Cambridge Computing: The First 75 Years: Book review
The Cambridge University Computer Lab has celebrated its first 75 years with a coffee-table book that covers the history of computing from its pioneering EDSAC to the Raspberry Pi
Jack's Blog
News and comment on what's happening in the technology industry, and the direction it's heading.
Jack Schofield
Jack Schofield spent the 1970s editing photography magazines before becoming editor of an early UK computer magazine, Practical Computing. In 1983, he started writing a weekly computer column for the Guardian, and joined the staff to launch the newspaper's weekly computer supplement in 1985. This section launched the Guardian’s first website and, in 2001, its first real blog. When the printed section was dropped after 25 years and a couple of reincarnations, he felt it was a time for a change....
Latest Posts
Apple's shares fall another $36 before results; IBM's by $17 after
Apple's shares have fallen by another $36 ahead of this week's financial results, while IBM's shares fell by $17 following last week's disappointing financial results.
Apple's shares plunge again, spooked by its audio chip supplier
The price of Apple's shares tumbled to a 52-week low of $400.78 today as the market reacted -- perhaps overreacted -- to the news that its audio chip supplier Cirrus Logic was sitting on unsold inventory.
Hidden energy costs make the wireless cloud bad for the planet
Forget data centres: researchers at the Centre for Energy Efficient Telecommunications (CEET) in Australia have calculated that wireless cloud access will generate as much planet-harming CO2 as 4.9 million cars by 2015
The British Library saves the .uk web, starting 20 years too late
The British Library and the UK's other legal deposit libraries have started archiving around 5 million websites in the .uk domain, but the past 20 years may well remain a digital black hole
Mobile phones and bank cards to replace tickets for travelling in London
London commuters can already use their contactless bank cards on buses, and Transport for London (TfL) is extending the system to tubes and perhaps trains. It's also considering payments using NFC on mobile phones.
Windows 8 Blue continues Microsoft's tradition of confusing names
Some people find the Windows naming system confusing, and Blue continues the trend. But examine NT's history and it all makes sense, if only on the Planet Zog.
PC market may suffer a double-digit decline this quarter, warns IDC
Slow sales in China have prompted IDC to reduce its first-quarter sales forecast by almost 2 percentage points. However, in the longer term, the PC market should be sustained by businesses upgrading from Windows XP.
Reckless IT pros are missing security holes in non-Microsoft software
Secunia reports that only 14 percent of the vulnerabilities found in the 50 most popular programs last year were in Microsoft products while 86 percent were in third-party software. It reckons IT professionals should do more to patch them … and it sells products to help
OneTab instantly frees up to 95 percent of memory in Google Chrome
OneTab, a free Chrome add-in, converts a set of browser tabs into a page of links, then restores the tabs when required. It can instantly free up gigabytes of memory when you need it for something else.