HP recalls notebook batteries

Hewlett-Packard is recalling 15,700 notebook batteries which, it says, may prove to be a fire hazard. The recall, which is world wide, related to batteries which were manufactured in China in January 2005. The alert was issued by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission following reports that HP has received 20 reports of batteries overheating, including two in the US. ...more

Five million Britons are scam victims

Up to 5m people in Britain may have fallen victim to fraudsters. Meanwhile a staggering 28m Britons may have been targeted by the scamsters - almost half the population of the United Kingdom. The claim is made by a new report by the consumer watchdog Which? The survey indicates that increasingly the fraudsters are turning to high technology to find their victims. ...more

Experts demand research into nano risks

More research is needed to identify any health and environmental hazards of nanotechnology so that public confidence is maintained in the fast-growing industry, experts said on Wednesday. Nanotechnology, which involves manipulating materials on an ultra-small scale, has the potential to make better products in fields from computing to cosmetics to fuel additives. But nanoparticles tens of thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair could be dangerous if they interact with the human body or the environment in unexpected ways. ...more

Movie studios plan download store before years'-end

The US film industry has said that it is hopeful that the first movie downloads store will be ready for business before the end of the year. 'It's something we have to do, but it has to be done well,' said Bob Wright, chief executive of NBC Universal. 'We're pretty close. ...more

Authors auction character parts on eBay

Stephen King, John Grisham and Amy Tan are among 16 authors auctioning character roles in future books on eBay. Successful bidders will be immortalised in print by having the characters named after themselves. The auction is being organised by a Californian freedom of information and expression charity, the First Amendment Project, which hopes to raise between $40,000 and $50,000. ...more