes, Wales's .cymru will be one of the first to be evaluated. However, .scot and .irish are likely to have to wait until 2014.

The first domains to go live could enjoy an early-mover advantage.

The list of 1,917 generic top-level domains (gTLDs) applications was determined by the order tickets were randomly pulled out of drums at a hotel in Los Angeles on Monday.

Companies were charged a $100 (£62) fee for each application they they wanted in the draw.

In some cases they decided not to take part. As a result several of Google's submissions will be among those last to be judged.

Same names

An early evaluation is not an absolute guarantee a suffix will go live early.

Governments have lodged "early objections" to more than 250 of them - meaning the proposed address may be rejected.

In addition, several companies are competing for identical gTLDs.

Continue reading the main story

199 .tokyo

200 .paris

220 .swiss

244 .cymru

258 .thai

288 .budapest

194 .okinawa

635 .london

786 .roma

807 .wales

866 .istanbul

881 .moscow

1,005 .africa

1,069 .persiangulf

1,165 .amsterdam

1,345 .madrid

1,491 .irish

1,453 .scot

1,531 .yokohama

1,653 .zuerich

1,738 .barcelona

1,872 .patagonia

So, for example. Amazon's application for .play is near the top of the list. But it faces having to wait for a submission for the same name from Star Registry - which is 1,792nd in order - to be reviewed and a potential auction held if both are approved before the suffix can be activated.

Icann's raffle did not go without glitch. At one point a live feed of the event failed causing the organisers to temporarily halt the process to ensure it remained transparent.

The event ended up lasting more than nine hours - significantly longer than planned.

Tickets for about 100 non-Latin applications were picked from the drums first, placing a submission for the equivalent of .church in Chinese from the Vatican at the top of the list. It was followed by the Japanese for .store by Amazon.

Of the English-language proposals, unique applications set for an early review include .delmonte from the American food company; .mormon from a firm called IRI Domain Management; .fiat from the car company; and .joy from Amazon.

First movers

Businesses and other users will be able to apply to run websites using the new address suffixes in cases where the new owner decides it does not want to restrict its use.

They will be able to do so so by applying to domain name registration services which will act as middle-men, charging a fee which will be shared with the owner.

One UK-based registrar said that the initial new gTLDs to go live would benefit from their early start.

"Those that go first will get a lot more marketing opportunities," Kelly Salter from names.co.uk told the BBC.

"At the moment there are relatively few extensions to choose from that give you global coverage - so there is the opportunity to get great exposure.

"But if you're number 500 to be approved, our customers will have become desensitised by that point. So the impact to domains launching towards the end of the process will be that they have to work harder to make people want to use them."

Icann has said it plans to let the first batch of new gTLDs in May 2013.

Ms Salter said after the launch date she expected about 20 would be released each week with the final ones going live before the end of 2014.

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SpongeBob in hot water over privacy

18 December 2012 Last updated at 08:41 ET

A SpongeBob app became the latest game to be pulled following a complaint it had violated children's privacy rights.

Nickelodeon removed SpongeBob Diner Dash from Apple's iTunes app store after a US advocacy group contacted the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The Center for Digital Democracy said children's email addresses had been collected without parental consent.

Last week another children's app, Mobbles, was temporarily pulled after the CDD filed a similar complaint.

The Washington DC-based group urged the FTC to investigate Nickelodeon and mobile game-maker PlayFirst's privacy practices.

It said their "deceptive" mobile marketing technologies had violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

"The SpongeBob Diner Dash game asks children to provide a wide range of personal information, including full name, email address, and other online contact information, without providing notice to parents or obtaining prior parental consent, as required by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act," a statement said.

"Nor does the app provide an adequate description of the personal information it collects or how it is used".

The advocacy group said the app's use of technologies such as unique device identifiers (UDIDs) allowed companies to send customised messages to individual children in the form of "push notifications" that required online contact information - considered personal information under the COPPA rules.

Nickelodeon was unable to be reached for comment.

The app is free to download, but is designed to encourage users to buy virtual "coins" that can be spent on items for SpongeBob like shoes or a frying pan, or to buy upgraded versions of the game.

Need for informed choices

Laura Moy, a lawyer at Georgetown Law's Institute for Public Representation, which prepared the complaint on behalf of the Center for Digitial Democracy (CDD), said: "It is disturbing to learn that a well known children's brand such as Nickelodeon is flouting basic privacy protections for children. Even more troubling, Nickelodeon tells parents that it complies with the law protecting children's privacy when it does not."

Last week the game Mobbles, in which children collect and care for virtual pets, was temporarily pulled from the Apple App store and Google Android Play store.

The FTC last week published a report on mobile apps for children that showed parents were not being provided with information about what data an app collected, who would have access to that data, and how it would be used.

The report said that nearly 60% of the apps examined by the FTC were transmitting information about a user to an advertiser or other third party.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said: "While we think most companies have the best intentions when it comes to protecting kids' privacy, we haven't seen any progress when it comes to making sure parents have the information they need to make informed choices about apps for their kids."

"In fact, our study shows that kids' apps siphon an alarming amount of information from mobile devices without disclosing this fact to parents," he added.

"All of the companies in the mobile app space, especially the gatekeepers of the app stores, need to do a better job. We'll do another survey in the future and we will expect to see improvement."

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