by Dan Miller, Macworld.com

Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad today. Positioned between a smartphone and a laptop, the tablet does many of the same things as the iPhone, but on a bigger, more easily viewed screen.

Steve Jobs shows off Apple’s iPad on Wednesday.

Demonstrating the iPad at an event in San Francisco, Jobs showed how it could be used for e-mail and Web browsing, viewing photos, managing calendars and contacts, listening to music, viewing video, and more.

The iPad is a half-inch thick, weighs 1.5 pounds, and has a 9.7-inch LCD screen. It’s run by a custom-made 1GHz CPU, and comes with 16, 32, or 64GB of flash storage. For connectivity, it has 802.11n, WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1. Jobs claimed it will get up to 10 hours of battery life.

In addition to the built-in Apple apps, the iPad will also run third-party software. Senior Vice President Scott Forstall said that the tablet will run most existing iPhone apps unmodified, right out of the box. Those apps can run at their existing size in a black box or can be doubled to run in full-screen mode.

Apple is also making a software development kit available to developers, to help create apps specifically for the new device. To demonstrate what vendors could do with those tools, Forstall introduced representatives from Gameloft, Electronic Arts, the New York Times, and MLB.com to show off iPad apps they’d already built.

Jobs also introduced a new app, called iBooks, to manage e-books on the iPad. While crediting Amazon for its pioneering efforts with the Kindle, he announced that Apple was opening its own e-book store for the iPad. He said that Penguin, Harper-Collins, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, and other publishers were already signed up to supply titles. Those titles will use the ePub format—an open e-book standard.

Original article link

by Philip Michaels, Macworld.com

As part of its new iPad tablet unveiled Wednesday, Apple has come out with an e-book reading app. Dubbed iBooks, the app lets you read e-books on the iPad’s 9.7-inch LCD screen.

“Amazon’s done a great job of pioneering this functionality with the Kindle, so we’re going to stand on its shoulders,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at Wednesday’s product launch.

iBooks lets users buy and download electronic books directly from the iPad. Users will buy books through Apple’s new iBook Store, which will be fully integrated into the app. From the iBooks demo on Wednesday, it appears book prices will be between $8 and $15.

Jobs said that five of the largest publishers—Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Hachette Book Group—will have content on the store.

iBooks will use the EPUB standard, the most popular open book format in the world.

“We think iPad will be a terrific e-book reader for popular books and textbooks,” Jobs said.

Original article link

Apple introduces iWork for iPad

by Roman Loyola, Macworld.com

Apple today at its iPad introduction announced a new version of iWork designed specifically for the iPad. The iWork for iPad application suite broadens the potential target audience for the iPad.

iWork is Apple productivity software suite, which includes Keynote (for presentations), Numbers (spreadsheets), and Pages (word processing). The new iWork for iPad suite takes advantage of the iPad’s multitouch input.

At today’s event, Apple’s Phil Schiller demonstrated each app on the iPad. All of the iWork apps launch to a library of documents that allow you to tap on the document you want to open. An on-screen keyboard appears when you need to type text.

Keynote runs only in landscape mode, since slides are designed horizontally. Pages has a new tool called Page Navigator, where you hold your finger on the right of the iPad’s screen and it brings up a loupe that lets you skim through your pages. All three iWork apps come with templates to help you create documents quickly.

The iWork for iPad apps are $10 each and will be available at the iTunes App Store.

Original article link

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The programs, ‘Broadband Technology Opportunities Program’ and ‘Broadband Initiatives Program’, created as a result of the funding allocation from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), are awarding funds based on their first application period. While the large telecommunications providers chose not to participate in the first application period, it is possible that a second round could be of interest. Nevertheless, the programs have received a large number of applications for funding grants from public and private parties interested in completing broadband service projects. All funds from these programs, approximately $7.2 billion, must be awarded by Sept. 20, 2010.

Fitch’s ‘Biannual Telecommunications Regulatory Register’ addresses the topic of the National Broadband Plan, the status of the $7.2 billion recovery act broadband program and an update on net neutrality. The report aims to give the reader an ability to evaluate the potential effects of regulatory developments on industry participants. In addition, the report provides a review of important regulatory developments in the U.S. telecommunications industry over the past six months. The full report is available on Fitch’s web site at ‘www.fitchratings.com’.

