TECHNOLOGY

Gamer anger at Nokia's 'lock in'

Nokia relaunched the N-Gage service last month

Gamers have hit out at Nokia after learning that N-Gage titles bought for their handsets are locked to that specific device forever.

If a gamer changes or upgrades to a different Nokia handset they have to purchase the games again if they want to continue playing.

The issue was uncovered by website All About N-Gage.

"It's a bad idea for everyone... the N-Gage platform, gamers and third party publishers," the site said.

Nokia said it had made the decision to prevent piracy and to ensure its "partners receive their rightful revenues from our platform".

Hidden catch

Nokia relaunched its N-Gage mobile gaming platform last month.

About 30 games are available on a limited range of Nokia handsets, which are bought and downloaded direct to the phone.

It is the company's second attempt at making mobile gaming a success. In 2003 it released a dedicated handset for gaming, but the device never took off.

Ahead of the latest launch, Jaakko Kaidesoja from Nokia's Play New Experience division, told BBC News: "One of the best things we learned from the original N-Gage is that you can create a community and people appreciate the connectivity."

But the new platform has provoked anger amongst gamers.

Writing on the official N-Gage forums, one gamer said: "Changes need to be made soon, and sticking one's head in the sand will not change anybody's mind."

When gamers sign up for the service they have to agree to terms and conditions, part of which explains that games cannot be transferred between devices.

It states: "Content shall be... limited to one private installation on one N-Gage compatible Nokia device only."

But gamers have complained that the detail is buried in the terms and conditions and it is not clear enough at the point of purchase.

A statement from Nokia said: "Our policy is that the N-Gage activation codes only work on the device where they were first activated.

"As with any digital media there is a potential risk of piracy and this policy is one of the ways we are dealing with piracy and ensuring our partners receive their rightful revenues from our platform.

"If users need to repair their device, the activation codes will be reissued."

2)

Number keys promise safer data

The system hinges on multiple keys for multiple items

Sensitive computer files are to become both more secure and more flexible thanks to advanced mathematics.

Mathematicians at the University of California in Los Angeles have applied a fundamental rethink to improve the "one lock - one key" method that current encryption technologies such as RSA and AES operate on.

Amit Sahai, associate professor at UCLA, told BBC World Service's Digital Planet programme that they had decided to "rebuild the idea from the ground up," and developed the idea of multiple keys giving access to selected pieces of data.

"In our vision, we'll have some data that can be locked - but now that one lock is openable by many different keys in many different ways," he explained.

Key management

Currently, when information is encrypted, it is secured with a digital lock and key created together.

While this works well for individual computers, it presents problems on an industrial scale because company data has to be stored on large servers and accessed by large numbers of people.

The UCLA mathematicians point out that this leads to a big problem in terms of key management.

"That key management problem, of needing so many different keys to have access to all the files they should be able to have access to... is so complicated that they just don't use encryption," Dr Sahai said.

"Encryption is essentially not used by most large corporations, and to the extent that it is used, it is used incorrectly or in a silly way."

And in many systems, the key is put on the same server that holds the encrypted data.

Access to medical records could become much more sophisticated

"If a hacker is able to break into that server, he not only gets the encrypted data, he gets the key that opens that data. So what's the point?" Dr Sahai said.

He said that a good example of how his system could work is a person's medical records. Whereas currently access to the records is on an all-or-nothing basis, the advanced encryption would allow different amounts of access according to a person's relation to the patient.

Dieticians would be able to see blood sugar levels, while oncologists can see cancer reports.

"Similarly, many different people - depending on who they are and what their position is - should be able to access many different aspects of my medical records," Dr Sahai said.

"What we want to do - and what we've done, to some extent - is to have a mathematical encryption scheme where you encrypt your medical record once, and then different people with different keys can open it in different ways."

Engineering

Doing this with existing technology would mean all different aspects of data would have to be separately encrypted.

Meanwhile, Dr Sahai said that the "clever thing" about his system was that it was approached the problem using maths, rather than just as a data problem.

"We're trying to take some of the very difficult job that we give to the security engineer and actually put it into the mathematics itself," he said.

"Once you have this kind of expressibility in the mathematics itself, it makes the job of the security engineer that much easier - because the mathematics is protecting you.

3)

Bright future predicted for Apple

• Darren Waters
• 22 May 08, 10:30 GMT

Analysts like to make waves. After all, if what they say lacks impact, then no-one pays attention.

So how about this prediction from Forrester: "Apple Inc. will become the hub of the digital home by 2013."

Forrester says Apple will evolve an "integrated digital experience" based on eight pillars.

Four of them you will probably recognise:

The Mac, Apple TV, the Apple store (the physical shop), iTunes.

