Linux flaws patched

Linux groups have patched several flaws in Linux code used to process graphics in the GNOME desktop environment that would have allowed attackers to compromise a computer that displays a malicious image file, reports CNet.

Security group Secunia warned earlier in the week that there were vulnerabilities in the Imlib software library, a set of common code for handling images.

The report says Czech software developer Pavel Kankovsky discovered the flaws when he checked the Imlib library to see if it was affected by vulnerabilities found in a similar set of Linux code.

E-mail had a bigger impact on the recent US presidential elections than political Web sites, two Internet specialists have told the UK Parliament.

BBC News reports that American Internet pioneer Phil Noble and British professor Stephen Coleman of the Oxford Internet Institute cited the example of presidential hopeful Howard Dean, who missed out on the Democratic nomination, but raised millions in funds on the back of an e-mail campaign.

In addition to being a major fundraising force, the experts also noted that advocacy sites are changing the political landscape and that politics could no longer be purely local.

Intel will include 64-bit functionality on its desktop chips including the budget Celeron line starting in 2005, reports CNet.

The report says Intel`s scheduling coincides with the release of a 64-bit version of Windows for desktops and marks a definite acceleration for Intel, probably in response to recent market gains by rival Advanced Micro Devices.

Nvidia is to supply the graphics chip for the successor to the PlayStation 2 games console being developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, reports PC World.

The Nvidia chip will include a version of Nvidia`s GeForce processor, which will be one of two chips that will drive the performance of the PlayStation 3 console widely expected by mid-2006. The other chip is the multicore, 64-bit Cell microprocessor, which has been under development since 2001 by Sony, IBM and Toshiba.

A new study predicts that by 2025, 40% of the UK`s population will still be without Internet access at home, reports BBC News.

The study says around 23 million Britons will miss out on a wide range of essential services such as education and medical information.

The study commissioned by UK telecoms giant BT concludes that it is unlikely the digital divide will evaporate with time.