2007 August:   Computing
Anchor:   Base Index
Other months:    July  September
Other areas:    Business  climate  education  health  international  Internet  science  social  technology  Others
Topics:    Companies  embedded  history  machinery  modelling  operating systems  projects  robots  security  simulation  skills  software  speech  video gaming
Companies last  down  top   back  on

AAP, Profit down, but MYOB chief remains optimistic, The Age, 2007 Aug. 23 (business software company MYOB says it is on track to realise its full-year earnings and revenue forecasts, despite a fall in profit for the first half)
Richard Wray, British talk-to-text firm signs deal for 12m US users, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 20 (SpinVox, the British speech-to-text-message group, will today announce its largest US deal so far in a move that could come as a precursor to a fresh attempt at a flotation next year)
Technology start-ups: Virtual repeat, Economist, 2007 Aug. 18 (VMware's flotation is a good example of how much has changed)
Share sale values VMware at $11bn, BBC, 2007 Aug. 14 (the hotly-awaited flotation of virtualisation software firm VMware values the firm at $11bn)
Nick Mathiason, Korean giant with a hotline to the future, Observer, 2007 Aug. 12 (ten years ago Samsung was on its knees. Now it is powering a technology revolution that will affect every aspect of our lives)
Microsoft $1.5bn MP3 fine dropped, BBC, 2007 Aug. 7 (a US district court has overturned a decision ordering Microsoft to pay phone firm Alcatel-Lucent $1.52bn for infringing music patents)
Lenovo has Packard Bell in sights, BBC, 2007 Aug. 8 (Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo is in talks to buy Dutch counterpart Packard Bell as it looks to strengthen its market position in Europe)
Embedded Computers and Robots up  down  top   back  on

Noel Sharkey, Robot wars are a reality, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 18 (armies want to give the power of life and death to machines without reason or conscience)
Michael Reilly, Sharing a joke could help man and robot interact, New Scientist, 2007 Aug. 1 (Julia Taylor and Lawrence Mazlack of the University of Cincinnati in Ohio have built a computer program or "bot" that is able to get a specific type of joke - one whose crux is a simple pun)
History up  down  top   back  on

Kathryn Hughes, Travels with a toolbag, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 18 (the devil is in the detail in Gavin Weightman's sweeping survey of industrial history, The Industrial Revolutionaries)
Compact disc hits 25th birthday, BBC, 2007 Aug. 17 (exactly 25 years ago the world's first compact disc was produced at a Philips factory in Germany)
Machinery up  down  top   back  on

David Pogue, Homemade shortcuts for the PC, IHT, 2007 Aug. 23 (according to a study from the Sloan School of Management at MIT, computers actually make you less productive)
Tiny wind engines cool computers, BBC, 2007 Aug. 15 (minuscule "ionic engines" could be used to cool the next generation of computer chips)
Susan Stellin, Computer bags are getting a makeover, IHT, 2007 Aug. 14 (purely utilitarian designs are giving way to more fashionable looks, as women and young professionals in general lead a growing demand for stylish bags)
Bobbie Johnson, No surprises from Steve, just new iMacs for our iLife and iWork, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 9 (this week's iMac launch had already been discussed on the net by the time Steve Jobs took the stage)
AP, New iMacs are sleeker, faster, glossier, The Age, 2007 Aug. 7 (Apple updates its iMac computers with a slimmer design, faster chips and glossy screens)
Low-cost PC aims at rural China, BBC, 2007 Aug. 6 (PC-maker Lenovo announces a low-cost computer aimed at the world's most populous country)
Operating Systems up  down  top   back  on

John Markoff, Judge says Unix copyrights rightfully belong to Novell, IHT, 2007 Aug. 12 (the ruling could remove the cloud over open-source software like Linux, an operating system loosely modeled on the proprietary Unix)
Reuters, Dell eyes PCs running Linux, Windows simultaneously, The Age, 2007 Aug. 8 (users of the new Dell PCs would be able to simultaneously run multiple, software-generated computers on one machine, using an increasingly popular technology known as virtualization that allows greater flexibility and computing security)
Reuters, Lenovo laptops now with Linux, The Age, 2007 Aug. 6 (Lenovo Group says it will introduce a broad line of Linux laptops, the strongest endorsement to date of the open-source software by a major PC maker)
Andrew Brown, Just say yes to sharing computer power, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 2 (the man behind the legendary 'coffeepot cam' has come up with a cheap, effective way to share one computer among several users)
Projects up  down  top   back  on

