Nude Dutch phone frenzy

Nudity, it seems, is on the rise for people who spend their time sat in front of a computer screen, as a Dutch call centre is advertising for staff that want to work naked. Holland, with its multi-lingual workforce and attractive rates of taxation, is a popular location for international call centres, resulting in a shortage of applicants for new posts, but the naked opportunity has succeeded in attracting a rush of highly-qualified applicants, according to Reuters. There could be quite a few from Yorkshire, if results of a survey by NOP for AOL are to be believed. ...more

palmOne confirms Mobile Manager debut

palmOne has reacted to speculation and leaks concerning a new hard-drive based PDA by confirming that a device will be unveiled later this month, under a new Mobile Manager banner. The handheld maker indicated that Mobile Manager would be a new category of devices for users who are moving towards '"digital everything" , from documents and email to music, images and video, as standalone files or in organised folders.' 'In studying customer trends, we found that some people want to carry dozens of documents and hundreds of songs while others want to carry a thousand-plus photos and enjoy videos,' said Page Murray, palmOne VP of marketing. ...more

Record rise in LLU connections

December saw the biggest surge yet in the number of unbundled Internet connections in the UK, with 200,000 new LLU lines taking the total to 1.3 million. More strikingly, there are now more than ten times as many LLU lines as there were at the beginning of 2006, with the benefits evident in lower prices. ...more

Intel digs chips off a new block

Intel has developed new materials to take transistors to new levels of miniaturisation and speed. Researchers in Intel's labs have produced a high resistance 'dialectric' they call high-k that insulates against current leakage more than one hundred times better than the current silicon solution. And as the standard transistor gates won't work with the new material, they have also successfully developed a metal gate to resolve this. ...more

Foxconn iPod factory 'one of the better ones'

Foxconn's iPod factory is 'one of the better ones' according to Ken Tidwell, who recently visited the plant in LongHau, China. Apple is currently investigating allegations of poor working and living conditions at the plant, but Tidwell told macintouch.com that 'the five hundred staffers I recently lectured to were all in good spirits and clearly satisfied with their jobs and working conditions'. ...more