BT Broadband down for second day in a row

BT Broadband down for second day in a row

The UK’s biggest internet provider is experiencing problems for a second day in a row. The first day of problems was caused by a power failure at a partner company’s site which left users struggling to access the internet.

Today’s problems were caused by a circuit that tripped in a building in London, owned by Telehouse, which hosts a data centre used by BT. Both sites are situated in London Docklands, but owned by different companies. According to DownDetector, most reports of outages were in London. other reports were in Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Milton Keynes, Leeds, Sheffield, Bristol, Liverpool, and Glasgow.

A spokesman from Telehouse said, ‘The problem has been investigated and the solution identified. Our engineers are working with our customers on the resolution right now.’ Telehouse is a major carrier-neutral colocation, ICT solutions and managed services provider.

www.dailymail.co.uk (21st July 2016)

Anti-bullying recognition for Hereward College

Anti-bullying recognition for Hereward College

A group of young people from Hereward College have been trained as Diana Award Anti-bullying ambassadors and are part of the National Anti-Bullying Ambassadors Network. They are responsible for leading anti-bullying initiatives in the college, encouraging fellow students and staff to take action against bullying. More than 16,000 students have been trained to be Anti-Bullying Ambassadors across the UK and just a few schools and colleges (Hereward College being one) have been selected to be showcased for their outstanding work. Filming took place at the college to be shown at a national celebration event at the UK’s Facebook headquarters.

Dayna Donnelly, Student Mentor at Hereward, said: ‘It’s a real privilege to be able to highlight the work of Hereward’s anti-bullying ambassadors in this way. The focus at Hereward has been on preventing bullying rather than solely dealing with the consequences. We are so proud of the young people who do any amazing job to help change the behaviours and attitudes of learners and the college as a whole.’

C&W in business Issue 54 (July/August 2016)

BT told by MPs to ‘put its house in order’

BT told by MPs to ‘put its house in order’

BT has been told by MPs it must ‘invest significantly’ in the business responsible for most of the country’s broadband roll-out – or split it off. They said that the quality of service offered by BT’s Openreach subsidiary ‘remains poor’. The MPs added that the ‘shortfall in investment’ could run into hundreds of millions of pounds a year. The report by MPs on the Culture Media and Sport Committee accuses BT of making decisions that favoured its own ‘priorities and interests’. The Committee is ‘demanding’ that BT pump significantly more money into Openreach. If BT does not comply, then they supporting the idea of splitting Openreach from BT.

BT rejected the allegation that it had under-invested, but agreed that customer service needed to be improved. BT is keen to prove that it is working on these issues and has announced improvements in the time it takes customers to get an appointment for an Openreach engineer to repair or install broadband.

Rival companies have long called for a split between BT and its Openreach operation, which runs its cables, fibre and network infrastructure. Companies such as Sky, Vodafone and TalkTalk, who pay to use the network, have claimed in the past that BT underinvested in Openreach, leading to a poor service with interruptions and slow speeds.

www.bbc.co.uk/technews (19th July 2016)

Pokeman Go is unleashed in the UK

Pokeman Go is unleashed in the UK

Pokeman Go, the mobile game that has become a phenomenon, has arrived in the UK. It has already been available in the US, Australia and Germany but some UK gamers found ways around the country restriction to get early access.

The app lets players roam a map using their phone’s GPS location data and catch Pokémon to train and battle. The game has added millions to the value of Nintendo, which part-owns the franchise.

However, some people have raised concerns about the app’s safety. The Chief Executive of the children’s charity NSPCC has urged the app’s makers to adapt the game, warning that adults could use it to prey on children.

The game uses a smartphone’s GPS location and real-world maps to track players as they move around. Players can visit Pokestops – typically landmarks or buildings – and collect free items in the game. The main aim is to catch Pokémon, which pop up along the way. The game provides an augmented reality experience, using the smartphone’s camera to provide a live view of the world, with Pokémon superimposed.

www.bbc.co.uk/technews (14th July 2016)

Samsung Galaxy fails ‘water-resistant’ test

Samsung Galaxy fails ‘water-resistant’ test

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Active failed a water immersion test by a leading product review site. The phone, which is being advertised as being water-resistant, stopped working after being put in a tank that simulated the effect of being about 1.5m under water. When removed after half an hour, the first phone’s display was non-responsive and marred by green lines. Bubbles had also formed in its two camera lenses. A second handset subjected to the same test suffered similar faults. Neither handset was usable following the experiments.

Samsung said it was possible that defective devices were ‘not as watertight’ as they should have been. Samsung’s website stated the Galaxy S7 Active, which is sold in the US but is not available in the UK, is IP68-certified. The ingress protection rating signifies the phone can withstand ‘continuous immersion in water’.

‘The IP rating of your device was achieved in laboratory conditions in standby mode, so you should not use the device underwater, such as taking pictures,’ advice on its water and dust protection page states.

Samsung said it would investigate the issue.

www.bbc.co.uk/technews (11th July 2016)