Thứ Ba, 31 tháng 1, 2012

Neil Young: Steve Jobs Listened To Vinyl

DANA POINT, Calif. -- Legendary rocker Neil Young took his campaign for higher-fidelity digital sound to the stage of a technology conference Tuesday, saying a giant of the industry was on his side: the late Steve Jobs.
Young said the Apple co-founder was such a fan of music that he didn't use his iPod and its digitally compressed files at home. Instead, he used a physical format well-known to have better sound.
"Steve Jobs was a pioneer of digital music. His legacy is tremendous," Young said. "But when he went home, he listened to vinyl (albums)."
Young told the "D: Dive Into Media" conference Tuesday that he spoke with Jobs about creating a format that has 20 times the fidelity of files in the most current digital formats, including MP3.
Such a format, he said, would contain 100 percent of the data of music as it is created in a studio, as opposed to 5 percent in compressed formats including Apple's AAC. Each song would be huge, and a new storage and playback device might only hold 30 albums. Each song would take about 30 minutes to download, which is fine if you leave your device on overnight, he said.
"Sleep well. Wake up in the morning. Play some real music and listen to the joy of 100 percent of the sound of music," he said.
Although Young didn't have a practical plan for developing such a format – saying it's for "rich people" to decide – he said Jobs was on board with the idea before he died from cancer at age 56 in October.
"I talked to Steve about it. We were working on it," Young said. "You've got to believe if he lived long enough he would eventually try to do what I'm trying to do."
Young's opinion of Jobs was confirmed by interviewer Walt Mossberg, a journalist with News Corp.'s All Things D website, which hosted Jobs at its conferences.
Mossberg said Jobs expressed surprise that "people traded quality, to the extent they had, for convenience or price."
An Apple Inc. spokesman declined to comment.
Young, a 66-year-old singer and songwriter, was full of other surprising opinions, including his defense of recording labels such as his own Reprise Records, a unit of Warner Music Group Corp., as being a nurturer of artists, even as he said recording companies had botched the transition to digital music.
Young also said that "piracy is the new radio," suggesting that illegally copying low-quality songs was an acceptable way for fans to sample music before buying higher-quality versions.
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The Basics Behind Google’s New Privacy Policies

Last week, Google announced new privacy standards that essentially created a single, unified policy across all of its properties. What’s so bad about that? Well, users kind of freaked out when they realized that Google would be tracking them across all of its services to tailor ads to them — meaning that if you were cruising YouTube for videos of awesome Blake Griffin dunks, you might end up with a Nike ad in your Gmail.
People complained, a group of Congressmen including Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) got involved, and now Google is defending itself with a letter.
Here’s the gist of what it says (or you can read the entire thing online):
  • You don’t have to sign in. You can use YouTube, Search and other Google products even if you aren’t signed into your Google account. Of course, if you’re an avid Gmail user, that means you’d have to constantly be signing in and out. But hey, that’s the price you pay for “a better user experience.”
  • If that sounds like a pain, just make separate accounts for each site.
  • Google isn’t collecting any new information. It’s simply taking the information it was already gathering and consolidating it.
  • It’s all in the name of simplicity. Google was a single search engine in 1998 and now it’s an Internet behemoth that has accrued more than “60 product-specific privacy policies.”
  • Users can request Google delete their personal information from its archives after they’ve closed their accounts provided they’re willing to wait a “reasonable period of time,” whatever that means.
To be fair, if you’re not concerned about privacy, the integration between services is pretty cool. A few examples Google gives:
For example, today we make it easy for a signed-in user to immediately add an appointment to her Calendar when a message in Gmail looks like it’s about a meeting. As a signed-in user she can also read a Google Docs document right in her Gmail, rather than having to leave Gmail to read the document. Our ability to share information for one account across services also allows signed-in users to use Google+’s sharing feature –called “circles” – to send directions to family and friends without leaving Google Maps.
The fact is, if you’re already using Gmail, then you probably shouldn’t be up-in-arms about privacy since you basically haven’t had any for years. For social media users, you can always leave Google+ for Facebook. Oh, wait, you hate Timeline? Well this is awkward.
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Man Utd 2 - 0 Stoke

By Neil Johnston
BBC Sport Hernandez's penalty strike was his 27th goal for United Hernandez's penalty strike was his 27th goal for United
Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov both scored from the penalty spot as Manchester United beat Stoke to go level on points with Manchester City.
United were without 11 players, including Wayne Rooney, and gave a Premier League debut to third-choice keeper Ben Amos.
But Hernandez broke the deadlock after Jermaine Pennant fouled Park Ji-sung before Berbatov doubled the lead.
A foul by Jonathan Walters on Antonio Valencia was punished by the striker.
With Chelsea and Liverpool providing the opposition in the next two league games, it was vital United bounced back from their FA Cup exit at the weekend.
And although this was far from a vintage performance, Sir Alex Ferguson's injury-hit side did enough to secure maximum points.
Stoke's record at Old Trafford, a venue where they have not won for 36 years, suggested this should have been a straightforward exercise for Ferguson's side.
Yet for long periods of the first half it was anything but as United, missing Rooney for the second successive game, appeared to suffer a hangover from the last-gasp defeat at Liverpool.

DID YOU KNOW?

