Mystic Malone's almanac for 2006

It is that time of year again: that time when we gaze into our crystal ball and with trembling lips predict the events that will shape the technology industry in 2006. The fog is clearing, and we foresee.. ...more

?220mn hi-tech bank heist foiled by London police

A multi-million pound raid on the London offices of a Japanese bank has been foiled by police. But the attempted robbery did not involve vans, security guards or weapons - the theft was attempted by the electronic transfer of funds. The hacker tried to steal as much as ?220mn from accounts held at the Sumitomo Mitsui bank using keylogging software, before being intercepted by the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU). ...more

City of Bath to host wireless experiment

The City of Bath, more famous for its Roman Spa and Jane Austen than the cutting edge of the information society, is to host a series of experiments to test new city-wide services based on wireless technology. The University of Bath is to conduct a research project which will see the historic city offer a range of technologies that could affect the direction of future wireless applications. Costing $1. ...more

No High Street Apple in the UK

Apple's confirmation that it is to open its first retail store - likely to be the first in a chain of stores across the US - makes the company unique amongst computer makers as having both a chain of its own stores and a dealer network. An Apple spokesperson was unavailable for comment on whether the stores would be rolled out in the UK. However, it is doubtful whether Apple UK has the resources at present to bankroll a chain of stores, given its financial limitations, with one prominent dealer claiming, "I haven't heard any noises about them doing anything in Europe. ...more

ISPs take on mantle of spam prevention

Yahoo!, AOL, Microsoft and Earthlink - members of the Anti-Spam Technical Alliance (ASTA) - have published their proposal to combat the growing problem of spam - the result of more than a year's work. The recommendations for ISPs include securing their networks. This includes configuring proxies and open relays - or mail servers - that are exposed to the Internet so that they cannot be used by others, such as spammers. ...more