Ask Jeeves asks Google

Ask Jeeves has picked the Google AdWords system on its UK site to supply sponsored links. The deal is said to be 'exclusive' which presumably means that Ask Jeeves UK will be dropping Espotting from its listings. The Google AdWords will be in addition to Ask Jeeves UK's advertising and pay per inclusion programmes. ...more

Nokia phones struck by Skulls virus

Finnish security company F-Secure says it has received reports of Nokia phone users being infected with the Skulls virus - an attack that replaces all of the icons for the operating system with images of skulls that, if clicked on, lead nowhere. Indeed the Skulls virus is a Trojan that will render the Symbian operating system, used on Nokia's high-end smartphones, useless. It is billed as a Trojan as it purports to be a theme manager for the Nokia 7610, and so might tempt victims into installing it believing they are giving their phone a new look. ...more

Comment: Rows and columns by any other name

Does anyone really like the naming convention used today for display pixel formats? Everyone is familiar with acronyms like VGA, SVGA and XGA, although few remember anymore that 'VGA' stands for 'Video Graphics Array,' the 'S' for 'Super' and the 'X' for 'Extended.' However, the alphabet soup of display acronyms is becoming even more jumbled and harder to understand. For an example of this, look no further than two very different standards that have very similar names: QUXGA and QVGA. ...more

Microsoft still faces EU sanction threat

Microsoft may have escaped punishment in the US this week, but it still awaits the outcome of an EU probe into alleged anti-competitive practices. The EU's investigation surrounds the bundling of Windows Media Player within Windows, excluding rival products from Real Networks and Apple. It is also investigating the inclusion of features in Windows that make it interoperate best with Microsoft's own server products rather than those running Unix systems such as Linux. ...more

Apple goes back to Boot Camp

Apple has released an updated beta of Boot Camp, its environment for running Windows on a Mac. The update provides: support for the latest Intel-based Macintosh computers; easier partitioning using presets for popular sizes; Windows XP installation on any internal disk; support for built-in iSight cameras and microphones; support for the Apple USB Modem; trackpad scrolling and right-click support on Apple laptops; improved Apple keyboard support including Delete, PrintScreen, NumLock, and ScrollLock keys; and improved International Apple keyboard support. Boot Camp 1. ...more