Microsoft steps up piracy fight

Microsoft has stepped up its fight against software piracy by requiring users to verify their copies of the Windows operating system.

Anyone downloading updates for Windows XP will be required to check that their operating system is genuine. Security updates are exempt from this in order to prevent people spreading viruses across the internet. A third of software worldwide is fake, according to industry group, the Business Software Alliance.

Losing billions

Microsoft said that more than a third of its software is counterfeit, which means billions of dollars of lost income. With Windows accounting for 90% of operating systems sold worldwide, cracking down on the pirates is one of the few ways for Microsoft to expand its business.

"This is another tool in our arsenal," said David Lazar, director of Genuine Windows for Microsoft.

Customers who discover that their copy of Windows is pirated have two options. They can get a free version of Windows if they fill out a counterfeit report identifying the source of the software, providing proof of purchase and returning the counterfeit CD. If they are unable to provide all the information, filling out a report will entitle them to receive a copy of Windows XP Home Edition for the reduced price of £56 or Windows XP Professional Edition for £86.

Genuine article

The new policy is part of Windows Genuine Advantage, a scheme set up by Microsoft in September to encourage people to use legitimate software. The firm has been offering incentives, in the form of freebies such as photo slide-show software, to persuade people to use the service.

"We want to give customers a reason to purchase the genuine product," said Alex Hilton, anti-piracy manager for Microsoft.

So far, 45 million copies of Windows have been verified via the system, although Microsoft has, as yet, no figures to gauge what proportion of these failed the test. Neither has it set a figure on the level it would like to see piracy reduced to.

"Aspirationally we want to remove piracy altogether and we feel the majority of people want to use our software legitmately," said Mr Hilton.

He advised anyone looking to purchase Windows XP to make sure they only do so via trusted shops and websites. \1900\

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Germany shows signs of recovery

German business confidence rose in July for the second month in a row, making an economic recovery more likely, the country's Ifo research institute said.

A weaker euro boosted optimism among exporters, the monthly Ifo survey of 7,000 firms suggested. Its main business climate index rose to 95.0 in July from 93.3 in June, hitting its highest level since February.

Germany is facing a September general election in which economic anxieties are expected to play a major role. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder triggered the general election after his Social Democrat party lost a key regional election, largely due to fears over Germany's poor economic performance.

Gloom recedes?

Unemployment reached 5 million - its highest level since the 1930s - earlier this year, and business confidence remained weak in the first half of 2005. June's Ifo reading showed the first improvement in five months. The latest July reading beat economists' forecasts. The consensus was for a reading of 94, according to Reuters.

"An economic recovery has become more likely," said Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn.

"In manufacturing and wholesaling the improvement of the economic climate was above the survey average, especially because of the clearly improved business expectations," Ifo said.

However, it added: "The rise in export expectations in manufacturing was less marked."

In construction, expectations "brightened slightly". The only exception to the brighter picture was in retailing, where business expectations fell, possibly due to worries over sales tax increases.

Eastern Germany continued to lag behind the rest of the country as the business climate improved less there, Ifo said.

Better global outlook

The improvement in the overall picture was "stronger than expected" said Citigroup economist Juergen Michels.

"Quite a large improvement for the manufacturing industry reflects the weaker euro and a more upbeat view on global demand," he said.

Ifo's index of confidence in prospects for the next six months improved to 95.0 from 92.9.

Germany's economic growth is sluggish - six economic institutes halved their full-year forecasts to 0.7% in April.

The news had little impact on Frankfurt stock exchange. The Dax index of blue-chip shares rose slightly shortly after the report's release, before falling back again. \2000\

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What are additives?

All kinds of things can be legally added to our food. Most of them are given E numbers. These include things like preservatives and colourings. Flavourings are not given E numbers, but are still approved by the Food Standards Agency.

Richard Hammond, the presenter of Should I Worry About...?, tried to avoid all additives and found it extremely difficult. Additives are used in nearly all processed foods. Preservatives keep things from going off, while emulsifiers and stabilisers are used to stop dressings and sauces from separating out. Colourings and flavourings tend to be used to replace colours and flavours that can be lost when food is processed.

Many additives are things that occur naturally anyway. For example vitamin C has an E number. So does citric acid, which is found in lemon juice and is used as a preservative.

Testing additives

Anything which has been given an E number will have been tested for things like toxicity and links to cancer. If potential problems are found, the additive will be given a figure for Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI). This is the amount you could have every day over a lifetime without any ill effects.

But although food labels have to list additives, they don’t have to say exactly how much is in the product. So it’s very difficult to calculate if you are exceeding the ADI. We have to rely on the Food Standards Agency, who say they monitor the average diet, to ensure we don’t regularly exceed the ADI for any additive.

An additive-free diet

We asked one family to go completely additive-free for six weeks to see if there were any noticable changes. The results were dramatic.

At the beginning of the six weeks, everyone in the family had levels of vitamin C in their blood well below the recommended levels. Most of them had zinc levels right at the bottom of what is considered healthy.

At the end of the six weeks, their levels of zinc and vitamin C had all risen, some by as much as four times. The whole family’s nutritional status had improved, and six-year-old Adam seemed to be suffering from fewer colds and sleeping better.

But was it the additives in their diet that affected the family’s nutritional status? Probably not. The key lies in what they ate instead. Nutritionist Amanda Hamilton thinks it’s quite simple. Before they started the diet they were snacking on biscuits and chocolates – all of which contained additives. On the diet, they replaced all of this junk food with fresh fruit and vegetables. It’s no surprise that their nutritional status improved.

Be a sceptical sleuth

If you’re looking for advice on additives on the web, be extra careful of whose advice you take. Lots of sites don’t contain any indication of where they got their information from, and lots of sites are very alarmist. Wild rumours are everywhere, so think about the source of the reports and how reliable you think they are. \2900\

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'Digital plaster' monitors health

A high-tech plaster could keep a constant check on your health, its makers have claimed.

A tiny electronic device, which can be attached to an ordinary plaster, has been developed by a scientist from London's Imperial College.

The device checks vital signs such as temperature, blood pressure and glucose levels, sending results to a computer, which highlights any cause for concern. Trials of the new technology should start in the next few months. The 'digital plaster' - which measures three millimeters by five - contains a silicon chip, which can carry sensors for a range of symptoms.

So a sensor could pick up the electrical activity of the heart to show if there were any problems. Other sensors would check signs such as temperature, or blood glucose levels. All this information would then be processed by the Sensium silicon chip which is powered by a tiny battery, the same size as that used to power a watch.

The data can be sent from the device via a mobile phone or PDA (handheld computer) on to a computer database, which has been set up to detect results which are outside defined ranges.

'Tiny device'

The developers say the patient themselves could be alerted if the results were worrying. The computer which is receiving the information could also be primed to detect a change in the pattern of results seen, which could then mean a doctor could be alerted to the problem.

June Davison, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation said: "Telemedicine has the potential to greatly enhance patient care so that they can be diagnosed and treated locally, avoiding the need to travel long distances. "Telemedical devices to monitor heart health can be of particular use for those at high risk of arrhythmias or heart disease. "Telemedicine devices used in medicine vary widely in their complexity and sensitivity." But she said: "They still need thorough evaluation before they can be used widely." \2000\