Network giants reject 'buy American'

Cisco Systems and Alcatel-Lucent want "buy American" provisions stricken from president Barack Obama's $7.2 billion US stimulus programme to expand broadband Internet access, says The Register.

Bloomberg reported the networking giants have filed complaints with the federal agency overseeing broadband funds, saying a mandate for US parts would be "grossly inefficient" and a "radical departure" from normal markets.

Obama's economic stimulus package requires projects funded under the law to use steel, iron and manufactured goods produced in the US. Exceptions can only be made if the agency involved deems the mandate "inconsistent with the public interest", supplies are "no longer produced in the US in reasonably available quantities and of satisfactory quality", or will increase the overall project by more than 25%.

Every PC in China could be at risk of being taken over by malicious hackers because of flaws in compulsory government software, reports the BBC.

The potential faults were brought to light by Chinese computer experts who said the flaws could lead to a "large-scale disaster".

The Chinese government has mandated that all computers in the country must have the screening software installed.

A new report about how the majority of the population uses Twitter reveals that most people, well... don't really use it, says Arstechnica.

The micro blogging service has grown exponentially over the last year, but a little more than half of its users have never sent a single tweet, according to the latest report from HubSpot.

The report reminds us that, like many Web services, much of the content is produced by a small number of users while everyone else likes to look in and watch.

Some 43% of adults who currently do not have Internet access would remain disconnected even if they were given a free PC and broadband connection, reports the BBC.

The statistic, part of research conducted by UK regulator Ofcom, will make depressing reading for some. But it is not all bad news.

Ofcom's survey found one in five adults who do not have the Internet, plan to go online in the next six months. Seventeen million Britons - 30% of the population - are currently offline. The government is keen to get more people online, as it moves more of its services on to the Web.