Additional information is available at ‘www.fitchratings.com’.

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY’S PUBLIC WEBSITE ‘WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM’. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH’S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE ‘CODE OF CONDUCT’ SECTION OF THIS SITE.

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The Windows 7 rollout has gone extraordinarily well, with millions of machines upgraded in just a few weeks.

But some Win7 upgraders have encountered problems ranging from installation headaches to missing games to confusing — boy howdy, really confusing — licensing questions.

Why does the Windows 7 installer freeze?

• “I downloaded and ran the Windows 7 upgrade. I keep getting an error message saying, ‘We are unable to create or save new files in the folder in which this application was downloaded.’ I have all sorts of room on that hard drive. What’s happening?”
  

This is the most common installation error I’ve seen. If you downloaded your Windows 7 upgrade from Digital River, you have my sympathies. Digital River provided order fulfillment for Microsoft’s Windows 7 Academic Store. I don’t know why, but Digital River decided to offer the download in .box files instead of the more-common .iso format.

There was no end of problems with the .box files. Microsoft has a voluminous post on the problems — including resolutions — in its Answers forum. Ultimately, Digital River started offering .iso files. Go back to the Digital River site and download the Win7 upgrade again. Problem solved — after much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

• “I tried to run an in-place upgrade from Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Home Premium, but the installer gets stuck at 62%. I turn off the computer, turn it back on again, and Vista rolls itself back fine. But when I run the Win7 install again, it gets stuck at 62%. Again. Why?”
  

I mentioned in my Nov. 12 Top Story that running a Windows 7 in-place upgrade over Vista is like building a new house on an old landfill — there are reasons why I always recommend custom/clean installs, folks!

That said, it seems that 62 is Windows 7′s unlucky number. Lots and lots of in-place upgrade attempts stall at 62%, and there seem to be several causes for the problem.

Fortunately, the solution is easy — if you know where to find it. Microsoft provides an automated Fix-it button in Knowledge Base article 975253. This service reaches into your Vista machine and adds an “environment variable” called:

MIG_UPGRADE_IGNORE_PLUGINS

This variable instructs the upgrade installer to ignore a program called IphlpsvcMigPlugin.dll. (Remember Superman and Mr. Mxyzptlk? Must be related.) That does the trick.

• “I’m trying an in-place upgrade from Vista to Windows 7, and the installer goes into endless reboots. I get an ‘installation failed’ message and the PC reboots, only to go back to the installation again, a failure, and another boot. Haaaaalp!”
  

There are myriad reasons why this is happening, but one in particular seems to come up fairly frequently. Jerry Ham was able to reproduce the error, as he explains in a blog post on the MS Answers forum. The glitch appears to be caused by a misdirected Documents folder.

Thankfully, Jerry’s post also provides a solution. Instead of redirecting the Documents folder to a subfolder of Documents also named Documents, Jerry points it to the primary Documents folder. After this change, the upgrade proceeds without a hitch.

Hey, where did Windows 7 put my games?

• “I encountered problems with XP, so I decided to upgrade to Windows 7. I had it installed by a professional. Now when I click Start, Games, I can’t see any games! I am a FreeCell addict. Looking on the Web for an answer only made me more frustrated. Who stole my games?”
  

Several people have asked me the same question. I have no idea why your games disappeared, but I do know how to bring them back. Click Start, Control Panel, Programs (in Category view), Programs and Features. Select Turn Windows features on or off in the left pane, make sure the box next to Games is checked, and click OK. The games will then appear on the Start menu, right where they belong.

How many upgrades am I allowed per install disc?

• “I recently upgraded my desktop PC from Vista to Windows 7 and it works beautifully! I also have a laptop running Vista. My question is, can I use the same software to upgrade my laptop as well? Some people have said yes, and some absolutely not — could you help me out here?”
  

Technically, it’s possible to use the same DVD to upgrade any number of PCs. But when the time comes to enter the validation key, the second (or third or fourth) machine won’t pass muster. Microsoft makes its money by selling those keys, so you’ll have to buy one for each system you upgrade.

