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Ever looked at Google News and thought – “I’m loving the content, I just wish it was presented in a more visual way”? No? Me neither, that would be quite a bizarre thing to think really. But someone at Google obviously has though this by the looks of Flipper – a Google labs project that displays the news in a much more visual way. Check out this screen shot from Tech Crunch to get an idea. The idea behind Flipper is that users will be able to flip through the news. They’ll also be able to sort the news into personalised sections – by sources, key words, trends, recommendations and the like. The thing that excites me most about Flipper though is simply its name. Flipper – how awesome is that? You’ll be able to talk to it in the same way Porter, Sandy and Bud used to talk to Flipper the dolphin. “What’s that Flip, Gordon Brown’s expenses are coming under intense scrutiny? And a man got stuck down a well in Tunbridge Wells?!?” Brilliant – the news will never be boring again. Flipper isn’t public at the moment – it’s only for the Google boffins – but expect it to launch sometime soon. (via Tech Crunch)

This is the second piece of government or state-related literature that in the past few days has equated Internet access with access to clean water and electricity. (The first was that French court ruling.) That Digital Britain report that I’ve been mentioning for the past few weeks finally came out today. The big headline: Yes, the Internet is Really Important Now. I suggest you at least read the executive summary [PDF]; that’s what it’s there for.

There’s really not much to add to what’s already been written by Gordon Brown, the prime minister there (for now!), in the Times. There’s a bit of the ol’ “Britain was once great, she shall be great once again, thanks to the Internet,” so be on the lookout for that.

Credit to the Government there, though, for undertaking the effort.

You can find the full report here.

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Don’t expect every country in Europe to follow France in implementing a “three strikes” anti-piracy laws. A report called Digital Britain, which assess the UK’s preparedness to enter the digital era, will be published next week, and inside are methods that the UK could use to combat Internet piracy. One such method: slowing down the Internet connection of file-sharers so as to prevent them from effectively downloading illegal content. (Though, if my UK acquaintances are telling the truth, broadband in the UK is garbage to begin with. It’d be like telling a slug to slow down.)

Slowing people down is one option, rather than just cutting people off from the Internet altogether, which is something the EU doesn’t support. The Government there, now less a few Blairites, sees Internet access as being as important as something like running water.

Also in the report: a demand that ISPs cooperate when copyright infringement is found. You know, sending letters to customers saying, “Yeah, we found out that you were downloading Premier League games, and now the FA and Sky Sports are breathing down our necks. Knock it off.”

Of course, that’ll open up ISPs to all sorts of nastiness. “If they can catch people downloading episodes of “Lost,” why can’t they spot people who are looking at terrorism sites, teasing Gordon Brown, etc.?”

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