Dell recalls notebook batteries

PC manufacturer Dell has recalled 27,000 notebook computer batteries after one caught fire. Dell said it has only received one report of this happening and that no-one was hurt in the incident. The batteries involved are all made by Sanyo Electric and the fault isn't in the notebooks themselves. ...more

Key open-source code passes muster

Analysis of the source code for key open-source projects has shown fewer than 29 'defects' in every 100,000 lines of code. Analysis of the LAMP stack - the Linux platform, Apache web server, MySQL database and Perl, PHP or Python scripting languages - showed that the commonly used open-source building blocks were well below the average for some 32 open-source projects scrutinised by Coverity. These included the likes of Samba, gcc, Gnome and FreeBSD. ...more

IBM lays out the future for idle computers

The Chief Technology Officer of IBM's PC Division, Brian Connors, was in London today briefing journalists on IBM's vision for the PC. Completing a European tour, Connors was in London to signpost IBM developments for PCs in business computing. The main emphasis concerned 'e-business on demand' - the idea of computing resources being flexibly managed to balance processing loads. ...more

RIAA spams file-swappers

The Recording Industry Association of America has said it is to use the chat functions of peer-to-peer file-swapping applications to warn users offering copyright material that they are breaking the law. The 'Music United' campaign will be run by a company external to the RIAA and is claimed to be educational in nature, as opposed to anti-piracy. By scanning peer-to-peer networks, the technology can pick up any apparently copyrighted material from a list of several hundred songs, grab the username and instant message the individual offering such material using the application's own chat function. ...more

Intel, Microsoft go on HD DVD promotion offensive

Intel and Microsoft have decided to join up to the HD DVD promotion group in order to show their backing for the next-generation blue-laser optical discs. HD DVD's rival in this space is the Sony-led Blu-ray technology, which already boasts the likes of Dell, Apple, Samsung and HP among its ranks as well as numerous movie studios. HD DVD is the baby of Toshiba and NEC, although it too enjoys support from IT, media and movie companies. ...more