Tech Brief
Today on Tech Brief: Justin Bieber's continued web domination, how broadband is running politics and the dangers of the iPod "zombie trance".
• With Google due to make a "significant" announcement later today, the web is awash with rumours that it might even be about to make changes to its search engine.
While this shouldn't come as a major surprise, it seems that in recent days very little of the innovation coming out of the Googleplex has actually been about its core product.
But those eager beaver engineers at Google seem to found time, in-between designing Google TV, updating Gmail and handling privacy lawsuits, to think about search.
to speculate on what the search update might be.
"Google is about to unveil a real-time search overhaul. This is not about adding Twitter or Facebook results to Google search though; this is about search results that change as you type."
A leaked video on YouTube shows the system in operation.
All will be revealed at the Museum Of Modern Art in San Francisco at 6pm BST and then we can all presumably test it for ourselves.
• BT has long been plugging its Openzone wi-fi hotspots and now its broadband customers can get it as a mobile app that will automatically connect their iPhone or Android mobile to free, unlimited wi-fi.
Moneysupermarket's why it could be an asset to users.
"There are a lot of users who don't know that they can use their bundle minutes away from home. The application even has a map that shows users exactly where their closest hot spots are. It's a real asset to bundle users."
• Broadband has long been creeping its way up the political agenda as people realise that a decent net infrastructure is as crucial as good roads. But in Australia it is being credited with being the crunch issue that settled the recent tight elections.
The Labour Party and the Greens both saw fibre optic broadband as key to the country's future, and pledged to support the AU$43 billion decade-long project. The centre-right Liberal Party wanted to can the project.
Votes were so tight that it came down to three independent candidates, two of which voted for opposite sides. The third, Tony Wilson, is a rural MP which could have helped make up his mind as probably did the comments from his advisor, :
"You do [broadband] once, you do it right, and you do it with fibre."
• In the unlikely event that you were searching for the archetypal child of the net then you might (if you had tolerant views on music) look in the direction of Canadian pop sensation Justin Bieber.
His music was born on YouTube and now it seems he has more than just a big following on Twitter.
:
"At any moment Justin Bieber uses 3% of our infrastructure. Racks of servers are dedicated to him"
Today the web, tomorrow the universe. You have been warned.
• Death by iPod might sound quite enticing to the hardcore Apple fan but for road safety experts it is becoming an increasing problem.
The that iPods and other devices are being blamed as a contributing factor in the 25% rise in the number of pedestrian fatalities in New South Wales as iPod "zombie trance" means people walk without paying attention to anything but the music.
Harold Scruby, of the Pedestrian Council of Australia, talked to the Herald:
"The government is quite happy to legislate that people can lose two demerit points for having music up too loud in their cars, but is apparantly unconcerned that listening devices now apear to have become lethal pieces of entertainment."
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