Four of them are, ahem, guesswork from Forrester:

Apple home server product, AppleSound universal music controller, network-enabled gadgets (ie music, digital photo frame and alarm clock devices) and in-home installation services.

Now, I can certainly believe that Apple is working on a home server product, that's not really a big prediction. It's merely an extension of Apple TV and the Time Capsule wireless storage device it already ships.

But an AppleSound universal music controller? Do they mean a remote control? I'm not even sure why this is needed.

And can anyone else envisage Apple selling digital photo frames or alarm clocks? Nope, me neither.

And Apple offering in-home installation services? Erm, isn't the whole point of Apple's products that you don't need professional installation help? And what would people be installing exactly?

These predictions strike me as off key for a number of reasons:

1. I don't see Apple displacing satellite and cable firms so radically. In fact, I see more disruption of Apple's business by set-top box providers than the other way around.

2. Apple TV remains a work in progress and hasn't proved its potential.

3. Content providers are now very wary of doing deals with iTunes that leave them at the mercy of Steve Jobs. The music industry is doing everything in its power to break iTunes' hold. The film and TV industry won't make the same mistake

4. Open standards will triumph. I don't believe that "lock in" systems will ever work as the glue between our devices.

5. I don't think one company will ever be the hub. Interoperability will mean that we can cherry pick our devices and our content will run between them all.

4)

Sceptics question Microsoft move

Office is the dominant productivity suite of programs

Open source advocates have questioned Microsoft's commitment to using open document standards in the future.

The computer giant has said it will implement use of the Open Document Format (ODF), "sometime next year".

The Free Software Foundation Europe said: "It's a step in the right direction but we are sceptical about how open Microsoft will be."

The European Commission, which has fined Microsoft for monopolistic practice, welcomed the move.

"The Commission would welcome any step that Microsoft took towards genuine interoperability, more consumer choice and less vendor lock-in," it said.

The Commission added that it would look into whether Microsoft's announcement "leads to better interoperability and allows consumers to process and exchange their documents with the software product of their choice".

Governments will be looking for actual results, not promises in press releases Marino Marcich, ODF Alliance

Open source software advocates have long criticised the file formats used by Microsoft's Office suite of programs because they are not genuinely interoperable with software from third parties.

Microsoft has said it will add support for ODF when it updates Office 2007 next year.

Georg Greve, president of the Free Software Foundation Europe, said he remained dubious about "how deep" Microsoft's adoption of the standard would go.

'Right direction'

"This is definitely a step in the right direction. We have been encouraging Microsoft to support ODF natively for quite a while.

"Like all things, this will depend to some extent on how they do it."

The Open Document Format Alliance said it was sceptical about the extent of Microsoft's commitment.

Support for ODF indicates there are problems with OpenXML that Microsoft cannot resolve easily and quickly Georg Greve, FSF Europe

Marino Marcich, managing director of the ODF Alliance, said: "The proof will be whether and when Microsoft's promised support for ODF is on par with its support for its own formats.

"Governments will be looking for actual results, not promises in press releases."

At the moment, Office users can use ODF documents by using a downloaded "translator" program.

Critics point out

But critics have pointed out that the translator does not integrate very well with parts of the Office suite.

The move by Microsoft follows attempts by the company to have its own standard, the OpenXML format, recognised as interoperable.

The International Standards Organisation approved its use but the full specification of the OpenXML format has yet to be published.

Mr Greve said: "Support for ODF indicates there are problems with OpenXML that Microsoft cannot resolve easily and quickly.

"OpenXML is something all users want to stay away from. It's not clear if it will ever become an interoperable standard and so users should be very careful using it."

Mr Greve said "genuine adoption" of ODF would give consumers more choice.

'Full choice'

"People will no longer need to use Microsoft Office in order to interoperate.

"They will no longer need to choose a support platform for Office, i.e. Windows."

He added: "There will be full choice on the desktop; people could switch to Linux and choose Open Office or other applications that support ODF, like Lotus Symphony or Google Docs.

"There is fairly large amount of apps to choose from, which can be based on the merits of the application and their personal preference.

Waiting to Exhale

Posted: 03:16 PM ET

Imagine the anticipation of a countdown before rocket engines roar to life. Smoke billows, and it’s three G’s and eight-and-a-half minutes to space.

After you slip the surly bonds, you float over to the window and gaze wide-eyed at the majesty of Planet Earth. Perhaps you’d spot the Great Wall of China, or even a big hurricane. I’d have Bowie’s “Ground Control to Major Tom” playing on my iPod.

