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Free public Wi-Fi scheme for town
Free public Wi-Fi scheme for town
A major Wiltshire town is to become the first in the UK to offer free public wireless internet access to its entire population, it was claimed.
Swindon Borough Council plan for all 186,000 citizens to have blanket "Wi-Fi mesh" coverage by April 2010.
Line rental will be free, and there will be no connection charge, say council officials.
Wireless internet allows computer users to access the internet without the need for wired connection to phone lines.
'Much cheaper'
Subscribers to the service - to be called Signal - will have limited access but could pay for 20Mb upgrades.
This fee would be "significantly less" than current broadband suppliers, scheme bosses estimate.
The £1m project will be run by Digital City UK Ltd, in which Swindon Borough Council has a 35% share.
Some 1,400 secure access points will be fitted around Swindon, similar to those used in homes "but with a much...
Techies 'unhealthiest workers'
Techies 'unhealthiest workers'
IT workers are the unhealthiest in the UK, according to a recent survey.
Less than one in five people employed in the tech sector said that they met government targets of doing at least five 30-minute exercise sessions a week, according to the study by weight loss agency Fat Free Fitness.
This was coupled with most IT workers admitting having a poor diet. Only 14 per cent say that they ate at least five daily portions of fruit and vegetables and most admitting to drinking more than ten cups of coffee a day.
Rich Leigh, a personal trainer and founder of Fat Free Fitness, said that the government should be doing more to encourage employers and workers to be more active.
Full story : HERE
Thanks to Josiahb for spotting this one
Age of cyber warfare is 'dawning'
Age of cyber warfare is 'dawning'
Cyber war has moved from fiction to fact, says a report.
Compiled by security firm McAfee, it bases its conclusion on analysis of recent net-based attacks.
Analysis of the motives of the actors behind many attacks carried out via the internet showed that many were mounted with a explicitly political aim.
It said that many nations were now arming to defend themselves in a cyber war and readying forces to conduct their own attacks.
While definitions of what constitutes cyber war are not shared, it was clear that many nations were preparing for a future in which conflict was partly conducted via the net.
"There are at least five countries known to be arming themselves for this kind of conflict," said Greg Day, primary analyst for security at McAfee Europe.
The UK, Germany, France, China and North Korea are known to be developing their own capabilities.
The US is known to have an...
Apple nukes Psystar
Apple nukes Psystar
The Apple vs Psystar case has ended rather predictably, with Apple basically nuking the Mac clone maker out of existence.
Florida-based Psystar rose to fame back in February of 2008 when it started to market Mac close systems - basically PCs modified and configured to run the Mac OS. In July of that year Apple threw a spanner into Psystars plans by filing a lawsuit against the company. That case has been progressing through the legal system ever since.
However, on Friday Judge William Alsup dealt what seems to be a fatal blow for Psystar by granting Apples motion for summary judgment while denying Psystars counterclaims.
Basically Alsup ruled that the Mac OS End User License Agreement (EULA) is both legal and valid and ruled that installation of the OS on non-Apple hardware is not allowable. Period.
Full story : HERE
IT staff back in demand after jobs market hits "tipping point"
IT staff back in demand after jobs market hits "tipping point"
UK market sees encouraging bounce back
In a development that will hopefully be replicated here, from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and consultant company KPMG are reporting that jobs in the UK IT sector are growing for the first time in nearly two years.
In the October edition of its monthly Report on Jobs, the confederation said the overall jobs market had reached "the tipping point into growth, driven by returning confidence in the private sector".
On a scale where a baseline of 50 represents no change and anything above shows more vacancies, permanent IT and computing positions hit 51.5 in October. For the same period last year, the job market was shrinking rapidly, with a score of 40.
Full story : HERE
Bing teams up with Wolfram Alpha
Bing teams up with Wolfram Alpha
Microsoft has teamed up with a web tool once hailed as a rival to Google to provide results for its search engine Bing.
Wolfram Alpha aims to answer questions directly, rather than display a list of links like a search engine.
The "computational knowledge engine" is the brainchild of British-born physicist Stephen Wolfram.
It will be used to bolster Bing's results in areas such as nutrition, health and mathematics.
The partnership will initially be rolled out in the US.
Bing has been gradually grabbing market share from other search engines since its launch in May.
Figures from Experian Hitwise suggest its market share in the US rose from 8.96% in September to 9.57% in October.
The figures put it well behind market leader Google which has 70.6% of the market.
Full story : HERE
Intel and AMD settle legal rows
Intel and AMD settle legal rows
US chip maker Intel has agreed to pay rival AMD $1.25bn as part of a deal to settle all outstanding legal disputes between the two companies.
The two firms said the settlement covered all anti-trust litigation and patent disputes.
"While the relationship between the two companies has been difficult in the past, this agreement ends the legal disputes," the two firms said.
AMD's shares jumped by as much as 23% following the announcement.
Full story : HERE
Thanks to Alex399
HP in deal to buy 3Com for $2.7bn
HP in deal to buy 3Com for $2.7bn
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has announced it is to buy network systems maker 3Com in a deal worth $2.7bn (£1.6bn).
The deal is expected to be completed in the first half of 2010, subject to regulatory approval, the California-based personal computer giant said.
It added that the deal will allow the firm to combine servers, storage, networking, management and services.
The firm also reported preliminary quarterly profits that beat analysts' expectations, despite a fall in sales.
Full story : HERE
Microsoft disconnects Xbox gamers
Microsoft disconnects Xbox gamers
Thousands of gamers may have been cut off from Microsoft's online gaming service Xbox Live for modifying their consoles to play pirated games.
Online reports suggest that as many as 600,000 gamers may have been affected.
Microsoft confirmed that it had banned a "small percentage" of the 20 million Xbox Live users worldwide.
Microsoft said that modifying an Xbox 360 console "violates" the service's "terms of use" and would result in a player being disconnected.
"All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox Live," Microsoft has said in a statement.
"The health of the video game business depends on customers paying for the genuine products and services they receive from manufacturers, retailers, and the third parties that support them."...
Computer for the elderly launched
Computer for the elderly launched
A new computer aimed at people aged over 60 who are unfamiliar with PCs and the internet has been unveiled.
The simplified desktop - called SimplicITy - has just six buttons directing users to basic tasks such as e-mail and chat.
The computer comes pre-loaded with 17 video tutorials from television presenter Valerie Singleton
More than 6 million people over the age of 65 have never used the internet, according to government figures.
Full story : HERE
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