Trojan stalks Sony's PSP console

Security companies are warning of a Trojan that affects Sony's handheld PSP console. Symantec has labelled malware Trojan.PSPBrick, as that is what the code essentially renders your console as: an expensive plastic brick. ...more

Chips for 10-year passports have two-year warranty

Biometric microchips embedded into new ePassports have only two-year warranties despite the ten-year lifespan of the documents, a National Audit Office (NAO) report said. The chip technology is so new there's no way of knowing how long the chips will last, the report said. While it has been tested, the long-term durability is ultimately unproven, leading manufacturer NXP Semiconductors to offer the 24 month warranty. ...more

University to set up archive of bust dot com company business plans

Budding entrepreneurs and historians of the future will be able to look back on the madness of the dot com boom. The University of Maryland has received government and private grants to archive the business and marketing plans of those companies launched between 1996 and 2002 that thought having a domain name and venture capital backing meant they could retire at 25. The University of Maryland's Robert H. ...more

Mr President, I can not tell a lie

With the US elections almost over, new software has been used to test which of the candidates has talked with biggest forked tongue. A piece of software called Truster has the supposed ability to root out little white lies from those big black ones! Time magazine recently routed the two presidential candidates' voices through the software while they were taking part in a debate and the results proved interesting reading. It seems that Al Gore could only muster 23 false statements during the test while George W Bush scored an impressive 57 fibs. ...more

Intel trips the light fantastic

With the Internet becoming part and parcel of everyday life, the future of computer networks lies along pathways of light - rather than cables - to transmit data at ultra high speed. It sounds futuristic, and it is, but one can see why Intel has decided to buy into optical technology. The three deals see the company paying $400 million for LightLogic, a company that specialises in equipment that coverts light signals into digital signals. ...more