Google takes on Microsoft

Internet search giant Google will unveil a package of communications and productivity software aimed at businesses which rely on Microsoft products for those functions, The New York Times reports.

The package, Google Apps, combines two sets of previously available software bundles.

One includes programs for e-mail, instant messaging, calendars and Web page creation. The other, Docs and Spreadsheets, feature programs to read and edit documents created with Microsoft Word and Excel.

Cisco Systems warned yesterday that some of its IP phones could be compromised, allowing unauthorised individuals to bypass security restrictions, reports CNET news.

In the warning, Cisco details flaws for two sets of products. One warning identified two versions of the Cisco Unified IP Conference Station, a speaker phone designed for conference rooms.

Cisco said because of a design error in the HTTP interface, which allows the device to be managed remotely, an administrator's credentials are saved or cached when the device is accessed remotely.

Google, racing to head off a media industry backlash over its video Web site YouTube, will soon offer anti-piracy technologies to help all copyright holders thwart unauthorised video sharing, reports ZDNet.

"We are definitely committed to [offering copyright protection technologies]," Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in an interview. "It is one of the company's highest priorities.

"We just reviewed that [issue] about an hour ago," Schmidt said when asked what Google was doing to make anti-piracy technologies widely available to video owners. "It is going to roll-out very soon... It is not far away."

Playing new style computer games can help people burn up a significant number of calories, research has found, BBC reports.

Games consoles such as Nintendo Wii require players to use body movements to control the action. A study by Liverpool John Moores University found regular use could help shift 12.25kg a year.

The study was carried out to establish whether computer games could contribute to the daily activity recommendations for children. The researchers compared activity levels during gaming using the Wii with those achieved using traditional seated joypad-controlled consoles.