New Media Awards 2005 Weblog

As of midnight tonight, Microsoft faces more EU fines over competition issues, to the tune of 5 per cent of their global daily turnover, or about £2.8m daily.

In March 2004, after a five-year investigation, the EU competition commission fined Microsoft €497m—enough to make even a wealthy company sit up and take notice. The EU also ordered the software company to sell a version of Windows without their media player, as well as to share source code with rival developers, so they can make software that works properly with Microsoft’s operating systems.

While the company claims to be trying to comply, some EU regulators believe the non-bundled Windows packages are not to the same standards as Windows packages that include the media player. Over the weekend, reps from both sides met to discuss how much Microsoft is planning to charge other companies to access their source code.

The EU commission expects it will take until the end of July to decide if Microsoft has fully complied. In order to impose the fine, the commission would then have to start a formal process that would eventually require agreement by all 25 member-countries of the EU, and is open to appeal.

Public service management could be transformed by a new national address database planned by the government. The National Spatial Address Infrastructure (NSAI) is intended to be a one-stop solution for the retrieval of address information in both local and national government offices and, if successful, will replace thousands of address databases held by departments.

The NSAI has a lot of potential. For example, benefit offices would view the same address information as census offices, and voter registration would be vastly improved. To this end, the NSAI would help deliver efficient public services services to citizens - surely what eGovernment is all about.

The NSAI must be accurate if it is to be a success. By taking information from both the Ordnance Survey and the National Land and Property Gazetteer, it is hoped that an exhaustive and accurate database can be designed. The Improvement and Development Agency is also involved in the 30 month project. Information on England and Wales will initially be collated for the new database, with the possible inclusion of Scotland and Northern Ireland at a later stage.

Whilst the idea of a central address database is not new (the ‘Acacia’ pilot project was published in late 2003), it will be interesting to see how the NSAI is drawn up and delivered.

A rise in visits to public libraries in the UK has been reported by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. There has been a corresponding rise in the amount of web sessions at libraries - in 2003 (the most recent date for the figures) there were 11.7 million. The availability of digital technologies such as broadband, SMS text messaging and wi-fi hotspots coincides with an increase in visits by over 18 million since 2002. With currently 32,000 computer terminals in UK libraries, funded by the People’s Network, the amount of web sessions and visits is set to increase further.

From a personal point of view, the increased availability of broadband has made the central library in Cardiff a more effective place for learning. The 4 pay-access PCs that frequently broke down are a distant memory - the library now boasts over 30 PCs, each offering free broadband access. An efficient online booking system manages access to users. The beauty of this particular scheme is that I can plan my library visit in advance, making a working visit more productive.

It is unfortunate that book lending has fallen, however. According to the Museums, Libraries and Arts Council, this could be due to poor stock management, as well as the increase in book sales. We are increasingly keen to purchase books, rather than borrow a dog-eared out-of-date impression from the dustier recesses of the library. The irony is that the very availability of broadband in libraries gives users an opportunity to buy books online, as well as enabling them to find information that they would otherwise require from a book or journal.

The increased availability of computers in libraries is encouraging more visitors to become IT literate, to make the most of the facilities. In return, libraries are providing more and more IT training sessions. To this end, could we soon be able to visit a paperless library?

The debate surrounding biometric ID cards is sure to intensify following the second proposal by the government today. Home Secretary Charles Clarke asserts that the new Identity Cards Bill is more stringent than the previous one, meeting the five quality tests for an ID card laid down by the Tories.

Clarke contends that the techonology employed in the proposed card is reliable and secure. This has been given short shrift by both politicians and IT experts. The Conservatives in particular have expressed doubts about the development of the biometric database, in which identity profiles will be stored and managed.

The doubters may have a point, if the performance of the Directgov search engine is anything to go by. The bizarre results that are returned by Directgov’s tailored serach engine pale in comparison to those from Google. If an expensive search engine created for web access to government services fails to operate intuitively, what hope is there for an efficient and secure biometric register for all UK citizens? This is particularly apposite when one considers that the government’s apparent rationale for ID cards is to combat identity fraud and terrorism whilst protecting civil liberties.

Questions will doubtless be raised concerning who will build and manage the database, and who will have access when matching a stored profile on an ID card. Further concerns over the reliability of iris scanning and fingerprint scanning will also need to be addressed. To this end, expect the Identity Cards Bill to reach a third version, and perhaps beyond.

Plans to drive down the cost of digital certification have been mooted by the Government, as part of a bid to improve security and convenience when using local eGovernment services. Digital certificates allow a user to prove their identity when conducting various transactions.

