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Zoe Kleinman | 10:25 UK time, Monday, 21 June 2010

2 Unlimited

On Tech Brief today: HD voicemail, the limit to unlimited (not a tribute to the 90s techno band, pictured thanks to DJ Vernon) and the chance to pick your pioneer.

Mobile phone company Orange has announced that it will launch its new HD voicemail on the 3G network at the end of the summer. It got the thumbs up from the bloggers at Cert Piles who attended a demonstration of the service:

"We... were pleasantly surprised at how it filters out background sound and provides crystal clear voice quality. Indeed, it seems as though it has a similar quality of voice to that on a DAB radio. Certainly, any tinniness is removed."

It is currently being trialled in Bristol, Reading and Southampton, after a successful launch in Moldova (and why not?).

• If the halcyon days of "unlimited broadband" packages ever existed, their days are numbered. Ronan Shields at New Media Age reports that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is going to investigate whether the rules governing the use of the phrase "unlimited" in broadband package adverts need to be revised:

"The move has been prompted by the increased popularity of devices like the iPhone and services like the BBC iPlayer, which are squeezing network operators' ability to keep up with demand."

A spokesperson from the ASA told Tech Brief that while the regulator had not been "inundated" with complaints, there was a "fair volume" from people who felt mislead by the claims of the broadband providers, many of whom have a fair usage policy buried in the small print.

Jam yesterday, jam tomorrow, but never jam today, as Lewis Carroll wisely declared.

• Mark Zuckerberg might not want to plan a holiday in Pakistan any time soon. Privacy International reports that the founder of Facebook is the subject of a formal complaint to the police known as an FIR (First Information Report), which can pave the way to a trial.

He is accused of blasphemy following the controversial images of the Prophet Muhammad which appeared on the social-networking service.

Under Pakistan law, blasphemy is punishable by death or lifelong imprisonment - although Mr Zuckerberg could not be extradited from the US to stand trial.

Says Simon Davies of Privacy International:

"This order by the High Court to the government essentially means that a prima facie case has already been made against Facebook's founder, clearing the way for a charge and prosecution to follow."

BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT wants you to vote for your favourite information pioneer. At time of writing, Alan Turing is firmly in the lead, so if you want Sir Clive Sinclair, rather bizarrely championed by ex-cricketer Phil Tufnell, or Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Hedy Lamarr or Ada Lovelace to be in with a chance, then get clicking. It's like Britain's Got Talent. Only good.

On the BCS website, actress Miranda Raison presents a video tribute to movie star/inventor Hedy Lamarr:

"If you're watching this film right now on a wireless connection... that is, in part, thanks to Hedy Lamarr. And of all the many roles she played, that of inventor is probably the most amazing."

You've got until 30 June to cast your vote.

If you want to suggest links or stories for Tech Brief, you can send them to @bbctechbrief on Twitter, tag them bbctechbrief on Delicious or e-mail them to techbrief@bbc.co.uk.

Links in full

Certpiles | Orange trials HD Voice before late Summer rollout
Ronan Shields | New Media Age | Broadband brands drop 'unlimited' claims
Simon Davies | Nieman Journalism Lab | Pakistan's internet crisis
BCS | Information pioneers

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