Dell's faulty PC woes worsen

The ongoing legal imbroglio over Dell's allegedly defective Optiplex computers took another turn last week when a proposed class-action lawsuit broadened its scope, writes The Register.

The consumer-rights law firm of Hagens Berman filed suit in August last year on behalf of New York chiropractor Richard Statler, alleging that five Optiplex computers he had bought had defective motherboards due to bad Nichicon capacitors that "wreaked expensive and wasteful havoc".

Last week, Hagens Berman expanded its complaint to include "hard-disk drives, power supplies, fans, ICH5 chipsets, and DDR2 RAM".

The US Secret Service raided the home of an artist who collected images from Web cams in a New York Apple store, reveals the BBC.

Kyle McDonald is said to have installed software that photographed people looking at laptops then uploaded the pictures to a Web site.

McDonald said he had obtained permission from a security guard to take photos inside the store.

As part of whisky brand Ballantine's “Leave an Impression” campaign, Paris-based tattoo artist Karl Marc tattooed a QR code onto his friend Marco's chest, reports Mashable.com.

Marc says the whisky company approached him and asked if he would be interested in executing the tattoo - a QR code that unlocked an animation when scanned - via a live stream on the brand's Facebook Page.

“What makes this tattoo special is not just that it links to an animation,” Marc says. “It's that we will be able to change the animation as time goes on. As Marco grows older and his ideas change, we can create new animations that link to the Matrix Code.”

Prime minister David Cameron has ordered key government data on hospitals and doctors, schools, criminal courts and transport is to be made available online, says Computing.co.uk.

Downing Street has issued a letter to senior cabinet ministers spelling out its commitment to make more information available to the public about services they use to help drive more efficient provision.

Cameron said it was at the heart of the government's agenda, adding: "We recognise that transparency and open data can be a powerful tool to help reform public services, foster innovation and empower citizens."