http://articles.bluepec.com en-us info@bluepec.com Microsoft has kicked off a research project to create software that will take over when it retires Windows. Called Midori, the cut-down operating system is radically different to Microsoft's older programs. It is centred on the internet and does away with the dependencies that tie Windows to a single PC. It is seen as Microsoft's answer to rivals' use of "virtualisation" as a way to solve many of the problems of modern-day computing. Tie breaking Although Midori has been heard about before http://articles.bluepec.com/microsoft-sees-end-of-windows-era_91.html 17-04-2009 Online auction site eBay is planning to spin off internet call service provider Skype and list shares in the firm in the first half of 2010. EBay said Skype was a "great stand-alone" firm but had "limited synergies" with the online auction firm. When eBay bought Skype for $2.6bn (£1.7bn) in October 2005, many analysts thought the price was too high. Skype's software lets PC users talk to each other for free and make cut-price calls to mobiles and landlines. It also enables Skype users to s http://articles.bluepec.com/ebay-plans-skype-public-listing_90.html 17-04-2009 UK copyright laws "needlessly criminalise" music fans and need to be updated, a consumer watchdog says. UK laws that make it a copyright violation to copy a CD that you own onto a computer or iPod should be changed, says Consumer Focus. The call came after global umbrella group Consumers International put the UK in last place in a survey of 16 countries' copyright laws. Consumer Focus said the UK had to catch up with the rest of the world. "UK copyright law is the oldest, but also the most http://articles.bluepec.com/uk-has-the-worst-copyright-laws_89.html 17-04-2009 Computer manufacturer Dell has launched, what it calls, is the world's thinnest laptop. The Adamo weighs 1.8kg and is 1.64cm thick, making it thinner, but heavier, than Apple's MacBook Air. A spokesman for Dell told the BBC that the Adamo was a "fashion statement" and that it was the first in a range of luxury laptops from the firm. The Adamo goes on sale at the end of the month, with a basic 1.2GHz Intel Core2D processor retailing at £1649. "This wasn't a play against one particular brand, http://articles.bluepec.com/dells-ultrathin-laptop-on-sale_84.html 17-03-2009 India says it is planning to produce a low cost gadget intended for use by school children and students. The storage device has been developed as part of a broader national plan to update the technology used by Indian colleges and schools. Details are scant, but it is planned to use wireless to connect and have 2GB of memory onboard. Reports of the cost vary from $10 to $100. Early reports suggesting it would be a laptop did not prove accurate. Cheap tech The personal storage device will http://articles.bluepec.com/india-plans-cheap-laptop-option_83.html 17-03-2009 The world's biggest mobile phone makers and network operators have backed plans to create a universal phone recharger. Most manufacturers now produce chargers which work only with their own devices. The re-charger will consume 50% less stand-by energy than today's cables, the GSM Association (GSMA), an umbrella group for the industry, said. Firms to back the plan include Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG, T-Mobile, Orange, 3, ATandT and Vodafone. The majority of new handsets will http://articles.bluepec.com/universal-charger-for-phones-plan_80.html 17-02-2009 A new phone based on Google's operating system Android has been unveiled by Vodafone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The touchscreen HTC Magic will feature a 3.2 Megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, and GPS, but no slide-out keyboard. The first "Google phone", called the G1, was launched in September by HTC and is exclusive to T-mobile. The Magic will feature new Android firmware, known as "Cupcake", with changes based on G1 user suggestions. The Magic will go on sale to Vodafone customers in http://articles.bluepec.com/second-google-phone-is-unveiled_78.html 17-02-2009 Thousands of Sky+ HD customers are to have their boxes replaced after a fault was discovered by manufacturer Pace. Ninety-thousand people, about one in 10 HD customers, will be affected. Sky says the fault involves the internal cabling and the quality of the connections between components but is not a safety risk. Anyone affected is also being given three months' free subscription to Sky's HD pack, worth £29.25, when they have their box replaced. The 90,000 boxes in the first batch from Pace http://articles.bluepec.com/sky-to-replace-90000-hd-boxes_77.html 17-02-2009   The world's biggest software maker has warned companies to expect an increase in "insider" security attacks by disgruntled, laid-off workers. Microsoft said so-called "malicious insider" breaches were on the rise and would worsen in the present downturn. "With 1.5 million predicted job losses in the US alone, there's an increased risk and exposure to these attacks," said Microsoft's Doug Leland. "This is one of the most significant threats companies face," he said. As the general manager http://articles.bluepec.com/malicious-insider-attacks-to-rise_76.html 13-02-2009     A new NHS computerised medical records system on trial at a London hospital has been criticised by a hospital boss for causing "heartache and hard work". Andrew Way, chief executive of London's