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November |
Newsletter |
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Issue
48 |
Included in this months issue:
Microsoft Sings A New Zune
Hindered by a failure to sell large numbers of digital music players, Microsoft is singing a new Zune.
A few weeks before releasing a new version of its MP3 player called Zune HD, Microsoft (MSFT) is taking extraordinary steps to court software developers to create applications for the device, which competes with Apple's (AAPL) hugely successful iPod and iPhone. One developer of a popular iPhone application for reading Twitter messages says Microsoft recently approached him about re-creating the software to run on Zune, with Microsoft footing the bill for development costs.
By Olga Kharif
Plasmobot: The Slime Mould Robot
Though not famed for their intellect, single-celled organisms have already demonstrated a surprising degree of intelligence. Now a team at the University of the West of England (UWE) has secured £228,000 in funding to turn these organisms into engineering robots.
Taken from NewScientist.com
Nokia Strikes Back Against 'Smart' Rivals
Faced with increased competition from up-and-coming rivals, Finnish telecom giant Nokia plans to launch a slew of new products this year but analysts say it faces a tough battle to hold on to its position as the world's number one mobile phone manufacturer.
To fight back against Apple's iPhone and RIM's Blackberry, Nokia announced plans to launch three new smartphones with touch screens, a portable notebook PC, and will tie up with Microsoft to use its popular Office software on its handsets.
Industry observers criticised the Finnish giant for its aging product lineup and for not bringing smartphones to market quickly enough to take on their up-and-coming rivals.
By Terhi Kinnunen
Code-Breaking Quantum Algorithm Run On A Silicon Chip
A quantum calculation able to crack one of the most common forms of data encryption has been performed on a silicon chip for the first time.
The study demonstrates that complex quantum circuits can be built relatively easily out of silicon and silica – a significant milestone on the road to full-blown quantum computing.
Fifteen years ago, Peter Shor, a computer scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, predicted that quantum computers could beat even the most powerful supercomputers and crack the widely used RSA encryption algorithm.
By Colin Barras
Intel Boss Sees End To PC Slump
The PC industry is coming out of the recession, the boss of the world's biggest chipmaker has told the BBC.
The chief executive of Intel said the industry was likely to sell as many computers in 2009 as it had in 2008.
"Considering the depth and breadth of the recession [that] is a pretty good result," said Paul Otellini.
Analysts had predicted a big fall in PC sales this year, but Mr Otellini said consumers were still buying them because they were now "indispensable".
"If it breaks you don't wait for the end of the recession to replace it," he added.
By Cliff Edwards
Wall Socket Adapters Offer WiFi Alternative
Setting up a home WiFi network can be tricky, and the signal may not always reach the whole house. One alternative is using adapters that use your home's existing electrical system to relay an Internet connection between rooms. Use an adapter to connect your modem to a wall socket in the living room, use another the connect a computer to a socket in the office -- or anywhere else -- and you're online.
By Brian Bergstein
World's Climate Could Cool First, Warm Later
Forecasts of climate change are about to go seriously out of kilter. One of the world's top climate modellers said Thursday we could be about to enter one or even two decades during which temperatures cool.
"People will say this is global warming disappearing," he told more than 1500 of the world's top climate scientists gathering in Geneva at the UN's World Climate Conference.
"I am not one of the sceptics," insisted Mojib Latif of the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences at Kiel University, Germany. "However, we have to ask the nasty questions ourselves or other people will do it."
Few climate scientists go as far as Latif, an author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But more and more agree that the short-term prognosis for climate change is much less certain than once thought.
By Fred Pearce
Google Books Deal Battle Heats Up
The battle over Google's effort to digitise the world's books and create a vast online library has intensified.
Authors have until Friday to opt out of the $125m settlement the search giant made with authors and publishers. The date for comments to the New York court overseeing the class action suit was extended from Friday to Tuesday, after the filing system went down.
As time ticks away, supporters and critics have been manning both sides of the debate to win the public case.
By Maggie Shiels
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