Intel turns to Extreme UV lithography for printing shrinking processors

Intel has passed two milestones in the development of extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, a technology for building the ever smaller microprocessors of the future. Intel has set itself the goal of printing circuitry as small as 30 nanometers (nm). The chip giant has installed the world's first commercial EUV lithography tool and set up an EUV mask pilot line. ...more

UPDATED: Speed boost for iBooks

Apple has upped the processor speed of its iBook line-up, adding 100MHz to each of the four models. The entry-level 12.1in CD-ROM iBook now runs on an 800MHz G3 processor. ...more

Dell opts for Ubuntu Linux distro

Dell has chosen Ubuntu as the Linux distribution that it will offer pre-installed on a range of its PCs. A month ago the company announced that it would extend its Linux offering in response to feedback to its IdeaStorm website and a subsequent survey. In this, more than 70 per cent of the 100,000 respondents said that they would use the open source operating system both at home and at work. ...more

US votes to ban social networking sites

The US House of Representative has voted almost unanimously to ban social networking sites from schools and public libraries. The Deleting Online Predators bill was passed by 410 votes to 15 and forces taxpayer-funded bodies to block children's access to sites such as MySpace. Opponents of the bill claim that its definition of social networking sites is so vague that the law could be used willy-nilly by the administering body, the Federal Communications Commission, to restrict access to sites that were never meant to come under its remit. ...more

Microsoft announces OneCare security suite for consumers

Microsoft has finally taken the plunge and announced its plans for its own security software. Currently in internal beta testing in the US, the software will be a paid-for subscription service under the moniker Windows OneCare. OneCare will target Microsoft's massive consumer install-base, offering anti-virus, anti-spyware and two-way firewall components, as well as performance optimisation utilities and back up and restore tools. ...more