Itgs – Areas of Impact Home and Leisure Homes and Home Networks: lighting a 'cure' for sick building syndrome
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'The cloud' They promise to connect us to a vast song catalogue in "the cloud" - a technical term that means "the internet" - permanently and instantly via every possible device, bar your toaster. The big difference with music downloading, which is currently the dominant form of digital music, is that we will not pay for each track, nor will we own and keep the songs. Streaming is more akin to radio, only we choose the tunes. And it has begun to explode in the last 12 months, with Swedish service Spotify, currently available on computers and mobile phones, leading the way.
MySpace recently launched streaming services in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Apple, meanwhile, is rumoured to be preparing a similar offering as part of iTunes - a big step, if it happens. Yet there are still high hurdles to overcome before streaming really lives up to the hype. Most fans currently streaming music do not pay. The services are legal, but the money comes from adverts in between and around the songs. Up to now, ad takings have not been high enough to pay artists, labels and music publishers, as well as cover the costs of running the services and hosting the streams. Monthly fee So some, like Spotify, are heavily pushing their premium subscriptions, which cost £9.99 a month in the UK and give users the mobile app and better sound quality. We7 will also require fans to pay a monthly fee for its mobile version.
Does it add up economically, though? It's a question We7 chief executive Steve Purdham has given a lot of thought to. "Historically it didn't, and it doesn't," he says. "If you look forward, however, the economics are starting to come together."
The service, which provides personalised internet radio stations, turned a profit for the first time at the end of last year. MySpace, meanwhile, is planning to sell tickets, merchandise and other products alongside the music and ads. "Consumers want an experience that includes their audio, their video, their band information, their merchandise and ticketing information all in one experience," believes MySpace chief executive Owen Van Natta. "Having that type of multi-dimensional music experience will also bring with it multiple revenue streams. It won't just be advertising supported." Streaming sites must also convince labels, artists and publishers that their royalties will not plummet if and when streaming replaces downloads and CD sales. 'Mediocre busker' Some artists have complained about the small amount they have made from Spotify. Swedish artist Magnus Uggla removed his music, for example, claiming he earned in six months "what a mediocre busker could earn in a day." Spotify says artist payments are increasing all the time as ad revenues and subscriptions go up. The company is currently in the middle of a major charm offensive to win over the music industry so it can launch in the US.
"They're worried that they might be giving an awful lot away, and not necessarily get much back." Simon Wheeler, from independent record group Beggars, says the industry must accept fans will soon move away from owning music. "We're shifting away from that fast, and anyone who doesn't face up to that fact and deal with these new financial models isn't going to have much of a future. "It's just inevitable - the world is going to this more consumption-based model," continues Wheeler, whose labels are home to MIA, Adele and Vampire Weekend. "It doesn't matter. It's going to happen, and we need to restructure the business around it." 'Passive' consumers The silver lining for major labels is the potential to appeal beyond their traditional customers. Warner Music's Stephen Bryan, for example, believes ubiquitous access to streaming will let labels reach "passive" consumers. "They aren't necessarily into owning and building a collection, which is essentially what the download and CD business models have been about," he says.
Another obstacle is technology, and whether it will really be possible for devices like mobile phones and car stereos to have uninterrupted high-speed internet connections. Dagfinn Bach, a Norwegian digital entrepreneur who was closely involved in the development of the MP3 in the early 1990s, is not convinced. He has just launched a new "deluxe" downloadable file format, MusicDNA, which includes videos, artwork and lyrics alongside music. Streaming, he believes, is simply an "intermediate phenomenon". "Streaming requires a high broadband network, especially if you're going to have all this additional information," he explains. "To stream via your mobile is impossible if it's high quality. So I don't really believe in streaming in the future." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8481658.stm ITGS – Areas of Impact Home and Leisure Digital Entertainment: Music H  ow internet-based music services make their money
Since the launch of Apple's iTunes in 2003, digital music has become big business. A number of new music services have sprung up on the internet, offering legitimate opportunities for people to listen to or buy tracks online. With the government's digital economy bill threatening heavy action against persistent piracy, legal music services are hoping to increase their appeal. But digital music is still not the road to riches for musicians. "Bands should not be under the illusion that they can plan a tour of (say) North America based on digital revenues," says Will Page, Chief Economist at PRS for Music. "What digital can provide, though, is new information on where demand is, and more options on how you want to distribute your content. There is an element of irony here, in that digital monies won't pay for your tour, but digital data will tell you where your fans are." The three main ways of accessing music legitimately online are through streaming, downloading or subscription services. STREAM ONLINE Music lovers can search for, and listen for free to the music they want using streaming services such as We7, Spotify, Myspace Music, and last.fm.