Since defeating Manchester United at Old Trafford in 1976, Stoke have now failed to win in 12 visits - losing 11 times.
Fortunately for Ferguson's team, Stoke lacked any cutting edge in attack as Amos was forced into just one save as he started a top-flight game for United for the first time - David De Gea and Anders Lindegaard having been ruled out by illness and injury respectively.
Bizarrely, United had scored in the 27th minute in each of their last three meetings with Stoke.
Yet despite dominating possession, they failed to seriously test Thomas Sorensen in the opening half-hour, Paul Scholes's attempt from outside the area the closest they came to finding the net.
By then Jonathan Walters and Kenwyne Jones had attempted to test Amos from distance - both efforts flying wide of the target.
United had hardly threatened when they opened the scoring seven minutes before the interval after the move of the match.
Good work by Berbatov, starting for the first time since 4 January, and Scholes released Park inside the area, Pennant leaving referee Mike Jones with no choice but to point to the spot after lunging in on the South Korean.
Hernandez, who had not started since the 3-2 home defeat to Blackburn on 31 December, kept his composure to beat Thomas Sorensen from the spot before United thought they should have had a second penalty when Robert Huth appeared to handle Hernandez's cross.
This time Jones was not interested but the official did award another penalty when Walters fouled Valencia - the fourth spot-kick the Cheshire official has given in his last two games.
Sorensen guessed the right way but was still beaten as Berbatov drilled home his first goal of 2012 home in the 53rd minute.
United should have won by a more handsome margin with Berbatov guilty of spurning a fine chance following Valencia's cut-back in stoppage time.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said:
"We played a lot of good football and scored two penalties while we could have had two more.
"(Paul) Pogba did really well when he came on. You can't believe he's only 18-years-old. We're negotiating his contract at the moment, but it's a bit complicated because he's changed his agent.
"As for Ben Amos, he's got potential. He never flapped at anything."
Stoke manager Tony Pulis said:
"It's always difficult coming here. We were playing one of the best teams - if not the best team - and we have got to keep the ball a little bit better and get up the pitch.
"Looking at them there (the penalties), they are very debatable but we are at Old Trafford."
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Israel tops cyber-readiness poll but China lags behind

By Dave Lee Technology Reporter
A child holds an Israeli flag during a tennis match Israel handles over 1,000 attacks every minute, government advisors said

Related Stories

Israel, Finland and Sweden are seen as leading the way in "cyber-readiness", according to a major new security report.
The McAfee-backed cyberdefence survey deemed China, Brazil and Mexico as being among the least able to defend themselves against emerging attacks.
The rank is based on leading experts' perception of a nation's defences.
The report concluded that greater sharing of information globally is necessary to keep ahead of threats.
It also suggests giving more power to law enforcement to fight cross-border crime.
The UK, with a grading of four out of five, ranks favourably in the survey - along with the USA, Germany, Spain and France.
'Subjective view'
The rankings are based on the perceived quality of a country's cyber-readiness - the ability to cope with a range of threats and attacks.
"The subjectiveness of the report is its biggest strength," explained Raj Samani, McAfee's chief technology officer.
"What it does is give the perception of cyber-readiness by those individuals who kind of understand and work in cyber security on a day-in, day-out basis."
McAfee infographic showing country cyber-readiness A five-point scale was used to rank countries - none of which achieved a perfect rating. Graphic provided by McAfee
A good score depends on having basic measures like adequate firewalls and antivirus protection, and more complex matters including well-informed governance and education.
Sweden, Finland and Israel all impressed the report's experts - despite the fact that the latter receives reportedly over 1,000 cyber attacks every minute.
Isaac Ben-Israel, senior security advisor to Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is quoted in the report as saying: "The hacktivist group Anonymous carries out lots of attacks but they don't cause much damage. The real threat is from states and major crime organisations."
He added that the country has set up a cyber-taskforce responsible for assessing threats to key infrastructure such power production and water supplies.
'Enhancing co-operation'
At the other end of the security scale, Mexico ranked as least prepared to cope with the cyber threat - a situation which is blamed on the country's authorities needing to overwhelmingly focus on the country's gang and drugs problems.
China is regarded by some Western observers as an aggressor in cyberspace.
But one expert Peiran Wang said the country was itself vulnerable because it lacked a joined up strategy.
Mexican police force Mexico's drug problems means available resource is put into real world policing - and not on cybercrime
"The Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of State Security and even the military are involved and they don't communicate well," said Peiran Wang, a visiting scholar at Brussels' Free University.
In the UK, the report praised a £650m investment programme in cyber security.
However, the Home Office's plans were criticised by information security expert Peter Sommer.
"A great deal depends on co-operation from the private sector, which controls about 80% of the critical national infrastructure.
"Over half of the new funding will go to the 'secret vote', the intelligence agencies, where value for money will be difficult to investigate. I would have preferred more emphasis on public education - helping potential victims help themselves."
Cybercrime fighters
Among the report's conclusions is the recommendation that greater efforts be made to improve cross-border law enforcement.
"Cybercriminals route their connection through multiple different countries," said Mr Samani.
"If criminals are particularly clever, they go through countries where they know there isn't any co-operation."
William Hague In the UK, millions has been pledged by foreign secretary William Hague to fight cyber issues
"The bad guys share information - we need to do the same as well."
Dr Joss Wright from the Oxford Internet Institute welcomed the report's findings. However, he had serious doubts over the feasibility of its suggestions.
"They're recommendations that people have been saying for maybe 10 years," he told the BBC.
"I would love to see good information sharing - but when you're talking about national security, there's a culture of not sharing.
"They're not suddenly going to change 70, 100, 1000 years of military thinking."
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Scottish independence: 'Expat' Scots give their views

As the Scottish government prepares to publish its consultation document on an independence referendum, do Scots living south of the border welcome a break from the United Kingdom?

Chris Scullion, 28, from Coatbridge, games editor in London

Chris Scullion says he moved to London six years ago for his "dream job" and has become engaged in that time.
"My fiancee and I have decided that, once we get married and are ready to have children, we would like to move back to Scotland if the circumstances are right and we can sort out employment."
Chris Scullion Chris Scullion and his fiancée, Louise McLaughlin, would look at moving to Scotland to have a family
Living in London has made him "prouder to be a Scot", he says. "Political and economic arguments aside, I feel Scotland (and northern parts of England) have a character, charm and friendliness that is sorely lacking in London and I feel the presence of these regions is important to the overall mood of the nation in a time when spirits may be low."
He is strongly against independence but would not oppose a referendum, were it fairly presented to the Scottish public.
He says Scottish patriotism will be at a high in 2014, which is the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn and the year Glasgow will host the Commonwealth Games. He feels the SNP's promise to hold the referendum then is "a deliberate attempt to sway the Scottish people's emotions".

Who would be able to vote in the referendum?

