Most operating systems come with pre-installed software, sometimes officially made by the vendors. Take for instance Windows 7, with Microsoft including programs such as Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer. Open source programs such as VLC Media Player and Mozilla Firefox surpass Microsoft's efforts by miles. The same could be said about Apple's Snow Leopard, where QuickTime is easily surpassed by VLC Media Player's extensive file format support.

This leads onto my question; should open source software come pre-installed? Mozilla's Firefox has hugely dented Internet Explorer's market share. Why is this? It is undoubtedly due to many aspects: it has a cleaner Graphical User Interface, is faster, has useful plug-ins, is highly personaliseable, is secure, and most importantly complies to web standards. Mozilla's Firefox scores 96/100 in the Acid3 test, Microsoft's forthcoming Internet Explorer 9 scores a miserable 32/100. A prime example of how open source can be better than large corporation efforts.

Microsoft come under pressure last year to not include Internet Explorer within Windows 7. The European Commission deemed the inclusion of Internet Explorer as anti-competitive browser behaviour. They wanted users to have the ability to choose their own preferred browser, rather than have Microsoft's efforts forced upon them. This was later ruled out however, and Windows 7 shipped in Europe with Internet Explorer 8 pre-installed as originally planned.

There are hundreds of open source programs that are better than huge corporation efforts. As mentioned previously, Mozilla Firefox is the internet browser of choice, Mozilla Thunderbird for email and VLC Media Player for entertainment (I am yet to come across a file it won't play). There are numerous others, but it would take a significant amount of time to list them all. The quote below summarises open source software perfectly.

"The availability of the source code and the right to modify it is very important. It enables the unlimited tuning and improvement of a software product. It also makes it possible to port the code to new hardware, to adapt it to changing conditions and to reach a detailed understanding of how the system works. This is why many experts are reaching the conclusion that to really extend the lifetime of an application, it must be available in source form. In fact, no binary-only application more than 10 years old now survives in unmodified form, while several open source software systems from the 1980's are still in widespread use (although in many cases conveniently adapted to new environments). Source code availability also makes it much easier to isolate bugs, and (for a programmer) to fix them."
Jesus M. Gonzalez-Barahona (Advantages of Open Source Software - Published 2000)

I don't see Microsoft or Apple bundling open source software that rivals their own creations anytime soon. For the moment it remains the user who has to download all their preferred programs. However, could manufacturers of PC's soon place open source software on thier machines, similarly to the free Anti-Virus trials many offer at the moment? It seems more likely to happen with Microsoft PC's than with Apple computers, due to the fact Apple build both the hardware and software of every Mac!

An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is what every household must use to get connected to the internet. The majority of ISP companies offer various packages and speeds.

Since the implementation of broadband, data speeds have gradually become faster. The days of dial-up modems are quickly becoming a thing of the past. We are now in an era of Wi-Fi internet, where 8mbps connections are deemed as a satisfactory speed.

Every website you visit is logged by your computer, unless you enable private browsing modes available in internet browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. That's fine, your computer enables you to build up an archive so that you never forget the good websites you've visited.

However, the UK Government is implementing some controversial new legislations, that will affect every computer user in Britain. All telecommunication companies and Internet Service Providers (ISP's) are required to keep a record of every customers personal communications by law. This includes all of the websites you visit, and who you have contacted; with specific details of where and when, for a period of twelve months.

This new law increases the amount of personal data that can be obtained via the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA); which was only supposed to be used for terrorism purposes.

This new legislation is known as the Intercept Modernisation Programme. It forces every company to effectively monitor and archive every online mouse click, in a Big Brother fashion.

Companies such as BT, Orange and Vodafone will be involved in storing the data, with a monumental cost of £10billion over a ten year period; paid for by the tax payer of course.

David Davis (former Shadow Home Secretary)

Ministers originally wanted to store information on a single government run database, but decided not to due to privacy concerns. However, they are pressing on ahead with the privately held databases, and a Big Brother society is becoming ever closer.

