Steve Jobs explains ban on Flash

Steve Jobs has used an open letter to defend Apple's decision not to allow Flash on many of the firm's products, says the BBC.

iPods, iPhones and iPads can not run the software despite the widespread use of Flash technology on Web sites for video and animations.

He said Flash was made for an era of "PCs and mice" and performed poorly when translated to run on touch-screen smartphones and handheld devices.

The European Commission (EC) is considering setting up a new EU agency to tackle cyber crime. The agency could be part of the European police office Europol, reports Computing.co.uk.

The council of ministers has asked the EC to look at its agreed cyber crime objectives and decide whether a new centralised agency is a better way of achieving those than the current inter-agency co-operation.

These objectives would include raising the standard of specialisation of investigators, prosecutors, judges and forensic staff. It would also encourage information sharing between countries' police forces and harmonise approaches taken to fight cyber crime across the EU.

The UK's white space spectrum could start filling up before the Digital Dividend comes around, writes The Register.

While the FCC is still dithering about who's going to run the American white space directory, UK players have been gathering in Reading to talk about how best to exploit the UK's TV transmission gaps. Ofcom says white space devices could be legal next year if it's given the power to regulate them properly.

White space spectrum is found between the TV stations, and exists because of the huge scale of television transmitter networks.

Oscar-winning director James Cameron is helping Nasa develop a high-resolution 3D camera for the next Mars rover, due to launch in 2011, reveals CNet.

The director of Avatar and other sci-fi flicks believes the public will better understand the mission if the rover has 3D imaging capabilities.

Budget overruns had forced Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to rethink plans to mount a 3D cam on Curiosity, but Cameron apparently convinced Nasa administrator Charles Bolden that wasn't a good idea.