PCs and Macs are rubbish says industry

Engineers ripped into the design of the PC and the Mac at the Association for Computing Machinery conference in Las Vegas this week, calling them non-human and non-intuitive. You may think that your machine has little in common with the systems of 20 years ago, but engineers said the basic box design hasn't changed enough. "If Rip Van Winkle went to sleep in 1982 and woke up today, he'd be able to drive our modern computers with no problem because they're essentially unchanged. ...more

Podcasting favours the cultured

Podcast fans - and thanks to Apple there are a lot more of them these days - are a cut above, preferring the less-nasal-than-before tones of Melvyn Bragg to the brash early morning musings of Chris Moyles and 'Comedy' Dave. The BBC has been running a seven week podcast trial, letting listeners download a selection of its radio programmes as MP3 files. Bragg's In Our Time was downloaded on average 30,000 times each week. ...more

First preconfigured MySQL server to debut

MySQL, the world's most popular open source database developer, and US hardware supplier PogoLinux Inc are to launch the first integrated server database platform. The server, to be called the DataWare 2600 Server, will be a turnkey solution and the partners say that the hardware and software components will be tuned for maximum performance. Although, at the time of writing, no pricing for the unit had been set. ...more

Wireless licences up for auction again

E-commerce minister Douglas Alexander has announced that the 26 remaining licences for fixed wireless broadband will be auctioned again in September. The licences will retain the reserve price originally set during last year's auction in November and the bidding will be open for a year, after which the Government will review the process. As we reported, interest may be limited to areas where other forms of broadband connection are expensive or simply don't exist, meaning that the Government could still be left with unsold licences this time next year. ...more

Sony vies for the front room with computer telly

Sony's new Vaio PCV-W1 centres on entertainment, but lacks Microsoft's XP Media Center software. Clean lines and a stowaway keyboard may be some obvious aesthetic touches to help settle Sony's new Vaio into the lounge, but the device also harnesses some dedicated technology to make the TV experience better, says the company. Brightness levels are boosted on the 17. ...more