AMD cuts the lead from its chips

AMD is cutting the amount of lead in its microprocessors. The move comes ahead of the section of the European Union Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive that restricts the amount of heavy metals used in electronic components due to come into effect in July 2006. As part of it compliance with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) legislation, AMD now offers RoHS-compliant products across its whole range of processors including the Opteron, Athlon 64, Athlon 64 X2, AMD Turion 64 Mobile Technology and Sempron families of processors. ...more

IBM unveils middleware strategy to freeze out Microsoft

Today IBM is planning to release details of a new strategy that will allow PCs and handhelds to access data from centrally based computers without the need to access applications remotely. The strategy, somewhat confusingly being touted as 'client middleware' allows employees to work with workgroup software, emails and diaries via a web browser. The data itself will be held on centrally based servers and therefore plays to IBM's strengths. ...more

Japanese professor collects Millennium Technology Prize

The Millennium Technology Prize, the prestigious equivalent of the Nobel prize for applied science, has been collected by Professor Shuji Nakamura, who developed a new range of coloured LEDs many thought were impossible to produce. Although the idea of different coloured LEDs sounds as though it is only of interest to Christmas tree decorators, the discoveries of Professor Nakamura are already having a profound effect on technology advances. Without his inventions we would not have 'blue laser' optical discs, better quality high definition flat panel displays and more energy efficient lighting. ...more

SCO's move to court with Novell could spell end game

A new paper from the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) suggests that SCO's move to take on Novell in court over ownership of Unix throws that question into doubt and gives potential licencees for SCO's Unix IP licence every reason to wait out the case rather than succumb to SCO's threatening letters. The new paper - the third from the OSDL's Eben Moglen, who is the General Counsel for the Free Software Foundation - says that this could turn out to be the end game for SCO. Moglen writes that SCO 'has given the targets of its licensing campaign the clearest possible reason for remaining on the sidelines, and by doing so it has triggered the forces that are going to bring this nuisance to an end. ...more

Email spying open to attack

Firms with a policy of monitoring their employees' email and Internet activities are still liable to be sued under the Human Rights Act (HRA). This is despite the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act, designed to legally allow the Government and businesses to survey email and Internet traffic on corporate-owned networks, which will come into effect later this month. Although businesses have been advised to check and if necessary amend staff handbooks and contracts stating their monitoring policy, the two Acts are in conflict in a situation where an employee is using the employer's network but not its server. ...more