January, 2007
So, Microsoft Windows Vista arrives. What difference is there between Vista and XP? Should you be thinking about moving to Vista?
Well, the first thing I'd say is not to jump too soon, before you've thought it through. There's no big rush to switch and XP will be supported for some time yet. Many people advocate waiting for at least the first Service Pack is released, to cure some of the inevitable teething problems.

Stated (by Microsoft) benefits of Vista are:

• advanced functions for finding and using information
• enables mobile workers to stay productive in and out of the office
• enhanced security features
• easier deployment of corporate PCs

Plus of course there's the sexy new Aero user interface, and many smaller enhanced features and tools.
The downside of all this is that a fairly chunky PC is required to use all of the new features, and you may well find that upgrades are necessary. Also there may be issues with certain software not working, device driver problems, and so on.
For home and small business users some of the features of Vista will be irrelevant, aimed as they are at corporates. Microsoft have addressed this issue by having a number of versions of Vista, there are at least five whereas XP only had two initially, then three.

Introduction to Vista       Vista Technical

18 October, 2006
The shock news this week must be Apple's admission that it has been shipping video iPods infected with Windows malware.
The company attempted to pluck victory from the jaws of defeat by emphasising the fact that the viruses infecting its players would not affect owners of Macs, only those with Windows-based PCs.
But this denial aside, the blunder still leaves Apple embarrassed after an estimated one per cent of all video iPods shipped after September 12, 2006 were infected with the Windows RavMonE.exe virus.
Trying to limit the damage, Apple claim that so far there have been fewer than 25 reports concerning this problem. But despite the firm's brave face this serious lapse in quality control can only damage its reputation.

11 October, 2006
Those selfless people at Spamhaus are in trouble. It seems that group who - without pay - battle spammers all over the world could be effectively shut down by a US court decision.
The problem came to a head last month when email marketing company E360Insight won a US Federal Court order requesting Spamhaus to pay $11.7m in compensatory damages for listing the marketing company on the Spamhaus blacklist.
Not unreasonably Spamhaus simply ignored the ruling on the basis that the company is a UK-based non-profit organisation with no offices or employees in the US and is therefore outside US jurisdiction.
But it appears that the US court could actually request that internet authority Icann suspend the spamhaus.org domain. This would have the effect of shutting down one of the most useful and valued internet organisations in existence. Only spammers would benefit from such a crazy decision.

15 June, 2005
BT have announced a new service called Fusion. On the face of it it seems like a good idea; seamless roaming between the traditional landline mobile networks.This is an achievement in itself, and represents the way the telephone business is going.
However, BT has done the same old thing and made the system proprietary. BT will use its dominant position to stop anyone else trying the technology, even if they are technically able to do so, because it wants to keep prices high and cash in on the product.
In a way this is standard business practice. No company wants competition when they could have it all, despite protestations to the contrary. Nonetheless, Ofcom might need to step in and look at this deal.
Consumers might like the look of this scheme, but the costs need careful looking at.You can get the same rate as a fixed line at home, but remember that you still have to pay over £10 a month for that fixed line. No more free calls to 0800 numbers either and international calls will cost a packet.
Add to this that you're routing the call through your own DSL connection and lowering the bandwidth, and the deal looks even less attractive.
This is the wave of the future, no doubt about it. But mass-market take-up will have to wait until BT opens up the technology for others to use, and prices are allowed to fall to sensible levels.

3 June, 2005
Apple Computer has announced that it is scrapping its partnership with IBM and switching it's computers to use Intel microprocessors.
Apple has used IBM PowerPC processors since 1994, and Motorola chips before that, but will soon begin a phased changeover to Intel's processors. Apple plans to move lower-end computers such as the Mac Mini to Intel chips in mid-2006 and higher-end models such as the Power Mac in mid-2007.
Apple's move to Intel is thought to have come about because of IBM's reluctance to expand the number and range of PowerPC chips it makes. Furthermore IBM has yet to produce a version of the G5 chip that would be suitable for use in Apple laptops. IBM has the contract to make PowerPC chips for Microsoft's imminent Xbox 360 console, Sony's forthcoming PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's future game-playing machine, and as a result the cash it gets from making chips for Apple has become a very small slice of its revenue.
Because of the sheer volume of chips that Intel makes the move could mean that Apple computers become significantly cheaper.