RIP IE6
Microsoft has celebrated the imminent demise of version 6 of its Internet Explorer browser by baking a cake. The software giant held the light-hearted celebration as it revealed that the program was used by less than 1% of US internet surfers. It is keen to kill off the old version of the browser and persuade users to move to IE8 or 9. Meanwhile rival Google has been forced into an embarrassing...
Read MoreLife without a login button?
You don’t even think about them nowadays, login buttons have been the way of the internet since its conception! But what if you don’t need them? what if all those clicks and mouse moving or tabbing were surplus to requirements? Wouldn’t surfing the world wide web feel more seamless, more fluid? Try it out here http://demo.nologinbutton.com/
Read MoreBotnets: Hi-tech crime in the UK
About 6% of Britain’s home computers have been hijacked by criminals and formed into networks known as botnets. This chart shows how much spam each network is pumping out each week. Home net providers Select ISP to highlight data Click and drag in the chart to zoom in BT Group Entanet Everything Everywhere Kingston Communications O2 Sky TalkTalk Thus Group Virgin Media Zen...
Read MoreUK shopping habits transformed by technology, KPMG says
UK shoppers are embracing technology, and at a faster pace than many other countries, a survey of global shopping habits by KPMG has suggested. Seventy-seven per cent of British shoppers prefer to buy goods like CDs, DVDs, books and video games online – compared with 65% globally. But when it comes to mobile banking, consumers in the UK are more reluctant than those in other parts of the...
Read MoreSyria ‘bans iPhones’ over protest footage
Syria has banned the iPhone, reports say, as the government tries to control information getting out of the country. In a statement apparently issued by the customs department of the Syrian finance ministry and seen by Lebanese and German media, the authorities “warn anyone against using the iPhone in Syria”. The order also apparently prohibits the import of iPhones. The UN believes...
Read MoreCoding wizards offered X Factor style competition
Television may have created the impression that talent contests are only open to those who can sing, dance or persuade a dog to juggle but a new phenomenon is springing up online that offers a much more cerebal type of X Factor aimed at coders. Outside of the world of reality TV, it is algorithms that are the real stars – powering a range of services from the financial markets to the...
Read MoreWorld’s ‘lightest material’ unveiled by US engineers
A team of engineers claims to have created the world’s lightest material. The substance is made out of tiny hollow metallic tubes arranged into a micro-lattice – a criss-crossing diagonal pattern with small open spaces between the tubes. The researchers say the material is 100 times lighter than Styrofoam and has “extraordinarily high energy absorption”...
Read MoreHackers attack Norway’s oil, gas and defence businesses
Oil, gas and defence firms in Norway have been hit by a series of sophisticated hack attacks. Industrial secrets and information about contract negotiations had been stolen, said Norway’s National Security Agency (NSM). It said 10 firms, and perhaps many more, had been targeted in the biggest wave of attacks to hit the country. Norway is the latest in a growing list of nations that have...
Read MoreGoogle unveils Android-based online music store
Google has launched an online music store in the US, which will allow devices running its Android software to buy, store and stream MP3 files. EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal and 23 independent labels are providing content to create a library of 13 million songs. However, Warner Music Group has opted not to take part at this point. The service poses a challenge to Apple’s dominance...
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