In this episode of Just the Tech: We’ll be updating on the NASA Satellite hurtling back to Earth, asking if the changes to Facebook are a good or bad thing, and hearing about a possible life line for Adobe Flash. We’ll also be talking about HP, the Apple iPhone 5, and the state of NHS IT.

This episode of Just the Tech lasts around 15 mins.

Please send feedback, and suggestions for inclusion in future episodes, to justthetech@jasonslater.co.uk

SHOW NOTES

FACEBOOK

If you have checked your Facebook page today you may be surprised to see its a little bit different. There is a new News Feed where Top News and Most Rcent stories have been combined into a single news feed. As Facebook says

“All Your News is Now in One Place: Top stories since your last visit are at the top. Each top story is marked with a blue corner. Recent stories are below, in the order they were posted”

The idea,according to Facebook engineering manager Mark Tonkelowitz, is that the problem with the status feed is that it simply displays entries in chronological order with little emphasis on the merit of any particular entry.

Opinion about the new changes, including the news feed and ticker, is divided with many people using the Twitter hashtag #NewFacebook to express their views. Either way with Facebook revenues expected to hit just over 4 billion dollars this year, according to a study by eMarketer, we can be pretty sure this won’t be the last of the changes we see this year.

On another note today is the day of F8, the Facebook Developers conference, which is quite timely for Facebook as it is likely to garner the odd raised hand or two about the recent changes.

ADOBE

Flash is going to version 11 and Adobe Air to version 3. The key message in Flash 11 and AIR 3 is accelerated 2D and support for 3D gaming together with support for Android, iOS (via AIR), BlackBerry Tablet OS, Mac OS, Windows, and a number of other platforms.

Captive Runtime is an interesting new feature which allows developers to package AIR together with the application so users don’t have to spend time downloading additional components just to get their apps to work – this addition is vital if Flash is going to step up to compete in the app based world we have today.

Flash 11 is planned for release in October and you can download Flash Player 11 Release Candidate for Desktops from Adobe Labs – the link will be in the show notes.

HP

Imagine how you might feel if the company you work for stock valuation were to increase based on the rumour that you are getting fired? This is exactly the predicmant Leo Apotheker, CEO of HP, is finding himself in.

According to CNN Money the word is that Mr. Apothekers successor may already lined in the form of ex-eBay head Meg Whitman – although, as we might expect, she has declined to comment.

The Wall Street Journal have also reported the story citing an already difficult time for HP, as they say, “a turbulent 11-month tenure in which the market value of the technology giant was cut nearly in half.”

APPLE

Rumours behind a possible Apple iPhone 5 release date are increasing. October 4th, 7th and 13th are the latest word on the street. Outlined on the BGR website they say that according to one of their high-level AT&T sources (un-named of course!) that the AT&T Vice President has confirmed to a few employees that the launch should be early October, whilst Mashable suggest October 7th or possibly October 13th based on the iPad 2 schedule.

SOCIAL ENGINEERING

“Social Engineering is an increasing data security risk”, according to data recovery specialsts Ontrack. To be socially Engineered means that someone has tricked you into providing important or confidential information. We all need to be extra vigilant about the information we give away particularly on social networks.

NHS IT

The Telegraph are reporting that an 11.4 billion pound NHS IT programme is to be abandoned by the UK Government.

The project, launched in 2002, included the ambitious plan to deliver a range of systems including a key integrated electronic patient records system, and the project had an original budget of around 6.2 billion.

In May this year the National Audit Office released a report following an investigation into the project. Some areas of the project had been delivered successfully and were as they report suggests, “routinely used”, including the N3 broadband network connecting all NHS and non-NHS sites providing NHS Care, the Spine – a group of eight applications forming the basis of the NHS Care Records Service, and PACS – the Picture Archiving and Communications System where the report suggests that as a result the number of X-Rays reported within 48 hours were up from 40 percent to 75 percent across England.

The three major failings in the report were the electronic signature prescription system, the GP to GP transfer mechanism, and the Summary Care Record system.

However, after running five years behind schedule, being scaled back by a huge amount, and the soaring costs, it looks like this could be the end of the road for this particular project.

BRAIN SPILL PODATHON

Local comedy funnymen and podcast duo Tim and Simon are planning to run a 24 hour podcasting marathon on 27th September with the aim of raising £1000 for The Alzheimer’s Society. I am planning to come up with a challenge for them in return for a donation – let’s see if they are up for it.

LINKS

• UARS Updates, Read more about the UARS Update
• Facebook Blog: Interesting News, Any Time You Visit, Read more from Facebook Blog
• eMarketer: Facebook Revenues to Reach $4.27 Billion in 2011, Read more from eMarketer
• Facebook F8 | Live, Read more from Facebook Live
• Adobe: Adobe Enables 3D Games With Flash Player 11, AIR 3, Read more from Adobe
• Adobe: Download Flash Player 11 Release Candidate for Desktops, Read more about Adobe Flash Player 11 RC
• HP stock rises 7% on rumor CEO Leo Apotheker is getting fired, Read more from CNN Money
• Crisis Unfolds at H-P Over CEO, Read more from WSJ
• Economist: Hewlett-Packard: Board Game, Readmore from the Economist
• Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman Being Considered for HP CEO Job to Replace Apotheker, Read more from All Things Digital
• BGR: AT&T VP: iPhone 5 coming in early October, prepare to get ‘really, really busy’, Read more from BGR
• Ontrack: Social engineering is an increasing data security risk, Read more from Ontrack
• ‘Disastrous’ £11.4bn NHS IT programme to be abandoned, Read more from the Telegraph
• The National Programme for IT in the NHS – National Audit Office, read more about the NAO Report
• Tim and Simon’s Podathon, read more about Tim and Simon