At present, certificates cost around £25 each. Digital certificates are an established way to provide security to website users, yet the current high cost has limited their popularity. By creating a huge new market for digital certification, the new Government Connect initiative hopes to drive down the cost to £5. It is a move that is of mutual benefit to the public and the Government. Chris Haynes, Programme Sponsor for Government Connect in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, believes reduction in the cost of such authentication is integral to the successful deployment of local eGovernment services, whilst citizens will benefit from the reduced cost of proving their identity online.

Security and authentication of identity is of paramount importance if trust is to be gained in eGovernment services. It will be interesting to see how Government Connect can project popular demand for local eGovernment services, to the extent that the cost of digital certificates drops to the hallowed £5 target. If the price was reduced and sales of certificates increased, it would certainly make internet transactions more secure for many UK users.

Once the stuff of science-fiction, the ability for computers to connect with humans on an emotional and conscious level could become reality. Ian Pearson, an eminent futurologist, believes that within 45 years it will be possible for a human to upload their mind onto a machine. Pearson bases his findings on the rate of computer processor development and his claim that Sony’s forthcoming Playstation 3 is 1% as powerful as the brain.

Like most developments in technology, money will dictate who has initial access to this digital storage. Pearson expects the super-rich to use mind downloads and uploads by 2050, with more widespread access available by 2080. He contends that, in theory, those who upload the contents of their brain cannot die.

Pearson is not a voice on the fringe. He is head of BT’s Foresight and Futurology Unit, recently named as one of the UK’s top 20 think tanks. Pearson also predicts rapid developments in supercomputing technology - he envisages a conscious supercomputer by 2020.

The mind upload is perhaps the logical conclusion to the concept of computing. It will be interesting to see how Pearson’s vision checks out against the generally accepted view that Moore’s Law (which stated in 1968 that computing power doubles every 24 months) is due to reach the limit of its hypothesis. Clearly, a totally new method of processor architecture may soon be required to facilitate the bold new predictions of futurologists.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) has transferred masses of data onto a 3D map of Britain. The project aims to show how different types of rock make up the island’s geology. The BGS website explains how the model was devised, and features screensavers for visitors to download - a novel and fun way to fly around Britain without leaving your desk. The 3D model is an intelligent use of information technology that will amaze both novice and expert.

Fujitsu’s latest biometric security platform is to be rolled out internationally, following its successful use by Japanese businesses. Palm-vein technology does pretty much what its name suggests - the pattern of veins inside the user’s hand is scanned in order to verify identity. The system has worked well for The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, which employed the technology as an alternative to PIN codes in its cash machines.

The technology compares a near-infrared scan result with a previous image of the user’s hand on a database. If the results match, the user’s identity is verified. According to Fujitsu the palm-scan system offers higher security than fingerprint scanning, being over ten times less likely to accept an unauthorised user in error. The James Bond appeal of fingerprint scanning has waned since 2002, when a Japanese scientist demonstrated that fingerprint scanners could be fooled by a gelatin ‘dummy’ finger.

Many fingerprint-scan users complain of a criminal connotation to being fingerprinted in advance. This process is naturally unnecessary for palm-scan technology. The current sticking point in the widespread employment of palm-scan is that of size. The race is now on to shrink the palm-scanner down from its current 7 square-inch area to a size that is compatible with the increasing miniaturisation of mobile phones and handheld PCs.

It is anticipated that palm-scan will available to overseas markets such as the UK and US by the close of 2005. Palm-scan is certainly set to provoke as much debate as iris scanning and the aforementioned fingerprint scan technology. It will be interesting to see if biometric data from palm-scans will form a basis for the government’s planned ID card.

A new variant of the Sober worm has been given a political twist and is filling inboxes across the globe with right-wing spam messages. The new worm, Sober-Q, has effectively turned infected PCs into ‘spam machines’ (Techwhack News). The worm sends out email containing links to webpages advancing far-right German politics.

Political viruses are not new. In 2004 the Nachi B worm overwrote the files of Windows machines with an HTML page. It contained what, on first inspection, appeared random dates. When the dates were deciphered by an anti-virus company it was found they corresponded to events in South East Asia during World War II, such as the bombing of Hirsohima and Nagasaki. Nachi B’s HTML message ended with the legend ‘Let History Tell Future!’, in what appeared to be an unrefined comment on current US foreign policy. In early 2005, a mass-mailing email virus contained messages calling for support for the Fathers 4 Justice campaign. Fathers 4 Justice denied links to the virus.

