Latest news from the world of science and technology.
Security companies are warning private voicemail systems can be exploited using tools and software available on the Internet. Belgian-based IT security consultancy ScanIT is testing voicemail systems and exchanges for telecoms companies who want to investigate how hackers gain entry to their networks, following a year of attacks that have cost the industry millions of […]
Continue ReadingThis week’s crisis at the Child Support Agency has revealed what government ministers wanted to keep quiet… A £500m computer system they ordered to tell single mothers how much cash they are due is in ruins. Staff at the CSA had to use pocket calculators this year to work out what people owe thanks to […]
Continue ReadingCars bear the brunt of the blame for a range of social ills in the UK, but as one reporter finds, drivers who embrace change can push things forward. About two billion people use 500 million cars around the world. They get people from A-to-B and keep governments’ coffers bulging as politicians devise ever-more inventive […]
Continue ReadingAs the US election nears, the issue of outsourcing is again at hand. But could political efforts to curb work going abroad actually damage the country that created the industry? India has been a major beneficiary of the outsourcing phenomenon and, understandably, there has been growing concern there over the backlash on outsourcing in many […]
Continue ReadingWant to run a professional PC without splashing out on Microsoft’s astronomically-priced software? Then check out our low-down on its best competitor, Linux. With the cost of commercial software now reaching up to a quarter of the total price of an off-the-shelf PC, significant savings can be made by buying “empty” and installing open source […]
Continue ReadingThe most important telescope ever built, the Hubble Space Telescope, is to be abandoned. The Hubble Telescope has revolutionised the study of astronomy since its launch in 1990. Its striking and clear images of our universe result from the telescope’s location above the Earth’s atmosphere which otherwise serves to distort images before they reach any […]
Continue ReadingDriving a car that leaves only water vapour in its wake is the stuff of environmentalists’ dreams, but new technology means the pollution-free car is fast becoming a reality. Imagine driving a car that emits only pure water vapour and little else. Moreover, one that used residual water for fuel thus doing away with refuelling. […]
Continue ReadingRecent studies have questioned the impact of hormones used in female contraceptives, with more users reporting breast cancer and other debilitating illnesses than ever before. Last August, two more studies on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) published bleak results about the treatment’s links to breast cancer. It seems synthetic hormones are doing more harm than good […]
Continue ReadingThe recent opening up of the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in India shows how to save serious money over long-distance calls by dialing out over the web. For the uninitiated, VoIP/Internet telephony uses the Internet to send audio signals between a PC and a normal telephone. Voice calls with IP cost a fraction of […]
Continue ReadingGamers at Playstation 2’s first national solo exhibition at London’s Earl’s Court were lucky to get a go on anything, writes Michael Filby, but the day was saved by Nintendo, which poached Sony’s crowds outside. Last year’s PlayStation Experience was something of a pleasant surprise. Taking place alongside the 2002 European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) […]
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