Exchange Traded Funds, or ETF’s, are essentially the low cost alternative for UK investors. Fund investors in the UK are invariably hit with increasingly high costs such as Total Expense Ratios. TER’s, which are a kind of tracker that many think cost way too much for the service they provide and often reach 1% a year. ETF’s are also mostly trackers, but can also have rock bottom expense ratios, hence their popularity.

An example of this is the ishare corporate bond ETF which charges only 0.20% a year, no retail bond comes anywhere near to offering that type of service for the that price. For those who are struggling to understand all this jargon; an ETF is basically a basket of securities which are traded in the same way as individual stocks in such places as the London Stock Exchange.

Exchange Traded Funds can be bought and sold throughout the entire trading day, unlike such products as unit trusts and OEIC’s. They can also be bought on margin and sold short, or through stop-loss orders, in layman’s terms, anything you can do with an ETF that you can do with a stock.

Most ETF’s will also charge a lot less annually than even the lowest priced  traditional tracker, but you must bear in mind that as with stocks, you must pay commission if you want to sell or buy ETF’s, which can be a drawback for those who want to trade on a regular basis or invest money regularly. While all this sounds great on paper, there are a few more things to take into consideration.

Whilst ETF’s are infinitely more flexible in many way that traditional shares, their shares can’t be sold back to or bought from fund companies as with OEIC’s. There is a lot to be said for ETF’s, but as with any investment, do your research.

Shoppers who have problems with traders in Europe will now find it easier to reach a settlement out of court due to new EU proposals that have been put into place to protect them. The EU Commission has proposed a new online platform that will be accessible across the EU in order for consumers to quickly solve their disputes online in just a month’s time.

In the past, the mechanisms for taking care of complaints were only available to consumers on a regional basis depending on what type of system was in place where a consumer resided. According to the EU, the new rules will standardise dispute resolution across the continent and could help consumers save as much as £9bn every year collectively.

Malcolm Harbour, a UK MP, stated that he was glad to see the commission draft directive due to the fact that it will offer a way for problems to cheaply and quickly be solved without the need for formal legal action.

The EU governments and parliaments hope to make the package official by the end of 2012 with the new platform actually becoming available for use online by the time that 2015 rolls around. Over the course of last year one out of every five European consumers had problems when purchasing services and goods within the EU market.

In order to make the dispute settlements work a network is being set up of professional and neutral mediators that can help resolve contractual problems between businesses and consumers.

After getting in trouble with the Information Commissioner’s Office last year over violations of the data protection act Google has announced that it has taken a great deal of steps to make sure that its privacy policies are a lot tighter. Information Commissioner Christopher Graham acknowledged the changes stating that Google has taken a number of proactive steps to ensure that their privacy procedures are now aligned with data protection laws. Graham noted however that the company needs to continue past the audit of the ICO to make sure that their new technologies and products also adhere to the same high standards.

Google was criticized from many world authorities after it admitted that its Street View mapping cars were able to collect payload data while out on the streets by accessing unsecured Wi-Fi networks. In response to the outcry, Google quickly announced that it would take whatever steps were necessary to be in compliance with data protection laws including enhanced data protection training for all staff members. The company also added tightened privacy controls on all of their existing products and declaring that all new products would have the same accommodation.

For the last several years Google has been following a simple promise made by CEO Eric Schmidt to put their mobile division first. While Schmidt may no longer be at Google, his replacement Larry Page is continuing to follow that line of the thought as evident by Google’s purchase of Motorola Mobility at a whopping £12.5bn. The full implications of the move will not be clear until it is seen how Google plans to use the new acquisition, although many analysts claim that the real reason for the purchase is to get the mobile patent portfolio that Motorola holds.

On the other hand, if Google continues to maintain the large business that it just purchased it is quite possible that there will be some big changes within the mobile technology sector. Either way, it seems safe to say that Google will still stay focused on patents and software as the patents alone will be chief in fighting the market leaders, Microsoft and Apple, and maintaining its spot on the top of the mobile market with the Android. This is the chief priority since patent claims have been the only setback to the Android operating system growth.

Interactive Voice Response, or IVR systems, are automated phone systems that work with software to enable you to conduct transactions over the phone without having to speak to a real person. Think automated payment lines, and those menus with different options you get through to when ringing large companies, these are all IVR systems and they are moving forward at an amazing rate.

The technology encompassed in these systems has always been cutting edge, and advances are constant. While many thought that network based IVR had gone as far as it could, it is now a reality that it there may come a time when the call centre worker becomes redundant and anything we want to do can be done with a telephone and an IVR system.

While at one time all an IVR did was, due to a recording and voice prompts or through pressing keys on your phone, direct you to different departments within a company, these  systems can now answer practically all your queries from simple bank balance enquiries to paying bills and requesting account information.