Spotify and We7 have advertisement-based business models for their streaming services and will regularly stream short adverts before or in between songs. Spotify lets users skip the adverts for a monthly fee (£9.99), while We7, co-founded by musician Peter Gabriel, rewards frequent listeners with occasional advert-free days. MySpace Music and last.fm don't play adverts with the music, but they do display adverts across the website while tracks are playing - click away from the page, and the song stops. Spotify is the only service that does not let users listen via a webpage - instead offering computer programmes and smart phone applications. "Streaming online is very flexible," says Paul Stoke, associate editor at NME. "You don't need to ever have any records banked - it's realistic to think that you can listen to most music that's available." For Mr Stokes, the downside is speed when on the move. "If you want to listen on a mobile, you're reliant on how quickly the data will download - it's liable to interruptions," he adds. BUYING DOWNLOADS A myriad of online stores, including 7digital, Amazon, HMV, Orange, Play, SkySongs, Tesco, TuneTribe, and We7, sell tracks as downloads, usually in MP3 format. Customers can pay anything from 29p to £1 to download a single track, or between £4 to £12 for an album (or a collection of songs). Price comparison sites such as tunechecker.com can reveal the cheapest prices for a particular piece of music. "It's the traditional way if you can call it that - basically once you buy it the track is yours," says Mr Stokes. "DRM (Digital Rights Management) is removed more and more, or you can pay extra for DRM free - that means you can put it on different players. It's closer to owning a physical copy of a record and playing it wherever you like." Real music lovers however will need large hard drives. "Downloads take up loads of memory space," adds Mr Stokes. "You will fill up your MP3 player quickly." And because of the bitrate sampling speeds, some audiophiles may feel that their copy is of a lower quality than the original. SUBSCRIPTION A third option for music fans is to pay a monthly fee for an unlimited streaming service from companies like Napster, SkySongs or Spotify. Prices start from £5 per month, and can include the option to download a limited number of tracks to an individual computer. Paying upfront for music removes the temptation to click beyond the budget when a lot of good tunes come out, says Paul Stokes. "The downside is that you will only get music from that source - so if they don't have a deal with a certain record label you might not get the music you want. It also means you're less likely to shop around and get a good deal." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8414705.stm ITGS – Areas of Impact Home and Leisure Digital Entertainment: Electronic music Piracy still prevailing - Figures show 95% of all music downloads are illegal 1  6 January 2009
Despite the dominance of iTunes, the body representing the global recording industry, the IFPI, says 95% of all music downloads are sourced unlawfully. Matt Philips from the BPI, which represents the music industry here in the UK, spoke about the challenges they face. He told 6 Music: “Essentially what the numbers released yesterday show is that, the sales that we are making online through licensed legitimate platforms, are certainly growing impressively - 25% last year - but the fact is we still have a very high rate of unlawful downloading - 95%. “Clearly, for future investment in music and the continued innovation in developing new legal services to continue, then that’s something that we have to address.”
He told 6 Music: “The internet provides a wonderful opportunity to take your music to a wider audience in the way that you never could through radio or record store. “There is very much a double edged sword there because the internet has enabled people to get music for free, and that has a dramatic negative impact on people in the long term.” On the whole, Philips said it’s not good for the music industry because he reckons the mammoth illegal download market stops the labels from pouring funding into bands.
A war is being fought between record company bosses and computer users for the future of music. As compact disc sales slide, previously bland industry events have started to provide pulpits for industry figures to launch increasingly strident attacks on the websites that could soon deprive them of a livelihood.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry says billions are being lost in copied CDs, but the damage from the internet is unquantifiably vast. Communications director Adrian Strain said: "Physical piracy costs the record industry over $4bn. We don't put an estimate on the value of the internet pirate market because there isn't a very large online legitimate market."
