Notebook News

Established 1991. Published by Stephen Adams

The Only Notebook Newsletter from Britain on the Internet

Notebook prices along with desktop PC's are dropping again with Acer entry level notebooks down to ú399.99 in Argos and Comet. This is a 40Gb hard drive, 256Mb RAM, DVD dual layer writer and a 1.3Ghz processor. The only thing left out is the WiFiInternet connection which costs just ú15 to add. This is all due to over production of PC's in the far east and now USA and Europe are flooded with them, which makes them difficult to sell with people tightening their financial belts due to the low interest rates and high house prices. The EEC decision to put LCD screens in with TV's tax bracket has not helped, but people are still buying them as they cut power consumption to 25%.

Intel is working on a low power version of it's Pentium M processor called Merom which will be produced in the later half of next year. It is based on their advanced 65-nanometer technology which makes chips smaller.The Intel C.E.O. Paul Otellini also announced that forthcoming lower-power products will lead to a new category of ultra energy-efficient "Handtop PC" devices weighing less than one pound and consuming less than 1 watt of power.It also showed a community desktop computer working off a 12 volt battery equipped with fly screens and a 100 degree centigrade operating range to work in India.

IBM researcher Per-Ola Kristensson has demonstrated a new style of writing for mobile devices that forms the basis of IBM's Shark shorthand software. A sokgraph is the trajectory of a word defined on a stylus keyboard layout. Thesoftware determines the route a word takes and provides shortcut. The first version of the system, for Windows XP-based tablet PCs features a 7,000-word dictionary, is freely available for download from www. alphaworks. ibm.com. It is a 492kb download,but the demo is 143Mb! A new version, with a substantially expanded 60,000-word, dictionary will go live at the end of August. Operating systems such as Windows XP or 2000 and Java are required with Tablet input hardware,

Through Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA)software, Microsoft's-anti-software-counterfeiting programme, users will need to prove their software is authentic by running an applet downloaded from the Microsoft Website, which checks the licence keys.Users found to be running in-valid licences will need to buy a legitimate copy of Windows XP before they can download any Microsoft software. The operating system will be discounted and will cost ú91 for Windows XP Professional.Software by-passes are already available via Trixie and Greasemonkey for various browsers.

The waste acceptance criteria (WAC), which came into force on 15 July, covers the disposal of computer equipment such as monitors, some PCs, fluorescent tubes and televisions in landfill sites. Businesses need to describe exactly what their waste contains. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) says companies disposing of the waste may find themselves open to prosecution, if they fail to comply with the directive. Computer Businesses should only useapproved contractors that comply with the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) directive, incorporated into UK law in August 2005, (see http://www.hazardouswaste.org.uk).

Microsoft has released a security advisory acknowledging a vulnerability in all supported versions of Internet Explorer allowing hackers to take control of a PC using Active X. Microsoft said later versions of the COM object(e.g. included with Microsoft Office 2003 and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003) are not effected. It is listed as a highly critical risk. It can be exploited by hackers to "take complete control of the affected system". The companyadvised users to set internet and local intranet security zone settings to "high" before running ActiveX controls in these zones. It requires that a user is tricked into visiting a malicious web site. As yet no fix is available from Microsoft.

Ericsson and Sun are developing a multi-tasking Java-based platform to speed up 3G mobile communications using Sun's Connected Limited Device Con-figuration (CLDC). It is hoped that multiple connections between the phone and the networkwill speed up data transfer. It has to be implemented by mobile networks as well handset manufacturers. J2ME includes Java virtual machines and a set of standard Java APIs defined through the Java Community Process, A widely adopted example is to combine CLDC with the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) to provide a complete Java application environment for cell phones and other devices with similar capabilities.

Cisco is under attack as much as Microsoft by Hackers. It's Cisco's Internetworking operating system (IOS) which underlies all it's router products was earlier this month found to allow a hacker to gain remote access to any router using a buffer overflow attack. Also it found that a web search engine could reveal user passwords and has asked all users of it's Website Cisco.com to change them. In the past two months it has issued 7 advisories and only one a month ion the two months prior to that. Lots of Cisco routers are used in the Internet so this could effect all of us.