Spaceflight tickles the imagination. It’s the stuff of heroes and explorers. We remain in awe of the cosmos, and amazed at each incremental step toward the infinite.

Source: NASA

Now take a look at this photo. The folks at Johnson Space Center in Houston sent this picture to me today. Not exactly what you imagine while reading Jules Verne or Arthur Clarke. It might be the NASA equivalent of witnessing hot dogs in the making.

You’re looking at a test chamber scaled to be the size of the Orion crew capsule. Orion, of course, is NASA’s next-gen exploration vehicle. It will carry crew and cargo to the space station and on to the moon.

The umbrella name for the entire program is Constellation, and the space agency is hoping to launch the first manned mission by 2015.

The chamber is the size of a walk-in closet - about 570 cubic feet - and the people sitting inside are volunteers recruited to test a lunar breathing system called CAMRAS. (NASA likes its acronyms!) It stands for Carbon-dioxide and Moisture Removal Amine Swing-bed. Go figure.

But imagine sitting for eight hours in this thing with five other people you just met? Twenty-three volunteers did just that for a series of tests over a three-week period last month. The point: to breathe and sweat. Sounds like the perfect job for an executive producer!

Seriously though, NASA has to measure the amount of moisture and carbon dioxide absorbed by the system so Orion crews can breathe easily and live comfortably in space. Volunteers were asked to sleep, eat and exercise in the chamber. Some test sessions lasted a few hours and others were overnight.

CAMRAS uses very little energy. An organic compound called amine absorbs the CO2 and water vapor from the cabin. And when the system vents the waste overboard, the vacuum of space regenerates the amine. Think of the venting as wringing out a dirty sponge.

For more on the test and NASA’s Constellation Program, visit www.nasa.gov/constellation.

NASA delays Hubble mission to fix shuttle fuel tanks

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- NASA's final visit to the Hubble Space Telescope has been delayed at least a month, until the fall, because of extra time needed to build the shuttle fuel tanks needed for the flight and a potential rescue mission.

The Hubble Space Telescope orbits 350 miles above Earth.

Atlantis and a crew of seven were supposed to fly to Hubble at the end of August but now won't make the journey until the end of September or early October.

Shuttle program manager John Shannon said it's taken more time to incorporate all the post-Columbia design changes to the external fuel tanks than had been expected.

"It's a small price to pay, to tell you the truth, four to five weeks for all the improvements that we're getting on this tank," Shannon said Thursday.

The fuel tank for the next shuttle launch is the first to be built from scratch with the design changes. That work delayed Discovery's flight to the international space station from April until May 31.

The mission to Hubble, orbiting 350 miles above Earth, is unique. Not only must Atlantis be ready, another shuttle must be on the launch pad ready to rush to the rescue in case Atlantis suffers severe launch damage that might prevent a safe re-entry.

Unlike other shuttle crews, which travel to the space station, the astronauts on the Hubble mission would have nowhere to seek shelter in the event of a gaping hole in their ship's thermal shield. In the case of a rescue, the Hubble astronauts would put on spacesuits and float out of their ship and into the other shuttle.

Columbia was destroyed and its seven astronauts killed during re-entry in 2003 because of a plate-size hole in the shuttle's left wing. A chunk of fuel-tank foam insulation broke off during liftoff and gashed it.

Because of the delay in the Hubble mission, NASA will have to settle for five shuttle flights this year instead of six. Despite the setback, NASA still hopes to complete the space station and retire its shuttles in 2010, Shannon said.

As for Russia's trouble-plagued Soyuz re-entry April 19, NASA's space station program manager, Mike Suffredini, said Thursday that the investigation into the mishap will determine whether the three astronauts were at any more risk than normal.

The Soyuz spacecraft descended much more steeply than usual and subjected the crew to considerably more gravity forces. It was the second time in a row that the capsule malfunctioned like this.

The crew included U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson, who was ending a six-month space station stay, as well as a Russian and a South Korean who ended up in the hospital with back and neck pain.

Russia hopes to complete its investigation by the end of May. With U.S. astronaut Gregory Chamitoff scheduled to fly to the space station aboard Discovery and remain there for several months, NASA will have to decide before May 31 whether the Soyuz will serve as a safe lifeboat if there is an emergency.

Suffredini said it would be "pretty dramatic" for NASA to pull Chamitoff or anyone else off the space station. "But we will do whatever is necessary based on the findings of the commission," he said.

As countries and companies plan to go to the moon

LONDON, England -- One of Francis Williams' favorite stories to tell is about the time he was pulled over for speeding.

As countries and companies plan to go to the moon, a debate heats up on lunar property rights.

Williams, who had been in London on business, was driving home through the English countryside when a police officer stopped him and wanted to know two things: Was Williams aware of how fast he was driving? And, what was his profession?

