Downtime

November 2009

• Take a break from the IT department with IT Manager III

  Bill Goodwin - Computer Weekly 30 Nov 2009

Forget Championship Manager. If you really want to relax after a hard days work in the IT department you need IT manager III. This strategy game created by Intel could be bigger than World of ...

• Does my tum look big on this?

  Bryan Glick - Editor in chief 30 Nov 2009

In these troubled times, time itself is clearly at a premium for the busy health-conscious IT professional. But worry no more, for now you no longer need to waste precious seconds glancing down at ...

• Home Tweet Home

  Warwick Ashford - Senior analyst 30 Nov 2009

Everyone now everything seems to be sending messages via the Twitter microblogging service, including a 16th century cottage. Isle of Wight resident Andy Stanford-Clark has installed hundreds of ...

• Mobile love gets husband into hot water

  Warwick Ashford - Senior analyst 30 Nov 2009

Mobile phones make life a lot easier, but failure to end calls properly could turn out rather badly as a businessman in China found out. Gao Meng called his wife, but did end the call properly ...

• Swiss stay on fence

  Karl Flinders - Emea Content Editor, Computer Weekly 30 Nov 2009

Two Swiss human rights organisations (HROs) have been monitoring computer war games to see if they flout international humanitarian law. Games, including Modern Warfare: Call Of Duty and Conflict ...

• You have been unfriended

  Karl Flinders - Emea Content Editor, Computer Weekly 30 Nov 2009

In a recent awards ceremony 'Unfriend' was named word-of-the-year by the New Oxford American Dictionary. It is defined as the act of removing a 'friend' from your contact list on a social or ...

• Proof there should not be an iPhone app for everything

  Warwick Ashford - Senior analyst 26 Nov 2009

iPhone makers Apple are keen to boast there is an iPhone app for everything, but two Texans have proved there should be exceptions to the rule. They have developed an iPhone app that enables them ...

• Websurfing no longer deadly for teenagers in China

  Warwick Ashford - Senior analyst 26 Nov 2009

Teenage websurfers in China can now indulge their passions without fear of physical punishment, which has been banned as a form of "treatment" for internet addiction. The ban comes after the death ...

• Bruce Schneier gets dolled up

  Cliff Saran - Managing Editor 24 Nov 2009

Own a Bruce Schneier doll

• Dirty Den to return from Emmerdale and Coronation Street.

  Karl Flinders - Emea Content Editor, Computer Weekly 24 Nov 2009

Downtime saw the news that the Christmas scripts of soap opera EastEnders could get into the wrong hands. A laptop and the scripts were taken from a scriptwriter's home during a burglary. The BBC ...

• Computers don't smoke

  Karl Flinders - Emea Content Editor, Computer Weekly 24 Nov 2009

Downtime was shocked to read that a consumer in the US was told his computer warranty was void because it had been used in the company of smokers. When his computer overheated he was told by the ...

• Texting killed the reindeer star

  Karl Flinders - Emea Content Editor, Computer Weekly 17 Nov 2009

Well over half of people will dispense with Christmas card this year and send a text message instead. According to a survey carried out by www.rightmobilephone.co.uk people only seem to bother ...

• Lotteries pose business continuity risk

  Karl Flinders - Emea Content Editor, Computer Weekly 17 Nov 2009

News that a group of call centre workers won a staggering £91m in the lottery should come as a warning to businesses outsourcing or offshoring work. We wonder how many will continue to field calls ...

• Catholic Church asks Google how to connect to masses

  Karl Flinders - Emea Content Editor, Computer Weekly 17 Nov 2009

The Catholic Church is receiving tutoring from internet experts about how best to communicate in the modern world. Officials from the likes of Google, Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia are helping ...

• Barrichello gets consolation prize

  Karl Flinders - Emea Content Editor, Computer Weekly 17 Nov 2009

Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello has had a cash bonus. Despite losing this year's championship he is going to receive at least $500,000 from Google after a court ruled that damages should be ...