While many dislike IVR systems they have become an essential part of every day life, and we now expect to hear that automated voice awaiting our command prompts when we call a large company or corporation. For the company they are extremely cost effective and, when installed at their optimum level, direct callers to where they want to be with very little hassle or waiting time.

Love them or loathe them, Interactive Voice Response systems are here to stay, and will be taking on much bigger roles in the future. There are already multiple options on menus that then lead you to another set of multiple choices and questions you think can only be answered by humans will become incorporated into IVR’s as the software makes ever increasing technological advances.

At one point in time it seemed that Apple could do no wrong as each of their new releases were followed  by long queues and a great deal of excitement. The iPad release was no different, except for the fact that the tablet was the first release by Apple that did not offer a monumental change to the technology industry. It was not the first tablet, nor does it have standout features that make it stand on its own.  Instead, the device is simply a large iPhone that has been blown up which ruins some of its incredibility.

Even more so, the iPad did not break any first impressions, or break through any new technologies, in fact the only thing that it did was introduce a very light tablet to the market that is easy to carry. As an eBook reader it also has not pulled out from the crowd, and at best is used by most people as a multimedia player that is portable or a business model. Ironically, while Apple meant to create an interactive device, its take-up seems to mostly be concentrated on businessmen, allowing the company to enter a new market but not the one they are used to reaching.

It seems that customers are choosing to leave behind the cable services offered by Virgin Media in favour of other streaming television services, but despite this fact the company seems to be faring ok as they have seen a 2.2% revenue increase. Over the last quarter the mega company lost about 36,000 of their customers as students dropped their subscriptions as they headed home for the summer holidays. However chief executive for Virgin Media, Neil Berkett, stated that this loss was not all that poor for the company all things considered.

According to Berkett, over the quarter they saw their mass market appeal grow as people become more aware of the need for data and digital packages. He also added that about 90% of the customers that they lost were all lower value customers making their loss less damaging than the numbers would suggest. The company believes that they will get about 20,000 of their lost subscribers back as soon as the university years kicks back into session and students will find themselves in need of cable hook-ups again as they head back into the cities for class.

As news slowly trickles out that Apple is working on an iPhone 5 upgrade most people are wondering how Apple will be able to make enough of a drastic change to urge people towards the new mobile in a time when its iPhone is starting to fall in popularity against other popular mobile brands such as Android phones. According to Apple, the reason why people are going to be interested is because it is almost going to be more like a new mobile then just another upgrade helping to refresh the brand.

For starters, it is known that the screen is going to be larger with more curves so that users get a larger screen without having to deal with a bulky phone. Also known is that it will have a dual core A5 processor that is similar to the iPad2 meaning that the mobile will pack a punch complimented massively by its new operating system. Disappointingly, the mobile will not have 4G-LTE since the technology is not perfected yet. Reports are that it will come out this autumn, but hopefully with a few more features as this short list does not seem like it will be enough to get people interested.

The iPad introduced a larger screen for gaming making it one of the most popular mobile platforms for those who like to play fun titles from their media devices in their free time.  The following are the top five paid games available for download from the iPad app store for those who need a little more fun during their days.

First up is Plants vs. Zombies in HD which is a basic tower defence game that offers great graphics and a fun little theme as the idea is to launch your plants at the zombies.  While it is simple in theme, it’s very entertaining and even has its own mini game built in.

Up next is Pinball HD, which is basically an HD high action version of Pinball with plenty of shiny lights and tracks and all around some great tables which should speak for itself.

Flight Control HD is great for the tilt the screen remote technology and with better controls and new airfields added to the game upgrade the simple plot takes on a much more challenging degree of fun.

Those who enjoy racing games are going to want to check out Real Racing 2 with some great controls, awesome tracks, and graphics that are designed to impress.

Finally, those who need a good role playing game will have to download Civilization Revolutions which offers a great virtual world and plenty of scenarios to keep the game fresh.

Over all the Motorola Atrix is a powerful smartphone that is best appreciated for its compact design and the fact that it sports the Android OS, which means that you can basically use it like a laptop and even plug it into your laptop so that you can easily transfer information and media back and forth between the two devices. While it may take some time to get used to the idea, it is very responsive and quite powerful making it a lot of fun to use. Add in the fact that it has some great widgets, apps and a very high resolution screen for viewing media.

The biggest problem with the Atrix however is that it can be a bit confusing to get used to, especially since to really get the most out of the smartphone you need to have a total of three different interfaces in use making it a fun only for people with a good technological background. Add in that the accessories and the laptop dock are expensive, and that the phone is not half as cool without these accessories, and it is clear that the Atrix is only for those who love technology and are willing to spend, but it is quite nifty for those who fall into the latter group.