INTO TECH

The US government warns of a possible al-Qaeda call to attack US financial online services.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exhausted and triumphant from what was
surely a 10-mile run through the neighbourhood, you get into
your car to retrace your route and clock the distance.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. launched
Windows Vista for businesses on Thursday, unveiling the first
major upgrade of its dominant operating system in five years
and predicting that over 200 million people will run new
Windows, Office or PC server software by the end of 2007.

Heather Mills McCartney tells the BBC she has received ‘death threats’ since splitting with Sir Paul McCartney.

Liza Minnelli’s ex-husband David Gest is voted off ITV1’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

A Norman Rockwell painting found behind a fake wall sells for a record $15.4m (£7.9m) at auction.

It’s that time of year when [almost] washed up TV celebs and big technology companies get together to launch new services under the guise of charity.

Cynicism aside, Shelter is as good a cause as any, and the idea of former Dr. Who, Tom Baker, turning text messages into voice is strangely appealing.

BT is offering a remixed, download-only version of The Kinks and Tom Baker doing that 1960s hit, You Really Got Me. Most of the proceeds go to the charity. Even better, BT will be using Baker as the voice of its text-to-landline service.

“Customers who send a text message to a fixed line or home phone will have it read out by Tom’s voice. BT will donate 2p to Shelter from every text message sent to a landline from now until January 8, 2007 and all of its proceeds from the download track. Tom Baker’s voice is on BT Text from December 1. The Text Aid track can be pre-ordered now from 7Digital and will be officially on sale from December 18 from a range of online retailers including eMusic and iTunes.”

So, if you want Dr. Who to voice some very rude texts this Silly Season, you can take refuge in the knowledge that as you destroy some relationships you’ll be helping needy others. Makes me feel warm all over.

Find out more about Text Aid here and pre-order the track here.-Martin Lynch

news technology phones charity BT

Comedian Rosie O’Donnell defends actor Danny DeVito who appeared on her US TV show apparently drunk.

Lindsay Lohan’s publicist defends the actress’s sympathy message after the death of Robert Altman.

Human rights groups have set up their own-brand search engine to pool data and co-ordinate campaigns.