Royal Free Hospital, said technical problems had cost the trust £10m and meant fewer patients could be seen. The Department of Health said lessons had been learnt from the trial. The England scheme, part of a £12bn IT upgrade, aims to put 50 million patient records on a secure database by 2014. http://articles.bluepec.com/nhs-boss-attacks-erecords-system_75.html 13-02-2009 Long lost file formats could soon be resurrected by pan-European research. The 4.02m euro (£3.58m) project aims to create a universal emulator that can open and play obsolete file formats. Using the emulator, researchers hope to ensure that digital materials such as games, websites and multimedia documents and are not lost for good. The emulator will also be regularly updated to ensure that formats that fall out of favour remain supported in the near and far future. Called Keeping Emulation http://articles.bluepec.com/fresh-start-for-lost-file-formats_74.html 13-02-2009 The European Commission has accused Microsoft of harming competition by bundling its Internet Explorer browser with its Windows operating system. The commission said it had reached the preliminary view that the US software giant had undermined consumer choice and infringed EU rules. Microsoft and the European Union have engaged in legal battles over competition issues for years. Last year, the EU fined Microsoft 899m euros ($1.4bn; £680.9m). Browser battle In its statement on Friday the Commissi http://articles.bluepec.com/microsoft-is-accused-by-eu-again_70.html 22-01-2009 Microsoft has said it will cut up to 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months, including 1,400 immediately. The firm also reported a net profit of $4.17bn (£3bn) for the three months to 31 December, down 11% on last year and less than analysts' expectations. Microsoft added it was "no longer able" to give a profit and revenue outlook for the fiscal year amid current volatile market conditions. Shares in Microsoft fell 7.9%, dragging Wall Street lower. Cost cuts "While we're not immune to the effects o http://articles.bluepec.com/microsoft-to-cut-up-to-5000-jobs_69.html 22-01-2009 Computer giant Dell is to cut 1,900 of the 3,000 jobs at its manufacturing site in Limerick in the Irish Republic. Dell said the move - which will see production moved to a new factory in Poland - was part of a $3bn global cost-cutting effort. The firm has seen global profits slip because consumers are buying fewer computers as they rein in spending. Local business leaders predicted the decision would put a further 6,000 jobs in related industries at risk. 'Difficult decision' Vice-president of http://articles.bluepec.com/dell-set-to-cut-1900-irish-jobs_67.html 16-01-2009 Slowing spending on computers saw Intel profits fall by 90% from $2.3bn to $234m (£159.6m) in the last three months of 2008. Sales at the world's fourth largest chip maker slumped 23% to $8.2bn in line with the warning the firm gave earlier this month. And it forecast sales of just $7bn billion in the first quarter of 2009. IT departments are being cautious while domestic users think twice before buying new computers, analysts say. The growing popularity of smaller netbook computers, which use l http://articles.bluepec.com/intel-reports-sharp-profit-drop_66.html 16-01-2009 Scientists are attempting to master new technology to power cars, mobile phones and laptops. Researchers at the University of Aberdeen have been given almost £300,000 to create cheaper and lower temperature fuel cells. The cells convert fuel to electricity without the need for combustion, and could be introduced to the market in the near future. They could replace combustion engines in cars, and mobile device batteries. The university's chemistry department is trying to develop "carbon-tolerant" http://articles.bluepec.com/research-hope-for-new-power-cells_62.html 13-01-2009 A video on demand service has turned to the grid to help it get movies to viewers. Called FilmOn the service offers users video streaming, film rental, and a number of free-to-watch movies. By using a cluster of net-based computers FilmOn lets people watch broadcast quality movies over a basic broadband connection. The computer cluster helps shrink the films so the high-quality images can be sent down the narrow pipes. Media streaming made its debut in the mid 90s with the launch of RealAudio, a http://articles.bluepec.com/computer-grid-aids-film-service_57.html 22-12-2008 A mobile phone review balancing the RIM BlackBerry Storm vs Apple iPhone 3G in the easiest terms. The two smartphones are the hottest gadgets in the market. Which smartphone is better? Our RIM BlackBerry Storm vs Apple iPhone 3G is based on simple everyday features for mobile phone users. Both phones have their pros and cons. One mobile device does not truly win over the other. The smartphones are nearly alike as a multimedia phone. They both have breathtaking audio, video, photos, games, and in http://articles.bluepec.com/blackberry-storm-vs-apple-iphone-3g_56.html 22-12-2008 A French ship has begun repairing two undersea cables in the Mediterranean that were severed on Friday, disrupting internet and phone communications. A robot submarine will locate the ends of the cables on the sea bed and bring them to the surface to be re-connected. They were cut within 5 minutes of each other, possibly by a trawler net. Egypt says it has been able to restore most of its communications by re-routing