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Issue no. 12, 2002 Published: Mar 22, 2002
Compaq votes in favour of merger
Court rules is favour of Lindows
Net body sued by own official
NTT DoCoMo begins building experimental system for 4G technology
Cell phone to tap into unused airwaves
Video games 'stimulate learning'
IBM to link US government computers in powerful grid
Microsoft password research looks to images, not text
Orbiting TV pictures dodge screen burn
Hackers could have exploited net's hidden flaw
Virtual keyboard unveiled at world computer show
Darwin software is evolutionary time machine
Scholarly publisher plans largest online reference
Women beat men in web browsing

Compaq votes in favour of merger
Compaq's shareholders have voted in favour of a $20bn merger with Hewlett Packard (HP). But the positive vote - which was widely expected - only goes half way in clearing the way for the largest ever merger between personal computer makers. In sharp contrast to Compaq enthusiasm for the tie-up, HP shareholders - including the company's founding families - have bitterly opposed the deal. Whether the deal goes through rests on the result of the HP shareholder vote, with the official count not due for weeks. HP claims its shareholders have approved the merger with a 0.5% margin. The management of both HP and Compaq say the deal is essential for their survival in the personal computer industry, where demand is slack.
BBC News Mar 20, 2002	back to top

Court rules is favour of Lindows
A Seattle court has denied a request by Microsoft to block a California software company from calling itself Lindows.com and its Linux-based operating system, LindowsOS. Lindows is a version of Linux that its maker claims can run both Linux and Windows programs. The ruling denied Microsoft's request for a preliminary injunction in the case but does not stop the software giant from seeking a trial on the issue. Microsoft had argued that the close similarity in the Lindows and Windows names would confuse customers and dilute its trademark for Windows products. The company sued Lindows over its name in December. Meanwhile, Lindows.com chief executive Michael Robertson said the company hopes to roll out its products 'without further impedance'.
VNUNet UK Mar 19, 2002	back to top

Net body sued by own official
One of the directors of the net's ruling body is suing the organisation over the way it spends money. Karl Auerbach, one of the elected directors for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), has filed a lawsuit against the group to gain the access to its records he says he has previously been denied. Auerbach wants to see details of staff salaries, travel records and information about the day-to-day running of the organisation. Since being elected in December 2000, Auerbach says he has repeatedly asked to see ICANN's records but was told he first had to sign a binding confidentiality agreement, an offer he says he has refused. Auerbach was elected to represent US and Canadian web-user interests on the ICANN board. Under a re-organisation plan floated by ICANN head Stuart Lynn last month, Auerbach looks likely to lose his post as an ICANN director.
BBC News Mar 20, 2002	back to top

NTT DoCoMo begins building experimental system for 4G technology
Japanese mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo said Monday it has begun building an experimental system for fourth-generation wireless communications that can relay high-quality video. Fourth-generation or 4G technology would carry information about 260 times faster than NTT DoCoMo's 3G service, the only commercial 3G service in the world. In October, DoCoMo began 3G, which relays information at about 40 times the speed of current cell phones and includes a videophone. Video on 4G will be as good as high-definition television or more than double the resolution of regular TVs, DoCoMo said. The experimental 4G system will begin testing key technologies by this summer. DoCoMo hopes to start offering 4G commercially by 2010.
Nando Times / AP Mar 18, 2002	back to top

Cell phone to tap into unused airwaves
A new cell phone that works in a relatively unused portion of radio spectrum is coming to the US this year, bringing with it the tantalising prospect of relief for wireless companies battling a shortage of airwaves to broadcast calls. The phone is the first to use the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard to broadcast its signal using the 800MHz band of spectrum. GSM phones have never operated in that particular portion of radio-wave real estate. The upcoming shipments of the so-called 850 phones are part of a broader effort by wireless carriers to make more efficient use of the available spectrum. While the 800MHz spectrum was always available, it was not until this year that carriers and handset makers were able to develop the technology needed to use it.
ZDNet Mar 19, 2002	back to top

Video games 'stimulate learning'
A UK study concludes that simulation and adventure games - such as Sim City and RollerCoaster Tycoon, where players create societies or build theme parks, developed children's strategic thinking and planning skills. Parents and teachers also thought their children's mathematics, reading and spelling improved. The investigation into the habits of 700 children aged seven to 16 also found that, far from being a solitary activity, children preferred to play games in pairs or small groups. The researchers found games developed strategic thinking. The research from the group Teachers Evaluating Educational Multimedia (Teem) is being studied by UK's Department for Education. According to Teem there is much to learn from the games industry in terms of developing scenarios that really challenged and engaged children, rather than reproducing text books on the screen.
BBC News Mar 18, 2002	back to top

IBM to link US government computers in powerful grid
IBM said on Friday it has a deal to link a US government research laboratory's far-flung computers in a powerful grid, massively boosting their ability to study complex issues such as global climate change. IBM said it will work with the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, based in Berkeley, California, on developing software to connect the lab's supercomputers and data storage machines to other computers in four different locations. The goal is to enable scientists to connect supercomputers and storage machines to off-site scientific instruments like telescopes, making it easier to do research or analyse data stored in diverse locations. In addition Scientists will be able to tap into computing power at far-flung locations. Grid computing is based on an open source software called Globus. In February, IBM and other groups announced a standard for grid computing.
Yahoo / Reuters Mar 22, 2002	back to top

