Google has announced that it will build new undersea cables to boost international bandwidth.
The cable network will be called Unity, and run the 6,000 miles from Asia to the US under the Pacific Ocean.
It is expected that the connection will increase trans-Pacific bandwidth by 20% when it is completed in the first quarter of 2010.
Rather than one individual cable, Unity will consist of five separate fibre pairs. Each of these will be capable of carrying 960Gb/sec, providing a theoretical data transmission rate of 7.68Tb/sec.
Unity will be constructed by NEC and Tyco, and cost an estimated £150 million to complete.
This will be funded by a consortium consisting of Google and five telecoms companies; Bharti Airtel, Global Transit, KDDI Corporation, Pacnet and SingTel.
“The Unity cable system allows the members of the consortium to provide the increased capacity needed as more applications and services migrate online, giving users faster and more reliable connectivity,” says Unity spokesperson, Jayne Stowell.
Google has previously expressed an interest in investing in network infrastructure. Last year Google announced that it has set aside a budget of $4.6 billion to purchase a section of the US wireless sprectrum.
Source – PC Pro
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is paying a German crook a reward for allegedly stolen information about bank accounts in Liechtenstein. The information is believed to relate to 100 people who between them owe the UK tax authorities more than £100m.
The tiny princedom is much loved by tax dodgers for its refusal to sign up to international finance treaties – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development named Liechtenstein as an “uncooperative tax haven” last year.
The Revenue has paid in the region of £100,000 for a set of discs with details of various Liechtenstein account holders. The Revenue has not confirmed who it paid, but it has been widely reported to be a whistleblower who used to work for a Liechtenstein bank.
But the deal has raised disquiet about the methods the Revenue is now prepared to use to catch suspected fraudsters.
One such concern would be that if any of the alleged evaders took their case to court HMRC would have trouble getting its dodgy dossier accepted as evidence by a British court. But lawyers seem to believe the Revenue is exempt from such considerations. The Inland Revenue is also protected from Data Protection laws when it is investigating fraud.
HMRC acting chairman Dave Hartnett said: “Most people under investigation have substantial amounts to pay with at least £100m tax at risk in the UK. HMRC is determined to protect the UK’s tax base from evasion and in doing so we will use all the statutory powers we have. It should now be clear to everyone that there is no safe hiding place for the proceeds of tax evasion.
“Those who have hidden income and gains should make a prompt and complete disclosure to HMRC. And in the light of recent developments involving Liechtenstein bank accounts, there needs to be a significant move towards full implementation of OECD standards on transparency and effective exchange of information in tax matters.”
It has been reported that the Revenue was offered the information two years ago, but turned it down.
German authorities paid more than £3m for similar information which led them to 750 German citizens with secret accounts in the principality.
It also emerged today that German intelligence is prepared to share the information with other nations. Finland, Norway, and Sweden are believed to have already expressed an interest.
Source – PC Pro
Two men have been arrested for “dishonestly obtaining a communications service” after they used a householder’s wireless network to check their emails.
The offence happened on Sunday in Tweedmouth, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
A spokeswoman for Northumbria Police told the Reg: “I can confirm that two local men were using a householder’s wireless network to check their email. They were arrested and are out on bail pending further enquiries.”
Berwick Neighbourhood Inspector Sharon Stavers said: “This is a very unusual offence and it appears the two men were doing nothing more sinister than checking their email and getting some time on the internet for free.
“However, this is an offence and people pay good money to get the internet in their homes. It is worth reminding people who use a wireless connection to ensure they follow the manufacturer’s instructions when setting it up and make sure all security systems are in place to keep computers safe.”
A survey from Cisco earlier this month found 11 per cent of remote workers admitted to pinching bandwidth, up from six per cent last year.
Opinion is divided on the issue. Some users secure their networks and some deliberately leave connections open or use services like Fon to trade bandwidth – you provide members with some of your home broadband and in exchange you get access to other Fon members’s networks.
Source – The Register
Nokia and the University of Cambridge jointly designed a concept mobile phone that allows users to mould the handset into different shapes.
Dubbed Morph, the handset has been designed to demonstrate the possible future benefits of nanotechnology for mobile devices. Morph is both stretchable and flexible, but a Nokia spokesman claimed that nanotechnology could also allow future mobile phones to incorporate self-cleaning surfaces and see-through electronics.
Although very little has been said about the Morph’s technical capabilitiesallow, in theory, the handset’s able to alter its state between a watch-like mode, a credit-card shape and a traditional mobile phone.
The project, which has been roughly one year in the making, doesn’t mean the Morph will be on shelves anytime soon though. Nokia admitted that it could be seven years before elements of the Morph will be available for integration into other off-the-shelf phones.
However, the Finnish mobile phone giant claimed that, eventually, nanotechnology could help reduce manufacturing costs and introduce complex features at lower prices.
One day, all mobile phones will be made this way. Apparently.
Source – The Register
Samsung has admitted that a battery in one of its laptops melted.
The notebook battery emitted smoke after being used for about three and a half hours on a pillow, according to a fire department official in Seoul.
The battery burned a bed and a floor, but did not cause a big fire, he added.
A Samsung’s spokesman said the notebook was the P10 model that was produced in 2002, but did not give further details, such as the battery manufacturer.
“We are checking details of the incident,” says James Chung, the company spokesman.
The report follows a spate of battery fires, incidents and recalls over the past couple of years, involving the vats majority of major laptop manufacturers.
Last year, a leading scientist from the Tokyo Institute of Technology warned that the fundamental technology behind lithium-ion batteries is dangerous and needs to be rethought.
Last month, a battery pack in an LG laptop exploded while in the sleep mode.
Source – PC Pro
