Intel exec gives odd spin to Apple success

An Intel executive has praised Apple for its success in integrating consumer electronics with computers and computer software using proprietary technologies, but called on other PC makers not to follow its lead. Speaking at the Ceatec exhibition in China, Eric Kim, the senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Home Group, said that Apple has produced the best possible user experience by deploying the closed system that ties iPods to its iTunes software and online store. But he told rival companies to focus on open standards and 'convergence', although the open standards he was referring to are those embedded in Intel's own ViiV platform for multimedia PCs. ...more

US slaps fine on company blocking VoIP

In what is thought to be the first case of its kind, the Federal Communications Commission has acted to prevent a North Carolina company from blocking VoIP phone calls over its network. A local telco, Madison River Communications Corp., which runs a number of phone companies in rural areas in the south-eastern and mid-western United States, agreed to refrain from blocking VoIP calls and pay a $15,000 dollar fine to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). ...more

One million euros awarded to Web inventor

Is Sir Tim Berners-Lee the greatest living Briton? The Finnish Technology Award Foundation certainly thinks so - it has awarded its Millennium Technology Prize and €1mn to the inventor of the World Wide Web. 'Many people have already benefited by Berners-Lee's innovation,' said Pekka Tarjanne, chairman of the International Award Selection Committee. 'The Web is encouraging new types of social networks, supporting transparency and democracy, and opening up novel avenues for information management and business development. ...more

IBM outcomputes Chinese supercomputer with more Opterons

Just days following the announcement of a new Chinese supercomputer, the Dawning 4000A, IBM says it is to provide an even better one to serve as the keystone to Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. The Dawning 4000A uses 2000-odd AMD Opteron chips turning out a performance of 10Teraflops, or 10 trillion operations a second. Still, the 1,058 IBM eServer 325 systems that make up the supercomputer use 2116 Opterons and crunch through 11Tflops/sec. ...more

Hackers bomb Windows Live

Windows Live Search in Italy has been taken over by hackers according to reports. Security experts at Sunbelt software claim that certain queries typed into the search engine point to sites run by hackers. 'It looks like the malware people have practically taken over Live search in Italy. ...more