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Issue no. 16, 2005 Published: May 20, 2005
Two-thirds of software seen pirated in 5 yrs - study
'Mobile phone health risks greater for rural users'
Oracle teams up with open source PHP firm
Microsoft sued for stealing software
The most accurate clock of all time
UK firm claims breakthrough in fuel cell technology
Linux robot fliers take to the sky
'Honey monkeys' deployed to catch crooked code
Microsoft tries to breathe life into older PCs
Digital music-sharing stirs social tensions
Smart shoes decide on television time

Two-thirds of software seen pirated in 5 yrs - study
Two-thirds of software used in computers globally could be pirated in five years' time compared with about one-third currently as internet usage widens, a study by International Data Corp (IDC) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) showed on Wednesday. More than a third of software used in computers around the world last year was pirated, with the EU, the US and Canada accounting for more than half the illegal software, according to the study. It showed that while the piracy rate globally fell by one percentage point to 35 per cent last year, it increased in value to $32.7bn from $28.8bn in 2003. Calling on governments to do more to help protect intellectual property, the study said a 10 percentage point cut in the piracy rate would help the global economy with 1.5m more jobs, $64bn in additional tax revenues and $400bn in economic growth.
Washington Post / Reuters May 18, 2005	back to top

'Mobile phone health risks greater for rural users'
Mobile phones could pose a higher health risk to rural dwellers because they emit more intense signals in the countryside, scientists at University Hospital in Orebro, Sweden, have found. Base stations tend to be further apart in more remote areas, so the phones compensate with stronger signals. The researchers studied 1,429 people with malignant and benign brain tumours, and 1,470 healthy controls living in the centre of Sweden. They found that rural dwellers who had been using a mobile phone for more than three years were three times more likely to be diagnosed with a brain tumour than city dwellers. The risk quadrupled after more than five years of use. The researchers questioned both groups about how often they used their mobile phones and for how long. They also looked at whether they lived in the countryside or in towns. Their findings were adjusted for other environmental factors that might increase the risk of brain tumours.
Silicon.com / Reuters May 17, 2005	back to top

Oracle teams up with open source PHP firm
A popular open source scripting language has won its second major database backer, following a development deal between Oracle and PHP specialist Zend Technologies. The companies are teaming-up to make it easier and quicker for PHP developers to build and deploy database-driven applications on Oracle. Zend Core for Oracle, due in the third quarter, will integrate PHP 5 with Oracle Database 10g client libraries, taking Oracle's current level of integration support beyond a PHP extension to the JDeveloper integrated development environment. Oracle and Zend will work on database integration frameworks and PHP web service standards. The deal follows a similar agreement between Zend and IBM in February to integrate Zend's PHP environment with IBM's Cloudscape database and to build a native PHP driver for DB2. PHP is a popular open source alternative to Microsoft's Active Server Pages (ASP) and believed to run 40 per cent of web applications. Big corporate PHP users include Philips, Air Canada, Lufthansa and Unilever, according to Zend.
The Register May 20, 2005	back to top

Microsoft sued for stealing software
Microsoft illegally took technology used to link spreadsheet data between two of its programs from a Guatemalan inventor, lawyers said during opening statements at a jury trial that started on Tuesday. In a lawsuit, Carlos Armando Amado said he filed a patent application in 1990 for software that links Microsoft's Excel program with its Access database application via a single spreadsheet, and that he unsuccessfully tried to sell it to Microsoft two years later. Amado is seeking damages that could exceed $500m . Microsoft began using his software without permission in various versions of Access, such as Access 95, 97, 2000 and 2002, according to Amado. But Microsoft says it started working on such technology in 1989, three years before Amado approached the company with his idea. At issue is a technology that lets computer users transfer data back and forth between Excel and Access by using a spreadsheet.
Silicon.com / Reuters May 18, 2005	back to top

The most accurate clock of all time
Throughout history, more stable and accurate clocks have led to advances in communications and navigation. Now a clock 1,000 times more accurate than any of its predecessors has been developed by researchers at the University of Tokyo, and could even be used to create a more precise definition of how long a second is. The new clock is a variant on the atomic clocks that appeared in the 1950s that work by measuring the frequency at which atoms resonate. The outer electrons of a caesium-133 atom resonate between two energy states exactly 9,192,631,770 times each second, emitting microwaves of exactly that frequency. This property has been used since 1967 to define the second - the time it takes for a caesium atom to resonate 9,192,631,770 times. Today's caesium clocks can measure time to an accuracy of 1 part in 1015, or 1 second in about 30 million years. One way to create a more accurate clock is to increase the rate at which it 'ticks'. The new clock uses strontium atoms, which resonate 429,228,004,229,952 times each second and will keep time with an accuracy of 1 part in 1018.
New Scientist May 18, 2005	back to top

