New tech proposed to stop drunk-driving

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has launched a campaign, in conjunction with a number of other groups, under which it proposes that alcohol-detection technology be used by drivers to disable their automobiles if they are found to be over the legal blood alcohol limit, reports the International Herald Tribune.

MADD announced the first stage of the plan in Washington yesterday, saying it was to be backed by a national association of state highway representatives and car producers.

The initial phase includes an effort to modify existing drunk-driving regulations in 49 states to include a mandate that would order people convicted on drunk-driving charges to install devices that shut down their vehicles if alcohol is detected on their breath.

Toshiba has announced the latest addition to its new series of high-capacity secure digital high-capacity (SDHC) memory cards: an 8GB Class 4 memory card, reports Digi Times.

The new card will be introduced in early January, alongside 4GB products launched in September.

The SD-HC008GT4 (the name is for Japan only) Class 4 8GB memory card can record a maximum of three hours and 10 minutes of standard definition video in the MPEG2 format, with 20 000 units to be produced each month.

Companies working with popular standards for wireless technology may have a patent infringement problem, reports CTNews.

A federal judge in Tyler, Texas, ruled last week that an Australian government agency holds the rights to patents on the underlying technology used in two WiFi standards and a third proposed standard.

Judge Leonard Davis ruled that a patent granted in 1996 to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia's national science agency, is valid.

Virtual world Second Life had to close its doors for a short time on Sunday after a worm attack, called grey goo, reports BBC News.

The self-replicating worm planted spinning gold rings around the virtual world, which is inhabited by more than a million users.

As users interacted with the rings, the worms replicated, resulting in a slowdown on the servers used by Second Life's creators.