The exception is the Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Family Pack, which lists for US $150, but you can get it cheaper. The Family Pack lets you use a single key to upgrade three different PCs. Microsoft’s Family Pack page provides more information about this multiple-PC upgrade option. (24 Plus News Editors Note – Available from PC World in the UK, at date of this article – roughly £30 cheaper than direct from Microsoft!)

• “The Windows 7 upgrade box I bought has two DVDs in it — one for the 32-bit version and one for the 64-bit version. Does that mean I can install it on two PCs?”
  

Nope. You can install Windows 7 on as many systems as you like, but the key in the box will activate only one of them. The same key will activate either the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version, but not both.

Can I use the OEM version of Windows 7?

• “I am about to buy a copy of Win7 Pro. I can get it from any number of places, but one in particular [name withheld to protect the guilty] offers it at a very reduced price. I was wondering if you have any info on the legitimacy of this site.”
  

A quick search brought up several warnings about the site and company you mentioned. In general, I recommend that people avoid buying OEM system-builder versions of Windows. They aren’t supported by Microsoft, and many online stores selling OEM versions are, ahem, less than trustworthy.

In spite of what you may have heard — indeed, in spite of what you may have read on the Microsoft site years ago — the OEM license allows you to install an OEM version only on PCs that you or your company sell and support. Confusing? You bet.

On Nov. 15, ZDNet blogger Ed Bott posted a very thorough analysis of the situation. Even though many reputable retailers are openly selling the OEM package to end users, the license stipulates that the OEM version may not be installed on a PC that you’ve built for your own use. Bott recommends in the conclusion to his post that you go ahead and do it anyway.

With the price of Win7 Home Premium upgrades running in the fire-sale range, why sweat it? Get an upgrade and don’t muck around in the OEM shenanigans. (I’ll go into more detail about the Windows 7 system-builder option in a future article.)

Why can’t I change Starter Edition’s wallpaper?

• “Yes, I know you told me that I shouldn’t bother with Windows 7 Starter Edition, but I found a fantastic deal on a netbook with Starter Edition installed. I don’t want to pay for Win7 Home Premium. Why can’t I change the wallpaper (er, background) on my netbook?”
  

In my July 16 Top Story, I explained why I recommend that netbook users choose Windows 7 Home Premium over Starter Edition. I also discussed in my June 4 Top Story the restrictions Microsoft places on hardware vendors who want to preinstall Win7 Starter Edition.

The inability to change wallpaper amounts to little more than a marketing gimmick. It’s one of the features that differentiate Starter Edition from the other Windows 7 editions. It also represents one of the carrots Microsoft dangles in front of you to coerce you into paying another hundred smackers or so for a real version of Win7.

In fact, changing Starter Edition’s wallpaper is easy — if you know the trick.

Simply download and install the free MyColors utility from the Stardock Design download page. You’ll have to change the entire Win7 theme, because MyColors lets you change only the theme, not the specific wallpaper. MyColors lets you choose a built-in Win7 theme or any of several free themes that are bundled with MyColors. Alternatively, you can buy a theme from Stardock.

Can I upgrade 32-bit Win7 to the 64-bit version?

• “I bought a PC with 32-bit Win7 Home Premium preinstalled. Can I do an in-place upgrade to 64-bit Home Premium?”
  

Nope. The Windows Anytime Upgrade is the collection of products that allow you to upgrade from one version of Windows 7 to another. Unfortunately, Anytime Upgrades don’t support a move from 32-bit to 64-bit. You can upgrade, say, Win7 Home Premium 32-bit to Win7 Pro 32-bit — but not to 64-bit. You can’t cross the bit divide via an in-place upgrade.

Similarly, the regular upgrade versions of Windows 7 don’t allow you to move between 32-bit and 64-bit. Your only option is to buy a Win7 Home Premium upgrade package and perform a custom (clean) install. That wipes out your programs and settings, but if you have CDs for all of your applications and you use Windows Easy Transfer (which is on the upgrade DVD), you shouldn’t have any problems.

It’s an expensive solution to a dubious problem, because right now very few people need 64-bit. I went into more detail on the question of 32-bit vs. 64-bit in my Nov. 12 Top Story. And in his Best Software column today (paid content), Ian “Gizmo” Richards provides an in-depth examination of the state of 64-bit desktop computing.

