Sure, the screen is nice. But the iPad’s most important component, at least for Apple’s future, may be the A4, the fingernail-size chip at the tablet’s heart. With the A4, Apple has taken another step toward challenging the norms of the mobile device industry. Device makers typically buy their primary chips from specialised microprocessor companies. But for the iPad, Apple chose to design its own — creating unique bonds between the chip and Apple’s software. The do-it-yourself approach gives Apple the chance to build faster, more battery-friendly products than rivals and helps the company to keep product development secret. But designing its own processors burdens Apple with additional engineering costs and potential product delays. It also forces the company to hire — and retain — experienced chip designers. Several who joined the company in 2008 after an acquisition have already left for a secretive start-up. Though chip industry experts have yet to put the iPad through their customary rigorous tests, Apple’s demonstrations left them underwhelmed

Google’s decision to enlist the help of the National Security Agency in tackling cyber attacks has caused alarm among internet groups and bloggers, who fear that users’ personal information could be accessed by the US government. The Washington Post reported yesterday that the internet giant had turned to the NSA, which conducts surveillance and codebreaking for the federal government, in the wake of a cyber attack it believes came from China. The agency is responsible for securing the US administration’s computer networks against similar breaches, and is said to be helping Google to understand and analyse the attacks. Sources say that the agreement will not allow the NSA to view users’ searches or access email accounts, but the deal has angered some members of the online community

A 17-year-old bug in Windows will be patched by Microsoft in its latest security update. The February update for Windows will close the loophole that dates from the time of the DOS operating system. First appearing in Windows NT 3.1, the vulnerability has been carried over into almost every version of Windows that has appeared since. The monthly security update will also tackle a further 25 holes in Windows, five of which are rated as critical

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have built an enhanced version of an experimental atomic clock based on a single aluminum atom that is now the world’s most precise clock, more than twice as precise as the previous pacesetter based on a mercury atom. The new aluminum clock would neither gain nor lose one second in about 3.7 billion years

Microsoft warned that a flaw in its Internet Explorer browser gives attackers access to files stored on a PC under certain conditions. Our investigation so far has shown that if a user is using a version of Internet Explorer that is not running in Protected Mode an attacker may be able to access files with an already known filename and location, Microsoft said in a security advisory

Police will be able to destroy computers carrying suspected child pornography even where the material is highly encrypted and impossible to access, under a tightening of federal sex offence laws. But police are also understood to be pressing the government for greater powers against suspects who refuse to reveal passwords. Meanwhile, in the US, anyone with an e-mail account likely knows that police can peek inside it if they have a paper search warrant. But cybercrime investigators are frustrated by the speed of traditional methods of faxing, mailing, or e-mailing companies these documents. They’re pushing for the creation of a national Web interface linking police computers with those of Internet and e-mail providers so requests can be sent and received electronically

Twitter has identified a scheme that uses compromised file-sharing sites to steal the log on information of users. The service said it had discovered a number of compromised torrent sites that include code used to skim usernames and passwords. Torrent sites acts as indexes of links to TV, film and music files. Scammers were then able to use the data to gain access to Twitter and other sites because many people use the same logon for multiple services. The firm has reset the accounts of affected users, it said