284///18.1.2005///Users of Apple's music jukebox iTunes need to update the software to avoid a potential security threat. Hackers can build malicious playlist files which could crash the program and let them seize control of the computer by inserting Trojan code. A new version of iTunes is now available from the Apple website which solves the problem. Security firm iDefence, which notified users of the problem, recommended that users upgrade to iTunes version 4.7.1. The problem affects all users of iTunes - Windows and Mac OS - running versions 4.7 and earlier. Users can automatically upgrade iTunes by opening the "look for updates" window in the program. The security firm says users should avoid clicking on or accessing playlist files - which have the file extension of .pls or .m3u - which have come from unknown sources. Itunes is the world's most popular online music store with more than 200 million songs downloaded since it launched in 2003.
25///24.3.2005///US gamers will be able to buy Sony's PlayStation Portable from 24 March, but there is no news of a Europe debut. The handheld console will go on sale for $250 (&132) and the first million sold will come with Spider-Man 2 on UMD, the disc format for the machine. Sony has billed the machine as the Walkman of the 21st Century and has sold more than 800,000 units in Japan. The console (12cm by 7.4cm) will play games, movies and music and also offers support for wireless gaming. Sony is entering a market which has been dominated by Nintendo for many years. It launched its DS handheld in Japan and the US last year and has sold 2.8 million units. Sony has said it wanted to launch the PSP in Europe at roughly the same time as the US, but gamers will now fear that the launch has been put back. Nintendo has said it will release the DS in Europe from 11 March. "It has gaming at its core, but it's not a gaming device. It's an entertainment device," said Kaz Hirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America.
262///23.12.2004///More and more Americans are joining the internet's fast lane, according to official figures. The number of people and business connected to broadband jumped by 38% in a year, said the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In a report, it said there were more than 32 million broadband connections by the end of June 2004. But the US is still behind compared to other nations, ranked 13th in the world by a UN telecoms body. During his 2004 re-election campaign, President George W Bush pledge to ensure that affordable high-speed net access would be available to all Americans by 2007. According to the report by the FCC, broadband is becoming increasingly popular, with people using it for research and shopping, as well as downloading music and watching video. The total number of people and businesses on broadband rose by to 32.5 million in the year ending June 2004, compared to 23.5 million in June 2003. Whereas in the UK, most people hook up to broadband via Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) technology which lets ordinary copper phone lines support high data speeds. But in the US, cable leads the way, accounting for 18.6 million lines. Broadband over the phone line makes up 11.4 million connections, according to the FCC figures.
157///1.2.2005///We Are The World, the American charity anthem inspired by the success of Band Aid, has been re-issued to raise money for Aids research and tsunami victims. More than 40 stars sang as group USA For Africa, including Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen. It topped the charts in the US and UK, raising millions of dollars for African famine relief. The re-release also marks the 20th anniversary of the original recording. It has been re-issued as part of a two-disc DVD set, which will also feature footage from the recording session of the track in January 1985. The single was originally released in the US on 7 March 1985 and sold 800,000 copies in its first week. It went on to win Grammys for song of the year and record of the year.
89///19.2.2005///Irish actor Dan O'Herlihy, who was nominated for best actor at the 1955 Oscars, has died at the age of 85. O'Herlihy, whose Oscar nomination was for Luis Bunuel's The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, died at his home in Malibu, California, a spokesman said. The actor began his film career in the 1940s, playing Macduff to Orson Welles' Macbeth in 1948, and was also a regular in on the Dublin stage. He later appeared in Robocop and its sequel and cult TV show Twin Peaks. He played the CEO of Omni Consumer Products in 1987's Robocop and Robocop 2 three years later, and was saw mill owner Andrew Packard in Twin Peaks, also in 1990. Despite his Oscar nomination, he had few other lead roles and became a familiar supporting actor on TV and in film. The year he was nominated, the Academy Award was won by Marlon Brando for On the Waterfront.
318///18.3.2005///Roxy Music will appear at June's Isle of Wight music festival, along with Morrissey, Supergrass and Idlewild. REM have already been confirmed as headliners for the three-day event, which takes place from 10-12 June. Original band members Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzerana, Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson will take to the stage on the Saturday night of the festival. The band are also working in the studio on new material, their first since the 1982 album Avalon. Roxy Music were formed in 1971 by Ferry, Mackay and Brian Eno, with Manzanera joining the following year. Their first hit was 1972's Virginia Plain, with other hits including Street Life, Love Is The Drug and the 1981 John Lennon cover, Jealous Guy. Roxy Music's back catalogue was re-released in 2000, leading to the band undertaking a world tour in 2001. Morrissey will also play on Saturday at the festival, while Supergrass and Idlewild have been confirmed for the Friday.