Windows 7 has taken the world by storm — rightfully so, in my opinion — but a certain percentage of new Win7 users will have problems no matter what. In upcoming articles, I’ll have more answers to your pressing Windows 7 questions.

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Using broadband connections, those worst hit by disasters can transmit pictures and video

In the aftermath of a disaster, any connection to the outside world can be life-saving.

DIGITAL PLANET - By Dave Lee - BBC World Service

When telephone networks inevitably crumble, it can be days before those affected can contact their families or relief agencies.

The kit is the most lightweight of its kind

Wireless communication expert Mike Outmesguine has demonstrated an easy way to produce a “Network Relief Kit” – an ultra-portable method of connecting to the internet from almost any location in the world.

The entire kit can be carried in a back-pack, and offers a fast enough connection to watch videos on YouTube.

Not without a price, however – data transfer typically costs between $3-$6 (£2-£4) per megabyte, payable to providers of satellite internet connections such as Inmarsat.

“These satellites cost a lot to put into space – they are recovering that cost in subscription fees,” said Mr Outmesguine, adding that high pricing prevents the overloading of the service.

The pack consists of several lightweight components which combine to give the ability to upload photos and videos, make calls and e-mail.

Mr Outmesguine says getting quick access to the internet means relief efforts can be more targeted and efficient. People within disaster zones can direct relief to the places and people that need it most.

As well as this, people in hostile areas can let loved ones know they are safe.

“A new concept in disaster relief is the people who are affected getting in touch with their relatives – especially the ones outside the area,” Mr Outmesguine told BBC World Service’s Digital Planet.

Connected in moments

The main component is the satellite receiver which works anywhere – with the exception of the North and South Pole.

It becomes a big powerful psychological help. Mike Outmesguine

It connects to one of three satellites orbiting the earth to get an internet connection. The receiver can then be plugged in, using ethernet cables, to a standard router, VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phone or similar devices.

The kit provides internet speeds comparable to low-end broadband connections.

It bypasses the need to rely on big organisations such as the Red Cross to mobilise and re-connect cut off areas. Instead, these relief kits can be set up in moments – and information about casualties and injuries can be transmitted.

When NGOs do arrive, Mr Outmesguine says that they can use the technology to set up a local network which an entire team can work from on laptops or mobile phones.

After Hurricane Katrina, similar technology was used around New Orleans. It meant wi-fi networks were in place and operational well before cellular networks had come back online.

“We saw internet cafes popping up using a satellite internet connection. It became a hub of activity for people to come and use e-mail,” he said.

“It’s not one of the survival components like food or water. But it becomes a big powerful psychological help.”

Getting cheaper

Bill Brindley, head of IT consortium NetHope, says the cost of producing the network relief kits is plummeting as they get easier to use.

DIGITAL PLANET Digital Planet is the weekly technology programme broadcast from the BBC World Service It is broadcast on Tuesday at 1232GMT and repeated at 1632GMT, 2032GMT and on Wednesday at 0032GMT It is also available as a podcast It can be found on the social networks Facebook and Orkut

“Initially the kits we put together in 2003-2004 cost close to $40,000 and you had to send a technologist with them.

“Now we’ve got the whole kit, including the solar panel, down to around $3,000.”

The cost effective solar panel is a key improvement.

“In the initial kit, you’d have to hook it up to a big truck battery. Now we have portable kits which have all kinds of power connections. One in particular is a thin film solar panel that you fold out and literally collect power during the day when the sun is out, and then recharge at night.”

BBC article link

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The scam is difficult for police and other agencies to target

Online criminals are making millions of pounds by convincing computer users to download fake anti-virus software, internet security experts claim.

Symantec says more than 40 million people have fallen victim to the “scareware” scam in the past 12 months.

The download is usually harmful and criminals can sometimes use it to get the victim’s credit card details.

The firm has identified 250 versions of scareware, and criminals are thought to earn more than £750,000 each a year.

Franchised out

Scareware sellers use pop-up adverts deliberately designed to look legitimate, for example, using the same typefaces as Microsoft and other well-known software providers.

They appear, often when the user is switching between websites, and falsely warn that a computer’s security has been compromised.

