BT to begin 256Kbit/sec broadband as an IPStream package

BT is to begin trials of a 256Kbit/sec ADSL product next month. The company has apparently decided to launch the IPStream package after feedback from ISPs showed that there is demand for 'broadband' services that are close to the price of dial-up. Not that much cheaper, however, as indications are that BT will only charge ISPs around 75p less for the 256Kbps product than for 512Kbps. ...more

Acer renews commitment to the Tablet PC

Acer has announced a raft of new products, renewing its commitment to the Tablet PC format with a new 'sliding' mechanism that draws the screen back across the keyboard and tilts it up in a single action. The C200 Tablet PC notebook series is a Sonoma-based Centrino affair with dual-channel system memory support up to 2GB, dual-layer DVD burning, nVidia graphics, WiFi and Bluetooth wireless and of course Microsoft's Tablet PC platform. Acer also introduced the Ferrari 4000 - claimed as the world's first to use a carbon fiber casing. ...more

Web apps and services prove high risk - Symantec

Symantec has warned that the wave of enthusiasm for web applications such as blogs and other services will be shared equally among innocent users and virus writers. In its biannual report, security firm Symantec says it recorded the highest number of vulnerabilities ever for the first half of 2006 - a fifth higher than the first half of 2005. And of those 2,249 new vulnerabilities documented, some 69 per cent affected Web applications. ...more

Real under shadow of Apple Harmony attack

RealNetworks is concerned it faces a real threat if Apple decides to sue over its Harmony technology. The company's latest SEC filing acknowledges that Apple will, as it has more than once before, continue to update iPod software to break Harmony. The technology enables songs bought from Real's Rhapsody music downloads service to play on iPods. ...more

Microsoft scraps 32-bit operating systems

Microsoft has announced that Windows Server 2008 will be the last 32-bit system it releases, for servers or clients, as it makes its way fully into the world of 64-bit computing. Speaking at the WinHEC 2007 conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates outlined the benefits of 64-bit computing, such as the amount of information that can be crunched in one go as a data set and advanced memory technology. However, Gates admitted there are still challenges to overcome on the road to full 64-bit support. ...more