Tis the Season to be jolly, they tell me, and as lots of us pack up for an end of year holiday, here are some ways your computer can be part of your holiday fun. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas 1. These days, it's not just the kids sending Santa letters, Santa sends them videos too. Create a personalised message for a child (or adult) in your life quickly and easily with Portable North Pole. And they're now even ...

Earlier this week, Microsoft stated that it would be unceremoniously pulling out of the spotlight at the Las Vegas CES. The mastermind behind Windows 7 said that it prefers to interact with key industry players off-stage. It will still, however, maintain a product booth. The 2012 CES (Consumer Electronics Show) will also be the final time Microsoft makes its presence known at the States' premier gadget fair. Microsoft vice president of corporate communications Frank Show explained the decision, saying: "We won't ...

This year the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences will honour tech legend, Steve Jobs, with a technical Grammy for his contributions to music distribution and consumption. The late CEO is being honoured alongside Dave Bartholomew, composer for 50s rock and roll artist Fats Domino, as well as recording engineer, Rudy Van Gelder. According to a statement from Grammy organisers, the Apple co-founder, "helped create products and technology that transformed the way we consume music, TV, movies, and books. ...

Apple has finalised an acquisition deal for Israeli flash memory maker Anobit. The deal was widely reported by Israeli news services and is thought to be worth around US$400-million. "The deal was closed on Friday and yesterday the company's staff were notified," business daily The Marker reported. "Anobit has developed flash controllers for devices which are reportedly already embedded in Apple's iPads and iPhones," Globes daily added. Anobit was founded in 2006, and has 200 employees. The company claims its technology "significantly ...

Natural Body product company Body Thrills launched recently launched its eCommerce play. The site, formerly a blog with a basic ordering form, has rebranded and gone full eCommerce just in time for the holiday buying season. We sat down with majority shareholder and founder, Tamaryn Watkins, to get the scoop behind their products and approach: Memeburn: Tell us more about how Body Thrills started. Tamaryn Watkins: It all started three years ago. I was a new stay-at-home mom at the time, finishing ...

We all know that the digital revolution is changing the world. But just how far has it transformed the global marketplace? It’s not all that long ago that, if you wanted to buy something, you needed to go to a store. Today you can shop anywhere in the world with the touch of a mobile phone, compare competitors' prices while shopping in a retail store, and then share your views with hundreds, if not millions, of people through social networking ...

The data commissioner in Ireland has told Facebook to make its privacy policy easier to understand. It also told the world’s largest social network to make the policy easier to understand. The suggestions are significant given that Facebook’s international headquarters are in Ireland. Following a three-month commercial audit, the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) said Facebook should work towards "simpler explanations of its privacy policies (and) ... easier accessibility and prominence of these policies." The commissioner also called on the social network ...

Music, now more than ever before, needs to make its mark in an ever-fickle market. Rampant piracy, combined with legal downloads and streaming services, have all but destroyed the traditional revenue market for music. This is where a website like Airborne steps in. Why AirBorne? Because "Music is the virus, and the virus is AirBorne." Catchy. It's like Spotify, but not really. Well, if you're prepared to listen to music which is uploaded by the recording artists only, then it's ...

An innovative smartphone app that allows women to immediately alert friends and family if they feel threatened launched in the Indian Capital, Delhi. The app is aimed at curbing the rising number of sexual assault cases in the city. The app, called “Fight Back” was created by Indian non-profit organisation Whypoll. Should a woman feel threatened, all she needs to do is tap a single key and Fight Back will reportedly send out an SOS message via SMS, Facebook, and ...

If your kids or you (I don't judge) haven't sent your letters to Santa Claus by now then it's a little late (Christmas is only a few days away), I am afraid. Or is it? It seems the man in red really wants to be reached this year, so he has made it possible for good boys and girls who were too busy, say...chasing deadlines, to send in their requests. It would be silly for the age of social media ...