Social networking is thriving

A survey conducted by Universal Media (UM) has found that nearly two-thirds of Internet users have now joined a social network site, says Al Bawaba.

This is the fourth consecutive survey by UM with findings based on the statistics collected from 22 729 active Internet users in 38 countries between November 2008 and March 2009, making it the largest global analysis of social media usage.

About 76% of social network users upload photos, and 33% upload videos to their profiles. Mobile Internet usage has now reached nearly a fifth of all active Internet users and 17% access Internet on the move as well as at home, work or college.

The pirate audio-visual industry in Fiji is worth $100 million, earning illegal revenues of between $8 million and $9 million a year, reports Fiji Times Online.

According to the Fiji Audio Visual Industry Association, submission to amend the Act of 1999, piracy in Fiji had reached 98% and small illegal outlets had mushroomed around the country.

Fiji shop owners and retailers of genuine DVDs say that once an illegal operator is successfully prosecuted, all pirate operations will close down.

Panasonic has released a Bluetooth-enabled cordless phone that merges cellular and landline contacts, states Digital Trends.

Panasonic says the initiative behind the phone was to combine cellular and home directories within a single device as a convenience for home-based businesses as well as residential consumers.

The KX-TG9382T is a two-line phone providing the user with three-line conferencing capabilities and a built-in digital answering machine with 40 minutes of storage and that can be paired with any Bluetooth-enabled headset.