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Millions to miss out on the netBy 2025, 40% of the UK's population will still be without internet access at home, says a study.Around 23 million Britons will miss out on a wide range of essential services such as education and medical information, predicts the report by telecoms giant BT. It compares to 27 million, or 50%, of the UK, who are not currently online. The idea that the digital divide will evaporate with time is "wishful thinking", the report concludes.The study calls on the government and telecoms industry to come up with new ways to lure those that have been bypassed by the digital revolution. Although the percentage of Britons without home access will have fallen slightly, those that remain digital refuseniks will miss out on more, the report suggests. As more and more everyday tasks move online and offline services become less comprehensive, the divide will become more obvious and more burdensome for those that have not got net access, it predicts.The gap between "have-nets" and "have-nots" has been much talked about, but predictions about how such a divide will affect future generations has been less discussed. BT set out to predict future patterns based on current information and taking account of the way technology is changing. Optimists who predict that convergence and the emergence of more user-friendly technology will bridge the digital divide could be way off mark, the report suggests. "Internet access on other devices tends to be something taken up by those who already have it," said Adrian Hosford, director of corporate responsibility at BT. Costs of internet access have fallen dramatically and coverage in remote areas have vastly improved over the last year but the real barrier remains psychological. "There is a hard rump of have-nots who are not engaging with the net. They don't have the motivation or skills or perceive the benefits," said Mr Hosford.As now, the most disadvantaged groups are likely to remain among low income families, the older generation and the disabled.Those on low incomes will account for a quarter of the digital have-nots, the disabled will make up 16% and the elderly nearly a third by 2025, the report forecasts. Organisations such as BT have a responsibility to help tackle the problem, said Mr Hosford. The telco has seen positive results with its Everybody Online project which offers internet access to people in eight deprived communities around Britain. In one area of Cornwall with high levels of unemployment, online training helped people rewrite CVs and learn skills to get new jobs, explained Mr Hosford. Such grassroot activity addressing the specific needs of individual communities is essential is the problem of the digital divide is to be overcome, he said. "If we don't address this problem now, it will get a lot worse and people will find it more difficult to find jobs, education opportunities will be limited and they'll simply not be able to keep up with society," he said. The Alliance for Digital Inclusion, an independent body with members drawn from government, industry and the voluntary sector has recently been set up to tackle some of the issues faced by the digital refuseniks.

Although the percentage of Britons without home access will have fallen slightly, those that remain digital refuseniks will miss out on more, the report suggests."Internet access on other devices tends to be something taken up by those who already have it," said Adrian Hosford, director of corporate responsibility at BT.Optimists who predict that convergence and the emergence of more user-friendly technology will bridge the digital divide could be way off mark, the report suggests.Organisations such as BT have a responsibility to help tackle the problem, said Mr Hosford.Such grassroot activity addressing the specific needs of individual communities is essential is the problem of the digital divide is to be overcome, he said.The idea that the digital divide will evaporate with time is "wishful thinking", the report concludes.Those on low incomes will account for a quarter of the digital have-nots, the disabled will make up 16% and the elderly nearly a third by 2025, the report forecasts.As more and more everyday tasks move online and offline services become less comprehensive, the divide will become more obvious and more burdensome for those that have not got net access, it predicts.The telco has seen positive results with its Everybody Online project which offers internet access to people in eight deprived communities around Britain.

British Library gets wireless netVisitors to the British Library will be able to get wireless internet access alongside the extensive information available in its famous reading rooms.Broadband wireless connectivity will be made available in the eleven reading rooms, the auditorium, café, restaurant, and outdoor Piazza area. A study revealed that 86% of visitors to the Library carried laptops. The technology has been on trial since May and usage levels make the Library London's most active public hotspot.Previously many were leaving the building to go to a nearby internet café to access their e-mail, the study found. "At the British Library we are continually exploring ways in which technology can help us to improve services to our users," said Lynne Brindley, chief executive of the British Library. "Surveys we conducted recently confirmed that, alongside the materials they consult here, our users want to be able to access the internet when they are at the Library for research or to communicate with colleagues," she said. The service will be priced at £4.50 for an hour's session or £35 for a monthly pass. The study, conducted by consultancy Building Zones, found that 16% of visitors came to the Library to sit down and use it as a business centre. This could be because of its proximity to busy mainline stations such as Kings Cross and Euston. The study also found that people were spending an average of six hours in the building, making it an ideal wireless hotspot. Since May the service has registered 1,200 sessions per week, making it London's most active public hotspot. The majority of visitors wanted to be able to access their e-mail as well as the British Library catalogue. The service has been rolled out in partnership with wireless provider The Cloud and Hewlett Packard.It will operate independently from the Library's existing network. The British Library receives around 3,000 visitors each day and serves around 500,000 readers each year. People come to view resources which include the world's largest collection of patents and the UK's most extensive collection of science, technology and medical information. The Library receives between three and four million requests from remote users around the world each year.

"At the British Library we are continually exploring ways in which technology can help us to improve services to our users," said Lynne Brindley, chief executive of the British Library.The majority of visitors wanted to be able to access their e-mail as well as the British Library catalogue.Visitors to the British Library will be able to get wireless internet access alongside the extensive information available in its famous reading rooms.The technology has been on trial since May and usage levels make the Library London's most active public hotspot.The British Library receives around 3,000 visitors each day and serves around 500,000 readers each year.A study revealed that 86% of visitors to the Library carried laptops.The study, conducted by consultancy Building Zones, found that 16% of visitors came to the Library to sit down and use it as a business centre.

Microsoft launches its own searchMicrosoft has unveiled the finished version of its home-grown search engine.The now formally launched MSN search site takes the training wheels off the test version unveiled in November 2003. The revamped engine indexes more pages than before, can give direct answers to factual questions, and features tools to help people create detailed queries. Microsoft faces challenges establishing itself as a serious search site because of the intense competition for queries.Google still reigns supreme as the site people turn to most often when they go online to answer a query, keep up with news or search for images. But in the last year Google has faced greater competition than ever for users as old rivals, such as Yahoo and Microsoft, and new entrants such as Amazon and Blinkx, try to grab some of the searching audience for themselves. This renewed interest has come about because of the realisation that many of the things people do online begin with a search for information - be it for a particular web page, recipe, book, gadget, news story, image or anything else. Microsoft is keen to make its home-grown search engine a significant rival to Google. To generate its corpus of data, Microsoft has indexed 5 billion webpages and claims to update its document index every two days - more often than rivals. The Microsoft search engine can also answer specific queries directly rather than send people to a page that might contain the answer.For its direct answer feature, Microsoft is calling on its Encarta encyclopaedia to provide answers to questions about definitions, facts, calculations, conversions and solutions to equations. Tony Macklin, director of product at Ask Jeeves, pointed out that its search engine has been answering specific queries this way since April 2003. "The major search providers have moved beyond delivering only algorithmic search, so in many ways Microsoft is following the market," he said. Tools sitting alongside the MSN search engine allow users to refine results to specific websites, countries, regions or languages. Microsoft is also using so-called "graphic equalisers" that let people adjust the relevance of terms to get results that are more up-to-date or more popular. The company said that user feedback from earlier test versions had been used to refine the workings of the finished system. The test, or beta, version of the MSN search engine unveiled in November had a few teething troubles. On its first day many new users keen to try it were greeted with a page that said the site had been overwhelmed.

Microsoft has unveiled the finished version of its home-grown search engine.The Microsoft search engine can also answer specific queries directly rather than send people to a page that might contain the answer.Microsoft is keen to make its home-grown search engine a significant rival to Google.The test, or beta, version of the MSN search engine unveiled in November had a few teething troubles."The major search providers have moved beyond delivering only algorithmic search, so in many ways Microsoft is following the market," he said.Microsoft faces challenges establishing itself as a serious search site because of the intense competition for queries.The now formally launched MSN search site takes the training wheels off the test version unveiled in November 2003.Google still reigns supreme as the site people turn to most often when they go online to answer a query, keep up with news or search for images.

UK gets official virus alert siteA rapid alerting service that tells home computer users about serious internet security problems is being launched by the UK government.The service, IT Safe, will issue warnings about damaging viruses, software vulnerabilities and weaknesses on devices such as mobile phones. Alerts tell people how the threats affect them and what they can do to avoid trouble and protect themselves. The service will be free and those who sign up can get e-mail or text alerts. The scheme is aimed at home users and small businesses. The government estimates it will issue security alerts about six to 10 times a year, based on previous experience of virus outbreaks. "There is a clear need for easy-to-understand and simple independent advice for non-technically minded people who use computers either at home or at work," said Home Office Minister Hazel Blears. "The purpose of this new government service is to ensure computer users are aware of the risks involved and how to deal with them easily and effectively without causing alarm." Those signing up will only be told about the most serious security threats that have the potential to affect millions of people.Full-time staff are being employed to comb through the many hundreds of alerts issued each year by computer security firms to spot which ones have the potential to catch out a large number of people Between alerts the service will occasionally send messages giving people advice about safe ways to use their computers and phones. "IT Safe will take our technical expertise and use it to help home users understand the risks and keep their computer systems, mobile phones and a range of related consumer electronic items, safe," said Roger Cumming, director of the National Infrastructure Security Coordination Centre (NISCC).The NISCC, which is running the service, also stressed that those signing up would still need to use anti-virus software, firewalls, and software updates to stay secure. Warnings about security problems will tell people what the problem is, how it affects them and what they can do to avoid trouble. Alerts will not be issued unless users can do something to protect themselves against the threat. This might include downloading an update from an anti-virus vendor or updating software to close loopholes and fix vulnerabilities. However no software patches or programs will actually be dispensed through the site. The alerts will tell people how to go about getting hold of patches from security firms. The NISCC spokesman said the site and alerting service would stay in existence for as long as there were security bugs on home computers and other gadgets.Government statistics show that more than half of all UK households own a home computer. It was estimated that almost 13 million of these were able to access the internet in 2004. The launch comes as the number of viruses and other malicious programs in existence is reaching unprecedented numbers. In September 2004, the number of malicious programs circulating topped the 100,000 mark. Some fear that this figure could hit 150,000 by September 2005. The creation of the national alert service follows similar efforts in the Netherlands and US. The National Alerting Service for the Netherlands (aka De Waarschuwingsdienst) and the US National Cyber Alerting Service also tell citizens of serious security threats.

A rapid alerting service that tells home computer users about serious internet security problems is being launched by the UK government.The NISCC spokesman said the site and alerting service would stay in existence for as long as there were security bugs on home computers and other gadgets.Full-time staff are being employed to comb through the many hundreds of alerts issued each year by computer security firms to spot which ones have the potential to catch out a large number of people Between alerts the service will occasionally send messages giving people advice about safe ways to use their computers and phones.The National Alerting Service for the Netherlands (aka De Waarschuwingsdienst) and the US National Cyber Alerting Service also tell citizens of serious security threats.Those signing up will only be told about the most serious security threats that have the potential to affect millions of people.Alerts tell people how the threats affect them and what they can do to avoid trouble and protect themselves.The alerts will tell people how to go about getting hold of patches from security firms.Warnings about security problems will tell people what the problem is, how it affects them and what they can do to avoid trouble."IT Safe will take our technical expertise and use it to help home users understand the risks and keep their computer systems, mobile phones and a range of related consumer electronic items, safe," said Roger Cumming, director of the National Infrastructure Security Coordination Centre (NISCC).The NISCC, which is running the service, also stressed that those signing up would still need to use anti-virus software, firewalls, and software updates to stay secure.

Mobile gig aims to rock 3GForget about going to a crowded bar to enjoy a gig by the latest darlings of the music press.Now you could also be at a live gig on your mobile, via the latest third generation (3G) video phones. Rock outfit Rooster are playing what has been billed as the first ever concert broadcast by phone on Tuesday evening from a London venue. The 45-minute gig is due to be "phone cast" by the 3G mobile phone operator, 3. 3G technology lets people take, watch and send video clips on their phones, as well as swap data much faster than with 2G networks like GSM. People with 3G phones in the UK can already download football and music clips on their handsets.Some 1,000 fans of the London-based band will have to pay five pounds for a ticket and need a 3G handset."Once you have paid, you can come and go as much as you like, because we expect the customers to be mobile," said 3 spokesperson Belinda Henderson. "It's like going to a concert hall, except that you are virtually there." The company behind the trial hopes to learn more about how people use their video phones. "We are looking on how long people will stay on average on the streams. Some people may stay the whole time, some may dip in and out," said Ms Henderson. "We actually expect people to dip in and out because they are mobile and they will be doing other things." 3 is looking to music as a way of persuading more people to take up the latest video phones. It is already planning regular gigs throughout 2005. And during the intermission, of course, you would still be able to make a phone call.

People with 3G phones in the UK can already download football and music clips on their handsets.3 is looking to music as a way of persuading more people to take up the latest video phones.3G technology lets people take, watch and send video clips on their phones, as well as swap data much faster than with 2G networks like GSM.The 45-minute gig is due to be "phone cast" by the 3G mobile phone operator, 3.Now you could also be at a live gig on your mobile, via the latest third generation (3G) video phones."We actually expect people to dip in and out because they are mobile and they will be doing other things."The company behind the trial hopes to learn more about how people use their video phones.

Savvy searchers fail to spot adsInternet search engine users are an odd mix of naive and sophisticated, suggests a report into search habits.The report by the US Pew Research Center reveals that 87% of searchers usually find what they were looking for when using a search engine. It also shows that few can spot the difference between paid-for results and organic ones. The report reveals that 84% of net users say they regularly use Google, Ask Jeeves, MSN and Yahoo when online.Almost 50% of those questioned said they would trust search engines much less, if they knew information about who paid for results was being hidden. According to figures gathered by the Pew researchers the average users spends about 43 minutes per month carrying out 34 separate searches and looks at 1.9 webpages for each hunt. A significant chunk of net users, 36%, carry out a search at least weekly and 29% of those asked only look every few weeks. For 44% of those questioned, the information they are looking for is critical to what they are doing and is information they simply have to find.Search engine users also tend to be very loyal and once they have found a site they feel they can trust tend to stick with it. According to Pew Research 44% of searchers use just a single search engine, 48% use two or three and a small number, 7%, consult more than three sites. Tony Macklin, spokesman for Ask Jeeves, said the results reflected its own research which showed that people use different search engines because the way the sites gather information means they can provide different results for the same query. Despite this liking for search sites half of those questioned said they could get the same information via other routes. A small number, 17%, said they wouldn't really miss search engines if they did not exist. The remaining 33% said they could not live without search sites. More than two-thirds of those questioned, 68%, said they thought that the results they were presented with were a fair and unbiased selection of the information on a topic that can be found on the net. Alongside the growing sophistication of net users is a lack of awareness about paid-for results that many search engines provide alongside lists of websites found by indexing the web. Of those asked, 62% were unaware that someone has paid for some of the results they see when they carry out a search. Only 18% of all searchers say they can tell which results are paid for and which are not. Said the Pew report: "This finding is ironic, since nearly half of all users say they would stop using search engines if they thought engines were not being clear about how they presented paid results." Commenting Mr Macklin said sponsored results must be clearly marked and though they might help with some queries user testing showed that people need to be able to spot the difference.

Almost 50% of those questioned said they would trust search engines much less, if they knew information about who paid for results was being hidden.Said the Pew report: "This finding is ironic, since nearly half of all users say they would stop using search engines if they thought engines were not being clear about how they presented paid results."Tony Macklin, spokesman for Ask Jeeves, said the results reflected its own research which showed that people use different search engines because the way the sites gather information means they can provide different results for the same query.Internet search engine users are an odd mix of naive and sophisticated, suggests a report into search habits.The report by the US Pew Research Center reveals that 87% of searchers usually find what they were looking for when using a search engine.A small number, 17%, said they wouldn't really miss search engines if they did not exist.Alongside the growing sophistication of net users is a lack of awareness about paid-for results that many search engines provide alongside lists of websites found by indexing the web.Despite this liking for search sites half of those questioned said they could get the same information via other routes.

Blinx sequel purrs nicelyThe original Blinx was intended to convert many platform game lovers to Microsoft's then new Xbox console.Its sharp graphics and novel gameplay, with the main character able to pause, slow, rewind and fast-forward time, were meant to lure many fans to the new machine. But poor design meant the game became a very frustrating affair with players often stranded half-way through a level without the required tools to finish. Thankfully, the sequel has fixed many of the original faults. This time around you do not play as Blinx but instead you are given the chance to create two unique cat characters and two pig characters.The character generator is very detailed and a few minutes of tweaking and adjusting will create a unique personality to unleash on the game.As the game progresses you swap between the two rival factions, pig and feline, assuming the role of your created characters. The thrust of the game sees the two factions competing to recover pieces of a missing Time Crystal. As in the original, your feline persona can control time, but this time the pigs get to control space. There are a number of puzzles which require control over time to solve while the pigs can create things such as warps, space bubbles and void traps in order to progress. The control over space and time is achieved through a number of VCR-style icons and is quite intuitive.Annoyingly, the puzzles are a little too obviously flagged up and most gamers will find it more of a chore than a challenge to solve them. The game has also tried to emulate franchises such as Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank on PS2 and so there are a number of combat elements. These are a little predictable and tend to drag the general polish of the game down to a more dulled affair. But the game's excellent graphics, easily the best-looking platform game around, sound and dollops of humour make it an attractive game for younger platform fans.Blinx 2 is out on Xbox now.

The original Blinx was intended to convert many platform game lovers to Microsoft's then new Xbox console.As in the original, your feline persona can control time, but this time the pigs get to control space.This time around you do not play as Blinx but instead you are given the chance to create two unique cat characters and two pig characters.There are a number of puzzles which require control over time to solve while the pigs can create things such as warps, space bubbles and void traps in order to progress.The thrust of the game sees the two factions competing to recover pieces of a missing Time Crystal.As the game progresses you swap between the two rival factions, pig and feline, assuming the role of your created characters.The control over space and time is achieved through a number of VCR-style icons and is quite intuitive.

PC ownership to 'double by 2010'The number of personal computers worldwide is expected to double by 2010 to 1.3 billion machines, according to a report by analysts Forrester Research.The growth will be driven by emerging markets such as China, Russia and India, the report predicted. More than a third of all new PCs will be in these markets, with China adding 178 million new PCs by 2010, it said. Low-priced computers made by local companies are expected to dominate in such territories, Forrester said. The report comes less than a week after IBM, a pioneer of the PC business, sold its PC hardware division to China's number one computer maker Lenovo.The $1.75bn (£900m) deal will make the combined operation the third biggest PC vendor in the world. "Today's products from Western PC vendors won't dominate in those markets in the long term," Simon Yates, a senior analyst for Forrester, said. "Instead local PC makers like Lenovo Group in China and Aquarius in Russia that can better tailor the PC form factor, price point and applications to their local markets will ultimately win the market share battle," he said. There are currently 575 million PCs in use globally. The United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific are expected to add 150 million new PCs by 2010, according to the study. The report forecast that there will be 80 million new PC users in India by 2010 and 40 million new users in Indonesia.

More than a third of all new PCs will be in these markets, with China adding 178 million new PCs by 2010, it said.The report forecast that there will be 80 million new PC users in India by 2010 and 40 million new users in Indonesia.The United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific are expected to add 150 million new PCs by 2010, according to the study."Instead local PC makers like Lenovo Group in China and Aquarius in Russia that can better tailor the PC form factor, price point and applications to their local markets will ultimately win the market share battle," he said."Today's products from Western PC vendors won't dominate in those markets in the long term," Simon Yates, a senior analyst for Forrester, said.

Spam e-mails tempt net shoppersComputer users across the world continue to ignore security warnings about spam e-mails and are being lured into buying goods, a report suggests.More than a quarter have bought software through spam e-mails and 24% have bought clothes or jewellery. As well as profiting from selling goods or services and driving advertising traffic, organised crime rings can use spam to glean personal information. The Business Software Alliance (BSA) warned that people should "stay alert". "Many online consumers don't consider the true motives of spammers," said Mike Newton, a spokesperson for the BSA which commissioned the survey."By selling software that appears to be legitimate in genuine looking packaging or through sophisticated websites, spammers are hiding spyware without consumers' knowledge. "Once the software is installed on PCs and networks, information that is given over the internet can be obtained and abused."The results also showed that the proportion of people reading - or admitting to reading - and taking advantage of adult entertainment spam e-mails is low, at one in 10. The research, which covered 6,000 people in six countries and their attitudes towards junk e-mails, revealed that Brazilians were the most likely to read spam. A third of them read unsolicited junk e-mail and 66% buy goods or services after receiving spam.The French were the second most likely to buy something (48%), with 44% of Britons taking advantage of products and services. This was despite 38% of people in all countries being worried about their net security because of the amount of spam they get. More than a third of respondents said they were concerned that spam e-mails contained viruses or programs that attempted to collect personal information. "Both industry and the media have helped to raise awareness of the issues that surround illegitimate e-mail, helping to reduce the potential financial damage and nuisance from phishing attacks and spoof websites," said William Plante, director of corporate security and fraud protection at security firm Symantec. "At the same time, consumers need to continue exercising caution and protect themselves from harm with a mixture of spam filters, spyware detection software and sound judgement."

A third of them read unsolicited junk e-mail and 66% buy goods or services after receiving spam.More than a quarter have bought software through spam e-mails and 24% have bought clothes or jewellery.More than a third of respondents said they were concerned that spam e-mails contained viruses or programs that attempted to collect personal information.The results also showed that the proportion of people reading - or admitting to reading - and taking advantage of adult entertainment spam e-mails is low, at one in 10.This was despite 38% of people in all countries being worried about their net security because of the amount of spam they get.The research, which covered 6,000 people in six countries and their attitudes towards junk e-mails, revealed that Brazilians were the most likely to read spam.

Open source leaders slam patentsThe war of words between Microsoft and the open source movement heated up this week as Linux founder Linus Torvalds led an attack on software patents.In a panel discussion at a Linux summit in California Mr Torvalds said software patents were a problem for the open source movement. Mitchell Kapor, chairman of the Mozilla foundation, warned that Microsoft could use patent lawsuits in the future. Linux is a freely-available alternative to Microsoft's Windows. It relies on a community of programmers for its development and is based on open source principles, which allow others to use and modify it without having to pay licence fees. The attack on software patents comes at a time when IBM has made 500 of its patents freely available. Other companies are expected to follow suit.There are between 150,000 and 300,000 registered software patents in the US and open source developers argue that many should never have been granted. This is a view corroborated by the UK Patent Office. "Some of the patents have dubious validity and are being wielded by some big companies to force smaller companies to buy licenses in the knowledge that they can't afford to take them to court," said Dr Jeremy Philpott of the UK Patent Office. Some panel members are worried that Microsoft would issue a series of patent lawsuits in the future. "If totally pushed to the wall - because their business model no longer holds up in an era in which open source is an economically superior way to produce software...of course they're going to unleash the WMDs," Mr Kapor is reported as saying. Microsoft did not want to comment directly, referring the issue instead to trade body Intellect, of which it is a member. "As far as Intellect is concerned, open source and patents have co-existed for many years without problems," said spokeswoman Jill Sutherland. "The industry respects the open source movement and in fact many of the members we represent use the open source system to develop software," "We think the important point to make is that companies should be able to choose between patents, copyrights and open source as to the treatment of their intellectual discoveries, and not be forced into using one or the other," she added.

In a panel discussion at a Linux summit in California Mr Torvalds said software patents were a problem for the open source movement.There are between 150,000 and 300,000 registered software patents in the US and open source developers argue that many should never have been granted."The industry respects the open source movement and in fact many of the members we represent use the open source system to develop software," "We think the important point to make is that companies should be able to choose between patents, copyrights and open source as to the treatment of their intellectual discoveries, and not be forced into using one or the other," she added."As far as Intellect is concerned, open source and patents have co-existed for many years without problems," said spokeswoman Jill Sutherland.The war of words between Microsoft and the open source movement heated up this week as Linux founder Linus Torvalds led an attack on software patents.Some panel members are worried that Microsoft would issue a series of patent lawsuits in the future.

File-swappers ready new networkLegal attacks on websites that help people swap pirated films have forced the development of a system that could be harder to shut down.One site behind the success of the BitTorrent file-swapping system is producing its own software that avoids the pitfalls of the earlier program. A test version of the new Exeem program will be released in late January. But doubts remain about the new networks ability to ensure files being swapped are "quality copies".In late December movie studios launched a legal campaign against websites that helped people swap pirated movies using the BitTorrent network. The legal campaign worked because of the way that BitTorrent is organised. That file-sharing system relies on links called "trackers" that point users to others happy to share the file they are looking for. Shutting down sites that listed trackers crippled the BitTorrent network. One of the sites shut down by the legal campaign was suprnova.org which helped boost the popularity of the BitTorrent system by checking that trackers led to the movies or TV programmes they claimed to.Now the man behind suprnova.org, who goes by the nickname Sloncek, is preparing to release software for a new file-swapping network dubbed Exeem. In an interview with Novastream web radio, Sloncek said Exeem would combine ideas from the BitTorrent and Kazaa file-sharing systems. Like BitTorrent, Exeem will have trackers that help point people toward the file they want. Like Kazaa these trackers will be held by everyone. There will be no centrally maintained list. This, said Sloncek, should make the system less vulnerable to legal action aimed at stopping people swapping pirated movies and music. The Exeem software has been under development for a few months and is currently being tested by a closed group of users. An early public version of the software should be available before February. Sloncek said that currently only a Windows version of the software was in development. There were no plans for a Linux or Mac version. He said that costs of writing the software will be paid for by adverts appearing in the finished version of the program. Despite Suprnova administrator Sloncek's involvement with Exeem, the basic technology appears to have been developed by a firm called Swarm Systems that is based on Caribbean island Saint Kitts and Nevis.Users of the Exeem system will be able to rate files being swapped to help stop the spread of fake files, Sloncek told Novastream.Dr Johan Pouwelse, a researcher at the Delft University of Technology who studies peer-to-peer networks, said Exeem was the next evolution in file-sharing systems. But, he said, it would struggle to be as popular as BitTorrent and Suprnova because early versions were not taking enough care to make sure good copies of files were being shared. "Exeem cannot prevent pollution," he said. "The rating system in Exeem seems flawed because it is easy to insert both fake files and fake ratings," he said. Studies have shown that organisations working for record labels and movie studios have worked to undermine Kazaa by putting in fakes. By contrast moderators on Suprnova made sure files being shared were high quality. "The moderators are the difference between having a system that works and one that's full of crap like Kazaa," he said. "There is a fundamental tension between distribution and integrity," he said. Mr Pouwelse said that future versions of file-sharing systems are likely to incorporate some kind of distributed reputation system that lets moderators prove who they are to the network and rate which files are worth downloading. When big files were being shared moderation systems were key, said Mr Pouwelse. He added that the legal attacks on BitTorrent had driven people away from sites such as Suprnova but many users had simply migrated to other tracker listing sites many of which have seen huge increases in traffic. "It's hard to compete with free," he said. No-one from the Motion Picture Association of America was immediately available for comment on the file-sharing development.

Sloncek said that currently only a Windows version of the software was in development.Mr Pouwelse said that future versions of file-sharing systems are likely to incorporate some kind of distributed reputation system that lets moderators prove who they are to the network and rate which files are worth downloading.In an interview with Novastream web radio, Sloncek said Exeem would combine ideas from the BitTorrent and Kazaa file-sharing systems.Like BitTorrent, Exeem will have trackers that help point people toward the file they want.But, he said, it would struggle to be as popular as BitTorrent and Suprnova because early versions were not taking enough care to make sure good copies of files were being shared.When big files were being shared moderation systems were key, said Mr Pouwelse."The rating system in Exeem seems flawed because it is easy to insert both fake files and fake ratings," he said.This, said Sloncek, should make the system less vulnerable to legal action aimed at stopping people swapping pirated movies and music.One of the sites shut down by the legal campaign was suprnova.org which helped boost the popularity of the BitTorrent system by checking that trackers led to the movies or TV programmes they claimed to."The moderators are the difference between having a system that works and one that's full of crap like Kazaa," he said.Users of the Exeem system will be able to rate files being swapped to help stop the spread of fake files, Sloncek told Novastream."Exeem cannot prevent pollution," he said.He said that costs of writing the software will be paid for by adverts appearing in the finished version of the program.One site behind the success of the BitTorrent file-swapping system is producing its own software that avoids the pitfalls of the earlier program.

Ink helps drive democracy in AsiaThe Kyrgyz Republic, a small, mountainous state of the former Soviet republic, is using invisible ink and ultraviolet readers in the country's elections as part of a drive to prevent multiple voting.This new technology is causing both worries and guarded optimism among different sectors of the population. In an effort to live up to its reputation in the 1990s as "an island of democracy", the Kyrgyz President, Askar Akaev, pushed through the law requiring the use of ink during the upcoming Parliamentary and Presidential elections. The US government agreed to fund all expenses associated with this decision.The Kyrgyz Republic is seen by many experts as backsliding from the high point it reached in the mid-1990s with a hastily pushed through referendum in 2003, reducing the legislative branch to one chamber with 75 deputies. The use of ink is only one part of a general effort to show commitment towards more open elections - the German Embassy, the Soros Foundation and the Kyrgyz government have all contributed to purchase transparent ballot boxes.The actual technology behind the ink is not that complicated. The ink is sprayed on a person's left thumb. It dries and is not visible under normal light.However, the presence of ultraviolet light (of the kind used to verify money) causes the ink to glow with a neon yellow light. At the entrance to each polling station, one election official will scan voter's fingers with UV lamp before allowing them to enter, and every voter will have his/her left thumb sprayed with ink before receiving the ballot. If the ink shows under the UV light the voter will not be allowed to enter the polling station. Likewise, any voter who refuses to be inked will not receive the ballot. These elections are assuming even greater significance because of two large factors - the upcoming parliamentary elections are a prelude to a potentially regime changing presidential election in the Autumn as well as the echo of recent elections in other former Soviet Republics, notably Ukraine and Georgia. The use of ink has been controversial - especially among groups perceived to be pro-government.Widely circulated articles compared the use of ink to the rural practice of marking sheep - a still common metaphor in this primarily agricultural society.The author of one such article began a petition drive against the use of the ink. The greatest part of the opposition to ink has often been sheer ignorance. Local newspapers have carried stories that the ink is harmful, radioactive or even that the ultraviolet readers may cause health problems. Others, such as the aggressively middle of the road, Coalition of Non-governmental Organizations, have lauded the move as an important step forward. This type of ink has been used in many elections in the world, in countries as varied as Serbia, South Africa, Indonesia and Turkey. The other common type of ink in elections is indelible visible ink - but as the elections in Afghanistan showed, improper use of this type of ink can cause additional problems. The use of "invisible" ink is not without its own problems. In most elections, numerous rumors have spread about it.In Serbia, for example, both Christian and Islamic leaders assured their populations that its use was not contrary to religion. Other rumours are associated with how to remove the ink - various soft drinks, solvents and cleaning products are put forward. However, in reality, the ink is very effective at getting under the cuticle of the thumb and difficult to wash off. The ink stays on the finger for at least 72 hours and for up to a week. The use of ink and readers by itself is not a panacea for election ills. The passage of the inking law is, nevertheless, a clear step forward towards free and fair elections." The country's widely watched parliamentary elections are scheduled for 27 February.David Mikosz works for the IFES, an international, non-profit organisation that supports the building of democratic societies.

The other common type of ink in elections is indelible visible ink - but as the elections in Afghanistan showed, improper use of this type of ink can cause additional problems.The use of ink and readers by itself is not a panacea for election ills.The use of "invisible" ink is not without its own problems.The use of ink is only one part of a general effort to show commitment towards more open elections - the German Embassy, the Soros Foundation and the Kyrgyz government have all contributed to purchase transparent ballot boxes.The author of one such article began a petition drive against the use of the ink.The use of ink has been controversial - especially among groups perceived to be pro-government.In an effort to live up to its reputation in the 1990s as "an island of democracy", the Kyrgyz President, Askar Akaev, pushed through the law requiring the use of ink during the upcoming Parliamentary and Presidential elections.At the entrance to each polling station, one election official will scan voter's fingers with UV lamp before allowing them to enter, and every voter will have his/her left thumb sprayed with ink before receiving the ballot.The ink is sprayed on a person's left thumb.If the ink shows under the UV light the voter will not be allowed to enter the polling station.The actual technology behind the ink is not that complicated.The Kyrgyz Republic, a small, mountainous state of the former Soviet republic, is using invisible ink and ultraviolet readers in the country's elections as part of a drive to prevent multiple voting.This type of ink has been used in many elections in the world, in countries as varied as Serbia, South Africa, Indonesia and Turkey.

PC photo printers challenge prosHome printed pictures can be cheaper and higher quality than those from High Street developers, tests shows.A survey carried out by PC Pro magazine looked at which of 100 home photo printers offered a better deal than handing your snaps to a photo lab. The tests found that images from top PC printers kept their colour longer than professionally produced photographs. But using the wrong printer cartridge could means snaps fade in months, warned the magazine.The group test of 100 home photo printers for PCs discovered how much it costs to create images using the devices compared to online developers as well as High Street names such as Jessops, Boots and Snappy Snaps. The comprehensive test also revealed how quickly different printers produced images, the quality of the finished image and how resistant finished pictures were to smudging or water damage. It found that although some ink for printers now costs more than £2 per millilitre it can still be cheaper to produce prints from photographs at home than it is to send them off to a High Street store. "If you really like your photos, then it's definitely worth printing at home instead of going to the high street, but only if you choose the right printer," said Nick Ross, top tester at PC Pro.Mr Ross said that a new generation of printers produced images with brighter colours and that were less likely to fade than many High Street developers or even some professional wedding photographers. Some High Street photo shops can be the cheapest when it came to developing prints that were 6x4in, said Mr Ross, but the test revealed that images 7x5in and 8x10in in size were cheaper to produce at home. According to PC Pro, producing a print 8x10in on an Epson R800 printer using top quality paper costs £1.87. At Jessops the same image would cost £2.50 and at Snappy Snaps £9.99. A 10x7in snap at Boots would cost £4.99. "Considering how inconvenient it can be to go to the High Street and how silver-halide prints can fade in the sun, we're adamant that it's now better, cheaper and more convenient to print at home," he said. Ann Simpson, marketing manager at Snappy Snaps believes the convenience of high street printing will continue to attract customers. "Some people will want to do their own thing on their computer but the feedback to us is that customers often have to print two or three pictures at home in order to get a good one," she said. "Many people are not skilled at getting the colour, contrast and cropping right and they don't want the hassle," she added. The magazine test found that which ink consumers use determined how long their prints lasted before they started fading. It recommended avoiding so-called third-party inks not produced by printer makers because they tended to produce prints that fade the quickest.

The group test of 100 home photo printers for PCs discovered how much it costs to create images using the devices compared to online developers as well as High Street names such as Jessops, Boots and Snappy Snaps.It found that although some ink for printers now costs more than £2 per millilitre it can still be cheaper to produce prints from photographs at home than it is to send them off to a High Street store.Some High Street photo shops can be the cheapest when it came to developing prints that were 6x4in, said Mr Ross, but the test revealed that images 7x5in and 8x10in in size were cheaper to produce at home."Considering how inconvenient it can be to go to the High Street and how silver-halide prints can fade in the sun, we're adamant that it's now better, cheaper and more convenient to print at home," he said.Mr Ross said that a new generation of printers produced images with brighter colours and that were less likely to fade than many High Street developers or even some professional wedding photographers.According to PC Pro, producing a print 8x10in on an Epson R800 printer using top quality paper costs £1.87."If you really like your photos, then it's definitely worth printing at home instead of going to the high street, but only if you choose the right printer," said Nick Ross, top tester at PC Pro.Home printed pictures can be cheaper and higher quality than those from High Street developers, tests shows.

Court mulls file-sharing futureJudges at the US Supreme Court have been hearing evidence for and against file-sharing networks.The court will decide whether producers of file-sharing software can ultimately be held responsible for copyright infringement. They questioned if opening the way for the entertainment industry to sue file-sharers could deter innovation. They also said that file-trading firms had some responsibility for inducing people to piracy.The lawsuit, brought by 28 of the world's largest entertainment firms, has raged for several years. Legal experts agree that if the Supreme Court finds in favour of the music and movie industry they would be able to sue file-trading firms into bankruptcy. But if the judge rules that Grokster and Morpheus - the file-sharers at the centre of the case - are merely providers of technology that can have legitimate as well as illegitimate uses, then the music and movie industry would be forced to abandon its pursuit of file-sharing providers. Instead, they would have to pursue individuals who use peer-to-peer networks to get their hands on free music and movies. The hi-tech and entertainment industries have been divided on the issue. Intel filed a document with the Supreme Court earlier this month in defence of Grokster and others, despite misgivings about some aspects of the file-sharing community. It summed up the attitude of many tech firms in its submission which states that its products "are essentially tools, that like any other tools, capable of being used by consumers and businesses for unlawful purposes".Asking firms to second-guess the uses that its technologies would be put to, and to build in ways of preventing illegitimate use, would stifle innovation, it said. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil rights watchdog, is also defending StreamCast Networks, the company behind the Morpheus file-sharing software. The case raises a question of critical importance at the border between copyright and innovation, it said. It cites, as do many, the landmark ruling in 1984 which found that Sony should not be held responsible for the fact that its Betamax video recorder could be used for piracy. Defenders remain optimistic that the judges will rule in favour of the peer-to-peer networks, upholding the precedent set by the Sony Betamax case. A small band of supporters were outside the court as the lawyers entered, wearing "Save Betamax" t-shirts. "The Betamax principles stand as the Magna Carta for the technology industry and are responsible for the explosion in innovation that has occurred in the US over the past 20 years," said Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the Consumer Electronics Association. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said that inventions from printing to Apple's iPod could be used to illegally duplicate copyrighted materials but had, on balance, been beneficial to society. He said that while file-trading software can be used to illegally trade movies and music, conceptually the technology had "some really excellent uses".Based on Tuesday's hearing it seems unlikely that the Betamax ruling will be overturned but file-sharing firms might still be held responsible for encouraging or inducing piracy. Grokster's lawyer argued that the company should be judged by its current behaviour rather than what it did when it first set up. But this argument was dismissed as "ridiculous" by Justice David Souter. CEA boss Mr Shapiro thinks the case is the most important that the Supreme Court will hear this year. "It's about preserving America's proud history of technological innovation and protecting the ability of consumers to access and utilise technology," he said. The case has already been heard by two lower courts and both found in favour of the peer-to-peer networks. They ruled that despite being used to distribute millions of illegal songs, file-sharing could also be used to cheaply distribute software, government documents and promotional copies of music.

Legal experts agree that if the Supreme Court finds in favour of the music and movie industry they would be able to sue file-trading firms into bankruptcy.Judges at the US Supreme Court have been hearing evidence for and against file-sharing networks."The Betamax principles stand as the Magna Carta for the technology industry and are responsible for the explosion in innovation that has occurred in the US over the past 20 years," said Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the Consumer Electronics Association.But if the judge rules that Grokster and Morpheus - the file-sharers at the centre of the case - are merely providers of technology that can have legitimate as well as illegitimate uses, then the music and movie industry would be forced to abandon its pursuit of file-sharing providers.He said that while file-trading software can be used to illegally trade movies and music, conceptually the technology had "some really excellent uses".Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said that inventions from printing to Apple's iPod could be used to illegally duplicate copyrighted materials but had, on balance, been beneficial to society.Asking firms to second-guess the uses that its technologies would be put to, and to build in ways of preventing illegitimate use, would stifle innovation, it said.The case has already been heard by two lower courts and both found in favour of the peer-to-peer networks.The court will decide whether producers of file-sharing software can ultimately be held responsible for copyright infringement.Based on Tuesday's hearing it seems unlikely that the Betamax ruling will be overturned but file-sharing firms might still be held responsible for encouraging or inducing piracy.They ruled that despite being used to distribute millions of illegal songs, file-sharing could also be used to cheaply distribute software, government documents and promotional copies of music.

