Goverment looks at data shake-up

The way the government makes its vast amounts of data available to the public could be about to change.

It has decided to make access to a database of UK laws completely free for the public to access and re-use.

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March of the consumer robots

Home robotics is a growing trend at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. But are visions of mechanised-man servants still a long way off?

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Governement to close 551 websites

Hundreds of government websites are to be shut down "to make access to information easier" for people.

Of 951 sites, only 26 will definitely stay, 551 will definitely close and hundreds more are expected to follow.

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School canteen takes fingerprints

A Lancashire primary school is using fingerprint technology to encourage pupils to eat healthier food.

St Teresa's Primary School in Up Holland has installed electronic scanners in its dining room.

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School fingerprinting guide due

New guidelines for schools on fingerprinting pupils are to be issued by the government, following MPs and parents' concerns surrounding privacy.

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$100 laptop could sell to public

The backers of the One Laptop Per Child project are looking at the possibility of selling the machine to the public.

One idea would be for customers to have to buy two laptops at once - with the second going to the developing world.

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Mini computers bring test boost

Boys who under-perform at school could be greatly helped if they used hand-held computers at home and at school, a study suggests.

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Pupils get home internet access

The government is to set up a taskforce to ensure all children have access to the internet outside of school.

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School computer test to be scrapped

A statutory test in ICT (information and communication technology) for Key Stage 3 pupils (14-year-olds) was due to be made compulsory from 2008.

Schools' results were to be published in the national league tables.

But the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority had raised concerns about the increasing burdens on schools and ministers agreed to drop the test.

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Radio goes the open source route

A new generation of broadcasters are to join the world's airwaves after the launch of open-source software which allows people to run a radio station from a single computer for free.

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How mobile phones have changed Kenyan society

June tells me mobile phones are having an amazing impact at a local level, even here. She says it's not obvious to visitors but there is a great deal of small-scale deference in Kenyan society.

"But," she says, "the mobile allows you to walk away, it allows you to own yourself."

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Second Lifers get hands on code

The creator of the hugely popular virtual world Second Life is releasing some of its code to the open source community.

Access to the source code for its Viewer software will allow residents to have a say in new developments

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No ceasefire in DVD format war

The high definition DVD format war will continue until a winner is declared, technology watchers have heard.

Blu-ray and HD-DVD are battling to become the pre-eminent hi-def format to replace the slowing DVD market.

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