The father of Fortran dies

John Backus, the man who led the IBM team that created Fortran - the first widely-used computer language - has died. He was 82 and passed away at his home in Oregon. In 1953, Backus proposed to IBM a more efficient alternative to assembly language for programming mainframe computers. ...more

NVIDIA lends its weight to an AMD blow at Intel

AMD has announced that NVIDIA will be using its HyperTransport technology within its nForce graphics chipset, effectively making AMD's Athlon the chip of choice for many PC owners. Indeed, this could be just the start of the bleak news for Intel, with ATi also working with the technology. If it performs as well as AMD claims - a potential 40-fold increase in data throughput - Intel could become a poor second choice, combined with its expensive RAMBUS memory as opposed to both AMD's and NVIDIA's support for much cheaper DDR. ...more

US Supreme Court will review Microsoft overseas patent case

It is a legal ruling that could determine the reach of US patents overseas. The US Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether Microsoft should have to pay damages overseas for infringing a speech recognition software patent owned by AT&T. The high court granted Microsoft's petition to review an appeals court ruling that held AT&T could seek royalties based on the foreign manufacture and sale of infringing software products. ...more

Taipei aims to be world's first fully Wi-Fi city

Taipei is set to win the race to become the world's first fully Wi-Fi connected city. The wireless network planned by the city's government will provide 90 per cent coverage for its 3 million inhabitants and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2005. The capital of Taiwan, and the powerhouse for the country's high-tech industries, will enjoy up to 20,000 access points around the city, reports Reuters. ...more

Apple upgrades iMac line with Core 2 Duo chips

Apple has upgraded its entire iMac line, adding Intel's recently introduced Core 2 Duo processor to all the models, including a new 24in version. The machines range from two 17in models with either a 1.83GHz or 2GHz processor, through to the 2. ...more