These new laws will have a profound impact on Internet Service Providers (ISP's). For example, if 20 billion emails are sent via the internet each year, and each email is only 2 kilobytes in size (mainly text), and the ISP is forced to store all messages for twelve months, then approximately 7000 terabytes of storage is needed worldwide. This was discovered via research from IDC in 2001. The majority of emails today are rarely 2 kilobytes in size, in fact most are now measured in megabytes. Storage costs money, and the consumer will have to foot the increased bill.

You could argue that the government is implementing a perfectly legitimate law; after all if you've got nothing to hide what's the problem? However, how would you feel if authorities knew extensive amounts of information about your life, who's to say data will only be used for criminal investigations?

These days, new and updated electronics are appearing every week. The majority of products are patented upon release, or have patents pending.

Companies that implement innovative ideas deserve the right for other manufacturers to be forbidden from copying their intellectual property. That's a brief explanation of what a patent is, and if any company infringes it they risk being sued.

The Apple iPhone was revolutionary when it was released back in June 2007. It changed the industry from tactile buttons to touch screens. The Graphical User Interface is simply beautiful, adopting its looks from its big brother 'Snow Leopard'. The iPhone made every other manufacturer rush to compete; with some aspects difficult to be replicated. For instance, Apple's multi-touch capacitive screen technology still remains the best on any phone, with unprecedented accuracy, and subsequently patented in January 2009.

However, Apple isn't as squeaky clean as some people may believe. Nokia recently announced they wish to sue Apple for infringing patents on mobile phone technology. They accused Apple of "trying to get a free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation." Allegedly, there are ten patent infringements, which include wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption features of the iPhone. Nokia have agreements with approximately 40 manufacturers, permitting them to use their technology; with Apple not signing any agreement. A cheeky move by Apple, seeing as Nokia have invested £36.2 billion on research and development during the last two decades. No doubt both companies will have elite lawyers working for them.

Ilkka Rahnasto (Vice President of Legal and Intellectual Property - Nokia)

It seems as though elite companies would rather take the risk of infringing patents than getting clearance prior to launching their products. Apple is a huge computer company, with large dominance in the portable market since the release of the iPod, iPhone and MacBook products.

For centuries, people have been obsessed with their privacy. It's a human interest to not want everything made public. Surveillance these days is everywhere. From CCTV cameras, to mobile phones (GPS tracking), to bank cards; the authorities have an accurate idea of your approximate location. In fact, it's mainly recent advancements in technology that's made the 'Big Brother' attitude possible.

Since the dawn of the World Wide Web, privacy is rapidly becoming impossible. The majority of content on the internet is permanent, and rarely temporary. Digital content can spread rapidly within short periods of time. For instance, if you upload a home video to YouTube, you must be prepared for it to spread all over the internet; take Star Wars Kid as a prime example.

Social networking websites such as Facebook also have issues with privacy. Some status updates are very personal, previously being something only your diary would know; but now digitised for all your friends to read. Ever been tagged in a photo you don't like? Most people have, so you just remove your tag don't you? The problem is the photo is only removed from your profile, not your friends', and therefore remains on the internet for people to happily view. Issues that would never of existed a decade ago are now an everyday occurrence. Some people are too personal with their status updates, consequently losing their jobs or risking their safety. Unsurprisingly, there is a master password for Facebook accounts, for any authority to browse if you are under suspicion.

Every Google search you make is recorded for two years. What you search for is often personal, and authorities can easily establish what kind of person you are. Google is regarded as the king of the internet, with most people using it to find and browse every topic and subsequent website in the world.

Email can also be easily read by authorities. Some messages are often very private and confidential, that only you and your intended recipient should know about. However, you simply have no choice, with messages read in the interest of public safety.

Mann, Nolan & Wellman (Sousveillance - Published 2002)

In the new digital age, you have to accept that authorities know scary amounts of information about you. The only invention that retains some of your privacy is the door, invented during Egyptian times. Could we soon be part of a super database, or are we already on one?