Vint Cerf, one of the creators of the internet and currently Google’s chief internet evangelist, made some bold predictions at the recent MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival (MGEITF), conjuring up visions of a Martian internet and super-fast downloads.Presenting the Alternative McTaggart lecture at the festival, Cerf’s speech was quite different from Jeremy Paxman’s lament for… Continue reading MGEITF 2007: Internet ‘Godfather’ Looks To The Future

The controversial BBC documentary on the Queen might never be shown, according to Peter Fincham, controller of BBC One.Speaking at the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival (MGEITF), Fincham said: “I certainly hope that we will screen the series, a lot of talking is going on in the background – I can’t say whether or… Continue reading MGEITF 2007: Queen Documentary Might Never Be Shown

The results of a survey conducted by the Internet Advertising Bureau have revealed that two out of three UK gamers are positive about the brands they see advertised in games. Over half of the 3,500 UK gamers surveyed said that they had seen an in-game advertisement in the past 12 months. One third said that… Continue reading UK Gamers Positive About In-Game Ads

Worldwide sales of mobile phones to end users in the second quarter of 2007 reached 270.9 million units, a 17.4% increase from the same period last year, according to new figures from Gartner. It predicts worldwide mobile phone sales will reach 1.13 billion units in 2007. Carolina Milanesi, research director for mobile devices research at… Continue reading Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales Grew 17% In Q2 2007

Nearly three quarters of the public claim they will not take part in a television phone-in competition again, judging them difficult to trust following this summer’s scandals.The poll was commissioned for the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International TV Festival (MGEITF) for its “Trust Me…I’m in Telly” panel debate, which will feature Andy Duncan, chief executive of Channel… Continue reading MGEITF 2007: Phone-Ins Lose Popularity Through Trust Issues

An extra 24,000 customers have signed up to BT’s IPTV service, BT Vision, in the past two months, according to reports in the trade press.The customer base has more than doubled since the last figures released at the end of June, according to unofficial figures from a source at BT Vision.The source stated that BT… Continue reading BT Vision Subscribers Up 24,000 in Two Months

thelondonpaper and London Lite have reached an agreement with Westminster council over clearing up discarded copies, with the two titles each buying and managing recycling bins in the West End of London.In addition to the council’s regular street sweeping, the newspapers will also conduct regular litter collections.News International, publisher of thelondonpaper, will look after recycling… Continue reading Freesheets Reach Recycling Agreement

New software for the Playstation 3 will allow the console to become a personal video recorder, letting users record and playback digital terrestrial television.The PlayTV software will be available first in the UK, France, Germany and Spain from early next year, with more countries to follow.Recorded programmes can be streamed over a wireless internet connection… Continue reading PS3 To Become PVR

Channel 4 has announced it is to “rest” the Celebrity Big Brother format, following a shake-up of the channel’s 9pm weeknight slot.This year’s series brought huge controversy to the channel following alleged bullying and racism from several housemates including Jade Goody (see Big Brother Controversy Could Force C4 To Rethink Remit).Julian Bellamy, Channel 4 head… Continue reading Peak Revamp Spells “Rest” For Celeb Big Brother

The News of The World‘s Sunday magazine is about to undergo a complete revamp, with the mag understood to be going more upmarket.Jane Johnson, News of the World deputy editor and editorial director of the magazine, is supervising the changes after hiring a raft of new staff, says a report on MediaGuardian.co.uk.Mandy Appleyard, a contributing… Continue reading News Of The World Magazine Gets Revamp