203///10.11.2004///Disgraced former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu is to begin talks with Juventus as he looks for a new club. "Mutu will be in our club's main stand to watch the match between Juventus and Fiorentina," said a Juventus official, who declined to be named. "Then he will meet some important people of the club," he added. Mutu, 25, sacked by Chelsea and banned for seven months for taking cocaine, is now represented by Alessandro Moggi, son of Juve manager Luciano Moggi. Mutu, banned by the English FA, can resume playing next May. He is to undergo a drug education and rehabilitation programme. Mutu wants to train with Romanian side Dinamo Bucharest whilst serving his ban, say the Bucharest side.
220///13.11.2004///Charlton manager Alan Curbishley paid tribute to two-goal striker Jonatan Johansson after beating Norwich. Curbishley said after the 4-0 win: "There was talk about Norwich being interested in the summer but I have a lot of faith in Jonatan. "When there was talk of other clubs I just told him he was going nowhere. "He's part of our squad and he got us a couple of important goals early on. I'm sure he's happy here, but I was delighted with all the players." Curbishley was subjected to criticism from Charlton fans recently, and he said: "The thing about this club is that we have got where we are by all pulling in the same direction. "That's happened for however long I've been here and we don't want people taking sides."
98///13.2.2005///Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo said he is close to agreeing to a new contract at Old Trafford. The Portugal star, who joined in August 2003 on a five-year-deal, is a regular in the United first-team. "The United board have already made an offer to renew the contract but I'm trying not to think about it," he told the News of the World. "My agent has spoken with the club and it will be resolved soon. I think we'll reach a good agreement for both sides." Ronaldo refused to commit his long-term future to the club. "Nobody knows what will come tomorrow. I like being here, but who knows," he added. "There aren't many bigger and better clubs than this one. It's my ambition to be at a big club. I'm happy but nobody knows the future."
249///6.1.2005///Tony Blair has said he will not take part in a TV debate with his political rivals ahead of the next election. "We answer this every election campaign and, for the reasons I have given before, the answer is no," he said at his monthly news conference. In October Tory leader Michael Howard said Mr Blair would be running scared if he refused calls to go head-to-head. In recent years the leader of the opposition has always called for a debate, although it has never happened. Before the 2001 election, plans for a debate between Mr Blair, William Hague and Charles Kennedy collapsed. In 1997 a debate between Mr Blair and John Major was also cancelled when a format could not be agreed. Televised debates have become the high point of the US presidential election campaigns.
123///10.2.2005///MPs will be thrown out of the Commons if they use Blackberries in the chamber Speaker Michael Martin has ruled. The &200 handheld computers can be used as a phone, pager or to send e-mails. The devices gained new prominence this week after Alastair Campbell used his to accidentally send an expletive-laden message to a Newsnight journalist. Mr Martin revealed some MPs had been using their Blackberries during debates and he also cautioned members against using hidden earpieces. The use of electronic devices in the Commons chamber has long been frowned on. The sound of a mobile phone or a pager can result in a strong rebuke from either the Speaker or his deputies. The Speaker chairs debates in the Commons and is charged with ensuring order in the chamber and enforcing rules and conventions of the House. He or she is always an MP chosen by colleagues who, once nominated, gives up all party political allegiances.
304///22.12.2004///The UK Independence Party outspent both Labour and the Liberal Democrats in the European elections, new figures show. UKIP, which campaigned on a slogan of "Say no to Europe", spent &2.36m on the campaign - second only to the Conservatives' &3.13m. The campaign took UKIP into third place with an extra 10 MEPs. Labour's campaign cost &1.7m, the Lib Dems' &1.19m and the Greens' &404,000, according to figures revealed by the Electoral Commission on Wednesday. Much of the UKIP funding came from Yorkshire millionaire Sir Paul Sykes, who helped bankroll the party's billboard campaign. Critics have accused the party of effectively buying votes. But a UKIP spokesman said Labour and the Conservatives had spent &10m between them on the last general election. "With the advantages of public money the others have, the only way the smaller parties can get their message across is by buying the advertising space," he added.