Google boss raps education in UK

26 August 2011 Last updated at 15:49 ET By Torin Douglas Media Correspondent, BBC News

Google chairman Eric Schmidt has said education in Britain is holding back the country's chances of success in the digital media economy.

He made his comments at the MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival.

Dr Schmidt said the UK needed to reignite children's passion for science, engineering and maths.

And he announced a partnership with the UK's National Film and TV School, to help train young online film-makers.

Dr Schmidt told the audience of broadcasters and producers that Britain had invented many items but were no longer the world's leading exponents in these fields.

He said: "If I may be so impolite, your track record isn't great.

"The UK is home of so many media-related inventions. You invented photography. You invented TV. You invented computers in both concept and practice.

"It's not widely known, but the world's first office computer was built in 1951 by Lyons' chain of tea shops. Yet today, none of the world's leading exponents in these fields are from the UK."

Television transformed

He said he had been flabbergasted to learn that computer science was not taught as standard in UK schools, despite what he called the "fabulous initiative" in the 1980s when the BBC not only broadcast programmes for children about coding, but shipped over a million BBC Micro computers into schools and homes.

"Your IT curriculum focuses on teaching how to use software, but gives no insight into how it's made. That is just throwing away your great computing heritage," he said.

He said the UK needed to bring art and science back together, as it had in the "glory days of the Victorian era" when Lewis Carroll wrote one of the classic fairy tales, Alice in Wonderland, and was also a mathematics tutor at Oxford.

Dr Schmidt said the internet was transforming television, even though people still spent much more time with TV than the web.

Money shared

The TV and the internet screens were converging, he said, and a social layer was being added to TV shows through Twitter and chat forums.

He denied claims by Rupert Murdoch and others that Google was a parasite, taking billions of pounds in advertising without investing in content - saying that last year it shared $6bn worldwide with its publishing partners including newspapers and broadcasters.

He also said Google was a friend, not a foe, of television.

"Trust me - if you gave people at Google free rein to produce TV you'd end up with a lot of bad sci-fi," he said.

He also reassured television bosses over copyright violations, saying Google could take down sites from its search system within four hours if there were problems.

Dr Schmidt is the first non-broadcaster to give the landmark lecture, which is dedicated to the memory of actor and producer James MacTaggart.

It has previously been delivered by some of the most prominent names in broadcasting including Jeremy Paxman, Mark Thompson, and Rupert Murdoch and his son James.

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Online defamation cases 'double'

26 August 2011 Last updated at 11:07 ET

The number of court cases brought by people who say they have been defamed online has more than doubled in a year, experts have said.

Internet-related libel cases in England and Wales rose from seven to 16 in the year ending 31 May, legal information firm Sweet and Maxwell said.

The total number of defamation cases brought to court rose from 83 to 86.

The increase has been linked to a rise in the use of social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Barrister Korieh Duodu, a media specialist with law firm Addleshaw Goddard, said much of what appeared online was written by people who did not check facts in the way that media organisations do.

But he also warned the trend of journalists using social media sites as news sources increased the risk of defamatory information appearing in national news stories.

"People who find themselves damaged on social media sites can often find it time-consuming and difficult to have the offending material removed, because many platform providers do not accept responsibility for their users' content," he said.

"Such is the speed at which information travels through social networks that one unchecked comment can spread into the mainstream media within minutes, which can cause irreparable damage to the subject who has been wronged."

Mr Duodu said those who provide user-generated content on the internet should be held more accountable for what they write, through stricter regulation.

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BT taskforce tackles cable theft

26 August 2011 Last updated at 05:00 ET

Copper theft is a growing problem for the communication network in Northern Ireland, British Telelcom has said.

In recent weeks, stolen cables have caused disruption to phone lines in south Tyrone and in Banbridge copper cable was cut at 16 junction boxes.

Also in the last few days cabling has been stolen from poles along a number of roads in Londonderry.

BT's head of security has travelled to NI to meet the PSNI to discuss the use of new technology to combat the crime.

"Copper is contained within our cables and has a value, however the amount within our cables is not significant," said Luke Beeson.

"It negatively affects everyone who relies on access to phones and broadband, disrupting local businesses and isolating vulnerable people."

BT have established a Metal Theft Taskforce which will work with police forces throughout the UK to try to tackle the thefts.

"We're doing a lot of work with the metal recycling industry and scrap metal dealers to try and choke the market for stolen metal," Mr Beeson said.

"It is a key priority to make sure ill-gotten gain cannot be sold."

The company will also be introducing SmartWater to its Northern Ireland infrastructure.

"It is a forensically traceable invisible liquid which we are applying to our cables so offenders are running the risk of being tagged with this solution which can link them back to the scene of the crime," said Mr Beeson.

The marking liquid is unique to a particular location.

It is used to mark the outer shell and inner core of BT cable, tools and other equipment. It will mean anyone who steals the cable will carry evidence on their skin and clothing

There have been three convictions for cable theft in the UK using this technology.

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UK atomic clock is most accurate

26 August 2011 Last updated at 05:21 ET By Jason Palmer Science and technology reporter, BBC News, Teddington

An atomic clock at the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has the best long-term accuracy of any in the world, research has found.