services, but other parts of the Middle East remain badly affected. Experts hav http://articles.bluepec.com/repairs-begin-on-undersea-cable_55.html 22-12-2008 Hang on, Sprint.The cavalry is coming. Reinforcements for the battered wireless company will come in the form of a new Google phone, according to a flurry of reports last week. Engadget suggested the new Samsung phone running on the Google Android operating system could mark a second coming of the Instinct, a Google-powered version this time around. "Without a doubt, 2009 is destined to be the year of The Android," Engadget stated. "Samsung just announced its ticket to the party with a Q2 launch http://articles.bluepec.com/sprint-seeks-help-with-second-coming-of-google-phone_54.html 22-12-2008 Online shops are suffering the same fate as the high street with fewer customers spending money.US net measurement firm comScore found that online shopping was in decline for the first time since it began measuring it in 2001.Online shoppers in the US spent $8.2bn (£5.3bn) in November, down 4% on last year's figures.ComScore forecast flat growth for the upcoming Christmas shopping season and did not rule out further decline."With consumer confidence low and disposable income tight, the first wee http://articles.bluepec.com/online-shopping-spend-in-decline_45.html 27-11-2008 An Apple iPhone advert has been banned by the advertising standards watchdog for exaggerating the phone's speed. The advert boasted the new 3G model was "really fast" and showed it loading internet pages in under a second. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints by 17 people who said the TV advert had misled them as to its speed. Apple UK said it was comparing the 3G model with its 2G predecessor and its claims were "relative not absolute". The advert repeatedly stated that t http://articles.bluepec.com/apple-made-to-drop-iphone-advert_41.html 26-11-2008 Hi-tech thieves who specialise in card fraud have a credit line in excess of $5bn (£3.35bn), research suggests.Symantec calculated the figure to quantify the scale of fraud it found during a year-long look at the internet's underground economy.Credit card numbers were the most popular item on sale and made up 31% of all the goods on offer.Coming in second were bank details which made up 20% of the items being offered on criminal chat channels.The $5.3bn figure was reached by multiplying the aver http://articles.bluepec.com/online-fraudsters-steal-33bn_34.html 24-11-2008 Digital television is spreading faster in Britain than in France, Canada, the US, Germany, Italy and Japan, according to UK communications regulator Ofcom.Research suggests that 86% of homes in Britain can now receive digital on their main set, while 30% have digital video recorders.Ofcom also says British consumers pay less than those in other countries for TV, mobile phones and broadband.The report also says people in Ireland send the most text messages.The regulator found that last year the I http://articles.bluepec.com/britain-leads-digital-tv-uptake_25.html 20-11-2008 The world's first commercially available bionic hand has been recognised as one of the top inventions of 2008.The hand, developed by Livingston company Touch Bionics, was named alongside the Super Hadron Collider in Time magazine's top 50 innovations.It came in at 14th place, beating competition from the latest Mars Rover, designed to explore the red planet.The hand took 20 years to develop and has five separately working fingers.This makes it more versatile than previous hands, which have often http://articles.bluepec.com/bionic-hand-makes-inventions-list_12.html 09-11-2008 At 6:30 p.m. on a Friday, Park Sang Pil and three of his colleagues at South Korea's BCcard rush to play a round of golf together. Although their tee time is just 10 minutes away, they still haven't decided on which course they will be playing. Not to worry: With just the click of a mouse, they can choose from more than 50 courses, including the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland (BusinessWeek.com, 7/11/08) and Pebble Beach in California. That's because Park and his pals are playing just a bl http://articles.bluepec.com/virtual-reality-golf-takes-off-in-korea_9.html 09-11-2008 For centuries adults have been deriding young people for their laziness, venality, sexuality, shallowness and lack of moral fibre. Now they've added another item to the classic list of youthful failings: a lack of respect for their own privacy.For years a procession of paedo scare-stories have warned us that the youth of today fail to grasp the importance of maintaining their privacy online. Kids blithely hand over their personal information to sites like MySpace and Bebo and Facebook, take naug http://articles.bluepec.com/bebo-kids-will-value-privacy-when-they-see-adults-do-too_5.html 31-10-2008 Laptop-makers including Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Toshiba are recalling 100,000 Sony-made batteries due to fears they may overheat or catch fire.Sony said the recall came after 40 instances of overheating, including four cases where users had minor burns.The recall affects around 74,000 HP laptops, 14,400 from Toshiba, and small numbers from Dell, Acer and Lenovo.Sony said the affected batteries were caused by a production line problem between October 2004 and June 2005.Some 35,000 batteries are http://articles.bluepec.com/fire-fear-sparks-battery-recall_1.html 31-10-2008