Symantec records 81 per cent rise in computer vulnerabilities in 2002

A record 2,524 new vulnerabilities in computer systems were discovered in 2002 according to the Internet Security Threat Report from internet security specialists Symantec. These figures show an 81 percent rise on 2001. The increase in new vulnerabilities was driven by a steep rise (84. ...more

Communications Act receives royal OK

Royal assent for the Communications Act means it has just crept into national law before the EU deadline. The Act will be patrolled by the regulatory body soon-to-known-as Ofcom and will implement the various EU Directives that seek to promote competition and protect consumer interests in the communications sector. The EU set a deadline of 25 July for these to be transposed into UK law. ...more

Microsoft suspends IE changes

Microsoft has suspended planned changes to Internet Explorer, having decided that there is every chance that a patent on the embedding of interactive content in Web pages may be overturned. The US Patent Office is currently re-examining the patent, which is held by Eolas. Microsoft issued a brief statement saying, 'The action by the Patent Office may result in the cancellation of the Eolas patent. ...more

Matsushita lets you feel the music

And how is the music sir? Like a traditional sommelier would recommend the best wine to go with your food, so Matsushita's Musicsommelier technology suggests the best music to go with your mood. In an attempt to let the user make sense of the huge resource of music available online, the Musicsommelier interface technology classifies music according to its emotive feel. The system evaluates a piece of music through five emotive qualities: how soft, simple, refreshing, dynamic and exciting it is, and to what extent. ...more

Nvidia boosts cards with GDDR-3 memory

Nvidia is to adopt Graphics Double Data Rate 3 (GDDR-3) memory for use with its GeForce FX GPUs. Samsung will be supplying the GDDR-3 graphics memory. Described as the next evolution of high-speed DDR SDRAM, the GDDR-3 graphics memory enables higher memory clock frequencies at a lower power level. ...more