Tag archive: Oxford

The Oxford Dictionaries Online has officially declared “NSFW,” “newb” and “Twittersphere,” among other Internet slang terms, real words. The dictionary, which is considered one of the preeminent authorities on the English language, is actively taking steps to incorporate the language used online into the approved lexicon. The words were added because “the world of computers and social networking… Read More

Sony Electronics has decided to amp up the electronic book competition with Amazon.com, announcing two new digital ebook readers as well as price reductions at its Sony eBook Store, all designed to lure consumers into Sony's world and away from the runaway success of the Amazon Kindle. "We firmly believe consumers should have choice in every aspect of their digital reading experience," said Sony Digital Reading Business… Read More

Sites like CafePress have made custom t-shirts with your favorite band logo or goofy DIY illustration old hat for years now, but customizing anything other than weekend wear hasn’t been doable without a trip to the local tailor. That changed early last month with the launch of ShirtsMyWay, a site for custom dress shirts that allows users to choose everything from the color of the buttonholes to the measurement across the chest, and… Read More

25 British Prime Ministers have gone to Oxford. But when it comes to Nobel laureates, Cambridge has the edge on its rival. Yes, the competition between the two venerable British universities is strong. But this is the 21st century, so the Guardian reports that the pair are competing on a new battlefield – iTunes. Between them, Oxford and Cambridge are putting around 450 hours of free podcasts, lectures, films and admissions guides… Read More

If you’ve ever had fantasies of being a real James Bond, Facebook might be the best place to start that new career. Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service – better known as MI6, the organization that runs agents abroad – has begun advertising for recruits on the social networking site, a big turnaround from the times (quite recent times, in fact) when it would quietly look for the qualified among Oxford and… Read More

Andrew Chapman received an extra surprise with the computer he bought on eBay for $70. When he examined the hard drive, the IT manager from Oxford, England, was astonished to discover it contained details on a million bank customers. There was sensitive personal data on customers of NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and American Express, including account numbers, credit card balances, sort codes, signatures, names, addresses, mobile phone… Read More

Other World Computing has introduced a new 500 GB model in its Mercury On-The-Go line of portable hard drives. The 500 GB edition features three interfaces—USB 2.0 FireWire 400, and FireWire 800—and a 5,400 rpm drive. But, perhaps best of all for a portable drive, the 500 GB drive can be powered off a host computer's FireWire or USB bus…although USB 2.0 operation still needs an AC adapter. The 500 GB On-The-Go… Read More

Motorola might have rolled out the MOTOKRZR way back in mid-2006 when it was trying to capitalize on the starting-to-wane popularity of its RAZR phones. But Boost Mobile thinks now is the “perfect time” to add the flip phone to its lineup—specifically, its Unlimited by Boost offering available at wireless retailers as well as locations like Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, and Sprint retail stores (Boost is a wholly-owned subsidiary… Read More

Do you have an interest in old, obscure books? Then the British Library wants your attention. Over the next few years they’re going to digitize more than 100,000 volumes from their collection, focusing on books from the 19th century, many of which have been out of print for decades.   "By digitizing the whole collection, we give access to the books without the filter of later judgments, whether based on taste or on the… Read More

It’s something that might bring joy to many who fight their way to work every day. According to a new report, telecommuting – working from home via your computer – can be a factorin helping to combat climate change.   The report was sponsored by BT Conferencing and Danish company Giritech, and backed by the Trades Union Council, the Confederation of British Industry, as well as Greenpeaceand Friends of the Earth.  It… Read More

A year-long study by the OpenNet Initiative, detailed at a conference in Oxford, England, examined the practices of 41 countries to learn about online government surveillance and censorship. The results? Where five years ago only a handful of states were filtering Internet content, the study found 25 of the countries it examined were engaged in state-mandated filtering and censorship of online content, and the filtering is becoming more… Read More

Google has expanded its much-debated Google Book Search to enable users to download complete copies of public domain books in PDF format. When using Google Book Search, users can access a complete version via the services' Full View button; if the book is in the public domain and a complete version is available, a Download button will be shown. Google is not enabling the download of books which are under current copyright; at present,… Read More

And the New Oxford Dictionary 2005 Word of the Year is...podcast. This was the choice announced yesterday by the publishers of the venerable dictionary, beating out bird flu, ICE, lifehack and reggaeton, among others. Podcast, defined by the New Oxford Dictionary as "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player", was chosen by the… Read More

Search engine company Google has introduced a beta version of its controversial Google Print a new service aimed at making million of printed documents searchable via the Web. For now, the free Google Print enables users to search the complete text of public domain works, books, government documents, and other printed works free of copyright restrictions. Users can enter search queries in the same way they normally use Google's… Read More

The group will identify which parts of the MPEG-4 standard are applicable, and review strategies for possible implementation. It will operate under the auspices of the 1394 Trade Association's Architecture Work Group, which is chaired by Peter Johansson. Don Harwood of Oxford Semiconductor, a leading member of the 1394 Trade Association, will direct the MPEG-4 over IEEE 1394 project, and the group will meet regularly beginning in March… Read More