Apple attacked over sources rowCivil liberties group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has joined a legal fight between three US online journalists and Apple.Apple wants the reporters to reveal 20 sources used for stories which leaked information about forthcoming products, including the Mac Mini. The EFF, representing the reporters, has asked California's Superior court to stop Apple pursuing the sources. It argues that the journalists are protected by the American constitution. The EFF says the case threatens the basic freedoms of the press.Apple is particularly keen to find the source for information about an unreleased product code-named Asteroid and has asked the journalists' e-mail providers to hand over communications relevant to that. "Rather than confronting the issue of reporter's privilege head-on, Apple is going to the journalist's ISPs for his e-mails," said EFF lawyer Kurt Opsahl. "This undermines a fundamental First Amendment right that protects all reporters. "If the court lets Apple get away with this, and exposes the confidences gained by these reporters, potential confidential sources will be deterred from providing information to the media and the public will lose a vital outlet for independent news, analysis and commentary," he said. The case began in December 2004 when Apple asked a local Californian court to get the journalists to reveal their sources for articles published on websites AppleInsider.com and PowerPage.org.Apple also sent requested information from the Nfox.com, the internet service provider of PowerPage's publisher Jason O-Grady. As well as looking at how far corporations can go in preventing information from being published, the case will also examine whether online journalists have the same privileges and protections as those writing for newspapers and magazines. The EFF has gained some powerful allies in its legal battle with Apple, including Professor Tom Goldstein, former dean of the Journalism School at the University of California and Dan Gillmor, a well-known Silicon Valley journalist. Apple was not immediately available for comment.

The EFF, representing the reporters, has asked California's Superior court to stop Apple pursuing the sources.The case began in December 2004 when Apple asked a local Californian court to get the journalists to reveal their sources for articles published on websites AppleInsider.com and PowerPage.org.Civil liberties group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has joined a legal fight between three US online journalists and Apple.Apple is particularly keen to find the source for information about an unreleased product code-named Asteroid and has asked the journalists' e-mail providers to hand over communications relevant to that."Rather than confronting the issue of reporter's privilege head-on, Apple is going to the journalist's ISPs for his e-mails," said EFF lawyer Kurt Opsahl.The EFF has gained some powerful allies in its legal battle with Apple, including Professor Tom Goldstein, former dean of the Journalism School at the University of California and Dan Gillmor, a well-known Silicon Valley journalist.

Broadband steams ahead in the USMore and more Americans are joining the internet's fast lane, according to official figures.The number of people and business connected to broadband jumped by 38% in a year, said the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In a report, it said there were more than 32 million broadband connections by the end of June 2004. But the US is still behind compared to other nations, ranked 13th in the world by a UN telecoms body.During his 2004 re-election campaign, President George W Bush pledge to ensure that affordable high-speed net access would be available to all Americans by 2007.According to the report by the FCC, broadband is becoming increasingly popular, with people using it for research and shopping, as well as downloading music and watching video. The total number of people and businesses on broadband rose by to 32.5 million in the year ending June 2004, compared to 23.5 million in June 2003. Whereas in the UK, most people hook up to broadband via Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) technology which lets ordinary copper phone lines support high data speeds. But in the US, cable leads the way, accounting for 18.6 million lines. Broadband over the phone line makes up 11.4 million connections, according to the FCC figures.

Broadband over the phone line makes up 11.4 million connections, according to the FCC figures.The total number of people and businesses on broadband rose by to 32.5 million in the year ending June 2004, compared to 23.5 million in June 2003.In a report, it said there were more than 32 million broadband connections by the end of June 2004.The number of people and business connected to broadband jumped by 38% in a year, said the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Millions buy MP3 players in USOne in 10 adult Americans - equivalent to 22 million people - owns an MP3 player, according to a survey.A study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that MP3 players are the gadget of choice among affluent young Americans. The survey did not interview teenagers but it is likely that millions of under-18s also have MP3 players. The American love affair with digital music players has been made possible as more and more homes get broadband.Of the 22 million Americans who own MP3 players, 59% are men compared to 41% of women. Those on high income - judged to be $75,000 (£39,000) or above - are four times more likely to have players than those earning less than $30, 000 ( £15,000). Broadband access plays a big part in ownership too. Almost a quarter of those with broadband at home have players, compared to 9% of those who have dial-up access. MP3 players are still the gadget of choice for younger adults. Almost one in five US citizens aged under 30 have one. This compares to 14% of those aged 30-39 and 14% of those aged 40-48. The influence of children also plays a part. Sixteen percent of parents living with children under 18 have digital players compared to 9% of those who don't. The ease of use and growth of music available on the net are the main factors for the upsurge in ownership, the survey found. People are beginning to use them as instruments of social activity - sharing songs and taking part in podcasting - the survey found. "IPods and MP3 players are becoming a mainstream technology for consumers" said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project. "More growth in the market is inevitable as new devices become available, as new players enter the market, and as new social uses for iPods/MP3 players become popular," he added.

One in 10 adult Americans - equivalent to 22 million people - owns an MP3 player, according to a survey.A study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that MP3 players are the gadget of choice among affluent young Americans.The survey did not interview teenagers but it is likely that millions of under-18s also have MP3 players.MP3 players are still the gadget of choice for younger adults.Of the 22 million Americans who own MP3 players, 59% are men compared to 41% of women."IPods and MP3 players are becoming a mainstream technology for consumers" said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project.The American love affair with digital music players has been made possible as more and more homes get broadband.

Britons fed up with net serviceA survey conducted by PC Pro Magazine has revealed that many Britons are unhappy with their internet service.They are fed up with slow speeds, high prices and the level of customer service they receive. 17% of readers have switched suppliers and a further 16% are considering changing in the near future. It is particularly bad news for BT, the UK's biggest internet supplier, with almost three times as many people trying to leave as joining.A third of the 2,000 broadband users interviewed were fed up with their current providers but this could be just the tip of the iceberg thinks Tim Danton, editor of PC Pro Magazine. "We expect these figures to leap in 2005. Every month the prices drop, and more and more people are trying to switch," he said. The survey found that BT and Tiscali have been actively dissuading customers from leaving by offering them a lower price when they phone up to cancel their subscription. Some readers were offered a price drop just 25p more expensive than that offered by an alternative operator, making it hardly worth while swapping.Other found themselves tied into 12-month contracts. Broadband has become hugely competitive and providers are desperate to hold on to customers. 12% of those surveyed found themselves unable to swap at all. "We discovered a huge variety of problems, but one of the biggest issues is the current supplier withholding the information that people need to give to their new supplier," said Tim Danton, editor of PC Pro. "This breaks the code of practice, but because that code is voluntary there's nothing we or Ofcom can do to help," he said. There is a vast choice of internet service providers in the UK now and an often bewildering array of broadband packages. With prices set to drop even further in coming months Mr Danton advises everyone to shop around carefully. "If you just stick with your current connection then there's every chance you're being ripped off," he warned.

Every month the prices drop, and more and more people are trying to switch," he said."We discovered a huge variety of problems, but one of the biggest issues is the current supplier withholding the information that people need to give to their new supplier," said Tim Danton, editor of PC Pro.A third of the 2,000 broadband users interviewed were fed up with their current providers but this could be just the tip of the iceberg thinks Tim Danton, editor of PC Pro Magazine.A survey conducted by PC Pro Magazine has revealed that many Britons are unhappy with their internet service.With prices set to drop even further in coming months Mr Danton advises everyone to shop around carefully.The survey found that BT and Tiscali have been actively dissuading customers from leaving by offering them a lower price when they phone up to cancel their subscription.It is particularly bad news for BT, the UK's biggest internet supplier, with almost three times as many people trying to leave as joining.

Computer grid to help the worldYour computer can now help solve the world's most difficult health and social problems.Launched this week, the World Community Grid will use idle computer time to test solutions to these problems. The donated processor cycles will help the WCG create virtual supercomputers via the net. The idea follows the success of other similar projects that have used the untapped processing power of millions of desktop PCs. One of the most successful collaboration projects was Seti@home, run by the Search for Extra Terrestrial Life project, which sorted through radio signals looking for signs of alien communication.Anyone can volunteer to donate the spare time of their computers by downloading a special screensaver from the WGC website. Once installed, the virtual terminal gets a chunk of the computational task to process, and reports back after completing that task. The first WCG problem being tackled will be the Human Proteome Folding Project, which hopes to identify the ways that the proteins in our body fold.The subjects of study are being selected by an international advisory board of experts specializing in health sciences, and technology. The body will evaluate proposals from leading research, public and not-for-profit organizations, and is expected to oversee up to six projects a year. Organisations also represented on the board include the United Nations Development Programme and the World Health Organisation."The World Community Grid will enable researchers around the globe to gather and analyze unprecedented quantities of data to help address important global issues," said Elain Gallin, program director for medical research at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. "[It] will inspire us to look beyond the technological limitations that have historically restricted us from addressing some of our most intractable problems", she added. IBM has donated the hardware, software, technical services and expertise to build the basic infrastructure for the grid. The computer company, working with United Devices, previously developed the Smallpox Research Grid, which linked together more than two million volunteers from 226 countries to speed the analysis of some 35 million drug molecules in the search for a treatment for Smallpox.

Launched this week, the World Community Grid will use idle computer time to test solutions to these problems.Your computer can now help solve the world's most difficult health and social problems.The computer company, working with United Devices, previously developed the Smallpox Research Grid, which linked together more than two million volunteers from 226 countries to speed the analysis of some 35 million drug molecules in the search for a treatment for Smallpox."The World Community Grid will enable researchers around the globe to gather and analyze unprecedented quantities of data to help address important global issues," said Elain Gallin, program director for medical research at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.The donated processor cycles will help the WCG create virtual supercomputers via the net.The body will evaluate proposals from leading research, public and not-for-profit organizations, and is expected to oversee up to six projects a year.

Humanoid robot learns how to runCar-maker Honda's humanoid robot Asimo has just got faster and smarter.The Japanese firm is a leader in developing two-legged robots and the new, improved Asimo (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) can now run, find his way around obstacles as well as interact with people. Eventually Asimo could find gainful employment in homes and offices. "The aim is to develop a robot that can help people in their daily lives," said a Honda spokesman.To get the robot running for the first time was not an easy process as it involved Asimo making an accurate leap and absorbing the impact of landing without slipping or spinning. The "run" he is now capable of is perhaps not quite up to Olympic star Kelly Holmes' standard. At 3km/h, it is closer to a leisurely jog. Its makers claim that it is almost four times as fast as Sony's Qrio, which became the first robot to run last year. The criteria for running robots is defined by engineers as having both feet off the ground between strides. Asimo has improved in other ways too, increasing his walking speed, from 1.6km/h to 2.5km, growing 10cm to 130cm and putting on 2kg in weight. While he may not quite be ready for yoga, he does have more freedom of movement, being able to twist his hips and bend his wrists, thumbs and neck.Asimo has already made his mark on the international robot scene and in November was inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame. He has wowed audiences around the world with his ability to walk upstairs, recognise faces and come when beckoned. In August 2003 he even attended a state dinner in the Czech Republic, travelling with the Japanese prime minister as a goodwill envoy. He is one of a handful of robots used by tech firms to trumpet their technological advances. Technology developed for Asimo could be used in the automobile industry as electronics increasingly take over from mechanics in car design. For the moment Asimo's biggest role is an entertainer and the audience gathered to see his first public run greeted his slightly comical gait with amusement, according to reports. Robots can fulfil serious functions in society and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe predicts that the worldwide market for industrial robots will swell from 81,000 units in 2003 to 106,000 in 2007.

Asimo has already made his mark on the international robot scene and in November was inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame.The Japanese firm is a leader in developing two-legged robots and the new, improved Asimo (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) can now run, find his way around obstacles as well as interact with people.Car-maker Honda's humanoid robot Asimo has just got faster and smarter.To get the robot running for the first time was not an easy process as it involved Asimo making an accurate leap and absorbing the impact of landing without slipping or spinning.Its makers claim that it is almost four times as fast as Sony's Qrio, which became the first robot to run last year.Asimo has improved in other ways too, increasing his walking speed, from 1.6km/h to 2.5km, growing 10cm to 130cm and putting on 2kg in weight.He is one of a handful of robots used by tech firms to trumpet their technological advances.The criteria for running robots is defined by engineers as having both feet off the ground between strides.

BT boosts its broadband packagesBritish Telecom has said it will double the broadband speeds of most of its home and business customers.The increased speeds will come at no extra charge and follows a similar move by internet service provider AOL. Many BT customers will now have download speeds of 2Mbps, although there are usage allowances of between one gigabyte and 30 gigabytes a month. The new speeds start to come into effect on 17 February for home customers and 1 April for businesses. "Britain is now broadband Britain," said Duncan Ingram, BT's managing director, broadband and internet services. He added: "Ninety percent of our customers will see real increases in speed."These speed increases will give people the opportunity to do a lot more with their broadband connections," he said. Upload speeds - the speed at which information is sent from a PC via broadband - will remain at the same speed, said Mr Ingram. Despite the increases, BT will continue to have usage allowances for home customers. "The allowances are extremely generous," said Mr Ingram "For what we are seeing in the market place - they are really not an issue." BT will begin enforcing the allowances in the summer. Customers who exceed the amounts will either be able to pay for a bigger allowance or see their download speeds reduced. BT now has a 36% share of the broadband market - down from 39% - which is becoming increasingly competitive. In the last few months, many rival ISPs have begun to offer 2Mbps services, including AOL, Plusnet and UK Online.But Britain continues to lag behind some countries - especially Japan and South Korea - which offer broadband speeds of up to 40Mbps. But Mr Ingram said it was important to "separate hype from reality". He said that a limited number of people with those connections consistently received speeds of 40Mbps. Customers will not see their connections double immediately on 17 February. Mr Ingram said there would be a roll out across the network in order to prevent any problems.

Upload speeds - the speed at which information is sent from a PC via broadband - will remain at the same speed, said Mr Ingram.British Telecom has said it will double the broadband speeds of most of its home and business customers."These speed increases will give people the opportunity to do a lot more with their broadband connections," he said.He said that a limited number of people with those connections consistently received speeds of 40Mbps.Many BT customers will now have download speeds of 2Mbps, although there are usage allowances of between one gigabyte and 30 gigabytes a month.Customers who exceed the amounts will either be able to pay for a bigger allowance or see their download speeds reduced."Britain is now broadband Britain," said Duncan Ingram, BT's managing director, broadband and internet services.But Britain continues to lag behind some countries - especially Japan and South Korea - which offer broadband speeds of up to 40Mbps.

Apple laptop is 'greatest gadget'The Apple Powerbook 100 has been chosen as the greatest gadget of all time, by US magazine Mobile PC.The 1991 laptop was chosen because it was one of the first "lightweight" portable computers and helped define the layout of all future notebook PCs. The magazine has compiled an all-time top 100 list of gadgets, which includes the Sony Walkman at number three and the 1956 Zenith remote control at two. Gadgets needed moving parts and/or electronics to warrant inclusion. The magazine specified that gadgets also needed to be a "self-contained apparatus that can be used on its own, not a subset of another device"."In general we included only items that were potentially mobile," said the magazine."In the end, we tried to get to the heart of what really makes a gadget a gadget," it concluded. The oldest "gadget" in the top 100 is the abacus, which the magazine dates at 190 A.D., and put in 60th place. Other pre-electronic gadgets in the top 100 include the sextant from 1731 (59th position), the marine chronometer from 1761 (42nd position) and the Kodak Brownie camera from 1900 (28th position). The Tivo personal video recorder is the newest device to make the top 10, which also includes the first flash mp3 player (Diamound Multimedia), as well as the first "successful" digital camera (Casio QV-10) and mobile phone (Motorola Startac). The most popular gadget of the moment, the Apple iPod, is at number 12 in the list while the first Sony transistor radio is at number 13.Sony's third entry in the top 20 is the CDP-101 CD player from 1983. "Who can forget the crystalline, hiss-free blast of Madonna's Like A Virgin emenating from their first CD player?" asked the magazine. Karl Elsener's knife, the Swiss Army Knife from 1891, is at number 20 in the list. Gadgets which could be said to feature surprisngly low down in the list include the original telephone (23rd), the Nintendo GameBoy (25th), and the Pulsar quartz digital watch (36th). The list also contains plenty of oddities: the Pez sweet dispenser (98th), 1980s toy Tamagotchi (86th) and the bizarre Ronco inside the shell egg scrambler (84th).Why worry about mobile phones. Soon they will be subsumed into the PDA's / laptops etc.What about the Marine Chronometer? Completely revolutionised navigation for boats and was in use for centuries. For it's time, a technological marvel!Sony Net Minidisc! It paved the way for more mp3 player to explode onto the market. I always used my NetMD, and could not go anywhere without it.A laptop computer is not a gadget! It's a working tool!The Sinclair Executive was the world's first pocket calculator. I think this should be there as well.How about the clockwork radio? Or GPS? Or a pocket calculator? All these things are useful to real people, not just PC magazine editors.Are the people who created this list insane ? Surely the most important gadget of the modern age is the mobile phone? It has revolutionalised communication, which is more than can be said for a niche market laptop. From outside the modern age, the marine chronometer is the single most important gadget, without which modern transportation systems would not have evolved so quickly.Has everyone forgot about the Breville pie maker??An interesting list. Of the electronic gadgets, thousands of journalists in the early 1980s blessed the original noteboook pc - the Tandy 100. The size of A4 paper and light, three weeks on a set of batteries, an excellent keyboard, a modem. A pity Tandy did not make it DOS compatible.What's an Apple Powerbook 100 ? It's out of date - not much of a "gadget". Surely it has to be something simple / timeless - the tin opener, Swiss Army Knife, safety razor blade, wristwatch or the thing for taking stones out of horses hooves ?It has to be the mobile phone. No other single device has had such an effect on our way of living in such a short space of time.The ball point pen has got to be one of the most used and common gadgets ever. Also many might be grateful for the pocket calculator which was a great improvement over the slide rule.The Casio pocket calculator that played a simple game and made tinny noises was also a hot gadget in 1980. A true gadget, it could be carried around and shown off.All top 10 are electronic toys, so the list is probably a better reflection of the current high-tech obsession than anyhting else. I say this as the Swiss Army Knife only made No 20.Sinclair QL a machine far ahead of its time. The first home machine with a true multi-takings OS. Shame the marketing was so bad!!!Apple.. a triumph of fashion over... well everything else.Utter rubbish. Yes, the Apple laptop and Sony Walkman are classic gadgets. But to call the sextant and the marine chronometer 'gadgets' and rank them as less important than a TV remote control reveals a quite shocking lack of historical perspective. The former literally helped change the world by vastly improving navigation at see. The latter is the seed around which the couch potato culture has developed. No competition.I'd also put Apple's Newton and the first Palm Pilot there as the front runners for portable computing, and possibly the Toshiba Libretto for the same reason. I only wish that Vulcan Inc's Flipstart wasn't just vapourware otherwise it would be at the top.How did a laptop ever manage to beat off the challenge of the wristwatch or the telephone (mobile or otherwise)? What about radios and TVs?The swiss army knife. By far the most useful gadget. I got mine 12 years ago. Still wearing and using it a lot! It stood the test of time.Psion Organiser series 3, should be up there. Had a usable qwerty keyboard, removable storage, good set of apps and programmable. Case design was good (batteries in the hinge - a first, I think). Great product innovation.The first mobile PC was voted best gadget by readers of...err... mobile PC?! Why do you keep putting these obviously biased lists on your site? It's obviously the mobile phone or remote control, and readers of a less partisan publication would tell you that.The Motorola Startac should be Number One. Why? There will be mobile phones long after notebook computers and other gadgets are either gone or integrated in communications devices.The Psion series 3c! The first most practical way to carry all your info around...I too would back the Sinclair Spectrum - without this little beauty I would never have moved into the world of IT and earn the living that I do now.I'd have put the mobile phone high up the list. Probably a Nokia model.Sinclair Spectrum - 16k. It plugged into the tv. Games were rubbish but it gave me a taste for programming and that's what I do for a living now.I wish more modern notebooks -- even Apple's newest offerings -- were more like the PB100. Particularly disheartening is the demise of the trackball, which has given way to the largely useless "trackpad" which every notebook on the market today uses. They're invariably inaccurate, uncomfortable, and cumbersome to use.Congratulations to Apple, a deserved win!

The Apple Powerbook 100 has been chosen as the greatest gadget of all time, by US magazine Mobile PC.The most popular gadget of the moment, the Apple iPod, is at number 12 in the list while the first Sony transistor radio is at number 13.The first mobile PC was voted best gadget by readers of...err... mobile PC?!Surely the most important gadget of the modern age is the mobile phone?The magazine has compiled an all-time top 100 list of gadgets, which includes the Sony Walkman at number three and the 1956 Zenith remote control at two.A laptop computer is not a gadget!It has to be the mobile phone.The Tivo personal video recorder is the newest device to make the top 10, which also includes the first flash mp3 player (Diamound Multimedia), as well as the first "successful" digital camera (Casio QV-10) and mobile phone (Motorola Startac).The Sinclair Executive was the world's first pocket calculator.There will be mobile phones long after notebook computers and other gadgets are either gone or integrated in communications devices.The Casio pocket calculator that played a simple game and made tinny noises was also a hot gadget in 1980.I'd have put the mobile phone high up the list.The oldest "gadget" in the top 100 is the abacus, which the magazine dates at 190 A.D., and put in 60th place.The 1991 laptop was chosen because it was one of the first "lightweight" portable computers and helped define the layout of all future notebook PCs.The ball point pen has got to be one of the most used and common gadgets ever.By far the most useful gadget."In the end, we tried to get to the heart of what really makes a gadget a gadget," it concluded.The magazine specified that gadgets also needed to be a "self-contained apparatus that can be used on its own, not a subset of another device".From outside the modern age, the marine chronometer is the single most important gadget, without which modern transportation systems would not have evolved so quickly.Karl Elsener's knife, the Swiss Army Knife from 1891, is at number 20 in the list.Case design was good (batteries in the hinge - a first, I think).It's out of date - not much of a "gadget".Yes, the Apple laptop and Sony Walkman are classic gadgets.A true gadget, it could be carried around and shown off.No other single device has had such an effect on our way of living in such a short space of time.Other pre-electronic gadgets in the top 100 include the sextant from 1731 (59th position), the marine chronometer from 1761 (42nd position) and the Kodak Brownie camera from 1900 (28th position).Also many might be grateful for the pocket calculator which was a great improvement over the slide rule.It's obviously the mobile phone or remote control, and readers of a less partisan publication would tell you that."In general we included only items that were potentially mobile," said the magazine.It has revolutionalised communication, which is more than can be said for a niche market laptop.Gadgets which could be said to feature surprisngly low down in the list include the original telephone (23rd), the Nintendo GameBoy (25th), and the Pulsar quartz digital watch (36th).How did a laptop ever manage to beat off the challenge of the wristwatch or the telephone (mobile or otherwise)?All top 10 are electronic toys, so the list is probably a better reflection of the current high-tech obsession than anyhting else.But to call the sextant and the marine chronometer 'gadgets' and rank them as less important than a TV remote control reveals a quite shocking lack of historical perspective.An interesting list.Psion Organiser series 3, should be up there.The Psion series 3c!The first most practical way to carry all your info around...

Learning to love broadbandWe are reaching the point where broadband is a central part of daily life, at least for some, argues technology analyst Bill Thompson.One of the nice things about being a writer is that I rarely have to go to an office to work. I can sit in a café or a library, with or without a wi-fi connection, and research and write articles. If I am passing through Kings Cross station on my way to a meeting then I can log on from the platform. And I can spend the day working with my girlfriend Anne, a children's writer, at her house in Cambridge, sharing her wireless network. But just over a week ago I arrived at her house to find that there was no network connection.We checked the cable modem and noticed that it had no power, and when she changed the power lead it sparked at her in a way which made it abundantly clear that it was never going to talk to the internet again. She called her service provider, and they told her it would be five days before an engineer would show up with a new cable modem. This did not seem too bad, but in fact she really suffered until her connection was restored on Wednesday. With no modem installed in her computer, she had to borrow internet access from friends or use the dial-up connection on her daughter's laptop, so she had to choose between copying her files onto her USB memory card or accepting a slower and flakier net connection. As a result she did not submit the pictures she wanted to use for a book on earthquakes because they were too big to send over dial-up.She could not research other material because she is used to having easy access to a fast link that lets her search quickly and effectively. But the impact spread into her personal life too. She did not take her children to the cinema during half-term because she could not find out which films were showing at the local cinemas. She planned a trip to Norfolk but did not check the weather because the only place she knows to look for weather information is the BBC website. And she did not know where to go fossil-hunting on the trip because she could not type "fossils Norfolk" into Google. Of course, she readily admits, she could have answered these questions if she had looked in the local paper, listened to the radio or found a book on fossils. But she did not, because having fast, always on, and easy access to the net has become part of the routine of her daily life, and when it was taken away it was too much effort to go back to the old ways of doing things. She may be unusual, but I do not think Anne is alone.According to Ofcom there were almost four million broadband users in the UK in April 2004, and numbers are climbing fast. There will certainly be five million by the end of the year. Dial-up users are switching to broadband. My dad finally made the change earlier this month and new net users are selecting broadband from the start. More and more of these broadband users are beginning to mould their daily lives around the availability of broadband internet connections, and they too will find it difficult to cope if they cannot get online for any reason.It is part of the process of adaptation, and it is a vital step in the growth of broadband in the UK and elsewhere. People who have integrated net access into their daily lives tell their friends about it, and show off the cool stuff they can do. They encourage other people to get broadband so that they can share digital photos and do all of the other things that need fast and reliable connectivity. Of course, broadband in the UK is laughably slow compared to other parts of the world. In South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong normal connection speeds are measured in megabits, or millions of bits, a second rather than the thousands that we are supposed to be happy with. But speed is only a small part of the attraction of broadband, and when it comes to checking websites for film times, looking at weather forecasts, or all of the other small things that make a real difference to the routines and habits of our daily lives, even UK speeds are sufficient. It may not be the brave new world of streaming full-screen video and superfast file downloads, but it will do for now. And it is certainly better than slow access or no access. Just ask Anne.Bill Thompson is a regular commentator on the BBC World Service programme Go Digital.

But she did not, because having fast, always on, and easy access to the net has become part of the routine of her daily life, and when it was taken away it was too much effort to go back to the old ways of doing things.More and more of these broadband users are beginning to mould their daily lives around the availability of broadband internet connections, and they too will find it difficult to cope if they cannot get online for any reason.Of course, broadband in the UK is laughably slow compared to other parts of the world.Dial-up users are switching to broadband.We are reaching the point where broadband is a central part of daily life, at least for some, argues technology analyst Bill Thompson.According to Ofcom there were almost four million broadband users in the UK in April 2004, and numbers are climbing fast.But speed is only a small part of the attraction of broadband, and when it comes to checking websites for film times, looking at weather forecasts, or all of the other small things that make a real difference to the routines and habits of our daily lives, even UK speeds are sufficient.People who have integrated net access into their daily lives tell their friends about it, and show off the cool stuff they can do.With no modem installed in her computer, she had to borrow internet access from friends or use the dial-up connection on her daughter's laptop, so she had to choose between copying her files onto her USB memory card or accepting a slower and flakier net connection.My dad finally made the change earlier this month and new net users are selecting broadband from the start.It is part of the process of adaptation, and it is a vital step in the growth of broadband in the UK and elsewhere.They encourage other people to get broadband so that they can share digital photos and do all of the other things that need fast and reliable connectivity.But just over a week ago I arrived at her house to find that there was no network connection.And she did not know where to go fossil-hunting on the trip because she could not type "fossils Norfolk" into Google.

2D Metal Slug offers retro funLike some drill sergeant from the past, Metal Slug 3 is a wake-up call to today's gamers molly-coddled with slick visuals and fancy trimmings.With its hand-animated sprites and 2D side-scrolling, this was even considered retro when released in arcades four years ago. But a more frantic shooter you will not find at the end of your joypad this year. And yes, that includes Halo 2. Simply choose your grunt and wade through five 2D side-scrolling levels of the most hectic video game blasting you will ever encounter. It is also the toughest game you are likely to play, as hordes of enemies and few lives pile the pressure on.Players must battle soldiers, snowmen, zombies, giant crabs and aliens, not to mention the huge, screen-filling bosses that guard each of the five levels.The shoot-anything-that-moves gameplay is peppered with moments of old-school genius. Fans of robotic gastropods should note the title refers, instead, to the vast array of vehicles on offer in a game stuffed with bizarre hardware. Tanks, jets and submarines can be commandeered, as well as cannon-toting camels, elephants and ostriches - more weaponry on offer than in an acre of Iraq. Doling out justice is a joy thanks to ultra responsive controls, and while this is a tough nut to crack, it is addictive enough to have you gagging for that one last go. And at a mere £20, Metal Slug 3 is as cheap as sliced, fried spuds, as the man says. Of course, most of you will ignore this, lacking as it does the visual fireworks of modern blasters. But at a time when blockbuster titles offer only a fresh lick of paint in favour of real innovation, Metal Slug 3 is a fresh gasp of air from an era when the Xbox was not even a twinkle in Bill Gates' eye.

But at a time when blockbuster titles offer only a fresh lick of paint in favour of real innovation, Metal Slug 3 is a fresh gasp of air from an era when the Xbox was not even a twinkle in Bill Gates' eye.Simply choose your grunt and wade through five 2D side-scrolling levels of the most hectic video game blasting you will ever encounter.Fans of robotic gastropods should note the title refers, instead, to the vast array of vehicles on offer in a game stuffed with bizarre hardware.With its hand-animated sprites and 2D side-scrolling, this was even considered retro when released in arcades four years ago.And at a mere £20, Metal Slug 3 is as cheap as sliced, fried spuds, as the man says.Like some drill sergeant from the past, Metal Slug 3 is a wake-up call to today's gamers molly-coddled with slick visuals and fancy trimmings.

T-Mobile bets on 'pocket office'T-Mobile has launched its latest "pocket office" third-generation (3G) device which also has built-in wi-fi - high-speed wireless net access.Unlike other devices where the user has to check which high-speed network is available to transfer data, the device selects the fastest one itself. The MDA IV, released in the summer, is an upgrade to the company's existing smartphone, the 2.5G/wi-fi MDA III. It reflects the push by mobile firms for devices that are like mini laptops. The device has a display that can be swivelled and angled so it can be used like a small computer, or as a conventional clamshell phone. The Microsoft Mobile phone, with two cameras and a Qwerty keyboard, reflects the design of similar all-in-one models released this year, such as Motorola's MPx. "One in five European workers are already mobile - meaning they spend significant time travelling and out of the office," Rene Obermann, T-Mobile's chief executive, told a press conference at the 3GSM trade show in Cannes. He added: "What they need is their office when they are out of the office." T-Mobile said it was seeing increasing take up for what it calls "Office in a Pocket" devices, with 100,000 MDAs sold in Europe already.In response to demand, T-Mobile also said it would be adding the latest phone-shaped Blackberry to its mobile range. Reflecting the growing need to be connected outside the office, it announced it would introduce a flat-fee £20 ($38) a month wi-fi tariff for people in the UK using its wi-fi hotspots. It said it would nearly double the number of its hotspots - places where wi-fi access is available - globally from 12,300 to 20,000.It also announced it was installing high-speed wi-fi on certain train services, such as the UK's London to Brighton service, to provide commuters a fast net connection too. The service, which has been developed with Southern trains, Nomad Digital (who provide the technology), begins with a free trial on 16 trains on the route from early March to the end of April. A full service is set to follow in the summer. Wi-fi access points will be connected to a Wimax wireless network - faster than wi-fi - running alongside the train tracks. Brian McBride, managing director of T-Mobile in the UK, said: "We see a growing trend for business users needing to access e-mail securely on the move."We are able to offer this by maintaining a constant data session for the entire journey." He said this was something other similar in-train wi-fi services, such as that offered on GNER trains, did not offer yet. Mr Obermann added that the mobile industry in general was still growing, with many more opportunities for more services which would bear fruit for mobile companies in future. Thousands of mobile industry experts are gathered in Cannes, France, for the 3GSM which runs from 14 to 17 February.

T-Mobile has launched its latest "pocket office" third-generation (3G) device which also has built-in wi-fi - high-speed wireless net access.Mr Obermann added that the mobile industry in general was still growing, with many more opportunities for more services which would bear fruit for mobile companies in future.Reflecting the growing need to be connected outside the office, it announced it would introduce a flat-fee £20 ($38) a month wi-fi tariff for people in the UK using its wi-fi hotspots.It also announced it was installing high-speed wi-fi on certain train services, such as the UK's London to Brighton service, to provide commuters a fast net connection too.In response to demand, T-Mobile also said it would be adding the latest phone-shaped Blackberry to its mobile range.He said this was something other similar in-train wi-fi services, such as that offered on GNER trains, did not offer yet.It said it would nearly double the number of its hotspots - places where wi-fi access is available - globally from 12,300 to 20,000.Wi-fi access points will be connected to a Wimax wireless network - faster than wi-fi - running alongside the train tracks.Unlike other devices where the user has to check which high-speed network is available to transfer data, the device selects the fastest one itself.

T-Mobile bets on 'pocket office'T-Mobile has launched its latest "pocket office" third-generation (3G) device which also has built-in wi-fi - high-speed wireless net access.Unlike other devices where the user has to check which high-speed network is available to transfer data, the device selects the fastest one itself. The MDA IV, released in the summer, is an upgrade to the company's existing smartphone, the 2.5G/wi-fi MDA III. It reflects the push by mobile firms for devices that are like mini laptops. The device has a display that can be swivelled and angled so it can be used like a small computer, or as a conventional clamshell phone. The Microsoft Mobile phone, with two cameras and a Qwerty keyboard, reflects the design of similar all-in-one models released this year, such as Motorola's MPx. "One in five European workers are already mobile - meaning they spend significant time travelling and out of the office," Rene Obermann, T-Mobile's chief executive, told a press conference at the 3GSM trade show in Cannes. He added: "What they need is their office when they are out of the office." T-Mobile said it was seeing increasing take up for what it calls "Office in a Pocket" devices, with 100,000 MDAs sold in Europe already.In response to demand, T-Mobile also said it would be adding the latest phone-shaped Blackberry to its mobile range. Reflecting the growing need to be connected outside the office, it announced it would introduce a flat-fee £20 ($38) a month wi-fi tariff for people in the UK using its wi-fi hotspots. It said it would nearly double the number of its hotspots - places where wi-fi access is available - globally from 12,300 to 20,000.It also announced it was installing high-speed wi-fi on certain train services, such as the UK's London to Brighton service, to provide commuters a fast net connection too. The service, which has been developed with Southern trains, Nomad Digital (who provide the technology), begins with a free trial on 16 trains on the route from early March to the end of April. A full service is set to follow in the summer. Wi-fi access points will be connected to a Wimax wireless network - faster than wi-fi - running alongside the train tracks. Brian McBride, managing director of T-Mobile in the UK, said: "We see a growing trend for business users needing to access e-mail securely on the move."We are able to offer this by maintaining a constant data session for the entire journey." He said this was something other similar in-train wi-fi services, such as that offered on GNER trains, did not offer yet. Mr Obermann added that the mobile industry in general was still growing, with many more opportunities for more services which would bear fruit for mobile companies in future. Thousands of mobile industry experts are gathered in Cannes, France, for the 3GSM which runs from 14 to 17 February.

T-Mobile has launched its latest "pocket office" third-generation (3G) device which also has built-in wi-fi - high-speed wireless net access.Mr Obermann added that the mobile industry in general was still growing, with many more opportunities for more services which would bear fruit for mobile companies in future.Reflecting the growing need to be connected outside the office, it announced it would introduce a flat-fee £20 ($38) a month wi-fi tariff for people in the UK using its wi-fi hotspots.It also announced it was installing high-speed wi-fi on certain train services, such as the UK's London to Brighton service, to provide commuters a fast net connection too.In response to demand, T-Mobile also said it would be adding the latest phone-shaped Blackberry to its mobile range.He said this was something other similar in-train wi-fi services, such as that offered on GNER trains, did not offer yet.It said it would nearly double the number of its hotspots - places where wi-fi access is available - globally from 12,300 to 20,000.Wi-fi access points will be connected to a Wimax wireless network - faster than wi-fi - running alongside the train tracks.Unlike other devices where the user has to check which high-speed network is available to transfer data, the device selects the fastest one itself.

Players sought for $1m prizeUK gamers are getting a chance to take part in a $1m tournament thanks to one of the country's top teams.The Four-Kings clan is staging a Pop Idol type competition to find new members who can take on the world's best in the lucrative tournament. Four-Kings hopes the open qualifiers will turn up gamers good enough to beat all comers at the Painkiller game. Top players also get a contract with the Four-Kings team which will pay travelling expenses for the contest.UK gamers have until 12 November to register their interest in taking part and can sign up via the Four-Kings, Jolt.co.uk and Painkiller tournament websites. Philip Wride, who co-manages the Four-Kings team, said online qualifiers will be held from 16-28 November to find the best eight players of the Painkiller game. He said the clan was running the contest because Four-Kings does not currently have any players that excel at Painkiller. These eight players will be brought together in London on 3-5 December for the Bloodline Tournament that will find the best two players.The event will be filmed and the final cut made available online for others to watch. The movie is being put together by Simon Bysshe who has shot many other films about pro-gaming that have been widely shared online. Said Mr Bysshe: "Painkiller is a new game and the opportunity is there for a new player to step up." Painkiller has been described as a game that adds a few modern touches, such as improved graphics, to the old-fashioned first-person shooter. These two players will be put forward as the UK's entrants to the Cyberathlete Professional League $1m Painkiller contest that will take place throughout 2005. The event is being billed as the CPL World Tour and will be arranged around ten separate tournaments at different locations around the world. Travel expenses to all the stops on the tour will be paid by Four-Kings for the two UK players who make the grade. The top prize at each stop on the world tour will be $15,000. A further $150,000 will be given to the winner of the Grand Final due to be held in December 2005. Mr Wride said any gamer that wins a few tour stop tournaments and the grand final will have a very good year. The first stop on the world tour will be Istanbul, Turkey from 10-13 February. A total of $50,000 in cash prizes is on offer. The CPL has said that it picked a one-on-one game such as Painkiller to make it easier for spectators to follow the action. Counter-Strike, by far the most popular online game, pits teams against each other and can be confusing to follow if those watching are not familiar with the layout of the maps on which it is played. The decision to pick Painkiller was greeted with surprise by many gamers, as it was widely expected that Doom 3 would be chosen as the one-one-one title.

Philip Wride, who co-manages the Four-Kings team, said online qualifiers will be held from 16-28 November to find the best eight players of the Painkiller game.He said the clan was running the contest because Four-Kings does not currently have any players that excel at Painkiller.Travel expenses to all the stops on the tour will be paid by Four-Kings for the two UK players who make the grade.Said Mr Bysshe: "Painkiller is a new game and the opportunity is there for a new player to step up."The top prize at each stop on the world tour will be $15,000.Mr Wride said any gamer that wins a few tour stop tournaments and the grand final will have a very good year.UK gamers have until 12 November to register their interest in taking part and can sign up via the Four-Kings, Jolt.co.uk and Painkiller tournament websites.Four-Kings hopes the open qualifiers will turn up gamers good enough to beat all comers at the Painkiller game.The CPL has said that it picked a one-on-one game such as Painkiller to make it easier for spectators to follow the action.Top players also get a contract with the Four-Kings team which will pay travelling expenses for the contest.

Domain system opens door to scamsA system to make it easier to create website addresses using alphabets like Cyrillic could open a back door for scammers, a trade body has warned.The Internationalised Domain Names system has been a work in progress for years and has recently been approved by the Internet Engineering Task Force. But the UK Internet Forum (UKIF) is concerned that the system will let scammers create fake sites more easily. The problem lies in the computer codes used to represent language.Registering names that look like that of legitimate companies but lead users to fake sites designed to steal passwords and credit card details could become a whole lot easier for determined scammers, says Stephen Dyer, director of UKIF. Domain names are the "real language" addresses of websites, rather than their internet protocol address, which is a series of numbers. They are used so people can more easily navigate the web. So-called ASCII codes are used to represent European languages but for other languages a hybrid of a system called Unicode is used. So, for example, website PayPal could now be coded using a mixture of the Latin alphabet and the Russian alphabet. The resulting domain as displayed to the users would look identical to the real site as a Russian 'a' look just like an English 'a'. But the computer code would be different, and the site it would lead users to could be a fake. This is more than just a theory. A fake Paypal.com has already been registered with net domain giant Verisign by someone who has followed the debate around the Internationalised Domain Name (IDN) system, said Mr Dyer. As the idea was to prove a point rather than be malicious the fake domain has now been handed back to Paypal but it sets a worrying precedent, Mr Dyer said. "Although the IDN problem is well known in technical circles, the commercial world is totally unaware how easily their websites can be faked," said Mr Dyer."It is important to alert users that there is a new and invisible and almost undetectable way of diverting them to what looks like a perfectly genuine site," he added. There are solutions. For instance, browsers could spot domains that use mixed characters and display them in different colours as a warning to users. Mr Dyer acknowledged that it would be a huge undertaking to update all the world's browsers. Another solution, to introduce IDN-disabled browsers could be a case of "throwing out the baby with the bath water," he said. CENTR, the Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries, agrees. "A rush to introduce IDN-disabled browsers into the marketplace is an overly-zealous step that will harm public confidence in IDNs - a technology that is desperately needed in the non-English speaking world," the organisation said in a statement.

