Comment: Transport systems down the tubes

Comment: With Britain's transport system on the verge of collapse, technology hasn't actually improved matters The Tube drivers are revolting ('Ooh I know,' titters the Carry On fan) over proposed privatisation measures, and the ensuing strikes have brought transport wrangles to the fore once again. Every time London's Tube drivers strike, someone of the Telegraph-reading mentality suggests automated trains on London's Underground. 'Let's face it,' they say, 'all they have to do is press go and stop - it's not as if they can get lost or have to deal with congestion. ...more

Champions League football proves online draw

There's still life in the old game of football. Amid all the Ashes glory and the new-found popularity of leather on willow - with cricket-related terms topping Internet searches and BBC releasing MP3 downloads of the series coverage - UEFA is claiming record traffic figures for the return of its 2005/6 Champions League. The site has been redesigned, with broadband fully in mind. ...more

Cellular tones for cellular phones

A UK mathematician's unique work on algorithms has been turned into a computer program that instantly composes one-off polyphonic ringtones to download to a mobile phone. The program is based on the theories of Stephen Wolfram, whose company Wolfram Research makes the leading maths software, Mathematica. Working with software engineer Peter Overmann, Wolfram developed an application that converts cellular automata - described by Nature as a mathematical model that can be used to mimic natural states - into a musical score. ...more

PS2 beats Xbox 360 for UK games sales in record year

Last year was a record breaker for computer games, according to ELSPA (Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association), with 2006 seeing a seven per cent increase on unit sales. The best-selling game of the year in the UK was EA Sport's FIFA 07 (pictured) - still at number one in its fifteenth week in the charts - followed by Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 6 and EA's Need For Speed: Carbon. Volumes of sales didn't translate directly into revenues, however. ...more

Google fails in latest legal bid against Microsoft

Google has failed in its attempt to have the case brought by Microsoft over its ex-employee Kai-Fu Lee to be heard in California. Google attempted to have the case heard in California rather than Washington because the kind of contract signed by Lee is considered unlawful in Google's home state but not in Microsoft's. Sitting in San Jose, District Judge Ronald Whyte granted Microsoft's request to delay Google's California suit until the case in Seattle is settled. ...more