Viruses hit almost one-third of EU Internet users

European Union data shows that almost one-third of Internet users in the 27-country bloc got a computer virus last year, while three percent lost money through online crime .

The data released Monday shows that viruses were most prevalent in Bulgaria, where 58 percent of Internet users were hit in 2010, followed by Hungary, with 47 percent of users effected.

The safest countries were Austria, where only 14 percent of users reported a virus, and Ireland, where only 15 percent got one.

The data also shows that only 14 percent of households with children had parental controls on their computers and that five percent of adults have found children using inappropriate websites.
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Nokia starts shipping delayed E7 smartphone

Nokia's E7 phone will make its delayed debut this week, as the world's largest phone maker by volume tries to recover ground lost to Apple and Google in the smartphone market.

Nokia had postponed the rollout of the top-of-the-range E7 in December "to ensure the best possible user experience".

The E7 is similar to its N8 model but has a full slideout keyboard. The N8 was also delayed and, after launch, Nokia admitted some of the phones had power problems.

The N8 and E7 are flagship models for the new version of Nokia's Symbian software.

Nokia said they had already started deliveries of the E7 and it would go on sale from this week.

A weak offering of smartphones and software problems were seen as the main reasons for Nokia replacing chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo with Stephen Elop from Microsoft last September.

Elop is due to unveil his plan to revamp the strategy of the company later this week.

Nokia shares were 2.9 percent higher at 8.36 euros by 1121 GMT, boosted by a magazine report saying Nokia was likely to sack several executive board members in a management shake-up.

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Scientists create DNA engine that can be observed in real-time

Scientists at Kyoto University and the University of Oxford have succeeded in creating a programable molecular transport system, the workings of which can be observed in real time.

The results could lead to the development of advanced drug delivery methods and molecular manufacturing systems.

The system relies on the self-assembly properties of DNA origami and consists of a 100 nm track together with a motor and fuel. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), the research team was able to observe in real time as this motor traveled the full length of the track at a constant average speed of around 0.1 nm/s.

"The track and motor interact to generate forward motion in the motor. By varying the distance between the rail ''ties,'' for example, we can adjust the speed of this motion," explained Dr. Masayuki Endo of Kyoto University.

The research team expects that these results will have broad implications for future development of programable molecular assembly lines leading to the creation of synthetic ribosomes.

"DNA origami techniques allow us to build nano- and meso-sized structures with great precision," elaborated iCeMS Prof. Hiroshi Sugiyama.

"We already envision more complex track geometries of greater length and even including junctions. Autonomous, molecular manufacturing robots are a possible outcome."
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This robot will be elderly people's caregiver

A company in New Zealand has developed a robot that reminds the aged people about their medication, monitors their vital signs, and will soon be able to entertain them too while encouraging exercise and mobility.

Christchurch-based gaming company Stickmen Studios has developed a game - Kung Fu Funk - that can help rehabilitate people who have suffered brain injuries.

Stickmen Studios and the University of Auckland have teamed up to customise the robot with gaming facilities that will help elderly people stay active through interactive games, reported the New Zealand Herald Monday.

The robot, Eldercare, has been developed with the Intelligent Robot Division of South Korea's Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute to reduce the strain on healthcare resources as the aging population grows and to improve the lives of people who are dependent on care.

According to David Cotter, business development manager of UniServices - a division of Auckland University that commercialises its research - the robot could monitor a person's blood pressure, or insulin levels and then transmit the data to a centre using wireless connections where a nurse or doctor can access it.

WikiLeaks' Assange arrives in court for hearing

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has arrived in court to fight an extradition bid over sex crimes allegations.
Assange arrived at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court with lawyer Jennifer Robinson, and made no comment to reporters' shouted questions. He embraced Helena Kennedy, a prominent British lawyer and member of his team, as he walked into the court.

Celebrity supporters Jemima Khan and Tony Benn also arrived shortly before the case was due to begin Monday.

Assange is accused of sexual misconduct by two women he met during a visit to Stockholm last year. Defense lawyers will argue that he should not be extradited because he has not been charged with a crime, because of flaws in Swedish prosecutors' case — and because a ticket to Sweden could eventually land him in Guantanamo Bay.
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Can iPhone Oust the BlackBerry as City's Favorite?

