Southwest Airlines announced Wednesday that it plans to begin trials of satellite-to-airplane broadband Internet service sometime this summer.

Spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said Wednesday morning that initially Southwest plans to test the service on four planes. But because the airline’s planes fly many different routes, she did not anticipate–at least not yet–that travelers would be able to plan to fly on one of those planes.

That means that in the early going at least, the service–which will allow passengers to access the Internet if they have their own Wi-Fi-enabled laptops–will be available at random.

McInnis did not say if Southwest’s service would limit what kind of sites or applications passengers could access, as does JetBlue’s recently added service. Read more » »

NTT DoCoMo on Thursday said it planned to use Google Internet search and other services in mobile phones, giving Google a major platform for delivering services and ads to the Japanese.

The companies said in a joint statement that Google search results would appear by default via the search portal available on DoCoMo i-mode handsets. In addition, keyword-based ads from Google’s AdWords advertising platform would also appear with results. The search and advertising services will be deployed in the spring.

Tokyo-based DoCoMo was in discussions with Google to pre-install Google Maps for Mobile on handsets. The companies were also working on adding other Google services, such as e-mail, YouTube video, and the ability to share and publish photos over the Web. In addition, Google would be set as the default start page on upcoming DoCoMo handsets with full-browser capabilities.
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SHANGHAI (AFP) — Shanghai’s metro rail authority apologised to a couple who had threatened to sue after a video of them kissing on a station platform was posted on the Internet, state media reported Friday.

The video clip shows the couple in a prolonged embrace as three voices speaking in the local Shanghai dialect can be heard in the background laughing and making lewd sexual comments.

“We have wrapped up an internal investigation and found the videotape was uploaded by people who had worked for Shanghai Metro,” officials with the Shanghai Metro Operation Co. was quoted as saying by the Xinhua news agency.

“We made formal apologies and are negotiating with the couple over compensation.” Read more » »

HM Revenue and Customs was last night accused of taking a cavalier attitude to the protection of data on ordinary taxpayers after it emerged that MPs, royals and celebrities were banned from filling in their tax returns online for security reasons.

HMRC faced accusations of encouraging a two-tier system after thousands of Britons which are regarded as “high profile” are being asked to send in their applications by post while the general public – around three million users – are required to provide their details on the internet-based system. Consumer groups questioned why the same level of security was not being offered to all users after a minister admitted: “There are categories of individual for whom security is a higher priority.”

The disclosure follows the highly damaging “datagate” fiasco last November in which child benefit information including names, addresses, National Insurance numbers and the bank details of 25 million people were lost in the post. The news will fuel suspicions that the HMRC’s security Read more » »

A firm that calls itself a “locator company” is offering a site to help people find radio stations that carry the Super Bowl.

SpatialPoint said the site “uses Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Microsoft Virtual Earth and SpatialPoint Atlas to allow users to enter a location where they will be for the game, or an origin and destination for a route on which they’ll be traveling, and get a map with a list of all of the AM and FM radio stations where they will be able to listen to the game,” the company said.

The company said the site demonstrates a real-world use of its technology. “This application’s functionality is something that could be useful for anyone who is syndicating radio content.” SpatialPoint offers its products for things like store locators to drive retail traffic, coverage locators to visualize networks or an impact locator for “what if” analysis. Read more » »

The ticket windows inside the main entrance to Coleman Coliseum will be open two hours prior to tip-off for those customers picking up tickets at Will Call and for purchases for future games. Please contact the Alabama Ticket Office at 877-TIDETIX or locally at 205-348-2262 with questions or concerns.

Fans attending the game are reminded of the convenience of the Crimson Ride, a free shuttle service to Coleman Coliseum on game days. Starting one hour before tip-off for every Tide home basketball game, the Crimson Ride transit system runs a direct route to transport fans from the Soccer Lot, located off University Boulevard, to the front entrance of Coleman Coliseum. Signs are posted on Bryant Drive and 2nd Avenue directing traffic to this parking lot and free shuttle service. After the game the buses will pick up directly at the front of the coliseum on the west side. The coliseum parking lot is utilized for handicap parking and for permit holders Read more » »

TT Network Integration ASIA Pte Ltd (TTNI) and Trend Micro Incorporated (TSE: 4704) have decided to offer a joint security monitoring service called TTNI End Client Service (TECS) to Japanese multinational companies operating in Asia.

The service, which will be effective beginning 1 February 2008 has a sales target of SGD 735,000 (approximately 50 million Japanese Yen) for the first year.

As Japanese businesses are actively building factories in Asia, the effective utilisation of computer networks is indispensable and data system administrators are faced with the need to be flexible and prompt with incidents occurring at these facilities.

“Most Japanese businesses today, however, are facing the challenges of securing IT administrators who are specialised in security and are able to communicate security policies from the headquarters in Japan to their offices in Asia. Enforcement of security policies can be difficult when employees from Japan and local offices need to communicate instantly,” said Tsuyoshi Yamada, Managing Director of TTNI Asia Pte Ltd. Read more » »