Don’t expect too much.

Geeksugar has let slip that Apple is planning to release a new version of the iMac next week, allegedly. The info would appear to have come from an inside source. That said, Geeksugar has been let down in the past. Information is fairly thin on the ground but it would appear that the iMac has received a number of upgrades rather a complete makeover. Expect to see speed improvements and the addition of greater disk capacity but no price change.

Can’t be bad, if it’s true.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

Sky’s the limit.

Do you want to watch movies on the move? In that case, you’ll be pleased to hear that Sony’s PSP now lets you do exactly that. Go!View, a joint venture with Sky, turns you PSP into a mobile TV - I wonder how long it will take for the TVLA to catch on?.

The service provides users with an on-demand TV service allowing to tailor you viewing to your needs. Two payment methods will be available: pay-per-view and subscription although pricing information has not been released. Simply registered with the the website and you’re ready to go.

Look out for the official launch sometime in the summer.

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Popularity: 20% [?]

How much?

As yet, I don’t know. But, in the grand tradition of Aldi, you would expect it to be cheap. Prices are expected to be announced the day before launch.

Here’s the lowdown on the Medion:

• 15.4″ TFT WGA widescreen
• Intel Dual Core CPU
• 320GB hard drive
• 3GB of memory
• NVIDIA GeForce 9300M G PCI-Express graphics
• Bluetooth 2.0
• Digital TV tuner and integrated webcam
• eSATA port
• HDMI Interface
• DVD re-writer

…and a nice bag to carry it in.

Check your local Aldi store on 8th May.

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Popularity: 21% [?]

But it’s not proportional.

Last year China only had 210 million users (only?). But, as of February, the total hit 221 million which means that China now tops America in the internet population league. Although these figures are huge the total proportion of Internet users in China is lower than global averages: China had 16% at the end of last year whilst the world average was 19%.

Free to browse.

No, not really. China maintains strict rules on internet usage. A complex series of firewall rules and filters allows consumers to see only what the government wants them to see. Add in the huge swathes of human monitors watching surfing habits and it all starts to sound very depressing.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

Hide your porn courtesy of Fujitsu!

Fujitsu have announced the launch of a hard drive with 256 bit Advanced Encryption Standard features. The encryption device is incorporated directly into the processor chip on the drive. Apparently, it’s a first for this method. The unit also features a secure erase capability which means data can be destroyed in under a second - no more getting caught with your hand in your pants! The hard drive, available in 80 Gb, 120 Gb, 169 Gb and 250 Gb, will be available in May but no costs have been announced.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

Long distance calls, bargain prices.

Ebay owned Skype, the internet telephone service, has announced unlimited long distance calls to landlines. Ideal if friends and relatives do not have a PC or internet connection (aka the Stone Ages). The call plan will cost between 2.95 and 8.95 eruos per month depending on the country you wan to call. The service is being offered in a total of 34 countries but expect this number to grow.

Hmm, I think it’s time I went and bought myself a Skype handset!

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Popularity: 1% [?]

Oldies denied access.

Paypal has announced a new initiative to help prevent phishing attacks where malicious attempts are made to extract information from web users. Browsers that are considered unsafe will be barred from accessing Paypals website. These products include Internet Explorer versions 3 and 4. The company also supports the use of Extended Validation SSL. This feature highlights the address bar in green when the site is deemed to legitimate. EV SSL is an add-on feature of Firefox 2.x and IE 7 but not Safari for the Mac and PC - Oops! I would expect that to be resolved soon.

This is good news from Paypal although not terrible helpful for users viewing through any of the  ‘unsafe browsers’. Some people may complain about the moves but, in the long run, I’d rather be safe than sorry.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

Security for all.

Checkpoint does the security thing really well. Their latest offering is no exception. The Power-1 gateways come in two flavours: 5070 and 9070. This offering has been designed to work on anything from relatively inexpensive SOHO product right up to heavyweight enterprise hardware in the data centre.

Administration of the Power-1 can be carried out from a single GUI installed on CheckPoint, Crossbeam, Nokia, Sun, and IBM hardware. An interesting new feature incorporate into Power-1 is SmartDefense. This technology is aimed at UTM (Unified Threat Management) and dealing with emerging threats. I do question this capability. Does any vendor really know the direction of ‘emerging threats’? If you have spare £20,000, or so, then this may well be worth looking at.

Technical specs here.

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Popularity: 21% [?]

The doctor will see you…in twelve months!

It appears that technical issues have caused delivery to slip. A technical glitch that causes patients appointments to be made incorrectly means that the 12th April go live date was postponed. A revised delivery date has not been announced.

Although the fault affects only a few hundred users a decision was made, by NHS Connecting for Health, to postpone the rollout. New dates are expected once the issues are resolved. Any users affected by the bug have been informed.

Choose and Book, supplied by Atos Origin, has been designed to allow NHS clients to book hospital and clinic appointments anywhere in the country. The current system on allows users to book local appointments.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

A future in standup comedy?

Steve Ballmer, the Microsoft CEO, put a question to 2,000 enthusiasts at a technology meeting in Seattle. Ballmer asked users of Yahoo’s search engine to raise their hands. It would appear that, when asked how many used Microsofts search engine there was a greater response from the audience. At this point Ballmer joked: “Wow! We offered 31 bucks a share.”

Don’t forget: this was a room packed full of Microsoft fans. Seems like a reasonable response to me. But the overwhelming response came when Googles name was offered as an option. I bet that left a sour taste!

To be fair, Microsoft has gained some ground in the search market rising to about to 10.2% of the market share. This leaves them in third position trailing behind Yahoo by about 4% (these figures have yet to be adjusted based on the recent reports of Yahoo’s market gains. However you look at it, Google still dominates with 69.4% of the market. Microsoft still has a long way to go.

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Popularity: 1% [?]