Monday 26 March 2012

How private is your data online?

With the news that Google has changed its rules on how it uses customers’ personal data – sharing it across Google’s different products – debates continue on whether consumers should be concerned on how their private information is used. In an article on the Business section of the BBC website, James Melik looks at both sides of the debate. The European and American view on personal privacy is compared – how much the free market should be allowed to use the data we input online. Jeff Chester from the Centre for Digital Democracy is quoted as saying "In Europe, privacy is enshrined as a civil right… with embedded important civil safeguards around privacy… between the citizen and the corporate sphere and the government." Looking at the U.S. he says "… it is in fact the free market which determines most of the policies when it comes to the internet." See where you stand on the debate http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17369659

Monday 19 March 2012

BAFTA Games Awards 2012

Reflecting the continuing rise and importance of the video games design sector, the annual BAFTA Video Games award ceremony took place last week. Categories included Innovation, Artistic Achievement and Best Mobile and Handheld Game. As well as listing all winners of the awards with footage of the ceremony hosted by Dara O’Briain, the BAFTA site has a specific section for young game designers.
The ‘Learn from the Experts’ section has interviews with game design professionals covering the wide range of skills that a successful game requires. From the Chief Technology Officer at Mind Candy, the developers of the successful Moshi Monsters, to other level designers and concept artists on many other games, the site is a useful resource for those thinking of a move into the industry. For more about the skills required in the U.K. games industry visit the BAFTA page at http://ygd.bafta.org/top-tips-for-entry/learn-from-the-experts

Sunday 11 March 2012

When and where to invest in IT

Many companies struggle in deciding exactly when and where to invest in new information technology, according to an article on the BBC technology website. With so many options, choosing the right innovation in business IT can mean an expensive gamble. The article first considers the warning signs of when the business is really crying out for a ‘technology facelift’ such as ‘Users whose jobs depend on the technology in question have to find ways "around", or ways to "augment" the system in order to do their jobs.’ Once a need is obvious however, there are also warnings against subscribing to the first thing available. Online business manager, Kate Gerry, interviewed for the article, warns against 'Shiny Object Syndrome' where particularly small businesses want to "just get the newest gadget or technology out on the market". For case studies on how some companies have taken the technology leap read the full article at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17224517

Monday 5 March 2012

The Raspberry Pi – inspiration for the IT sector?

Does the inspiration for your software career stretch back to the days of the Sinclair Spectrum and the BBC Micro? If so you may appreciate what the team behind the Raspberry Pi are trying to do for the next generation of computer programmers. The Raspberry Pi is a credit card sized computer, selling for just £22, and can be programmed by users, including British school children. According to a review in the Guardian newspaper, once the computer is used in schools students will be able to ‘learn to control computers, rather than be controlled by them.” Demand from all areas of the industry has been so high that the website, of the charitable foundation behind the product, crashed last week. Eben Upton, a Cambridge-based engineer, developed the idea when he realised that new graduates "[didn't] seem to know enough about what a computer really was or how it worked”. Find out more including demonstration videos at http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/feb/29/raspberry-pi-computer-sale-british