  • People living in Scotland: All those eligible to vote in the Scottish Parliamentary elections. The legal voting age is 18 but the Scottish government is proposing that 16 and 17 year-olds also be allowed to participate
  • Scots living in the rest of the UK: Under the Scottish government's current referendum proposals they will not be eligible to vote, however some peers in the House of Lords have called for the whole of the UK to be able to vote.
  • Scots living abroad: Could not vote
Mr Scullion says he would be in favour of an additional question on devo max (significant new powers for Holyrood, short of independence) as long as it did not interfere with the main question. "So as long as the two questions were 'Yes/No to Independence' and 'if no, then yes/no to devo max' then I would be in favour," he says.
He says Scots living outside the UK for less than 18 months or those who had been living in a different part of Britain for less than 10 years should be eligible to vote in the referendum.
"I'm not in love with the idea of expat Scots who haven't lived in Scotland since the 1970s or 1980s making decisions on the future of a country they've been disconnected from for so long."
He says he struggles to see the benefits of independence and does not believe Scotland could survive on potential oil reserves alone.
"In my opinion there needs to be an independent investigation into exactly what would happen, and not just promises by the SNP that everything would be alright."
"At a time when the economy is so fragile that other, bigger countries are currently in financial turmoil, I think it would be madness for Scotland to suddenly take a huge risk and decide we can go it alone."

Dominic Wolsey, 22, from Aberdeen, studying politics in London

Dominic Wolsey believes the Scottish government has "a fairly undeniable mandate to hold a referendum".
Dominic Wolsey Dominic Wolsey after graduating from his undergraduate degree in London
"I think any attempts to block it would be undemocratic," he says. Mr Wolsey says he is in favour of a two-question referendum which would deal with the question of fiscal autonomy or devo max.
"I've always been quite pro-independence. But I think at the moment the majority of people in Scotland want devo max," he says.
"I think it's purely a political question and economic rather than something about Scottish identity and nationality." Mr Wolsey says Scottish voters tend to lean towards more social democratic governments but have ended up with a Conservative-led government controlling their finances.
Even if they all voted for the same party, he says, Scots would be "outvoted by our counterparts from other parts of the union".
He says a referendum would strengthen democracy "because it would bring our government closer to the people".
"I think for me personally I'm in favour of full independence but I realise in terms of a referendum the democratic thing would be two have two questions, one on devo max."
Mr Wolsey says the referendum should be open to anyone living in Scotland regardless of their nationality.
"If you don't live there and you haven't lived there for 10 years then it's none of your business - whether you consider yourself Scottish or not," he says.
"This Scottish identity thing is a flawed way of looking at the question - it should just boil down to civic responsibility."

Alex Alonzi, 25, from Edinburgh, project manager in Bristol

Alex Alonzi says the similar environment and culture of the two nations made moving from Edinburgh to Bristol easy.
"Part of the reason that I felt comfortable moving to England was because I didn't feel like I was moving to a different country," she says. "It was purely a case of just driving across the border."
"At the moment I feel like it's one big country. I've never felt restricted in my movements.
Alex Alonzi Alex Alonzi says an independent Scotland would affect her future
"I think I'd be quite sad if we all split up," she says. "You just feel like you're one big kingdom - you're all there together, your supporting each other... I just don't know what's going to happen at all politically. It just feels uncomfortable."
Ms Alonzi believes Scotland would do better to stay in Great Britain "purely because of strength in numbers".
But she says a referendum needs to be held so that the view of the Scottish population can inform politicians' arguments.
She says voters needed more information on what independence would mean but assumes that "they don't want to start looking into this in completely accurate detail until the Scottish referendum".
Ms Alonzi says a referendum would need to avoid leading questions but that "there are so many issues at the moment that I don't think a yes and no question would really give the overall opinion of the Scottish population".
Ms Alonzi says she would be concerned about the future economy of Scotland with questions remaining about currency and taxes. "At the moment they are all intricately linked with Westminster and the UK tax system."
She says as a Scot living in Britain she would expect to be able to vote because its outcome would affect her future but that it was different for those who had given up their nationality to live elsewhere.
Ms Alonzi says if Scotland became independent but she could continue to have access to benefits such as the NHS as a Scot in England, she would remain in England.
"I think as long as things stay as they are - ie we could move freely and live freely in England - then I wouldn't move back to Scotland, I'd be perfectly comfortable."
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Spain unemployment: Your stories

In Spain there are now over five million people unemployed, according to the National Statistics Institute.
Spain already has the highest jobless rate in the 17-nation eurozone and is expected to slide back into recession - the new figures show more than half of all 16 to 24-year-olds are jobless.
BBC News website readers in Spain share their experiences of being unemployed and the fear of losing their livelihoods in the current economic climate.

Marisol, Malaga

“Start Quote

We are in our 50s - the age of the damned here - when you turn 50 no-one seems to want you”
My husband and I have a small business in private security, but we are about to lose our jobs.
There is political instability here and no chance of help from the state - it's a mess. There is no new enterprise - the future is not bright and is void of possibilities.
Around nine years ago we started our own business, just after the boom in Spain when there were good prospects that we thought would last.
But then the socialist government came in and brought a lot of bureaucracy.
Also, we are in our 50s - the age of the damned here. When you turn 50 no-one seems to want you.
There are millions without hope - some people I know have been without work for two years. The queues at unemployment offices remind me of old Romania.
We don't know what to do - we may have to shut down. We've been thinking of emigrating, perhaps try California.
But with the current state of the economy, if you can't even sell a house or only at a loss, there's no hope.
I went to the bank recently and they said it could take about four or five years to sell a house.
Youth unemployment is particularly high. I have a 16-year-old daughter and I'm worried about her future.

Fran Lopez, Madrid

Spanish unemployment There have been protests across Spain against unemployment and austerity measures
The situation in Spain is dire! I am an engineer working for a government-owned company and we have seen many reliable and valued veterans removed from posts that they have held for 15 years or more.
My wife works for a credit card company but she will be laid off at the end of February. This is a very common occurrence in Spain.
There is a high cost of living but wages have decreased. It's very hard to find a job that is well paid.
People are leaving my workplace not just because of the lack of work. There is no money to pay employees to do the work.
I know people in the construction field who have been out of work for three or four years.
The trick is to generate business so that the market grows.

