Bird flu battlers turn to Google

US poultry experts have turned to Google in the battle to beat bird flu. Information about the location of commercial poultry flocks, feed mills and processing plants is being combined with Google Earth's high-resolution satellite images to provide a precise overview of poultry farming. By identifying the exact locations of buildings as well as nearby roads, schools and houses, scientists can plot the potential spread of the disease should it reach the country. ...more

Spam rules mean opt-out is out

The DTI has unveiled new controls that update legislation on spam sent via email, phone or from the Internet. Communications Minister Stephen Timms said: 'These regulations will help combat the global nuisance of unsolicited e-mails and texts by enshrining in law rights that give consumers more say over who can use their personal details.. ...more

BT cuts ADSL installation price for Christmas

Offer of ?75 set-up fee starts today and runs until 31 December. Btopenworld has announced that from today it will halve the cost of its broadband installation services. The offer, which will run until the end of December, means that consumers can order a Home500 service installation for a cost of ?74. ...more

AMD aims for a quiet revolution

AMD has set out a new range of its desktop processors with the emphasis on low power consumption. The company has announced new energy efficient AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core, AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Sempron processors, based on the new socket AM2 design. Two new types of lower power design are being introduced - a standard 'energy efficient' range and an 'energy efficient small form factor' series. ...more

OneCare rises from bottom-place ranking

Microsoft's anti-virus product OneCare is no longer bottom of the pile when it comes to the tests carried out by an independent anti-virus researcher. As reported in March, tests run by the Austrian security testing company AV Comparatives found Live OneCare only detecting 82.4 per cent of the 500,000 test samples. ...more