Sober-Q is going for a subtle tactic. Rather than presenting a dogmatic page of text at source, it aims to steer users of infected PCs onto otherwise remote web pages that present a far-right agenda. According to anti-virus company McAfee Inc., the primary aim of Sober Q is to spew out information rather than cause harm to infected machines. This is immaterial to affected users, and exemplifies the insidious nature of political viruses and those who write them.

A new report from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister predicts a bright future for e-voting. Internet and text message services are seen as a way to increase efficiency and public participation in the electoral process. Political e-voting has been linked to the success of SMS text message voting systems for TV shows such as Big Brother and Pop Idol. Present security concerns around electronic voting and fraud are acknowledged in the report, but the watchword for the future of voting is ‘choice’.

Naturally, there are others who take a more sanguine view. Professor Stephen Coleman of the Oxford Internet Institute sees the internet as a way for people to ‘keep the dialogue going’ around the subject of politics, rather than as a glitzy new way to persuade disaffected citizens to mark their vote. In his view, politicians should make more effort to engage with voters throughout the whole election term using electronic methods, rather than just at the polls.

A further acronym has been added to the growing list of government departments and agencies involved in the management of public information. The new Office of Public Sector Information states that it ‘is at the heart of information policy, setting standards, providing a practical framework of best practice for opening up and encouraging the re-use of public sector information’. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO) has been incorporated into OPSI, itself a signifier that the new department is a big hitter.

The differences in remit of OPSI and the Department for Constitutional Affairs (which handles the Freedom of Information Act on its web site) are, on first inspection of each department’s site, unclear. I found this ironic considering the respective departments’ aim to be transparent and understandable to the lay person (in this case, myself). To my untutored eye, the Department for Constitutional Affairs is charged with the responsibility of judging what information can be released under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act. Meanwhile, OPSI focuses on the implementation of safe processes for the dissemination and trading of general public information.

A third department, the e-Government unit, is charged with ‘delivering citizen-centred online services’. It appears that this particular department is responsible for infrastructure. Three departments performing variations on a similar theme, then. Public information may now be more freely available, but should citizens have to perform circus tricks to actually obtain it?

It’s always pleasing to see a project you’ve reported on during embryonic stages finally take off. BBC Backstage, which we covered when it was first mooted, has now gone live (albeit, like almost anything of interest on the web these days, in a “beta” form).

Backstage is best summarised by its tagline:”use our stuff to build your stuff“. It allows public developers to build their own applications and sites which make use of BBC data (in the form of data feeds or APIs). Ideas for applications, and actual working prototypes, can be submitted to the site in order to promote them - and to allow others to build on top of them.

Backstage is an unprecedented project. Yes, there are limitations on how the data can be used: it cannot, for instance, be used for commercial gain, and any product supported by Backstage must display a public attribution. But it’s rare for a company (much less a media one) to open up so much of its primary business material for free - especially when that material is raw content, as opposed to say, search results. In many ways, the Backstage initiative is very similar to the Creative Archive: that sharing with your audience won’t necessarily lead to a loss of profit, but instead a profitable (in every sense of the word) relationship. It’s a noble cause to champion, and in some ways the BBC is uniquely positioned in its ability to do so. Personally, I can’t wait to see what emerges from this new approach.

If you’re interested in seeing what people have done with the service so far, take a look at the Backstage site’s list of prototypes. A particular favourite of mine is Yoz Graeme’s search engine for the Today programme archive.

Government IT advisor Socitim in conjunction with the Financial Times has published a survey to measure the current and future use of open source software by local authorities and other local public services. The questionnaire was answered by 99 councils and public sector organisations throughout the country.

Findings show that more than a half of the organisations interviewed are currently using open source software and that 79% out of the 99 councils believed that the use of such devices will increase in the future.

The use of open source software has several benefits such as lower cost and more flexibility. However as the report shows the drawbacks of using this kind of software are lack of technical support and few people with the skills and training to manage them.

American website Zabasearch.com, a personal-data search engine, faces continuing criticism concerning information privacy. Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the US against which the government has been unable to provide effective ways to control the traffic of personal information.

Stefek Zaba from Bristol, who has no connection what so ever with the site, has been annoyed with hundreds of emails and requests from people who are after Zabasearch. Mr. Zaba has set up his own website criticising the search engine. He argues that ”their operation is a gross and flagrant violation of US residents’ reasonable expectations of privacy, and of the internationally endorsed principles on privacy and fair information handling.”

Launched earlier this year, the site embodies everything that is frightening and great about the internet. The website allows users to find out personal details of citizens in the US such as phone numbers and addresses. In addition, for a tiny fee you can get a satellite picture of the person’s home, directions on how to get there, background checks and criminal history.

