IBM appoints new chief

The IBM board of directors have elected a new CEO to succeed Lou Gerstner. Samuel J. Palmisano (pictured left, with Gerstner), currently IBM president and chief operating officer, will take over 1 March, but to smooth the transition Gerstner will remain chairman until the end of 2002. ...more

Police foil Al-Qaeda plot to blow up UK Internet

Police have uncovered a plot to blow up the UK's Internet hub in London, according to reports from the Sunday Times. If successful, the suspected Al-Qaeda plot could have knocked out most of Britain's Internet services. The newspaper reported that the Metropolitan Police discovered computer files indicating that terrorist suspects had been planning to infiltrate Telehouse in London's Docklands with the aim of blowing it up from the inside. ...more

Yahoo! condemned as 'Chinese police informant'

Internet portal Yahoo! has been accused of colluding with the Chinese authorities to track down and convict a pro-democracy campaigner. The campaigner Shi Tao was sentenced to 10 years in prison in April for 'providing state secrets to foreign entities'. The press freedom pressure group Reporters without Borders (Reporters San Frontieres) says that the judgement of the court case clearly indicates that Yahoo! China supplied the local police with information linking to Tao's email address. ...more

ATI promises desktop 'parity' with mobile graphics launch

ATI has recast its Radeon X800 in mobile form. Raising the bar for notebook graphics, the Mobility Radeon 9800 is aimed squarely at mobile gamers. 'ATI has a proven track record of mobile graphics innovation with first to market advantages for upgradeable graphics, DirectX 9 support and now high definition mobile gaming," said David Cummings, Director of Marketing, Mobile Business Unit. ...more

iPod handbag

The iPurse could be the ultimate in iPod exhibitionism. Masquerading as a run-of-the-mill handbag, it transforms into a portable hi-fi by way of a neat slot for an Apple iPod and two integrated stereo speakers. The iPurse is available in two, iPod-matching white designs - Groove Purse Speaker Purse for iPod and Groove Purse Triplet Speaker Purse for iPod - yours for the princely sum of $145 (about ?90), plus whatever it takes to get it shipped over from the US. ...more