John Naughton, Skype's black Tuesday won't be a patch on the next one, Observer, 2007 Aug. 26 (Skype has built a huge communications system without buying any kit at all; instead, it uses your computer and mine)
Michael Cross, Government IT Rolls-Royce still has creaky cylinders, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 16 (government tech won't always go where we want and costs a bundle)
Will Woodward, 10-finger exercise for ID cards, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 10 (the government expects to take and record all 10 fingerprints from people receiving identity cards)
Christian Catalano, Computer hitch blamed for ambulance delays, The Age, 2007 Aug. 16 (ambulances attending the city's most critical emergency call-outs were up to 10 minutes later arriving yesterday, as a computer failure forced dispatch officers to manually work through cases)
Alan Travis, £950m bill forces rethink on computer tracking of offenders, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 9 (future of computer system supposed to keep track of 300,000 offenders in doubt after ministers halt programme)
Alan Travis, Unpaid fines may stop people leaving UK, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 6 (Home Office plan outlined in 'e-borders' scheme, in which huge amounts of data likely to be produced)
Payments service 'goes offline', BBC, 2007 Aug. 1 (thousands of online and mail order retailers have been unable to receive payments after an upgrade at online payments service Protx went wrong)
Security(see also in Internet and Technology) up  down  top   back  on

Michael Pollitt, Monster hit by 'worst ever' trojan, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 23 (fake toolbar cripples jobseekers' PCs and steals personal data)
Warning of webmail wi-fi hijack, BBC, 2007 Aug. 3 (using public wi-fi hotspots has got much riskier as security experts unveil tools that nab login data over the air)
Cory Doctorow, Copy killers, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 2 (digital rights management is a lie concocted to bilk the entertainment industry out of a fortune - it's time to wake up)
Simulation and Modelling up  down  top   back  on

Ian Sample, Pac-Man finds next level in fear research, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 24 (electric shock version of game shows how brain reacts to imminent danger)
Ian Sample, Scientists reveal the moving secret of Tyrannosaurus rex on computer, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 22 (ferocious dinosaur could travel at nearly 18mph; meat-eater would have outrun most humans)
Virtual game is a 'disease model', BBC, 2007 Aug. 21 (an outbreak of a deadly disease in a virtual world can offer insights into real life epidemics)
Skills(see also Video gaming and in Education) up  down  top   back  on

David Pogue, Homemade shortcuts for the PC, IHT, 2007 Aug. 23 (according to a study from the Sloan School of Management at MIT, computers actually make you less productive)
AP, Game aims for bigger, better smiles, The Age, 2007 Aug. 10 (new computer game trains players to exercise their facial muscles to have nicer smiles and livelier expressions)
Software up  down  top   back  on

Garry Barker, Software developers ready to catch iPhone wave, The Age, 2007 Aug. 20 (the iPhone, touted as the world's most desirable electronic device, has local software developers tinkering though it is not expected to go on sale in Australia for nearly a year)
Johnjoe McFadden, A genetic string band, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 3 (a computer programme that turns DNA into music helps to bring the arts and sciences closer)
Michael Reilly, Sharing a joke could help man and robot interact, New Scientist, 2007 Aug. 1 (Julia Taylor and Lawrence Mazlack of the University of Cincinnati in Ohio have built a computer program or "bot" that is able to get a specific type of joke - one whose crux is a simple pun)
Speech Processing up  down  top   on

Victoria Shannon, Using voice as the next Internet on-ramp via cellphones, IHT, 2007 Aug. 22 (SpinVox, a British company led by Christina Domecq, a native of Spain, is among a handful of aggressive technology companies that are trying to use voice as the next on-ramp to the Internet via the mobile phone)
Video Gaming(see also Skills) up   first    top   back  on

Margaret Robertson, State of Play: Man versus machine, BBC, 2007 Aug. 28 (computers playing computer games may sound odd, but it's an example of the ongoing man versus machine debate)
Alok Jha, Scientists develop technique to induce out-of-body experiences, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 24 (breakthrough could be used in remote surgery; virtual reality games may also be improved)
Margaret Robertson, State of Play: Winning friends, BBC, 2007 Aug. 20 (stereotypes of gamers are accurate for a reason: because they are true; but they are not necessarily all negative)
Guitar game takes design prizes, BBC, 2007 Aug. 17 (a game revolving around a magical guitar has won a respected prize for student game makers)
Alexander Gambotto-Burke, Real moral choices in virtual game worlds, Guardian, 2007 Aug. 16 (open-ended play gives gamers a great deal of choice about how to behave - but is that a good thing?)
Margaret Robertson, State of Play: Violence and video games, BBC, 2007 Aug. 12 (the continuing debate over violence and videogames)
Mark Ward, Video games need 'realism boost', BBC, 2007 Aug. 7 (characters and worlds created for video games must be made more believable, says an industry expert)
Margaret Robertson, State of Play: Why I play games, BBC, 2007 Aug. 6 (in the first of a series of columns, Robertson, videogame writer and consultant, and the former editor of Edge magazine, gives a personal view of why she plays games)
AFP, Gamers get to 'execute' corrupt officials, The Age, 2007 Aug. 4 (China's Communist Party launches a new game in which players can torture and kill corrupt officials)