Gloves are off for handheld price cuts

Handspring has announced a round of UK price cuts for its Visor range of PDAs. You can now pick up a Visor Solo for ?89. The standard Visor comes in at ?119, the popular Deluxe version at ?149, the speedy Platinum at ?189, the lithe Edge at ?269 and the full colour Prism at ?349. ...more

IT Forum 2004: Bill Gates drops strong hints on 64-bit Windows for the desktop

Bill Gates has revealed something of Microsoft's plans for the roll out of 64-bit Windows for the desktop in his keynote speech at the IT Forum 2004 in Copenhagen. Promising that 64-bit computing would arrive by the middle of 2005, Gates addressed the delivery of 64-bit Windows for desktops. He declared that 'testing is in final stages' and revealed that work on the new MSN beta desktop search - Microsoft's answer to Google - was developed using such 64-bit Windows XP systems. ...more

3G for the third-world?

Boeing Satellite Systems and IBM have created the world's most powerful digital signal processor (DSP) capable of providing wireless communications in areas where telephone lines and other communications infrastructures don't exist or are poorly developed. The DSP is as powerful as 3,000 PII-based PCs and five-times more powerful than its predecessor and delivers medium-bandwidth data and voice services. It's currently sitting at the heart of the Thuraya satellite - in orbit over the Middle East, North and Central Africa, Europe, the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia - and will start supplying commercial services as early as this month. ...more

OFT demands better deals for IT consumers

Twelve UK computer sellers have agreed to withdraw what the Office of Fair Trading considers 'unfair terms' for customers. In particular, Micro Anvika has agreed to revise unfair terms in its consumer contract and abide by distance selling regulations, following a complaint by the company's local Trading Standards Department. John Vickers, OFT Chairman, said: 'Terms in contracts must be both clear and fair, and consumers must not be denied the extra rights they have if they buy by mail order or on the Net. ...more

Mobiles are safe, claims report

Using a cellular phone does not increase a person's risk of cancer, according to a broad study released on Tuesday involving more than 400,000 Danish cellular telephone users. A team of researchers used data on the entire population of Denmark to determine that neither short- nor long-term use of cellular phones, also called mobile phones, was linked to a greater risk of tumours of the brain and nervous system, salivary gland or eyes, leukaemia or cancer overall. It is estimated that more than 2 billion people worldwide use cellular phones. ...more