Facebook to launch child 'panic button'

Facebook and other social-networking sites are to join the likes of Bebo in installing a 'panic button', reports claims.

The button will allow children to report offensive, obscene and inappropriate material, and is expected to be taken on by a number of internet firms in an announcement due tomorrow from the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS).

The announcement is expected from Tanya Byron, the government's adviser on online safety, with the Sunday Times saying schools secretary Ed Balls and home secretary Alan Johnson are also expected to attend the launch.

The guidelines are expected to encourage parents to take greater control over their children's use of the internet.

A Whitehall source told the Telegraph: 'We are encouraging parents to make sure their children use the computer in a common room in the house.

'This is all about getting parents involved, what they know online, how they can manage that and how they can be more aware of what they can do such as better protection controls.'

Online transformation for internet addresses

The online world is due to undergo a transformation as the internet regulator moves to change non-Latin script web addresses.

The timing of the move is poignant, with yesterday marking 40 years of email. Today's announcement will be the biggest change to the way the internet works since it was first created.

At its annual meeting in Seoul the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers board (Icann) said the first internet addresses containing non-Latin characters from start to finish will soon be online, 'thanks to today's approval of the new Internationalized Domain Name Fast Track Process' by Icann.

Domain names will be allowed in Arabic and Chinese, as well as other scripts, allowing much easier internet use for the more than half of the 1.6 billion people who use the internet but who speak languages with non-Latin script.

Icann said their Fast Track Process launches on November 16th, and will allow nations and territories to apply for internet extensions reflecting their name – and made up of characters from their national language.

If the applications meet criteria that includes government and community support and a stability evaluation, the applicants will be approved to start accepting registrations.

'The coming introduction of non-Latin characters represents the biggest technical change to the internet since it was created four decades ago,' said Icann chairman Peter Dengate Thrush.

'Right now internet address endings are limited to Latin characters – A to Z. But the Fast Track Process is the first step in bringing the 100,000 characters of the languages of the world online for domain names.'

'This is only the first step, but it is an incredibly big one and an historic move toward the internationalization of the internet,' added Rod Beckstrom, Icann's president and CEO.

Twitter battle between Microsoft and Google

Google has announced it has signed a search deal with Twitter; just a few hours after Microsoft's Bing announced a similar agreement.

Microsoft said it had signed a deal with Twitter and Facebook, which would allow users of Bing access to the micro-blogging site's status updates in Bing's search results.

Bing said: 'We now have access to the entire public Twitter feed and have a beta of Bing Twitter search for you to play with.'

But within a few hours of the announcement, Google retaliated, announcing a very similar 'deal'.

The Google blog read: 'We are very excited to announce that we have reached an agreement with Twitter to include their updates in our search results.

'We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make search better in the coming months.'

Twitter's deals with Microsoft and Google have initiated the first big revenue stream for the micro-blogging site.

Jobs returns to unveil new iPods

Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs has returned to the public spotlight and unveiled a new range of iPod players.

Jobs voluntarily stepped away from his position as chief executive earlier this year to receive a liver transplant and at an event in San Francisco thanked on all those who supported him.

Calling for more people to become organ donors, he said: 'I wouldn't be here without such generosity. I'm a miracle'

He went on to unveil the new range of iPod nano which includes a built-in video camera. The function will allow users to easily capture video on the move and upload clips to video-sharing websites such as YouTube.

'Video is exploding in popularity,' he said. 'We want a piece of that.'

A press release on the Apple website described how the new features may appeal to users.

'Say you find yourself in the middle of an impromptu shopping trolley race. Or in the canteen when a colossal food fight breaks out. Now you can prove it really happened with the iPod nano video camera,' the release declares.

'Shoot high-quality video in portrait or landscape - perfect for posting on the web or emailing friends.'

The new nano will also include FM radios and voice recorders and be available with 8GB or 16GB of memory.

Apple have also unveiled a new iPod touch, with 64GB of memory – capable of storing around 14,000 songs.

A new version of iTunes has also been announced allowing users to download cover art, videos and interviews.

The new nanos will cost either £115 or £135.

Lance Armstrong's bike ride Tweet

Lance Armstrong has been joined by hundreds of Twitterers for an impromptu bike ride in Scotland.

The seven-time Tour de France winner posted a Tweet yesterday saying 'Hey Glasgow, Scotland!! I'm coming your way tomorrow. Who wants to go for a bike ride??'

Hundreds turned out for the event today, which started at Ashtree House Hotel in Paisley, at midday. Former Scottish cycling champion Graeme Obree also came for the event.

Afterwards Armstrong tweeted: 'Thanks to everyone who turned up to ride in Paisley! I figured we'd have a nice ride for a dozen or so. But 100's came. Haha! Awesome!

'And yes, next time I'll try to bring some sun. You bring the translator (Scottish to Texan) and I'll bring the rays. Seriously, thanks again.

'And how great was it that the Flying Scotsman Graeme Obree came out?? Legend.'

Armstrong returned to competitive cycling this year, finishing third overall in the 2009 Tour de France. He is famed for his return to form after suffering testicular cancer which spread to his lungs and brain.

Twitter study reveals 'pointless babble'

A study of the micro-blogging site Twitter has found 40 per cent of the messages sent are 'pointless babble'.

Pear Analytics, who undertook the research, found 40 per cent of people used Twitter for 'pointless babble', nearly 38 per cent used it for 'conversational' tweets, and only 8.7 per cent of tweets were for 'Pass-Along Value'.

The study, which looked into why people used the site, found people were more likely to re-Tweet at 11:30am, particularly on Mondays. Self-promotion and spam made up 5.85 per cent and 3.75 per cent of Tweets.

The study concluded that: 'With the new face of Twitter, it will be interesting to see if they take a heavier role in news, or continue to be a source for people to share their current activities that have little to do with everyone else. We will be conducting this same study every quarter to identify other trends in usage.'

Ryan Kelly, founder of Pear Analytics, said on his blog: 'Some felt it was their source of news and articles, others felt it was just a bunch of self-promotion with very few folks actually paying attention. But mostly, many people still perceive Twitter as just mindless babble of people telling you what they are doing minute-by-minute; as if you care they are eating a sandwich at the moment.'

The study, conducted in America, also discovered conversational tweets were high between 14:00 and 16:00 in the afternoon, and heaviest on Tuesdays.

Researchers concluded: 'Most people are busy on Monday catching up with work, so perhaps it takes until Tuesday to get into the swing of Twittering again'.

Judge bans Microsoft Word, reports say

A judge has ordered Microsoft to stop selling Word in its current form, reports say.

The judge in Texas gave Microsoft 60 days to comply with an injunction, which forbids the company from selling Word products that let people create custom XML documents.

The ruling is related to a patent infringement suit filed by i4i.

Last year the company was fined a record £68.9 million after being accused of continuing to abuse its dominant market position.

The latest ruling, by Judge Leonard Davis, will also order Microsoft to pay an additional $40 million (£24 million) for 'willful infringement', as well as a $37 million (£22 million) in prejudgment interest.

A Microsoft statement said that they were planning to appeal the verdict.