Artists as diverse as Jean Michel Jarre, Eminem and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich have vented their spleen on the topic of music "piracy", blaming it for reducing CD sales. Ulrich's target was Napster, the music file-sharing service that became a martyr after legal challenges helped neuter it. But like the Hydra, a thousand file-sharing sites jumped up to replace it. Only last week a site in China was shut down amid legal action against internet service providers (ISPs), but San Francisco's Electronic Frontier Foundation has dubbed the tactics of trying to stop piracy through the fabric of the internet as "whack-a-mole". And things are about to get tougher if US politician Howard Berman gets his way. The politician wants copyright holders to get near immunity from the law for hacking attacks on computers that they suspect are being used for file sharing. The EFF insists: "Exempting a single industry from civil and criminal penalties is unprecedented. This kind of vigilantism is explicitly prohibited by law." The organisation's lawyers say they do not want a futile fight against piracy to affect civil liberties. There are also rumblings in the industry about suing or even prosecuting individual users sitting in their bedrooms, a tactic that RIAA president Cary Sherman refuses to rule out. Education battle "It is difficult to have sympathy for someone who willingly uploads massive amounts of copyright material." But he recognises the industry faces a battle to win over the hearts of the ordinary consumers and voters, particularly when the pop stars delivering the message are rich beyond their wildest dreams. "We need to do a bit more to win the battle for hearts and minds. I don't think as an industry we have done enough to educate people that it hurts musicians and that real fans don't steal. When they do musicians pay. "We need to focus on the up-and-coming artists not people who have already succeeded. They are the ones who are not getting promotional and marketing budgets. They are the ones who are going to be suffering from the pirating of Eminem." The industry's concern is understandable. If it has no money to spend on radio pluggers, advertising, studio space, star producers and other promotions, it has no industry. But the counter-argument can be heard in any pub. Ordinary music fans want to know why in the UK, you can still be charged £16 for a CD, when the industry is trying to stop listeners heading for internet. Mr Strain is adamant cutting prices will not help fight piracy, insisting: "There is no connection between the cost of CDs and music and piracy. You can't compete with music for free." On the other hand, Mr Sherman says he supports the "experimental pricing" currently visible in America, but insists CDs still represent "tremendous value". And the record industry is equally defiant about its sudden conversion to champions of the artists. After years of accusations ranging from sharp practice to outright theft of artists' copyrights in the 1950s and 1960s, bosses are adamant their house is in order. Mr Sherman argues: "The record industry had its share of Wild West entrepreneurs back in the early days but that is ancient history. The record industry is very legitimate and it is unbelievably profitable to the artists that succeed in this system. "The economics of the record business is difficult to explain. The record industry is the venture capital firm of music. It is making a highly risky investment where no-one else will." One thing record industry lobbyists on both sides of the Atlantic are sure of is that there will be "less investment in new artists and new music". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2220117.stm ITGS – Areas of Impact Home and Leisure Digital Entertainment: Digital Art - interactive visual art Any form of art that is displayed in a digital format, this can include music, art, film, on any format including CD, DVD, etc. Gibbons backs digital art contest Acclaimed comic book artist Dave Gibbons is giving his support to a competition for electronic artists. T  he Digital Artist 2009 competition is broken into 13 categories, including graphic design, animation, and videogame arts. There are also five "Rising Star" awards for artists under 25 years old.
Prize details have yet to be announced but will include cash prizes, hardware and software as well as an opportunity to showcase the winning work. Entries to the competition, which runs until 31 August 2009, have to be submitted through a website which will also include news and debates about digital arts. There will be a range of digital art master classes across the UK, with leading practitioners - including Gibbons - offering beginners and more experienced digital artists an opportunity to learn from the experts. Gibbons, who has been using computers in his own work for more than 15 years, helped launch the competition at a London art gallery, expressed his support for the current generation of digital artists, saying he is astounded at the work they are creating. "We used to say that the the unfortunate thing was that the people who knew how to use the technology weren't artists and the artists didn't know how to use technology", he told the BBC. "But over the years that's changed. The people working in graphics now aren't from the previous age of man - like I am - they're people who have always used computers." Future shock He sees clear benefits to this, especially for the comic art for which he is best known, since "there are lots of things you do in comics the old way that, if you do them the new way, become more pleasurable, cheaper and quicker". And he is not concerned that the use of digital technologies results in art work that is somehow less expressive than those created without computers. "Maybe 10 years ago computer generated art work did look like computer generated art work", he said, but that was no longer the case. Referring to the work exhibited at the competition's opening event he said: "I challenge anyone to know that it was done on a computer. He said: "I think the way that people are intelligently combining real world materials and techniques, scanning them into the computer, treating them in the computer, and adding graphic elements in the computer means that the computer is becoming just another art tool and a means of expression rather than something that imposes its character on the work." Digital Artist 2009 is supported by chip maker Intel and Future, the UK magazine publisher of titles for the digital creative community including Computer Arts, 3D World and ImagineFX. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7979334.stm Eurostar launches digital gallery 
