Researchers find sweet battery solution

Researchers have developed a battery cell that can run on sugar, lasts up to four times longer on a single charge than a conventional lithium-ion cell, and is biodegradable. The researchers, at Saint Louis University in Missouri, presented their findings at the 233rd national meeting of the American Chemical Society. They claim the new fuel cell can operate using almost any sugar source. ...more

'Secure' Vista gets Microsoft's anti-virus software

It is the operating system that Microsoft's Jim Allchin famously declared was so secure his seven-year-old son could run it without anti-virus software. Yet, Microsoft is to offer its online security suite in the UK for the first time - to coincide with the January 30 launch of Windows Vista. Windows Live OneCare - which has been on general release in the US since last year and on beta test in this country for months - provides anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall protection for consumers, across up to three home PCs. ...more

Half UK households are Net-connected, says Oftel

Oftel has announced that half of UK households are connected to the Internet, with a million set to make the broadband leap in the next year. However, Oftel is counting always-on services of 128Kbits/sec and greater, which offer prices comparable to unmetered dial-up, as broadband. With the cheapest dial-up and below average broadband tariffs in the European countries surveyed, the UK take-up of the Internet continues apace: 12. ...more

Microsoft opens GUI code for Windows

Microsoft has made more of its source code available as open source. Redmond has chosen the SourceForge bank of open source code for its Windows Template Library (WTL) - a template library that allows developers to quickly create graphical interfaces for Windows programs. Although the library has been available on Microsoft's own developer network for several years, the company was concerned that it had not been able to give it as much attention as it would like. ...more

EC aims for greater Internet control

The European Commission is hoping to take a more hands-on role in shaping the future of the Internet at a United Nations summit next week. The UN is proposing a new, multinational method of supervising the allocation and management of the domain name system (DNS) - .com, . ...more