“Start Quote

I have 20 years' experience, but young people have no hope of finding a job”
In Spain, people get help from families and do odd jobs. But because these jobs are cash in hand, the problem for the state is that people pay no tax.
House prices have gone up and mortgages are sky high - about the same as in London but income is nowhere near as good here.
There has been radical change. As soon as our new prime minister came in there were major cuts.
I'm considering leaving the country. I've actively looked for jobs outside Spain.
I have 20 years' experience, but young people have no hope of finding a job. When things are good, young Spaniards leave the country anyway to improve their English.
But now Spain faces a real problem that there will be no young talent in the country in the near future.

Anonymous, Andalucia

“Start Quote

There has to be a future - I'm staying positive because I think we have to”
This country is a mess. Working self-employed legally is expensive and brings little reward as there is no dole but high taxation, so the black market is thriving.
Companies are afraid of giving staff contracts because of the costs and liabilities.
The bureaucracy, costs and licensing involved in setting up a new venture is mind blowing - not to mention you pay VAT and income tax from the first penny - to the extent that it's just not worth it.
Businesses are closing right left and centre. There is no investment in people or new ventures.
In Andalucia, we rely on tourism, but tour companies have been introducing all-inclusive holidays that affect local businesses. Everyone is worried but the hope is that it will become cheaper for tourists to come here and spend their money.
I am thankfully in work but most of my friends are unemployed.
Most of them have decided to have children - not because they get any child benefit, but because they put it on hold for a career and now that is gone.
I am putting off motherhood because I am self-employed - but working for a big company who refuses to give contracts. That means I'll get no maternity benefits and if I do take any time off, they will employ someone else and I will have no job to go back to.
On the plus side, the huge sense of family and community is what is keeping this place going.
There has to be a future - I'm staying positive because I think we have to.
Interviews by Andrée Massiah
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What drives US entrepreneurship?

By Will Smale Business reporter, BBC News
Tom Ryan addressing staff in a Smashburger branch Tom Ryan says a major part of his success is down to surrounding himself with talented people

Running a business

How does running a business differ around the world? In a new series, the BBC News Website is speaking to successful entrepreneurs from around the globe about the secrets of their success, and the challenges they have faced. In the first instalment, three US business people explore what drives American entrepreneurship.
Tom Ryan is just your typical, easy-going American entrepreneur - he wants to take over the world.
Mr Ryan is founder of restaurant chain Smashburger, one of the fastest-growing companies in the US.
From just one outlet in Denver in 2007, it now has more than 150 branches nationwide, and will later this year open its first foreign sites in Kuwait, Canada and Costa Rica.
Europe and Asia are then due to follow.
Aiming to reach 500 US branches within the next few years, Smashburger's current global ambition is for ultimately 2,000 international outlets.
Mr Ryan, a restaurant industry veteran, says: "Everyone said the burger industry in the US was too crowded for a new entry, but I was sure there was a place for a new chain offering much higher quality than the established players."
Backed by a private equity firm, Smashburger was immediately popular with American consumers, and its expansion quickly started.
Mr Ryan adds: "Obviously I'm delighted with how things have gone. I knew we had a strong concept, and therefore a fighting chance."
Search engine
Smashburger is far from unique in the US.

“Start Quote

The welfare states across Europe have not helped boost entrepreneurship, because governments have told people 'don't worry, we'll look after you' instead of 'you have a unique contribution to make'”
Julie Meyer Ariadne Capital
The likes of Google, Twitter and Facebook may not make hamburgers, but all three were also just start-up businesses not too many years ago. Facebook was only established in 2004, and Twitter was not set up until 2006.
Facebook was first started in a university dormitory, and Google's early days were based in a garage.
But as the US continues to produce a wealth of start-up companies that quickly grow to dominate their marketplaces, what are the reasons behind America's continuing entrepreneurial success - and can they be copied?
And are successful entrepreneurs born or bred?
Californian Eric Ries may be just 33, but he's a Silicon Valley veteran.
With a number of technology sector start-ups behind him, "some successful ones, and some failures", he is now an in-demand start-up adviser, and author of The Lean Start-Up.
Mr Ries says that when it comes to supporting entrepreneurship, the US has some key advantages over Europe and other parts of the world.
"There are definitely cultural factors in the US's favour, perhaps most importantly a willingness to tolerate failure," he says.
"In Europe if you fail in business you are going to find it very difficult to borrow money the next time around, but in the US it is almost seen as a useful experience to have gone through."
Mr Ries adds that this all makes American entrepreneurs more willing to take risks.
Smashburger worker at a branch in Brooklyn Smashburger has 150 outlets across the US
"On top of this, some European countries have very high personal liability levels for entrepreneurs, which is a terrible mistake," he says.
"Regulations are also lower in the US for smaller firms. Add all these together, and you can see the advantage the US has.
"But it is not all one-sized, there are still some great firms in Europe."
'Smaller governments'
Julie Meyer is a US entrepreneur who lives and works in London, where she is chief executive of investment fund Ariadne Capital.
This invests £55m per year in early stage technology businesses.
Ms Meyer agrees that more Americans are willing to take a chance on starting up their own company, which she says is a "cultural thing".
"But I don't want to stress the US market too much. I believe we have excellent entrepreneurs in the UK, it is just the available financing and tax policies that lag behind.
"The UK government needs to cut taxes for small firms to help spur growth and act as an incentive.
Eric Ries Eric Ries says entrepreneurship is a teachable quality
"Overall this would mean more successful small firms and therefore more tax revenues."
Looking across Europe in general, Ms Meyer says generations of left-leaning governments have held back entrepreneurship.
"The welfare states across Europe have not helped boost entrepreneurship, because governments have told people 'don't worry, we'll look after you' instead of 'you have a unique contribution to make'," she says.
"Instead governments need to be much smaller, with more focus on individuals. And we are now heading in that direction, because European governments suddenly realise they cannot afford to be so large."
'Right stuff'
But if European nations want to copy more of American-style entrepreneurship, how easily can this be achieved? Or is it simply that more entrepreneurs are born in the US?
Mr Ries says: "I'm definitely not one of those people who say that entrepreneurs are born with the 'right stuff'.
"It is teachable, but countries have to change their cultures and rules to help support successful start-ups. That's the US's cultural advantage."
Julie Meyer also says she doesn't believe entrepreneurs are born.
"You aren't born, rather I think entrepreneurs are nurtured," she says.
Julie Meyer Julie Meyer says the UK has excellent entrepreneurs, but finance is an issue
"My father was an entrepreneur, so I realised it was not the easiest choice to make. But I knew it was what I wanted to do, and I had that experience to draw upon."
Smashburger's Tom Ryan says that while entrepreneurs may have "a little bit of creativity that is not inherent in others", the first two key factors to success in business are your product and your business model.
He adds: "The third is work with great people, you need these to make everything come together. Entrepreneurs can't work on their own."
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Thứ Hai, 30 tháng 1, 2012

