The PC Pro weekly news round-up

 

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By Alun Williams

Posted on 25 May 2007 at 13:14

Killer Wi-Fi was undoubtedly the story of the week, with the BBC's Panorama programme claiming that Wi-Fi radiation in one school was three times that of a mobile telephone mast.

It began with retailers fearing that sales of wireless kit were set to plummet amid fears of Wi-Fi radiation. It ended with the BBC accepting there was 'no hard evidence' to substantiate fears. Still, there's nothing like a good scare story to keep the tabloids happy. Next week: why iPods will give you leprosy.

This week also saw Dell give the open-source movement a shot in the arm, by announcing details of its Linux distro, ahead of the launch of three PCs pre-installed with Ubuntu (two desktop Dimensions and an Inspiron laptop). It also looks like the company famed for its direct sales business model is losing its religion and embracing conventional retail - its PCs could soon be in UK shops.

In My BT Vision of hell PC Pro's Rachel Zamorski finds out that BT's new TV service is more demanding than on-demand. Plus, in Drive-by mapping: the technology behind sat nav, PC Pro's Jim Martin went behind the scenes with Teleatlas to find out how sat nav maps are made. And there wasn't a compass in sight.

Here's our pick of the week's headlines:

Friday 25 May

Intel slims down laptop to 0.7in
Intel has unveiled further details of the 'world's slimmest laptop', which is only marginally thicker than the delectably slim Razr mobile phone.

Researchers close to breaking 1024-bit RSA encryption
The 1024-bit RSA encryption algorithm is close to being cracked, after encryption researchers demonstrate that a 307-bit Mersenne number could be broken down into primes.

Dell turns to retail - PCs could soon be in UK shops
Dell is to break with its 23-year direct sales tradition next month and start selling personal computers in North America through Wal-Mart.

Thursday 24 May

Digital divide narrowing - Ofcom
The digital divide between the various parts of the UK has diminished significantly over the past 12 months, according to new Ofcom research.

BBC: 'no hard evidence' for Wi-Fi scare
The BBC has admitted 'there is no hard evidence' on the long-term effects of Wi-Fi equipment, following its controversial Panorama investigation.

EFF signs up Novell for software patent disputes
Novell has signed up to support the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and its patent busting campaigns.

Ubuntu chief: Microsoft will lose patent war