Apple laptop the 'greatest gadget`

The 1991 Apple Powerbook 100 has been chosen as the greatest gadget of all time by US magazine Mobile PC.

The magazine compiled an all-time top 100 list of gadgets, which includes the Sony Walkman at number three and the Motorola Startac at number four. According to BBC, the laptop was chosen because it was one of the first "lightweight" portable computers and helped define the layout of all future notebook PCs.

The magazine staff compiled the list and specified that gadgets also needed to be a "self-contained apparatus that can be used on its own, not a subset of another device". The gadgets also needed moving parts and/or electronics to warrant inclusion.

Intel has launched its 64-bit silicon solutions in the form of five new Pentium 4 processors, even though the market demand is not yet there.

Considering Intel`s rival AMD has already brought out a similar solution, the launch is more likely "a marketing thing than a market thing", says Gartner research VP Martin Reynolds.

"We`re still not seeing 64-bit operating systems or 64-bit applications, but they can say they`re shipping 64-bit."

However, Intel says the new desktop chips - a 3.73GHz P4 Extreme Edition and four new 3.0-3.6GHz P4s - would provide the platform features required by new, rich media and emerging uses of the desktop PC, such as the latest gaming and high-definition video, as well as business communications.

Police have arrested a New York man for allegedly sending 1.5 million unsolicited instant messages, or spim, TechNewsWorld reports.

Anthony Greco was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on 16 February, and charged with violating the federal CAN-SPAM Act, after the 18-year-old allegedly sent instant messages advertising mortgage refinancing services and adult pornography to users of MySpace.com`s IM service.

The arrest is unlikely to have any real effect on the growing spim threat though, says Pew Internet & American Life Project director Lee Rainie. "This is a target-rich environment that all sorts of actors will figure out how to exploit as the months and years unfold."

According to a recent survey by Pew Internet & American Life Project, around 17 million adults have received spim in the US alone.