John Lister

Tim Berners-Lee, the man who created the World Wide Web, says there may be a need for independent labelling of websites to distinguish between reliable and bogus scientific information. He told the BBC such a system could be useful in combating the ... unchecked spreading of rumours which have plagued both the Large Hadron Collider scheme and the distribution of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine to children. He added that it's probably not appropriate to score sites for credibility; rather that sites with a proven record of accuracy could get a seal of approval. The interview came as ... (view more)

Virginia's tough anti-spam law has bitten the dust after the state's Supreme Court reversed its own decision in the case of a man who sent ten million messages in just two months. As we reported in March, Jeremy Jaynes was the first American jailed ... for sending spam messages in the US. Though a North Carolina native, he was charged in Virginia because that's where the AOL servers he used are based. Jaynes got a nine year sentence (three years for each of the three counts). Though sending unsolicited messages isn't technically illegal under state law, he was busted because he didn't give his ... (view more)

Once the king of illegal file-sharing protocols, Napster operated in the law's gray area for a few years before 'going legal' not long ago. The firm's owners have now cashed in on their reputation -- good or bad -- after being bought out by Best Buy ... for $121 million. Napster became known as the leading file sharing site for music in 2000. While the software could be used for any files, the comparative lack of broadband connections at the time meant it was mainly used for single songs rather than albums or movies. It met with widespread legal opposition at the time, the most prolific coming ... (view more)

Research In Motion (RIM), creators of the popular BlackBerry mobile device, are launching a more direct challenge to cell phone producers. The firm's newest model includes a flip-down keyboard, making it the first BlackBerry in the traditional phone ... shape. Previously, the BlackBerry had been available only as a flat-one piece device. Marketed primarily as a way to access emails wirelessly, its telephone functions had been seen as of secondary importance. For this reason it's generally been viewed as a business tool rather than a consumer device. The new BlackBerry Pearl is the first flip-down ... (view more)

The number of text messages sent by US phone users has more than doubled in the past year. However, an influential politician is asking questions about suspiciously similar price increases among leading politicians. The mobile phone trade body CTIA ... has just reported a record 75 billion text messages were sent during June, up from 28.8 billion in the same month last year. The same survey found 260 million people use some form of wireless communications device. That certainly raises questions as it would mean an average of 10 text messages per user per day, which sounds remarkably high. CTIA ... (view more)

The world's most popular Internet browser, its nearest challenger, and the 'new kid on the block' have all launched recently, or are in the process of launching new editions. Here's our guide to the latest offerings from Microsoft, Mozilla, and ... Google. Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Internet Explorer 8, the latest edition of Microsoft's browser, is currently in its second test edition, with the final version expected later this year. New features include improved security scanning, smarter search suggestions and a built-in function for viewing pages designed for earlier browsers that aren't ... (view more)

Microsoft has released the second in its new series of adverts that more closely resemble a Seinfeld episode than what one might expect from a software company promoting its newest, most troubled operating system. The latest instalment runs for a ... staggering four-and-a-half minutes in its uncut YouTube version, though TV spots will be edited down. Seinfeld and Gates spend time living with a 'typical' American family ending with the pair performing manual labor as punishment after the children frame them for stealing a giraffe. Seriously. There's still no mention of specific products; indeed, ... (view more)

RealNetworks, the company behind the RealPlayer software, has produced a DVD-ripping package which it claims does not break copyright laws. Unlike most ripping software, much of which has faced distribution problems after legal threats, RealDVD ... copies the entire contents of discs including the copy protection itself. It appears the contents will be copied in a specific format which can only be played back through the RealDVD software rather than, for example, Windows Media Player. The copied files will also be set-up in such a way that they only play on the original hard drive and can't be ... (view more)

Scientists are about to go ahead with the launch of a major physics experiment despite death threats from people convinced it will doom Earth to a black hole. Confused? The Large Hadron Collider, based near the border of France and Switzerland, is a ... cylinder that measures 27 kilometres around. When switched on this week, it will house two beams of protons which will collide at a speed just a millionth of one percent less than the speed of light. This will create up to 600 million particle collisions a second, allowing scientists to test theories about what makes up dark matter and why gravity ... (view more)

Apple is facing a second lawsuit over poor iPhone performance. This time, the company faces complaints that it sold more handsets than its 3G network could cope with. You may remember that many of the recent reports of dropped calls (caused by ... reception problems on the 3G network) came from California. It's therefore not a major surprise that the new legal action comes from a San Diego resident, William Gillis. He alleges that the new iPhone demands too much power from 3G networks, to the point that AT ... (view more)