Wireless network equipment shortage worsening

Wireless network equipment makers in Taiwan, which supply nearly 80 per cent of global WLAN equipment, find themselves in a worsening situation for the supply of components, local IC distributors said. According to an earlier report, Taiwan-based networking equipment companies have already been troubled with 802.11b chipset shortages. ...more

Digital divide narrowing - Ofcom

The digital divide between the various parts of the UK has diminished significantly over the past 12 months, according to new Ofcom research. In its Communications Market Report for the Nations and Regions of the UK, the telecoms regulator looked at take-up and usage of Internet, telecommunications and broadcasting services across Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the nine English regions. Where last year's report showed significant geographical differences, particularly in take-up levels of broadband and digital television, this year's shows that the gaps are closing. ...more

UK Net use continues to grow

More than a third of all households are now connected to the Internet, says research firm NetValue. This makes a total of 12 million surfers, of which five million are women. In Europe, only Germany has more people online, with a total of nearly 13 million. ...more

Palm kits out handhelds with Java

PalmOne has released a developer toolkit that eases the building of Java apps for its range of Tungsten and Treo devices. As well as aiding the creation of new Java applications for the Palm OS, it also allows developers to use existing tools and port other applications to a Java-enabled Palm OS platform. The kit uses the latest version of IBM's WebSphere Micro Environment Toolkit for Palm OS developers and offers Java 2 Micro Edition support. ...more

Spyware threat needs enterprise-class solution, says analyst

Research group META is highlighting the lack of an enterprise-class tool to prevent spyware. According to the company, businesses will be lumbered with having to cobble together their own methods for combatting the rise of spyware on the Net for some years to come due to a lack of a single solution. 'IT organizations must understand the spyware threat environment and develop a mitigation plan,' said Peter Firstbrook, senior research analyst with META Group's Infrastructure Strategies. ...more