A fake Paypal.com has already been registered with net domain giant Verisign by someone who has followed the debate around the Internationalised Domain Name (IDN) system, said Mr Dyer.But the computer code would be different, and the site it would lead users to could be a fake.As the idea was to prove a point rather than be malicious the fake domain has now been handed back to Paypal but it sets a worrying precedent, Mr Dyer said.The resulting domain as displayed to the users would look identical to the real site as a Russian 'a' look just like an English 'a'.A system to make it easier to create website addresses using alphabets like Cyrillic could open a back door for scammers, a trade body has warned.Registering names that look like that of legitimate companies but lead users to fake sites designed to steal passwords and credit card details could become a whole lot easier for determined scammers, says Stephen Dyer, director of UKIF.So-called ASCII codes are used to represent European languages but for other languages a hybrid of a system called Unicode is used.But the UK Internet Forum (UKIF) is concerned that the system will let scammers create fake sites more easily.The Internationalised Domain Names system has been a work in progress for years and has recently been approved by the Internet Engineering Task Force.

What high-definition will do to DVDsFirst it was the humble home video, then it was the DVD, and now Hollywood is preparing for the next revolution in home entertainment - high-definition.High-definition gives incredible, 3D-like pictures and surround sound. The DVD disks and the gear to play them will not be out for another year or so, and there at are still a number of issues to be sorted out. But when high-definition films do come out on the new format DVDs, it will profoundly change home entertainment. For Rick Dean, director of business development for digital content company THX, a high-definition future is an exciting prospect. He has worked on the Star Wars DVD trilogy, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Indiana Jones. "There was a time not so long ago when the film world and the video world were two completely separate worlds," he told the BBC News website."The technology we are dealing with now means they are very much conjoined. "The film that we see in theatres is coming from the same digital file that we take the home video master," he says. But currently, putting a master feature film onto DVD requires severe compression because current DVD technology cannot hold as much as high-definition films demand. "As much as you compress the picture data rate wise, you also take qualities away from the picture that we fight so hard to keep in the master," he explains. "I would love to be able to show people what projects that we worked on really look like in the high-def world and I find it very exciting."High-definition DVDs can hold up to six times more data than the DVDs we are used to. It will take time though to persuade people who spent money on DVD players to buy the different players and displays required to watch high-definition DVDs in 18 months' time. Mr Dean is confident though: "I think if they see real HD [high-definition], not some heavily compressed version of it, there is such a remarkable difference. "I have heard comments from people who say the images pop off the screen."High-definition will mean some changes for those working behind the scenes too. On the whole, producing films for high-definition DVDs will be easier in some ways because less compression is needed. Equally, it may mean Hollywood studios ask for more to be put onto the average DVD. "When we master movies right now, our data rates are running at about 1.2 gigabits per second," says Mr Dean. "Our DVDs that we put out today have to be squashed down to about five or six megabits per second. "That's a huge amount of compression that has to be applied - about 98%. So if you have anything that allows more space, you don't have to compress so hard." Studios could fit a lot more marketing material, games, and features, onto high-capacity DVDs. Currently, an entire DVD project can take up to three months, says Mr Dean. Although the step of down-converting will be bypassed, this will realistically only save a day's work, says Mr Dean. One of the most time consuming elements is building DVD navigation and menu systems. On the fairly complex Star Wars disks, making sure the menu buttons worked took 45 human hours alone. If studios want to cash in on the extra space, it could mean extra human hours, for which someone has to pay. "If the decision on the studio side is that they are going to put a lot more on these disks, it could be more expensive because of all the extra navigation that is required." And if studios do focus on delivering more "added value content", thinks Mr Dean, ultimately it could mean that they will want more money for it. Those costs could filter down to the price ticket on a high-definition DVD. But if the consumer is not willing to pay a premium price, studios will listen, thinks Mr Dean.High-definition throws up other challenge to film makers and DVD production alike. More clarity on screen means film makers have to make doubly sure that attention to detail is meticulous. "When we did the first HD version of Star Wars Episode I, everybody was very sun-tanned, but that was make-up. "In the HD version of Episode I, all these make-up lines showed up," explains Mr Dean. The restoration of the older Star Wars episodes revealed some interesting items too."There are scans of a corridor [on the Death Star] and fairly plainly in one of those shots, there is a file cabinet stuck behind one of the doorways. "You never used to be able to see it because things are just blurred enough during the pan that you just didn't see it." What high-definition revolution ultimately means is that the line between home entertainment and cinema worlds will blur. With home theatre systems turning living rooms into cinemas, this line blurs even further. It could also mean that how we get films, and in what format, will widen. "In the future we are going to look towards file delivery over IP [internet protocol - broadband], giving a DVD-like experience from the set-top box to the hard drive," says Mr Dean. But that is some time off for most, and for now, people still like to show off something physical in their bookshelves.

But currently, putting a master feature film onto DVD requires severe compression because current DVD technology cannot hold as much as high-definition films demand.What high-definition revolution ultimately means is that the line between home entertainment and cinema worlds will blur.Currently, an entire DVD project can take up to three months, says Mr Dean.But when high-definition films do come out on the new format DVDs, it will profoundly change home entertainment.Those costs could filter down to the price ticket on a high-definition DVD.First it was the humble home video, then it was the DVD, and now Hollywood is preparing for the next revolution in home entertainment - high-definition.And if studios do focus on delivering more "added value content", thinks Mr Dean, ultimately it could mean that they will want more money for it.High-definition throws up other challenge to film makers and DVD production alike.It will take time though to persuade people who spent money on DVD players to buy the different players and displays required to watch high-definition DVDs in 18 months' time.High-definition DVDs can hold up to six times more data than the DVDs we are used to.Mr Dean is confident though: "I think if they see real HD [high-definition], not some heavily compressed version of it, there is such a remarkable difference.High-definition will mean some changes for those working behind the scenes too.On the whole, producing films for high-definition DVDs will be easier in some ways because less compression is needed.Equally, it may mean Hollywood studios ask for more to be put onto the average DVD."In the HD version of Episode I, all these make-up lines showed up," explains Mr Dean."When we master movies right now, our data rates are running at about 1.2 gigabits per second," says Mr Dean."The film that we see in theatres is coming from the same digital file that we take the home video master," he says.If studios want to cash in on the extra space, it could mean extra human hours, for which someone has to pay.

Mobile networks seek turbo boostThird-generation mobile (3G) networks need to get faster if they are to deliver fast internet surfing on the move and exciting new services.That was one of the messages from the mobile industry at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes last week. Fast 3G networks are here but the focus has shifted to their evolution into a higher bandwidth service, says the Global Mobile Suppliers Association. At 3GSM, Siemens showed off a system that transmits faster mobile data. The German company said data could be transmitted at one gigabit a second - up to 20 times faster than current 3G networks. The system is not available commercially yet, but Motorola, the US mobile handset and infrastructure maker, held a clinic for mobile operators on HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), a high-speed, high bandwidth technology available now. Early HSDPA systems typically offer around two megabits per second (Mbps) compared with less than 384 kilobits per second (Kbps) on standard 3G networks."High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) - sometimes called Super 3G - will be vital for profitable services like mobile internet browsing and mobile video clips," according to a report published by UK-based research consultancy Analysys. A number of companies are developing the technology. Nokia and Canada-based wireless communication products company Sierra Wireless recently agreed to work together on High Speed Downlink Packet Access. The two companies aim to jointly market the HSDPA solution to global network operator customers."While HSDPA theoretically enables data rates up to a maximum of 14Mbps, practical throughputs will be lower than this in wide-area networks," said Dr Alastair Brydon, author of the Analysys report: Pushing Beyond the Limits of 3G with HSDPA and Other Enhancements. "The typical average user rate in a real implementation is likely to be in the region of one megabit per second which, even at this lower rate, will more than double the capacity... when compared to basic WCDMA [3G]," he added. Motorola has conducted five trials of its technology and says speeds of 2.9Mbps have been recorded at the edge of an outdoor 3G cell using a single HSDPA device. But some mobile operators are opting for a technology called Evolution, Data Optimised (EV-DO).US operator Sprint ordered a broadband data upgrade to its 3G network at the end of last year. We are "expanding our network and deploying EV-DO technology to meet customer demand for faster wireless speeds," said Oliver Valente, Sprint's vice president for technology development, when the contract was announced. As part of $3bn in multi-year contracts announced late last year, Sprint will spend around $1bn on EV-DO technology from Lucent Technologies, Nortel Networks and Motorola that provides average data speeds of 0.3-0.5 megabits a second, and peak download rates of 2.4Mbps. MMO2, the UK-based operator with services in the UK, Ireland and Germany, has opted for technology based on the High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) standard. Using technology from Lucent, it will offer data speeds of 3.6Mbps from next summer on its Isle of Man 3G network, and will eventually support speeds of up to 14.4Mbps. US operator Cingular Wireless is also adopting HSDPA, using technology from Lucent alongside equipment from Siemens and Ericsson.Siemens' plans for a one gigabit network may be more than a user needs today, but Christoph Caselitz, president of the mobile networks division at the firm says that: "By the time the next generation of mobile communication debuts in 2015, the need for transmission capacities for voice, data, image and multimedia is conservatively anticipated to rise by a factor of 10." Siemens - in collaboration with the Fraunhofer German-Sino Lab for Mobile Communications and the Institute for Applied Radio System Technology - has souped up mobile communications by using three transmitting and four receiving antennae, instead of the usual one. This enables a data transmission, such as sending a big file or video, to be broken up into different flows of data that can be sent simultaneously over one radio frequency band. The speeds offered by3G mobile seemed fast at the time mobile operators were paying huge sums for 3G licences. But today, instead of connecting to the internet by slow, dial-up phone connection, many people are used to broadband networks that offer speeds of 0.5 megabits a second - must faster than 3G. This means users are likely to find 3G disappointing unless the networks are souped up. If they aren't, those lucrative "power users", such as computer geeks and busy business people will avoid them for all but the most urgent tasks, reducing the potential revenues available to mobile operators. But one gigabit a second systems will not be available immediately. Siemens says that though the system works in the laboratory, it still has to assess the mobility of multiple-antennae devices and conduct field trials. A commercial system could be as far away as 2012, though Siemens did not rule out an earlier date.

The system is not available commercially yet, but Motorola, the US mobile handset and infrastructure maker, held a clinic for mobile operators on HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), a high-speed, high bandwidth technology available now.Using technology from Lucent, it will offer data speeds of 3.6Mbps from next summer on its Isle of Man 3G network, and will eventually support speeds of up to 14.4Mbps.At 3GSM, Siemens showed off a system that transmits faster mobile data.But some mobile operators are opting for a technology called Evolution, Data Optimised (EV-DO).The speeds offered by3G mobile seemed fast at the time mobile operators were paying huge sums for 3G licences.The German company said data could be transmitted at one gigabit a second - up to 20 times faster than current 3G networks.Siemens' plans for a one gigabit network may be more than a user needs today, but Christoph Caselitz, president of the mobile networks division at the firm says that: "By the time the next generation of mobile communication debuts in 2015, the need for transmission capacities for voice, data, image and multimedia is conservatively anticipated to rise by a factor of 10."Siemens - in collaboration with the Fraunhofer German-Sino Lab for Mobile Communications and the Institute for Applied Radio System Technology - has souped up mobile communications by using three transmitting and four receiving antennae, instead of the usual one.Motorola has conducted five trials of its technology and says speeds of 2.9Mbps have been recorded at the edge of an outdoor 3G cell using a single HSDPA device.Fast 3G networks are here but the focus has shifted to their evolution into a higher bandwidth service, says the Global Mobile Suppliers Association."High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) - sometimes called Super 3G - will be vital for profitable services like mobile internet browsing and mobile video clips," according to a report published by UK-based research consultancy Analysys.US operator Sprint ordered a broadband data upgrade to its 3G network at the end of last year.MMO2, the UK-based operator with services in the UK, Ireland and Germany, has opted for technology based on the High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) standard.

Hotspot users gain free net callsPeople using wireless net hotspots will soon be able to make free phone calls as well as surf the net.Wireless provider Broadreach and net telephony firm Skype are rolling out a service at 350 hotspots around the UK this week. Users will need a Skype account - downloadable for free - and they will then be able to make net calls via wi-fi without paying for net access. Skype allows people to make free PC-based calls to other Skype users.Users of the system can also make calls to landlines and mobiles for a fee. The system is gaining in popularity and now has 28 million users around the world. Its paid service - dubbed Skype Out - has so far attracted 940,000 users. It plans to add more paid services with forthcoming launches of video conferencing, voice mail and Skype In, a service which would allow users to receive phone calls from landlines and mobiles. London-based software developer Connectotel has unveiled software that will expand the SMS functions of Skype, allowing users to send text messages to mobile phones from the service. Broadreach Networks has around two million users and hotspots in places such as Virgin Megastores, the Travelodge chain of hotels and all London's major rail terminals. The company is due to launch wi-fi on Virgin Trains later in the year. "Skype's success at spreading the world about internet telephony is well-known and we are delighted to be offering free access to Skype users in our hotspots," commented Broadreach chief executive Magnus McEwen-King.

Skype allows people to make free PC-based calls to other Skype users.Users will need a Skype account - downloadable for free - and they will then be able to make net calls via wi-fi without paying for net access.Its paid service - dubbed Skype Out - has so far attracted 940,000 users.Wireless provider Broadreach and net telephony firm Skype are rolling out a service at 350 hotspots around the UK this week.It plans to add more paid services with forthcoming launches of video conferencing, voice mail and Skype In, a service which would allow users to receive phone calls from landlines and mobiles.

Rolling out next generation's netThe body that oversees how the net works, grows and evolves says it has coped well with its growth in the last 10 years, but it is just the start."In a sense, we have hardly started in reaching the whole population," the new chair of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Brian Carpenter, says. The IETF ensures the smooth running and organisation of the net's architecture. With broadband take-up growing, services like voice and TV will open up interesting challenges for the net. "I think VoIP (Voice-over Internet Protocol, allowing phone calls to be made over the Net) is very important - it challenges all the old cost models of telecoms," says Dr Carpenter. "Second, it challenges more deeply the business model that you have to be a service provider with a lot of infrastructure. With VoIP, you need very little infrastructure."A distinguished IBM engineer, Dr Carpenter spent 20 years at Cern, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics. As the new chair of the IETF, his next big challenge is overseeing IPv6, the next generation standard for information transfer and routing across the web. At Cern, Dr Carpenter helped pioneer advanced net applications during the development of the world wide web, so he is well-placed to take on such a task. The net's growth and evolution depend on standards and protocols, and ensuring the architecture works and talks to other standards is a crucial job of the IETF. The top priority is to ensure that the standards that make the net work, are open and free for anyone to use and work with.The net is built on a protocol called TCP/IP, which means transmission control protocol, and internet protocol. When computers communicate with the net, a unique IP address is used to send and receive information. The IETF is a large international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers working on the evolution of the net's architecture and the way this information is sent and received. They make sure it all knits together leaving no gaps. "We've seen some interesting effects over last few years," explains Dr Carpenter. "The net was growing at a fantastic rate at the end of the 90s. Then there was a bit of a glitch in 2000. "We are now seeing a very clear phase of consolidation and renewed growth."That renewed growth is also being buoyed by emerging economies, like China, which are showing fast uptake of broadband net and other technologies. The number of broadband subscribers via DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) doubled in a year to 13 million, according to figures released at the end of 2004. "The challenges we face are about continuing to produce standards to allow for that growth rate," explained Dr Carpenter. "Given it [the net] was designed for the whole community, it has done well to reach millions. If you want to reach the whole population, you have to make sure it can scale up." IPv6, the standard that will replace the existing IPv4, will allow for billions more addresses on the net, and it is gradually being worked into network infrastructure across the world. "The actual number of addresses with IPv4 is limited to four billion IP addresses. "That clearly is not enough when you have 10 billion people to serve, so there is technical solution, the new version of IP - IPv6. "It has much larger address space possibilities with no practical limits," said Dr Carpenter. Standards are vital to something as complex as the net, and making sure standards are open and can work with across networks is a big task. The difference this next generation standard, IPv6, will make to the average net user is almost invisible. "Our first goal is that it [IPv6] should make no difference - people should not notice a difference. "It is like when the London telephone numbers got longer. A lot of the process will be invisible. "People are usually given an IP address without knowing it." Technically deployment has started and the standards for are just about settled, said Dr Carpenter.The one problem with the net that may never disappear completely is security. To Dr Carpenter, the solution comes out of technological and human behaviour. People have to be educated about "sensible behaviour" he says, such as ignoring e-mails that claim you have won something."I don't think it is going to get worse. People will remain concerned about security and they probably should do - just as you would be concerned walking along a dark street. "We have to do work to make sure there are better security internet standards. It is a never-ending battle in a sense." But, he adds: "Even if security has improved, you still worry a bit. Unfortunately, it is just part of life. We have a duty to do what we can."

The difference this next generation standard, IPv6, will make to the average net user is almost invisible.IPv6, the standard that will replace the existing IPv4, will allow for billions more addresses on the net, and it is gradually being worked into network infrastructure across the world."I think VoIP (Voice-over Internet Protocol, allowing phone calls to be made over the Net) is very important - it challenges all the old cost models of telecoms," says Dr Carpenter.Standards are vital to something as complex as the net, and making sure standards are open and can work with across networks is a big task."The challenges we face are about continuing to produce standards to allow for that growth rate," explained Dr Carpenter.Technically deployment has started and the standards for are just about settled, said Dr Carpenter.The top priority is to ensure that the standards that make the net work, are open and free for anyone to use and work with.At Cern, Dr Carpenter helped pioneer advanced net applications during the development of the world wide web, so he is well-placed to take on such a task."Given it [the net] was designed for the whole community, it has done well to reach millions.With broadband take-up growing, services like voice and TV will open up interesting challenges for the net.The net's growth and evolution depend on standards and protocols, and ensuring the architecture works and talks to other standards is a crucial job of the IETF.As the new chair of the IETF, his next big challenge is overseeing IPv6, the next generation standard for information transfer and routing across the web."The net was growing at a fantastic rate at the end of the 90s."In a sense, we have hardly started in reaching the whole population," the new chair of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Brian Carpenter, says."We have to do work to make sure there are better security internet standards."It has much larger address space possibilities with no practical limits," said Dr Carpenter.When computers communicate with the net, a unique IP address is used to send and receive information.The body that oversees how the net works, grows and evolves says it has coped well with its growth in the last 10 years, but it is just the start.That renewed growth is also being buoyed by emerging economies, like China, which are showing fast uptake of broadband net and other technologies.

US hacker breaks into T-MobileA man is facing charges of hacking into computers at the US arm of mobile phone firm T-Mobile.The Californian man, Nicholas Lee Jacobsen, was arrested in October. Mr Jacobsen tried at least twice to hack T-Mobile's network and took names and social security numbers of 400 customers, said a company spokesman. The arrest came a year after T-Mobile uncovered the unauthorised access. The US Secret Service has been investigating the case. "T-Mobile has stringent procedures in place where we monitor for suspicious activity so that limited his activities and we were able to take corrective action immediately," Peter Dobrow, a T-Mobile spokesperson said. It is thought that Mr Jacobsen's hacking campaign took place over at least seven months during which time he read e-mails and personal computer files, according to court records.Although Mr Jacobsen, 21, managed to get hold of some data, it is thought he failed to get customer credit card numbers which are stored on a separate computer system, said Mr Dobrow. T-Mobile confirmed that the US Secret Service was also looking into whether the hacker accessed photos that T-Mobile subscribers had taken with their camera phones. The Associated Press agency reported that Mr Jacobsen also read personal files on the Secret Service agent who was apparently investigating the case. A Los Angeles grand jury indicted Mr Jacobsen with intentionally accessing a computer system without authorisation and with the unauthorised impairment of a protected computer between March and October 2004. He is currently on bail. T-Mobile is a subsidiary company of Deutsche Telekom and has about 16.3 million subscribers in the US.

T-Mobile confirmed that the US Secret Service was also looking into whether the hacker accessed photos that T-Mobile subscribers had taken with their camera phones.The Associated Press agency reported that Mr Jacobsen also read personal files on the Secret Service agent who was apparently investigating the case.A man is facing charges of hacking into computers at the US arm of mobile phone firm T-Mobile.T-Mobile is a subsidiary company of Deutsche Telekom and has about 16.3 million subscribers in the US.The US Secret Service has been investigating the case.Although Mr Jacobsen, 21, managed to get hold of some data, it is thought he failed to get customer credit card numbers which are stored on a separate computer system, said Mr Dobrow.

Rivals of the £400 Apple...The Mac mini is the cheapest Apple computer ever. But though it is cheap for a Mac how does it compare to PCs that cost about the same amount? Dot.life tries to find out if you can you get more for your money if you stick with the beige box.An extremely small computer that is designed to bring the Macintosh to the masses.Apple offer a less powerful Mac Mini for £339 but the £399 models has a 1.4ghz Power PC chip, 80 gigabyte hard drive, combined CD burner/DVD player. It comes equipped with USB and Firewire ports for peripheral connections, Ethernet port for broadband, a port for standard video output and an audio/headphone jack.The machine comes with Mac OS X, the Apple operating system, the software suite iLife, which includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD and GarageBand.A monitor, keyboard or mouse. There is also no built-in support for wireless technology or any speakers. The lack of a DVD burner is an omission in the age of backing-up important software. Wireless and a dvd burner can be added at extra cost.Apple are targeting people who already have a main computer and want to upgrade - especially PC users who have used an Apple iPod.Compact and stylish, the Mac mini would not look out of place in any home. Apple computers are famously user friendly and offer much better network security, which means fewer viruses. The package of software that comes with the machine is the best money can buy.The Mac mini is just a box. If you don't already have a monitor etc, adding them to the package sees the value for money begin to dwindle. Macs don't offer the upgrade flexibility of a PC and the machine's specifications lack the horse power for tasks such as high-end video editing or games."The Mac Mini puts the Macintosh within the reach of everyone," an Apple spokesman said. "It will bring more customers to the platform, especially PC users and owners."An entry-level machine designed for basic home use.A 2.6ghz Intel Celeron chip, 40 gigabyte hard drive, 256mb, combined CD burner/DVD player. It comes equipped with a 17 inch monitor, keyboard and mouse. The machine has 6 USB ports and an Ethernet port for broadband connection. There's also a port for standard video output. The machine comes with Windows XP home edition. It provides basic home tools such as a media player and word processor.A DVD burner, or any wireless components built in. Wireless and a dvd burner can be added at extra cost.Homes and small offices, including those looking to add a low cost second computer.Cost is the clear advantage. The Dell provides enough power and software for basic gaming and internet surfing. It's easily upgradeable so a bigger hard drive, better sound and graphics cards can be added.The Dell is hardly stylish and the hard drive is on the small size for anyone wanting to store photos or a decent sized digital music collection."This machine is for small businesses and for people who want a second computer for basic home use, perhaps in a kids bedroom," a spokesman for Dell said. "I think we offer better value once you realise all the extras needed for the Mac Mini."A desktop computer that PC Pro magazine dubbed best performer in a group test of machines that cost only £399 (£469 including VAT).A good basic PC that, according to PC Pro, has "superb upgrade potential". For your money you get a 1.8GHz AMD Sempron processor, 512MB of Ram, 120GB hard drive, DVD writer, 16-inch monitor, mouse, keyboard and Windows XP2Much more than the basics. It cannot handle 3D graphics and has no Firewire slots.Those on a limited budget who want a machine they can add to and improve as their cash allows.It's cheap and has plenty of room to improve but that could end up making it expensive in the long run. It's a good basic workhorse.It's not pretty and has a monitor rather than a flat-panel display. Some of the upgrades offered by JAL to the basic model are pricey. You might find that you want to chop and change quite quickly.Nick Ross, deputy labs editor at PC Pro, said the important point about buying a cheap and cheerful PC is the upgrade path. Interest has switched from processor power to graphics and sound cards as that's what makes the difference in games. "Even manufacturers are not going to be marketing machines as faster," he said, "they'll emphasise the different features."A computer built from bits you buy and put together yourself.A surprisingly good PC sporting an AMD Athlon XP 2500 processor, 512 megabytes Ram, a graphics card with 128 Ram on board plus TV out, a 40 GB hard drive, CD-writer and DVD player, Windows XP Home.Anything else. You're building it so you have to buy all the software you want to install and do your own trouble-shooting and tech support. Building your own machine is easier than it used to be but you need to read specifications carefully to make sure all parts work together.Experienced and keen PC users. Building your own PC, or upgrading the one you have, is a great way to improve your understanding of how it all works.It's cheap, you can specify exactly what you want and you get the thrill of putting it together yourself. And a bigger thrill if everything works as it should.Once it's built you won't be able to do much with it until you start buying software for it. If it starts to go wrong it might take a lot of fixing. As Gavin Cox of the excellent buildyourown.org.uk website put it: "It will be tough to obtain/build a PC to ever be as compact and charming as the Mac mini.""Performance-wise, it's not 'cutting edge' and is barely entry-level by today's market, but up against the Mac mini, I believe it will hold its own and even pull a few more tricks," says Gavin Cox. The good news is that the machine is eminently expandable. By contrast, says Mr Cox, the Mac mini is almost disposable.

Apple offer a less powerful Mac Mini for £339 but the £399 models has a 1.4ghz Power PC chip, 80 gigabyte hard drive, combined CD burner/DVD player.A good basic PC that, according to PC Pro, has "superb upgrade potential"."This machine is for small businesses and for people who want a second computer for basic home use, perhaps in a kids bedroom," a spokesman for Dell said.The Mac mini is the cheapest Apple computer ever.For your money you get a 1.8GHz AMD Sempron processor, 512MB of Ram, 120GB hard drive, DVD writer, 16-inch monitor, mouse, keyboard and Windows XP2 Much more than the basics.Apple are targeting people who already have a main computer and want to upgrade - especially PC users who have used an Apple iPod.A desktop computer that PC Pro magazine dubbed best performer in a group test of machines that cost only £399 (£469 including VAT).The package of software that comes with the machine is the best money can buy.A surprisingly good PC sporting an AMD Athlon XP 2500 processor, 512 megabytes Ram, a graphics card with 128 Ram on board plus TV out, a 40 GB hard drive, CD-writer and DVD player, Windows XP Home.An entry-level machine designed for basic home use.The Mac mini is just a box.Wireless and a dvd burner can be added at extra cost.It comes equipped with USB and Firewire ports for peripheral connections, Ethernet port for broadband, a port for standard video output and an audio/headphone jack.The machine comes with Mac OS X, the Apple operating system, the software suite iLife, which includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD and GarageBand.As Gavin Cox of the excellent buildyourown.org.uk website put it: "It will be tough to obtain/build a PC to ever be as compact and charming as the Mac mini.""The Mac Mini puts the Macintosh within the reach of everyone," an Apple spokesman said.The machine comes with Windows XP home edition."I think we offer better value once you realise all the extras needed for the Mac Mini."Compact and stylish, the Mac mini would not look out of place in any home.Nick Ross, deputy labs editor at PC Pro, said the important point about buying a cheap and cheerful PC is the upgrade path.The machine has 6 USB ports and an Ethernet port for broadband connection.A DVD burner, or any wireless components built in.Those on a limited budget who want a machine they can add to and improve as their cash allows.By contrast, says Mr Cox, the Mac mini is almost disposable.But though it is cheap for a Mac how does it compare to PCs that cost about the same amount?Macs don't offer the upgrade flexibility of a PC and the machine's specifications lack the horse power for tasks such as high-end video editing or games.

What price for 'trusted PC security'?You can now buy "trusted computers", but can we really trust the PC vendors, asks technology analyst Bill Thompson.If you have recently bought an IBM ThinkVantage computer, a Dell Optiplex, or one of a whole range of laptops from Toshiba, HP/Compaq or Samsung then you may have got more for your money than you realised. Inside your shiny new PC is an extra chip called the trusted platform module (TPM) that can be used for a range of hardware-based security features. Eventually the TPM will be built into the main processor itself, and if the trusted computing group has its way then you will find one in every piece of hardware you own, from mobile phones to TV set top boxes to children's toys. But for the moment it is a separate piece of hardware, providing enhanced security features to programs that know how to use them. And as part of a well-designed network system, it can provide a lot more security than we enjoy today. A big advantage of the TPM is that it is hardware-based.At the moment most of us rely on software to keep our information safe and secure. It might be password-protected user accounts, data encryption programs or a firewall, but it all relies on program code running on an inherently insecure processor.Hardware security is less common, even if it is a lot safer. This is partly because it is more expensive to give someone a smartcard than a password, but also because its more work for users, systems administrators and managers. As a result we settle for second best. So when it comes to computer security, trusted systems could be a major step forward. After all, if you have a laptop that will only run programs that have been digitally signed then it will be a lot harder for virus writers to get their malicious code to run. And if all your files are locked automatically then even if you get your computer stolen your personal data will be safeguarded. At the moment support for trusted hardware is not built into major operating systems. Instead you have to use special software, like HP's ProtectTools or Wave Systems' Embassy. This provides file encryption, password management and identity protection, usually for business users who connect to company networks. Full support for the trusted computing specification will not be available from Microsoft until the next release of Windows, "Longhorn". This will include what Microsoft, in a typical act of obscurantism, calls the "Next Generation Secure Computing Base", and it will give user-level programs access to the trusted computing hardware. When that happens we can expect to see a lot of publicity around the new capabilities, and no doubt the Windows security centre will encourage users to turn on their trusted computing capability just as they turn on their firewall. However there is a downside to the increased security from viruses, spyware and data theft that this will provide.Because the trusted computing base is also used to make digital rights management (DRM) systems more secure, this will give content providers a lot more control over what we can do with music, movies and books that we have bought from them. We have seen recently how allowing digital rights management services into our lives can lead to unwelcome consequences. Users of Apple's iTunes used to be able to stream the music they had brought to up to five other iTunes users, a great way of letting your mates discover your music collection.But the latest version of iTunes limits this capability, just as an earlier upgrade reduced the number of times you could burn a selected playlist of purchased songs to a CD. Another took away the ability to play songs downloaded from Real's Harmony service on your iPod. Apple can do this because they wrote the software and they control the rights management. Once it is embedded in trusted hardware it will be even harder for dedicated programmers to find their way around these restrictions and give us back the fair use rights that should be guaranteed under copyright law. Similarly, users of TiVo digital video recorders have found that they cannot record some shows, and other programmes that they have recorded are automatically deleted after a day. This happens because of changes that TiVo have made to their software, and the users cannot control it. One wonders whether hardware-based DRM will work for those who believe that locking-down digital content is a bad idea, and that the flexibility of copyright law is something that should be embraced and not taken away. It will not work because of the fundamental flaw at the heart of the system: in order for the purchaser to view the content it has to be unlocked. Once it is unlocked then someone, somewhere, will figure out a way to make a copy of the unlocked version. And once an unlocked version leaks onto the network it will be uncontrollable. The efforts going into DRM would be much better spent building efficient distribution services, finding business models that are based on trusting your customers, and offering high quality downloads at fair prices. What we want is not so much a trusted computing platform as a trusted customer platform. The record companies and the film industry need to recognise that most of us, most of the time, will pay a reasonable amount for good quality material. They will benefit more by building a market in which I can share songs with my friends, record shows I want to watch later, and burn CDs for my kids; a market which respects the spirit of copyright law and does not seek to replace it by restrictive contracts or end user agreements. We need to ensure that trusted computing remains under the control of the users and is not used to take away the freedoms we enjoy today.Bill Thompson is a regular commentator on the BBC World Service programme Go Digital.

Because the trusted computing base is also used to make digital rights management (DRM) systems more secure, this will give content providers a lot more control over what we can do with music, movies and books that we have bought from them.We need to ensure that trusted computing remains under the control of the users and is not used to take away the freedoms we enjoy today.So when it comes to computer security, trusted systems could be a major step forward.Once it is embedded in trusted hardware it will be even harder for dedicated programmers to find their way around these restrictions and give us back the fair use rights that should be guaranteed under copyright law.When that happens we can expect to see a lot of publicity around the new capabilities, and no doubt the Windows security centre will encourage users to turn on their trusted computing capability just as they turn on their firewall.This will include what Microsoft, in a typical act of obscurantism, calls the "Next Generation Secure Computing Base", and it will give user-level programs access to the trusted computing hardware.What we want is not so much a trusted computing platform as a trusted customer platform.Inside your shiny new PC is an extra chip called the trusted platform module (TPM) that can be used for a range of hardware-based security features.At the moment support for trusted hardware is not built into major operating systems.Eventually the TPM will be built into the main processor itself, and if the trusted computing group has its way then you will find one in every piece of hardware you own, from mobile phones to TV set top boxes to children's toys.And as part of a well-designed network system, it can provide a lot more security than we enjoy today.Hardware security is less common, even if it is a lot safer.But for the moment it is a separate piece of hardware, providing enhanced security features to programs that know how to use them.Full support for the trusted computing specification will not be available from Microsoft until the next release of Windows, "Longhorn".This happens because of changes that TiVo have made to their software, and the users cannot control it.Apple can do this because they wrote the software and they control the rights management.One wonders whether hardware-based DRM will work for those who believe that locking-down digital content is a bad idea, and that the flexibility of copyright law is something that should be embraced and not taken away.

Mobile audio enters new dimensionAs mobile phones move closer to being a ubiquitous, all-in-one media player, audio is becoming ever more important. But how good can that sound be from such a small device?The sound of a buzzing bee jumps from left to right before disappearing around the back of my head. The surround sound demo is unremarkable when heard on a multi-speaker home cinema system but startling when emerging from a small mobile phone. British firm Sonaptic is one of a number of companies to have developed 3D audio technology that emerges from stereo speakers. Firms AM3D and SRS both offer stereo-widening technology for mobile phones. But Sonaptic's managing director David Monteith says his firm is the only company to offer positional 3D audio on a mobile."There are quite a few basic technologies out there, making the sound seem a bit bigger, headphones a bit nicer."No-one has really tried before to make proper 3D positional audio - where an individual channel can be moved around." Sonaptic has been working with Japanese mobile network NTT DoCoMo to set standards for 3D audio on mobile phones. In the last few months handsets from NEC, Fujitsu and Mitsubishi have been released on to the Japanese marker which have chips produced by Yamaha and Rohm with Sonaptic's technology. "The technology has been around on PCs and games consoles for some time but what we are doing is making it more efficient so it can go on a small consumer device like a mobile phone," said Mr Monteith.The technology works through applying the science of psychoacoustics and grew out of medical research done by the company's research director Dr Alastair Sibbald. "We are basically trying to fool your ears into thinking sound is coming from areas it actually isn't. "Your brain uses certain bits of information which we are effectively synthesising on a mobile phone handset." The structure of the ear works as a 3D encoder for sound - helping the brain understand from where sound is emanating. Sonaptic's audio processing algorithms mimic that 3D encoding, giving the impression that sound is coming from the left, right, and behind a listener when in fact it is coming from a single source. Mr Montieth says: "If the sound is off to one side it will get to one ear before the other - if it is on the right it has to bend around your head to get to your left ear."The shape of your ear causes differences in sound from one ear to the other. We are synthesising those differences." Sonaptic hopes the technology will have a big impact in the growing market of mobile gaming and music downloading. "Handhelds often have limitations - screens will be small by definition. "If you want to get impact from media you are running - either a movie, a game or watching TV - if you want it to be more immersive then our technology can help." A fishing game is the first title to use the technology, creating a 3D sound field while the gamer plays. Driving games and shoot 'em ups using the technology are in development. The technology can also be used for music - giving songs a much more expansive and immersive feel. Sonaptic offers its technology on a chip or in software and is about to release a new version which significantly improves the efficiency of the audio processing. "It's important we only use 10 or 15% of the processor otherwise you won't be able to play a game on the handset," explained Mr Montieth. The company is now looking to the US and European markets, where it has been working with network Vodafone. "We have focused first on Japan because it has a very advanced mobile phone market. "We knew Japan would be the first place to have the handsets that could use our technology. "There should be handsets out in the UK in the next six months."

"The technology has been around on PCs and games consoles for some time but what we are doing is making it more efficient so it can go on a small consumer device like a mobile phone," said Mr Monteith.A fishing game is the first title to use the technology, creating a 3D sound field while the gamer plays.Sonaptic has been working with Japanese mobile network NTT DoCoMo to set standards for 3D audio on mobile phones."Your brain uses certain bits of information which we are effectively synthesising on a mobile phone handset."Mr Montieth says: "If the sound is off to one side it will get to one ear before the other - if it is on the right it has to bend around your head to get to your left ear.Firms AM3D and SRS both offer stereo-widening technology for mobile phones.Sonaptic hopes the technology will have a big impact in the growing market of mobile gaming and music downloading."We have focused first on Japan because it has a very advanced mobile phone market."We knew Japan would be the first place to have the handsets that could use our technology.British firm Sonaptic is one of a number of companies to have developed 3D audio technology that emerges from stereo speakers.The surround sound demo is unremarkable when heard on a multi-speaker home cinema system but startling when emerging from a small mobile phone.The structure of the ear works as a 3D encoder for sound - helping the brain understand from where sound is emanating."There are quite a few basic technologies out there, making the sound seem a bit bigger, headphones a bit nicer.

Toxic web links help virus spreadVirus writers have begun using the power of the web to spread their malicious wares.A Windows virus called Bofra is turning infected machines into distributors of its malicious code. Those clicking on the poisoned links in e-mail messages sent out by infected machines may fall victim to the virus. The trick is being used to prevent the progam being caught by anti-virus software that combs through code contained in e-mail attachments.The virus that uses this trick is called Bofra and the first member of the family of worms appeared on 10 November. They exploit a Windows vulnerability that was discovered only a few days earlier.Like many other recent viruses, Bofra plunders the address book in Microsoft Outlook for e-mail addresses and scours other files on an infected machine for fresh target addresses. The virus uses its own mail sending software to despatch e-mail messages to potential victims but, unlike many other recent viruses, does not itself travel via mail. Instead the body of the mail messages sent out contain fake weblinks that, when clicked on, connect back to the machine that distributed that e-mail. Essentially, Bofra turns infected machines into small web servers that happily dole out copies of the virus. The messages try to trick people into clicking on the links by promising pornographic videos and images or by posing as payment confirmation for a Paypal transaction.Copies of the messages seen by the BBC News website had bright yellow and green backgrounds. Those clicking on the links will inadvertently download the Bofra virus which will then start searching for new addresses to send itself to. Filtering firm Clearswift said this tactic of creating thousands of mini web servers was designed to help the virus spread quickly and avoid attempts to shut it down. In the past other malicious programs have relied on a single web server that downloads viral code to target machines. Shutting down this central server usually stops the virus spreading.Clearswift said that fact that no viral code travels in the e-mail messages sent out by machines infected by Bofra could hamper effects to limit its spread. Finnish anti-virus firm F-Secure said that, so far, it had not seen many copies of the Bofra virus and its variants in circulation.Tim Warner, spokesman for anti-virus firm Finjan, said: "You have people getting very creative now to deliver the virus and get it propagating." Mr Warner said organisations needed to prepare deep defences to keep out the modern form of malicious mobile code. "Most firms have secured their e-mail gateway," said Mr Warner, "but the irony is that most of them let malicious content through the web gateways." He said behavioural systems that monitor what users do can help to spot when viruses have penetrated organisations and have started hunting for other victims. The Bofra family of viruses, which were originally thought to be offshoots of the MyDoom bug, can infect machines running Windows 2000, 95, 98, Me, NT, XP and Server 2003. Users running Windows XP that have applied the SP2 update are not vulnerable to the loophole that Bofra exploits.