Trendfear: Do you ever feel you're being left behind?

By Tom de Castella BBC News Magazine
Students in lecture hall, one with exercise book, the other with a laptop

In today's Magazine

January is a cornucopia of technological tipping and frantic futurology, but do you ever get a nagging fear that trends are passing you by?
What is Pinterest? And is it important what it is?
And will Summly have a big year in 2012? And does that matter?
There are plenty of people who would answer these questions with a stock "I don't care".
These people might refuse to even look at social media, and choose to eschew the smartphone and the tablet. But there are plenty of jobs where you might have to take notice.
There are areas of advertising, marketing, public relations, journalism, academia, design, and finance where workers might find themselves looking a bit silly if they reveal they have no idea of the technological lie of the land.
And the narrowly defined technology sector itself is ever-more important.

“Start Quote

Some are terrified as they don't know where it will end”
John McGurk Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development
But imagine the job of a policeman. A detective in 2005 would, more than likely, not have heard of Facebook. A detective in 2012 would know that a murder victim's social media activity would have to be investigated as a matter of course.
If you're a school headteacher and you don't understand the implications of the rise of location-based websites and apps like Foursquare, you might one day regret it.
Malcolm Gladwell wrote more than a decade ago about the "tipping point", the moment when a particular phenomenon suddenly became "big".
There is a point when, arguably, you should know about something. There's a point when not knowing is a bit like a judge asking who Bruce Springsteen is. And the earlier you know, the better.

Say what?

  • Pinterest: image-based website where users create virtual pinboards based on specific interests, such as baking
  • Summly: iPhone app which summarises and simplifies the content of web pages and search results
  • Flipboard: designed for use on iPads, allows users to pick websites they want to create a personalised magazine
  • Foursquare: location-based social network
  • Zeebox: app that links user's TV viewing and social networking
The nagging anxiety at the back of the mind that you are missing out might be called "trendfear".
In an interview about the internet with the Sunday Times in 1999, Douglas Adams memorably satirised a common attitude towards new technology and trends.
Everything that's already in the world when you're born is just normal, suggested Adams. Anything created between birth and the age of 30 is incredibly exciting and creative and with any luck you can make a career out of it.
But whatever is invented after you've turned 30 is against the natural order of things and the beginning of the end of civilisation as we know it -until it's been around for about 10 years, when it gradually turns out to be all right really.
Just the language of the predictions can leave many people stumped.
Man on laptop, boy on typewriter One day's bit of hype is the next day's phenomenon
Food writer Marina O'Loughlin recently predicted: "Even more exciting is the rock'n'roll-isation of eating: follow food swarm artists such as London's @Tweat_up (tagline: 'So far no deaths or arrests')."
You might also have found yourself baffled by the rise of "dual screening" - watching television and posting instant reactions on Twitter.
At the other end of the technological spectrum is playwright Tom Stoppard, who recently revealed he had no computer or "twitter machine".
Much is made by the government about those people, often elderly or poor, who miss out on things because they have no internet access.
People who aren't successful playwrights will struggle to get a job without at least knowing how to use email, Google, Word, Excel or Powerpoint, says Dr John McGurk, learning adviser at the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development.
And there are plenty of jobs where more than this is required.
Universities are bringing in social networked learning, and some academics are struggling to cope, McGurk believes. "They're being encouraged to engage with students on social media. But some are terrified as they don't know where it will end."

“Start Quote

There's no cure for it. The sense of nagging anxiety about trends will always be there”
James Gleick Author, The Information: a History, a Theory, a Flood
Of course, those feeling anxious that they are missing new trends that could affect them professionally are also aware that trends can fail to live up to the hype.
If you only keep up with new gizmos and gadgets out of duty, you don't want to waste your time on the technological dead ends and the cultural cul-de-sacs.
With hindsight, did anybody really need to follow the rise of flashmobbing?
And there is just so much to follow. The explosion of websites, apps and social networking, all apparently feeding off each other in "real time", has made keeping up harder than ever.
It's unnerving because we are no longer all equal in the information stakes, says digital strategist Nic Newman. "In the era of mass media everyone found everything out at the same time.
"The difference now is that with all these different information channels some people know things almost as soon as they happen. But people outside those networks are not hearing it."
As one Twitter user puts it, "you feel almost behind when you read a story in the news rather than watching it unfold through digital media".
Once upon a time, a major innovation would be recorded in the Times. Now the word could come from anywhere.
In the 17th Century, the philosopher Gottfried Leibniz felt there were already too many books to keep track of. But today the scale of the overload is of a different magnitude.
Nick D'Aloisio, inventor of Summly Summly, invented by a British teenager, could be the next big thing, or not
The coming together of GPS and mobile phones has allowed a raft of location-based apps to take hold.
Discount websites like Groupon can now target people shopping in a certain shopping centre with specific offers. And the Waze app interrogates drivers' sat-navs to share traffic information and cut delays.
Many new websites and apps are there to tackle the fear of information overload. Zite an app for the iPhone, identifies what information a user is interested in, and teaches the device to download relevant articles.
What increases the elusiveness of the trends is that a lot of new sites have "stealth launches". Google+ took things a stage further by sending out invitations only to those its algorithms had calculated were people of influence. This created a sense of "social cachet for those invited, and a feeling of anxiety for those left out," Newman says.
"Sharing" rises and rises. Pinterest, already in the top 10 social networks in the US, is an online noticeboard (pinboard) featuring photographs of enticing desserts, hairstyles and random signs and sayings, among other curiosities.
Flipboard creates a magazine out of someone's social networking content, while Zeebox allows people to combine watching television and commenting on it with their online friends.
"Frictionless sharing takes things further still, letting friends on Facebook see everything you're reading on newspaper websites for example," Newman.
Evening Standard columnist Sam Leith, describes social networks as a "fantastic nourisher of trend envy".
O'Loughlin agrees. "I had a moment of crippling anxiety when Google+ arrived and all the people I'd carefully curated on Twitter buggered off. It's that moment - 'Oh my God, I'm not relevant any more'."
Dr Bernie Hogan, research fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, says social media can reinforce the sense that one is missing out on the latest trends. "People are very selective of what they put online. But it's easy to forget about this selectivity and just think there's always a party somewhere and you're missing out on it."
It's hard to escape it all, says James Gleick, author of The Information: a History, a Theory, a Flood. Mankind is not passing through the information age, it's here to stay. "There's no cure for it. The sense of nagging anxiety about trends will always be there."
But if all else fails, why not switch off all your devices and open that book from 1850 you've always been meaning to start.
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No Thanks, Facebook: Poll Suggests Users Don’t Want Timeline