An interactive digital art gallery has been launched by Channel Tunnel high-speed train company Eurostar. In conjunction with the National Gallery, Eurostar is giving passengers a glimpse of 100 masterpieces. Travellers using the departure lounge at St Pancras International station in London can view works by artists including Leonardo da Vinci and Monet. People choose a painting at a touch-screen coffee table and the work is then shown on plasma screens. The six screens are situated within the brick archways and because different paintings are chosen all the time it creates a constantly changing gallery. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7360314.stm Wikipedia Definition: Digital art most commonly refers to art created on a computer in digital form. In an expanded sense, "digital art" is a term applied to contemporary art that uses the methods of mass production or digital media. The impact of digital technology has transformed traditional activities such as painting, drawing and sculpture, while new forms, such as net art, digital installation art, and virtual reality, have been recognized artistic practices. More generally the term digital artist is used to describe an artist who makes use of digital technologies in the production of art. Digital artists are artists who make digital art using computer graphics software, digital photography technology and computer assisted painting to create art. ITGS – Areas of Impact H  ome and Leisure
Digital Entertainment: Online Games Millions spent on casual gaming British gamers spent £280m playing online casual games in 2009 says the UK National Gamers Survey Report. Similar studies carried out in other countries revealed that French players spent £220m and Germans £440m over the same period. The survey estimated that there are 13.3m Britains playing on various game portals but only 2.4m pay to play - an average of £117 per person per year. Gamers in the UK were also said to have spent £170m on mobile games in 2009. The survey was carried out by TNS and Gamesindustry.com.
One of PopCap's biggest hits is Bejeweled, which challenges players to line up and match as many gems as possible in 60 seconds as they fall from the top of the screen. The Facebook version, Bejeweled Blitz, launched in 2009 and registered 25m players within 12 months. "Bejeweled is a good time stealer," says player Darren Haynes. "It is completely addictive - mainly because each game only lasts for one minute. I found myself saying "just one more game" and before I knew it ... 3am." Mr Haynes compared the game with arcade classic Tetris. ""We were somewhat surprised by Bejeweled's success but we put a lot of work in," said Mr Vechey. "It only took two months to make but you have to keep working on it. A game isn't done when you release it. It's important to keep the core simple and fun." Constant tweaks like re-setting the leader boards have helped to keep the game fresh for existing players, he believes. PopCap is now looking to expand more into the mobile games market, and is launching a game called Plants vs Zombies that has proved a popular download with PC players. "The iPhone is a great customer experience - you can spend 30 hours on an iPhone," says Mr Vechey. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8507813.stm ITGS – Areas of Impact H  ome and Leisure
Digital Entertainment: Virtual Worlds Virtual worlds target mass market Online gaming worlds like World of Warcraft have quietly grown into some of the most powerful brands in the entertainment industry. The fantasy game attracts more than 10 million paying customers worldwide, grossing more than a big budget Hollywood movie every single month. But World of Warcraft and titles like EverQuest and Star Wars Galaxies are still aimed at the kind of players happy to spend hours forming guilds and earning experience points. The next wave of virtual gaming worlds are trying to appeal to the kind of mass market gamers that prefer a quick bash at Fifa, rather than the full fantasy role playing experience. One of the first to go live, Football Superstars, opens its online doors to the general public in November after a long period of testing. Its maker, Monumental Games in Nottingham, plans to sign up 55,000 players by the end of the month and more than one million by 2010. Road to glory Rather than take the role of a wizard or knight, you start as a young footballer playing in a grass roots league and work your way up to Rooney-like superstardom. New players start out with three-a-side games and progress to full 11-man teams, earning skill and fame points along the way.
The only computer controlled characters are the goalkeepers. The man behind the game, Steve Marshall, said: "It's the challenge of playing together as a team and winning. "When you are facing a human opponent you just don't know what they are going to do next and that's the beauty of online gaming." As players get more experience they can move between clubs and divisions, earning virtual money for appearances and strong performances. Outside matches, they can wonder around a Second Life-style virtual town, bumping into other players and spending their money in clubs, restaurants and bars. Sponsorship But while Football Superstars is similar to other online games in some ways, its payment system is very different. Instead of a monthly fee, Monumental is making the basic game free to download and play.
