Monthly Archives: November 2003

News: Microsoft Takes on Google’s Customisable News

 Microsoft is taking on Google, at least in its news. The New Scientist says Microsoft is testing a a news-gathering web site that tailors the stories selected to individual users. Once MSN Newsbot is fully functional, Microsoft says the site will personalise results within 10 minutes of a user starting to browse.   Microsoft is… Read More »

News: More on Cellphone Dangers

 Here’s more on the dangers of cellphones: the BBC reports that people who chat on their mobile phone while walking could be hurting their back, according to scientists at Australia’s University of Queensland. They say the human body is designed to exhale when our feet touch the ground. This helps to protect the spine from… Read More »

News: How Healthy Are Cellphones?

 Good article on the health effects of using cellphones. The Sun Sentinel says the U.S. is preparing to launch an investigation into the matter, and quotes Gary Brown, an adjunct professor in technologies at Nova Southeastern University, as saying people don’t realize the issue of cell phone safety has not been settled. “The industry says… Read More »

News: Shredded Stasi Documents To Be Pieced Back Together

 The kind of story I love: technology used to bring the oppressor to book. The Register reports that documents of the East German State Security Service (Stasi), torn into shreds and stored in 16,000 brown sacks, may soon be pieced together by a software program developed by the Fraunhofer Institute.   On Monday, the Institute… Read More »

Update: Nokia Batteries Safe Shock

 Nokia, hit by a recent spate of reports, from Vietnam to the Netherlands, of its batteries overheating and catching fire or exploding, says a follow-up test by a Belgian consumer watchdog had shown its own-made batteries were safe for use, Reuters reports.   Nokia said in a statement a new test by Test-Aankoop, conducted on… Read More »