Hardware and Software Forum

I invented an encryption algorhythm today and used it to "hide" the information in an unused password I came up with. This was done on paper, not with a program. However, I am planning to start laying some code down for this today (in Haskell, partly as an exercise to …

Today I somehow ended up at my local library (which I rarely visit nowadays). As I wandered the computer book aisles, a certain book caught my eye: "Why you should stay away from Microsoft", or something along those lines. I was interested to see what it would say, and I …

Intel's finally received the kick-in-the-pants from its rival AMD, and, trying to kick that reputation of having hot chips has decided to revamp its server quad-core Xeon chips. The new chips, which have started shipping, use a mere 50 watts of power. It also has a 60 percent reduction from …

New research from [URL="http://answers.vizu.com/"]Vizu Answers[/URL] and [URL="http://adage.com/"]Ad Age[/URL] suggests that when it comes to blog posting discovery, the majority of readers use links from other blogs to arrive there. The fact that the figure is as high as 67.3 percent is slightly surprising, given the amount of people that use …

Well, what a weekend that has been. Ever since the reports started emerging online of a brute force attack on the Vista activation code using a modified version of the original software license manager script file I have been, shall we say, dubious as to the authenticity of the claim. …

[URL="http://onecare.live.com"]Microsoft Windows Live OneCare[/URL] was already struggling in the credibility stakes after failing to pass the Virus Bulletin VB100 certification tests as I reported [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry1295.html"]here[/URL] last month. Talk about kicking a wounded animal, now the [URL="http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2007_02.php"]results [/URL]of the latest, and much respected, [URL="http://www.av-comparatives.org/ tests"]av-comparatives[/URL] are in, and do no make …

If you've been keeping up to the news, you'll likely be aware of the fact that [URL="http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37941"]Vista's activation code scheme for anti-piracy has been cracked[/URL] by using a brute-force method, allowing any pirates to download Vista and just let the cracking program do its work. I find this insanely ironic. …

When we think of "open source", many things come to mind: free, created by volunteers, open to everyone, no profits, etc. That's the steriotype that the media paints mostly, and that when open source programs are created, they are done for the passion of it, and not at all for …

If there is one thing that everybody can agree it is that spam is a right royal pain the ass. If there is another then it is that image spam is the biggest pain in the ass of all. While it is bad enough for the end user, especially at …

Ok i got a dimsnsion 5150 last xmas (was that 2005? im crap with dates) and it had 19" TFT Radeon x600 DvdRW P4 HT 1gb RAM XP Home all for £699. Bargain. Or so i thaught On the day vista got released dell dropped the price of an e520 …

Since the launch of Vista, articles have been [URL="http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128737-c,vistalonghorn/article.html"]fairly negative[/URL] about Microsoft's next-gen operating system. Which can be expected, since it's "Microsoft", is prone to bugs and viruses, and is a slow monster, right? It couldn't be farther from the truth. This "bug" which we speak of - how can …

[B][I]Well, vista was released here today and well, when i got it i was not impressed. In this blog im gonna detail what I like and dont like[/I][/B] [B][I]Im gonna sell it (thats a bucketload of money wasted :( ) or something and put 2k (only other OS i actually …

There can be no doubting that the Nintendo Wii, despite the still extremely silly name even after living with it for a couple of months, has been something of a gaming revolution. Not because of the power of the console, Nintendo has no gone down the Hi-Def, triple core, HD-DVD, …

Sex has been one of the silent drivers of technology for as long as I can recall. It might not get reported much, not least because many in the media would prefer to pretend it is not important and has no impact. But the truth is the adult industry has …

The big moment is set. Microsoft has announced the release date of Vista to consumers, which happens to be January 30. So now, all Microsoft has to do is convince users that XP is dead and that Vista is the "new" OS now. Is Vista next-gen? I would say definitely …

They say it is a ‘man thing’ this fantasy about swapping their wife or partner for someone new. Unfunny jokes about trading up to a newer model abound, some even indulge in a swinging lifestyle. But now it seems that some 13% of men in the UK, according to new …

Just recently, the development group that I work with decided to adopt Linux as our standard operating system for the server-side of our project. Linux is a great choice of server OS for many obvious, and not-so-obvious, reasons. It's extremely flexible, stable, and secure, and works on just about any …

Microsoft has now hit 100 million users for Internet Explorer 7. But, says analysts, this isn't an impact on competing web browsers. This is simply internal growth. Sure, maybe. But it's saying something that people are quickly switching to Microsoft's latest browser. I think that the interface looks very cool; …