Studies of the clock's performance, to be published in the journal Metrologia, show it is nearly twice as accurate as previously thought.

The clock would lose or gain less than a second in some 138 million years.

The UK is among the handful of nations providing a "standard second" that keeps the world on time.

However, the international race for higher accuracy is always on, meaning the record may not stand for long.

The NPL's CsF2 clock is a "caesium fountain" atomic clock, in which the "ticking" is provided by the measurement of the energy required to change a property of caesium atoms known as "spin".

By international definition, it is the electromagnetic waves required to accomplish this "spin flip" that are measured; when 9,192,631,770 peaks and troughs of these waves go by, one standard second passes.

Matching colours

Inside the clock, caesium atoms are gathered into bunches of 100 million or so, and passed through a cavity where they are exposed to these electromagnetic waves.

The colour, or frequency, is adjusted until the spins are seen to flip - then the researchers know the waves are at the right frequency to define the second.

The NPL-CsF2 clock provides an "atomic pendulum" against which the UK's and the world's clocks can be compared, ensuring they are all ticking at the same time.

That correction is done at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) in the outskirts of Paris, which collates definitions of seconds from six "primary frequency standards" - CsF2 in the UK, two in France, and one each in the US, Germany and Japan.

For those six high-precision atomic pendulums, absolute accuracy is a tireless pursuit.

At the last count in 2010, the UK's atomic clock was on a par with the best of them in terms of long-term accuracy: to about one part in 2,500,000,000,000,000.

But the measurements carried out by the NPL's Krzysztof Szymaniec and colleagues at Pennsylvania State University in the US have nearly doubled the accuracy.

The second's strictest definition requires that the measurements are made in conditions that Dr Szymaniec said were impossible actually to achieve in the laboratory.

"The frequency we measure is not necessarily the one prescribed by the definition of a second, which requires that all the external fields and 'perturbations' would be removed," he explained to BBC News.

"In many cases we can't remove these perturbations; but we can measure them precisely, we can assess them, and introduce corrections for them."

The team's latest work addressed the errors in the measurement brought about by the "microwave cavity" that the atoms pass through (the waves used to flip spins are not so far in frequency from the ones that flip water molecules in food, heating them in a microwave oven).

A fuller understanding of how the waves are distributed within it boosted the measurement's accuracy, as did a more detailed treatment of what happens to the measurement when the millions of caesium atoms collide.

Without touching a thing, the team boosted the known accuracy of the machine to one part in 4,300,000,000,000,000.

But as Dr Szymaniec said, the achievement is not just about international bragging rights; better standards lead to better technology.

"Nowadays definitions for electrical units are based on accurate frequency measurements, so it's vital for the UK as an economy to maintain a set of standards, a set of procedures, that underpin technical development," he said.

"The fact that we can develop the most accurate standard has quite measurable economic implications."

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Apple shares fall as Jobs quits

25 August 2011 Last updated at 16:27 ET <!-- Adding hypertab --> <!-- end of hypertab -->Continue reading the main story <!-- S MD_WIDGET --> <!-- E MD_WIDGET -->

Apple shares have fallen in New York following the resignation of chief executive and co-founder Steve Jobs.

In early trading, the shares were down 2.5% before closing down 0.66% at $373.69.

Mr Jobs, who has been on medical leave since 17 January, will stay on as Apple chairman. The new boss will be Tim Cook, formerly chief operating officer.

Analysts suggested that the share price had not fallen further as investors had confidence in Mr Cook and his team.

Talented team

"In our view, Tim [Cook] is a tough but well-regarded leader who will continue to hold Apple employees to an extremely high standard of performance," said Richard Gardner at Citigroup.

Mr Cook, 50, has already been in charge of the company's day-to-day running since January and took the helm in 2004 as Mr Jobs battled cancer and again in 2009 when Apple's co-founder received a liver transplant.

He is credited with ensuring the efficiency of the firm's supply chain and delivering Apple's industry-beating profit margins.

Terry Connelly, dean of the Ageno School of Business at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, said: "A company is dependent on its ability to institutionalise... genius in the corporate DNA.

"Apple shows every sign of having done that. We will see that when we see how Cook responds to competitive pressure."

'Rude health'

Van Baker, an analyst at Gartner, said there was no reason for investors to panic.

"Apple will do just fine," he said. "There are so many talented people there, and Steve's attention to detail is baked into the culture."

Brand research company Millward Brown said the Apple brand should remain unaffected.

"[Steve Jobs] has left the Apple brand in rude health so that the company is still poised for future growth," said Millward Brown director Peter Walshe.

He added that Mr Jobs had left Apple with a clear direction ahead, a successor in place, and a unique "creative", "fun" and "adventurous" brand behind him.

Looking ahead, Ben Wood, research director at technology analysts CCS Insight said Tim Cook had a huge pair of shoes to fill, adding: "Steve Jobs has been a tremendous leader but no man is bigger than the company itself."

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Earlier this month, Apple was briefly the world's most valuable by market capitalisation, overtaking oil company Exxon Mobil.

