For the record 21 May

21-05-2008

by Bryan Collins

Three out of four consumers want silent mobiles on planes | Computers make office workers less efficient

Nearly three out of four consumers agree that mobile phone usage on airplanes should be restricted to silent features only, according to a survey commissioned by Yahoo. Of those surveyed, more than two out of three agreed that there should be a designated area on planes for people who want to talk on their mobiles. "This new survey overwhelmingly proves the desire of consumers to stay connected to the people, information, interests and passions that are important to them while in-flight, but they don't want to be forced to listen to the conversation of the passenger sitting next to them," said Bruce Stewart, vice president and general manager of Connected Life Americas, Yahoo.

Computers are making employees less efficient in the workplace, according to a new study by KRC Research and EMC Corporation. The survey found that UK office workers waste almost two months a year searching for e-mails and electronic documents. It also found that when people choose to print documents, it can cost businesses over EUR13.5 billion per year. People aged between 18 and 34 were the most likely to print out documents, averaging more than 100 pages a day. "The message that companies need to take responsibility for their carbon footprints as a whole is hitting home, but it's clear from this survey that more can be done on a day-to-day level," said John O'Melia, vice president, Content Management & Archiving, EMEA at EMC.

BT has launched a new managed IT services solution targeted specifically at the SME market. The company claims that its BT Innovate solution will reduce overheads for companies and improve efficiency. The new solution includes specialist end user, server and network support; incident problem, change and service management; as well as onsite service.

Mobile search advertising spend is to reach USD2 billion by 2013, according to Juniper Research. This will represent more than 34 percent of the total mobile advertising spend. The analyst firm also highlighted the key roles of mobile search applications and services within the mobile advertising environment. The reports noted that consumers are searching for content on and off-portal, thereby providing a substantial target audience for advertisers. "The mass adoption of 2.5G and 3G handsets -- combined with the development of applications enabling targeted, instant measurement and frequency capping -- mean that we now have a situation where consumers can receive personalised advertising across a variety of rich media delivery channels," said Juniper Research's principal analyst, Dr Windsor Holden.

Nicholas Negroponte, the chairman of One Laptop Per Child, has revealed the charity's next generation laptop for poor students in emerging markets. The XO 2.0 device is a slimmed-down version of its predecessor, the XO. This new laptop will be ready for production by 2010 and could sell for as little as USD75. Negroponte and other members of MIT's Media Lab launched OLPC in 2005 in an effort to bring computing technology to students in the developing world.