In response to [URL="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,241557,00.html"]this article[/URL], claiming that the DVD format war may soon be over, I highly doubt it. In the article: [quote]The high-definition DVD format war, which has slowed consumer acceptance of the new players, may soon be over.[/quote] They go on further to state that hybrid players coming …

While Apple has displayed a [COLOR=Black][URL="http://www.apple.com/"]new banner[/URL][/COLOR] on its website declaring Happy New Years, "The first 30 years were just the beginning. Welcome to 2007," the [URL="http://projects.info-pull.com/moab/"]Month of Apple Bugs[/URL] has been launched, as if to scorn Apple's website banner. The Month of Apple bugs aims to reveal a new …

I always like to see technology getting incorporated into everyday items. It's nice when you can find a use for the technology in something other than a desktop PC. The car manufacturer Ford is now going to incorporate Bluetooth technology into its vehicles - something that other higher-end car manufacturers …

If previous reports of iTunes music store sales lulling were worrying analysts, they've got nothing to worry about now –– the iTunes store sales have more than quadrupled during the Christmas season, according to a report made by E-Commerce. People using their iTunes gift cards and new iPod users recieved …

With the recent release of [URL="http://wesnoth.org/"]Wesnoth 1.2[/URL], the open-source strategy game, the game's developmet never seems to stop. It's so popular, and it's addictive to play. These days, anybody without internet access is considered to be "living in the dark ages". And with the ever-growing popularity of social networking services …

J.K.Rowling has now officially announced that the latest, and last, in the Harry Potter series of books will be called ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ putting an end to the frenzy of speculation on the subject over the last few months. While it has been genuine fans interested in …

Spam continues to rise. In November alone, people saw a 35% increase of spam in their online mailboxes, and not only do that but also use new ways to fool spam filters to somehow get into peope's email. 31 billion spam was the average amount sent in October, but that …

Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 7 has a special bar that turns green when visiting "safe" sites, which it determines if it recieves a special strict security certificate from Microsoft. But, small business owners and corporations are worried that users will leave their sites feeling unsafe, as they are not eligable …

As of late, many conflicting reports are saying that altough iPod sales continue to rise, iTunes store music sales are decreasing. They go on to state that sales now are 65% lower than in January, with average transaction sizes dropping by 7%. I think this is really crazy. Why? Apple …

Research In Motion (RIM) is now suing the hand held maker Samsung, claiming that Samsung's new product named "Blackjack", released earlier last month, is causing lost revenues and misleading consumers into thinking that Blackjack is another product in the Blackberry line. Now at first thought, the names don't seem very …

Why doesn't everyone switch to Linux? Is it because it's too difficult? Not exactly. The problem with Linux isn't because you have to run millions of commands to start it up, it's because it gives users too many options. Commercial companies like Microsoft standardize their product when they create it. …

I have always been fascinated by the fact that, in most areas of technology, physical size is constantly shrinking. The one exception being LCD displays, of course, which seem to get bigger every year. So I was excited by two pieces of news to cross my desk this week, the …

Recently I have decided to switch from Ubuntu linux to Freebsd and here I am going to outline why. 1. [B]The Ubuntification of linux:[/B] Lately I have noticed a trend on social bookmarking sites, mainly digg, which have people posting articles with titles like "Ubuntu Tutorials" or something similar. In …

MySpace seems to be where all the kids go -- it's the online meeting place for a lot of young people. But it also seems to be a place where pedophiles hang out, something that [URL="http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128087-page,1-c,internetlegalissues/article.html"]MySpace is trying to change[/URL]. It seems as though MySpace is trying to incorporate one …

[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBfLjqfYKM0"]Oh boy[/URL]. If Kevin Rose, the founder of [URL="http://www.digg.com"]Digg[/URL], is correct, he may soon be facing a lawsuit big enough to cripple a small country. In his podcast, he gets drunk and tells "vague details" of the much rumored iPhone. He starts off by saying, "I have a little bit …

According to my Finnish friends, [URL="http://www.f-secure.com"]F-Secure[/URL], Bagle looks like it might be back in business. Not that it has ever really gone away of course, as it is one of the most prevalent of worm families. F-Secure have noticed new activity during the last couple of days, which sees a …