Could the reign of the BlackBerry as the City's smartphone of choice be coming to an end?

Last month, two Deutsche Bank analysts released a report praising Apple's corporate email services, following a two-month trial in which they swapped their BlackBerry handsets for iPhones.

Now UBS has confirmed that more than 1,000 staff members are taking part in a pilot program that allows them to access company emails, calendars and contacts using a secure application for the iPhone and iPad.

A spokesman for UBS said employees across the bank's divisions had been testing the app since it was launched last year, although the bank stressed it was for use on personal handsets and it doesn't offer Apple devices to its staff.

Despite being better known for entertaining distractions like music or the popular Angry Birds game, Apple's products are rapidly gaining traction in the business world.

Last week Deutsche Bank technology analysts Chris Whitmore and Joakim Mahlberg sent out a research note comparing BlackBerry and iPhone functions for business users.

In the report, Mr. Whitmore, who has a history of tipping Apple stock, said the iPhone was better able to combine personal and corporate use, while its ability to access multiple apps, such as Bloomberg's, was a selling point.

Nokia CEO Considers Big Shake-Up

Several senior officials on Nokia Corp.'s group executive board are expected to leave soon as part of a major shake-up being considered by the Finnish cellphone giant's new chief executive, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Exactly who will leave the company remained unclear. Stephen Elop, a Microsoft Corp. veteran who was hired in September to help revive Nokia, is finalizing his plan to revamp the company, which has been losing ground in the lucrative market for smartphones. Mr. Elop is expected to present the plan Friday at an analysts' meeting in London.

Nokia executives won't know their fate until they are briefed on Mr. Elop's blueprint the day before the meeting, the person familiar with the matter added.

The shake-up will likely extend beyond Nokia's group executive board, which is made up of its top 10 executives. Nokia has retained executive recruiters to find a new head of operating systems, as well as a new head of research and development with strong software talent, the person said.

In conducting these searches, Mr. Elop is trying to decide "how much he wants to keep Finnish talent in the leadership team" and how to revamp Nokia's various business units, the person said.

NASA releases first ever 360-degree image of the Sun

NASA has released the first ever image that shows the entire sun in a 360-degree view.

The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (Stereo) mission launched its two satellites in 2006 and they have gradually been drifting apart - one in front of the Earth in its orbit, the other lagging behind.

NASA said on Sunday that the spacecraft had arrived at points that put the Sun directly between them.

The spacecraft moved either side of the Sun to establish observing positions that should return remarkable new information about our star.

The mission is studying the Sun's great explosive events that hurl billions of tonnes of charged particles at Earth - events that can disrupt power grids and satellites.

These Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), as they are known, can also be hazardous to astronauts in space.

“By being away from the Sun-Earth line, you can look back at the space between the Sun and the Earth and see any of these clouds, these coronal mass ejections that are thrown out of the Sun and are coming our way - you can even see these things passing over the Earth. Those are the key to what Stereo's all about,” Prof Richard Harrison from the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK, and an investigator on the project, told the BBC.

‘No major design flaw in failed GSLV-F06’

There was no major design flaw in the ISRO's Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle, which crashed seconds after take-off on December 25 last year, said a fact- finding panel.

"We found that there is no major design flaw in GSLV-F06. However, the fact-finding on the failure is continued, and mostly within next few weeks we should be able to draw a conclusion," G Madhavan Nair, chairman of the GSLV-F06 Analysis Committee, said here Saturday.

The failure could be due to severe "environment" conditions, he said without elaborating.

However, the committee will be able to draw final conclusion within next few weeks, Nair said.

GSLV-F06 (with GSAT-5P satellite on board) was normal till 47.5 seconds from the lift-off. The events leading to the failure started at 47.8 seconds. Soon, the vehicle started developing larger errors in its orientation, leading to the crash, he said.

The committee has collected evidence from photographs, telemetry data and the previous flight data, Nair said.

"The first-level report has been submitted where we have clearly established which type of connectors got de-mated in the flight. Now we have to establish how they came apart. For that, additional tests are required," he said.
Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us