Testing may delay Vista again

Vista`s public testing programme might be the cause of yet another delay in Microsoft`s latest operating system, says Business Times Online.

Windows Vista, which will succeed the company`s Windows XP operating system, is due to be launched next month for corporate customers and early next year for consumers. However, there is increasing speculation that testing of the new product will reveal unforeseen problems that could delay the launch.

David Bradshaw, principal analyst for Ovum, says although the discovery of a problem could force a rewrite, it would have to be a pretty major problem to derail the release.

Ken Kutaragi, Sony Computer Entertainment president, recently said Sony "doesn`t care" about the possibility of Xbox 360 and Wii overcoming PlayStation 3, explains About Electronics.

While it`s surely keeping a keen eye on competitors, Sony`s main focus at this point is on its own in-house issues.

"Right now, [Blu-Ray production] is an issue, because we can`t manufacture enough blue laser diodes for our PlayStation 3s. But we will resolve that," Kutaragi said.

Vodafone`s first own-branded 3G handsets have been unveiled as the mobile phone giant tries to expand in the market for higher-paying third-generation services by luring more pre-pay users, reports PC Mag.

Huawei Technologies, China`s largest network gear maker, would supply the Vodafone 710 clamshell phone, the first in a series of similar own-branded handsets that it plans to source from Asian vendors.

Vodafone`s tie-up with Huawei underscores a rising trend among European networks: tapping lower-cost Asian suppliers for "white-label" phones on which they stamp their own names.

The main camera on the Hubble Space Telescope has switched off on its own again - for the second time this year, according to Earth Times.

Program managers at the space agency said a drop in the voltage might have caused the problem. NASA said observations using the Hubble were being rescheduled and it is likely that other instruments would be used.

The camera is a third-generation instrument, which was installed on the Hubble by a shuttle crew in 2002. The telescope was launched in April 1990 and is regarded as Earth`s "third eye".