A Windows virus called Bofra is turning infected machines into distributors of its malicious code.Those clicking on the poisoned links in e-mail messages sent out by infected machines may fall victim to the virus.Clearswift said that fact that no viral code travels in the e-mail messages sent out by machines infected by Bofra could hamper effects to limit its spread.Essentially, Bofra turns infected machines into small web servers that happily dole out copies of the virus.Finnish anti-virus firm F-Secure said that, so far, it had not seen many copies of the Bofra virus and its variants in circulation.Filtering firm Clearswift said this tactic of creating thousands of mini web servers was designed to help the virus spread quickly and avoid attempts to shut it down.Those clicking on the links will inadvertently download the Bofra virus which will then start searching for new addresses to send itself to.The virus uses its own mail sending software to despatch e-mail messages to potential victims but, unlike many other recent viruses, does not itself travel via mail.The virus that uses this trick is called Bofra and the first member of the family of worms appeared on 10 November.The Bofra family of viruses, which were originally thought to be offshoots of the MyDoom bug, can infect machines running Windows 2000, 95, 98, Me, NT, XP and Server 2003.

Virus poses as Christmas e-mailSecurity firms are warning about a Windows virus disguising itself as an electronic Christmas card.The Zafi.D virus translates the Christmas greeting on its subject line into the language of the person receiving infected e-mail. Anti-virus firms speculate that this multilingual ability is helping the malicious program spread widely online. Anti-virus firm Sophos said that 10% of the e-mail currently on the net was infected with the Zafi virus.Like many other Windows viruses, Zafi-D plunders Microsoft Outlook for e-mail addresses and then uses mail-sending software to despatch itself across the web to new victims. To be infected users must open up the attachment travelling with the message which bears the code for the malicious bug. The attachment on the e-mail poses as an electronic Christmas card but anyone opening it will simply get a crude image of two smiley faces.The virus' subject line says "Merry Christmas" and translates this into one of 15 languages depending of the final suffix of the e-mail address the infected message has been sent to. The message in the body of the e-mail reads: "Happy Holidays" and this too is translated. On infected machines the virus tries to disable anti-virus and firewall software and opens up a backdoor on the PC to hand over control to the writer of the virus. The virus is thought to have spread most widely in South America, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and Hungary. The original Zafi virus appeared in April this year. "We have seen these hoaxes for several Christmases already, and personally I prefer traditional pen and paper cards, and we recommend this to all our clients too," said Mikko Hypponen, who heads F-Secure's anti-virus team.

Anti-virus firm Sophos said that 10% of the e-mail currently on the net was infected with the Zafi virus.The Zafi.D virus translates the Christmas greeting on its subject line into the language of the person receiving infected e-mail.The virus' subject line says "Merry Christmas" and translates this into one of 15 languages depending of the final suffix of the e-mail address the infected message has been sent to.On infected machines the virus tries to disable anti-virus and firewall software and opens up a backdoor on the PC to hand over control to the writer of the virus.Security firms are warning about a Windows virus disguising itself as an electronic Christmas card.The original Zafi virus appeared in April this year.

Freeze on anti-spam campaignA campaign by Lycos Europe to target spam-related websites appears to have been put on hold.Earlier this week the company released a screensaver that bombarded the sites with data to try to bump up the running costs of the websites. But the site hosting the screensaver now displays a pink graphic and the words "Stay tuned". No one at Lycos was available for comment on latest developments in its controversial anti-spam campaign.Lycos Europe's "Make love not spam" campaign was intended as a way for users to fight back against the mountain of junk mail flooding inboxes. People were encouraged to download the screensaver which, when their PC was idle, would then send lots of data to sites that peddle the goods and services mentioned in spam messages. Lycos said the idea was to get the spam sites running at 95% capacity and generate big bandwidth bills for the spammers behind the sites. But the plan has proved controversial.Monitoring firm Netcraft analysed response times for some of the sites targeted by the screensaver and found that a number were completely knocked offline.The downing of the sites could dent Lycos claims that what it is doing does not amount to a distributed denial of service attack. In such attacks thousands of computers bombard sites with data in an attempt to overwhelm them. Laws in many countries do not explicitly outlaw such attacks but many nations are re-drafting computer use laws to make them specific offences. Lycos Europe now appears to have put the plan on hold. The site hosting the screensaver currently shows a holding page, with the words, "Stay tuned". The numerical internet address of the site has also changed. This is likely to be in response to spammers who have reportedly redirected traffic from their sites back to the Lycos screensaver site. The campaign has come under fire from some corners of the web. Many discussion groups have said that it set a dangerous precedent and could incite vigilantism. "Attacking a spammer's website is like poking a grizzly bear sleeping in your back garden with a pointy stick," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Not only is this screensaver similar in its approach to a potentially illegal distributed denial of service attack, but it also is in danger of turning innocent computer users into vigilantes, who may not be prepared for whatever retaliation the spammers care to dream up."

This is likely to be in response to spammers who have reportedly redirected traffic from their sites back to the Lycos screensaver site.The downing of the sites could dent Lycos claims that what it is doing does not amount to a distributed denial of service attack.Lycos said the idea was to get the spam sites running at 95% capacity and generate big bandwidth bills for the spammers behind the sites.But the site hosting the screensaver now displays a pink graphic and the words "Stay tuned".The site hosting the screensaver currently shows a holding page, with the words, "Stay tuned".A campaign by Lycos Europe to target spam-related websites appears to have been put on hold.In such attacks thousands of computers bombard sites with data in an attempt to overwhelm them.People were encouraged to download the screensaver which, when their PC was idle, would then send lots of data to sites that peddle the goods and services mentioned in spam messages.

Microsoft debuts security toolsMicrosoft is releasing tools that clean up PCs harbouring viruses and spyware.The virus-fighting program will be updated monthly and is a precursor to Microsoft releasing dedicated anti-virus software. Also being released is a software utility that will help users find and remove any spyware on their home computer. Although initially free it is thought that soon Microsoft will be charging users for the anti-spyware tool.The anti-spyware tool is available now and the anti-virus utility is expected to be available later this month. Microsoft's Windows operating system has long been a favourite of people who write computer viruses because it is so ubiquitous and has many loopholes that can be exploited. It has proved such a tempting target that there are now thought to be more than 100,000 viruses and other malicious programs in existence. Latest research suggests that new variants of viruses are being cranked out at a rate of up to 200 per week. Spyware is surreptitious software that sneaks on to home computers, often without users' knowledge. In its most benign form it just bombards users with pop-up adverts or hijacks web browser settings. The most malicious forms steal confidential information or log every keystroke that users make. Surveys have shown that most PCs are infested with spyware. Research by technology firms Earthlink and Webroot revealed that 90% of Windows machine have the malicious software on board and, on average, each one harbours 28 separate spyware programs. Before now Microsoft has left the market for PC security software to specialist firms such as Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro and many others. It said that its virus cleaning program would not stop machines being infected nor remove the need for other anti-virus programs. On spyware freely available programs such as Ad-Aware and Spybot have become widely used by people keen to keep the latest variants at bay. Microsoft's two security tools have emerged as a result of acquisitions the company has made over the last two years. In 2003 it bought Romanian firm GeCAD Software to get hold of its anti-virus technology. In December 2004 it bought New York-based anti-spyware firm Giant Company Software. Last year Microsoft also released the SP2 upgrade for Windows XP that closed many security loopholes in the software and made it easier for people to manage their anti-virus and firewall programs.

Microsoft is releasing tools that clean up PCs harbouring viruses and spyware.Also being released is a software utility that will help users find and remove any spyware on their home computer.Last year Microsoft also released the SP2 upgrade for Windows XP that closed many security loopholes in the software and made it easier for people to manage their anti-virus and firewall programs.Research by technology firms Earthlink and Webroot revealed that 90% of Windows machine have the malicious software on board and, on average, each one harbours 28 separate spyware programs.The virus-fighting program will be updated monthly and is a precursor to Microsoft releasing dedicated anti-virus software.Before now Microsoft has left the market for PC security software to specialist firms such as Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro and many others.In 2003 it bought Romanian firm GeCAD Software to get hold of its anti-virus technology.In December 2004 it bought New York-based anti-spyware firm Giant Company Software.

IBM frees 500 software patentsComputer giant IBM says 500 of its software patents will be released into the open development community.The move means developers will be able to use the technologies without paying for a licence from the company. IBM described the step as a "new era" in how it dealt with intellectual property and promised further patents would be made freely available. The patents include software for a range of practices, including text recognition and database management. Traditional technology business policy is to amass patents and despite IBM's announcement the company continues to follow this route.IBM was granted 3,248 patents in 2004, more than any other firm in the US, the New York Times reports. For each of the past 12 years IBM has been granted more US patents than any other company. IBM has received 25,772 US patents in that period and reportedly has more than 40,000 current patents. In a statement, Dr John E. Kelly, IBM senior vice president, Technology and Intellectual Property, said: "True innovation leadership is about more than just the numbers of patents granted. It's about innovating to benefit customers, partners and society."Our pledge today is the beginning of a new era in how IBM will manage intellectual property." In the past, IBM has supported the non-commercial operating system Linux although critics have said this was done only as an attempt to undermine Microsoft.The company said it wanted to encourage other firms to release patents into what it called a "patent commons". Adam Jollans, IBM's world-wide Linux strategy manager, said the move was a genuine attempt to encourage innovation. "We believe that releasing these patents will result in innovation moving more quickly. "This is about encouraging collaboration and following a model much like academia." Mr Jollans likened the plan for a patent commons to the way the internet was developed and said everyone could take advantage of the result of collaboration. "The internet's impact has been on everyone. The benefits are there for everyone to take advantage of." Stuart Cohen, chief executive of US firm Open Source Development Labs, said the move could mean a change in the way companies deal with patents."I think other companies will follow suit," he said. But not everyone was as supportive. Florian Mueller, campaign manager of a group lobbying toprevent software patents becoming legal in the European Union,dismissed IBM's move as insubstantial. "It's just diversionary tactics," wrote Mr Mueller, who leadsnosoftwarepatents.com, in a message on the group's website. "Let's put this into perspective: We're talking aboutroughly one percent of IBM's worldwide patent portfolio. They filethat number of patents in about a month's time," he added. IBM will continue to hold the 500 patents but it has pledged to seek no royalties from the patents. The company said it would not place any restrictions on companies, groups or individuals who use them in open-source projects. Open source software is developed by programmers who offer the source code - the origins of the program - for free and allow others to adapt or improve the software. End users have the right to modify and redistribute the software, as well as the right to package and sell the software. Other areas covered by the patents released by IBM include storage management, simultaneous multiprocessing, image processing, networking and e-commerce.

For each of the past 12 years IBM has been granted more US patents than any other company.The company said it wanted to encourage other firms to release patents into what it called a "patent commons".Mr Jollans likened the plan for a patent commons to the way the internet was developed and said everyone could take advantage of the result of collaboration.IBM was granted 3,248 patents in 2004, more than any other firm in the US, the New York Times reports.IBM has received 25,772 US patents in that period and reportedly has more than 40,000 current patents.Computer giant IBM says 500 of its software patents will be released into the open development community.IBM will continue to hold the 500 patents but it has pledged to seek no royalties from the patents.In a statement, Dr John E. Kelly, IBM senior vice president, Technology and Intellectual Property, said: "True innovation leadership is about more than just the numbers of patents granted.IBM described the step as a "new era" in how it dealt with intellectual property and promised further patents would be made freely available.Florian Mueller, campaign manager of a group lobbying toprevent software patents becoming legal in the European Union,dismissed IBM's move as insubstantial.Traditional technology business policy is to amass patents and despite IBM's announcement the company continues to follow this route.The patents include software for a range of practices, including text recognition and database management.In the past, IBM has supported the non-commercial operating system Linux although critics have said this was done only as an attempt to undermine Microsoft.

Parents face video game lessonsWays of ensuring that parents know which video games are suitable for children are to be considered by the games industry.The issue was discussed at a meeting between UK government officials, industry representatives and the British Board of Film Classification. It follows concerns that children may be playing games aimed at adults which include high levels of violence. In 2003, Britons spent £1,152m on games, more than ever before. And this Christmas, parents are expected to spend millions on video games and consoles.Violent games have been hit by controversy after the game Manhunt was blamed by the parents of 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah, who was stabbed to death in Leicester in February. His mother, Giselle, said her son's killer, Warren Leblanc, 17 - who was jailed for life in September - had mimicked behaviour in the game.Police investigating Stefan's murder dismissed its influence and said Manhunt was not part of its legal case. The issue of warnings on games for adults was raised on Sunday by Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt. This was the focus of the talks between government officials, representatives from the games industry and the British Board of Film Classification. "Adults can make informed choices about what games to play. Children can't and they deserve to be protected," said Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell after the meeting. "Industry will consider how to make sure parents know what games their children should and shouldn't play." Roger Bennett, director general of Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association, said: "A number of initiatives were discussed at the meeting. "They will be formulated to create specific proposals to promote greater understanding, recognition and awareness of the games rating system, ensuring that young people are not exposed to inappropriate content."Among the possible measures could be a campaign to explain to parents that many games are made for an adult audience, as well as changes to the labelling of the games themselves.According to industry statistics, a majority of players are over 18, with the average age of a gamer being 29. Academics point out that there has not been any definitive research linking bloodthirsty games such as Manhunt with violent responses in players. In a report published this week for the Video Standards Council, Dr Guy Cumberbatch said: "The research evidence on media violence causing harm to viewers is wildly exaggerated and does not stand up to scrutiny." Dr Cumberbatch, head of the social policy think tank, the Communications Research Group, reviewed the studies on the issue. He concluded that there was an absence of convincing research that media violence caused harm.

Ways of ensuring that parents know which video games are suitable for children are to be considered by the games industry.Violent games have been hit by controversy after the game Manhunt was blamed by the parents of 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah, who was stabbed to death in Leicester in February.This was the focus of the talks between government officials, representatives from the games industry and the British Board of Film Classification.The issue of warnings on games for adults was raised on Sunday by Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt."Industry will consider how to make sure parents know what games their children should and shouldn't play."Among the possible measures could be a campaign to explain to parents that many games are made for an adult audience, as well as changes to the labelling of the games themselves.The issue was discussed at a meeting between UK government officials, industry representatives and the British Board of Film Classification.His mother, Giselle, said her son's killer, Warren Leblanc, 17 - who was jailed for life in September - had mimicked behaviour in the game.And this Christmas, parents are expected to spend millions on video games and consoles.

Rich pickings for hi-tech thievesViruses, trojans and other malicious programs sent on to the net to catch you out are undergoing a subtle change.The shift is happening as tech savvy criminals turn to technology to help them con people out of cash, steal valuable data or take over home PCs. Viruses written to make headlines by infecting millions are getting rarer. Instead programs are now crafted for directly criminal ends and firms are tightening up networks with defences to combat the new wave of malicious code.The growing criminal use of malware has meant the end of the neat categorisation of different sorts of viruses and malicious programs. Before now it has been broadly possible to name and categorise viruses by the method they use to spread and how they infect machines. But many of the viruses written by criminals roll lots of technical tricks together into one nasty package."You cannot put them in to the neat little box that you used to," said Pete Simpson, head of the threat laboratory at security firm Clearswift. Now viruses are just as likely to spread by themselves like worms, or to exploit loopholes in browsers or hide in e-mail message attachments. "It's about outright criminality now," said Mr Simpson, explaining why this change has come about. He said many of the criminal programs came from Eastern Europe where cash-rich organised gangs can find a ready supply of technical experts that will crank out code to order. Former virus writer Marek Strihavka, aka Benny from the 29A virus writing group, recently quit the malware scene partly because it was being taken over by spyware writers, phishing gangs, and spammers who are more interested in money rather than the technology. No longer do virus writers produce programs to show off their technical prowess to rivals in the underground world of malware authors. Not least, said Paul King, principal security consultant at Cisco, because the defences against such attacks are so common. "In many ways the least likely way to do it is e-mail because most of us have got anti-virus and firewalls now," he said. Few of the malicious programs written by hi-tech thieves are cleverly written, many are much more pragmatic and use tried and tested techniques to infect machines or to trick users into installing a program or handing over important data. "If you think of criminals they do not do clever," said Mr King, "they just do what works."As the tactics used by malicious programs change, said Mr King, so many firms were changing the way they defend themselves. Now many scan machines that connect to the corporate networks to ensure they have not been compromised while off the core network.Many will not let a machine connect and a worker get on with their job before the latest patches and settings have been uploaded. As well as using different tactics, criminals also use technology for reasons that are much more transparent. "The main motivation now is money," said Gary Stowell, spokesman for St Bernard software. Mr Stowell said organised crime gangs were turning to computer crime because the risks of being caught were low and the rates of return were very high. With almost any phishing or spyware attack, criminals are guaranteed to catch some people out and have the contacts to exploit what they recover. So-called spyware was proving very popular with criminals because it allowed them to take over machines for their own ends, to steal key data from users or to hijack web browsing sessions to point people at particular sites. In some cases spyware was being written that searched for rival malicious programs on PCs it infects and then trying to erase them so it has sole ownership of that machine.

As the tactics used by malicious programs change, said Mr King, so many firms were changing the way they defend themselves.Few of the malicious programs written by hi-tech thieves are cleverly written, many are much more pragmatic and use tried and tested techniques to infect machines or to trick users into installing a program or handing over important data.He said many of the criminal programs came from Eastern Europe where cash-rich organised gangs can find a ready supply of technical experts that will crank out code to order."If you think of criminals they do not do clever," said Mr King, "they just do what works."The growing criminal use of malware has meant the end of the neat categorisation of different sorts of viruses and malicious programs.But many of the viruses written by criminals roll lots of technical tricks together into one nasty package.In some cases spyware was being written that searched for rival malicious programs on PCs it infects and then trying to erase them so it has sole ownership of that machine.Instead programs are now crafted for directly criminal ends and firms are tightening up networks with defences to combat the new wave of malicious code."It's about outright criminality now," said Mr Simpson, explaining why this change has come about."In many ways the least likely way to do it is e-mail because most of us have got anti-virus and firewalls now," he said.With almost any phishing or spyware attack, criminals are guaranteed to catch some people out and have the contacts to exploit what they recover.

The gaming world in 2005If you have finished Doom 3, Half Life 2 and Halo 2, don't worry. There's a host of gaming gems set for release in 2005. WORLD OF WARCRAFT The US reception to this game from developers Blizzard has been hugely enthusiastic, with the title topping its competitors in the area of life-eating, high-fantasy, massively multiplayer role-player gaming. Solid, diverse, accessible and visually striking, it may well open up the genre like never before. If nothing else, it will develop a vast and loyal community. Released 25 February on PC. ICO 2 (WORKING TITLE) Ico remains a benchmark for PS2 gaming, a title that took players into a uniquely atmospheric and artistic world of adventure. The (spiritual) sequel has visuals that echo those of the original, but promises to expand the Ico world, with hero Wanda taking on a series of giants. The other known working title is Wanda And Colossus. Release date to be confirmed on PS2. THE LEGEND OF ZELDA The charismatic cel imagery has been scrapped in favour of a dark, detailed aesthetic (realism isn't quite the right word) that connects more with Ocarina Of Time. Link resumes his more teenage incarnation too, though enemies, elements and moves look familiar from the impressive trailer that has been released. Horseback adventuring across a vast land is promised. Release date to be confirmed on GameCube. ADVANCE WARS DS The UK Nintendo DS launch line-up is still to be confirmed at time of writing, but titles that exploit its two-screen and touch capacity, like WarioWare Touched! and Sega's Feel The Magic, are making a strong impression in other territories. Personally, I can't wait for the latest Advance Wars, the franchise that has been the icing on the cake of Nintendo handheld gaming during the past few years. Release date to be confirmed on DS. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Following in the high-spec footsteps of Far Cry and Half-Life 2, this looks like the key upcoming PC first-person shooter (with role-playing elements). The fact that it is inspired in part by Andrei Tarkovsky's enigmatic 1979 masterpiece Stalker and set in 2012 in the disaster zone, a world of decay and mutation, makes it all the more intriguing. Released 1 March on PC. METAL GEAR SOLID: SNAKE EATER More Hideo Kojima serious stealth, featuring action in the Soviet-controlled jungle in 1964. The game see Snake having to survive on his wits in the jungle, including eating wildlife. Once again, expect cinematic cut scenes and polished production values. Released March on PS2. DEAD OR ALIVE ULTIMATE Tecmo's Team Ninja are back with retooled and revamped versions of Dead Or Alive 1 and 2. Here's the big, big deal though - they're playable over Xbox Live. Released 11 March on Xbox. KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC II Looks set to build on the acclaimed original Star Wars role playing game with new characters, new Force powers and a new set of moral decisions, despite a different developer. Released 11 February on Xbox and PC.

Released 1 March on PC.Released 11 February on Xbox and PC.Release date to be confirmed on PS2.Release date to be confirmed on DS.Released March on PS2.Released 11 March on Xbox.Released 25 February on PC.Release date to be confirmed on GameCube.ICO 2 (WORKING TITLE) Ico remains a benchmark for PS2 gaming, a title that took players into a uniquely atmospheric and artistic world of adventure.WORLD OF WARCRAFT The US reception to this game from developers Blizzard has been hugely enthusiastic, with the title topping its competitors in the area of life-eating, high-fantasy, massively multiplayer role-player gaming.ADVANCE WARS DS The UK Nintendo DS launch line-up is still to be confirmed at time of writing, but titles that exploit its two-screen and touch capacity, like WarioWare Touched!There's a host of gaming gems set for release in 2005.If nothing else, it will develop a vast and loyal community.

ITunes user sues Apple over iPodA user of Apple's iTunes music service is suing the firm saying it is unfair he can only use an iPod to play songs.He says Apple is breaking anti-competition laws in refusing to let other music players work with the site. Apple, which opened its online store in 2003 after launching the iPod in 2001, uses technology to ensure each song bought only plays on the iPod. Californian Thomas Slattery filed the suit in the US District Court in San Jose and is seeking damages."Apple has turned an open and interactive standard into an artifice that prevents consumers from using the portable hard drive digital music player of their choice," the lawsuit states. The key to such a lawsuit would be convincing a court that a single brand like iTunes is a market in itself separate from the rest of the online music market, according to Ernest Gellhorn, an anti-trust law professor at George Mason University. "As a practical matter, the lower courts have been highly sceptical of such claims," Prof Gellhorn said. Apple has sold more than six million iPods since the gadget was launched and has an 87% share of the market for portable digital music players, market research firm NPD Group has reported.More than 200 million songs have been sold by the iTunes music store since it was launched. "Apple has unlawfully bundled, tied, and/or leveraged its monopoly in the market for the sale of legal online digital music recordings to thwart competition in the separate market for portable hard drive digital music players, and vice-versa," the lawsuit said. Mr Slattery called himself an iTunes customer who "was also forced to purchase an Apple iPod" if he wanted to take his music with him to listen to. A spokesman for Apple declined to comment. Apple's online music store uses a different format for songs than Napster, Musicmatch, RealPlayer and others. The rivals use the MP3 format or Microsoft's WMA format while Apple uses AAC, which it says helps thwart piracy. The WMA format also includes so-called Digital Rights Management which is used to block piracy.

"Apple has unlawfully bundled, tied, and/or leveraged its monopoly in the market for the sale of legal online digital music recordings to thwart competition in the separate market for portable hard drive digital music players, and vice-versa," the lawsuit said.Apple has sold more than six million iPods since the gadget was launched and has an 87% share of the market for portable digital music players, market research firm NPD Group has reported.Apple's online music store uses a different format for songs than Napster, Musicmatch, RealPlayer and others.Mr Slattery called himself an iTunes customer who "was also forced to purchase an Apple iPod" if he wanted to take his music with him to listen to."Apple has turned an open and interactive standard into an artifice that prevents consumers from using the portable hard drive digital music player of their choice," the lawsuit states.Apple, which opened its online store in 2003 after launching the iPod in 2001, uses technology to ensure each song bought only plays on the iPod.

Robots learn 'robotiquette' rulesRobots are learning lessons on "robotiquette" - how to behave socially - so they can mix better with humans.By playing games, like pass-the-parcel, a University of Hertfordshire team is finding out how future robot companions should react in social situations. The study's findings will eventually help humans develop a code of social behaviour in human-robot interaction. The work is part of the European Cogniron robotics project, and was on show at London's Science Museum."We are assuming a situation in which a useful human companion robot already exists," said Professor Kerstin Dautenhahn, project leader at Hertfordshire. "Our mission is to look at how such a robot should be programmed to respect personal spaces of humans."The research also focuses on human perception of robots, including how they should look, and how a robot can learn new skills by imitating a human demonstrator. "Without such studies, you will build robots which might not respect the fact that humans are individuals, have preferences and come from different cultural backgrounds," Professor Dautenhahn told BBC News Online. "And I want robots to treat humans as human beings, and not like other robots," she added.In most situations, a companion robot will eventually have to deal not only with one person, but also with groups of people. To find out how they would react, the Hertfordshire Cogniron team taught one robot to play pass-the-parcel with children.Showing off its skills at the Science Museum, the unnamed robot had to select, approach, and ask different children to pick up a parcel with a gift, moving it arm as a pointer and its camera as an eye. It even used speech to give instructions and play music. However, according to researchers, it will still take many years to build a robot which would make full use of the "robotiquette" for human interaction. "If you think of a robot as a companion for the human being, you can think of 20 years into the future," concluded Professor Dautenhahn. "It might take even longer because it is very, very hard to develop such a robot."You can hear more on this story on the BBC World Service's Go Digital programme.

"And I want robots to treat humans as human beings, and not like other robots," she added."If you think of a robot as a companion for the human being, you can think of 20 years into the future," concluded Professor Dautenhahn."We are assuming a situation in which a useful human companion robot already exists," said Professor Kerstin Dautenhahn, project leader at Hertfordshire.The research also focuses on human perception of robots, including how they should look, and how a robot can learn new skills by imitating a human demonstrator."Without such studies, you will build robots which might not respect the fact that humans are individuals, have preferences and come from different cultural backgrounds," Professor Dautenhahn told BBC News Online.By playing games, like pass-the-parcel, a University of Hertfordshire team is finding out how future robot companions should react in social situations.However, according to researchers, it will still take many years to build a robot which would make full use of the "robotiquette" for human interaction.

'Brainwave' cap controls computerA team of US researchers has shown that controlling devices with the brain is a step closer.Four people, two of them partly paralysed wheelchair users, successfully moved a computer cursor while wearing a cap with 64 electrodes. Previous research has shown that monkeys can control a computer with electrodes implanted into their brain. The New York team reported their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "The results show that people can learn to use scalp-recorded electroencephalogram rhythms to control rapid and accurate movement of a cursor in two directions," said Jonathan Wolpaw and Dennis McFarlane. The research team, from New York State Department of Health and State University of New York in Albany, said the research was another step towards people controlling wheelchairs or other electronic devices by thought.The four people faced a large video screen wearing a special cap which, meant no surgery or implantation was needed.Brain activity produces electrical signals that can be read by electrodes. Complex algorithms then translate those signals into instructions to direct the computer. Such brain activity does not require the use of any nerves of muscles, so people with stroke or spinal cord injuries could use the cap effectively. "The impressive non-invasive multidimensional control achieved in the present study suggests that a non-invasive brain control interface could support clinically useful operation of a robotic arm, a motorised wheelchair or a neuroprosthesis," said the researchers. The four volunteers also showed that they could get better at controlling the cursor the more times they tried. Although the two partially-paralysed people performed better overall, the researchers said this could be because their brains were more used to adapting or that they were simply more motivated. It is not the first time researchers have had this sort of success in brain-control experiments. Some teams have used eye motion and other recording techniques. Earlier this year, a team at the MIT Media Labs Europe demonstrated a wireless cap which read brain waves to control a computer character.

Although the two partially-paralysed people performed better overall, the researchers said this could be because their brains were more used to adapting or that they were simply more motivated.A team of US researchers has shown that controlling devices with the brain is a step closer.Earlier this year, a team at the MIT Media Labs Europe demonstrated a wireless cap which read brain waves to control a computer character.Four people, two of them partly paralysed wheelchair users, successfully moved a computer cursor while wearing a cap with 64 electrodes.Previous research has shown that monkeys can control a computer with electrodes implanted into their brain.The research team, from New York State Department of Health and State University of New York in Albany, said the research was another step towards people controlling wheelchairs or other electronic devices by thought.Such brain activity does not require the use of any nerves of muscles, so people with stroke or spinal cord injuries could use the cap effectively.

Remote control rifle range debutsSoon you could go hunting via the net.A Texas company is considering letting web users use a remote-controlled rifle to shoot down deer, antelope and wild pigs. For a small fee users will take control of a camera and rifle that they can use to spot and shoot the game animals as they roam around a 133-hectare Texas ranch. The Live-Shot website behind the scheme already lets people practise shooting at targets via the internet.John Underwood, the man behind the Live-Shot website, said the idea for the remote-control hunting came to him a year ago when he was watching deer via a webcam on another net site. "We were looking at a beautiful white-tail buck and my friend said 'If you just had a gun for that'. A little light bulb went off in my head," Mr Underwood told the Reuters news agency. A year's work and $10,000 has resulted in a remote-controlled rig on which sits a camera and .22 calibre rifle. Mr Underwood is planning to put one of these rigs in a concealed location in a small reserve on his Texas ranch and let people shoot at a variety of game animals. Also needed is a fast net connection so remote hunters can quickly track and aim at passing game animals with the camera and rifle rig. Each remote hunting session will cost $150 with additional fees for meat processing and taxidermy work. Species that can be shot will include barbary, Corsican and mouflon sheep, blackbuck antelope and wild pigs. Already the Live-Shot site lets people shoot 10 rounds at paper and silhouette targets for $5.95 for each 20-minute shooting session. For further fees, users can get the target they shot and a DVD recording of their session. Handlers oversee each shooting session and can stop the gun being fired if it is being aimed off-range or at something it should not be. Mr Underwood said that internet hunting could be popular with disabled hunters unable to get out in the woods or distant hunters who cannot afford a trip to Texas. In a statement the RSPCA said it had "grave concerns" about people being allowed to go online and remotely control a rifle. "We assume it would be extremely difficult to accurately control a gun in this way and therefore it would be difficult to ensure a 'clean kill', something the RSPCA accepts is the intention of those shooting for sport," it said. "Animals hit but not killed would without doubt be caused to suffer unnecessarily," said the statement. Mike Berger, wildlife director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said current hunting statutes did not cover net or remote hunting. He said state laws on hunting only covered "regulated animals" such as native deer and bird species. As such there was nothing to stop Mr Underwood letting people hunt "unregulated" imported animals and wild pigs. Mr Underwood also lets people come in person to the ranch to hunt and shoot game animals.

Mr Underwood also lets people come in person to the ranch to hunt and shoot game animals.Mr Underwood is planning to put one of these rigs in a concealed location in a small reserve on his Texas ranch and let people shoot at a variety of game animals.Mr Underwood said that internet hunting could be popular with disabled hunters unable to get out in the woods or distant hunters who cannot afford a trip to Texas.John Underwood, the man behind the Live-Shot website, said the idea for the remote-control hunting came to him a year ago when he was watching deer via a webcam on another net site.Already the Live-Shot site lets people shoot 10 rounds at paper and silhouette targets for $5.95 for each 20-minute shooting session.For a small fee users will take control of a camera and rifle that they can use to spot and shoot the game animals as they roam around a 133-hectare Texas ranch.As such there was nothing to stop Mr Underwood letting people hunt "unregulated" imported animals and wild pigs.A Texas company is considering letting web users use a remote-controlled rifle to shoot down deer, antelope and wild pigs.In a statement the RSPCA said it had "grave concerns" about people being allowed to go online and remotely control a rifle.Mike Berger, wildlife director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said current hunting statutes did not cover net or remote hunting.

Sony PSP tipped as a 'must-have'Sony's Playstation Portable is the top UK gadget for 2005, according to a round-up of ultimate gizmos compiled by Stuff Magazine.It beats the iPod into second place in the Top Ten Essentials list which predicts what gadget-lovers are likely to covet this year. Owning all 10 gadgets will set the gadget lover back £7,455. That is £1,000 cheaper than last year's list due to falling manufacturing costs making gadgets more affordable.Portable gadgets dominate the list, including Sharp's 902 3G mobile phone, the Pentax Optio SV digital camera and Samsung's Yepp YH-999 video jukebox."What this year's Essentials shows is that gadgets are now cheaper, sexier and more indispensable than ever. We've got to the point where we can't live our lives without certain technology," said Adam Vaughan, editor of Stuff Essentials. The proliferation of gadgets in our homes is inexorably altering the role of the high street in our lives thinks Mr Vaughan. "Take digital cameras, who would now pay to develop an entire film of photos? Or legitimate downloads, who would travel miles to a record shop when they could download the song in minutes for 70p?" he asks. Next year will see a new set of technologies capturing the imaginations of gadget lovers, Stuff predicts. The Xbox 2, high-definition TV and MP3 mobiles will be among the list of must-haves that will dominate 2006, it says. The spring launch of the PSP in the UK is eagerly awaited by gaming fans.

Owning all 10 gadgets will set the gadget lover back £7,455.Portable gadgets dominate the list, including Sharp's 902 3G mobile phone, the Pentax Optio SV digital camera and Samsung's Yepp YH-999 video jukebox."What this year's Essentials shows is that gadgets are now cheaper, sexier and more indispensable than ever.Next year will see a new set of technologies capturing the imaginations of gadget lovers, Stuff predicts.That is £1,000 cheaper than last year's list due to falling manufacturing costs making gadgets more affordable.Sony's Playstation Portable is the top UK gadget for 2005, according to a round-up of ultimate gizmos compiled by Stuff Magazine.

Game makers get Xbox 2 sneak peekMicrosoft has given game makers a glimpse of the new Xbox 2 console.Some details of the Xbox's performance and what gaming will be like with the device were given at the annual Game Developers Conference in the US. Xbox frontman J. Allard said the console looked set to be capable of one trillion calculations per second. Also all titles for the new Xbox will have the same interface to make it easy to play online and buy extras for characters or other add-ons for games.Microsoft is saving the official unveiling of the Xbox 2, codenamed Xenon, for the E3 show in May and the device could be on shop shelves by November. However, during his keynote speech at GDC Mr Allard, who heads development of game-making tools for the console, gave a glimpse into how some of its core software will work. He said gaming was entering a "high-definition" era that demanded detailed and convincing graphics that could adequately compete with the HDTV people were starting to watch as well as the HD DVDs that will soon start to appear.Industry watchers took this to mean that the Xbox 2 will push for HDTV quality graphics as standard as well as multi-channel audio to give gamers an authentic experience. Mr Allard said Microsoft had to work hard to ensure that it was easy for game makers to produce titles for the Xbox 2 and for players to get playing. To this end Microsoft was building in to Xbox hardware systems to support headset chat, buddy list controls and custom soundtracks so developers were free to concentrate on the games. The Xbox would also support well-known industry specifications, such as DirectX, to make it simple for game studios to make titles for the console. For gamers this emphasis on ease of use would mean every Xbox title uses the same interface to set up online play and get at music stored on the hardware. This interface will hold details of a player's statistics and skill level on a "gamer card" as well as give access to a store where people can spend small amounts of cash to buy extras for their avatars or add-ons, such as new maps or vehicles, for games they possess. This ability to personalise games and in-game characters would be key in the future, said Mr Allard. Only with such consistency would the Xbox be able to support the 10-20 million subscribers that it was aiming for, said Mr Allard. During his speech Mr Allard took several swipes at the Playstation and said processors for consoles had to be made with developers, not just engineers, in mind. "Our approach is Bruce Lee, not brute force," he said.

Mr Allard said Microsoft had to work hard to ensure that it was easy for game makers to produce titles for the Xbox 2 and for players to get playing.Only with such consistency would the Xbox be able to support the 10-20 million subscribers that it was aiming for, said Mr Allard.Microsoft has given game makers a glimpse of the new Xbox 2 console.The Xbox would also support well-known industry specifications, such as DirectX, to make it simple for game studios to make titles for the console.This ability to personalise games and in-game characters would be key in the future, said Mr Allard.Xbox frontman J. Allard said the console looked set to be capable of one trillion calculations per second.Also all titles for the new Xbox will have the same interface to make it easy to play online and buy extras for characters or other add-ons for games.

EU software patent law faces axeThe European Parliament has thrown out a bill that would have allowed software to be patented.Politicians unanimously rejected the bill and now it must go through another round of consultation if it is to have a chance of becoming law. During consultation the software patents bill could be substantially re-drafted or even scrapped. The bill was backed by some hi-tech firms, saying they needed protections it offered to make research worthwhile.Hugo Lueders, European director for public policy at CompTIA, an umbrella organization for technology companies, said only when intellectual property was adequately protected would European inventors prosper. He said the benefits of the bill had been obscured by special interest groups which muddied debate over the rights and wrongs of software patents. Other proponents of the bill said it was a good compromise that avoided the excesses of the American system which allows the patenting of business practices as well as software. But opponents of the bill said that it could stifle innovation, be abused by firms keen to protect existing monopolies and could hamper the growth of the open source movement. The proposed law had a troubled passage through the European parliament. Its progress was delayed twice when Polish MEPs rejected plans to adopt it. Also earlier this month the influential European Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) said the law should be re-drafted after it failed to win the support of MEPs. To become law both the European Parliament and a qualified majority of EU states have to approve of the draft wording of the bill. The latest rejection means that now the bill on computer inventions must go back to the EU for re-consideration.

The European Parliament has thrown out a bill that would have allowed software to be patented.To become law both the European Parliament and a qualified majority of EU states have to approve of the draft wording of the bill.During consultation the software patents bill could be substantially re-drafted or even scrapped.Politicians unanimously rejected the bill and now it must go through another round of consultation if it is to have a chance of becoming law.Other proponents of the bill said it was a good compromise that avoided the excesses of the American system which allows the patenting of business practices as well as software.He said the benefits of the bill had been obscured by special interest groups which muddied debate over the rights and wrongs of software patents.

Souped-up wi-fi is on the horizonSuper high-speed wireless data networks could soon be in use in the UK.The government's wireless watchdog is seeking help on the best way to regulate the technology behind such networks called Ultra Wideband (UWB). Ofcom wants to ensure that the arrival of UWB-using devices does not cause problems for those that already use the same part of the radio spectrum. UWB makes it possible to stream huge amounts of data through the air over short distances. One of the more likely uses of UWB is to make it possible to send DVD quality video images wirelessly to TV screens or to let people beam music to media players around their home. The technology has the potential to transmit hundreds of megabits of data per second. UWB could also be used to create so-called Personal Area Networks that let a person's gadgets quickly and easily swap data amongst themselves. The technology works over a range up to 10 metres and uses billions of short radio pulses every second to carry data. At the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas products with UWB chips built-in got their first public airing.Currently, use of UWB is only allowed in the UK under a strict licencing scheme. "We're seeking opinion from industry to find out whether or not we should allow UWB on a licence-exempt basis," said a spokesman for Ofcom.Companies have until 24 March to respond. In April the EC is due to start its own consultation on Europe-wide adoption of UWB. The cross-Europe body for radio regulators, known as the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), is carrying out research for this harmonisation programme. Early sight of the CEPT work has caused controversy as some think it over-emphasises UWB's potential to interfere with existing users. By contrast a preliminary Ofcom report found that it would be quite straight-forward to deploy UWB without causing problems for those that already use it. The Ofcom spokesman said it was considering imposing a "mask" or set of technical restrictions on UWB-using devices. "We would want these devices to have very strict controls on power levels so they can not transmit a long way or over a wide area," he said. Despite the current restrictions the technology is already being used. Cambridge-based Ubisense has about 40 customers around the world using the short-range radio technology, said David Theriault, standards and regulatory liaison for Ubisense. He said that UWB was driving novel ways to interact with computers. "It's like having a 3D mouse all the time," he said. He said that European decisions on what to do with UWB allied with IEEE decisions on the exact specifications for it would help drive adoption. Prior to its adoption as a way for gadgets and computers to communicate, UWB was used as a sensing technology. It is used to spot such things as cracks under the surface of runways or to help firemen detect people through walls.

Prior to its adoption as a way for gadgets and computers to communicate, UWB was used as a sensing technology.He said that UWB was driving novel ways to interact with computers.He said that European decisions on what to do with UWB allied with IEEE decisions on the exact specifications for it would help drive adoption.The government's wireless watchdog is seeking help on the best way to regulate the technology behind such networks called Ultra Wideband (UWB)."We're seeking opinion from industry to find out whether or not we should allow UWB on a licence-exempt basis," said a spokesman for Ofcom.By contrast a preliminary Ofcom report found that it would be quite straight-forward to deploy UWB without causing problems for those that already use it.UWB could also be used to create so-called Personal Area Networks that let a person's gadgets quickly and easily swap data amongst themselves.Currently, use of UWB is only allowed in the UK under a strict licencing scheme.UWB makes it possible to stream huge amounts of data through the air over short distances.The technology has the potential to transmit hundreds of megabits of data per second.