Instead of earning fame and skill points on the pitch, players can take a shortcut and buy the points using real money charged to their account. The game is also being sponsored by a number of big name sporting brands. As well as advertising hoardings and giant billboards, players can buy virtual sporting goods in the game itself. Wearing a certain pair of branded boots, for example, gives players an advantage on the pitch. Virtual sports Monumental might be the first game company to try a sporting simulation on this scale, but there are already signs that other big game companies are getting in on the act.
The game's online functions are more limited than a game like Football Superstars, but it's a sign of things to come. Meanwhile, Paris-based F4, is working on an online title that covers seven different sports. Empire of Sports has been repeatedly delayed but is now expected to go online early next year. Players can meet up and train their virtual bodies in the gym before trying out tennis, basketball, bobsleigh, track and field, downhill skiing and football. http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/technology/newsid_7683000/7683759.stm ITGS – Areas of Impact Home and Leisure Digital Entertainment: Digital Games Game consoles' web strategy Once upon a time a video games console was a simple machine that only allowed you to engage in innocent pixellated mayhem. Nowadays the latest generation of home consoles have got their sights set way above a simple gaming experience.
But if users navigate around the menus for a while they discover that these machines have much more to offer than just racing super cars, or vaporising alien hordes. All of the current generation of games consoles have online capabilities. This is nothing new - the old Xbox and PS2 allowed online multiplayer gaming - but the new machines have got much grander ideas, surfing the web for instance, or downloading video. The Xbox 360, the Wii and the PlayStation 3 all have slightly different online capabilities. The Wii accommodates online multiplayer and comes equipped with the Opera browser, which allows browsing through Nintendo's dedicated Wii channels. But because the Wii lacks a hard drive, downloadable material is at present limited to additional gaming content. Microsoft's machine does have a hard drive, and the suits in Seattle have built on the success of their online gaming platform, Xbox Live, with the 360. Initially a multiplayer gaming experience, its horizons have broadened in the last year. Xbox Live has seen the introduction of Marketplace, where content can be downloaded or purchased by users. "Microsoft's Xbox offering is a slick, sleek online service," said John Houlihan, of Computer and Video Games. "It's a closed system for playing games on the Xbox 360, but it also offers a great deal of digital content, like movies, videos and even some music." Sony may have sold millions of PS2s but its old machine lacked a strong online strategy. Wisely, Sony's boffins thought it might be a good idea to dip their toes into this new-fangled online nonsense with the PS3. The PS3's online capability differs from the 360's in that it offers a web browser, so you can surf the web. To enable you to search or type, a T9-style predictive text keyboard appears on screen and can be used with the six axis joypad or USB keyboard and mouse. "The PS network offers a pretty similar experience to Xbox Live," said Mr Houlihan, "with one vital difference, and that's that it's an open network not a closed one. You'll be able to play games, chat with your friends, see what they're doing online, but you're also allowed out into the wider web through its internet browser." Online stores And in what can charitably be described as an homage to Xbox Marketplace, the PlayStation store offers much the same services as its rival - simple free download games, movie and game trailers and old PS1 and 2 games are all for sale.
Already available in the US, Xbox's Video Marketplace features pop videos, high definition trailers and, most importantly, TV and movie downloads. TV content is purchased and remains on the 360 hard drive, movies on the other hand are rented, and erase themselves from the hard drive after 14 days. While pop video and TV show download times are relatively short, waiting for a movie to come down the line can take what seems like an age. To cope with the increased storage demands that Microsoft envisage users will need they have announced the 360 Elite, a machine with a bigger 120GB hard drive.
