Spam on rise after brief reprieve

In the world of spam, what goes down must come up, says The BBC.

Two weeks after the shutdown of Web hosting firm McColo, which saw a two-thirds drop in spam worldwide, spam numbers are creeping up again.

Industry experts disagree on the degree to which spam has returned, but most say that prior levels will soon be reached.

The European Commission (EC) has called for "smart actions" to aid the European economic recovery and said increased investment in technology is essential to drive growth, reports Computing.co.uk.

Speaking during a press conference in Brussels yesterday, EC president Jos'e Manuel Barroso said technology plays a prominent role in the organisation's European economic recovery plan.

He highlighted the importance of rapid deployment of digital technologies and said implementing high-speed Internet connections is “as important as building the railways in the 19th century”.

An electronic flower has been designed that blooms in tune to a household's electricity conservation in real-time, says The Register.

The Wilting Flower wirelessly receives information from a transmitter that's clipped onto the mains power supply. The flower then interprets this information and adapts its stance according to how much juice the household is currently sucking up.

If not too much power is being consumed, the flower stands proud with its petals open and erect. But once the power begins flowing more freely, it will start to shrivel, close its petals and glow first yellow then red.

Another high-level Yahoo executive is leaving the troubled search company, reports CNet.

Toby Coppel is expected to announce he is stepping down from his position as executive VP and MD of Europe and Canada. The departure has reportedly been in the works for months and is unrelated to the recently announced resignation of Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang.

Coppel told Swisher he has no firm plans for the future, other than welcoming his third child into the world very soon.