Analysis: Back on the broadband wagon

ADSL2+ might be making the headlines, but Britain isn't catching up with the leading broadband nations, reports Stephen Bruce Everyone from telephone companies and ISPs to early adopters and broadcasters are talking up the next generation of DSL broadband services. But how long will we have to wait for these services to arrive? Broadband uptake has spread across Britain (nearly doubling last year and now totalling some five million connections in the UK), but bandwidth-hungry users are already impatiently waiting for the next raft of services - such as television on demand - which could be carried over high-speed ADSL2+. These connections are already widely available in Europe, with France and Italy leading the way, but the first trials in the UK were launched only last month. ...more

Microsoft makes Live online service live

Microsoft has announced two new brands for the delivery of online services: Windows Live and Microsoft Office Live. Bill Gates unveiled the company's new online strategy, with Windows Live intended 'to bring together all the elements of an individual's digital world' while Office Live helps small companies 'do business online'. 'These new offerings demonstrate how software is evolving through the power of services in ways that enable more dynamic and relevant experiences for people,' said Gates. ...more

MacDrive enhances the Windows eXPerience

MacDrive, software that enables Windows PCs to read Mac-formatted disks, is being updated to support Windows XP. MacDrive allows Windows users to copy, open, save, delete and rename files on Mac disks and to format disks for the Mac and is a useful alternative for users seeking a means of transferring files between platforms. It is compatible with, amongst others, floppies, Zip, Jaz, ORB, SyQuest, hard drives, CD-ROMs and multi-session CD-Rs. ...more

Eavesdropping security threat emerges

A new kind of computer security threat has been identified that could pick up passwords and bank details without installing anything on the target machine. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a method to detect the text typed on a keyboard with 96 per cent accuracy, just by listening to the sound of keys being hit. Li Zhuang, Feng Zhou, and J D Tygar have released a paper identifying a method of categorising the different sounds made when the typist hits each key, and then using a variety of factors, such as the probability of clusters of letters appearing together and grammatical constraints, to work out what was typed. ...more

Mobile SMS-shopping service launched

A new shopping service has launched for people with SMS capabilities on their mobile phones. 12snap offers shoppers the chance to buy and bid for goods via SMS messages. The service runs like a radio station, with different programs on a weekly schedule. ...more