Internet boom for gift shoppingCyberspace is becoming a very popular destination for Christmas shoppers.Forecasts predict that British people will spend £4bn buying gifts online during the festive season, an increase of 64% on 2003. Surveys also show that the average amount that people are spending is rising, as is the range of goods that they are happy to buy online. Savvy shoppers are also using the net to find the hot presents that are all but sold out in High Street stores.Almost half of the UK population now shop online according to figures collected by the Interactive Media in Retail Group which represents web retailers. About 85% of this group, 18m people, expect to do a lot of their Christmas gift buying online this year, reports the industry group. On average each shopper will spend £220 and Britons lead Europe in their affection for online shopping.Almost a third of all the money spent online this Christmas will come out of British wallets and purses compared to 29% from German shoppers and only 4% from Italian gift buyers. James Roper, director of the IMRG, said shoppers were now much happier to buy so-called big ticket items such as LCD television sets and digital cameras. Mr Roper added that many retailers were working hard to reassure consumers that online shopping was safe and that goods ordered as presents would arrive in time for Christmas. He advised consumers to give shops a little more time than usual to fulfil orders given that online buying is proving so popular. A survey by Hostway suggests that many men prefer to shop online to avoid the embarrassment of buying some types of presents, such as lingerie, for wives and girlfriends. Much of this online shopping is likely to be done during work time, according to research carried out by security firm Saint Bernard Software. The research reveals that up to two working days will be lost by staff who do their shopping via their work computer. Worst offenders will be those in the 18-35 age bracket, suggests the research, who will spend up to five hours per week in December browsing and buying at online shops.Iggy Fanlo, chief revenue officer at Shopping.com, said that the growing numbers of people using broadband was driving interest in online shopping. "When you consider narrowband and broadband the conversion to sale is two times higher," he said. Higher speeds meant that everything happened much faster, he said, which let people spend time browsing and finding out about products before they buy.The behaviour of online shoppers was also changing, he said. "The single biggest reason people went online before this year was price," he said. "The number one reason now is convenience." "Very few consumers click on the lowest price," he said. "They are looking for good prices and merchant reliability." Consumer comments and reviews were also proving popular with shoppers keen to find out who had the most reliable customer service. Data collected by eBay suggests that some smart shoppers are getting round the shortages of hot presents by buying them direct through the auction site. According to eBay UK there are now more than 150 Robosapiens remote control robots for sale via the site. The Robosapiens toy is almost impossible to find in online and offline stores. Similarly many shoppers are turning to eBay to help them get hold of the hard-to-find slimline PlayStation 2, which many retailers are only selling as part of an expensive bundle. The high demand for the PlayStation 2 has meant that prices for it are being driven up. In shops the PS2 is supposed to sell for £104.99. In some eBay UK auctions the price has risen to more than double this figure. Many people are also using eBay to get hold of gadgets not even released in this country. The portable version of the PlayStation has only just gone on sale in Japan yet some enterprising eBay users are selling the device to UK gadget fans.

The behaviour of online shoppers was also changing, he said."The single biggest reason people went online before this year was price," he said.Mr Roper added that many retailers were working hard to reassure consumers that online shopping was safe and that goods ordered as presents would arrive in time for Christmas.Iggy Fanlo, chief revenue officer at Shopping.com, said that the growing numbers of people using broadband was driving interest in online shopping.On average each shopper will spend £220 and Britons lead Europe in their affection for online shopping.He advised consumers to give shops a little more time than usual to fulfil orders given that online buying is proving so popular.About 85% of this group, 18m people, expect to do a lot of their Christmas gift buying online this year, reports the industry group.Forecasts predict that British people will spend £4bn buying gifts online during the festive season, an increase of 64% on 2003.Surveys also show that the average amount that people are spending is rising, as is the range of goods that they are happy to buy online.Almost half of the UK population now shop online according to figures collected by the Interactive Media in Retail Group which represents web retailers.Much of this online shopping is likely to be done during work time, according to research carried out by security firm Saint Bernard Software.Almost a third of all the money spent online this Christmas will come out of British wallets and purses compared to 29% from German shoppers and only 4% from Italian gift buyers.A survey by Hostway suggests that many men prefer to shop online to avoid the embarrassment of buying some types of presents, such as lingerie, for wives and girlfriends.Many people are also using eBay to get hold of gadgets not even released in this country.

Warning over Windows Word filesWriting a Microsoft Word document can be a dangerous business, according to document security firm Workshare.Up to 75% of all business documents contained sensitive information most firms would not want exposed, a survey by the firm revealed. To make matters worse 90% of those companies questioned had no idea that confidential information was leaking. The report warns firms to do a better job of policing documents as corporate compliance becomes more binding.Sensitive information inadvertently leaked in documents includes confidential contractual terms, competitive information that rivals would be keen to see and special deals for key customers, said Andrew Pearson, European boss of Workshare which commissioned the research. "The efficiencies the internet has brought in such as instant access to information have also created security and control issues too," he said. The problem is particularly acute with documents prepared using Microsoft Word because of the way it maintains hidden records about editing changes. As documents get passed around, worked on and amended by different staff members the sensitive information finds its way into documents. Poor control over the editing and amending process can mean that information that should be expunged survives final edits. Microsoft, however, does provide an add-on tool for Windows PCs that fixes the problem. "The Remove Hidden Data add-in is a tool that you can use to remove personal or hidden data that might not be immediately apparent when you view the document in your Microsoft Office application," says the instructions on Microsoft's website. Microsoft recommends that the tool is used before people publish any Word document. A tool for Apple machines running Word is not available. Workshare surveyed firms around the world and found that, on average, 31% of documents contained legally sensitive information but in many firms up to three-quarters fell in to the high risk category. Often, said Mr Pearson, this sensitive information was invisible because it got deleted and changed as different drafts were prepared.However, the way that Windows works means that earlier versions can be recalled and reconstructed by those keen to see how a document has evolved. Few firms have any knowledge of the existence of this so-called metadata about the changes that a document has gone through or that it can be reconstructed. The discovery of this hidden information could prove embarrassing for companies if, for instance, those tendering for contracts found out about the changes to terms of a deal being negotiated. The research revealed that a document's metadata could be substantial as, on average, only 40% of contributors' changes to a document make it to the final draft. Problems with documents could mean trouble for firms as regulatory bodies step up scrutiny and compliance laws start to bite, said Mr Pearson.

Writing a Microsoft Word document can be a dangerous business, according to document security firm Workshare.Up to 75% of all business documents contained sensitive information most firms would not want exposed, a survey by the firm revealed.Workshare surveyed firms around the world and found that, on average, 31% of documents contained legally sensitive information but in many firms up to three-quarters fell in to the high risk category.Sensitive information inadvertently leaked in documents includes confidential contractual terms, competitive information that rivals would be keen to see and special deals for key customers, said Andrew Pearson, European boss of Workshare which commissioned the research.Microsoft recommends that the tool is used before people publish any Word document.As documents get passed around, worked on and amended by different staff members the sensitive information finds its way into documents.Few firms have any knowledge of the existence of this so-called metadata about the changes that a document has gone through or that it can be reconstructed.The problem is particularly acute with documents prepared using Microsoft Word because of the way it maintains hidden records about editing changes.

File-swappers ready new networkLegal attacks on websites that help people swap pirated films have forced the development of a system that could be harder to shut down.One site behind the success of the BitTorrent file-swapping system is producing its own software that avoids the pitfalls of the earlier program. A test version of the new Exeem program will be released in late January. But doubts remain about the new networks ability to ensure files being swapped are "quality copies".In late December movie studios launched a legal campaign against websites that helped people swap pirated movies using the BitTorrent network. The legal campaign worked because of the way that BitTorrent is organised. That file-sharing system relies on links called "trackers" that point users to others happy to share the file they are looking for. Shutting down sites that listed trackers crippled the BitTorrent network. One of the sites shut down by the legal campaign was suprnova.org which helped boost the popularity of the BitTorrent system by checking that trackers led to the movies or TV programmes they claimed to.Now the man behind suprnova.org, who goes by the nickname Sloncek, is preparing to release software for a new file-swapping network dubbed Exeem. In an interview with Novastream web radio, Sloncek said Exeem would combine ideas from the BitTorrent and Kazaa file-sharing systems. Like BitTorrent, Exeem will have trackers that help point people toward the file they want. Like Kazaa these trackers will be held by everyone. There will be no centrally maintained list. This, said Sloncek, should make the system less vulnerable to legal action aimed at stopping people swapping pirated movies and music. The Exeem software has been under development for a few months and is currently being tested by a closed group of users. An early public version of the software should be available before February. Sloncek said that currently only a Windows version of the software was in development. There were no plans for a Linux or Mac version. He said that costs of writing the software will be paid for by adverts appearing in the finished version of the program. Despite Suprnova administrator Sloncek's involvement with Exeem, the basic technology appears to have been developed by a firm called Swarm Systems that is based on Caribbean island Saint Kitts and Nevis.Users of the Exeem system will be able to rate files being swapped to help stop the spread of fake files, Sloncek told Novastream.Dr Johan Pouwelse, a researcher at the Delft University of Technology who studies peer-to-peer networks, said Exeem was the next evolution in file-sharing systems. But, he said, it would struggle to be as popular as BitTorrent and Suprnova because early versions were not taking enough care to make sure good copies of files were being shared. "Exeem cannot prevent pollution," he said. "The rating system in Exeem seems flawed because it is easy to insert both fake files and fake ratings," he said. Studies have shown that organisations working for record labels and movie studios have worked to undermine Kazaa by putting in fakes. By contrast moderators on Suprnova made sure files being shared were high quality. "The moderators are the difference between having a system that works and one that's full of crap like Kazaa," he said. "There is a fundamental tension between distribution and integrity," he said. Mr Pouwelse said that future versions of file-sharing systems are likely to incorporate some kind of distributed reputation system that lets moderators prove who they are to the network and rate which files are worth downloading. When big files were being shared moderation systems were key, said Mr Pouwelse. He added that the legal attacks on BitTorrent had driven people away from sites such as Suprnova but many users had simply migrated to other tracker listing sites many of which have seen huge increases in traffic. "It's hard to compete with free," he said. No-one from the Motion Picture Association of America was immediately available for comment on the file-sharing development.

Sloncek said that currently only a Windows version of the software was in development.Mr Pouwelse said that future versions of file-sharing systems are likely to incorporate some kind of distributed reputation system that lets moderators prove who they are to the network and rate which files are worth downloading.In an interview with Novastream web radio, Sloncek said Exeem would combine ideas from the BitTorrent and Kazaa file-sharing systems.Like BitTorrent, Exeem will have trackers that help point people toward the file they want.But, he said, it would struggle to be as popular as BitTorrent and Suprnova because early versions were not taking enough care to make sure good copies of files were being shared.When big files were being shared moderation systems were key, said Mr Pouwelse."The rating system in Exeem seems flawed because it is easy to insert both fake files and fake ratings," he said.This, said Sloncek, should make the system less vulnerable to legal action aimed at stopping people swapping pirated movies and music.One of the sites shut down by the legal campaign was suprnova.org which helped boost the popularity of the BitTorrent system by checking that trackers led to the movies or TV programmes they claimed to."The moderators are the difference between having a system that works and one that's full of crap like Kazaa," he said.Users of the Exeem system will be able to rate files being swapped to help stop the spread of fake files, Sloncek told Novastream."Exeem cannot prevent pollution," he said.He said that costs of writing the software will be paid for by adverts appearing in the finished version of the program.One site behind the success of the BitTorrent file-swapping system is producing its own software that avoids the pitfalls of the earlier program.

Anti-tremor mouse stops PC shakesA special adaptor that helps people with hand tremors control a computer mouse more easily has been developed.The device uses similar "steady cam" technology found in camcorders to filter out shaking hand movements. People with hand tremors find it hard to use conventional mice for simple computer tasks because of the erratic movements of the cursor on the screen. About three million Britons have some sort of hand tremor condition, said the UK National Tremor Foundation. "Using a computer mouse is well known for being extremely hard for people with tremors so we're delighted to hear that a technology has been developed to address this problem," said Karen Walsh, from the UK National Tremor Foundation. Most commonly associated with tremors is Parkinson's disease, but they can also be caused by other conditions like Essential Tremor (ET). Tremors more often affect older people, but can hit all ages. ET, for example, is genetic and can afflict people throughout their lives.The Assistive Mouse Adapter (AMA) is the brainchild of IBM researcher Jim Levine who developed the prototype after seeing his uncle, who has Parkinson's disease, struggle with mouse control. "I knew that there must be way to improve the situation for him and the millions of other tremor sufferers around the world, including the elderly."The number of elderly computer users will increase as the population ages, and at the same time, the need for computer access grows," he said. Computer users plug the device into a PC, and it can be adjusted depending on how severe the tremor is. It is also able to recognise multiple clicking on a mouse button caused by shaky digits. IBM said it would partner up with a small UK-based electronics firm, Montrose Secam, to produce the devices which will cost about £70. James Cosgrave, one of the company's directors, said it would make a big difference to those with tremors. "I'm a pilot and my tremor condition has not limited my ability to fly a plane," he said. "But using a PC has proven almost impossible simply because everything revolves around using the mouse to accurately manipulate the tiny cursor on the screen." He said a prototype of the gadget had transformed his life.The device could help open up computing to millions more people who have found shaking to be a barrier. Last year, the Office for National Statistics reported that for the first time, more than half of all households in Britain had a home computer. With prices getting cheaper to get online too, computer ownership is increasing. But although 62% of British people have tried the internet, only 15% of Britons aged 65 or over have been online. More than six million UK households now have a broadband net. By the middle of 2005, it is estimated that 50% of all UK net users will be on broadband. There are still millions using the net through dial-up connections too.

"Using a computer mouse is well known for being extremely hard for people with tremors so we're delighted to hear that a technology has been developed to address this problem," said Karen Walsh, from the UK National Tremor Foundation.A special adaptor that helps people with hand tremors control a computer mouse more easily has been developed.About three million Britons have some sort of hand tremor condition, said the UK National Tremor Foundation.People with hand tremors find it hard to use conventional mice for simple computer tasks because of the erratic movements of the cursor on the screen.Computer users plug the device into a PC, and it can be adjusted depending on how severe the tremor is."The number of elderly computer users will increase as the population ages, and at the same time, the need for computer access grows," he said."I'm a pilot and my tremor condition has not limited my ability to fly a plane," he said.Most commonly associated with tremors is Parkinson's disease, but they can also be caused by other conditions like Essential Tremor (ET).The device could help open up computing to millions more people who have found shaking to be a barrier.More than six million UK households now have a broadband net.

Format wars could 'confuse users'Technology firms Sony, Philips, Matsushita and Samsung are developing a common way to stop people pirating digital music and video.The firms want to make a system that ensures files play on the hardware they make but also thwarts illegal copying. The move could mean more confusion for consumers already faced by many different, and conflicting, content control systems, experts warned. They say there are no guarantees the system will even prevent piracy.Currently many online stores wrap up downloadable files in an own-brand control system that means they can only be played on a small number of media players. Systems that limit what people can do with the files they download are known as Digital Rights Management systems. By setting up the alliance to work on a common control system, the firms said they hope to end this current fragmentation of file formats. In a joint statement the firms said they wanted to let consumers enjoy "appropriately licensed video and music on any device, independent of how they originally obtained that content". The firms hope that it will also make it harder for consumers to make illegal copies of the music, movies and other digital content they have bought. Called the Marlin Joint Development Association, the alliance will define basic specifications that every device made by the electronics firms will conform to. Marlin will be built on technology from rights management firm Intertrust as well as an earlier DRM system developed by a group known as the Coral Consortium.The move is widely seen as a way for the four firms to decide their own destiny on content control systems instead of having to sign up for those being pushed by Apple and Microsoft. Confusingly for consumers, the technology that comes out of the alliance will sit alongside the content control systems of rival firms such as Microsoft and Apple. "In many ways the different DRM systems are akin to the different physical formats, such as Betamax and VHS, that consumers have seen in the past," said Ian Fogg, personal technology and broadband analyst at Jupiter Research. "The difference is that it is very fragmented," he said. "It's not a two-horse race, it's a five, six, seven or even eight-horse race" Mr Fogg said consumers had to be very careful when buying digital content to ensure that it would play on the devices they own. He said currently there were even incompatibilities within DRM families. Although initiatives such as Microsoft's "Plays for Sure" program could help remove some of the uncertainty, he said, life was likely to be confusing for consumers for some time to come.Shelley Taylor, analyst and author of a report about online music services, said the locks and limits on digital files were done to maximise the cash that firms can make from consumers. Apple's iTunes service was a perfect example of this, she said. "Although iTunes has been hugely successful, Apple could not justify its existence if it did not help sell all those iPods," she said.She said rampant competition between online music services, of which there are now 230 according to recent figures, could drive more openness and freer file formats. "It always works out that consumer needs win out in the long run," she said, "and the services that win in the long run are the ones that listen to consumers earliest." Ms Taylor said the limits legal download services place on files could help explain the continuing popularity of file-sharing systems that let people get hold of pirated pop. "People want portability," she said, "and with peer-to-peer they have 100% portability." Cory Doctorow, European co-ordinator for the Electronic Frontier Foundation which campaigns for consumers on many cyber-rights issues, expressed doubts that the Marlin system would achieve its aims. "Not one of these systems has ever prevented piracy or illegal copying," he said. He said many firms readily admit that their DRM systems are little protection against skilled attackers such as the organised crime gangs that are responsible for most piracy. Instead, said Mr Doctorow, DRM systems were intended to control the group that electronics firms have most hold over - consumers. "The studios and labels perceive an opportunity to sell you your media again and again - the iPod version, the auto version, the American and UK version, the ringtone version, and so on."

Instead, said Mr Doctorow, DRM systems were intended to control the group that electronics firms have most hold over - consumers.By setting up the alliance to work on a common control system, the firms said they hope to end this current fragmentation of file formats.He said many firms readily admit that their DRM systems are little protection against skilled attackers such as the organised crime gangs that are responsible for most piracy.Shelley Taylor, analyst and author of a report about online music services, said the locks and limits on digital files were done to maximise the cash that firms can make from consumers."Not one of these systems has ever prevented piracy or illegal copying," he said.In a joint statement the firms said they wanted to let consumers enjoy "appropriately licensed video and music on any device, independent of how they originally obtained that content".Ms Taylor said the limits legal download services place on files could help explain the continuing popularity of file-sharing systems that let people get hold of pirated pop.Confusingly for consumers, the technology that comes out of the alliance will sit alongside the content control systems of rival firms such as Microsoft and Apple."In many ways the different DRM systems are akin to the different physical formats, such as Betamax and VHS, that consumers have seen in the past," said Ian Fogg, personal technology and broadband analyst at Jupiter Research.The firms want to make a system that ensures files play on the hardware they make but also thwarts illegal copying.The move is widely seen as a way for the four firms to decide their own destiny on content control systems instead of having to sign up for those being pushed by Apple and Microsoft.The firms hope that it will also make it harder for consumers to make illegal copies of the music, movies and other digital content they have bought.

BT offers free net phone callsBT is offering customers free internet telephone calls if they sign up to broadband in December.The Christmas give-away entitles customers to free telephone calls anywhere in the UK via the internet. Users will need to use BT's internet telephony software, known as BT Communicator, and have a microphone and speakers or headset on their PC. BT has launched the promotion to show off the potential of a broadband connection to customers.People wanting to take advantage of the offer will need to be a BT Together fixed-line customer and will have to sign up to broadband online. The offer will be limited to the first 50,000 people who sign up and there are limitations - the free calls do not include calls to mobiles, non-geographical numbers such as 0870, premium numbers or international numbers. BT is keen to provide extra services to its broadband customers. "People already using BT Communicator have found it by far the most convenient way of making a call if they are at their PC," said Andrew Burke, director of value-added services at BT Retail. As more homes get high-speed access, providers are increasingly offering add-ons such as cheap net calls. "Broadband and telephony are attractive to customers and BT wants to make sure it is in the first wave of services," said Ian Fogg, an analyst with Jupiter Research. "BT Communicator had a quiet launch in the summer and now BT is waving the flag a bit more for it," he added.BT has struggled to maintain its market share of broadband subscribers as more competitors enter the market. Reports say that BT has lost around 10% of market share over the last year, down from half of broadband users to less than 40%. BT is hoping its latest offer can persuade more people to jump on the broadband bandwagon. It currently has 1.3 million broadband subscribers.

BT is offering customers free internet telephone calls if they sign up to broadband in December.People wanting to take advantage of the offer will need to be a BT Together fixed-line customer and will have to sign up to broadband online.BT has launched the promotion to show off the potential of a broadband connection to customers.BT is keen to provide extra services to its broadband customers.BT is hoping its latest offer can persuade more people to jump on the broadband bandwagon.BT has struggled to maintain its market share of broadband subscribers as more competitors enter the market.

US peer-to-peer pirates convictedThe first convictions for piracy over peer-to-peer networks have been handed down in the US.New Yorker William Trowbridge and Texan Michael Chicoine have pleaded guilty to charges that they infringed copyright by illegally sharing music, movies and software. The two men faced charges following raids in August on suspected pirates by the FBI. The pair face jail terms of up to five years and a $250,000 (£130,000) fine.In a statement the US Department of Justice said the two men operated the central hubs in a piracy community organised across the Direct Connect peer-to-peer network. The piracy group called itself the Underground Network and membership of it demanded that users share between one and 100 gigabytes of files. Direct Connect allows users to set themselves up as central servers that act as co-ordinating spots for sharers. Users would swap files, such as films and music, by exchanging data over the network. During its investigation FBI agents reportedly downloaded 84 movies, 40 software programs, 13 games and 178 "sound recordings" from the five hubs that made up the larger piracy group. The raids were organised under the umbrella of Operation Digital Gridlock which was aimed at fighting "criminal copyright theft on peer-to-peer networks". In total, six raids were carried out in August. Five were on the homes of suspected copyright thieves and one on a net service firm. The Department of Justice said that both men pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit felony copyright infringement. They also pleaded guilty to acting for commercial advantage. The two men are due to be sentenced on 29 April.

In a statement the US Department of Justice said the two men operated the central hubs in a piracy community organised across the Direct Connect peer-to-peer network.The Department of Justice said that both men pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit felony copyright infringement.The two men faced charges following raids in August on suspected pirates by the FBI.The piracy group called itself the Underground Network and membership of it demanded that users share between one and 100 gigabytes of files.The first convictions for piracy over peer-to-peer networks have been handed down in the US.Five were on the homes of suspected copyright thieves and one on a net service firm.

Honour for UK games makerLeading British computer games maker Peter Molyneux has been made an OBE in the New Year Honours list.The head of Surrey's Lionhead Studios was granted the honour for services to the computer games industry. Mr Molyneux has been behind many of the ground-breaking games of the last 15 years such as Populous, Theme Park, Dungeon Keeper and Black and White. He is widely credited with helping to create and popularise the so-called god-game genre.Speaking to the BBC News website Mr Molyneux said receiving the honour was something of a surprise. It's come completely out of the blue," he said, "I never would have guessed that I'd have that kind of honour." He said he was surprised as much because, not too long ago, many people thought computer gaming was a fad."It was thought to be like skateboarding," he said, "a craze that everyone thought would go away." Now, he said, the gaming world rivals the movie industry for sales and cultural influence. "Britain plays a big part in it," he said. "It's one of the founding nations that made the industry what it is." Mr Molyneux has been a pivotal figure in the computer games industry for almost 20 years. His career started at Bullfrog Studios which in 1987 produced Populous one of the first God-games. The title gave players control over the lives a small population of computerised people. Mr Molyneux said that his involvement with the games industry started almost by accident as back in the early days game making was more a hobby than a career. "I thought everyone would treat Populous as weird," he said, "but it became a huge international success." He left Bullfrog in 1997 to set up Lionhead Studios which was behind the ambitous and widely acclaimed game Black & White. One of the next titles to come from Lionhead puts players in charge of a movie studio and tasks them with producing and directing a hit film. The veteran game maker says he has one problem still to solve. "Being an absolute geek I've got no idea what I'm going to wear when I go and pick it up," he said.

Mr Molyneux said that his involvement with the games industry started almost by accident as back in the early days game making was more a hobby than a career.The head of Surrey's Lionhead Studios was granted the honour for services to the computer games industry.Mr Molyneux has been a pivotal figure in the computer games industry for almost 20 years.He said he was surprised as much because, not too long ago, many people thought computer gaming was a fad.He left Bullfrog in 1997 to set up Lionhead Studios which was behind the ambitous and widely acclaimed game Black & White.Speaking to the BBC News website Mr Molyneux said receiving the honour was something of a surprise."It was thought to be like skateboarding," he said, "a craze that everyone thought would go away."Mr Molyneux has been behind many of the ground-breaking games of the last 15 years such as Populous, Theme Park, Dungeon Keeper and Black and White.

Seamen sail into biometric futureThe luxury cruise liner Crystal Harmony, currently in the Gulf of Mexico, is the unlikely setting for tests of biometric technology.As holidaymakers enjoy balmy breezes, their ship's crew is testing prototype versions of the world's first internationally issued biometric ID cards, the seafarer's equivalent of a passport. Along with the owner's picture, name and personal details, the new Seafarers' Identity Document incorporates a barcode representing unique features of its holder's fingerprints. The cards are due to be issued in February next year, in line with the revised UN Convention on Seafarers' Identity Documents of June 2003. Tests currently under way in the Caribbean are designed to ensure that new cards and their machine readers, produced by different companies in different countries, are working to interoperable standards. Results of the current tests, which involve seafarers from a wide range of occupations and nationalities, will be published by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) by the end of November. Crystal Cruises, which operates the Crystal Harmony, is exploring the use of biometrics but has not yet committed to the technology.Authenti-corp, the US technology consultancy, has been working with the ILO on its technical specifications for the cards."If you're issued a seafarer's ID in your country, you want to be sure that when the ship lands in a port in, say, my country you can validate yourself using whatever equipment we have installed," Authenti-corp's CEO, Cynthia Musselman, told the BBC's Go Digital programme. She said French, Jordanian and Nigerian nationals would be the first seafarers to get the new ID cards since their countries have already ratified the convention. It aims to combat international terrorism whilst guaranteeing the welfare the one million seafarers estimated to be at sea. The convention highlights the importance of access to shore facilities and shore leave as vital elements to a sailor's wellbeing and, therefore, it says, to safer shipping and cleaner oceans. "By increasing security on the seas as well as border control and protection, the cards will hopefully reduce the number of piracy problems around the world," said Ms Musselman. "It should be a safer environment for seafarers to work in, and will allow people protecting their borders to have confidence that the people getting off the ship are, in fact, seafarers."

She said French, Jordanian and Nigerian nationals would be the first seafarers to get the new ID cards since their countries have already ratified the convention.The cards are due to be issued in February next year, in line with the revised UN Convention on Seafarers' Identity Documents of June 2003."It should be a safer environment for seafarers to work in, and will allow people protecting their borders to have confidence that the people getting off the ship are, in fact, seafarers."As holidaymakers enjoy balmy breezes, their ship's crew is testing prototype versions of the world's first internationally issued biometric ID cards, the seafarer's equivalent of a passport."If you're issued a seafarer's ID in your country, you want to be sure that when the ship lands in a port in, say, my country you can validate yourself using whatever equipment we have installed," Authenti-corp's CEO, Cynthia Musselman, told the BBC's Go Digital programme.The luxury cruise liner Crystal Harmony, currently in the Gulf of Mexico, is the unlikely setting for tests of biometric technology.

Apple sues 'Tiger' file sharersApple has taken more legal action to stop online leaks of its new products.The computer giant has sued three men for releasing preview versions of its latest Mac OSX software onto file-sharing sites prior to its release. It said two versions of the operating system, codenamed Tiger, were put onto the net in October and December. It is the second time in two weeks Apple has taken legal action to protect its future products. Tiger is due to be shipped in early 2005. Last week, it filed a lawsuit against "unnamed individuals" who leaked details about new products onto the web.The latest action was against members of the Apple Developer Connection, a group of programmers which gets to see test versions of upcoming software so they can develop or change their own programs to work with them. "Members of Apple Developer Connection receive advance copies of Apple software under strict confidentiality agreements, which we take very seriously to protect our intellectual property," Apple said in a statement.It added that its future financial results were very much dependent on developing and improving its operating systems and other software. It is thought the men used sites which employ BitTorrent technology. With BitTorrent technology, sites do not host actual files being shared, instead they host a link that points people to others that have the particular file. Last week, the Motion Picture Association of America launched a legal campaign targeting websites that operate using the BitTorrent system in an effort to clamp down on movie piracy. Apple is no stranger to taking legal action against those who leak product information. In December 2002, it sued a former contractor who allegedly put drawings, images and engineering details of its PowerMac G4 computer online. The latest action was filed on Monday in the US District Court in California. It comes just weeks before the MacWorld conference in San Francisco, used to showcase new products.

It is the second time in two weeks Apple has taken legal action to protect its future products.Apple has taken more legal action to stop online leaks of its new products.Apple is no stranger to taking legal action against those who leak product information.The latest action was against members of the Apple Developer Connection, a group of programmers which gets to see test versions of upcoming software so they can develop or change their own programs to work with them.It said two versions of the operating system, codenamed Tiger, were put onto the net in October and December.The computer giant has sued three men for releasing preview versions of its latest Mac OSX software onto file-sharing sites prior to its release."Members of Apple Developer Connection receive advance copies of Apple software under strict confidentiality agreements, which we take very seriously to protect our intellectual property," Apple said in a statement.

TV future in the hands of viewersWith home theatre systems, plasma high-definition TVs, and digital video recorders moving into the living room, the way people watch TV will be radically different in five years' time.That is according to an expert panel which gathered at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to discuss how these new technologies will impact one of our favourite pastimes. With the US leading the trend, programmes and other content will be delivered to viewers via home networks, through cable, satellite, telecoms companies, and broadband service providers to front rooms and portable devices.One of the most talked-about technologies of CES has been digital and personal video recorders (DVR and PVR). These set-top boxes, like the US's TiVo and the UK's Sky+ system, allow people to record, store, play, pause and forward wind TV programmes when they want.Essentially, the technology allows for much more personalised TV. They are also being built-in to high-definition TV sets, which are big business in Japan and the US, but slower to take off in Europe because of the lack of high-definition programming. Not only can people forward wind through adverts, they can also forget about abiding by network and channel schedules, putting together their own a-la-carte entertainment. But some US networks and cable and satellite companies are worried about what it means for them in terms of advertising revenues as well as "brand identity" and viewer loyalty to channels. Although the US leads in this technology at the moment, it is also a concern that is being raised in Europe, particularly with the growing uptake of services like Sky+. "What happens here today, we will see in nine months to a years' time in the UK," Adam Hume, the BBC Broadcast's futurologist told the BBC News website. For the likes of the BBC, there are no issues of lost advertising revenue yet. It is a more pressing issue at the moment for commercial UK broadcasters, but brand loyalty is important for everyone. "We will be talking more about content brands rather than network brands," said Tim Hanlon, from brand communications firm Starcom MediaVest. "The reality is that with broadband connections, anybody can be the producer of content." He added: "The challenge now is that it is hard to promote a programme with so much choice."What this means, said Stacey Jolna, senior vice president of TV Guide TV group, is that the way people find the content they want to watch has to be simplified for TV viewers. It means that networks, in US terms, or channels could take a leaf out of Google's book and be the search engine of the future, instead of the scheduler to help people find what they want to watch. This kind of channel model might work for the younger iPod generation which is used to taking control of their gadgets and what they play on them. But it might not suit everyone, the panel recognised. Older generations are more comfortable with familiar schedules and channel brands because they know what they are getting. They perhaps do not want so much of the choice put into their hands, Mr Hanlon suggested. "On the other end, you have the kids just out of diapers who are pushing buttons already - everything is possible and available to them," said Mr Hanlon. "Ultimately, the consumer will tell the market they want."Of the 50,000 new gadgets and technologies being showcased at CES, many of them are about enhancing the TV-watching experience. High-definition TV sets are everywhere and many new models of LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) TVs have been launched with DVR capability built into them, instead of being external boxes. One such example launched at the show is Humax's 26-inch LCD TV with an 80-hour TiVo DVR and DVD recorder. One of the US's biggest satellite TV companies, DirectTV, has even launched its own branded DVR at the show with 100-hours of recording capability, instant replay, and a search function. The set can pause and rewind TV for up to 90 hours. And Microsoft chief Bill Gates announced in his pre-show keynote speech a partnership with TiVo, called TiVoToGo, which means people can play recorded programmes on Windows PCs and mobile devices. All these reflect the increasing trend of freeing up multimedia so that people can watch what they want, when they want.

What this means, said Stacey Jolna, senior vice president of TV Guide TV group, is that the way people find the content they want to watch has to be simplified for TV viewers.These set-top boxes, like the US's TiVo and the UK's Sky+ system, allow people to record, store, play, pause and forward wind TV programmes when they want.Essentially, the technology allows for much more personalised TV.With home theatre systems, plasma high-definition TVs, and digital video recorders moving into the living room, the way people watch TV will be radically different in five years' time.It means that networks, in US terms, or channels could take a leaf out of Google's book and be the search engine of the future, instead of the scheduler to help people find what they want to watch.High-definition TV sets are everywhere and many new models of LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) TVs have been launched with DVR capability built into them, instead of being external boxes.One such example launched at the show is Humax's 26-inch LCD TV with an 80-hour TiVo DVR and DVD recorder.One of the US's biggest satellite TV companies, DirectTV, has even launched its own branded DVR at the show with 100-hours of recording capability, instant replay, and a search function.All these reflect the increasing trend of freeing up multimedia so that people can watch what they want, when they want.But some US networks and cable and satellite companies are worried about what it means for them in terms of advertising revenues as well as "brand identity" and viewer loyalty to channels.With the US leading the trend, programmes and other content will be delivered to viewers via home networks, through cable, satellite, telecoms companies, and broadband service providers to front rooms and portable devices.They perhaps do not want so much of the choice put into their hands, Mr Hanlon suggested.One of the most talked-about technologies of CES has been digital and personal video recorders (DVR and PVR).

Consumer concern over RFID tagsConsumers are very concerned about the use of radio frequency ID (RFID) tags in shops, a survey says.More than half of 2,000 people surveyed said they had privacy worries about the tags, which can be used to monitor stock on shelves or in warehouses. Some consumer groups have expressed concern that the tags could be used to monitor shoppers once they had left shops with their purchases. The survey showed that awareness of tags among consumers in Europe was low. The survey of consumers in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands was carried out by consultancy group Capgemini. The firm works on behalf of more than 30 firms who are seeking to promote the growth of RFID technology. The tags are a combination of computer chip and antenna which can be read by a scanner - each item contains a unique identification number.More than half (55%) of the respondents said they were either concerned or very concerned that RFID tags would allow businesses to track consumers via product purchases. Fifty nine percent of people said they were worried that RFID tags would allow data to be used more freely by third parties. Ard Jan Vetham, Capgemini's principal consultant on RFID, said the survey showed that retailers needed to inform and educate people about RFID before it would become accepted technology. "Acceptance of new technologies always has a tipping point at which consumers believe that benefits outweigh concerns. "With the right RFID approach and ongoing communication with consumers, the industry can reach this point." He said that the survey also showed people would accept RFID if they felt that the technology could mean a reduction in car theft or faster recovery of stolen items. The tags are currently being used at one Tesco distribution centre in the UK - the tags allow the rapid inventory of bulk items. They are also in use as a passcard for the M6 Toll in the Midlands, in the UK. Mr Vetham said the majority of people surveyed (52%) believed that RFID tags could be read from a distance. He said that was a misconception based on a lack of awareness of the technology. At least once consumer group - Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (Caspian) - has claimed that RFID chips could be used to secretly identify people and the things they are carrying or wearing. All kinds of personal belongings, including clothes, could constantly broadcast messages about their whereabouts and their owners, it warned.

Mr Vetham said the majority of people surveyed (52%) believed that RFID tags could be read from a distance.He said that the survey also showed people would accept RFID if they felt that the technology could mean a reduction in car theft or faster recovery of stolen items.Fifty nine percent of people said they were worried that RFID tags would allow data to be used more freely by third parties.Ard Jan Vetham, Capgemini's principal consultant on RFID, said the survey showed that retailers needed to inform and educate people about RFID before it would become accepted technology.More than half (55%) of the respondents said they were either concerned or very concerned that RFID tags would allow businesses to track consumers via product purchases.Consumers are very concerned about the use of radio frequency ID (RFID) tags in shops, a survey says.At least once consumer group - Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (Caspian) - has claimed that RFID chips could be used to secretly identify people and the things they are carrying or wearing.The survey showed that awareness of tags among consumers in Europe was low.

Football Manager scores big timeFor the past decade or so the virtual football fans among us will have become used to the annual helping of Championship Manager (CM). Indeed, it seems like there has been a CM game for as many years as there have been PCs.However, last year was the final time that developers Sports Interactive (SI) and publishers Eidos would work together. They decided to go their separate ways, and each kept a piece of the franchise. SI kept the game's code and database, and Eidos retained rights to the CM brand, and the look and feel of the game. So at the beginning of this year, fans faced a new situation. Eidos announced the next CM game, with a new team to develop it from scratch, whilst SI developed the existing code further to be released, with new publishers Sega, under the name Football Manager. So what does this mean? Well, Football Manager is the spiritual successor to the CM series, and it has been released earlier than expected. At this point CM5 looks like it will ship early next year. But given that Football Manager 2005 is by and large the game that everybody knows and loves, how does this new version shape up?A game like FM2005 could blind you with statistics. It has an obscene number of playable leagues, an obscene number of manageable teams and a really obscene number of players and staff from around the world in the database, with stats faithfully researched and compiled by a loyal army of fans. But that does not do justice to the game really. What we are talking about is the most realistic and satisfying football management game to ever grace the Earth.You begin by picking the nations and leagues you want to manage teams from, for instance England and Scotland. That will give you a choice not just of the four main Scottish leagues, but the English Premiership all the way down to the Conference North and South. Of course you might be looking for European glory, or to get hold of Abramovich's millions, in which case you can take control at Chelsea, or even Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan ... the list goes on a very long way. Once in a team you will be told by the board what they expect of you. Sometimes it is promotion, or a place in Europe, sometimes it is consolidation or a brave relegation battle. It might even be a case of Champions or else. Obviously the expectations are linked to the team you choose, so choose wisely. Then it is time to look at your squad, work out your tactics, seeing how much cash, if any, you have got to splash, having a look at the transfer market, sorting out the training schedule and making sure your backroom staff are up to it. Then bring on the matches, which are once more available in the ever-improving top down 2D view. With the exception of the improved user interface on the surface, not much else seems to have changed.However, there have been a lot of changes under the bonnet as well - things like the manager mind-games, which let you talk to the media about the opposition bosses. The match engine is also much improved, and it is more of a joy than ever to watch. In fact just about every area of the game has been tweaked, and it leads to an ever more immersive experience.With a game that is so complex and so open-ended, there are of course a few glitches, but nowhere near the sorts of problems that have blighted previous releases. With so many calculations to perform the game can take some time to process in between matches, though there have been improvements in this area. And a sport like football, which is so high profile and unpredictable itself, can never be modelled quite to everybody's satisfaction. But this time around a great deal of hard work has been put in to ensure that any oddities that do crop up are cosmetic only, and do not affect gameplay. And if there are problems further down the line, Sports Interactive have indicated their usual willingness to support and develop the game as far as possible. In all there are many more tweaks and improvements. If you were a fan of the previous CM games, then FM2005 might make you forget there was anything else before it. If you are new to the genre but like the idea of trying to take Margate into the Premiership, Spurs into Europe, or even putting Rangers back on the top of the tree, FM2005 could be the best purchase you ever made. Just be warned that the family might not see you much at Christmas.Football Manager 2005 out now for the PC and the Mac

Indeed, it seems like there has been a CM game for as many years as there have been PCs.Eidos announced the next CM game, with a new team to develop it from scratch, whilst SI developed the existing code further to be released, with new publishers Sega, under the name Football Manager.But given that Football Manager 2005 is by and large the game that everybody knows and loves, how does this new version shape up?SI kept the game's code and database, and Eidos retained rights to the CM brand, and the look and feel of the game.A game like FM2005 could blind you with statistics.But that does not do justice to the game really.With so many calculations to perform the game can take some time to process in between matches, though there have been improvements in this area.Well, Football Manager is the spiritual successor to the CM series, and it has been released earlier than expected.What we are talking about is the most realistic and satisfying football management game to ever grace the Earth.If you are new to the genre but like the idea of trying to take Margate into the Premiership, Spurs into Europe, or even putting Rangers back on the top of the tree, FM2005 could be the best purchase you ever made.If you were a fan of the previous CM games, then FM2005 might make you forget there was anything else before it.At this point CM5 looks like it will ship early next year.In fact just about every area of the game has been tweaked, and it leads to an ever more immersive experience.For the past decade or so the virtual football fans among us will have become used to the annual helping of Championship Manager (CM).Football Manager 2005 out now for the PC and the MacHowever, last year was the final time that developers Sports Interactive (SI) and publishers Eidos would work together.