Word 2003 Redaction add-on software, is available as a free download, and allows users to mark sections of a Word document to be concealed using a special tool-bar. Selected text can then be redacted - blacked out - at the click of a button.It Only works with word 2003 and XP or 2000 operating systems.This after the US Government blanked out words on a document on it's Website, only to have hackers download the page and restore the words!!!

Connexion by Boeing(TM) has been certified under Intel's Centrino Wi-Fi banner. Connexion by Boeing service is available today on 70 planes and more than 100 daily routes worldwide on Lufthansa Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Japan Airlines, ANA, Singapore Airlines and China Airlines. In addition, Austrian Airlines, Korean Air, El Al, Asiana and Etihad all provide in-flight internet and phone services via connexion's satellite technology.The cost per flight for most international routes is $29.95, with a lower rate of $19.95 for flights of less than six hours. A pay-per-minute option includes a 60-minute starter package priced at $9.95, with rates of $0.25 per minute thereafter.

CooligyÆs cooling loop for high-heat semiconductors such as notebook CPU's comprises three elements. Fine channels in the Microchannel Heat Collector (replacing the metal finned heatsink), etched into a small piece of silicon that sits on top of the CPU.The carry fluid that absorbs heat generated by the chip. The fluid then passes through tubes to the Radiator, where heat is transferred to the air. Finally, the cooled fluid returns to the Electrokinetic Pump,where it is pumped in a sealed loop back to the Microchannel Heat Collector. None of this requires any power! This is only being used for servers and desktops, but it could be used on notebooks in the near future.

The Opera Mini, a J2ME (Java 2 Mobile Edition) Web browser for virtually all mobile phones, a fast and easy alternative to Opera's mobile browser, which costs USD 19.95 and only has a 14 day trial download available. It can replace WAP with a properscreen. Users simply send an SMS or visit a link through their WAP browser to receive it, and they are online in an instant. This is because it requires the supplier to provide a central server to convert web pages through which opera mini works.So ask your service provider! It is available to end-users only through operators and companies that choose to include it in their offerings to their customers. Only TV2 in Norway is currently offering it.

The Office of the Information Commissioner has failed to take legal action over 600 complaints of Spam received over the past 12 months. The Information Commissioner claims that it lacks the powers to pursue and prosecute spammers effectively outside theUK.It has sign memorandum of understanding with governments in USA (the worlds biggest spammer) and Australia.

Ofcom has removed all charges for the RFID radio band and therefore the requirement to have to apply for a licence to use the technology. This is part of a European wide recommendation by theEuropean Conference of Communications and Postal Administrations (ôCEPTö). The 865-868 MHz radio band can be used as long as equipment confirms to the RFID regulations.Comments are requested by 12 September 2005 as the regulation will be requested to be put into Law soon after.

The force's Computer Crime Unit (CCU), otherwise known SO6, is appealingfor private sector investment to expand its team of 10 detectives. Afurther ú1M peryear would allow the unit to double in size and capacity as well as becoming more proactiveand targeted in its work, according to detective chief inspector Charlie McMurdie, head of the CCU. 'We are going to have a massive demand and we do not have the resources to deal with it, she said.They want to cut the ú2Bn cost of UK cyber crime by sponsoring specialist investigators in the Metropolitan Police.

The first UK passports to hold biometric data will be issued from January 2006. The Foreign Office has appointed 3M to build a facial recognition and personal information into passports issued outside the UK. The facial features will be taken from thesubmitted photograph and put on a chip inside the passport. The web-based 3M Identity Document Issuance System will initially cover one in 10 of all passports issued. Full production will be rolled out between February and July 2006.The Personal Identity Project (PIP) pilot started at the Glasgow passport office in October 2003. It tested the process of verifying applicant identity against Equifax credit reference agency, DWP, DVLA and Office of National Statistics.

The BBC has sold BBC Broadcast to Australian bank Macquarie for ú166m. BBC Broadcast specialises in the distribution and promotion of multimedia content, Including the BBC Website. It provides the content and some of the ads you see on BBC TV.BBC Broadcast will transfer operations to Macquarie this summer, if it gains approval from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.The Broadcast Centre now transmits 64 channels and interactive streams for the BBC and commercial channels (not all in this country). BDS already provides services to the BBC, ITV, Channel 5, UKTV and Flextech.

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