Warwick next in line for Pipex WiMax

Pipex Wireless is building on its trials of WiMax technology by readying itself to do more of the same in Warwick and Leamington Spa. It successfully connected its first beta customer in Milton Keynes just before Christmas. The service provider plans to launch the pilot, which will run for six months in three sites in the Warwick and Leamington Spa area, as early as April. ...more

Microsoft puts a price on virus writers' heads

Microsoft has announced it will offer $250,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the authors of the SoBig and Blaster viruses. The announcement came as part of a $5mn fund given to US and EU law enforcement agencies to help them crack down on those responsible for creating the swathe of worms and other malicious programs that have exploited flaws in Microsoft products this year. Indeed the Blaster worm was configured to launch a denial of service attack against windowsupdate. ...more

Greenpeace ejected from MacExpo

Greenpeace was yesterday thrown out of MacExpo, after the organisers said that they had received complaints about the activities of activists for the environmental campaign group. Visitors to the show reportedly objected to the large number of activists who were leafleting at the entrance to London's Olympia exhibition centre, while companies, including Apple, are said to have been unhappy with their antics inside the venue. Greenpeace recently attacked Apple for its use of toxic chemicals in its products and 'poor' performance on take back and recycling. ...more

Microsoft wants to standardise Office 12 docs

Microsoft is to submit its Office Open XML document format, which will underpin the next version of its Office suite, to the Ecma International standards body. What this means is that future changes to the proposed standard have to be agreed with and through the standards body, via a members-based technical committee and not at the whim of the company. The move is clearly a means for Microsoft to try and reassure the wider world that the move to an XML-based document system will indeed be open and not subject to Microsoft-inspired 'extensions'. ...more

The Audigy or the Extigy

A sound attachment. Creative Labs has announced the launch of its Extigy external sound card - available at the end of March for ?149.99 including VAT. ...more