Launched on the 4th of July

Can't make up your mind whether or not to be trained for war in the Land of the Brave? You're in luck: find out for free! America's Army, the first-person shooter developed by, funnily enough, the American Army, is now available for download from various sites in the US. Around 4 million has been spent on the 'game' in the last two years, the whole idea of the project being to woo new recruits. Based on the Unreal engine, the title is a squad-based tactical shooter, putting you through the rigours of boot camp - although we're pretty sure American drill instructors are a little more curt than the virtual representation - to the real world, modern scenarios of shooting terrorists in various locations. ...more

VMware virtualises the Intel-based Mac

VMware has announced the Intel-based Mac version of its client virtualisation software. The new version was demonstrated yesterday at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2006 in San Francisco and allows Intel-based Macs running OS X to run a whole host of guest operating systems within its virtualised environment without having to dual boot. Apple's first concession to allowing other platforms onto its hardware came in the form of Boot Camp, which allowed the installation of Windows XP alongside Mac OS X in a dual-boot environment. ...more

2GHz Pentium 4s race out of the stalls

Intel has officially launched 2GHz Pentium 4s and Dell has followed step with updates to its Precision workstations and Dimension and OptiPlex desktop ranges. Dell's Precision Workstations are aimed at professional users creating digital content creation or using detailed analysis applications. The entry-level Dell Precision Workstation 330, which will feature the 2GHz processor, has a US starting price of $1,697. ...more

Cubes in space

With Christmas just behind us, how appropriate that a tale reminiscent of an 007 film should catch the eye. Aerospace researcher Dennis Wingo wants to build a network of 544 satellites powered entirely by specially modified G4 Cubes, communicating by means of a customized version of the Apple AirPort and providing Web hosting and e-mail. Wingo's plans include assembling the satellites in space. ...more

NY Senator bids to outlaw spyware

A New York Senator has filed a bill in the State Senate which would outlaw spyware. The Bill by Senator Michael Balboni attempts to make the unauthorised uploading of spyware to a user's machine a crime but also attempts to place limits on 'legitimate' spyware. Under the term 'spyware' the Bill covers programs which monitor communications between a user's computer and the outside world, especially key-logging programs and transmits them to a third party without the user's knowledge. ...more