National UK smart card scheme arrives

The English national concessionary travel scheme began today - with a series of uncertainties related to smart card integration in the bus network and further extension across the transport sector, reports Computing.co.uk.

The new scheme allows senior citizens and disabled people free bus journeys across the country, using a new smart card-based travel pass.

According to a report from the Commons' Transport Select Committee, local authorities have issued 11 million concessionary travel smart cards, but many buses are not equipped to read them.

A set of guidelines to help European ISPs and law enforcement agencies cooperate on cyber-crime investigations are close to being complete, says IT World.

The guidelines are aimed at satisfying law enforcement's need to quickly obtain data needed for investigations while also not unduly burdening ISPs or threatening subscribers' right to privacy, said Alexander Seger, head of the economic crime division for the Council of Europe.

The guidelines will be voluntary for ISPs and law enforcement, and intended to be a set of best practices to supplement a particular country's existing laws against cyber-crime. ISPs and police in any country will be encouraged to use the guidelines.

Don't be surprised to see better customer service from vendors when it comes to satisfying the needs of mid-market companies, says eWeek.

Vendors spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to best approach IT organisations that work for medium-sized companies, which the industry typically defines as organisations with between 100 and 1 000 employees.

As of late, these types of companies have become a major focus of the IT vendor community because collectively these types of companies now spend more on IT than companies that have over 1 000 employees. That reflects both the sheer volume of medium companies and the changing economic climate, which seems to have a more adverse impact on larger companies than smaller ones.

Yesterday's Capitol Hill hearing on online worlds was broadcast simultaneously in cyberspace, reports the Washington Post.

Comments posted on the hearing by Second Life visitors were then displayed on a screen in the Rayburn House Office Building. In Second Life, Rep Edward Markey was depicted as an avatar leading the meeting.

A virtual depiction of the Rayburn House Office Building meeting room was projected on television screens on the wall, so that real-world attendees could look at the small virtual crowd that logged on for the event. Attendees logging in from Second Life, meanwhile, could watch the proceedings on a video screen projected on the wall of the virtual room.