Java programming guru quits

A top Java programming guru has quit Java's governing body, the Java Community Process (JCP), over Oracle's heavy-handedness, as Oracle denied it is trying to pack the group with sympathisers, reveals The Register.

In a fiery resignation letter, Doug Lea, an authority on concurrency in Java, wrote: "I believe that the JCP is no longer a credible specification and standards body, and there is no remaining useful role for an independent advocate for the academic and research community on the EC [executive committee]."

Lea, who led Java for desktops and servers, blamed Oracle for not fixing rules that he says were broken by Sun Microsystems.

Britain's privacy watchdog is to look again at what personal information Internet giant Google gathered from private WiFi networks, writes the BBC.

The Information Commissioner's Office had investigated a sample earlier this year after it was revealed Google had collected personal data during its Street View project.

At the time, it said no “significant” personal details were collected. But Google has since admitted that e-mails and passwords were copied.

A recently discovered bug in Apple's iOS 4.1 allows users to make iPhone calls without first entering a passcode, according to The Register.

The bug means there is no way to prevent unauthorised people from using the devices in the event they're lost or stolen.

All that's required to unlock a phone is to press the emergency call button, enter a non-emergency number such as ###, tap the call button and immediately hit the lock button.

Xhead = UK plans £200m elite tech investment

David Cameron has revealed the UK's plans to invest more than £200 million in a network of elite technology and innovation centres to drive growth in hi-tech industries, reports Computing.

The British prime minister hopes the centres will bridge the gap between universities and businesses, and better commercialise the country's academic research.

Business secretary Vince Cable said: “We need to do more to ensure the UK benefits from its world-class research, and these centres will help take ideas from the drawing board to the marketplace.”