Don't MP3 it - stream it!

With all the fuss about Napster and MP3 files still buzzing around like the proverbial flies around a cow's bottom, reports of a new system for sharing music have quietly arrived. The difference between Jackalope Audio and Napster is that its music network allows subscribers to share music without handing over copies of the song. The system relies on an encrypted audio system to stream the tracks into computers. ...more

Creative lets you tinkle the ivories at your desktop

Creative Labs has released a QWERTY keyboard with an integrated three-octave piano keyboard. The Prodikeys DM features a 37-key music keyboard, hidden under a detachable wrist rest which will be available at the end of the month for a penny less than ?80. The QWERTY keyboard offers programmable keys to give shortcuts to the Internet and applications, while the musical element offers 'Sustain', 'Octave Shift' and 'Pitch Bend' features. ...more

Symantec records the rise and rise of malicious code

Attacks on personal information held on PCs is a growing threat according to the latest twice yearly Internet Security Report from Symantec. A proliferation of Trojans and phishing attacks is highlighted. The report says that in the second half of last year over half of malware analysed by Symantec turned out to be intended to reveal personal information. ...more

FTC slaps down Windows Messenger spammer

A pop-up ad spammer has run up the white flag in its battle with the US Federal Trade Commission. The FTC had been pursuing D Squared Solutions LLC and its owners Anish Dhingra and Jeffrey Davis through the courts to prevent the company from bombarding users with pop up ads offering pop up blocking software. The company had used the Windows Messenger Service - normally used to provide information about finished print jobs and other system information - to display ads on computer screens up to every 10 minutes. ...more

BT's 3G roll out delayed till Autumn

BT's proposed launch of a 3G mobile-phone network on the Isle of Man will be delayed till late summer or early Autumn, the company said today. The project, to be conducted with BT's wholly-owned subsidiary Manx Telecom as well as Siemens and NEC, was to have been the first 3G roll-out in the world when it launched this month. It may still be, if it manages to beat NTT DoCoMo's roll-out in the Autumn. ...more