Microsoft Restarts Canned XP, Vista Updates

Microsoft will resume two major Windows updates it had stalled due to a conflict it caused with one of its lesser-known software products. The software maker on Tuesday said it is releasing XP Service Pack 3 for Web downloads, and resuming automatic updates to Vista Service Pack 1, after developing a filter that will prevent machines running Dynamics RMS from getting either update

Google Pulls Open Source CoreAVC Project Over DMCA Complaint

Google has taken down the open-source project CoreAVC for Linux due to a DMCA complaint. The CoreAVC codec is a commercial high-definition H.264 DirectShow filter for windows provided by CoreCodec. The CoreAVC for Linux project provided various patches for Linux applications (mplayer, MythTV, xine) to use these DirectShow decoder filters in Linux. The takedown is quite controversial, as the CoreAVC project did not provide any copyrighted material — only the means to use the DirectShow filters in Linux — via Slashdot

Data Centres Are Becoming Big Polluters, Study Finds

The world’s data centers are projected to surpass the airline industry as a greenhouse gas polluter by 2020. Over that time, the carbon dioxide emissions attributable to the electricity consumed by fast-expanding data centers will rise fourfold, the study estimates. The greenhouse gas impact of data centers is not yet counted and likely to be very significant

Troops to Use Electronic Insects to Spot Enemy ‘by End of the Year’

British defence giant BAE Systems is creating a series of tiny electronic spiders, insects and snakes that could become the eyes and ears of soldiers on the battlefield, helping to save thousands of lives. Prototypes could be on the front line by the end of the year, scuttling into potential danger areas such as booby-trapped buildings or enemy hideouts to relay images back to troops safely positioned nearby. Soldiers will carry the robots into combat and use a small tracked vehicle to transport them closer to their targets

Officeworks to Sell Dell PCs

PC giant Dell has turned to Officeworks to help unseat its closest rival Hewlett-Packard in a bitter market share war in Australia. After months trying to woo the the retail gods, Dell has found its match in Officeworks. Officeworks will start selling Dell computers, laptops, printers and flat panel displays next week. The PCs will cost between $999 and $1800

Microsoft Weaves New Photo Tool into Windows

Microsoft likes digital photography enthusiasts as customers, and plans to release a free new utility designed to keep them wedded to Windows. Pro Photo Tools is geared for photography professionals and enthusiasts, and its first notable feature is the ability to geotag photos, or add geographic information showing where the picture was taken. Geotagging is an onerous chore with today’s technology, but camera makers are working to build it into cameras, and it can pay off down the road

Windows XP SP3 Rocked by Delays

Microsoft on Tuesday said it is delaying the release of Windows XP Service Pack 3 because of a newly uncovered glitch. The software maker said there is a compatibility issue between the XP service pack and Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System, a retail chain management program for small and midsize businesses. Microsoft finalised the code for Windows XP SP3 last week and had planned to make it broadly available starting Tuesday