And as far as storage is concerned there are rumours that an 80GB hard drive is in the pipeline. Sony is also planning its own social networking Second Life hybrid, called Home. Microsoft also has plans to launch a streaming high definition IPTV service later this year, which John Houlihan thinks will be extremely important to Microsoft. "Over in the U.S. it's launched and seems to be working fine. Although there is no set date here I think we can probably expect to see it in Europe before the end of the year. "It really fits in with this whole on-demand model. People are moving away from standard TV, they want to see what they want to see at their convenience." These online aspirations are clearly serious attempts from the console manufacturers to take their machines beyond the confines of gaming. But call me old fashioned, can I not do all of this downloading, video messaging and gaming on a PC? Mr Houlihan does not think that is the point. "People like to sit in their living rooms," he insists. "They don't want to be locked away upstairs in their office in front of the PC. "The new words are social networking and I think that these new consoles allow the user to do this in the comfort of their living rooms, which makes it a much friendlier, warmer experience." So videogames consoles might just hold the key to bringing the web to a wider audience in the living room. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/6599019.stm ITGS – Areas of Impact Home and Leisure
Rise and rise of online gaming Internet use and online gaming have grown side-by-side. But the big challenge for the industry now is to attract casual gamers and get them to pay for their online gaming experience. Many gamers are willing to pay online fees because they love the idea of being able to play with people from all over the globe. Online operators want to get extra revenue from games that are either sold at a low cost or given away. The challenge is to get the balance right. For some, playing video games online is nothing new. But over the next 12 months, there will probably be a dramatic rise in the numbers of people getting connected, thanks to increasing broadband adoption and a new generation of gaming consoles that all feature online access as standard. Microsoft already has a head start with their Xbox Live service, although Sony and Nintendo are also moving into the online gaming space.
Many game developers have realised that online gaming is the future. Magic: The Gathering is a 10-year-old card game that achieved success without any online component, but since going online it has increased its popularity with 200,000 players competing in two million matches monthly. Justin Ziran from Magic: The Gathering says: "The whole premise is about community. I think online allows people to meet with their friends 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from all around the world. "You can get on any time you want and always have someone to play Magic with." Most industry watchers believe casual gaming, which has a wide demographic appeal, is where the biggest growth opportunities lie. Classic games Turner Broadcasting will launch GameTap later this year. It is a mix of classic games and video segments about games. Nostalgia is a huge part of the attraction, and the company has licensed almost 1,000 games, all available for a monthly fee.
But it is difficult to know yet if casual gamers will be willing to pay for such a service. More than 23 million people visit the free Yahoo Games site every month and Yahoo benefits from advertising and cross promotion of its other services. For the moment the games on offer are deliberately colourful, easy to play, and try to appeal to a wide cross section of people who perhaps do not even own a console. But adding more sophisticated games that appeal to hardcore gamers has not been ruled out. Geoff Gaber from Yahoo Games says: "We will be able to do bigger and better games. Our games are getting richer all the time.
Yahoo limits the length of time that each game can be played online, but unrestricted versions can be purchased. Console-led As the gaming industry experiments with multiple business models, it is conceivable that eventually games might be given away, with players signing up to subscription services. But that might affect how games are developed, marketed and played in the future. Rob Fahey from Gamesindustry.biz says: "I think the concern is a lot of publishers are going to turn around and not finish games, provide games to people in an unfinished stage or finish a game, and take content out of it before putting it on the shelves to then sell to them for premium. "We are probably going to see some behaviour like that, but the hope is that the consumer will react to that negatively and people will learn not do it and we'll see real added value being put into games instead." At the moment some online services are free and others are paid for. But it is the big three - Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Revolution - that are the most likely to influence how the online gaming world develops. Most industry experts agree that we are still on the starting line of a major online gaming revolution. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/4706435.stm ITGS – Areas of Impact H  ome and Leisure
Digital Entertainment: Gambling '£300m cost' of online gambling Online gambling at work costs firms in England more than £300m each year in lost productivity, a survey has found. Researchers claim 30% of office workers nationally had either placed a bet online or knew someone who had. The survey, commissioned by consultancy firm Morse, suggested those who gambled on the internet at work were likely to spend 13 hours a year doing so. Northern England had the most gamblers, with 35% making bets compared to 29% in the South and 27% in the Midlands. 'Great impact' Morse spokesman Philip Wicks said: "Many employees have unmonitored access to the internet and the fact that they can now follow most sporting events online, coupled with the rise of internet gambling websites, has tempted people to place a 'quick' bet online. "However these bets all add up and can greatly impact on businesses' productivity." The survey said 38% of the men questioned admitted to gambling online, compared to 21% of women. Bets were most often placed on the National Lottery, followed by football matches, horse races and online poker games. The survey results came from interviews with 664 office workers across the country and workplace information from the Office of National Statistics. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/6260865.stm
