UPDATED: Shiny gadgets mean hazardous waste - Greenpeace

Greenpeace has revealed the unsavoury cost that building the latest gadgets has on the environment, claiming many of the factories where components are built are producing hazardous waste fed directly into water systems. The environmental body's report 'Cutting Edge Contamination: A study of environmental pollution during the manufacture of electronic products' documents how many water samples taken from around these plants showed levels of toxic substances that were many times higher than health bodies recommended. 'Over recent years we have seen an increasing concern over the use of hazardous chemicals in electronic products but attention has focussed on the contamination released during disposal or "recycling of electronic waste",' said Dr. ...more

US Patent Office re-examines Amazon's 1-Click patent

The US Patent Office has begun re-examining Amazon's patent for its 1-Click technology, after the discovery of possible prior art. New Zealander Peter Calveley's interest in intellectual property coupled with a delayed Amazon delivery led him to take a look at the company's 1997 patent for the technology that lets consumers buy products online with just one click. He thought the patent looked very similar to one registered by Digicash a year earlier. ...more

Canning the spam

Unsolicited email has long been the bane of every inbox, and has prompted 16 companies to form an industry coalition to come up with standards that address users' concerns while resisting a regulatory body. The coalition, which includes online advertisers DoubleClick and 24/7 Media, met together over the summer, the results of which are expected to be made public at a marketing conference in Boston later this month. Recommendations are likely to include ways in which consumers can gain more control over the amount of unsolicited advertisements they receive via email. ...more

Cingular eyes an Apple mobile download service

US phone carrier Cingular has said that it is keen to partner with Apple when it launches a downloads service for mobiles next year. The company, which was the first to offer the iTunes-compatible Motorola ROKR phone, expects to begin selling music early in 2006 at a price 'slightly higher' than Apple currently charges for computer-based downloads. Cingular's chief operating officer Ralph de la Vega said details of the service have not been finalised, leaving the door open for Apple. ...more

Microsoft warns that EC rulings may force Vista delay

Microsoft has warned may have to delay the European release of Vista if it fails to comply with the EU's 2004 antitrust ruling against the company. In statement, Microsoft said that it has submitted proposals to the European Commission addressing concerns about Vista, the successor to Windows XP slated to be released at the end of January 2007. 'Once we receive the Commission's response, we will know whether the Commission is seeking additional product design changes that would result in delay in Europe,' the statement said. ...more