Apple sues to stop product leaksComputer firm Apple has issued a lawsuit to prevent online leaks of information about future products.The lawsuit, against an unidentified individual, comes just weeks before the MacWorld conference in San Francisco, used to showcase new products. The complaint said an "unidentified individual... has recently misappropriated and disseminated confidential information". The lawsuit was filed with the Santa Clara California Superior Court. Apple is famously secretive about its future product launches while Apple users are equally famous for speculating about new technology from the company. Fans have speculated in recent weeks about the possibility of a new type of iPod being announced at the MacWorld conference.Apple said in the seven-page complaint, filed on 13 December, that it did not know the "true names or capacities, whether individual, associate, corporate or otherwise," of the defendants. The company said it would amend the complaint once they had discovered the names of those who had allegedly leaked information. It is not the first time Apple has sued people who have posted information about future products on the internet. In December 2002, Apple sued a former contractor who allegedly posted online drawings, images and engineering details of the company's PowerMac G4 computer. In a statement, Apple said of the current lawsuit: "Apple has filed a civil complaint against unnamed individuals who we believe stole our trade secrets and posted detailed information about an unannounced Apple product on the internet."

In a statement, Apple said of the current lawsuit: "Apple has filed a civil complaint against unnamed individuals who we believe stole our trade secrets and posted detailed information about an unannounced Apple product on the internet."Computer firm Apple has issued a lawsuit to prevent online leaks of information about future products.It is not the first time Apple has sued people who have posted information about future products on the internet.The complaint said an "unidentified individual... has recently misappropriated and disseminated confidential information".Apple said in the seven-page complaint, filed on 13 December, that it did not know the "true names or capacities, whether individual, associate, corporate or otherwise," of the defendants.

Napster offers rented music to goMusic downloading, for those that have rejected the free peer to peer services, can be a costly business.The cost of paying even as little as 70p per track can add up, particularly for those people who own one of the new generation of players that can store thousands of songs. Paying per track for music is becoming as outmoded as paying per minute for internet access and alternative monthly or yearly subscription models are springing up as a more convenient, and ultimately cheaper way of owning music."Music fans are moving away from buying the traditional bundled package of a dozen or more songs that we used to call an album to newer ways that fit their lifestyle; either single tracks or subscriptions services," said Paul Myers, chief executive of Wippit, a UK-based music download service. While iTunes is doing good business with its sales of individual tracks to iPod owners, others are questioning whether the concept of owning music is even valid in the digital age. Napster is due to launch a new rental subscription service - dubbed Napster to Go in the UK in the next few months. The service can be used on players that support Microsoft Windows latest Digital Rights Management technology known as Janus. This includes players made by Samsung, Rio and Creative.Currently on offer in beta-version in the US, the service costs $15 per month for unlimited downloads. The technology ensures that music downloaded to the player only remains playable while the user subscribes to the service. Users need to update their license on a monthly basis or the tunes will no longer play.This has outraged some digital music lovers, especially as Napster already offers a cheaper service for downloading music to the PC. Napster claims the higher price is a result of record labels charging more for the to-go service and says it also offers "greater value" for customers. Mr Myers is not convinced a rental model will work for consumers. "We've been offering our unlimited music subscription service for more than three years now and our customers know what they want. Format interoperability, excellent value and the reassurance that music purchased from Wippit is theirs to keep and enjoy on whatever device they choose," he said. "Who wants to download a track that won't play next month if you decide to unsubscribe to the service or change portable player for an iPod or the latest mobile phone?" Wippit offers a download subscription service for £4.99 per month or £50 per year. It has a catalogue of around 60,000 songs.

This has outraged some digital music lovers, especially as Napster already offers a cheaper service for downloading music to the PC.Wippit offers a download subscription service for £4.99 per month or £50 per year.Paying per track for music is becoming as outmoded as paying per minute for internet access and alternative monthly or yearly subscription models are springing up as a more convenient, and ultimately cheaper way of owning music."Music fans are moving away from buying the traditional bundled package of a dozen or more songs that we used to call an album to newer ways that fit their lifestyle; either single tracks or subscriptions services," said Paul Myers, chief executive of Wippit, a UK-based music download service.The technology ensures that music downloaded to the player only remains playable while the user subscribes to the service."We've been offering our unlimited music subscription service for more than three years now and our customers know what they want."Who wants to download a track that won't play next month if you decide to unsubscribe to the service or change portable player for an iPod or the latest mobile phone?"Currently on offer in beta-version in the US, the service costs $15 per month for unlimited downloads.

Halo 2 sells five million copiesMicrosoft is celebrating bumper sales of its Xbox sci-fi shooter, Halo 2.The game has sold more than five million copies worldwide since it went on sale in mid-November, the company said. Halo 2 has proved popular online, with gamers notching up a record 28 million hours playing the game on Xbox Live. According to Microsoft, nine out of 10 Xbox Live members have played the game for an average of 91 minutes per session.The sequel to the best-selling Need for Speed: Underground has inched ahead of the competition to take the top slot in the official UK games charts. The racing game moved up one spot to first place, nudging GTA: San Andreas down to second place. Halo 2 dropped one place to five, while Half-Life 2 fell to number nine. Last week's new releases, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent and Killzone, both failed to make it into the top 10, debuting at number 11 and 12 respectively.Record numbers of Warcraft fans are settling in the games online world. On the opening day of the World of Warcraft massive multi-player online game more than 200,000 players signed up to play. On the evening of the first day more than 100,000 players were in the world, forcing Blizzard to add another 34 servers to cope with the influx. The online game turns the stand alone Warcraft games into a persistent world that players can inhabit not just visitEurope's gamers could be waiting until January to hear when they can get their mitts on Nintendo's handheld device, Nintendo DS, says gamesindustry.biz. David Yarnton, Nintendo UK general manager, told a press conference to look out for details in the New Year. Its US launch was on Sunday and it goes on sale in Japan on 2 December. Nintendo has a 95% share of the handheld gaming market and said it expected to sell around five million of the DS by March 2005.

Record numbers of Warcraft fans are settling in the games online world.Halo 2 has proved popular online, with gamers notching up a record 28 million hours playing the game on Xbox Live.The online game turns the stand alone Warcraft games into a persistent world that players can inhabit not just visit Europe's gamers could be waiting until January to hear when they can get their mitts on Nintendo's handheld device, Nintendo DS, says gamesindustry.biz.On the opening day of the World of Warcraft massive multi-player online game more than 200,000 players signed up to play.The game has sold more than five million copies worldwide since it went on sale in mid-November, the company said.According to Microsoft, nine out of 10 Xbox Live members have played the game for an average of 91 minutes per session.

When technology gets personalIn 2020, whipping out your mobile phone to make a call will be quaintly passé. By then phones will be printed directly on to wrists, or other parts of the body, says Ian Pearson, BT's resident futurologist.It's all part of what's known as a "pervasive ambient world", where "chips are everywhere". Mr Pearson does not have a crystal ball. His job is to formulate ideas based on what science and technology are doing now, to guide industries into the future. Inanimate objects will start to interact with us: we will be surrounded - on streets, in homes, in appliances, on our bodies and possibly in our heads - by things that "think". Forget local area networks - these will be body area networks. Ideas about just how smart, small, or even invisible, technology will get are always floating around. Images of devices clumsily bolted on to heads or wrists have pervaded thinking about future technology. But now a new vision is surfacing, where smart fabrics and textiles will be exploited to enhance functionality, form, or aesthetics. Such materials are already starting to change how gadgets and electronics are used and designed.So MP3 players - the mass gadget of the moment - will disappear and instead become integrated into one's clothing, says Mr Pearson. "So the gadgets that fill up your handbag, when we integrate those into fabric, we can actually get rid of all that stuff. You won't necessarily see the electronics." Wearable technology could exploit body heat to charge it up, while "video tattoos", or intelligent electronic contact lenses, might function as TV screens for those on the move. However, this future of highly personal devices, where technology is worn, or even fuses with the body itself, raises ethical questions. If technology is going to be increasingly part of clothing, jewellery, and skin, there needs to be some serious thinking about what it means for us as humans, says Baroness Susan Greenfield. At a recent conference for technology, engineering, academic and fashion industry experts, at the Royal Society in London, neuroscientist Baroness Greenfield cautioned we "can't just sleepwalk into the future".Yet this technology is already upon us. Researchers have developed computers and sensors worn in clothing. MP3 jackets, based on the idea that electrically conductive fabric can connect to keyboard sewn into sleeves, have already appeared in shops.These "smart fabrics" have come about through advances in nano- and micro-engineering - the ability to manipulate and exploit materials at micro or molecular scale. At the nanoscale, materials can be "tuned" to display unusual properties that can be exploited to build faster, lighter, stronger and more efficient devices and systems. The textile and clothing industry has been one of the first to exploit nanotechnology in quite straightforward ways. Many developments are appearing in real products in the fields of medicine, defence, healthcare, sports, and communications. Professional swimming suits reduce drag by incorporating tiny structures similar to shark skin. Nanoscale titanium dioxide (TiO2) coatings give fabrics antibacterial and anti-odour properties. These have special properties which can be activated in contact with the air or UV light. Such coatings have already been used to stop socks smelling for instance, to turn airline seats into super stain-resistant surfaces, and applied to windows so they clean themselves. Dressings for wounds can now incorporate nanoparticles with biocidal properties and smart patches are being developed to deliver drugs through the skin. But Baroness Greenfield is concerned about how far this more personal contact with technology might affect our very being. If our clothing, skin, and "personal body networks" do the talking and the monitoring, everywhere we go, we have to think about what that means for our concept of privacy. Mr Pearson picks up the theme, pointing out there are a lot of issues humans have to iron out before we become "cyborgian". His main concern is "privacy". "We are looking at electronics which are really in deep contact with your body and a lot of that information you really don't want every passer-by to know. "So we have to make sure we build security in this. If you are wearing smart make-up, where electronics are controlling the appearance, you don't want people hacking in and writing messages on your forehead." As technology infiltrates our biology, how will our brains function differently? "We cannot arrogantly assume that the human brain will not change with this," warns Baroness Greenfield. There have already been successful experiments to grow human nerve cells on circuit boards. This paves the way for brain implants to help paralysed people interface directly with computers. Clearly, the organic, carbon of our bodies and silicon is increasingly merging. The cyborg - a very familiar part-human, part-inorganic science fiction and academic idea - is on its way.

If technology is going to be increasingly part of clothing, jewellery, and skin, there needs to be some serious thinking about what it means for us as humans, says Baroness Susan Greenfield.If our clothing, skin, and "personal body networks" do the talking and the monitoring, everywhere we go, we have to think about what that means for our concept of privacy.But Baroness Greenfield is concerned about how far this more personal contact with technology might affect our very being.However, this future of highly personal devices, where technology is worn, or even fuses with the body itself, raises ethical questions.Yet this technology is already upon us.His job is to formulate ideas based on what science and technology are doing now, to guide industries into the future.Wearable technology could exploit body heat to charge it up, while "video tattoos", or intelligent electronic contact lenses, might function as TV screens for those on the move.Such materials are already starting to change how gadgets and electronics are used and designed.At a recent conference for technology, engineering, academic and fashion industry experts, at the Royal Society in London, neuroscientist Baroness Greenfield cautioned we "can't just sleepwalk into the future".Ideas about just how smart, small, or even invisible, technology will get are always floating around.As technology infiltrates our biology, how will our brains function differently?So MP3 players - the mass gadget of the moment - will disappear and instead become integrated into one's clothing, says Mr Pearson.By then phones will be printed directly on to wrists, or other parts of the body, says Ian Pearson, BT's resident futurologist."We are looking at electronics which are really in deep contact with your body and a lot of that information you really don't want every passer-by to know.Images of devices clumsily bolted on to heads or wrists have pervaded thinking about future technology."We cannot arrogantly assume that the human brain will not change with this," warns Baroness Greenfield.MP3 jackets, based on the idea that electrically conductive fabric can connect to keyboard sewn into sleeves, have already appeared in shops.

Sony PSP console hits US in MarchUS gamers will be able to buy Sony's PlayStation Portable from 24 March, but there is no news of a Europe debut.The handheld console will go on sale for $250 (£132) and the first million sold will come with Spider-Man 2 on UMD, the disc format for the machine. Sony has billed the machine as the Walkman of the 21st Century and has sold more than 800,000 units in Japan. The console (12cm by 7.4cm) will play games, movies and music and also offers support for wireless gaming. Sony is entering a market which has been dominated by Nintendo for many years.It launched its DS handheld in Japan and the US last year and has sold 2.8 million units. Sony has said it wanted to launch the PSP in Europe at roughly the same time as the US, but gamers will now fear that the launch has been put back. Nintendo has said it will release the DS in Europe from 11 March. "It has gaming at its core, but it's not a gaming device. It's an entertainment device," said Kaz Hirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America.

Sony has billed the machine as the Walkman of the 21st Century and has sold more than 800,000 units in Japan.Sony has said it wanted to launch the PSP in Europe at roughly the same time as the US, but gamers will now fear that the launch has been put back.Nintendo has said it will release the DS in Europe from 11 March.It launched its DS handheld in Japan and the US last year and has sold 2.8 million units.

BBC web search aids odd queriesThe BBC's online search engine was used a record amount in 2004, helping with enquires both simple and strange.More than 277 million enquiries were made, asking for informaton of a wide range of subjects. The most requested search terms of 2004 included games, EastEnders, CBBC, John Peel, Harry Potter and Olympics. But there were many strange enquiries, including: what is a dog?, how do you say basketball? and what is the biggest collection of naval fluff? The search engine works by matching key words typed in to different web pages but many people still type in natural language questions. Here are some of the strangest queries of 2004 - spelling and grammar errors left untouched - and their possible solutions: - How to fold a serviette like an elf's boot? - How do I structure a French letter? - What is better one long vacation each year or several short vacations throughout the year? - What is so special about the Swiss? - What are the contemporary issue in nurses? - What is the number 4 in this number 40052308090? - What is up? - What is the name of James Martin's dog? Search engines are key to the way people use the internet. Companies such as Google have become of paramount importance as they dictate how people travel through websites while online.

Search engines are key to the way people use the internet.The search engine works by matching key words typed in to different web pages but many people still type in natural language questions.The BBC's online search engine was used a record amount in 2004, helping with enquires both simple and strange.But there were many strange enquiries, including: what is a dog?, how do you say basketball?Companies such as Google have become of paramount importance as they dictate how people travel through websites while online.The most requested search terms of 2004 included games, EastEnders, CBBC, John Peel, Harry Potter and Olympics.- What is the name of James Martin's dog?

Apple iPod family expands marketApple has expanded its iPod family with the release of its next generation of the digital music players.Its latest challenges to the growing digital music gadget market include an iPod mini model which can hold 6GB compared to a previous 4GB. The company, which hopes to keep its dominant place in the digital music market, also said the gold coloured version of the mini would be dropped. A 30GB version has also been added to the iPod Photo family. The latest models have a longer battery life and their prices have been cut by an average of £40. The original iPod took an early lead in the digital music player market thanks to its large storage capacity and simple design.During 2004 about 25 million portable players were sold, 10 million of which were Apple iPods. But analysts agree that the success is also down to its integration with the iTunes online store, which has given the company a 70% share of the legal download music market. Mike McGuire, a research director at analyst Gartner, told the BBC News website that Apple had done a good job in "sealing off the market from competition" so far. "They have created a very seamless package which I think is the idea of the product - the design, function and the software are very impressive," he said. He added that the threat from others was always present, however. "Creative, other Microsoft-partnered devices, Real, Sony and so on, are ratcheting up the marketing message and advertising," he said. Creative was very upbeat about how many of its Creative Zen players it had shipped by the end of last year, he said. Its second-generation models, like the Creative Zen Micro Photo, is due out in the summer. It will have 5GB of memory on board.Digital music players are now the gadget of choice among young Americans, according to recent research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. One in 10 US adults - 22 million people - now owns a digital music player of some sort. Sales of legally downloaded songs also rose more than tenfold in 2004, according to the record industry, with 200 million tracks bought online in the US and Europe in 12 months. The IFPI industry body said that the popularity of portable music players was behind the growth. Analysts say that the ease of use and growth of music services available on the net will continue to drive the trend towards portable music players.People are also starting to use them in novel ways. Some are combining automatic syncing functions many of them have with other net functions to automatically distribute DIY radio shows, called podcasts. But 2005 will also see more competition from mobile phone operators who are keen to offer streaming services on much more powerful and sophisticated handsets. According to Mr McGuire, research suggests that people like the idea of building up huge libraries of music, which they can do with high-capacity storage devices, like iPods and Creative Zens. Mobiles do not yet have this capacity though, and there are issues about the ease of portability of mobile music. Mr McGuire said Apple was ensuring it kept a foot in the mobile music door with its recent deal with Motorola to produce a version of iTunes for Motorola phones.

The IFPI industry body said that the popularity of portable music players was behind the growth.The company, which hopes to keep its dominant place in the digital music market, also said the gold coloured version of the mini would be dropped.Its latest challenges to the growing digital music gadget market include an iPod mini model which can hold 6GB compared to a previous 4GB.One in 10 US adults - 22 million people - now owns a digital music player of some sort.The original iPod took an early lead in the digital music player market thanks to its large storage capacity and simple design.Apple has expanded its iPod family with the release of its next generation of the digital music players.A 30GB version has also been added to the iPod Photo family.Analysts say that the ease of use and growth of music services available on the net will continue to drive the trend towards portable music players.Mr McGuire said Apple was ensuring it kept a foot in the mobile music door with its recent deal with Motorola to produce a version of iTunes for Motorola phones.According to Mr McGuire, research suggests that people like the idea of building up huge libraries of music, which they can do with high-capacity storage devices, like iPods and Creative Zens.Digital music players are now the gadget of choice among young Americans, according to recent research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Attack prompts Bush site blockThe official re-election site of President George W Bush is blocking visits from overseas users for "security reasons".The blocking began early on Monday so those outside the US and trying to view the site got a message saying they are not authorised to view it. But keen net users have shown that the policy is not being very effective. Many have found that the site can still be viewed by overseas browsers via several alternative net addresses.The policy of trying to stop overseas visitors viewing the site is thought to have been adopted in response to an attack on the georgewbush.com website. Scott Stanzel, a spokesman for the Bush-Cheney campaign said: "The measure was taken for security reasons." He declined to elaborate any further on the blocking policy. The barring of non-US visitors has led to the campaign being inundated with calls and forced it to make a statement about why the blocking was taking place. In early October a so-called "denial of service" attack was mounted on the site that bombarded it with data from thousands of PCs. The attack made the site unusable for about five hours.About the same time the web team of the Bush-Cheney campaign started using the services of a company called Akamai that helps websites deal with the ebbs and flows of visitor traffic. Akamai uses a web-based tool called EdgeScape that lets its customers work out where visitors are based. Typically this tool is used to ensure that webpages, video and images load quickly but it can also be used to block traffic. Geographic blocking works because the numerical addresses that the net uses to organise itself are handed out on a regional basis. Readers of the Boingboing weblog have found that viewers can still get at the site by using alternative forms of the George W Bush domain name. Ironically one of the working alternatives is for a supposedly more secure version of the site. There are now at least three working alternative domains for the Bush-Cheney campaign that let web users outside the US visit the site. The site can also be seen using anonymous proxy services that are based in the US. Some web users in Canada also report that they can browse the site.The international exclusion zone around georgewbush.com was spotted by net monitoring firm Netcraft which keeps an eye on traffic patterns across many different sites.Netcraft said that since the early hours of 25 October attempts to view the site through its monitoring stations in London, Amsterdam and Sydney have failed. By contrast Netcraft's four monitoring stations in the US managed to view the site with no problems. Data gathered by Netcraft on the pattern of traffic to the site shows that the blocking is not the result of another denial of service attack. Mike Prettejohn, Netcraft president, speculated that the blocking decision might have been taken to cut costs, and traffic, in the run-up to the election on 2 November. He said the site may see no reason to distribute content to people who will not be voting next week. Managing traffic could also be a good way to ensure that the site stays working in the closing days of the election campaign. However, simply blocking non-US visitors also means that Americans overseas are barred too. Most American soldiers stationed overseas will be able to see the site as they use the US military's own portion of the net. Akamai declined to comment, saying it could not talk about customer websites.

There are now at least three working alternative domains for the Bush-Cheney campaign that let web users outside the US visit the site.Data gathered by Netcraft on the pattern of traffic to the site shows that the blocking is not the result of another denial of service attack.The official re-election site of President George W Bush is blocking visits from overseas users for "security reasons".The site can also be seen using anonymous proxy services that are based in the US.The blocking began early on Monday so those outside the US and trying to view the site got a message saying they are not authorised to view it.Some web users in Canada also report that they can browse the site.Managing traffic could also be a good way to ensure that the site stays working in the closing days of the election campaign.The policy of trying to stop overseas visitors viewing the site is thought to have been adopted in response to an attack on the georgewbush.com website.Most American soldiers stationed overseas will be able to see the site as they use the US military's own portion of the net.Many have found that the site can still be viewed by overseas browsers via several alternative net addresses.By contrast Netcraft's four monitoring stations in the US managed to view the site with no problems.In early October a so-called "denial of service" attack was mounted on the site that bombarded it with data from thousands of PCs.

Games firms 'face tough future'UK video game firms face a testing time as they prepare for the next round of games consoles, the industry warns.Fred Hasson, head of Tiga, which represents independent developers, said that more UK firms would go under due to greater risks in making new titles. Three leading UK video game companies also predicted that more firms would close as they struggled to adapt. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are expected to release new consoles in the next 18 months. Microsoft has said repeatedly that it wants to be first to the market and some analysts predict that Xbox 2 will be released in the US before the end of 2005.The new machines will all have much greater processing and graphical power which will have a huge impact on development of next generation games. Mr Hasson said: "In the last four years we have probably lost a third of independent developers." He said there were about 150 independent developers left in the industry and more were likely to close. "Once the cull has finished its likely to present those still standing with great opportunities," he said.Mr Hasson said the industry was predicting that developments costs and teams were likely to need to double in order to cope with the demands of the new machines. That figure was endorsed by three independent companies contacted by the BBC News website - Codemasters, Climax and Rebellion."As consoles get more powerful, the content gets more detailed and that means more cost," said Gary Dunn, development director at Codemasters, which develops games in house and also publishes titles. Jason Kingsley, chief executive of Rebellion, said the transition from the current generation of consoles to the new machines was difficult because "the production quality expected by consumers will be that much bigger". He added: "We have been through five technology transitions and survived so far. "Each one has involved the death of some people. All companies said they were investing in new tools - called middleware - in order to try and avoid staff numbers spiralling out of control.Simon Gardner, president of Climax's Action studio, said: "We are investing in superior tools and editors. We are investing upfront to generate this content without the need for huge teams. "It's vital we avoid huge teams." He said Climax was already directing about 20% of its resources to preparation for next generation titles. Mr Dunn warned that companies could face a short supply of programming, development and artistic talent. "If companies are hiring bigger and bigger teams, at some point the talent is going to run out." Mr Hasson said games developers were beginning to realise that they had to be more "business-like". "There are still some developers who were involved in games from the bedroom coding days. "Some of them are still making games for peer group approval - that has to stop."

Mr Hasson said games developers were beginning to realise that they had to be more "business-like".Mr Hasson said the industry was predicting that developments costs and teams were likely to need to double in order to cope with the demands of the new machines.Jason Kingsley, chief executive of Rebellion, said the transition from the current generation of consoles to the new machines was difficult because "the production quality expected by consumers will be that much bigger".He said there were about 150 independent developers left in the industry and more were likely to close.Fred Hasson, head of Tiga, which represents independent developers, said that more UK firms would go under due to greater risks in making new titles.All companies said they were investing in new tools - called middleware - in order to try and avoid staff numbers spiralling out of control.He said Climax was already directing about 20% of its resources to preparation for next generation titles."As consoles get more powerful, the content gets more detailed and that means more cost," said Gary Dunn, development director at Codemasters, which develops games in house and also publishes titles."Once the cull has finished its likely to present those still standing with great opportunities," he said.Mr Hasson said: "In the last four years we have probably lost a third of independent developers."

Fast moving phone bugs appearSecurity firms are warning about several mobile phone viruses that can spread much faster than similar bugs.The new strains of the Cabir mobile phone virus use short-range radio technology to leap to any vulnerable phone as soon as it is in range. The Cabir virus only affects high-end handsets running the Symbian Series 60 phone operating system. Despite the warnings, there are so far no reports of any phones being infected by the new variants of Cabir.The original Cabir worm came to light in mid-June 2004 when it was sent to anti-virus firms as a proof-of-concept program. A mistake in the way the original Cabir was written meant that even if it escaped from the laboratory, the bug would only have been able to infect one phone at a time.However, the new Cabir strains have this mistake corrected and will spread via short range Bluetooth technology to any vulnerable phone in range. Bluetooth has an effective range of a few tens of metres. The risk of being infected by Cabir is low because users must give the malicious program permission to download on to their handset and then must manually install it. Users can protect themselves by altering a setting on Symbian phones that conceals the handset from other Bluetooth using devices. Finnish security firm F-Secure issued a warning about the new strains of Cabir but said that the viruses do not do any damage to a phone. All they do is block normal Bluetooth activity and drain the phone's battery. Anti-virus firm Sophos said the source code for Cabir had been posted on the net by a Brazilian programmer which might lead to even more variants of the program being created. So far seven versions of Cabir are know to exist, one of which was inside the malicious Skulls program that was found in late November. Symbian's Series 60 software is licenced by Nokia, LG Electronics, Lenovo, Panasonic, Samsung, Sendo and Siemens.

The new strains of the Cabir mobile phone virus use short-range radio technology to leap to any vulnerable phone as soon as it is in range.However, the new Cabir strains have this mistake corrected and will spread via short range Bluetooth technology to any vulnerable phone in range.Finnish security firm F-Secure issued a warning about the new strains of Cabir but said that the viruses do not do any damage to a phone.The Cabir virus only affects high-end handsets running the Symbian Series 60 phone operating system.Despite the warnings, there are so far no reports of any phones being infected by the new variants of Cabir.A mistake in the way the original Cabir was written meant that even if it escaped from the laboratory, the bug would only have been able to infect one phone at a time.

New browser wins over net surfersThe proportion of surfers using Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) has dropped to below 90%, say web analysts.Net traffic monitor, OneStat.com, has reported that the open-source browser Firefox 1.0, released on 9 November, seems to be drawing users away from IE. While IE's market share has dropped 5% since May to 88.9%, Mozilla browsers - including Firefox - have grown by 5%. Firefox is made by the Mozilla Foundation which was set up by former browser maker Netscape in 1998. Although there have been other preview versions of Firefox, version 1.0 was the first complete official program. "It seems that people are switching from Microsoft's Internet Explorer to Mozilla's new Firefox browser," said Niels Brinkman, co-founder of Amsterdam-based OneStat.com.Mozilla browsers - including Firefox 1.0 - now have 7.4% of the market share, the figures suggest. Mozilla said that more than five million have downloaded the free software since its official release. Supporters of the open-source software in the US managed to raise $250,000 (£133,000) to advertise the release of Firefox 1.0 in The New York Times, and support the Mozilla Foundation. There was a flurry of downloads on its first day of release.The figures echo similar research from net analyst WebSideStory which suggested that IE had 92.9% of users in October compared to 95.5% in June. Microsoft IE has dominated the browser market for some time after taking the crown from Netscape, and its share of users has always stayed at around the 95% mark. Firefox is attractive to many because it is open-source. That means people are free to adapt the software's core code to create other innovative features, like add-ons or extensions to the program. Fewer security holes have also been discovered so far in Firefox than in IE. Paul Randle, Microsoft Windows Client product manager, responded to the figures: "We certainly respect that some customers will choose alternative browsers and that choosing a browser is about more than a handful of features. "Microsoft continues to make significant investments in IE, including Service Pack 2 with advanced security technologies, and continues to encourage a vibrant ecosystem of third party add-ons for Internet Explorer." Firefox wants to capture 10% of the market by the end of 2005. Other browser software, like Opera and Apple's Safari, are also challenging Microsoft's grip on the browser market. Opera is set to release its version 7.60 by the end of the year. OneStat.com compiled the statistical measurements from two million net users in 100 countries.

Mozilla browsers - including Firefox 1.0 - now have 7.4% of the market share, the figures suggest.While IE's market share has dropped 5% since May to 88.9%, Mozilla browsers - including Firefox - have grown by 5%.Net traffic monitor, OneStat.com, has reported that the open-source browser Firefox 1.0, released on 9 November, seems to be drawing users away from IE.Firefox is made by the Mozilla Foundation which was set up by former browser maker Netscape in 1998."It seems that people are switching from Microsoft's Internet Explorer to Mozilla's new Firefox browser," said Niels Brinkman, co-founder of Amsterdam-based OneStat.com.Microsoft IE has dominated the browser market for some time after taking the crown from Netscape, and its share of users has always stayed at around the 95% mark.Other browser software, like Opera and Apple's Safari, are also challenging Microsoft's grip on the browser market.Firefox wants to capture 10% of the market by the end of 2005.Supporters of the open-source software in the US managed to raise $250,000 (£133,000) to advertise the release of Firefox 1.0 in The New York Times, and support the Mozilla Foundation.

Gadgets galore on show at fairThe 2005 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is a geek's paradise with more than 50,000 new gadgets and technologies launched during the four-day event.Top gadgets at the show are highlighted in the Innovations Showcase, which recognises some of the hottest developments in consumer electronics. The BBC News website took an early pre-show look at some of those technologies that will be making their debut in 2005. One of the key issues for keen gadget users is how to store all their digital images, audio and video files. The 2.5GB and 5GB circular pocket hard drive from Seagate might help. The external USB drive won a CES best innovations design and engineering award and is small enough to slip into a pocket. "It is the kind of storage that appeals to people who want their PCs to look cool," said Seagate. "It is all about style but it also has lots of functionality." "It is the first time you can say a hard drive is sexy," it said. In the centre of the device is a blue light that flashes while data is being written to ensure users do not unplug it when it is busy saving those precious pictures. Universal Electronics' NevoSL is a universal controller that lets people use one device to get at their multimedia content, such as photos, no matter where it is in their house. It can also act as a remote for home theatre and stereo systems. Working with home broadband networks and PCs, the gadget has built-in wireless and a colourful, simple interface. Paul Arling, UEI chief, said consumers face real problems when trying to get at all the files they own that are typically spread across several different devices. He said the Nevo gave people a simple, single way to regain some control over digital media in the home. The Nevo won two awards at CES, one as a Girl's Best Friend award and another for innovation, design and engineering. The gadget is expected to go on sale before the summer and will cost about $799 (£425). Hotseat is targeting keen gamers with money to spend with its Solo Chassis gaming chair. The specially-designed chair lets gamers play in surround-sound while stretching out in their own "space". It is compatible with all the major games consoles, DVD players and PCs. "We found that kids love playing in surround sound," said Jay LeBoff from Hotseat. "We are looking at offering different types of seats, depending on the market success of this one." The chair also lets people experience surround sound while watching videos, with wireless control for six surround sound speakers. And a drinks holder. The chair, which looks like a car seat on a skeletal frame, should go on sale in April and is expected to cost $399 (£211). Satellite radio is big business in the US. In the UK, the digital radio technology is known as DAB and works on slightly different technology. Eton Corporation's Porsche designed P7131 digital radio set will be launched both as a DAB radio in the UK as well as a satellite radio set in the US. DAB sets have been slow to take-off in the UK, but this one concentrates on sleek looks as much as technology. "It is for the risqué consumer," said an Eton spokesperson. "We are proud of it because it has the sound quality for the audiophile and the looks for the design-conscious consumer." The Porsche radio is set to go on sale at the end of January in the US and in the first quarter of 2005 in the UK. In the US is it expected to cost $250 (£133). The average person has a library of 600 digital images estimates the Consumer Electronics Association, the organisation behind CES. This is expected to grow to a massive 3,420 images - or 7.2GB - in five years' time. One gadget that might help swell that collection is Sanyo's tiny handheld VPC-C4 camcorder which is another innovation in design and engineering award winner. It combines high quality video and stills in a very small device. It takes MPEG4 video quality at 30 frames a second and has a four megapixel still camera. Images and video are stored on SD cards, which have come down in price in recent months. A 512MB card will store about 30 minutes of video and 420 stills. The device is so tiny it can be controlled with one thumb. Because images and video are stored on SD memory, it is portable to other devices and means other data like audio can be stored on the card too. Wearable technology has always promised much but failed to deliver because of lack of storage capability and poor design. MPIO's tiny digital USB music players come in an array of fashionable colours, taking a leaf out of the Apple iPod mini book of design and reflecting the desire for gadgets that look good. Slung on a cord, the player would not look too geeky dangling discreetly from the neck. Although the pendant design was launched three months ago, the device emphasises large storage as well as good looks for fashion-conscious gadget fiends. An even dinkier model, the FY500, comes out in May and will store about 256MB of music. The range of players recently won an International Forum design award 2005.

One of the key issues for keen gadget users is how to store all their digital images, audio and video files.MPIO's tiny digital USB music players come in an array of fashionable colours, taking a leaf out of the Apple iPod mini book of design and reflecting the desire for gadgets that look good."We are proud of it because it has the sound quality for the audiophile and the looks for the design-conscious consumer."DAB sets have been slow to take-off in the UK, but this one concentrates on sleek looks as much as technology.One gadget that might help swell that collection is Sanyo's tiny handheld VPC-C4 camcorder which is another innovation in design and engineering award winner.The chair, which looks like a car seat on a skeletal frame, should go on sale in April and is expected to cost $399 (£211).Although the pendant design was launched three months ago, the device emphasises large storage as well as good looks for fashion-conscious gadget fiends.The gadget is expected to go on sale before the summer and will cost about $799 (£425).The Nevo won two awards at CES, one as a Girl's Best Friend award and another for innovation, design and engineering.In the UK, the digital radio technology is known as DAB and works on slightly different technology.Eton Corporation's Porsche designed P7131 digital radio set will be launched both as a DAB radio in the UK as well as a satellite radio set in the US."It is the kind of storage that appeals to people who want their PCs to look cool," said Seagate.The Porsche radio is set to go on sale at the end of January in the US and in the first quarter of 2005 in the UK.The average person has a library of 600 digital images estimates the Consumer Electronics Association, the organisation behind CES.The 2005 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is a geek's paradise with more than 50,000 new gadgets and technologies launched during the four-day event.Because images and video are stored on SD memory, it is portable to other devices and means other data like audio can be stored on the card too.The external USB drive won a CES best innovations design and engineering award and is small enough to slip into a pocket.Working with home broadband networks and PCs, the gadget has built-in wireless and a colourful, simple interface.It combines high quality video and stills in a very small device.

Mobile multimedia slow to catch onThere is no doubt that mobile phones sporting cameras and colour screens are hugely popular. Consumers swapping old phones for slinkier, dinkier versions are thought to be responsible for a 26% increase in the number of phones sold during the third quarter of 2004, according to analysts Gartner More than 167 million handsets were sold between July and September 2004, a period that, according to Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi is "seldom strong". But although consumers have mobiles that can take and send snaps, sounds and video clips few, so far, are taking the chance to do so.In fact, the numbers of people not taking and sending pictures, audio and video is growing. Figures gathered by Continental Research shows that 36% of British camera phone users have never sent a multimedia message (MMS), up from 7% in 2003. This is despite the fact that, during the same period, the numbers of camera phones in the UK more than doubled to 7.5 million. Getting mobile phone users to send multimedia messages is really important for operators keen to squeeze more cash out of their customers and offset the cost of subsidising the handsets people are buying. The problem they face, said Shailendra Jain, head of MMS firm Adamind, is educating people in how to send the multimedia messages using their funky handsets."Also," he said, "they have to simplify the interface so its not rocket science in terms of someone understanding it." Research bears out the suspicion that people are not sending multimedia messages because they do not know how to. According to Continental Research, 29% of the people it questioned said they were technophobes that tended to shy away from innovation. Only 11% regarded themselves as technically savvy enough to send a picture or video message. The fact that multimedia services are not interoperable across networks and phones only adds to people's reluctance to start sending them, said Mr Jain. "They ask themselves: 'If I'm streaming video from one handset to another will it work?'" he said. "There's a lot of user apprehension about that."There are other deeper technical reasons why multimedia messages are not being pushed as strongly as they might. Andrew Bud, executive chairman of messaging firm Mblox, said mobile phone operators cap the number of messages that can be circulating at any one time for fear of overwhelming the system. "The rate we can send MMS into the mobile network is fairly constant," he said. The reason for this is that there are finite capacities for data traffic on the second generation networks that currently have the most users.No-one wants to take the risk of swamping these relatively narrow channels so the number of MMS messages is capped, said Mr Bud. This has led to operators finding other technologies, particularly one known as Wap-push, to get multimedia to their customers. But when networks do find a good way to get multimedia to their customers, the results can be dramatic. Israeli technology firm Celltick has found a way to broadcast data across phone networks in a way that does not overwhelm existing bandwidth. One of the first firms to use the Celltick service is Hutch India, the largest mobile firm in the country. The broadcast system gets multimedia to customers via a rolling menu far faster than would be possible with other systems. While not multimedia messaging, such a system gets people used to seeing their phones as a device that can handle all different types of content. As a result 40% of the subscribers to the Hutch Alive, which uses Celltick's broadcast technology, regularly click for more pictures, sounds and images from the operator. "Operators really need to start utilising this tool to reach their customers," said Yaron Toren, spokesman for Celltick. Until then, multimedia will be a message that is not getting through.

Getting mobile phone users to send multimedia messages is really important for operators keen to squeeze more cash out of their customers and offset the cost of subsidising the handsets people are buying.The problem they face, said Shailendra Jain, head of MMS firm Adamind, is educating people in how to send the multimedia messages using their funky handsets.Andrew Bud, executive chairman of messaging firm Mblox, said mobile phone operators cap the number of messages that can be circulating at any one time for fear of overwhelming the system.The fact that multimedia services are not interoperable across networks and phones only adds to people's reluctance to start sending them, said Mr Jain.Figures gathered by Continental Research shows that 36% of British camera phone users have never sent a multimedia message (MMS), up from 7% in 2003.Until then, multimedia will be a message that is not getting through.Research bears out the suspicion that people are not sending multimedia messages because they do not know how to."The rate we can send MMS into the mobile network is fairly constant," he said.While not multimedia messaging, such a system gets people used to seeing their phones as a device that can handle all different types of content.he said.But when networks do find a good way to get multimedia to their customers, the results can be dramatic.No-one wants to take the risk of swamping these relatively narrow channels so the number of MMS messages is capped, said Mr Bud.

Spam e-mails tempt net shoppersComputer users across the world continue to ignore security warnings about spam e-mails and are being lured into buying goods, a report suggests.More than a quarter have bought software through spam e-mails and 24% have bought clothes or jewellery. As well as profiting from selling goods or services and driving advertising traffic, organised crime rings can use spam to glean personal information. The Business Software Alliance (BSA) warned that people should "stay alert". "Many online consumers don't consider the true motives of spammers," said Mike Newton, a spokesperson for the BSA which commissioned the survey."By selling software that appears to be legitimate in genuine looking packaging or through sophisticated websites, spammers are hiding spyware without consumers' knowledge. "Once the software is installed on PCs and networks, information that is given over the internet can be obtained and abused."The results also showed that the proportion of people reading - or admitting to reading - and taking advantage of adult entertainment spam e-mails is low, at one in 10. The research, which covered 6,000 people in six countries and their attitudes towards junk e-mails, revealed that Brazilians were the most likely to read spam. A third of them read unsolicited junk e-mail and 66% buy goods or services after receiving spam.The French were the second most likely to buy something (48%), with 44% of Britons taking advantage of products and services. This was despite 38% of people in all countries being worried about their net security because of the amount of spam they get. More than a third of respondents said they were concerned that spam e-mails contained viruses or programs that attempted to collect personal information. "Both industry and the media have helped to raise awareness of the issues that surround illegitimate e-mail, helping to reduce the potential financial damage and nuisance from phishing attacks and spoof websites," said William Plante, director of corporate security and fraud protection at security firm Symantec. "At the same time, consumers need to continue exercising caution and protect themselves from harm with a mixture of spam filters, spyware detection software and sound judgement."