"It's an effective way to build a subscription base, rather than the traditional routes that involve PR, hype and having a service that has to be almost perfect from day one," he said. The report examines revenue made from subscription based services, rather than total player numbers, in Europe and North America. Size matters Some games - such as the German title Panfu and Tribal Wars - are in the 10 most popular games when it comes to player numbers, but not in terms of spending. In addition, some games - such as Warhammer Online - were released late in 2008 and so didn't make the list. However, Mr Harding-Rolls thought that Warhammer would be one of the top three when next years list comes out. There has been much speculation on how the video games industry would fare during the recession, with many experts - such as the British veteran game designer, Peter Molyneux - expecting a lot of price pressure on games. Mr Harding-Rolls said that, for now, it was a case of wait and see when it came to MMOGs. "Under the current conditions, it will probably be harder for publishers to pick up new customers and gamers who have multiple accounts on different games may well scale back which game they play. "That said, playing a video game - especially a MMOG - is a low value proposition to a user and once you're a subscriber you're likely to stay a subscriber for at least a few months." news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7960785.stm ITGS – Areas of Impact Home and Leisure D  igital Entertainment: Gambling
Vietnam restricts online gaming Tough new restrictions intended to curb the playing of online computer games have come fully into force in Vietnam. They follow concerns from officials and teachers about the effect the games were having on young people playing for many hours at a time. But some games companies are finding it difficult to implement the new rules. Some have been slow to introduce the rules and have been fined or closed down. Others, however, continue to flout the law. Almost every city centre street in Vietnam has an internet cafe. Most of their customers are young men playing online football or fighting games. The most popular - Vo Lam or Swordsman - is thought to have a quarter of a million players. Based on a game developed in China, its use of traditional stories has become very popular. Some of its players have become virtual addicts, according to one man in a games cafe, Thue. "Some special cases play this game 24 hours a day - 24 hours a day." Fantasy world Vietnam's authorities have become concerned about a generation hunched over computer terminals living in fantasy worlds instead of studying, building socialism or even playing football. In June, they announced new restrictions intended to limit playing sessions to five hours. Online gaming has become a huge industry in Vietnam and some international games developers have also set up facilities in the country to take advantage of its cheap and talented programmers. The authorities are happy to see high-tech industries develop, but not to the extent that they might - in their eyes - corrupt the country's youth. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6225505.stm ITGS – Areas of Impact H  ome and Leisure
Digital Entertainment: Gambling Toys and games: online gambling Online gambling: Britain's new obsession
Panorama reporter Declan Lawn gave $2,000 of his own money to professional gambler Matthew Hopkins to find out if he could double it at online poker games which are played in US dollars. Two years ago 20-year-old Matthew packed in his part time job at his local fish and chip shop in Camarthen to play internet poker full time. He currently earns up to $30,000 a month. But Panorama also follows the story of 24-year-old Sharna Baker who stole almost half a million pounds from the merchant bank where she worked to feed her habit for backing horses on the internet. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/6165948.stm ITGS – Areas of Impact H ome and Leisure
Digital Entertainment: Gambling US gambling law flawed The US crackdown on online gambling is a "new prohibition", which is likely to fuel a rise in fraud and exploitation, the UK culture secretary has said. Offshore sites could become the "modern equivalent of speakeasies", illegal bars which opened in 1920s America when alcohol was banned, Tessa Jowell added. New US laws forbid firms from taking internet bets, and ban banks and credit card firms from allowing web payments. Ms Jowell said regulating sites worked better than prohibition. Spending checks Under UK government plans, the Gambling Commission is to vet sites, giving official approval to those with the best working practices. Operators will not be allowed to target children and must keep customers informed about how much money they have spent. Key staff, such as managing directors and finance managers, will also be checked for links to organised crime. Ms Jowell said: "Broadly speaking we have three choices: you can prohibit, like the US, do nothing or regulate, like we have. "I firmly believe we have chosen the path that will do the most to protect children and vulnerable people and keep out crime." She added: "America should have learnt the lessons of prohibition. The Volstead Act [which brought in prohibition in 1919] was meant to stop alcohol from causing harm, but in practice it forced otherwise law-abiding customers into the hands of the bootleggers. "If it goes wrong, there is a real danger is that off shore sites based in poorly regulated countries will become the modern day equivalent of speakeasies, increasing the risk of exploitation and fraud." 'Lack of regulation' Ms Jowell said there was a danger of the US government popularising badly regulated offshore gambling sites. The US legislation, approved this month by President George W Bush, is expected to hit UK firms, as it closes off a large part of the global market. Costa Rica, the country which hosts the most internet gambling sites in the world, advertises its "lack" of regulation. The website costarica.com says: "When you use an online casino based in Costa Rica you are playing at your own risk and you are at the mercy of the online casino's good faith to fulfil its representations. "Casinos may decide at their own discretion not to pay what you have earned and there is no way you can collect those monies since it is illegal in Costa Rica to collect money based on gambling." Ms Jowell will be hosting a summit on online gambling next week, with politicians from 30 countries discussing how to achieve international regulations. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6090358.stm ITGS – Areas of Impact Home and Leisure Digital Entertainment: Gambling Woman stole £150,000 for gambling A woman has been jailed for two and a half years for stealing £150,000 from her employers to feed her online gambling habit. Eileen Evis, 61, from Colaton Raleigh, Devon, took the money from building firm TAG in Sidmouth where she worked as a £50-a-week book-keeper. Exeter Crown Court was told she won £36,000 by gambling, but the £150,000 she took had disappeared. Evis admitted six charges of fraud and two charges of dishonesty. The court heard that the offences took place over 10 months from March 2007 after Evis was left in charge of the company when its owners moved to Canada. But she switched their bank accounts to the internet and stole from two accounts to feed her online gambling. 'Innocent hobby' She also took out a Barclaycard and a Marks & Spencer store card using their details and ran up debts on those of £11,000 and £1,480 respectively. When the owners returned, one current account which had been £8,000 in credit, was £15,000 overdrawn.
