Industry / technology news update 02/05/08

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I'm guessing that most people in the tech industry must have been watching the snooker considering there seems to be more green baize related headlines (two 147s in a week) than tech industry news. However, there have been a few interesting things that are noteworthy, so I'll cue them up now. First off is news that Microsoft are planning on releasing a "senior PC" aimed at older users. It aims to be much simpler to use than a standard PC. Personally I think there's some younger members of my own family that could benefit from it (one of whom told me that they were going to get 8MPG broadband the other day). Within a week of me saying that I couldn't wait for Google to add Street View to a GPS device they have announced that they will be a step closer to this by adding Street View to Google Map's driving instructions. The aim is to give drivers more confidence that they are on the right roads but I'm not sure it will stop my wife from driving on the wrong side of the road. One step at a time. I expect more surfers will be heading to Scarborough seaside after it was announced this week that free WiFi is o be introduced. I'm not sure I'll be in a rush to be building sand castles while using my laptop but it will certainly be useful for handheld devices (including VoIP calls) and ad-hoc internet use from local cafes. iTunes get serious with movie downloads as they announce a deal with many of the major film production companies that will see them release downloadable movies on the same day as their DVD release. Could this be what tips the balance away from DVDs? You'll certainly need a brave heart to back DVD movies in the long-term. We're still waiting but have the Windows (TM) of opportunity closed? The Microsoft-imposed deadline has passed for Yahoo! and still there is no news on the acquisition. Speculators believe Microsoft will either abandon the deal or will aggressively pursue it through the shareholders. I'd be surprised if the silence continued for another week. Don't worry if some time in the future you get sent a text message and suddenly start to smell something. It will either be that someone nearby is suffering from flatulence or you will have purchased a new phone that supports smelly SMS. It may sound like an April Fool but a German firm have just patented that very technology and expect phones to support it within 2 years. Do you live in a flat without a balcony? Do you want a balcony but don't want to move flat? Or maybe you want a balcony attached to your house? Anyway, for a bit on the side you could do a lot worse than this electronic balcony. It slides open over the side of the building and slides back in when you're finished. I've been following the automated homes website for a while and can't help but drool sometimes. Well, I said that I didn't have too many headlines this week but before I go I'll just remind you that the Blog Awards '08 are open for voting, so if you like PlusNet's Community Site then maybe you'd be interested in voting Remember, if you've got some industry news that you want to tell us about then feel free to add a comment to this blog for others to read. Have a good weekend, I'm off to see the rest of the Hendry/O'Sullivan match. Dan