If the user then clicks on the message they are directed towards another site where they can download the fake anti-virus software they supposedly need to clean up their computer – for a fee of up to £60.

Con Mallon, from Symantec, told the BBC the apparent fix could have a double impact on victims.

It is very prevalent and it’s growing very quickly out there on the internet Con Mallon, Symantec Read your stories

“Obviously, you’re losing your own hard-earned cash up front, but at the back end of that, if you’re transacting with these guys online you’re offering them credit card details, debit card details and other personal information,” he said.

“That’s obviously very valuable because these cyber criminals can try to raid those accounts themselves or they can then pass them on or sell them to others who ultimately will try to use that information to their benefit not yours.”

The findings were revealed in a report written following Symantec analysis of data collected from July 2008 to June 2009. Symantec said 43 million people fell for such scams during that period.

It has become so popular that the rogue software has been franchised out.

Fake reviews help build the credibility of bogus anti-virus software.

Mr Mallon said some scareware took the scam a step further.

“[They] could hold your computer to ransom where they will stop your computer working or lock up some of your personal information, your photographs or some of your Word documents.

“They will extort money from you at that point. They will ask you to pay some additional money and they will then release your machine back to you.”

The scam is hard for police or other agencies to investigate because the individual sums of money involved are very small.

Therefore, experts say users must protect themselves with common sense and legitimate security software.

‘Steal your identity’

Tony Neate, from Get Safe Online, told the BBC the threats presented by the internet had changed in recent years.

“Where we used to say protect your PC… we’ve now got to look at ourselves, making sure we’re protected against the con men who are out there,” he said.

“They want you to help them infect your machine. When they’ve infected your machine it’s possibly no longer your machine – you’ve got no control over it.

“Then what they’re looking to do is take away your identity, steal bits of your identity, or even get some financial information from you.”

He added: “They used to be 16-year-olds in their bedrooms causing damage with viruses. Now those 16-year-olds have grown up [and] they’re looking for money, they’re looking for information.”

Link to original BBC article

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EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Almost half of Europeans use the internet every day but one third – mainly the elderly, the unemployed or people in rural areas – have never used the web, according to a new European Commission report.

LUCIA KUBOSOVA

The study, published on Tuesday (4 August), showed that new technologies are spreading fast across the old continent but deep divisions remain.

Brussels says “digital natives” hold a great potential for Europe’s economy (Photo: printing.com)

Forty three percent of EU citizens currently use the web every day. While seventy five percent use it regularly (at least once a week) compared to 43 percent in 2005.

The biggest increases in regular internet use were seen in Ireland, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania. Italy, Cyprus, Romania and Portugal lagged far behind in a what the report called a “source of concern.”

With 114 million subscribers, the EU is the largest world market for fixed broadband access. Half of European households and more than 80 percent of European businesses have a fixed broadband connection.

Experts said that the high penetration levels have been achieved due to pro-competition regulation of the sector, which has led to lower prices.

But while broadband is technically available to 90 percent of EU households only 50 percent use it in practice, with mainly low-income families opting out.

Low usage rates are also seen among the 65 to 74 age group, economically inactive people and people with low levels of education.

Such social disparities are strongly present in Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Lithuania, Slovenia and Italy. The greatest digital equality is seen in Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Luxemburg.

The commission’s report also highlighted the rise of “digital natives” – people aged 16 to 24 – as the most active and creative internet users. Seventy three percent of this group regularly uses advanced services to create and share online content.

The new generation has “tremendous potential to generate huge revenues across all sectors,” EU information society commissioner Viviane Reding said.

“But to turn this advantage into sustainable growth and new jobs, governments must show leadership by adopting co-ordinated policies that dismantle existing barriers to new services.”

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It’s been an exciting nine months since we launched the Google Chrome browser. Already, over 30 million people use it regularly. We designed Google Chrome for people who live on the web — searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news, shopping or just staying in touch with friends. However, the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web. So today, we’re announcing a new project that’s a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It’s our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we’re already talking to partners about the project, and we’ll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.

We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don’t want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.

We have a lot of work to do, and we’re definitely going to need a lot of help from the open source community to accomplish this vision. We’re excited for what’s to come and we hope you are too. Stay tuned for more updates in the fall and have a great summer.

