American Express to reduce online fraud

American Express is set to launch a disposable credit card number scheme for shopping on the Internet. The system will allow existing cardholders to access a secure Web site and obtain a card number that can be used only once. It is hoped that this plan will alleviate customers' fears of their details being stolen through their use on the Internet. ...more

Apple accelerates iBook and PowerBook laptops and cuts prices

Apple has updated both its laptop ranges, with faster PowerBooks and iBooks. The consumer-oriented iBooks can now be fitted with a DVD-burning SuperDrives for the first time. Both ranges also see welcome price cuts, with the 12in iBook dropping to just ?799. ...more

eBay to change image policy

An unscrupulous seller has recently tried to sell autopsy and crime scene pictures on eBay, prompting the company to change its policy on graphic images. The pictures were from a case involving Steven Branch, an eight-year-old from Memphis who went missing with two of his friends. Their mutilated bodies were found in a drainage ditch and three teenagers were charged with their murders. ...more

IBM steps up war on spam

IBM says it has come up with a new weapon in fight against spam. Known as FairUCE (Fair use of Unsolicited Commercial Email), the new technology is based on the idea of challenging each email from an unknown sender. FairUCE starts from the premise that IP numbers are unchanging, at least until a machine is switched off. ...more

Microsoft widens the release of the new 'Avalon' UI

Microsoft has released a preview version of its next generation graphical interface. Originally intended for the 'Longhorn' version of Windows, slated for release in 2006, Microsoft now says that it will be releasing versions for Windows XP and Windows 2003 Server. According to Microsoft, the ambitious Avalon project 'unifies how Windows creates, displays, and manipulates documents, media, and (the) user interface'. ...more