Microsoft demos Office Project upgrade
October 31, 2007
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Microsoft demonstrated the latest features of its ‘Project’ software, at the Microsoft Office Project Conference in Seattle.
The company has focused on making Project easier to use, both for project managers and other people in an organisation.
The latest […]
BT Tradespace enhances e-commerce capabilities
October 30, 2007
Speaking at the launch of Small Business Week 2007, Bill Murphy, the managing director of BT Business, announced plans to enhance BT Tradespace’s e-commerce capabilities. Tradespace allows small businesses to establish an online presence.
BT is planning to improve the search capabilities on the site, which should make it easier for users of the site to […]
IBM develops silicon recycling technique
October 30, 2007
IBM has developed a more efficient method to recycle scrap silicon wafers for the solar power industry.
The innovative technique involves using water and an abrasive pad to polish scrap wafers produced by semiconductor manufacturers. Around 3 million wafers are scrapped each year.
Water polishing erases any intellectual property or chip designs that could be on […]
Leopard may cause blue screen error
October 29, 2007
Mac users have been encountering a ‘blue screen’ error after completing an upgrade installation of Apple’s newly released Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, and trying to reboot.
The problem freezes the machine for an extended period, and some users have lost data stored on their Mac, such as photos.
Apple’s support site suggests the problem […]
Microsoft finds manufacturers risk data theft
October 26, 2007
According to the Microsoft Collaboration in High-Tech Manufacturing Survey 2007, manufacturing firms regularly use insecure forms of communication, which places their data at risk of theft
The research, which was conducted by US-based KRC Research, found that 78 per cent of business decision-makers (BDMs), and 85 per cent of technology decision-makers (TDMs), used services such as […]
Whitehall launches social networking site for older people
October 26, 2007
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a social networking website in order to encourage debate between older people and the government.
The site was developed in conjunction with the Hansard Society. It is part of the DWP’s Generation Xperience campaign, which aims to create a dialogue with people over 60.
The DWP will […]
Apple’s Safari browser beats rivals on speed
October 25, 2007
Web Performance Inc, a US-based testing firm, claims that Apple’s Safari browser was faster than rival browsers from Microsoft and Mozilla in tests.
Web Performance measured how quickly the Windows versions of Apple’s Safari, Microsoft Corp’s Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) and Mozilla Corp’s Firefox 2 grabbed pages.
The company pointed each browser at the 16 most-visited […]
Microsoft invests $240m in Facebook stake
October 25, 2007
Microsoft has acquired a 1.6% stake in social networking site, Facebook, for $240m.
Google was also hoping to secure a stake in the company, but its offer was turned down.
Under the terms of the deal, Microsoft also gains the exclusive right to sell internet ads for Facebook outside the United States, as well as […]
Microsoft complies with EU antitrust ruling
October 24, 2007
After a three-year battle, Microsoft has finally agreed to comply with a 2004 EU court antitrust ruling.
The company will now make workgroup server interoperability information available to open source developers.
It will amend licensing terms for the software, to allow recipients to copy, modify and redistribute it in accordance with the open source business model.
Microsoft […]
eBay launches microfinance site
October 24, 2007
Online auction site, eBay, which also owns the PayPal e-commerce service, has launched a website which allows ordinary investors to buy securities aimed at supporting development in the world’s poorest countries.
The microfinance site, called MicroPlace, accepts investments as low as $100. Microfinance is the supply of financial services to low-income households and businesses, usually without […]
IBM and MediaTck develop ultra-fast chip
October 22, 2007
IBM Research and MediaTek Inc have launched an R&D joint venture to develop an ultra-fast wireless transmission protocol, which uses the 60GHz spectrum.
The joint venture will develop chips which are able to transfer files at around 2.5 gigabits per second - 100 times faster than Wi-Fi which has a transfer rate of between 11 […]
Scientists create palm-sized supercomputers
October 22, 2007
New research by scientists at Edinburgh University could pave the way for powerful computers small enough to fit into the palm of the hand.
In collaboration with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany and the University of Rome, Italy, the Edinburgh University scientists studied the behaviour of wires on a nanoscale - 1,000 times […]
Ubuntu releases Linux OS version 7.10
October 19, 2007
Canonical, the London-based company which acts as open-source community Ubuntu’s commercial sponsor, has released version 7.10 of its Linux operating system.
The release of the software, code-named Gutsy Gibbon, marks Ubuntu’s third anniversary.
Ubuntu 7.10 is designed to be easier to use than previous versions and, in some ways, beats Windows for desktop usabilility.
The lates […]
Companies release copyright guidelines
October 19, 2007
Guidelines released this week by leading Internet firms could help to de-fuse the growing tension between copyright owners and sites that host user-generated content.
A group including Viacom, Walt Disney, Microsoft Corp, Myspace, Dailymotion, CBS Corp and NBC Universal, have set the guidelines to protect copyright material from unauthorised use online.
The guidelines call for […]
Researchers add ‘common sense’ to computers
October 18, 2007
Researchers from UC San Diego and UCLA have used a Google Labs widget to make computers behave in a more ‘common sense’ way.
The scientists have given a computer the ability to use context to help identify objects in photographs in an automated image labelling system.
A conventional automated object identifier might scan an image and […]
Apple’s Leopard operating system imminent
October 17, 2007
Apple Inc will release the latest version of its Macintosh operating system on 26 October.
The new software, called Leopard, is being released after a four-month delay. This was attributed to the diversion of software development resources to the company’s iPhone, which was launched in June.
Leopard will retail for around $129 for a single […]
Samsung develops laptop displays with 10,000:1 contrast
October 17, 2007
Samsung is developing white-LED backlit display for laptops, with 10,000:1 contrast.
So for the company has produced LED-backlit LCD panels only - the next stage will be to incorporate them into laptops.
The company has developed three displays: 18.4-inches (1,920 x 1,080), 16.0-inches (1,366 x 768), and 15.4-inches (1,440 x 900).
The 15.4-inch display features […]
YouTube protects copyright with filtering tools
October 16, 2007
Google’s video-sharing site, YouTube, has launched filtering tools to help prevent unauthorised video-sharing.
The ‘Video Identification’ tools are designed to stop copyrighted material from appearing and spreading on the site.
Copyright is a major concern for YouTube, which is currently in a potentially expensive legal dispute with Viacom over the distribution of pirated files on […]
Envirowise advises companies to re-use, not recyle
October 15, 2007
Simon Dury, business partnerships director of the Envirowise Project, has advised firms to choose IT equipment that can be re-used, with easily replaceable parts, rather than recycled.
Envirowise is a UK government project which provides free advice to businesses on environomental issues.
Speaking at a Green Computing in Practice roundtable, Dury said that IT equipment could […]
World’s smallest read head enables 4TB drive
October 15, 2007
Hitachi’s Global Storage Technologies division has developed the world’s smallest read head for hard drives.
The new ‘current perpendicular-to-the-plane giant magnetoresistive heads’ (CPP-GMR heads), will allow Hitachi to continue to increase the density of drives.
Hitachi expects to be able to release 4TB (terabyte) drives in 2011 and possible 1TB notebook drives.
The innovative CPP-GMR drive […]