Microsoft just released their iPod killer -- except that it isn't killing the iPod. Although it looks promising, it has had a number of [URL="http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/13/installing-the-zune-sucked/"]negative Zune reviews[/URL]. It may seem like the Zune is a total flop, after all, "it's from MS". But no, I don't think that is the …

As some of you may know, I am a Contributing Editor with [URL="http://www.pcpro.co.uk"]PC Pro Magazine[/URL] in the UK, which is why I am able to reveal that according to figures ‘obtained’ by the publication Microsoft Office 2007 will officially be a rip-off. If you are buying in the UK that …

The French parliament is now going to dump Windows in favour of open-source. More specifically, Linux. The planned switch date is June 2007, with over 1000 parliament workers switching. No word yet on what Linux distribution they're going to use, or what email client -- one thing is for sure: …

London taxi drivers have a reputation as being amongst the most opinionated and talkative in the world, and their grueling training and testing program ‘The Knowledge’ is equally well known. Now, it appears, the black cab driver has a new claim to fame: the place where more technology kit is …

About five years ago the BBC carried a news story about a chap in Australia who had taken advantage of a new law which meant that patent applications only needed to innovation rather than invention. He registered a patent application for something known as a ‘circular transportation facilitation device’ or …

On Thursday I went to Oxfordshire for a training day on the much anticipated Windows Vista. Firstly the appearance of Windows Vista has many improvements and enhancements over XP, with the outstanding graphics and of course Windows Aero, you've found what Microsoft like to call `the Vista experience`. The sku's: …

[URL="http://www.kaspersky.com/"]Kaspersky Lab[/URL] has released its latest Malware Evolution [URL="http://www.viruslist.com/en/analysis?pubid=204791907"]report[/URL], covering the period between June and September 2006 and, as usual, it makes for interesting reading. Alexander Gostev, Senior Virus Analyst, Kaspersky Lab comments that the first six months of 2006 was “notable for the complexity of the technologies which antivirus …

I hate it, you hate it, [B]everyone hates spam[/B]. Perhaps just as annoying as the fact that most of us have no interest in improving our sexual performance, enlarging our sexual organs or accepting a refinancing deal from a complete stranger, is the fact that we just do not know …

Microsoft has issued an [URL="http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/927709.mspx"]advisory [/URL]warning about a Visual Studio 2005 vulnerability in the WMI Object Broker ActiveX control, part of WmiScriptUtils.dll which could allow remote arbitrary code execution. The WMI Object Broker ActiveX control will circumvent the ActiveX security model, because it is marked as being ‘safe for scripting’ …

According to Symantec, 64% of small businesses have seen a surge in the volume of spam received during the previous six months. And it isn’t the only one: whether you talk to ISPs or security vendors, gateway mail filtering services or end users, the message is the same. Spam is …

Ordinarily this headline would no longer come as any surprise, after all everyone is pretty much used to Microsoft keeping the competition at bay using whatever methods it can. However, this is no ordinary headline because what IO left out is the name of that competitor: Windows XP. In an …

The [URL="http://www.acte.org"]Association of Corporate Travel Executives[/URL] (ACTE) has warned, during a conference in Barcelona this week, that the visitors to the United States risk having their laptops seized and searched on arrival and departure. The law applies equally to US and non-US passport holders, and following an appeal judgment in …

According to a survey by the [URL="http://www.ponemon.org"]Ponemon Institute[/URL], sponsored by [URL="http://www.pgp.com"]PGP Corporation[/URL] and [URL="http://www.vontu.com"]Vontu Inc[/URL], the true cost of data breaches in 2006 was $182 per compromised record on average, that is a 31% increase over the 2005 figures. Furthermore, the results of the report, published today, reveal that the …

[B]An innovative experiment in publishing by a doctor in Mumbai has sparked off a wide range of academic publications, giving authors hundreds of new readers and a genuine chance to create relevant new knowledge. [/B] Mumbai-based Medknow is an open publishing firm that creates academic (mostly medical) journals, puts them …

[B]Japanese information technology companies are mapping out a new base to outsource software development in India, according to Nihon Keizai Shimbun. [/B] Japanese firms, which have long shifted their software development to China for low costs, are now faced with a lack of local engineers and deciding to expand their …

You cannot fault the Japanese arm of Mc Donald’s for moving with the times and giving away Flash MP3 players as prizes in a competition to customers who bought large Coca-Cola drinks. But, to be honest, I would rather have had the usual tacky plastic movie tie-in toy because at …