Third World laptops by mid-2007

The controversial $100 laptop, or "One Laptop per Child" project, is gaining momentum, with production of the low-cost machines due to begin by the middle of next year.

Mary Lou Jepsen - a former Intel chip designer, and chief technologist for the project - has found a way to modify conventional laptop displays, cutting the screen's manufacturing cost to $40, while reducing its power consumption by more than 80%, writes News.Com.

However, the project may not be as attractive as it sounds, as the report adds: "The laptop does not come with a Microsoft Windows operating system or even a hard drive, and the screen is small, and the cost is now closer to $150 than $100."

British sports authorities are taking action to stop illegal live coverage of the nation's favourite sport of soccer - along with other sporting events over the Internet.

BBCNews writes that almost all English Premiership matches are available to watch live and free, as are other leagues and sports. The coverage emerges mainly from Chinese sport channels, and is put on peer-to-peer applications that can be watched anywhere in the world.

"The FA Premier League, Uefa, Cricket Australia and other sport bodies have employed a company called NetResult to police the Internet for unauthorised video," notes the report.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has named 47 "visionary" firms in its Technology Pioneers 2007 list - honouring those whose innovations have the potential for long-term impact on business and strategy, writes Rediff News.

More than half of the pioneers are US-based companies, with 13 located in California alone. Six are from Britain; and India, the Netherlands, Israel and Singapore have two each. Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland have one each.

The pioneers, nominated in three broad categories (biotechnology/health, energy and information technology), were selected from 225 nominees, and by a panel of leading technology experts appointed by the WEF.