ZabaSearch founders believe that their service is a step towards data democratisation. Robert Zakari, president of Zabasearch, said that “Personal information in the U.S. is a multibillion-dollar-a-year industry. People realising that right now as a result of stumbling on ZabaSearch may find that shocking, but the data has been out there for years. It’s just a question of who has access.”

Anti-virus and spam experts at Sophos are warning computer users not to click on links claiming that the British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s email account has been hacked. The virus-infected email was sent out during elections night to British email addresses.

Sophos warns that users who click on the link contained in the email can be infected by a series of Trojan horses that aim to steal confidential information from infected PCs, for instance, server passwords, and sensitive online banking account details. The email arrives with the subject line: “BBC: Tony Blair email account hacked!”

Hackers have attempted to spam government’s email accounts and websites in several occasions in search of confidential information or as part of anti-war protest. In 2003 UK government website 10 Downing Street was briefly rendered inaccessible after a co-ordinated protest against the Prime Minster’s role in the conflict.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos said: “Clicking on the link takes users to a web site which invisibly installs a Trojan horse on the victim’s computer. This Trojan horse then attempts to install other malicious code onto the infected computer and install password stealers which can be used by hackers for grabbing information.

Curiously it appears that the people behind this election night hack attack may have made a small error. It appears that the email messages were supposed to display a photograph of Tony Blair from the BBC web site to lend it credence, but an elementary mistake in their HTML coding has meant only the text of the message is displayed rather than a picture of the Prime Minister.”

Bill Thompson has written an interesting overview today on the influence of the internet on the UK general election. He highlights, among other matters, how voters showed a serious desire to engage with politics and how they prefered sites which gave them quality information, rather than online games such as the Tory’s ‘Bash Blair’.

Worth a read.

The chaps at MySociety have been busy during the night. Not satisfied with simply having us make our mark in the ballot booth they have launched a site to enable voters to let their new MPs know what they expect from them, called I Voted For You Because. Simple.

Just in case you are still undecided about your vote, here are some links that might help you to make up your mind on Thursday’s general election.

Roughly Beasts Election Quiz

80 Soft

Political Survey 2005

Public Whip

Channel4 Factcheck

Financial Times Election 2005

Mori Election Analysis

Virtual Politics

Spinon

UK Elect

British Election Study

Bloggerheads

Perfect

Guardian Aristotle

Not Apathetic

New research shows that text message and internet voting could encourage greater voter turn out. According to a survey carried out by Populus and the mobile phone marketing company i-movo, more than a third of the British electorate would be more likely to vote in an election if they could do so using their mobile phone. More than half of those aged 25 to 34 would be more likely to vote if they could send text messages.

Other research carried out by HI Europe Harris revealed that, of the 2,000 adults interviewed, two-thirds of adults would be willing to use the internet to vote in the general election. The survey found that one in four people would vote online if they could.

New media voting raises questions of credibility and fraud. Research by Mori for the IT consultancy Detica, people believed that introducing even more methods of voting, such as text messaging, e-mail, interactive TV or internet would make election fraud easier to commit and would not encourage more people to vote. Mori interviewed 963 adults across Britain, half of whom believed that new voting methods would make electoral fraud easier to commit.

In contrast, Consult Hyperion maintains that digital voting methods could save a lot of money and that the chances of fraud would be actually minimal. According to Hyperion by 2009 phones will be much more secure than the current models, and that voting websites will have more sophisticated security systems such as ID cards and PIN verification systems.

An online survey to find out where people stand on political issues revealed its latest results yesterday. The survey showed that, of the 19,000 people who took part in the online poll on, a majority shared the views of the Labour and Lib Dem parties.

Participants answered a questionaire at politicalsurvey2005.com and the results were then compared with the rest of the participants and the data obtained from the YouGov survey. The survey summarises people’s political views based on two different axis. The first axis, describes people’s views on crime and punishment, Europe, immigration and international law. The second axis, is mainly about economics and related issues: free markets, Iraq and the model of government. These two axis determine where you stand in the political debate; left, centre or right wing.

The survey also measured the extent to which the electorate is informed on political issues. It showed that supporters of the three major parties are relatively well and equally informed as the election day gets closer.

On taking the test today I was surprised to be positioned in the free-market pro-war category, when in reality I am strongly opposed to the war. My overall result, however, described me as a person in the centre. This led me to believe that the survey might have some weak points. How can one axis measure my views on public and private involvement in the economy, international trade, taxation and Iraq? It does not make sense.

If you wish to take the test to find out your political tendencies go to: politicalsurvey2005.com