Researchers close to breaking 1024-bit RSA encryption

The 1024-bit RSA encryption algorithm is close to being cracked, after encryption researchers demonstrate that a 307-bit Mersenne number can be broken down into primes. The breakthrough will lead to changes in the way data is encrypted, according to the scientists. The researchers - from the Ecoles Polytechniques Federales de Lausanne, the University of Bonn, and Japanese telco NTT - also broke a new record for discovering the prime factors of the number in 11 months. ...more

New Kodak cameras

Three new digital cameras are heading out of the Kodak stable to join their EasyShare brethren. The EasyShare range utilises a docking station, allowing one-touch transferral of your images from camera to PC. The models are as follows. ...more

Ireland on the road to e-commerce hub

Ireland's enthusiastic uptake of all things Net is putting it in a prime position to be an e-commerce hub. At the fourth Internet Business Conference in Dublin today, Mr Noel Tracey, Minister for Science, Technology and Commerce, said that this would lead to the end of Ireland being on the periphery. He claimed recent figures indicate 77 per cent of Irish firms have a Web presence and that 79 per cent have external email. ...more

Microsoft claims Mac Office success shows it does not rely on Windows' dominance

Microsoft did not need to rely on its dominance of the operating system market to deliver successful applications, a company attorney said yesterday as he continued his opening statement to the Iowa court hearing a private class-action lawsuit against the company. David Tulchin told jurors that it was the company's decision to 'bet on the graphical user interface (GUI)' when other software developers continued to develop character-based operating systems and applications, that has underpinned its success. Indeed, it was Microsoft's enthusiastic support of the GUI that led it to develop word processing, spreadsheet and other applications software for the Mac long before many other software developers, he said. ...more

Tiscali teams with CinemaNow to serve up movies on demand

Tiscali is teaming up with CinemaNow to provide movies-on-demand for its broadband users. The new service will be available in the UK, Germany and Italy from early October and will offer movies to either download or stream for ?1.99 each. ...more