Internet use campaign under way

A major drive to get more people to use the Internet has started, with the aim of persuading reluctant users that the Web can save them money and time, reveals the BBC.

The BBC will be involved in the Get Online campaign, which will see some celebrities going online for the first time.

More than nine million Britons have never used the Internet, and they tend to be more elderly and less well-off.

Hackers claim to have attacked the official Web site belonging to the UK Conservative Party, writes The Register.

Details on the 4chan Web site, where the supposed attack was discussed, were sketchy, but claimed the site was vulnerable to a SQL injection exploit. An e-mail to The Register claimed the site had been defaced, but at time of writing, there was no proof, and the site appeared to be working normally.

The 4chan thread included what appeared to be fragments of a log that had been lifted from the site, but their authenticity couldn't be verified.

Sprint has announced full 4G service for New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, says CNet News.

New York will be first with 4G going live on 1 November, Los Angeles will follow a month later on 1 December, and San Francisco will commence in late December.

Exact 4G coverage in the markets will vary, but Sprint offered some vague details. New Yorkers should be able to get WiMax in all five boroughs, plus some suburban areas. In the Bay Area, 4G will be active between San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco, while coverage in Los Angeles will range from the San Fernando Valley to parts of Orange County.

The UK government expects to save 30% from its IT budget by implementing the G-Cloud, reports Computing.co.uk.

G-Cloud, the government's own version of cloud computing, plans to consolidate data centres across the public and voluntary sectors. Ambitious in scope, it aims to save government £3.2 billion of its annual £16 billion IT budget. The project was introduced by the last government, but has not yet been approved under the new government's spending review.

One problem it is facing is that G-Cloud, as it stands, may not comply with EU procurement law, which requires purchasers to submit a tender to the Official Journal of the European Union.