In his resignation letter, Mr Jobs said: "I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role."

The company has some big products on the horizon such as the iPhone 5 and the iPad 3.

"Steve is [still] going to be able to provide the input he would do as a chief executive," said Colin Gillis at BGC Financial.

"But Tim has been de facto chief executive for some time and the company has been hugely successful. The vision and the roadmap is intact."

Stephen Fry, a long time admirer of Mr Jobs, told BBC News, "I don't think there is another human being on the planet who has been more influential in the last 30 years on the way culture has developed."

"If I had said that 10 years ago you'd have thought I was completely insane."

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Consumers react to Steve Jobs' resignation

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One former employee, Dan Crow, who worked at Apple for four years, said staff at the firm would be feeling "very sad" and a "sense of loss".

But he said the firm had "a whole suite of people who will replace most, if not all, of what Steve brought to the company".

Mr Cook's well-regarded team includes marketing chief Philip Schiller, design overseer Jonathan Ive, and Scott Forstall, who supervises the iPhone software.

Steve Jobs was famous for his charismatic presentation of new products, dressed in his trademark turtle neck and jeans.

Marketing chief Philip Schiller has fronted some recent presentations in Mr Jobs' absence and he may continue to do so, rather than new chief executive Tim Cook, the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones says.

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No government plans to curb social networks

25 August 2011 Last updated at 11:31 ET

The government and police have not sought any new powers to shut social networks, the Home Office said after a meeting with industry representatives.

Instead they held "constructive" talks aimed at preventing violence being plotted online through existing co-operation, the Home Office said.

The meeting with representatives from Twitter, Facebook and Blackberry was held in the wake of English city riots.

The prime minister has said police may need extra powers to curb their use.

Networks such as Blackberry Messenger - a service which allows free-of-charge real-time messages - were said to have enabled looters to organise their movements during the riots, as well as inciting violence in some cases.

Criminal behaviour

Following Thursday's meeting, a Home Office spokeswoman said: "The home secretary, along with the Culture Secretary and Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne, has held a constructive meeting with Acpo (the Association of Chief Police Officers), the police and representatives from the social media industry.

"The discussions looked at how law enforcement and the networks can build on the existing relationships and co-operation to prevent the networks being used for criminal behaviour.

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"The government did not seek any additional powers to close down social media networks."

Dispelling rumours

Prime Minister David Cameron has also said the government would look at limiting access to such services during any future disorder.

A Twitter spokeswoman said after the meeting that it was "always interested in exploring how we can make Twitter even more helpful and relevant during times of critical need".

She added: "We've heard from many that Twitter is an effective way to distribute crucial updates and dispel rumours in times of crisis or emergency."

A Facebook spokesperson said: "We welcome the fact that this was a dialogue about working together to keep people safe rather than about imposing new restrictions on internet services."

The company said it had highlighted the role Facebook played during the riots, such as people staying in contact and organising the clean-up.

"There is no place for illegal activity on Facebook and we take firm action against those who breach our rules."

A spokesman for Blackberry maker Research In Motion said the meeting was "positive and productive".

The company said: "We were pleased to consult on the use of social media to engage and communicate during times of emergency. RIM continues to maintain an open and positive dialogue with the UK authorities and continues to operate within the context of UK regulations."

A number of people have appeared in court in recent weeks for organising or attempting to organise disorder on social networks.

Jordan Blackshaw, 21, from Marston, Cheshire, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, from Warrington, Cheshire, were jailed for four years for online incitement.

Blackshaw had created a Facebook event entitled "Smash Down Northwich Town" while Sutcliffe-Keenan set up a Facebook page called "Let's Have a Riot in Latchford". Both have said they will appeal.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old David Glyn Jones, from Bangor, north Wales, was jailed for four months after telling friends "Let's start Bangor riots" in a post that appeared on Facebook for 20 minutes.

And Johnny Melfah, 16, from Droitwich, Worcestershire, became the first juvenile to have his anonymity lifted in a riot-related case for inciting thefts and criminal damage on the site. He will be sentenced next month.

Plotting violence

In the aftermath of the riots, which spread across England's towns and cities two weeks ago, Mr Cameron said the government might look at disconnecting some online and telecommunications services if similar circumstances arose in the future.

"We are working with the police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality," he told MPs during an emergency session of Parliament.

Tim Godwin, the Met police's acting commissioner, also said last week that he considered requesting authority to switch off Twitter during the riots.

However, he conceded that the legality of such a move was "very questionable" and that the service was a valuable intelligence asset.

Meanwhile, Guardian analysis of more than 2.5 million riot-related tweets, sent between 6 August and 17 August, appears to show Twitter was mainly used to react to riots and looting, including organising the street clean-up.

The newspaper found the timing of the messages posted "questioned the assumption" that Twitter was used to incite the violence in advance of it breaking out in Tottenham on 6 August.

Currently, communications networks that operate in the UK can be compelled to hand over individuals' personal messages if police are able to show that they relate to criminal behaviour.

The rules gathering such queries are outlined in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).

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