Is it all over for Ovi before its begun?

When Nokia announced that its Ovi application store was to launch with a massive 20,000 titles, it drew gasps from industry watchers. By way of comparison, the Apple App Store could muster just 300 when it was unveiled.

But not long after Nokia’s announcement appeared, it emerged that in fact that the word ‘titles’ was a little misleading. In fact very few of the wares on offer were to be bona-fide applications.

Now, it seems the disappointment surrounding Ovi has become even more palpable. A scan of the site earlier today revealed why. Pages were down all over the place. Meanwhile, of those that were working, loading times were punitively long.

But of course, most sites have teething problems. And given the kind of volume of traffic, this one will be receiving, it’d take an especially vinegary churl not to afford Nokia some grace to sort out the issues.

However, unfortunately the products are even more of a letdown. When we checked, just ten business applications were available. Conversely, thousands upon thousands of the titles were just shonky wallpapers or ringtones.

All in all, then, not the best launch ever. But at least Nokia will have a chance to remedy its fast-fading love affair with the British public when it unveils the N97 in June. Let’s hope it gets it right this time.

Your starter for ten: Can ISPs prevent exam cheats?

Recently, I offered to help a little Czech chum of my acquaintance with his A-Level film studies essay. It was to be simply a case of tucking and tidying up his prose and checking spelling. I thought it'd take five minutes of my time.

But when I looked at the piece it was a different story. Instead of an original work, it was a Frankenstein's monster of an essay, cobbled together from other people's travails he'd found online. After a while I gave up. I'd been chastened partly by my boy's lack of effort. But mostly I'd quit when it dawned on me that cheating in national exams is now much easier than ever before.

That's something that's been confirmed for me today by a report in the ever-reliable Register. In a great story, the site notes that exam boards are asking broadband providers to take a greater role than ever before in clamping down on exam cheats. In particular, they're asking for a hotline to be manned by ISPs' staff who'll be tasked with taking down exam papers as soon as they come to people's attention.

It's too early to tell how many providers have taken these extra measures. But it'd be hard to blame them if they didn't - especially since they're being expected to pay for it themselves.