Microsoft password research looks to images, not text
Researchers at Microsoft are working on new types of passwords that will be easier for people to remember but harder for hackers to crack. The key -- images, which tend to make more of an impression on people than strings of text characters. A user can click on a number of points within images on their computer screens that correspond to specific pixels. The series of pixels is then converted into a random number and stored in the computer. Users simply remember exactly where on the images they clicked and in what order. Because of their mnemonic limitations, people often choose names and simple words and phrases for their passwords. But those can be cracked within minutes with so-called 'dictionary attacks', software that is easily downloaded off the internet that systematically guesses words until it finds those used in passwords.
Yahoo / Reuters Mar 21, 2002	back to top

Orbiting TV pictures dodge screen burn
Sending TV images into a gentle orbit around the screen is the latest strategy to tackle the burning issue of fixed logos permanently marking screens. Sony's new Pixel Orbiting system will be incorporated into its new range of WEGA plasma TVs, when they launch around Europe in June. The picture content is continually and very slowly moved in a small circle. This spreads logos over an area sixteen times greater than if it were fixed, so the burn is also spread, and reduced, with no clear edge lines. The full orbit takes five minutes and viewers will not notice. The logos, called DOGS (Digital Onscreen Graphics) by broadcasters, have increased in number over the last five years. This is because the many new TV channels are trying to win viewer loyalty and are signalling interactive options with coloured blobs. Some logos are dim and safe, but others are bright and over time can burn the intense CRTs used in rear projection TVs, and the phosphor coating in plasma panels.
New Scientist Mar 21, 2002	back to top

Hackers could have exploited net's hidden flaw
Information about a major security flaw on the internet that could have brought down large sections of the web was suppressed for two weeks last month. Oulu University in Finland, which discovered the flaw in February, suppressed the information for fear that if it were made public hackers would attack the weakness and create chaos. It told, however, a few companies including Cable & Wireless, WorldCom and Cisco. The scale of the threat was such that it sparked near panic among the companies that were informed about it. The threat centred on a ubiquitous networking device, simple network management protocol (SNMP), which manages key components of the internet network. It only affected one version of the device, but because its use is so widespread it could have damaged huge parts of the network. However, improved versions of SNMP unaffected by the vulnerability have been available for some time.
The Independent Mar 17, 2002	back to top

Virtual keyboard unveiled at world computer show
A full-size virtual keyboard projected by light on to any surface has been invented. Beams of light, which detect the user's movements, make up the keyboard. It can be integrated into mobile phones, laptops, tablet PCs or even sterile medical environments. The gadget was unveiled by Siemens at the CeBIT computer fair in Hanover, Germany. Siemens sad the keyboard could represent a revolution for data entry and the mini computer. The mini projector that detects user interaction with the surface also simulates a mouse pad.
Ananova Mar 19, 2002	back to top

Darwin software is evolutionary time machine
A computer is accurately predicting the course of evolution. Doctors are using it to find out how bacteria will evolve immunity to medicines. The new software was tested by asking it to predict how bacteria evolved from a known point 40 years ago. The predictions accurately matched what was actually observed during that time. The system was tested by Barry Hall, at the University of Rochester, New York, who said: 'One of the things that came out of this experiment is that there's a new drug, called cefepime, that is lethal to many bacteria and looks to be a promising antibiotic. But, we found mutations that allowed bacteria to hydrolyse, or use, cefepime, and we think there is a very good chance that this capability will arise in nature soon.' He added: 'If we can predict how (the bacteria) are going to get around our treatments, we can work out a way to make that route impossible for them. We can cut them off at the pass.'
Ananova Mar 21, 2002	back to top

Scholarly publisher plans largest online reference
The Oxford University Press says a new effort to turn many of its well-known reference books into online databases could create one of the largest stores of general knowledge on the web. The company on Wednesday launched the first stage of its Oxford Reference Online, unveiling what it calls 'the Core Collection' - more than 1.5m entries from nearly 100 of Oxford's English and bilingual dictionaries, collections of quotations and subject reference books. When Oxford Reference Online is complete, it could weigh in at more than 130m words, or what the company said is equivalent to about 300 books. The Oxford University Press said the results so far reflect two years of work by its US and UK arms and an investment of more than $1.5m. With a subscription fee of $250 a year, Oxford Reference Online will not be cheap for readers, either, but the company said 1,000 institutions are already on board for free trials.
Newsbytes Mar 20, 2002	back to top

Women beat men in web browsing
Women know what they want from the internet and spend less time than men getting it, according to analyst firm Jupiter MMXI. Women spend an average of seven hours online compared with male surfers who clocked up 10 hours per month, its study found. While there are still half as many European women online as men, the number of females getting wired has shot up by 29 per cent in the past year. Spain has one of the lowest numbers of women surfers - 29 per cent compared with 46 per cent in Sweden. But they spend the most time online, favouring instant messaging sites and file-sharing. The majority of wired women across Europe are young, except in Germany where the over-50s spend over nine hours online each month. Generally men are more interested in browsing, reading content and downloading software. Women use their time online more purposefully - shopping, organising travel, banking and sending e-greeting cards. See: http://uk.jupitermmxi.com/xp/uk/press/releases/pr_032102.xml
BBC News Mar 21, 2002	back to top