UK firm claims breakthrough in fuel cell technology
British technology company CMR Fuel Cells said on Thursday it had made a breakthrough with a new design of fuel cell which is a tenth of the size of existing models and small enough to replace conventional batteries in laptop computers. Fuel cells have for years been touted as the next big green power source. But high costs and doubts about widespread availability of fuel have held back the technology's transition to the mainstream despite years of research by energy firms and the automotive industry. CMR said the new design would run for four times longer than conventional batteries in a laptop or other devices. Moreover, it is also instantly rechargable. The design, which would run initially on methanol, is based on new type of fuel stack which mixed air and fuel. Up to now fuel stacks have relied on complete separation of the two.
Yahoo! / Reuters May 19, 2005	back to top

Linux robot fliers take to the sky
The University of Essex has built what it claims is the world's smallest web server and will use it to form part of a flying computer network. The Flying Gridswarm and UltraSwarm projects are designed to get computers to fly in formation like a flock of birds and communicate wirelessly while airborne to process flight information. UltraSwarm machines incorporate helicopters fitted with cameras, Linux web servers and Bluetooth modules for communication. The Flying Gridswarm will be built around model aircraft and use Wi-Fi connections. Given the limited range of Bluetooth, the UltraSwarm helicopters are designed for use indoors and the lead machine is controlled from a laptop. In terms of application the swarm concept has significant advantages: if one of the swarm fails it can be replaced easily and the rest of the flock can continue the mission. The first UltraSwarm helicopter is now flying and the project expects to show detailed research results within the next few years.
VNUnet UK May 18, 2005	back to top

'Honey monkeys' deployed to catch crooked code
In an attempt to pre-empt computer hackers, Microsoft is developing 'virtual' PCs to scour the web for previously unseen attack code. To any website they visit, the machines appear to be a normal home PC. But the PCs are seeking out code designed to attack a computer and will sound an alarm if any code is executed in contravention of a machine's security settings, or if key system-parameters are unexpectedly altered. They use a software forensics package called Strider, previously created by Microsoft researchers to detect such changes. This could enable the company to develop software patches to protect against malevolent code before it can become a widespread nuisance. The machines have been dubbed 'honey monkeys'. The name stems from an existing method for snaring hackers, using passive machines, known as honeypots. The 'monkey' tag reflects that fact that the new machines will employ a more active, dynamic approach.
New Scientist May 19, 2005	back to top

Microsoft tries to breathe life into older PCs
Microsoft is developing a new version of Windows aimed at companies that want to better secure their older machines, the company confirmed Thursday. Code-named Eiger, the product is basically designed to turn older PCs into a thin client, which is a terminal that gets most of its information from a central server. Unlike traditional thin clients, though, a few programs can be run locally, including Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player and antivirus software. Microsoft is pitching the software at customers who cannot or do not want to buy new PCs, but are concerned that their older computers are not secure and hard to manage. Just when Eiger will be available is unclear, however. Microsoft says the product is in the very early stages of product development, with the company this week offering a preview version to a few dozen early customers.
ZDNet / CNET News May 12, 2005	back to top

Digital music-sharing stirs social tensions
Sharing a digital music collection with co-workers can be fraught with social perils, a study of US office workers has revealed. Researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Palo Alto Research Center in California, US, interviewed 13 US office workers who routinely listened to each others’ music via their company's computer network, using Apple's iTunes music software. Participants confessed to forming judgements about co-workers based on the taste - or lack of taste - revealed by their music collection. Many also admitted to tailoring their own music library to project a particular persona, and some said they deliberately hid particularly embarrassing tracks from others. Participants also took great care selecting the songs included in their collection. They paid still more attention to their collection when managers joined the sharing, with some participants feeling compelled to conceal more outlandish songs in the presence of seniors.
New Scientist May 16, 2005	back to top

Smart shoes decide on television time
Sports shoes that work out whether their owner has done enough exercise to warrant time in front of the television have been devised in the UK. The shoes - dubbed Square Eyes - contain an electronic pressure sensor and a tiny computer chip to record how many steps the wearer has taken in a day. A wireless transmitter passes the information to a receiver connected to a television, and this decides how much evening viewing time the wearer deserves, based on the day's exertions. Once a child has used up their daily allowance gained through exercise, the television automatically switches off. And further time in front of the TV can only be earned through more steps. Health experts suggest that a child take 12,000 steps each day and watch no more than two hours of television. So, every 100 steps recorded by the Square Eyes shoes equates to precisely one minute of TV time.
New Scientist May 18, 2005	back to top