It’s large and in charge: Facebook Timeline is here to stay, so do you love it or hate it? Mostly hate it, according to a security firm poll of more than 4,000 Facebook users.
Timeline is Facebook’s way of jamming all your stuff into a kind of chronological feed. It replaces your profile and dumps all your photos, videos and posts into an info-stream organized according to the timeframe you originally uploaded or created them. That also means it’ll surface past status updates and photographs, making them easier for others to find and view. It hasn’t been fully rolled out yet, but will be soon, and participating isn’t optional — Facebook’s making it mandatory, as in “there’s no opt-out checkbox.”
Security researcher Sophos asked Facebook members what they thought of Facebook Timeline, to which 8% responded that they liked it and another 8% said they’d “get used to it” — call that 16% in favor. The remainder? Fifty-one percent found Facebook Timeline worrisome, while the remaining 32% said they weren’t sure why they still used the social networking service. That’s 83% with a negative take.
Sophos reminds readers its poll isn’t scientific, and that “the kind of people who participate in our polls might be more conscious of privacy and security-related issues than the average man in the street,” but says the results nonetheless indicate a general sense of unease with Facebook’s love-it-or-leave-it approach.
The Sophos employee who wrote about the poll was so put off by the amount of information Facebook Timeline surfaced (and, more importantly, the way it collated the data) that he deleted his Facebook account entirely.
What do you think, Techland readers? Are privacy or usage concerns about Facebook Timeline overblown? Or should the company have made participation optional?
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How One Little Android Update Caused a Big Headache

My Samsung Galaxy S II had been great to me. It’s a thin, light phone with a gorgeous Super AMOLED Plus display and a dual-core processor that handles Android with ease. When people asked me if I’d ever return to an iPhone–my previous handset was an iPhone 3GS–my answer was a cheery “nope!”
That was until last week, when AT&T delivered an Android 2.3.6 update to the Galaxy S II that destroyed its battery life. Before the update, the phone could easily last through a day of moderate use. After the update, the phone would lose about 8 percent of its battery per hour in standby. Even if I rarely touched the phone during the day, it was dead by bedtime.
I’m telling this story not just to rant–although I’m grateful for that opportunity–but to point out a risk that Android users face: An update that’s supposed to deliver nothing but good things could carry unforeseen consequences. Another example of this popped up this week, with users of Asus’ Transformer Prime reporting lock-ups and graphical glitches after updating to Android Ice Cream Sandwich.
I wasn’t alone in my battery drain problem. Similar complaints have appeared in forums on AT&T’s website, XDA-Developers forums and Android Central (where some T-Mobile users are reporting the same issue), but other users said they weren’t having any issues. This is both the best and worst kind of Android bug, because it’s less likely to merit immediate attention from the phone maker and wireless carriers when it doesn’t affect everyone.
When I asked Samsung Support over Twitter what was going on, the support team said it had passed my info on “for further evaluation.” After following up today, I was told to factory reset my phone (more on that shortly).
The Galaxy S II battery drain issue has even stumped the hackers at XDA-Developers, who haven’t been able to come up with a reliable fix. Some people are rooting their phones and rolling back to an earlier version of Android, but that can apparently introduce other problems, such as buggy Wi-Fi. Besides, rooting your phone voids the warranty, which is exactly what you don’t want to do when something goes wrong.
So today, I took Samsung’s advice and went nuclear, backing up all my data and resetting the phone to its factory defaults. Google’s built-in backup only restores apps, system settings, contacts, calendar info and e-mail, so before resetting, I coughed up $5 for MyBackup Pro so I could easily restore my home screen layout, text messages, phone calls, and photos as well. Neither process went smoothly, so I still have to spend a bunch of time tweaking my phone to get it back to its old state.
For now, I’m not quite sure whether the factory reset completely solved the problem. After about two hours of idle time, my phone’s battery is down about 10 percent, which isn’t stellar but seems better than it was before the update. Either way, I shouldn’t have to start from scratch whenever a system update comes around.
In fairness, buggy updates can happen on any smartphone platform. Windows Phone users and iPhone users have been victims too. But Android’s presence on many phones, with many slight variations in software, across several wireless carriers–yes, I’m talking about the dreaded “F” word–makes problems trickier to identify and fix.
If you’re really unlucky, like me, the companies who made your phone won’t be in any rush to help. The best you’ll get is some generic advice that may or may not solve the problem. If it doesn’t, and you don’t want to attempt hacking a fix on your own, getting a new phone under warranty is your only option.
Are my battery woes enough to make me swear off Android when it’s time for a new phone? No, because a lot can happen between now and then. But this is the first issue I’ve had that’s given me second thoughts.
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Megaupload users face data deletion US prosecutors warn

