Hackers hunger for Apple

After years of relative safety, the Apple Mac is becoming an increasingly tempting target for malicious computer hackers, reports FT.com.

Security researchers have been aware of the threat to Apple since last year, when they detected the first piece of malicious code or "malware" specifically designed to target Apple.

However, the number of malicious programs has increased over the past few months, according to a report published this week by F-Secure, an Internet security company.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Continental Airlines this week launched a pilot programme that allows airline passengers to board planes with electronic boarding passes on their cellphones or PDAs, reports Yahoo.

The initiative, which kicked off in Houston, Texas, is the first of its kind to be launched by a US airline.

Passengers receive boarding passes electronically on their cellphones or PDAs, and TSA security officers scan them with handheld scanners at checkpoints. The paperless boarding passes contain a two-dimensional bar code, as well as passenger and flight information.

Backpacker Nicole Vienneau went missing on a trip from West Africa to Turkey, by way of the Middle East, in April, states Wired.

Her brother Matthew began to strike a grave note. Frantic and thousands of miles away, Matthew Vienneau`s LiveJournal posts sent out a desperate plea for help from readers in the region of Syria where she was last seen.

Eight months on and the site`s daily updates have become the command centre for a global search for Nicole. Manned by hundreds of helpers, the site has bridged the online and offline worlds and has come agonisingly close to locating the missing woman.

Google has rolled out a new interface that provides iPhone users with a more intuitive way to access Google`s online services, says InformationWeek.

In a blog post, Steve Kanefsky, a software engineer for Google`s mobile team, explains that he began to redesign Google`s home page for iPhone users after the iPhone launched, to make better use of its touch-screen, WiFi, and Safari browser.

The new home screen makes services such as Gmail, Calendar and Reader more accessible through the use of Ajax menu tabs.