BT admits to bandwidth curbs

BTOpenworld, BT's broadband Internet division, has admitted putting curbs on certain Web sites bandwidth having previously denied that it was doing so. BTOpenworld admitted - in an email sent out in response to complaints - that it had imposed, 'traffic controls on particular applications and ports.' The 'problem' lay with peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers of large files. ...more

Microsoft Works it out

The 2002 incarnation of Works will hit the high street next Monday, 5 November. The UK version will comprise: Word 2002 with smart tags, voice recognition and document recovery features; AutoRoute 2002; Money 2002 with its new background banking feature that updates with your bank even when you are not using it; Encarta 2002 and Picture It! 2002 to manage your digital images. The tag line is that it's the 'most wanted' set of Microsoft apps and it's yours from most retail outlets for ?119. ...more

Samsung pushes the PRAM out

Korean giant Samsung Electronics has unveiled a new type of flash memory chip that it claims is up to 30 times faster than today's devices. According to the company, the prototype 512Mbit Phase-change Random Access Memory (PRAM) chip shown in Seoul is set to become the main memory device to replace high density NOR flash within the next 10 years. PRAM's turn of speed is attributable to its ability to rewrite data without having to first erase data already stored, making it effectively 30-times faster than conventional flash memory. ...more

US Justice Department backs Microsoft against Google

When Google filed a confidential complaint against Microsoft, a leading antitrust official at the US Justice Department intervened, urging state prosecutors to reject it, according to a newspaper report. The intervention took place last month, but has just been revealed by the New York Times. Google accused Microsoft of designing its Vista operating system to discourage use of Google's desktop search program, lawyers involved in the case told the Times. ...more

DTI puts data security at the heart of good business

The DTI's UK Online for Business portal sports a new section today, devoted to advising businesses on security issues. As well as protecting business assets such as data from widely known threats, eg viruses and such like, it also helps with putting in security policies that protect the more concrete assets of the premises and that govern employees' practices and appropriate use of email and the Internet. It also points out the importance of business continuity plans in the event of disaster, be it from loss of data or otherwise. ...more