US prosecutors have said that data belonging to Megaupload users and stored by third parties could be deleted as soon as Thursday.
Users have been unable to access data since the file-sharing service was raided.
The warning was made in a letter filed by the US Attorney's Office.
Megaupload's lawyer Ira Rothken told the Associated Press that at least 50 million users had data which could be deleted.
Mr Rothken said that freezing of Megaupload's funds meant it was unable to pay those who were storing its data.
'Cautiously optimistic'
In the letter US prosecutors said that the data which might be deleted was being held by the storage companies Carpathia Hosting and Cogent Communications Group.
"It is our understanding that the hosting companies may begin deleting the contents of the servers beginning as early as 2 February," it said.
The letter explains that in its investigations the US "copied selected data" but did not remove any servers from the premises of either company.
It goes on to note that the data "remains at the premises controlled by, and currently under the control of Carpathia and Cogent.
"Should the defendants wish to obtain independent access... that issue must be resolved directly with Cogent or Carpathia."
However, in a statement Carpathia said: "Carpathia Hosting does not have, and has never had, access to the content on Megaupload servers and has no mechanism for returning any content residing on such servers to Megaupload's customers.
"The reference to the 2 Feb 2012 date in the Department of Justice letter for the deletion of content is not based on any information provided by Carpathia to the US Government."
The company said that users seeking to recover their data would need to contact Megaupload.
Cogent has not responded to an email sent by the BBC.
Earlier Megaupload's lawyer, Mr Rothken had told the Associated Press that he was "cautiously optimistic" that a deal could be done to save the data from being wiped.
He said that the information would be needed by the defence.
Legitimate data
Megaupload was shut down on 19 January.
It had about 150 million registered users, making it one of the most popular file-sharing services in the world.
US authorities are seeking to extradite founder Kim Dotcom, also known as Kim Schmitz, and three other defendants from New Zealand to the US.
Prosecutors have accused it of costing copyright holders more than $500m (£320m) in lost revenue.
But a number of users have said that they have been unable to access legitimately uploaded material as a result of the legal action.
After the shutdown one user tweeted, "I'm vehemently against copyright infringement: the files I lost were created & owned by me for my job."
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Why are sports stars prone to depression?

By Philippa Roxby Health reporter, BBC News
Michael Yardy England all-rounder Michael Yardy said he wanted to be honest about his reason for going home early.

Related Stories

When Michael Yardy flew home from the Cricket World Cup this week suffering from depression, he joined a long list of elite sportsmen who have made the difficult decision to seek help for a mental illness.
England batsman Marcus Trescothick left the Ashes tour to Australia in 2006 with what was described at the time as a "stress-related illness". Later he wrote a book about his battle against depression.
In an interview with BBC Sport programme Inside Sport in 2009, he recalled how he thought about harming himself to prove he had a problem.
"I considered hurting myself just to show people how much pain I was in," he said.
"If you've got a broken leg you've got a cast on your leg, people can see you've got a problem but when you've got mental problems there is nothing evident to people to show you need help."
Boxer Frank Bruno, Celtic football manager Neil Lennon and All Blacks rugby union star John Kirwan have also talked openly about their depression.
Admitting there is a problem is something sports people find extremely hard, not least because they are conditioned to be both physically and mentally tough.
Yet Yardy, the Sussex captain, found the strength to say: "I felt that it was the only sensible option for me and I wanted to be honest about the reason behind that decision."
If one in five people are affected by depression at some point in their lives, then it is not surprising that sports stars are prone to it too.
Ian Maynard, professor of sport psychology at Sheffield Hallam University, says the fact that sportsmen are not naturally emotional does not help.
"They don't wear their heart on their sleeve because that can cause problems in competition, so they tend to be more buttoned-up and get a mentally tough exterior."
Far from family
While some sportsmen are able to separate the day job from everything else and continue to perform at a high level, some cannot, and that is when the problems start.
Cricketers are well-known for the long international tours they have to endure - this latest one has lasted for more than five months and included long stays in Australia, India and Sri Lanka.

“Start Quote

It doesn't help if commentators are dismissive about it.”
Dr Victor Thompson Clincial sports psychologist
The pressures of playing international cricket in an unsettling environment far from family and friends for almost half a year must take its toll.
"If your performance isn't great on or off the pitch, or socially, it makes it even more difficult to hold things together," says clinical sports psychologist Dr Victor Thompson.
He maintains that professional sportsmen are no more prone to depression than anyone else, but he acknowledges that the stresses and strains of performing under constant media scrutiny are great.
When they become depressed it is not just that they are "not coping".
Dr Thompson explains: "To be clinically depressed there have to be symptoms and these have to cause clinical difficulty in the way you lead your life."
"As a sports person it's doing their job, focusing and performing that is affected."
'Washing machine effect'
Following Yardy's admission, former England captain Michael Vaughan was quick to say that depression is not a sign of weakness, but a physical illness.
"There's a lot of pressure playing in a World Cup but if you've got these issues you're never going to get the best out of yourself.
"I bet there are players in other sports who are struggling with depression and aren't being as upfront as some cricketers."
The "washing machine effect", as Professor Maynard calls it, of feeling lonely and isolated away from home with nothing to interrupt the vicious cycle, should be treated with appropriate counselling.
Counselling is the all-important first step. It helps confidence to return and gives a sports star someone to talk to about how they are feeling.
But experts say there are no hard-and-fast rules on how to treat a sportsman with depression.
In Dr Thompson's experience, the counsellor must carefully judge how to gain his patient's trust before trying to offer support.
"Working with a depressed athlete is like working with someone who feels a bit hopeless and negative about everything. You have to be careful and delicate with them."
What works for one sportsman will not work for another. Each depression is different.
During the earlier stages of the England cricket team's tour, the players would have had access to a sports psychologist who was part of their team.
But it is thought he was not present to counsel Yardy, because he too had returned home after months away from his family.
The reaction of friends and family once home is vitally important in starting the recovery process, says Dr Thompson.
"And it doesn't help if commentators are dismissive about it," he adds.
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Why do some people never get depressed?

