Wireless data services not appealing

Despite the best efforts of wireless operators across the globe, interest in next-generation data services remains extremely low, the Yankee Group says. TheRegister reports that the group`s latest study says few people use wireless data services today and even less see the value of these services in the future.

The Yankee Group says only 18% of wireless network users have used wireless data services. But that still leaves 82% who haven`t used such services and it doesn`t look like they want to either. When asked why they didn`t use wireless data services, the response from 42% was that they simply didn`t need the services. Even those who are interested in wireless data services don`t seem completely convinced: 16% say wireless data services are too expensive and 6% say they are too complicated. [TheRegister]

A Northumbria University lecturer has helped devise a scheme to use music to catch computer bugs. Dr Paul Vickers from Northumbria and Professor James Alty from Loughborough University`s Department of Computer Science have come up with an idea that could see features of computer programming languages being given short, musical themes. All similar instructions would be given related tunes so that any bug would be easily identified within the system.

"It works because it allows the programmer to build a mental expectation of how the music should unfold over time. If the music deviates from its expected score then that signifies the possible presence of a bug in the program," says Vickers.

The researchers first tested the ability of the average non-musician to distinguish differences like musical pitch using sounds similar to those made by a musical instrument. The results were good with most people able to discriminate between pitches. They then set up software that mapped pitch and melodic contour information to structural elements in the programming language Pascal. They used similar tunes to represent similar programming instructions.

The system has already been tested with computer science students from Loughborough University and those who could "hear`` the code as well as see it found more bugs than those who only had the visual representations.

IBM is putting its money where its mouth is, according to CBROnline, which says the company is investing $1 billion into a new organisation dedicated to researching how it can deliver its products as on-demand services.

About $1 billion of its research budget for the next three years will now be pumped into on-demand innovation services (ODIS), a new division that will operate alongside IBM Business Consulting - the 60 000-strong consulting unit created by the $3.5 billion takeover of PwC Consulting.

ODIS will pool together 200 research scientists who will employ mathematical and scientific research techniques to improve the way that IBM develops its products and services around an on-demand model. [CBROnline]