Google Maps goes to Mars

Google Maps has made a giant leap beyond even the moon to give Googlers their first close up of Mars. You don't get the complete picture, but the locations of pretty much every landing, successful or otherwise, are depicted along with many of the most important geographical features such as Valles Marineris. The images were snapped some 250 miles out by a series of orbiting instruments: the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) creates a map colour-coded by altitude while the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) offers a visual depiction of the red planet. ...more

The spy lurking in Apple's 'DRM-free' music

Apple's so-called 'DRM-free' music tracks are actually embedded with the name and account details of the person who downloaded the track. The company released a selection of the 'iTunes Plus' albums as part of an iTunes update yesterday. The AAC audio files can be freely moved from PC-to-PC or to any compatible digital music player. ...more

Microsoft's ZenZui zooms in on mobile interfaces

Microsoft has spun off a project within its research labs as a separate company under the flag ZenZui. ZenZui will market and sell its Zooming User Interface, developed to make it easier for people using mobile devices with small screens to access and enjoy web content. The project has been in incubation for three years at Microsoft and is led by experts in human-computer interaction and data visualisation. ...more

Windows is more secure than Linux, claim researchers

Researchers have unveiled a study at the RSA security conference that concludes Windows is more secure than Linux. Richard Ford, a computer-science professor at the Florida Institute of Technology and Herbert Thompson, director of security research and training at Security Innovation, claim that Red Hat's Linux is vulnerable for more than twice as long as Windows. Servers running Windows Server 2003 and Red Hat Enterprise Server 3 were tested for security with databases, scripting engines and Web servers. ...more

Apple UK offers ?300 iRebate

Apple is offering a rebate of up to ?300 on Apple Store or Apple Authorised Reseller purchases of a new iBook or CD-RW iMac. The offer runs from 15 August to 14 October 2001 and applies when you purchase any of the following products: selected Lexmark Printers, Rio MP3 Players, Canon MV400i series Camcorders and Kodak EasyShare Digital Cameras. For each product you buy, you'll receive up to ?80 back. ...more