Skill Zone News issue 18
The start of the summer months is usually a quiet time for the computer business, but Microsoft's announcements on Windows should help computer managers with their advance planning for the autumn whilst some government announcements might give hope for those lying off the beaten track of the Internet highway.
24th June 2009
Broadband in every home by 2012
You may have heard the government announcements last week that, by 2012, there will be broadband in every home. This news from the Digital Britain report is surely good for anyone operating a website or delivering online education. But dig beyond the Universal Broadband soundbites and a different picture emerges.
Planning for Windows 7
If you are still running computers fitted with Windows XP and thinking it is time to upgrade to new machines and Windows Vista, you might want to hold off until the autumn when Windows 7 will start to become available.
Has your mobile been opted in?
A public mobile phone directory was launched in the UK on the 18th of June, but many people might find their phone numbers have been added without their knowledge.
A search engine called Bing
In its quest to try to wrest some of the search market from Google, Microsoft has once again reinvented its search engine. MSN Search was first reborn as Live Search, spent a few months under the name Kumo, and now it has been re-branded as Bing.
Wiring up to the braingate
Connecting computers to the brain is the stuff of science-fiction but a group in America developing the neural interface is about to embark on clinical trials.
Stress-testing the spell checker
The most commonly misspelt word in the English language is "definitely" which is often written as "definately". You would think that spell checkers would improve our awareness of spelling, but according to a poll of 5,000 people, "Technology is contributing to our inability to spell."
This article comes from the SKILLZONE email newsletter, published monthly since January 2008, and covering topics related to technology and the internet. All articles and artwork in the SKILLZONE newsletter are orignal content.