Nigel Wraith, defending, said she gambled on the internet with Ladbrokes and other companies and made a profit with Ladbrokes. She had lost the rest of the money. He said: "She started gambling online when a friend of hers showed her to do it. "It started off as an innocent hobby to help her escape her depression. "It was inevitable she would be discovered. It started spiralling out of control." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/7955873.stm ITGS – Areas of Impact Home and Leisure D  igital Entertainment: Virtual Worlds
Virtual worlds and web 'merging' "You take one avatar and you cross multiple virtual worlds… that is going to be a really powerful and important part of the virtual world future," predicted Mark Kingdon, the boss of Second Life. This online fantasy space had 1.4m users over the past two months, out of its 17m registered users, who can access to products and places replicated from real life. The residents can spend their time visiting exact replicas of actual tourist hotspots, shops, or even bizarre fantasy lands. Videos on the site's homepage aim to help users find content that interests them within the vast 3D environment. Second Life may have been one of the first virtual worlds of its kind, but six years on, the competition is fierce.
Newer digital destinations include exact copies of real shopping areas. Fot instance, the Near virtual world has a digital copy of London's Regent Street. There are also spaces, such as There, aimed at children and teenagers, which tailor activities and products to that younger audience.
"By having a broad-based platform that appeals to a large audience, and supplying the tools and experiences they are looking for, you can reach a very wide audience," he said. However, he saw the collaboration between virtual worlds as beneficial because residents did not want to be limited to one platform. Linden Lab, the firm behind Second Life, has been working with IBM to enable multiple online destinations to become connected. "The virtual world space is about your presence, your identity, your avatar, and your interactions with others," said Mr Kingdon. "So, if all of a sudden if you want to move to go to another virtual world, you want to be able to take your identity with you," he said. More integrated As in the real world, money also plays a big part in many of the online spaces. Most are free to join, but offer the option to upgrade if a user buys a premium service that gives them a few added perks.
"Buying and selling of digital goods is a big part of the virtual world experience," the boss of Second Life said. He thought that "digital extensions of physical products" would start appearing in the 3D online landscape. "Increasingly we'll buy digital facsimiles of real world products. So if you go to my home I have a really wonderful Eames chair from Herman Miller. "If you go to my office in Second Life, I have 12 Eames chairs that are wonderful but they are digital facsimiles of the real thing," he explained. He believes that virtual worlds were also becoming more integrated with the rest of the web and its offerings of an escape. "A lot of the interesting things we are seeing are applications where people are merging the web with the virtual world," he noted. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/8016135.stm ITGS – Areas of Impact Home and Leisure Digital Entertainment: Virtual Worlds Directory: file -> view view -> Western Europe after wwii view -> Author study: paul fleischman view -> Qpa1 7ela study Guide view -> Arctic Oil/Gas Neg view -> November 1970 Approximately 150,000-500,000 deaths Bhola Cyclone Bangladesh view -> Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce view -> Citation: Duffield, Katy view -> Table of Contents Lesson # view -> Chinese Wind Energy Disad Download 0.62 Mb. Share with your friends:
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If you look forward, the economics are starting to come together
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