Wanted: 30,000 redundant PCs

Computer Aid International, which claims to be the biggest supplier of professionally refurbished computers to schools and community organisations in developing countries, is asking British companies to donate unwanted Pentium 3 and 4 PCs rather than throw them in a skip. So far, the organisation has re-equipped and shipped out 70,000 PCs to the developing world. The new campaign, groaningly called 'Make IT Happen', has set itself a target of refurbishing 100,000 PCs by its 10th birthday on the 10th October 2007 and so needs to find around 30,000 more unwanted bits of kit in 15 months. ...more

iPods added to inflation-tracking basket of goods

Champagne and iPods are being added to the ordinary household shopping basket, and slippers and chocolate biscuits are chucked out. At least, this is the nominal 'basket' of goods used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to officially track price changes and measure inflation. As well as MP3 players, music downloads are also being added into the mix, to present a more meaningful reflection of current consumer spending patterns. ...more

Government backs down over snooping order

'We believe we've got it wrong,' said Home Secretary David Blunkett. The controversial order that the Government sought to push through the Commons today has now been postponed indefinitely, although the Home Secretary said he would attempt to create some consensus on the order for the next session of Parliament in the winter. The order, which would add around 600 public bodies to those of the police, Inland Revenue and customs and excise that already have access to traffic data, included local authorities, councils, the Food Standards Agency and the Post Office. ...more

Florida hurricanes flatten email spam operations

It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good. The recent hurricanes which battered Florida in September resulted in a marked drop in the amount of spam sent out according to email security specialist FrontBridge Technologies. Florida has long been seen as a centre for the spammers. ...more

UPDATE: Microsoft issues long-awaited Windows XP Service Pack 2

Microsoft's Service Pack 2 for Windows XP has been released to manufacturing, according to the company. The update - as much as a massive 80MB - has now been finalised and the 'gold code' is being pressed onto CDs and distributed to computer makers so they can preload it on their products. Because of the massive 100mn users expected to download the update and the hefty weight of the code itself, Redmond has employed a complex strategy for distribution. ...more