It turned out the response to the second question would help Williams resolve the first: "I said, 'I sell land on the moon,'" said Williams. "And [the police officer] said, 'Do you know, my wife has bought some of that.'"

The answer to the first question was subsequently forgotten.

Williams, who describes himself as the "Lunar Ambassador to the United Kingdom," is the owner of MoonEstates. He claims to have sold around 300,000 acres of moon land since he and his wife, Sue, founded the Cornwall-based company eight years ago. One-acre plots of lunar turf go for about $40.

As proof of purchase, new property owners receive a silver tin containing a personalized "Lunar Deed" and a moon map with a tiny black X marking their tract's approximate location. Most of the land Williams sells is in the northwest, in an area known as Oceanus Procellarum, or Ocean of Storms -- a desolate lava plain formed by volcanoes billions of years ago. "I know the Japanese are [selling] further east," he said.

Williams received his license to sell lunar land in the UK from Dennis Hope. In 1980, the Nevada-based entrepreneur claimed ownership of the moon after finding what he calls a loophole in the 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty, which forbids countries from owning the moon but, according to Hope, does not forbid individuals from owning it.

Hope, who estimates he has sold over 500 million acres of moon land, said he immediately filed a "declaration of ownership" with the U.N. along with the United States and Russian governments.

After 28 years, the moon mogul still has not received a reply. "I have never heard from them on that note ever," Hope told CNN in a phone interview.

While the U.N. may have ignored Hope's lunar land claims for almost three decades, it is unlikely the organization will be able ignore what could soon become a question of increasing international importance: Who, exactly, does own the moon?

"At some point the world community needs to come together and draft some new convention or treaty," said Paul Dempsey, director of the Institute of Air and Space Law and McGill University in Montreal. "It is an open wound that needs to be healed."

Dempsey pointed out that at the time the U.N. drafted the Outer Space Treaty, there were only two spacefaring nations -- the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Now there are over a dozen. And many of them, including China, Russia, the U.S., India and Japan, want to go to the moon.

NASA, for example, recently announced plans to return by 2020, eventually building a permanent base on the lunar surface. The Russian space agency, Roskosmos, has confirmed similar intentions.

The burgeoning commercial space sector is also casting its gaze towards Earth's only natural satellite with companies considering everything from mining the lunar surface to building extraterrestrial resorts on it.

"It is quite a complicated issue because it is international law we are dealing with," said Niklas Hedman, chief of the Committee Services and Research Section of the U.N.'s Office for Outer Space Affairs in Vienna.

There are five treaties that govern international affairs in space, said Hedman. Two of them -- the Outerspace Treaty and the 1979 Moon Agreement -- deal with lunar law.

The Outer Space Treaty provides a legal framework for the international use of space for peaceful purposes, including the moon and other celestial bodies. Widely considered the "Magna Carta of space law," this treaty lays down the fundamental principle of non-appropriation and that the exploration and use of space shall be the province of all mankind.

According to the treaty, states bear international responsibility for national activities in space, including by non-governmental entities. The Outer Space Treaty says governments cannot claim ownership of the lunar surface and that stations and installations on the moon shall be open to others, said Hedman.

The Moon Agreement builds upon the Outer Space Treaty but also says that any natural resources found on the moon are part of "the common heritage of mankind" - in other words, they must be shared.

While 98 nations, including all the major spacefaring ones, have ratified the Outerspace Treaty, only 13 countries have approved the Moon Agreement -- Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Uruguay and Mexico, to name four.

But Hedman said this does not mean the other 179 countries that have not ratified the Moon Agreement are free to make a lunar land rush.

"They are still bound by the fundamental provisions [of the Outer Space Treaty]," he said, adding that "when enough states of the world have ratified a treaty, and it becomes binding, then certain fundamental provisions become binding even on states that have not ratified it."

Henry Hertzfeld, a space analyst at George Washington University's Space Policy Institute, said he is not so sure the U.N.'s treaties provide an adequate answer to the question of lunar property rights.

"These treaties don't really have any teeth to them in terms of enforcement," said Hertzfeld. "They are agreements on principle."

Instead of focusing on who owns the moon, the international community needs find ways to incentivize future business activity on the moon by guaranteeing that rights to land and resources will not be preempted by competing interests, said Hertzfeld.

"Owning property is not the issue, the issue is finding a mechanism for businesses to make a fair return on their investment," he said. "Otherwise there is no point in investing."

But first, Hertzfeld said, there also needs to be a guarantee that there is something on the moon worth investing in at all.

"My feeling is until we know what is there, we shouldn't mess with it," he said.