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Issue no. 2, 2005 Published: Jan 21, 2005
EU sees 'potential' in e-government
Support for commercial software remains strong in Europe
Dublin hi-tech labs to shut down
'Evil twin' fear for wireless net
Micromachine grows its own muscles
Researchers bring big sound to MP3
Software turns phone into mobile command

EU sees 'potential' in e-government
Online services have 'huge potential' to save time and money but they need to be more user friendly, according to a 'snapshot' survey issued by the EU. Only a minority of users are experiencing service improvements through e-government. While e-services such as tax returns, online VAT, social security benefits and car registration have 'huge potential' to save time and money, they are yet to present an improvement on their offline counterparts, says the report. The research finds that online income tax returns are saving EU citizens 'seven million hours a year', while companies are saving about €10 per transaction on VAT returns. Overall, 62 per cent of users say they are 'very satisfied' with e-services, and less than 10 per cent report they are not satisfied. Over three-quarters say that they would recommend online services to others. It adds, however, that 'real service improvements' are only experienced by 30 to 40 per cent of users, and that e-services need to be made more user friendly. The most common usability problem is that people cannot find the e-service.
Silicon.com Jan 18, 2005	back to top

Support for commercial software remains strong in Europe
A majority of European software developers believe that using open source software (OSS) can have significant benefits, newly published research by BEA Systems has shown. The survey of more than 1,000 European developers revealed that more than 60 per cent of developers would use OSS. However, software engineers see significant barriers to widespread implementation. These fears were found to include a lack of support and maintenance services, lack of regular updates, unpredictable total cost of ownership and intellectual property concerns. Reliable support services were found to be the most compelling reason for developers to choose commercial vendors, with 68 per cent of those surveyed citing regular updates, maintenance and better support as their reasons for not deploying open source software. This reluctance can also be attributed to the lack of accountability provided by open source licences, cited by 42 per cent of developers as the primary reason.
VNUnet UK Jan 17, 2005	back to top

Dublin hi-tech labs to shut down
Dublin's hi-tech research laboratory, Media Labs Europe, is to shut down. The research centre, which was started by the Irish government and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was a hotbed for technology concepts. Since its opening in 2000, the centre has developed ideas, such as implants for teeth, and also aimed to be a digital hub for start-ups in the area. The centre was supposed to be self-funded, but has failed to attract the private cash injection it needs. In a statement, Media Labs Europe said the decision to close was taken because neither the Irish Government nor MIT was willing to fund it. The Labs needed about €10m a year from corporate sponsors to survive. According to its latest accounts, Media Lab Europe said it spent €8.16m in 2003 and raised just €2.56m.
BBC News Jan 18, 2005	back to top

'Evil twin' fear for wireless net
People using wireless high-speed net (wi-fi) are being warned about fake hotspots, or access points. The latest threat, nicknamed evil twins, pose as real hotspots but are actually unauthorised base stations, say experts from Cranfield University, UK. Once logged onto an Evil Twin, sensitive data can be intercepted. Wi-fi is becoming popular as more devices come with wireless capability. London leads the global wi-fi hotspots league, with more than 1,000. The number of hotspots is expected to reach 200,000 by 2008, according to analysts. Cybercriminals who try to glean personal information, jam connections to a legitimate base station by sending a stronger signal near to the wireless client. Anyone with the right gear can find a real hotspot and substitute it with an evil twin.
BBC News Jan 20, 2005	back to top

Micromachine grows its own muscles
A micromachine that walks using muscles that it grew for itself has been developed by scientists at the University of California in Los Angeles. The device could eventually lead to muscle-based nerve stimulators that let paralysed patients breathe without a ventilator, or to nanobots that clear away plaque from inside the walls of a human coronary artery. The scientists grew a length of muscle about 100 microns long on the underside of a silicon frame measuring 200 microns. The cells were taken from a rat's heart and grown in a culture that mimics natural biological conditions. The muscle contracts and relaxes by feeding on glucose in a solution, the contractions causing the tiny structure to shuffle along. They built the new micromachine by etching the silicon structure using photolithography before coating the frame with a polymer and selectively depositing gold and chromium. The polymer acts as a mould for the muscle to grow along and the gold provides points to which the growing muscle cells can attach.
New Scientist / Nature Materials Jan 17, 2005	back to top

Researchers bring big sound to MP3
Uncompressing MP3 - the world's most popular audio compression format - is the goal of a new technology researchers at Fraunhofer IIS and Agere Systems say will bring multi-channel surround sound to a system many users listen to on tiny computer speakers or palm-sized iPods. Using a technique called binaural cue coding - a way to render large sound files more manageable - MP3 Surround captures the spatial information of multi-channel sound. Binaural cue coding is a 'psycho-acoustic' method - a method that attempts to capture the real way we hear audio versus the way inanimate devices like encoders or measuring instruments record it. A free evaluation encoder lets users create MP3 Surround material out of five- or six-channel .wav files. The MP3 Surround player can decode and play back both the surround format's files and stereo MP3 material. It runs on any standard PC with multi-channel audio capabilities.
Yahoo! / NewsFactor Jan 19, 2005	back to top

Software turns phone into mobile command
New software from Toshiba will lets users edit documents, send e-mail and reboot your Windows computer remotely through a mobile phone. Toshiba is planning to offer the service in Japan by the end of March through CDMA1X mobile phones offered by KDDI. Similar services with other carriers, including overseas, are in the works, Toshiba said. The idea of accessing personal computers through mobile phones is not new, but the software has been limited in capability. Toshiba says its Ubiquitous Viewer handles virtually all the Windows PC functions. Toshiba is initially targeting the corporate work force, though it says individuals can use it to record TV programmes, work security cameras and control air conditioners tied to home networks.
ABC News / AP Jan 19, 2005	back to top