Acer announces Turion-tuned laptops

Acer is leading the way in the use of AMD's new 64-bit laptop processors. The Acer Aspire 5000 (pictured) and 5020 series are based on the Turion, which clocks up to 2GHz, and ATI X600 and X700 graphics, mid-range chips that support PCI Express. According to Acer, the laptops are designed for 'sophisticated users', to offer a perfect balance between performance, weight, extended battery life, enhanced security, and compatibility with the latest graphics and wireless solutions. ...more

'Home users should buy Macs' - Sophos

Security firm Sophos is suggesting that users who are concerned about the security of their systems should consider switching to a Mac. 'Macs will continue to be the safer place for computer users for some time to come - something that home users may wish to consider if they're deliberating about the next computer they should purchase' stated Sophos's senior technology consultant, Graham Cluley. The July update of the Sophos Security Threat Management Report notes that while the first malware for Mac OS X was detected in February 2006, it has not spread in the wild and was not the beginning of serious attention from the world's virus authors. ...more

Microsoft interoperability info is 'unusable', says DoJ

The US Department of Justice says that documentation provided by Microsoft to allow server software developers to access desktop Windows is 'unusable', according to a report by Reuters. The documentation comes with certain Windows source code licenced by Microsoft to other vendors. Anti-trust agencies are said to be concerned that there is insufficient documentation to give non-Microsoft server software developers enough information to make their products work best with Windows. ...more

Telecoms won't pass on cost of 3G, says Motorola

Motorola has said that customers won't be made to bear the cost of the third-generation wireless licences. Speaking at the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) 2000 conference in Barcelona, the company confirmed that the ?22bn or so that was raised from the auction of wireless licences won't be passed on to users. "The bills for 3G licences are high and everyday is a massive debt load for operators," said Adrian Nemcek, senior vice president of the global telecoms solutions sector at Motorola. ...more

Average laptop worth $1m

New research by a computer security firm has estimated the value of the average laptop to be worth close to $1mn. Symantec discovered that that is the value of intellectual property and commercially sensitive data stored in emails and while the average is high enough, some laptops were carrying around information potentially worth ?5mn. However only 42 per cent of the companies automatically backup emails, with 45 per cent leaving it up to the employee, which leaves 13 per cent that just do not bother. ...more