A third of them read unsolicited junk e-mail and 66% buy goods or services after receiving spam.More than a quarter have bought software through spam e-mails and 24% have bought clothes or jewellery.More than a third of respondents said they were concerned that spam e-mails contained viruses or programs that attempted to collect personal information.The results also showed that the proportion of people reading - or admitting to reading - and taking advantage of adult entertainment spam e-mails is low, at one in 10.This was despite 38% of people in all countries being worried about their net security because of the amount of spam they get.The research, which covered 6,000 people in six countries and their attitudes towards junk e-mails, revealed that Brazilians were the most likely to read spam.

Sun offers processing by the hourSun Microsystems has launched a pay-as-you-go service which will allow customers requiring huge computing power to rent it by the hour.Sun Grid costs users $1 (53p) for an hour's worth of processing and storage power on systems maintained by Sun. So-called grid computing is the latest buzz phrase in a company which believes that computing capacity is as important a commodity as hardware and software. Sun likened grid computing to the development of electricity.The system could mature in the same way utilities such as electricity and water have developed, said Sun's chief operating officer Jonathan Schwartz. "Why build your own grid when you can use ours for a buck an hour?" he asked in a webcast launching Sun's quarterly Network Computing event in California. The company will have to persuade data centre managers to adopt a new model but it said it already had interest from customers in the oil, gas and financial services industries.Some of them want to book computing capacity of more than 5,000 processors each, Sun said. Mr Schwartz ran a demonstration of the service, showing how data could be processed in a protein folding experiment. Hundreds of servers were used simultaneously, working on the problem for a few seconds each.Although it only took a few seconds, the experiment cost $12 (£6.30) because it had used up 12 hour's worth of computing power. The Sun Grid relies on Solaris, the operating system owned by Sun. Initially it will house the grid in existing premises and will use idle servers to test software before shipping it to customers. It has not said how much the system will cost to develop but it already has a rival in IBM, which argues that its capacity on-demand service is cheaper than that offered by Sun.

Sun likened grid computing to the development of electricity.Sun Grid costs users $1 (53p) for an hour's worth of processing and storage power on systems maintained by Sun.The Sun Grid relies on Solaris, the operating system owned by Sun.Some of them want to book computing capacity of more than 5,000 processors each, Sun said.Sun Microsystems has launched a pay-as-you-go service which will allow customers requiring huge computing power to rent it by the hour.So-called grid computing is the latest buzz phrase in a company which believes that computing capacity is as important a commodity as hardware and software.

Games win for Blu-ray DVD formatThe next-generation DVD format Blu-ray is winning more supporters than its rival, according to its backers.Blu-ray, backed by 100 firms including Sony, is competing against Toshiba and NEC-backed HD-DVD to be the format of choice for future films and games. The Blu-Ray Association said on Thursday that games giants Electronic Arts and Vivendi would both support its DVD format. The next generation of DVDs will hold high-definition video and sound. This offers incredible 3D-like quality of pictures which major Hollywood studios and games publishers are extremely keen to exploit in the coming year. In a separate press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Toshiba announced that DVD players for its technology would be on the market by the end of 2005."As we move from standard definition video images to high-definition images, we have a much greater need for storage," Richard Doherty, from Panasonic's Hollywood Laboratories, one of the pioneers of Blu-ray, told the BBC news website. "So by utilising blue laser-based technology we can make an optical laser disc that can hold six times as much as today's DVD." A Blu-ray disc will be able to store 50GB of high-quality data, while Toshiba's HD-DVD will hold 30GB. Mr Doherty added that it was making sure the discs could satisfy all high-definition needs, including the ability to record onto the DVDs and smaller discs to fit into camcorders. Both Toshiba and Blu-ray are hopeful that the emerging DVD format war, akin to the Betamax and VHS fight in the 1980s, can be resolved over the next year when next-generation DVD players start to come out. When players do come out, they will be able to play standard DVDs too, which is good news for those who have huge libraries of current DVDs.But the support from Vivendi and Electronics Arts is a big boost to Blu-ray in the battle for supremacy.Gaming is a $20 billion industry worldwide, so is as crucial as the film industry in terms of money to be made. "The technical requirement for game development today demands more advanced optical-disc technologies," said Michael Heilmann, chief technology officer for Vivendi Universal. "Blu-ray offers the capacity, performance and high-speed internet connectivity to take us into the future of gaming." EA, a leading games developer and publisher, added that the delivery of high-definition games of the future was vital and Blu-ray had the capacity, functionality and interactivity needed for the kinds of projects it was planning. Sony recently announced it would be using the technology in its next generation of PlayStations. Mr Doherty said gamers were "ravenous" for high-quality graphics and technology for the next generation of titles. "Gamers, especially those working on PCs, are always focused on more capacity to deliver textures, deeper levels, for delivering higher-resolution playback."He added: "The focus for games moving forward on increased immersion."Gaming companies really like to focus on creating a world which involves creating complicated 3D models and textures and increasing the resolution, increasing the frame rate - all of these are part of getting a more immersive experience." Fitting these models on current DVD technologies means compressing the graphics so much that much of this quality is lost. As games move to more photo-real capability, the current technology is limiting. "They are thrilled at the advanced capacity to start to build these immersive environments," said Mr Doherty. Currently, graphics-intensive PC games also require multiple discs for installation. High-definition DVDs will cut down on that need. Likewise, consoles rely on single discs, so DVDs that can hold six times more data mean much better, high-resolution games. Blu-ray has already won backing from major Hollywood studios, such as MGM Studios, Disney, and Buena Vista, as well as top technology firms like Dell, LG, Samsung and Phillips amongst others. While Toshiba's HD-DVD technology has won backing from Paramount, Universal and Warner Bros. "The real world benefits (of HD-DVD) are apparent and obvious," said Jim Cardwell, president of Warner Home Video. Mr Cardwell added that rapid time to market and dependability were significant factors in choosing to go with HD-DVD. Both formats are courting Microsoft to be the format of choice for the next generation Xbox, but discussions are still on-going. Next generation DVDs will also be able to store images and other data. CES is the largest consumer electronics show in the world, and runs from 6 to 9 January.

The Blu-Ray Association said on Thursday that games giants Electronic Arts and Vivendi would both support its DVD format.Mr Doherty said gamers were "ravenous" for high-quality graphics and technology for the next generation of titles.The next generation of DVDs will hold high-definition video and sound.Both Toshiba and Blu-ray are hopeful that the emerging DVD format war, akin to the Betamax and VHS fight in the 1980s, can be resolved over the next year when next-generation DVD players start to come out.Next generation DVDs will also be able to store images and other data.EA, a leading games developer and publisher, added that the delivery of high-definition games of the future was vital and Blu-ray had the capacity, functionality and interactivity needed for the kinds of projects it was planning.Blu-ray, backed by 100 firms including Sony, is competing against Toshiba and NEC-backed HD-DVD to be the format of choice for future films and games.A Blu-ray disc will be able to store 50GB of high-quality data, while Toshiba's HD-DVD will hold 30GB."So by utilising blue laser-based technology we can make an optical laser disc that can hold six times as much as today's DVD."Sony recently announced it would be using the technology in its next generation of PlayStations.In a separate press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Toshiba announced that DVD players for its technology would be on the market by the end of 2005.Fitting these models on current DVD technologies means compressing the graphics so much that much of this quality is lost.As games move to more photo-real capability, the current technology is limiting.Mr Doherty added that it was making sure the discs could satisfy all high-definition needs, including the ability to record onto the DVDs and smaller discs to fit into camcorders.

PlayStation 3 chip to be unveiledDetails of the chip designed to power Sony's PlayStation 3 console will be released in San Francisco on Monday.Sony, IBM and Toshiba, who have been working on the Cell processor for three years, will unveil the chip at a technology conference. The chip is reported to be up to 10 times faster than current processors. It is being designed for use in graphics workstations, the new PlayStation console, and has been described as a supercomputer on a chip. Sony has said the Cell processor could be used to bridge the gap between movies and video games. Special effects and graphics designed for films could be ported for use directly in a video game, Sony told an audience at the E3 exhibition in Los Angeles last year.Cell could also be marketed as an ideal technology for televisions and supercomputers, and everything in between, said Kevin Krewell, the editor in chief of Microprocessor Report. The chip will be made of several different processing cores that work on tasks together. The PlayStation 3 is expected in 2006 but developers are expecting to get prototypes early next year to tune games that will appear on it at launch. Details of the chip will be released at the International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco. Some details have already emerged, however. When put inside powerful computer servers, the Cell consortium expects it to be capable of handling 16 trillion floating point operations, or calculations, every second.The chip has also been refined to be able to handle the detailed graphics common in games and the data demands of films and broadband media. IBM said it would start producing the chip in early 2005 at manufacturing plants in the US. The first machines off the line using the Cell processor will be computer workstations and servers. A working version of the PS3 is due to be shown off in May 2005 but a full launch of the next generation console is not expected to start until 2006. "In the future, all forms of digital content will be converged and fused onto the broadband network," said Ken Kutaragi, chief operating officer of Sony, said last year. "Current PC architecture is nearing its limits," he added.

Sony, IBM and Toshiba, who have been working on the Cell processor for three years, will unveil the chip at a technology conference.It is being designed for use in graphics workstations, the new PlayStation console, and has been described as a supercomputer on a chip.Details of the chip designed to power Sony's PlayStation 3 console will be released in San Francisco on Monday.Sony has said the Cell processor could be used to bridge the gap between movies and video games.IBM said it would start producing the chip in early 2005 at manufacturing plants in the US.The chip has also been refined to be able to handle the detailed graphics common in games and the data demands of films and broadband media.The chip is reported to be up to 10 times faster than current processors.Details of the chip will be released at the International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco.

Piero gives rugby perspectiveBBC Sport unveils its new analysis tool Piero at the Wales v England rugby union match on Saturday. But what does it do and how does it work?Picture the scene - Wales are camped on the England line in the dying seconds of the Six Nations' opening match. A ball is flung out to winger Shane Williams who crosses to score the winning try for Wales. But the England players are incensed - arguing that the pass was forward and the try should not stand. In the past, sports fans would be left debating the validity of the try for days and weeks to come. But BBC Sport's new tool Piero could end discussions in minutes.Piero, named after the Italian painter and pioneer of perspective Piero della Francesco, creates a virtual stadium in which virtual players can be tracked from almost any angle. Viewers will be able to see precisely how the ball was thrown and by whom, giving a greater depth to the growing wealth of analysis available during sports broadcasts. The technology has been created by BBC Research and Development for BBC Broadcast and BBC Outside Broadcasts. BBC Sport is the first client to start using the system. "In order to keep audiences growing and growing... we need to work closely with people who create technology and innovation to bring sport to life," said Andrew Thompson, the BBC's head of development, new media and sports news. "We want to appeal to core fans - to give them more analysis, more detail, more definitive answers about key passages of play." Piero works by taking telemetric data from fixed camera positions and sending that data inside the video signal to a PC which can then render the information into 3D graphics.The more cameras using Piero, the better the detail possible out the other end when the data is turned into 3D models. "It allows us to tell the story of a passage of play, tracking individual players across the field, looking at tactics," said Andy Townsend, from BBC Broadcast.An operator can manipulate the information and provide almost real-time replays of incidents, as well as more in-depth analysis. The "virtual camera" can focus on virtually any aspect of the pitch, giving viewers an insight into action that the camera normally cannot see. Piero also provides a wealth of statistical detail - from the length of kicks, to the length of a run of an individual player and the height of a lift at any lineout. Mr Townsend said sports performance companies were already showing an interest in the technology. BBC Broadcast hopes the technology can be sold to third parties interested in using it a number of different ways - from sport broadcasting to entertainment and game shows.

BBC Sport unveils its new analysis tool Piero at the Wales v England rugby union match on Saturday.BBC Sport is the first client to start using the system.But BBC Sport's new tool Piero could end discussions in minutes.The more cameras using Piero, the better the detail possible out the other end when the data is turned into 3D models.The technology has been created by BBC Research and Development for BBC Broadcast and BBC Outside Broadcasts.BBC Broadcast hopes the technology can be sold to third parties interested in using it a number of different ways - from sport broadcasting to entertainment and game shows."In order to keep audiences growing and growing... we need to work closely with people who create technology and innovation to bring sport to life," said Andrew Thompson, the BBC's head of development, new media and sports news.Viewers will be able to see precisely how the ball was thrown and by whom, giving a greater depth to the growing wealth of analysis available during sports broadcasts."It allows us to tell the story of a passage of play, tracking individual players across the field, looking at tactics," said Andy Townsend, from BBC Broadcast.

Halo 2 heralds traffic explosionThe growing popularity of online gaming could spell problems for net service firms, warns network monitoring company Sandvine.It issued the warning following analysis which shows that traffic on the Xbox game network increased fourfold on the launch day of Halo 2. The 9 November traffic explosion has continued into December, said Sandvine. Service providers now need to make sure that their networks can cope with the increasing demands for bandwidth. As well as being a popular single-player title, Halo 2 can be connected to Microsoft's subscription-based broadband network, Xbox Live. Gamers who want to play online can create their own clan, or team, and take on others to see how well they compare.But the surge in numbers and huge demands for bandwidth should be a wake-up call to the industry which must ensure that their networks can cope with the increases in traffic, said Sandvine's chief technology officer Marc Morin.In a bid to cope and ease congestion, providers are increasingly making their networks intelligent, finding out who is using bandwidth and for what. It could become common to charge people for the amount of bandwidth they use. "The explosion in Xbox Live traffic attributed to Halo 2 should be seen as a clarion call," he said. "ISPs need to enhance the broadband experience for these high-end users by prioritising or reserving bandwidth for games," he added.One of the main factors that spoils online gaming is "lag" in which there is a noticeable delay between a gamer clicking on a mouse or keyboard and what happens in the online gaming world. Gamers tend to migrate toward networks with the lowest "lag". Analysing traffic will become increasingly important for service providers if they are to hold on to bandwidth-hungry gamers said Lindsay Schroth, an analyst with research firm The Yankee Group. "In the competitive broadband environment, operators need to differentiate the way they offer access to services like live-play gaming," she said. In countries such as Korea, which has high levels of fast net connections to homes, online gaming is hugely popular.

Service providers now need to make sure that their networks can cope with the increasing demands for bandwidth.The growing popularity of online gaming could spell problems for net service firms, warns network monitoring company Sandvine.But the surge in numbers and huge demands for bandwidth should be a wake-up call to the industry which must ensure that their networks can cope with the increases in traffic, said Sandvine's chief technology officer Marc Morin."The explosion in Xbox Live traffic attributed to Halo 2 should be seen as a clarion call," he said.As well as being a popular single-player title, Halo 2 can be connected to Microsoft's subscription-based broadband network, Xbox Live.In a bid to cope and ease congestion, providers are increasingly making their networks intelligent, finding out who is using bandwidth and for what.Analysing traffic will become increasingly important for service providers if they are to hold on to bandwidth-hungry gamers said Lindsay Schroth, an analyst with research firm The Yankee Group.

What's next for next-gen consoles?The next generation of video games consoles are in development but what will the new machines mean for games firms and consumers? We may not know when they will be released, what they will be called or even what they will be able to do but one thing is certain - they are coming. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are all expected to release new machines in the next 18 months. The details of PlayStation 3, Xbox 2 (codename Xenon) and Nintendo's so-called Revolution are still to be finalised but developers are having to work on titles for the new machines regardless."We know maybe what the PS3 will do, but we can only guess," said Rory Armes, studio general manager for video game giant Electronic Arts in Europe. "It's a horrendous effort in the first year," he admitted. Microsoft had delivered development kits to EA, said Mr Armes, but he said the company was still waiting on Sony and Nintendo to send kits. Although the details may not be nailed down, Mr Armes said EA was beginning to get a sense of the capabilities of the new machines. "The rumours are that PlayStation 3 will have a little more under the hood [than Xbox 2]," he said."Microsoft is obviously a software company first and foremost, while Sony has more experience in hardware. I think Sony will be able to push more into a box at cost."What is certain is that the new machines will provide great leaps in processing and graphical power. It is also likely that they will contain convergence technologies to make the machines more of an entertainment hub. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Microsoft boss Bill Gates said Xbox 2 would be part of his vision of the digital lifestyle. While short on detail, he painted a picture of a machine that would complement a PC and offer "great video gaming but video gaming for a broader set of people, more communications, more media, more connectivity". Sony is thought to have a similar vision for PS3 while Nintendo remain focused on a machine purely for games.Until it is clear precisely what the new machines can do, developers are working on a first round of titles to harness the new horsepower. Gary Dunn, development director at Codemasters, said the company had a central technology group which was at the forefront of preparing for the next generation of consoles. "We are working on new libraries of effects. A lot of the major techniques are already out there and in use in PC gaming, such as pixel shaders and normal mapping."Mr Dunn said he expected the introduction of real-world physics to be a major part of the new consoles. "We want to increase that level of immersion and realism in gaming to people can lose themselves in a game." In the first year at least, developers said gamers should not expect games which harness the full potential of the machines. Graphical spit and polish and better physics in line with the capabilities of current high-end graphics cards for PCs should be expected. Simon Gardner, president of Climax's Action Studio, said: "It's definitely an exciting time. We want to give more freedom to the player. We want to give players an emotional connection to the characters they play. "The environments will be much more believable and dramatic, growing and changing as you play. "There will be a breadth of effects, more involving worlds to play in."It's a bit like being an artist and being given a bigger canvas and a smaller brush. We're being given more tools. "For the average consumer, we can get things of a more filmic quality." Gerhard Florin, head of EA in Europe, said gamers should expect titles that blur the line between films and video games. Many will be sceptical - gamers were given similar predictions during the last transition of console hardware - but this time it would seem to be more likely. "PS3 will provide graphics indistinguishable from movies," said Mr Florin. He said the distribution method for games would also change radically in the next round of consoles. "A gamer could buy a starter disc for 10 euros. When he goes home he goes online and he could buy AI and levels as you go."It's much smarter if you can get levels as you go." Mr Armes warned that developers still had to learn how to tell stories effectively in the medium. "In some ways we are trying to forget about the hardware, go in the opposite direction. We have been very bad at letting technology design our creativity. "What we have to do as a company is start ignoring the technology and learning our craft in telling stories." Mr Gardner agreed: "We can thrown more polygons around and have better AI but if it doesn't make for a better game then that's not very useful." Developers will certainly have the tools with the new machines, but how they employ them is still to be decided.

Microsoft had delivered development kits to EA, said Mr Armes, but he said the company was still waiting on Sony and Nintendo to send kits.Although the details may not be nailed down, Mr Armes said EA was beginning to get a sense of the capabilities of the new machines.Mr Dunn said he expected the introduction of real-world physics to be a major part of the new consoles.Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are all expected to release new machines in the next 18 months.Until it is clear precisely what the new machines can do, developers are working on a first round of titles to harness the new horsepower.The next generation of video games consoles are in development but what will the new machines mean for games firms and consumers?In the first year at least, developers said gamers should not expect games which harness the full potential of the machines.He said the distribution method for games would also change radically in the next round of consoles.Gary Dunn, development director at Codemasters, said the company had a central technology group which was at the forefront of preparing for the next generation of consoles.The details of PlayStation 3, Xbox 2 (codename Xenon) and Nintendo's so-called Revolution are still to be finalised but developers are having to work on titles for the new machines regardless."We know maybe what the PS3 will do, but we can only guess," said Rory Armes, studio general manager for video game giant Electronic Arts in Europe."PS3 will provide graphics indistinguishable from movies," said Mr Florin.What is certain is that the new machines will provide great leaps in processing and graphical power.Gerhard Florin, head of EA in Europe, said gamers should expect titles that blur the line between films and video games."It's much smarter if you can get levels as you go."When he goes home he goes online and he could buy AI and levels as you go."We want to increase that level of immersion and realism in gaming to people can lose themselves in a game.""We are working on new libraries of effects.

Software watching while you workSoftware that can not only monitor every keystroke and action performed at a PC but also be used as legally binding evidence of wrong-doing has been unveiled.Worries about cyber-crime and sabotage have prompted many employers to consider monitoring employees. The developers behind the system claim it is a break-through in the way data is monitored and stored. But privacy advocates are concerned by the invasive nature of such software.The system is a joint venture between security firm 3ami and storage specialists BridgeHead Software. They have joined forces to create a system which can monitor computer activity, store it and retrieve disputed files within minutes. More and more firms are finding themselves in deep water as a result of data misuse. Sabotage and data theft are most commonly committed from within an organisation according to the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) A survey conducted on its behalf by NOP found evidence that more than 80% of medium and large companies have been victims of some form of cyber-crime. BridgeHead Software has come up with techniques to prove, to a legal standard, that any stored file on a PC has not been tampered with. Ironically the impetus for developing the system came as a result of the Freedom of Information Act, which requires companies to store all data for a certain amount of time.The storage system has been incorporated into an application developed by security firm 3ami which allows every action on a computer to be logged. Potentially it could help employers to follow the trail of stolen files and pinpoint whether they had been emailed to a third party, copied, printed, deleted or saved to CD, floppy disk, memory stick or flash card. Other activities the system can monitor include the downloading of pornography, the use of racist or bullying language or the copying of applications for personal use. Increasingly organisations that handle sensitive data, such as governments, are using biometric log-ins such as fingerprinting to provide conclusive proof of who was using a particular machine at any given time. Privacy advocates are concerned that monitoring at work is not only damaging to employee's privacy but also to the relationship between employers and their staff. "That is not the case," said Tim Ellsmore, managing director of 3ami. "It is not about replacing dialogue but there are issues that you can talk through but you still need proof," he said. "People need to recognise that you are using a PC as a representative of a company and that employers have a legal requirement to store data," he added.

The storage system has been incorporated into an application developed by security firm 3ami which allows every action on a computer to be logged."People need to recognise that you are using a PC as a representative of a company and that employers have a legal requirement to store data," he added.The system is a joint venture between security firm 3ami and storage specialists BridgeHead Software.Ironically the impetus for developing the system came as a result of the Freedom of Information Act, which requires companies to store all data for a certain amount of time.BridgeHead Software has come up with techniques to prove, to a legal standard, that any stored file on a PC has not been tampered with.They have joined forces to create a system which can monitor computer activity, store it and retrieve disputed files within minutes.The developers behind the system claim it is a break-through in the way data is monitored and stored.Software that can not only monitor every keystroke and action performed at a PC but also be used as legally binding evidence of wrong-doing has been unveiled.

Microsoft takes on desktop searchMicrosoft has entered the desktop search fray, releasing a test version of its tool to find documents, e-mails and other files on a PC hard drive.The beta program only works on PCs running Windows XP or Windows 2000. The desktop search market is becoming increasingly crowded with firms touting programs that help people find files. Search giant Google launched its desktop search tool in October, while Yahoo is planning to release similar software in January."Our ambition for search is to provide the ultimate information tool that can find anything you're looking for," said Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president at Microsoft's MSN internet division. Microsoft's program can be used as a toolbar on the Windows desktop, the Internet Explorer browser and within the Outlook e-mail program. The software giant is coming late to the desktop search arena, competing with a large number of rivals. Google has already released a desktop tool. Yahoo is planning to get into the game in January and AOL is expected to offer desktop searching early next year. Small firms such as Blinkx, Copernic, Enfish X1 Technologies and X-Friend offer tools that catalogue the huge amounts of information that people increasingly store on their desktop or home computer. Apple will release a similar search system for its computers called Spotlight that is due to be released with the Tiger operating system.

Search giant Google launched its desktop search tool in October, while Yahoo is planning to release similar software in January.The desktop search market is becoming increasingly crowded with firms touting programs that help people find files.Google has already released a desktop tool.Microsoft has entered the desktop search fray, releasing a test version of its tool to find documents, e-mails and other files on a PC hard drive.Microsoft's program can be used as a toolbar on the Windows desktop, the Internet Explorer browser and within the Outlook e-mail program.

Gates opens biggest gadget fairBill Gates has opened the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, saying that gadgets are working together more to help people manage multimedia content around the home and on the move.Mr Gates made no announcement about the next generation Xbox games console, which many gadget lovers had been hoping for. About 120,000 people are expected to attend the trade show which stretches over more than 1.5 million square feet and runs from 6 to 9 January. The latest trends in digital imaging, storage technologies, thinner flat screen and high-definition TVs, wireless and portable technologies, gaming, and broadband technologies will all be on show over the three days.Mr Gates said that a lot of work had been done in the last year to sort out usability and compatibility issues between devices to make it easier to share content."We predicted at the beginning of the decade that the digital approach would be taken for granted - but there was a lot of work to do. "What is fun is to come to the show and see what has been done. It is going even faster than we expected and we are excited about it." He highlighted technology trends over the last year that had driven the need to make technology and transferring content across difference devices "seamless". "Gaming is becoming more of a social thing and all of the social genres will use this rich communications. "And if we look at what has been going on with e-mail, instant messaging, blogging, entertainment - if we can make this seamless, we can create something quite phenomenal."Mr Gates said the PC, like Microsoft's Media Centre, had a central role to play in how people would be making the most out of audio, video and images but it would not be the only device. "It is the way all these devices work together which will make the difference," he said. He also cited the success of the Microsoft Xbox video game Halo 2, released in November, which pushed Xbox console sales past PlayStation in the last two months of 2004 for the first time in 2004. The game, which makes use of the Xbox Live online games service, has sold 6.23 million copies since its release. "People are online and playing together and that really points to the future," he said. Several partnerships with device and hardware manufacturers were highlighted during Mr Gates' speech, but there were few major groundbreaking new technology announcements. Although most of these affected largely US consumers, the technologies highlighted the kind of trends to come. These included what Mr Gates called an "ecosystem of technologies", like SBC's IPTV, a high-definition TV and digital video recorder that worked via broadband to give high-quality and fast TV. There were also other deals announced which meant that people could watch and control content over portable devices and mobile phones.CES features several more key speeches from major technology players, such as Intel and Hewlett Packard, as well as parallel conference sessions on gaming, storage, broadband and the future of digital music. About 50,000 new products will be unleashed at the tech-fest, which is the largest yet. Consumer electronics and gadgets had a phenomenal year in 2004, according to figures released by CES organisers the CEA on Tuesday. The gadget explosion signalled the strongest growth yet in the US in 2004. That trend is predicted to continue with wholesale shipments of consumer technologies expected to grow by 11% again in 2005.

He highlighted technology trends over the last year that had driven the need to make technology and transferring content across difference devices "seamless".Mr Gates said that a lot of work had been done in the last year to sort out usability and compatibility issues between devices to make it easier to share content.Several partnerships with device and hardware manufacturers were highlighted during Mr Gates' speech, but there were few major groundbreaking new technology announcements.Bill Gates has opened the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, saying that gadgets are working together more to help people manage multimedia content around the home and on the move."It is the way all these devices work together which will make the difference," he said.Mr Gates said the PC, like Microsoft's Media Centre, had a central role to play in how people would be making the most out of audio, video and images but it would not be the only device.The latest trends in digital imaging, storage technologies, thinner flat screen and high-definition TVs, wireless and portable technologies, gaming, and broadband technologies will all be on show over the three days.That trend is predicted to continue with wholesale shipments of consumer technologies expected to grow by 11% again in 2005.Mr Gates made no announcement about the next generation Xbox games console, which many gadget lovers had been hoping for.The game, which makes use of the Xbox Live online games service, has sold 6.23 million copies since its release.

Bad e-mail habits sustains spamThe 'bad behaviour' of e-mail users is helping to sustain the spam industry, a new study has found.According to a survey conducted by security firm Mirapoint and market research company the Radicati Group, nearly a third of e-mail users have clicked on links in spam messages. One in ten users have bought products advertised in junk mail. Clicking on a link in a spam message can expose people to viruses and alert spammers to live e-mail accounts.The fact that one in ten e-mail users are buying things advertised in spam continues to make it an attractive business, especially given that sending out huge amounts of spam costs very little, the report concludes. "This preliminary data is surprising and somewhat shocking to us," said Marcel Nienhuis, market analyst at the Radicati Group. "It explains why e-mail security threats including spam, viruses and phishing scams continue to proliferate," he said, accusing users of "bad e-mail behaviour". Spammers are increasingly hooking into whatever happens to be flavour of the month, according to security firm Clearswift. It has recently seen a rise in the number of spam messages offering phoney Sony PSP giveaways. And, in perhaps a nod to the popularity of the American drama series Desperate Housewives, it has also seen a dramatic rise in junk mails purporting to give details of women looking for casual sex. But rather than finding a companion, users who click on such mail will find themselves redirected to porn sites, where they run the risk of downloading spyware on to their PC. Clearswift has seen a 180% rise in sex-related spam over the course of the last month. "Without casting aspersions, those likely to respond to these kind of adverts will be invariably hoping that 'one thing leads to another' but aside from the fact that these mails are bogus, clicking on any link within a spam mail can lead to a whole host of unwanted problems," said Alyn Hockey, Clearswift's director of research.Sexually explicit terms make up 14% of security firm Sophos' top 50 word that spammers most commonly try to disguise in order to beat anti-spam filters. Spammers will deliberately misspell a word or use digits instead of letters in an attempt to by-pass anti-spam software, said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for security firm Sophos. "The list of words most commonly hidden by the spammers from anti-spam software reveals that most spam is about the old favourites: money, drugs and sex," said Mr Cluley. But anti-spam filters can only be part of the solution to the menace of junk e-mail. "People must resist their basic instincts to buy from spam mails. Spammers are criminals, plain and simple. If no-one responded to junk e-mail and didn't buy products sold in this way, then spam would be as extinct as the dinosaurs," he said.

"It explains why e-mail security threats including spam, viruses and phishing scams continue to proliferate," he said, accusing users of "bad e-mail behaviour".According to a survey conducted by security firm Mirapoint and market research company the Radicati Group, nearly a third of e-mail users have clicked on links in spam messages.The fact that one in ten e-mail users are buying things advertised in spam continues to make it an attractive business, especially given that sending out huge amounts of spam costs very little, the report concludes.The 'bad behaviour' of e-mail users is helping to sustain the spam industry, a new study has found.If no-one responded to junk e-mail and didn't buy products sold in this way, then spam would be as extinct as the dinosaurs," he said.Clicking on a link in a spam message can expose people to viruses and alert spammers to live e-mail accounts.Clearswift has seen a 180% rise in sex-related spam over the course of the last month."The list of words most commonly hidden by the spammers from anti-spam software reveals that most spam is about the old favourites: money, drugs and sex," said Mr Cluley.

Peer-to-peer nets 'here to stay'Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks are here to stay, and are on the verge of being exploited by commercial media firms, says a panel of industry experts.Once several high-profile legal cases against file-sharers are resolved this year, firms will be very keen to try and make money from P2P technology. The expert panel probed the future of P2P at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier in January. The first convictions for P2P piracy were handed out in the US in January. William Trowbridge and Michael Chicoine pleaded guilty to charges that they infringed copyright by illegally sharing music, movies and software. Since the first successful file-sharing network Napster was forced to close down, the entertainment industry has been nervous and critical of P2P technology, blaming it for falling sales and piracy. But that is going to change very soon, according to the panel.The music and film industries have started some big legal cases against owners of legitimate P2P networks - which are not illegal in themselves - and of individuals accused of distributing pirated content over networks. But they have slowly realised that P2P is a good way to distribute content, said Travis Kalanick, founder and chairman of P2P network Red Swoosh, and soon they are all going to want a slice of it. They are just waiting to come up with "business models" that work for them, which includes digital rights management and copy-protection standards.But, until the legal actions are resolved, experimentation with P2P cannot not happen, said Michael Weiss, president of StreamCast Networks. Remembering the furore around VCRs when they first came out, Mr Weiss said: "Old media always tries to stop new media. "When they can't stop it, they try to control it. Then they figure out how to make money and they always make a lot of money." Once the courts decided that the VCR in itself was not an illegal technology, the film studios turned it into an extremely lucrative business. In August 2004, the San Francisco-based US Court of Appeals ruled in favour of Grokster and StreamCast, two file-sharing networks. The court said they were essentially in the same position that Sony was in the 1980s VCR battle, and said that the networks themselves could not be deemed as illegal.P2P networks usually do not rely on dedicated servers for the transfer of files. Instead it uses direct connections between computers - or clients. There are now many different types of P2P systems than work in different ways. P2P nets can be used to share any kind of file, like photos, free software, licensed music and any other digital content. The BBC has already decided to embrace the technology. It aims to offer most of its own programmes for download this year and it will use P2P technology to distribute them. The files would be locked seven days after a programme aired making rights management easier to control. But the technology is still demonised and misunderstood by many. The global entertainment industry says more than 2.6 billion copyrighted music files are downloaded every month, and about half a million films are downloaded a day. Legal music download services, like Apple iTunes, Napster, have rushed into the music marketplace to try and lure file-sharers away from free content. Sales of legally-downloaded songs grew tenfold in 2004, with 200 million tracks bought online in the US and Europe in 12 months, the IFPI reported this week. But such download services are very different from P2P networks, not least because of the financial aspect.There are several money-spinning models that could turn P2P into a golden egg for commercial entertainment companies. Paid-for-pass-along, in which firms receive money each time a file is shared, along with various DRM solutions and advertiser-based options are all being considered. "We see there are going to be different models for commoditising P2P," said Marc Morgenstern, vice president of anti-piracy firm Overpeer."Consumers are hungry for it and we will discover new models together," agreed Mr Morgenstern. But many net users will continue to ignore the entertainment industry's potential controlling grip on content and P2P technology by continuing to use it for their own creations. Unsigned bands, for example, use P2P networks to distribute their music effectively, which also draws the attention of record companies looking for new artists to sign. "Increasingly, what you are seeing on P2P is consumer-created content," said Derek Broes, from Microsoft. "They will probably play an increasing role in helping P2P spread," he said. Looking into P2P's future, file sharing is just the beginning for P2P networks, as far as Mr Broes is concerned. "Once some of these issues are resolved, you are going to see aggressive movement to protect content, but also in ways that are unimaginable now," he said. "File-sharing is the tip of the iceberg."

But they have slowly realised that P2P is a good way to distribute content, said Travis Kalanick, founder and chairman of P2P network Red Swoosh, and soon they are all going to want a slice of it.Once several high-profile legal cases against file-sharers are resolved this year, firms will be very keen to try and make money from P2P technology.The music and film industries have started some big legal cases against owners of legitimate P2P networks - which are not illegal in themselves - and of individuals accused of distributing pirated content over networks.Since the first successful file-sharing network Napster was forced to close down, the entertainment industry has been nervous and critical of P2P technology, blaming it for falling sales and piracy.It aims to offer most of its own programmes for download this year and it will use P2P technology to distribute them."We see there are going to be different models for commoditising P2P," said Marc Morgenstern, vice president of anti-piracy firm Overpeer.But, until the legal actions are resolved, experimentation with P2P cannot not happen, said Michael Weiss, president of StreamCast Networks."Increasingly, what you are seeing on P2P is consumer-created content," said Derek Broes, from Microsoft.P2P nets can be used to share any kind of file, like photos, free software, licensed music and any other digital content.The first convictions for P2P piracy were handed out in the US in January.But many net users will continue to ignore the entertainment industry's potential controlling grip on content and P2P technology by continuing to use it for their own creations.Looking into P2P's future, file sharing is just the beginning for P2P networks, as far as Mr Broes is concerned.But such download services are very different from P2P networks, not least because of the financial aspect."They will probably play an increasing role in helping P2P spread," he said.Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks are here to stay, and are on the verge of being exploited by commercial media firms, says a panel of industry experts.Unsigned bands, for example, use P2P networks to distribute their music effectively, which also draws the attention of record companies looking for new artists to sign.

Disney backs Sony DVD technologyA next generation DVD technology backed by Sony has received a major boost.Film giant Disney says it will produce its future DVDs using Sony's Blu-ray Disc technology, but has not ruled out a rival format developed by Toshiba. The two competing DVD formats, Blu-ray developed by Sony and others, and Toshiba's HD-DVD, have been courting top film studios for several months. The next generation of DVDs promises very high quality pictures and sound, as well as a lot of data. Both technologies use a blue laser to write information. It has a shorter wavelength so more data can be stored. Disney is the latest studio to announce which technology it is backing in a format battle which mirrors the 1980s Betamax versus VHS war. Sony lost out to JVC in that fight.The current battle for Hollywood's hearts and minds is a crucial one because high-definition films will bring in billions of revenue and the studios would prefer to use one standard. Last month, Paramount, Universal and Warner Brothers said they were opting for the Toshiba and NEC-backed format, HD-DVD high-definition discs.Those studios currently produce about 45% of DVD content. Sony Pictures Entertainment and MGM Studios have already staked their allegiance with the Blu-ray Disc Association, whose members also include technology companies Dell, Samsung and Matsushita. Twentieth Century Fox is still to announce which technology it will be supporting. If Fox decided to go with Blu-ray too, it would mean the format would have a 47% share of DVD content. Disney said its films would be available on the Blu-ray format when DVD players for the standard went on sale on North America and Japan, expected in 2006. Universal is to start producing films on the HD-DVD format in 2005, and Paramount will start releasing titles using the standard in 2006. Toshiba expects sales of HD-DVDs to reach 300bn yen ($2.9bn, £1.5bn) by 2010.

Film giant Disney says it will produce its future DVDs using Sony's Blu-ray Disc technology, but has not ruled out a rival format developed by Toshiba.A next generation DVD technology backed by Sony has received a major boost.Disney said its films would be available on the Blu-ray format when DVD players for the standard went on sale on North America and Japan, expected in 2006.The two competing DVD formats, Blu-ray developed by Sony and others, and Toshiba's HD-DVD, have been courting top film studios for several months.If Fox decided to go with Blu-ray too, it would mean the format would have a 47% share of DVD content.Disney is the latest studio to announce which technology it is backing in a format battle which mirrors the 1980s Betamax versus VHS war.Universal is to start producing films on the HD-DVD format in 2005, and Paramount will start releasing titles using the standard in 2006.

Freeze on anti-spam campaignA campaign by Lycos Europe to target spam-related websites appears to have been put on hold.Earlier this week the company released a screensaver that bombarded the sites with data to try to bump up the running costs of the websites. But the site hosting the screensaver now displays a pink graphic and the words "Stay tuned". No one at Lycos was available for comment on latest developments in its controversial anti-spam campaign.Lycos Europe's "Make love not spam" campaign was intended as a way for users to fight back against the mountain of junk mail flooding inboxes. People were encouraged to download the screensaver which, when their PC was idle, would then send lots of data to sites that peddle the goods and services mentioned in spam messages. Lycos said the idea was to get the spam sites running at 95% capacity and generate big bandwidth bills for the spammers behind the sites. But the plan has proved controversial.Monitoring firm Netcraft analysed response times for some of the sites targeted by the screensaver and found that a number were completely knocked offline.The downing of the sites could dent Lycos claims that what it is doing does not amount to a distributed denial of service attack. In such attacks thousands of computers bombard sites with data in an attempt to overwhelm them. Laws in many countries do not explicitly outlaw such attacks but many nations are re-drafting computer use laws to make them specific offences. Lycos Europe now appears to have put the plan on hold. The site hosting the screensaver currently shows a holding page, with the words, "Stay tuned". The numerical internet address of the site has also changed. This is likely to be in response to spammers who have reportedly redirected traffic from their sites back to the Lycos screensaver site. The campaign has come under fire from some corners of the web. Many discussion groups have said that it set a dangerous precedent and could incite vigilantism. "Attacking a spammer's website is like poking a grizzly bear sleeping in your back garden with a pointy stick," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Not only is this screensaver similar in its approach to a potentially illegal distributed denial of service attack, but it also is in danger of turning innocent computer users into vigilantes, who may not be prepared for whatever retaliation the spammers care to dream up."

This is likely to be in response to spammers who have reportedly redirected traffic from their sites back to the Lycos screensaver site.The downing of the sites could dent Lycos claims that what it is doing does not amount to a distributed denial of service attack.Lycos said the idea was to get the spam sites running at 95% capacity and generate big bandwidth bills for the spammers behind the sites.But the site hosting the screensaver now displays a pink graphic and the words "Stay tuned".The site hosting the screensaver currently shows a holding page, with the words, "Stay tuned".A campaign by Lycos Europe to target spam-related websites appears to have been put on hold.In such attacks thousands of computers bombard sites with data in an attempt to overwhelm them.People were encouraged to download the screensaver which, when their PC was idle, would then send lots of data to sites that peddle the goods and services mentioned in spam messages.

