Microsoft to exploit human conductivity

Microsoft has been granted a US patent for a "method and apparatus for transmitting power and data using the human body", reports PC World.

The report says Microsoft proposes linking portable devices such as watches, keyboards, displays and speakers using the conductivity of "a body of a living creature".

The patent says a variety of devices could be powered selectively from a single power source carried on the body, via multiple power supply signals at different frequencies. Data and audio signals could also be transmitted over that same power signal. The power source and devices would be connected to the body via electrodes.

IBM has developed an add-on to its WebSphere server software, which ZDNet reports is designed to improve the management of back-end computing systems in demanding situations.

The report says the new WebSphere Extended Deployment is aimed at improving the efficiency of using the infrastructure that supports business applications. The software is to go into beta testing this week and is expected to be available towards the end of the year.

Cellphone makers Nokia, Lucent Technologies and Nortel Networks say they will have network equipment ready in time for plans to sell high-speed mobile services this year by Cingular Wireless, reports Reuters.

The report says phone companies around the world are spending billions creating services such as high-speed Internet and e-mail for mobile phones. They see revenue from such services eventually replacing income lost as phone call prices fall.