Parents fret over kids' 3G Web surfing

Parents worry that 3G phones will mean children will be surfing far from their supervision, but also that their children know far more about the technology than they do. According to children's charity NCH, a NOP Poll yesterday showed that nearly three in four parents worry that phones offering Web surfing will put their children in increased danger by allowing them to connect from anywhere. But while they are worried that they can not be there to supervise their use, 63 per cent say their children know more about the phones than they do anyway. ...more

Compaq make cuts in Scotland

Scotland has been hit with news of job cuts by one of the major PC builders. Seven hundred jobs will be lost from the Compaq assembly plant in Erskine, the company announced yesterday. Another plant, in Ayr, will remain in operation, however. ...more

Office of Fair Trading investigates extended warranties

The results of a study on the extended warranties market for electrical goods has raised serious concerns at the OFT and the office has referred the matter to the Competition Commission. The OFT found that the market for extended warranties is worth an annual 500m but that effective competition was not being achieved through self-regulation. The market is in danger of becoming monopolised: in 2000 Dixons took 31. ...more

The Web is stickier than ever

A survey of Net-connected Americans has found that, given the choice between getting rid of TV or the Internet, a third would bin the box. The poll, conducted by Arbitron Internet Information and Edison Media Research, also found that in the 12 to 24-year-old age group, the split was even more surprising, with 47 per cent willing to give up television, 50 percent the Net, and 3 per cent unsure. Bill Rose, VP and general manager for Arbitron Internet Information, said: "The fact that so many people would give up their TVs instead of the Internet is very compelling, because television has been in people's homes for 30, 40 or even 50 years. ...more

Cold chips

As processors climb above and beyond the Gigahertz barrier, the fans needed to cool them make your PC sound more like a tractor than the sleek, powerful machine you paid for. Well, how about a processor coated with minute fans the size of a pinhead, or a number of these fans pushing coolant around the chip? That's exactly what scientists at the University of Colorado have come up with. The fans are made from a single sheet of silicon, with each blade less than half a millimetre long. ...more