By Geoff Watts BBC World Service
Smiling face, and brain activity it triggers

In today's Magazine

Confronted with some of life's upsetting experiences - marriage breakdown, unemployment, bereavement, failure of any kind - many people become depressed. But others don't. Why is this?
A person who goes through experiences like that and does not get depressed has a measure of what in the psychiatric trade is known as "resilience".
According to Manchester University psychologist Dr Rebecca Elliott, we are all situated somewhere on a slidling scale.
"At one end you have people who are very vulnerable. In the face of quite low stress, or none at all, they'll develop a mental health problem," she says.
"At the other end, you have people who life has dealt a quite appalling hand with all sorts of stressful experiences, and yet they remain positive and optimistic." Most of us, she thinks, are somewhere in the middle.

A measure of resilience

Aeron Haworth
Aeron, a subject in the Manchester study:
I used to have a business that we ended up having to close. I lost my employment, my income, and my home.
I'm generally a happy person. Everybody has stressful moments but there would be something wrong with you if you were happy all the time. But I haven't ever had an episode of depression.
In my childhood, when I first realised I was gay, I didn't come out to my parents or friends, not until I was much older. I think, perhaps, it resulted in me building up a strong defence mechanism and helped me deal with situations better later on in life.
I think that if there's a problem there's always a remedy. It's not that I don't think about stressful issues in my life, but I always think you can find a solution.
But what is this resilience? Is it something we inherit or do we learn it? Can it be traced in the chemistry of the brain? Or in its wiring, or its electrical activity? And if we lack it, can we acquire it?
The answer, regrettably, to all those questions is much the same. We don't really know. But we'd like to, and we need to. According to the World Health Organization, depression affects just over 120 million people worldwide.
"We think about a fifth of the UK population will suffer from depression at some point in their lifetime," says Bill Deakin, professor of psychiatry at Manchester University. Worryingly, he adds that more people are getting depressed now than in the past, and that it is beginning to affect younger people.
With the support of the Medical Research Council, Bill Deakin, Rebecca Elliott and their colleagues are peering into the brain, trying to fathom the origins and nature of resilience. They think that a better understanding of it might pay dividends in helping those who lack it.
The subjects of their study are a mixed bunch - intentionally so. Some have suffered bouts of depression, others have not. Some have had more than their share of adverse life events, while others have had an easier time of it.
In knowing where to start looking for the differences that might underpin resilience to depression the Manchester group has the advantage of being able to draw on previous work that has investigated resilience to post-traumatic stress disorder.
This, says Bill Deakin, has pointed them to several relevant features of brain function. They include cognitive flexibility - our capacity to adapt our thinking to different situations - and also the extent to which our brains concentrate on processing and remembering happy, as opposed to sad, information.
Emotional memory
Each subject in the Manchester study has been allocated to one of four groups based on the four possible combinations of high and low life stress, with or without depression. All have given saliva samples from which their stress hormone levels can be measured, and many of them will undergo a brain scan.

Depression - the global picture

  • Depression affects about 121 million people worldwide
  • Among the leading causes of disability worldwide
  • Fewer than 25% of those affected have access to effective treatments
  • 2011 survey found 15% of the population from high-income countries were likely to get depression over their lifetime - in low and middle-income countries the rate was 11%
  • Women twice as likely to suffer depression as men
Source: WHO World Mental Health Survey Initiative
A scanning technique much used by brain researchers called functional magnetic resonance imaging allows them to see which parts of the brain are active while subjects are performing specific tasks.
"In one task we give them pictures to look at which are emotionally charged," says Rebecca Elliot. "They have to memorise them." Shortly afterward they're shown these pictures again, with others, and have to identify those they've seen already. "This probes emotional memory - how well people remember material which has an emotional component to it."
The research is not yet complete, so Rebecca Elliott can't say whether there are distinct differences in brain function between the groups. But there are encouraging hints, such as the correlations she's finding between the psychological measurements of her subjects' resilience and how they perform on some of the tests.
"For example, our early data suggest that people who are more resilient are more likely to recognise happy faces and less likely to recognise sad or fearful faces. The more resilient someone is, the better they remember positive words and pictures."
Precisely how a clinician might eventually use whatever the Manchester research reveals about our brain activity is still an open question. What we refer to as resilience is the outcome of a complex and continuing set of interactions between our genes, our body chemistry, the wiring of our brains, and our life experiences.
But broadly speaking, the hope is that an understanding of the brain activity that underpins resilience might offer pointers towards new treatments, or better ways of using existing ones.
A resilience pill?
Bill Deakin talks of using brain scanning to create what he calls a "neuroscientific profile" of an individual's problem. This might be used to identify relevant aims and goals in deciding on the best treatment.

Find out more

  • Geoff Watts' two part programme on depression is broadcast on the BBC World Service programme Discovery
A patient may turn out to have normally functioning cognitive flexibility but a tendency to dwell on sad thoughts. "This might allow you to tailor-make a therapy to reduce the likelihood of a further episode of depression," says Deakin. In the first instance this would most likely be a talking therapy of some kind.
Responding to the suggestion that a drug, a daily "resilience pill", tailored to our brain activity or chemistry might be a useful development, Rebecca Elliott is cautious. "I suppose this is something that would theoretically be possible," she says. "Whether people would be willing to take that kind of drug, I'm not sure."
But whatever the means, finding some way to boost resilience is an ambition well worth pursuing. To be assured of that you have only to compare Aeron's experiences with those of Pauline, another of the Manchester research subjects.
While out of work, struggling financially, and single-handedly responsible for three children, Pauline had several bouts of depression during which she felt completely isolated. "And emotionally I was very detached. I would come in and sit on my bed and cry. And when it got so bad I didn't want to be with the children, that's when I went to the doctor."
No clinician can yet prescribe what she most needs - resilience. But one day… maybe.
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