Annual Imagine Cup gets underway

Entries are being invited for this year's software design and development competition, the Imagine Cup, which carries a ?50,000 prize fund. Now in its third year, the Microsoft-sponsored programming competition has now gained backing from BT, Capgemini and the venture capitalists 3i. It is a worldwide competition - with the grand final due to be held in Yokohoma, Japan in July - but first a UK entrant has to be selected. ...more

Putting the .de back in Deutschland

The latest battle over an Internet domain name has been settled, with a victory for the German government. Reuters reports that the German consulting company Medianet has decided to give up the choice German address www.deutschland. ...more

Microsoft mobile honeypots invite online attacks

Microsoft is making mobile honeypots in a bid to attract malicious code before it is developed into full-blown exploits, reports New Scientist. Traditionally, honeypots are poorly protected systems hooked up to the Internet to tempt attacks from hackers. But rather than taking this passive approach, Microsoft has developed a mobile version - in the sense that the honeypots are themselves virtual PCs. ...more

BT senses a future in motion control

BT's research labs are testing a device for laptops that uses 'Nintendo Wii-style technology' to enable the PC to be controlled by moving or tilting it. The BT Balance system comprises a specially designed adaptor containing a movement sensing accelerator chip that can be plugged into any standard laptop or tablet PC and software that translates motion and rotation into actions on the user's computer screen. The software can be adapted so that users can move a cursor around the screen or even turn the pages of a virtual manual without once touching a mouse, trackpad or keyboard. ...more

Intel makes U-turn with new-generation chips

Intel has revealed unprecedented amounts of new detail about forthcoming processors. Not just its next generation of processors, codenamed Penryn, but the one after that as well, codenamed Nehalem. The new parts will be based the 45nm fabrication process using the newly developed metal-gate transistors that the company describes as 'revolutionary'. ...more