Update on 7/8/2009: We have posted an FAQ on the Google Chrome Blog.

By Sundar Pichai, VP Product Management and Linus Upson, Engineering Director

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Last Friday marked a long-anticipated Election Day in Iran to choose the next Iranian president. While the voting process itself ran smoothly, widespread violence has since broken out in protest of current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s claim to a decisive victory over challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Mousavi supporters, who believe Ahmadinejad rigged the election results, refuse to accept the verdict and have been openly protesting since Saturday.

Video clips that capture the chaos and rioting in the streets of Iran’s capital, Tehran, have been streaming into YouTube for the past four days. Even though YouTube appears to be blocked in Iran — the site is experiencing a small fraction of the traffic levels it normally receives from Iran (around 10%) — we continue to see videos being uploaded to the site that document city streets crowded with angry demonstrators, violent clashes between protesters and state police, and visceral scenes of mass unrest.

In essence, YouTube has become a citizen-fueled news bureau of video reports filed straight from the streets of Tehran, unfiltered. Because the Iranian government is cracking down on local and international media coverage, these citizen-generated videos are providing an exclusive look at the developing violence. Here’s a collection of some of those videos.

(Please use your discretion before viewing, as some of them contain disturbing images.)

We’ve noticed some claims going around that YouTube has been engaging in acts of censorship and removing some of these videos from the site. Unless a video clearly violates our Community Guidelines, we will not take it down. In general, we do not allow graphic or gratuitous violence on YouTube. However, we make exceptions for videos that have educational, documentary, or scientific value. The limitations being placed on mainstream media reporting from within Iran make it even more important that citizens in Iran be able to use YouTube to capture their experiences for the world to see. Given the critical role these videos are playing in reporting this story to the world, we are doing our best to leave as many of them up as we can. YouTube is, at its core, a global forum for free expression.

Take note that if you see a video that is unavailable on the site, it may be because the user decided to remove the video him or herself.

We’re following what’s happening in Iran on the Citizentube blog (www.citizentube.com), so stay tuned for the latest.

Yours,
Olivia Ma
YouTube News & Politics

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The report contains actions and recommendations to ensure first rate digital and communications infrastructure to promote and protect talent and innovation in our creative industries, to modernize TV and radio frameworks, and support local news, and it introduces policies to maximize the social and economic benefits from digital technologies.

Report sections

• Foreword by the Rt Hon Lord Mandelson and the Rt Hon Ben Bradshaw MP and Introduction by Lord Carter CBE PDF (75kb)
• Chapter 1: Executive Summary and Chapter 9: Delivering Digital Britain PDF (293kb)
• Chapter 2: Being Digital PDF (242kb)
• Chapter 3a: A Competitive Digital Communications Infrastructure PDF (448kb)
• Chapter 3b: Radio: Going Digital * PDF (211kb)
• Chapter 4: Creative Industries in the Digital World PDF (241kb)
• Chapter 5: Public Service Content in Digital Britain PDF (225kb)
• Chapter 6: Research, Education and Skills for Digital Britain PDF (227kb)
• Chapter 7: Digital Security and Safety PDF (352kb)
• Chapter 8: The Journey to Digital Government PDF (256kb)
• Chapter 9: Delivering Digital Britain PDF (114kb)
• Annex: Actions from the Interim Report and List of Acronyms PDF (78kb)

Full Report

• Digital Britain Final Report – Full Report PDF (3mb)
• Digital Britain Final Report – Full Report MS Word (356kb)

• Also published today are the Digital Britain Impact Assessments PDF (1.5mb)

* Erratum Chapter 3b: Radio: Going Digital Page 93 – Figure 6 The colours on the key should be reversed – the black line in the table shows ‘Organic Growth’ and the green line in the table shows the ‘Drive to Digital’

The Digital Britain Final Report is one of the central policy commitments in the Government’s Building Britain’s Future plan and draft legislative programme.

Building Britain’s Future sets out the practical action we will take to build a stronger, fairer and more prosperous  country.  It focuses the energy and mission of the government in the year ahead on three clear priorities:

• Cleaning up politics and reforming our democracy
• Moving from recession to recovery and planning for a strong economy in the future; and
• Reforming Britain’s public services.

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