25 years ago today, the world's first computer virus was born in Lahore, Pakistan -- a development that would spawn countless problems for ordinary users and a multi-billion dollar industry dedicated to protecting the world's information from malicious software.As reported by Time magazine in 1988, a shop called Brain Computer Services, run by a pair of brothers, Amjit and Basit Farooq Alvi, was in the business of selling brand-name computer programs, like Lotus 1-2-3 and WordStar. The programs, which ...

After locking my BlackBerry away for the Christmas break and enjoying the consequent peace and quiet, I’ve decided that 2011 is the year we should start de-cluttering our digital lives, and filtering out the tons of useless information we’re bombarded with on a daily basis.One of the best ways to begin is to learn how and when to use specific social networks to get the best out of them, and still save some time for yourself away from your ...

Few small business owners and entrepreneurs have the bandwidth or the budget to launch a full scale marketing campaign. Combine this with a lack of critical mass in terms of audience associated with the larger competing organisations/brands, and it almost seems hopeless to try and compete. However, with the dawn of the digital age and the rise of social media platforms and opportunities, the sky has quite literally become the limit. It is no longer just about having the traditional ...

Take a look at the amazing chart below. Orange Uganda has seen local traffic jump from 3Mbs to over 30Mbs in just two weeks due to partnering and implementing Google’s Global Cache. One wonders how much business they’re starting to chip away at from their competition.In layman’s terms, it works like this: Once anyone in Uganda using Orange has visited a website (especially Google’s data heavy ones like YouTube, Google Maps or even Search results), that the content is cached ...

In a sure sign of things to come, US coffee chain Starbucks on Wednesday began allowing customers in its US stores to keep their cash and credit cards in their wallets and pay for their drinks with mobile phones, after downloading the free Starbucks Card mobile application.Starbucks said the mobile payment system, which has been tested in selected cities since last year, was being expanded to the nearly 6 800 Starbucks around the country, as well as the more than ...

Steve Jobs is known as a big prude, banning applications and other iPad content that feature nude or sexual content on the iPad.No sooner that he announces a leave of absence on medical grounds, Hugh Hefner, announces that Playboy, both old and new, will be available on the iPad in March.The octogenarian publisher, in a message via his Twitter account, @hughhefner, said current and back issues of Playboy would be available on the Apple device in March."Big news! Playboy ...

Only a year or two ago, developed countries were dominating Facebook, but in terms of growth it’s the developing economies that are taking giant leaps forward in Facebook numbers. While the United States seems to have hit a plateau, the emerging markets are going from strength to strength.India has moved up three spots in just two months, while Mexico and the Philippines feature strongly too. It seems fair to assume that as online access increases, so will the Facebook ...

While it's fun to comment on which new shooter will capture the imagination of hardcore gamers this year, there are wider trends and factors which are impacting the gaming environement in 2011, making it one of the most innovative and exciting arenas of the digital landscape.Here are six areas where gaming is undertaking a quantum leap.Smartphone gamingThis goes for all app developers out there, not just in the gaming industry: Wake up and smell the Android! Smaller gaming franchises ...

Since 2009, Google has been blocked from providing software downloads to Iran. However, Google announced on its blog that some of the US government's export controls and sanctions programs that prohibited software downloads to Iran have been lifted.The search giant has made mapping, photo-sharing, and Web browsing software available for the first time to people in Iran. "For the first time, we are making Google Earth, Picasa and Chrome available for download in Iran," Google export compliance programs manager Neil ...

Science fiction has long forewarned the rise of the machine and the ultimate end of humanity. It's usually the realm of late night geek discussions, or perhaps lunatics wrapped snugly in straitjackets.In the popular movie “Terminator” an artificial intelligence network called Skynet becomes self-aware and initiates a nuclear holocaust on mankind. “The Matrix” depicts a future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated virtual reality created by sentient machines to pacify and subdue the ...