Losing yourself in online gamingOnline role playing games are time-consuming, but enthralling flights from reality. But are some people taking their fantasy lives too seriously?When video game World of Warcraft hit the shops in Europe last week fans wrote in to the BBC website to express their delight - and to offer a warning. "An addiction to a game like this is far more costly in time than any substance could impair - keep track of time," wrote Travis Anderson, in Texas. Some of the comments were humorous: "This game is so good I'm not going to get it, there's no way I could limit the hours I'd spend playing it," wrote Charles MacIntyre, from England.But some struck a more worrying tone about the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG): "'You need to get out more' could be the motto of any MMORPG. Shame they are getting more popular, as you know this problem is just going to mushroom," wrote Stuart Stanton-Davies, in Huddersfield. Scare-mongering articles about "addictive video games" have existed since the days the first game of Pong stopped everyone from working at the Atari offices.Gaming is like any other pastime - it can quickly become an unhealthy obsession, whether it is spending too much time in the gym, in front of the television, or reading poetry.Unfortunately, gaming and addiction is a far too easy association to make. However, stories about gamers spending 10 to 15 hours a day in front of some video games are becoming more frequent. And the impact that is having on their families is quite distressing for some.Massively multiplayer online role playing games - MMORPGs - allow thousands of gamers to share a common experience of sharing fantasy or science fiction worlds. The scope of these games - like Warcraft, EverQuest, Ultima among others - is epic, and exploration and adventure is almost infinite. Part of the "problem" is grinding - by which gamers have to perform long-winded, mindless tasks, to bring up their levels and gain access to more adventure. Such open-endedness brings with it a desire to keep playing; not for no reason is EverQuest (EQ) nicknamed EverCrack. E Hayot, writing in the culture blogzine Print Culture, said recently: "I used to play the online role-playing game EverQuest a lot. "By 'a lot', I mean probably 15 to 20 hours a week on average, and on weeks where I didn't have to work, as many as 30 or 40 hours."He says that in the world of online gaming such behaviour "wasn't that unusual; lots of people I knew in the game played EQ that much". "You lie; you don't go into work because you "had stuff to do at home"; you cancel or refuse invitations to dinner, you spend much less time watching TV (a good thing, presumably)," he wrote, explaining how EverQuest took over his time. He quit the game, he says, because he realised life was more fun than EverQuest.Let us be clear - such obsession is rare. But the huge growth in online gaming means a growth in the numbers of people who take their passion for a hobby too far. Almost 400,000 people bought a copy of World of Warcraft in the first two days on sale earlier this month. Only a fraction will descend into obsessives. The thoughts of families and friends of gamers who have been affected by EverQuest can be found on one blog EverQuest Daily Grind. Jane, who runs the website, compiles a chronicle of heart-rending stories. "I am actually convinced at this point that there are more than 'some' people who spend more times in MMOPRGs than in reality," she said. One unnamed correspondent - all are anonymous - wrote: "On the rare nights when my husband does come to bed at the same time as I do, I find that I am so used to sleeping by myself that it is difficult to get to sleep with another body laying next to me."I can't talk to him while he is playing. There is absolutely no point as he doesn't hear me or is so distracted that I get a 'ummm... ya' a few minutes after I ask him a question.""Gaming widows" has become a comedic term for women who have been shut out by male gamers. But for some it is not in the least funny. Another correspondent wrote: "I believe that he is addicted to the online gaming, and that is the cause of his depression and restlessness." And some of them are even sadder: "Today our son was five days old. "The sad truth is my husband spent 11 hours today playing his Warcraft game. He did not interact with our sweet tiny baby because there were important quests waiting online." Video game fans often complain that their hobby is misunderstood or marginalised. But as gaming becomes ever more mainstream, and games ever more immersive, there will be no hiding place for social problems.I wish 30-40 hours a week was unusual but I think it probably isn't. An 11 hour stretch isn't that surprising - I've known people to play 15+ hours at a stretch. I know of people who are spending their week's holiday from work playing Warcraft. I know of people who would play Ever[Crack] in shifts...waking at 3am to take over from their friends and resume waiting for an item they 'needed' to appear. I understand that the key sign of an addiction is if you alter your life around it rather than fit it into your life. By all standards many of us are addicts. So is the solution to force ourselves to stop playing..or do we just need to make real life a bit more interesting?Sadly with all the talk of people becoming obsessed with gaming, I find myself longing to have the time to join them. I have been in a long term relationship for over 4 years - since that began, games have become more and more complex. And more and more so I find I have less and less time to play them, with and marriage and work being the main drag on my time.I think the line between playing a game a lot and a gaming addiction is really quite distinct. I play games a lot, definately over 20 hours a week, but I don't go missing work or other commitments in order to play games.I have, about a year ago, deleted every game on my computer. RPGs are the worst - the real world fades and all your worries sorround a new magic staff or mighty sword. Unlike books, or perhaps even TV, you gain absolutely nothing. When you stop playing you're at the same point as when you started; all the achievements of your 10 hour session are irretrievably locked in the game and, since you've gained nothing in the real world, you may as well pile on more achievement in the fake one.Despite having little monetary value, the "rewards" and encouragement offered by these MMORPGs is enough to hook games for hours daily. If only business could learn to leverage that very simply human need for easily measurable progress and recognition. Perhaps the unhealthily obsessed simply need more recognition for their achievements in reality?My advice to gaming widows is "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". That is, try playing it yourself. If he wants to play as well, well at least you'll be together somewhere...I was an addict and it cost me my relationship. I still play now, but without the guilt , hehe, How long have i played in one sitting? From morning till the early hours of the next day, the birds were singing out side and i had to hobble to the bath room cos my bladder was so full i was in pain, i would hardly eat, perhaps some toast, smoke endlessly and drink. Now, thankfully the fascination has worn off and I have a girlfriend but still no job. For the most part online gaming give me an adiction to illusory achievement, and as there is no end in sight you keep going for the mirage of the ultimate.Obsessive behaviour is, of course, always cause for concern, but it always bothers me when articles about gaming talk in terms of "reality". Obviously, somebody who spends thirty hours a week playing EverQuest has a problem. This problem, however, has nothing to do with a dysfunctional sense of reality. An obsessive EQ player does not consider the game to be "real" any more than - for example - an obsessive automotive tinkerer considers their car to be human. If MMORPGs have a unique danger, in terms of encouraging obsessive behaviour, it is not that they create an absorbing virtual world, but rather that they can be easily accessed 24/7. The problem here does not lie with the nature of gaming, but with the nature of modern 24 hour culture.The problem with these so called MMORPGS is that you can never really complete them, there's always another quest to do. A few of my friends have only had about 10 hours sleep since it was released friday...Championship Manager consumed my life for years. One particular session started at about 2pm on a Sunday, paused for a brief sleep at 5am on the Monday and after visit to University for classes restarted at about midday for another 10 hour session. The people who tend to hark on about about the problems of "hardcore gaming" seem to be those who have rarely allowed themselves to become immersed in a game. I would expect their perspective to change if they were to do that.I used to be an EverQuest addict while I was in college. It came to the point where the gaming world felt more real than the real one. I failed alot of my courses and was able to barely graduate. I was lucky that I came to my senses when I did, others were less fortunate and dropped out of college. Now that I am holding a job, I avoid online RPGS like the plague.When I was made redundant I told my partner I had a new job for three months whilst every day I played EverQuest from 7:30am till 5:pm. When She came home I pretended I had just got in as well, hence justifying playing it all evening. I have since quit playing MMORPG and have a good job.When I got to the point where I was eating my dinner in front of the PC I realised things were getting silly so I'm trying not to spend so much time on there. It's not easy. I feel as if I've got a real addiction going on here.For me the problem is that I love to complete a goal. Once it is completed that is it, I am finished, time to move on. I become obsessed to complete the goal, so from that standpoint it is an addiction. In a game where you will never complete an "ultimate" goal, well it would be like falling into a black pit. It is easier to escape into a controlled fantasy world than face reality at times - in other words the goal offered in the PC game are "easier" and more fun than the real world. Pretty scary implications if you think about it.I can't buy World of Warcraft as it would destroy my marrage, I just know it!!I played Star Wars Galaxies for about a year and can attest to the addictiveness of these games. They are all engineered in such a way that early on in the game you progress quickly, but this progress becomes exponentially slower, requiring more and more time to reach the next level. I'm sad to say that at the peak of my addiction I was spending entire weekends in front of my monitor, slowly building up my character, stopping only for food and toilet breaks. Thankfully I made a clean break, and actually managed to sell my Jedi account for £800 - which is my only sanity check in an otherwise completely unproductive time vacuum.Seven years ago, I began playing Ultima Online. This game dominated 2 years of my life. They were 2 wonderful years and I still have vivid memories of the experiences and friends I had. Online gaming can be a world of escapism where you can be yourself without fear of the thoughts of others. Something that cannot always be achieved in the day to day running of a normal life. Whilst I would warn against people giving to much of there life to these games, I believe they are a better way to spend your time than say watching TV.Gaming is addictive and should be made a recognised addiction. When I was single I used to play upto eight hours a night after work every night for about a year, building up my stats, completing evermore quests and battling ogres. But somehow I found time to get out, even met someone and got married! Has my life changed? Hell no! I still cast spells and battle till the early hours of the morning. On with the fun!Online gaming should be enjoyed just as much as you would enjoy watching television, or going to the cinema or the pub with your mates.Many people use recreational drugs on an occasional basis and are able to lead succesfull lives with families, relationships and good careers. A minority allow drugs to take over and destroy their lives and become addicted. According to this article the same is true of MMORPGs. The message to the government is clear, either legalise drugs, or outlaw online gaming!!Sounds like there are some sad stories here - and I can believe them all. I play alot of Warcraft myself, and know full well how addictive it is. I am resolute that it will not take over my life. It certainly gets in the way though. I think that some people simply do not know how to draw this line, or lack the willpower to stop themselves stepping over it.I think I'm obsessed with gaming in general, I spend far too much time playing games like Everquest 2 and Football Manager rather than going out and interacting with real people and when I do try to, I'm always thinking in the back if my mind that I'd rather be in front of the computer winning the league with Cambridge United.I am obsessed with online role playing games. It's not so much quests but it has the adrenaline of a real life situation - goals to achieve etc. I spend about five hours per day online playing it and I rarely get more than four to five hours sleep before getting up for work the next morning...As many of the players spend their time in MMORPGs rather than in front of the TV I fail to see how it will affect players social lives negatively. Furthermore these types of games contain a huge social aspect, whereas other games and some other pursuits (such as being a couch potato) the players could be indulging in are solitary by nature.These games are like most things -- too much of anything is a bad thing, but as long as you can walk away from the computer to do other things too, they can be great fun.Living in Korea at the moment, they have lots PC Bangs (Internet Cafes). Nearly most of South Koreans are addicted to online games, and one Korean died because of the lack of food and water he had through playing online games.I play xbox live every day. I find my self lying and rescheduling everything around my gaming fix. The longest I played was a 24 hour straight session. I know I play for to long but it's an obsession that I can't control. Can you reccomend a counsellor - this is not a wind up... but something I'm increasingly concerned with...Me and my mate play online for an hour or two a day, we're both aware of how much time can disappear by sitting in front of a TV, trying to 'frag' some individual. It's getting the balance between getting home and relasing the stress of a day by an hour or so gaming, and enjoying 'real' life...I bought the US version of World of Warcraft when it came out. The longest period I played was 23 hrs straight. I gave up the game after a month because it was so addictive, but have subsequently just bought the European version (couldn't help myself). In future, I'm going to regulate my time far more strictly. Great game!Having played MMORPG games for some years I agree that these type of games can be life sucking. But my concern is for the younger generation of gamers that play for hours on end in an adult enviroment. Most MMORPG games you need a credit card to play but I dont think parents know just what they are letting there children into.Unless there is undeniable medical proof that staring at a computer screens for hours at a time can damage a person¿s health, you can expect this not to decline but to get worse.These people are pathetic. They need to get off their machines and notice that our world is being swiftly overcome by issues and troubles that make the trifling worries of and "online universe" absolutely meaningless.24hours, when i was a kid at school and i was on half term, Ultima Online was the game, ahhhh them was the days ! LOL

He says that in the world of online gaming such behaviour "wasn't that unusual; lots of people I knew in the game played EQ that much".I think I'm obsessed with gaming in general, I spend far too much time playing games like Everquest 2 and Football Manager rather than going out and interacting with real people and when I do try to, I'm always thinking in the back if my mind that I'd rather be in front of the computer winning the league with Cambridge United.I think the line between playing a game a lot and a gaming addiction is really quite distinct.He quit the game, he says, because he realised life was more fun than EverQuest.Having played MMORPG games for some years I agree that these type of games can be life sucking.I spend about five hours per day online playing it and I rarely get more than four to five hours sleep before getting up for work the next morning... As many of the players spend their time in MMORPGs rather than in front of the TV I fail to see how it will affect players social lives negatively.This game dominated 2 years of my life.24hours, when i was a kid at school and i was on half term, Ultima Online was the game, ahhhh them was the days !"The sad truth is my husband spent 11 hours today playing his Warcraft game.Online role playing games are time-consuming, but enthralling flights from reality.Some of the comments were humorous: "This game is so good I'm not going to get it, there's no way I could limit the hours I'd spend playing it," wrote Charles MacIntyre, from England.I play games a lot, definately over 20 hours a week, but I don't go missing work or other commitments in order to play games.When you stop playing you're at the same point as when you started; all the achievements of your 10 hour session are irretrievably locked in the game and, since you've gained nothing in the real world, you may as well pile on more achievement in the fake one.However, stories about gamers spending 10 to 15 hours a day in front of some video games are becoming more frequent.The people who tend to hark on about about the problems of "hardcore gaming" seem to be those who have rarely allowed themselves to become immersed in a game.But some struck a more worrying tone about the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG): "'You need to get out more' could be the motto of any MMORPG.It is easier to escape into a controlled fantasy world than face reality at times - in other words the goal offered in the PC game are "easier" and more fun than the real world.It's getting the balance between getting home and relasing the stress of a day by an hour or so gaming, and enjoying 'real' life..."An addiction to a game like this is far more costly in time than any substance could impair - keep track of time," wrote Travis Anderson, in Texas.Whilst I would warn against people giving to much of there life to these games, I believe they are a better way to spend your time than say watching TV.Great game!Can you reccomend a counsellor - this is not a wind up... but something I'm increasingly concerned with... Me and my mate play online for an hour or two a day, we're both aware of how much time can disappear by sitting in front of a TV, trying to 'frag' some individual.I am obsessed with online role playing games.Massively multiplayer online role playing games - MMORPGs - allow thousands of gamers to share a common experience of sharing fantasy or science fiction worlds.Obviously, somebody who spends thirty hours a week playing EverQuest has a problem.Sadly with all the talk of people becoming obsessed with gaming, I find myself longing to have the time to join them.Most MMORPG games you need a credit card to play but I dont think parents know just what they are letting there children into.E Hayot, writing in the culture blogzine Print Culture, said recently: "I used to play the online role-playing game EverQuest a lot.I have been in a long term relationship for over 4 years - since that began, games have become more and more complex.The longest I played was a 24 hour straight session.I know of people who are spending their week's holiday from work playing Warcraft.It came to the point where the gaming world felt more real than the real one.Online gaming can be a world of escapism where you can be yourself without fear of the thoughts of others.In a game where you will never complete an "ultimate" goal, well it would be like falling into a black pit.A few of my friends have only had about 10 hours sleep since it was released friday... Championship Manager consumed my life for years.When I got to the point where I was eating my dinner in front of the PC I realised things were getting silly so I'm trying not to spend so much time on there.I have, about a year ago, deleted every game on my computer.Seven years ago, I began playing Ultima Online.When video game World of Warcraft hit the shops in Europe last week fans wrote in to the BBC website to express their delight - and to offer a warning.I gave up the game after a month because it was so addictive, but have subsequently just bought the European version (couldn't help myself).An 11 hour stretch isn't that surprising - I've known people to play 15+ hours at a stretch.I wish 30-40 hours a week was unusual but I think it probably isn't.Gaming is like any other pastime - it can quickly become an unhealthy obsession, whether it is spending too much time in the gym, in front of the television, or reading poetry.Online gaming should be enjoyed just as much as you would enjoy watching television, or going to the cinema or the pub with your mates.But the huge growth in online gaming means a growth in the numbers of people who take their passion for a hobby too far.The scope of these games - like Warcraft, EverQuest, Ultima among others - is epic, and exploration and adventure is almost infinite.When I was single I used to play upto eight hours a night after work every night for about a year, building up my stats, completing evermore quests and battling ogres.Nearly most of South Koreans are addicted to online games, and one Korean died because of the lack of food and water he had through playing online games."You lie; you don't go into work because you "had stuff to do at home"; you cancel or refuse invitations to dinner, you spend much less time watching TV (a good thing, presumably)," he wrote, explaining how EverQuest took over his time.Furthermore these types of games contain a huge social aspect, whereas other games and some other pursuits (such as being a couch potato) the players could be indulging in are solitary by nature.Another correspondent wrote: "I believe that he is addicted to the online gaming, and that is the cause of his depression and restlessness."From morning till the early hours of the next day, the birds were singing out side and i had to hobble to the bath room cos my bladder was so full i was in pain, i would hardly eat, perhaps some toast, smoke endlessly and drink.Despite having little monetary value, the "rewards" and encouragement offered by these MMORPGs is enough to hook games for hours daily.The problem here does not lie with the nature of gaming, but with the nature of modern 24 hour culture.Unfortunately, gaming and addiction is a far too easy association to make."I am actually convinced at this point that there are more than 'some' people who spend more times in MMOPRGs than in reality," she said.Scare-mongering articles about "addictive video games" have existed since the days the first game of Pong stopped everyone from working at the Atari offices.When I was made redundant I told my partner I had a new job for three months whilst every day I played EverQuest from 7:30am till 5:pm.And more and more so I find I have less and less time to play them, with and marriage and work being the main drag on my time.They are all engineered in such a way that early on in the game you progress quickly, but this progress becomes exponentially slower, requiring more and more time to reach the next level.

Broadband in the UK gathers paceOne person in the UK is joining the internet's fast lane every 10 seconds, according to BT.The telecoms giant said the number of people on broadband via the telephone line had now surpassed four million. Including those connected via cable, almost six million people have a fast, always-on connection. The boom has been fuelled by fierce competition and falling prices, as well as the greater availability of broadband over the phone line. "The take-up rate for broadband is accelerating at a terrific pace," said Ben Verwaayen, BT's chief executive. "We will be in a very strong position to hit our five million target by summer 2006 much earlier than we had previously expected."The last million connections were made over the past four months, with thousands of people being added to the total every day of the week.Those signing up to broadband include those that get their service direct from BT or via the many companies that re-sell BT lines under their own name. Part of the surge in people signing up was due to BT stretching the reach of ADSL - the UK's most widely used way of getting broadband - beyond six kilometres. Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line technology lets ordinary copper phone lines support high data speeds. The standard speed is 512kbps, though faster connections are available. According to BT, more than 95% of UK homes and businesses can receive broadband over the phone line. It aims to extend this figure to 99.4% by next summer. There are also an estimated 1.7 million cable broadband customers in the UK.

The telecoms giant said the number of people on broadband via the telephone line had now surpassed four million.According to BT, more than 95% of UK homes and businesses can receive broadband over the phone line.There are also an estimated 1.7 million cable broadband customers in the UK.Those signing up to broadband include those that get their service direct from BT or via the many companies that re-sell BT lines under their own name.Including those connected via cable, almost six million people have a fast, always-on connection.The last million connections were made over the past four months, with thousands of people being added to the total every day of the week.

'Podcasters' look to net moneyNasa is doing it, 14-year-old boys in bedrooms are doing it, couples are doing it, gadget lovers - male and female - are definitely doing it.It is podcasting - DIY radio in the form of downloadable MP3 audio files. They can done by anyone who has a microphone, simple software, the net, and something to say. Some liken them to talking "audioblogs" because many complement text-based weblogs - diary-like sites where people share their thoughts. They are essentially amateur radio shows on the net, on demand, and the "movement" is at very early stages. "It's about real people saying real things and communicating," says Adam Curry, former MTV VJ and the Pied Piper of podcasting. He was one of a community of people who created iPodder, a small computer program, known as an "aggregator".It collects and automatically sends MP3 files to any digital music-playing device that can play WMP formats. Those with digital music players can select which podcasts they like, and subscribe - for free - to that show's "feed". When a new podcast is available, it is automatically sent to the device when connected to a computer. "It is totally going to kill the business model of radio," thinks Curry. "I just did a tour of Madison Avenue where all the big brands and advertising agencies of the world are," he says. "And they are scared to death of the next generation - like my daughter who is 14 - who don't listen to radio. "They are on MSN, they've got their iPod, their MP3 player, they've got their Xbox - they are not listening to radio. "So how are they going to reach these audiences? "It is the distribution that is changing and the barriers are being brought down so everyone can be part of it."It is a fledgling movement, but it is gaining momentum now that people have started thinking about how to make a business from it. Ian Fogg, Jupiter Research analyst, thinks there could be potential for business, but it could take an interesting turn if big companies, like Apple and Microsoft, get involved. "It is a nascent area but quite exciting. It is yet another area that demonstrates the move to a digital lifestyle and digital home is not over," he says."Podcasting is one of those interesting areas that bridges what you do at home and what you do out and about - a classic hybrid. It is another aspect of the "time-shifting" of content - the latest industry buzzword for being able to listen to what you want, when, and wherever you want. Audiences are in the 10s, 100s, and 1,000s rather than millions. More than 4,300 podcasts are currently listed. Curry's Daily Source Code - which he committed to doing daily to inspire the community - has 10s of thousands of listeners.But Dave Winer is doubtful. He designed the format called RSS (Really Simple Syndication), which gives web users an easy way to keep updated automatically on sites they like. Podcasts rely on his technology because it is the way they are distributed. He is also writer of the longest-running weblog on the net, Scripting News. He thinks its power lies in its democratising potential, not in its "over-hyped" business promise."We're the sources, the people doing stuff, and podcasting is a way to tell people who care what we're doing. "No matter how you look at it, commercialising this medium isn't going to make very much money," he says. "Podcasting is going to be a medium of niches, with 'audiences' measured in the single digits, like e-mail or blogs. "Maybe in a few years, maybe six or seven digits. But it will have to sustain interest beyond the hype balloon." Curry and associate Ron Bloom's new venture, called PodShow, is to help ordinary people produce, post, distribute and market their podcasts. Because of the way podcasts work, based on RSS, the latest podcasts which people can select mean that they are ready-made targets. "When you look at podcasting - wow this is a pretty interesting audience. The audience is pre-selected. They have decided to subscribe to your program," explains Curry. Advertising, in his eyes, can be tailored to podcasts, to make it more imaginative and unobtrusive. "How I believe this will work, is to create a network that, in aggregation, will have enough numbers to support a return on investment for the advertisers and for the podcasters. "I have 50, 60, 70,000 listeners. I could make a couple of bucks off that, but not much. If you are talking a million podcasters, and then you can kind of divide that amongst ourselves, then that is kind of interesting." Essentially, he says, if you are doing a bass fishing podcast, someone who is selling bait and tackle will probably want to advertise on your show. He is clear the ads will not be the traditional "in-your-face" type familiar to commercial radio now. "We are really going to see these microcosms and commerce will be all over the place."It is happening already. Coffee-loving Curry has sold $4,000 worth of coffee machines through a referral link to Amazon from his site.Others use in-show promotions, like The Dawn and Drew Show. One, Eric Rice, has won sponsorship from Warner Bros. He can now legally play the music of a band Warner Bros wants to push. Some commentators on the net say it has a similar feel to the dotcom days. Others say it is just another element of setting media free from big companies and letting people be creative. One thing is for sure; they are not about to disappear in a hurry. The creative forces behind radio are elated, says Curry. For now, he tunes out the negative comments within the podcasting community. "I should be knighted for this," he adds, with a wry chuckle, "People are going to be so happy to sit at home, make their podcast, and make a little money."

"It is totally going to kill the business model of radio," thinks Curry."Podcasting is going to be a medium of niches, with 'audiences' measured in the single digits, like e-mail or blogs.Because of the way podcasts work, based on RSS, the latest podcasts which people can select mean that they are ready-made targets."We're the sources, the people doing stuff, and podcasting is a way to tell people who care what we're doing."I should be knighted for this," he adds, with a wry chuckle, "People are going to be so happy to sit at home, make their podcast, and make a little money.""Podcasting is one of those interesting areas that bridges what you do at home and what you do out and about - a classic hybrid."It's about real people saying real things and communicating," says Adam Curry, former MTV VJ and the Pied Piper of podcasting."No matter how you look at it, commercialising this medium isn't going to make very much money," he says.Those with digital music players can select which podcasts they like, and subscribe - for free - to that show's "feed".The creative forces behind radio are elated, says Curry.Others say it is just another element of setting media free from big companies and letting people be creative."When you look at podcasting - wow this is a pretty interesting audience.It is a fledgling movement, but it is gaining momentum now that people have started thinking about how to make a business from it.Curry and associate Ron Bloom's new venture, called PodShow, is to help ordinary people produce, post, distribute and market their podcasts.It is podcasting - DIY radio in the form of downloadable MP3 audio files.He was one of a community of people who created iPodder, a small computer program, known as an "aggregator".They are essentially amateur radio shows on the net, on demand, and the "movement" is at very early stages."So how are they going to reach these audiences?Advertising, in his eyes, can be tailored to podcasts, to make it more imaginative and unobtrusive.Ian Fogg, Jupiter Research analyst, thinks there could be potential for business, but it could take an interesting turn if big companies, like Apple and Microsoft, get involved.They can done by anyone who has a microphone, simple software, the net, and something to say.Some commentators on the net say it has a similar feel to the dotcom days.It is yet another area that demonstrates the move to a digital lifestyle and digital home is not over," he says.One, Eric Rice, has won sponsorship from Warner Bros.

Loyalty cards idea for TV addictsViewers could soon be rewarded for watching TV as loyalty cards come to a screen near you.Any household hooked up to Sky could soon be using smartcards in conjunction with their set-top boxes. Broadcasters such as Sky and ITV could offer viewers loyalty points in return for watching a particular channel or programme. Sky will activate a spare slot on set-top boxes in January, marketing magazine New Media Age reported.Sky set-top boxes have two slots. One is for the viewer's decryption card, while the other has been dormant until now.Loyalty cards have become a common addition to most wallets, as High Street brands rush to keep customers with a series of incentives offered by store cards. Now similar schemes look set to enter the highly competitive world of multi-channel TV. Viewers who stay loyal to a particular TV channel could be rewarded by free TV content or freebies from retail partners. Broadcasters aiming content at children could offer smartcards which gives membership to exclusive content and clubs. "Parents could pre-pay for some content, as a kind of TV pocket money card," said Nigel Whalley, managing director of media consultancy Decipher.Viewers could even be rewarded for watching ad breaks, with ideas such as ad bingo being touted by firms keen to make money out of the new market, said Mr Whalley. Credit cards that have been chipped could be used in set-top boxes to pay for movies, gambling and gaming. "The idea of an intelligent card in boxes offers a lot of possibilities. It will be down to the ingenuity of the content players," said Mr Whalley. For the BBC, revenue-generating activity will be of little interest but the new development may prompt changes to Freeview set-top boxes, said Mr Whalley. Currently most Freeview boxes do not have a slot which would allow viewers to use a smartcard. Some 7.4 million households have Sky boxes and Sky is hoping to increase this to 10 million by 2010. Loyalty cards could play a role in this, particularly in reducing the number of people who cancel their Sky subscriptions, said Ian Fogg, an analyst with Jupiter Research.

Viewers could soon be rewarded for watching TV as loyalty cards come to a screen near you."Parents could pre-pay for some content, as a kind of TV pocket money card," said Nigel Whalley, managing director of media consultancy Decipher.Credit cards that have been chipped could be used in set-top boxes to pay for movies, gambling and gaming.Any household hooked up to Sky could soon be using smartcards in conjunction with their set-top boxes.Sky set-top boxes have two slots.Broadcasters such as Sky and ITV could offer viewers loyalty points in return for watching a particular channel or programme.Loyalty cards could play a role in this, particularly in reducing the number of people who cancel their Sky subscriptions, said Ian Fogg, an analyst with Jupiter Research.Viewers who stay loyal to a particular TV channel could be rewarded by free TV content or freebies from retail partners.

Blind student 'hears in colour'A blind student has developed software that turns colours into musical notes so that he can read weather maps.Victor Wong, a graduate student from Hong Kong studying at Cornell University in New York State, had to read coloured maps of the upper atmosphere as part of his research. To study "space weather" Mr Wong needed to explore minute fluctuations in order to create mathematical models. A number of solutions were tried, including having a colleague describe the maps and attempting to print them in Braille. Mr Wong eventually hit upon the idea of translating individual colours into music, and enlisted the help of a computer graphics specialist and another student to do the programming work."The images have three dimensions and I had to find a way of reading them myself," Mr Wong told the BBC News website. "For the sake of my own study - and for the sake of blind scientists generally - I felt it would be good to develop software that could help us to read colour images." He tried a prototype version of the software to explore a photograph of a parrot. In order to have an exact reference to the screen, a pen and tablet device is used. The software then assigns one of 88 piano notes to individually coloured pixels - ranging from blue at the lower end of this scale to red at the upper end. Mr Wong says the application is still very much in its infancy and is only useful for reading images that have been created digitally. "If I took a random picture and scanned it and then used my software to recognise it, it wouldn't work that well."Mr Wong has been blind from the age of seven and he thinks that having a "colour memory" makes the software more useful than it would be to a scientist who had never had any vision. "As the notes increase in pitch I know the colour's getting redder and redder, and in my mind's eye a patch of red appears." The colour to music software has not yet been made available commercially, and Mr Wong believes that several people would have to work together to make it viable. But he hopes that one day it can be developed to give blind people access to photographs and other images.

Mr Wong has been blind from the age of seven and he thinks that having a "colour memory" makes the software more useful than it would be to a scientist who had never had any vision.The colour to music software has not yet been made available commercially, and Mr Wong believes that several people would have to work together to make it viable.A blind student has developed software that turns colours into musical notes so that he can read weather maps."For the sake of my own study - and for the sake of blind scientists generally - I felt it would be good to develop software that could help us to read colour images."Mr Wong eventually hit upon the idea of translating individual colours into music, and enlisted the help of a computer graphics specialist and another student to do the programming work.To study "space weather" Mr Wong needed to explore minute fluctuations in order to create mathematical models.He tried a prototype version of the software to explore a photograph of a parrot.

A decade of good website designThe web looks very different today than it did 10 years ago.Back in 1994, Yahoo had only just launched, most websites were text-based and Amazon, Google and eBay had yet to appear. But, says usability guru Dr Jakob Nielsen, some things have stayed constant in that decade, namely the principles of what makes a site easy to use. Dr Nielsen has looked back at a decade of work on usability and considered whether the 34 core guidelines drawn up back then are relevant to the web of today. "Roughly 80% of the things we found 10 years ago are still an issue today," he said. "Some have gone away because users have changed and 10% have changed because technology has changed."Some design crimes, such as splash screens that get between a user and the site they are trying to visit, and web designers indulging their artistic urges have almost disappeared, said Dr Nielsen."But there's great stability on usability concerns," he told the BBC News website. Dr Nielsen said the basic principles of usability, centring around ease of use and clear thinking about a site's total design, were as important as ever. "It's necessary to be aware of these things as issues because they remain as such," he said. They are still important because the net has not changed as much as people thought it would. "A lot of people thought that design and usability was only a temporary problem because broadband was taking off," he said. "But there are a very small number of cases where usability issues go away because you have broadband."Dr Nielsen said the success of sites such as Google, Amazon, eBay and Yahoo showed that close attention to design and user needs was important. "Those four sites are extremely profitable and extremely successful," said Dr Nielsen, adding that they have largely defined commercial success on the net."All are based on user empowerment and make it easy for people to do things on the internet," he said. "They are making simple but powerful tools available to the user. "None of them have a fancy or glamorous look," he added, declaring himself surprised that these sites have not been more widely copied. In the future, Dr Nielsen believes that search engines will play an even bigger part in helping people get to grips with the huge amount of information online. "They are becoming like the operating system to the internet," he said. But, he said, the fact that they are useful now does not meant that they could not do better. Currently, he said, search sites did not do a very good job of describing the information that they return in response to queries. Often people had to look at a website just to judge whether it was useful or not. Tools that watch the behaviour of people on websites to see what they actually find useful could also help refine results. Research by Dr Nielsen shows that people are getting more sophisticated in their use of search engines. The latest statistics on how many words people use on search engines shows that, on average, they use 2.2 terms. In 1994 only 1.3 words were used. "I think it's amazing that we have seen a doubling in a 10-year period of those search terms," said Dr Nielsen.You can hear more from Jakob Nielsen and web design on the BBC World Service programme, Go Digital

Dr Nielsen said the success of sites such as Google, Amazon, eBay and Yahoo showed that close attention to design and user needs was important.Dr Nielsen said the basic principles of usability, centring around ease of use and clear thinking about a site's total design, were as important as ever.Some design crimes, such as splash screens that get between a user and the site they are trying to visit, and web designers indulging their artistic urges have almost disappeared, said Dr Nielsen."I think it's amazing that we have seen a doubling in a 10-year period of those search terms," said Dr Nielsen."All are based on user empowerment and make it easy for people to do things on the internet," he said.Research by Dr Nielsen shows that people are getting more sophisticated in their use of search engines.But, says usability guru Dr Jakob Nielsen, some things have stayed constant in that decade, namely the principles of what makes a site easy to use."A lot of people thought that design and usability was only a temporary problem because broadband was taking off," he said."Roughly 80% of the things we found 10 years ago are still an issue today," he said."Those four sites are extremely profitable and extremely successful," said Dr Nielsen, adding that they have largely defined commercial success on the net.Dr Nielsen has looked back at a decade of work on usability and considered whether the 34 core guidelines drawn up back then are relevant to the web of today.Often people had to look at a website just to judge whether it was useful or not.

Man auctions ad space on foreheadA 20-year-old US man is selling advertising space on his forehead to the highest bidder on website eBay.Andrew Fisher, from Omaha, Nebraska, said he would have a non-permanent logo or brand name tattooed on his head for 30 days. "The way I see it I'm selling something I already own; after 30 days I get it back," he told the BBC Today programme. Mr Fisher has received 39 bids so far, with the largest bid currently at more than $322 (£171). "The winner will be able to send me a tattoo or have me go to a tattoo parlour and get a temporary ink tattoo on my forehead and this will be something they choose, a company name or domain name, perhaps their logo," he told the Radio 4 programme.On the online auction, Mr Fisher describes himself as an "average American Joe, give or take". His sales pitch adds: "Take advantage of this radical advertising campaign and become a part of history." Mr Fisher said that while he would accept any brand name or logo, "I wouldn't go around with a swastika or anything racial". He added: "I wouldn't go around with 666, the mark of the beast. "Other than that I wouldn't promote anything socially unacceptable such as adult websites or stores." He said he would use the money to pay college - he is planning to study graphic design. The entrepreneur said his mother was initially surprised by his decision but following all the media attention she felt he was "thinking outside the box".

Mr Fisher said that while he would accept any brand name or logo, "I wouldn't go around with a swastika or anything racial".Andrew Fisher, from Omaha, Nebraska, said he would have a non-permanent logo or brand name tattooed on his head for 30 days."The winner will be able to send me a tattoo or have me go to a tattoo parlour and get a temporary ink tattoo on my forehead and this will be something they choose, a company name or domain name, perhaps their logo," he told the Radio 4 programme.On the online auction, Mr Fisher describes himself as an "average American Joe, give or take".He added: "I wouldn't go around with 666, the mark of the beast.

Global blogger action day calledThe global web blog community is being called into action to lend support to two imprisoned Iranian bloggers.The month-old Committee to Protect Bloggers' is asking those with blogs to dedicate their sites on 22 February to the "Free Mojtaba and Arash Day". Arash Sigarchi and Mojtaba Saminejad are both in prison in Iran. Blogs are free sites through which people publish thoughts and opinions. Iranian authorities have been clamping down on prominent sites for some time. "I hope this day will focus people," Curt Hopkins, director of the Committee, told the BBC News website.The group has a list of actions which it says bloggers can take, including writing to local Iranian embassies. The Committee has deemed Tuesday "Free Mojtaba and Arash Day" as part of its first campaign. It is calling on the blogsphere - the name for the worldwide community of bloggers - to do what it can to help raise awareness of the plight of Mojtaba and Arash as well as other "cyber-dissidents". "If you have a blog, the least you could do is put nothing on that blog except 'Free Mojtaba and Arash Day'," said Mr Hopkins. "That would mean you could see that phrase 7.1 million times. That alone will shine some light on the situation. "If you don't have one, find one dedicated to that - it takes about 30 seconds." Technorati, a blog search engine, tracks about six million blogs and says that more than 12,000 are added daily. A blog is created every 5.8 seconds, according to a US research think-tank.The Committee to Protect Bloggers was started by US blogger Curt Hopkins and counts fired flight attendant blogger Ellen Simonetti as a deputy director. She has since started the International Bloggers' Bill of Rights, a global petition to protect bloggers at work. Although not the only website committed to human rights issues by any means, it aims to be the hub or organisation, information and support for bloggers in particular and their rights to freedom of speech.The Committee, although only a month old, aims to be the focal point for blogger action on similar issues in the future, and will operate as a non-for-profit organisation. "Blogging is in this weird no man's land. People think of it as being one thing or another depending on their point of view," said Mr Hopkins. "Some think of themselves as pundits, kind of like journalists, and some like me have a private blog which is just a publishing platform. "But they do not have a constituency and are out there in the cold."It is not just human rights issues in countries which have a track record of restricting what is published in the media that is of concern to bloggers. The question of bloggers and what rights they have to say what they want on their sites is a thorny one and has received much press attention recently. High profile cases in which employees have been sacked for what they have said on their personal, and often anonymous blogs, have highlighted the muddy situation that the blogsphere is currently in."This is a big messy argument," explained Mr Hopkins. He added: "It is just such a new way of doing business, there will be clamp downs." But the way these issues get tested is through the courts which, said Mr Hopkins, "is part of the whole messy conversation." "If you haven't already got bloggers in your company, you will have them tomorrow - and if you don't have a blogger policy now you had better start looking at having one. Mr Hopkins said that the blogsphere - which is doubling every five months - was powerful because it takes so little time and expertise to create a blog. "Everyone does this - mums, radicals, conservatives," he said. Many companies offer easy-to-use services to create a blog and publish it in minutes to a global community. "That is the essential difference. What I call 'templating software' gives every single person on Earth the chance to have one. "You don't even have to have your own computer."

"If you have a blog, the least you could do is put nothing on that blog except 'Free Mojtaba and Arash Day'," said Mr Hopkins.The month-old Committee to Protect Bloggers' is asking those with blogs to dedicate their sites on 22 February to the "Free Mojtaba and Arash Day".Mr Hopkins said that the blogsphere - which is doubling every five months - was powerful because it takes so little time and expertise to create a blog.The Committee to Protect Bloggers was started by US blogger Curt Hopkins and counts fired flight attendant blogger Ellen Simonetti as a deputy director.People think of it as being one thing or another depending on their point of view," said Mr Hopkins.But the way these issues get tested is through the courts which, said Mr Hopkins, "is part of the whole messy conversation."The question of bloggers and what rights they have to say what they want on their sites is a thorny one and has received much press attention recently.Technorati, a blog search engine, tracks about six million blogs and says that more than 12,000 are added daily."If you haven't already got bloggers in your company, you will have them tomorrow - and if you don't have a blogger policy now you had better start looking at having one.The Committee has deemed Tuesday "Free Mojtaba and Arash Day" as part of its first campaign.The global web blog community is being called into action to lend support to two imprisoned Iranian bloggers.The group has a list of actions which it says bloggers can take, including writing to local Iranian embassies.It is calling on the blogsphere - the name for the worldwide community of bloggers - to do what it can to help raise awareness of the plight of Mojtaba and Arash as well as other "cyber-dissidents".She has since started the International Bloggers' Bill of Rights, a global petition to protect bloggers at work.The Committee, although only a month old, aims to be the focal point for blogger action on similar issues in the future, and will operate as a non-for-profit organisation.