New viruses could paralyse mobile phone systems in the UK, experts warn. The Sunday Times reported yesterday that an epidemic of viruses is on the way that threatens businesses and leaves confidential information on handsets accessible to hackers.

Within two years nine million Britons will operate phones that use computer technology, leaving many mobiles susceptible to bugs. Consulting firm Deloitte believes businesses face the highest risk and stand to lose millions of pounds to hacking and viruses.

“A growing dependence on electronic devices means that both consumers and businesses are increasingly vulnerable to attack,” said Tony Cooper, telecoms and technology partner with Deloitte. “It’s no longer a question of if, but when.”

Caliber, the first mobile phone virus, appeared last year. It wears out a phone’s battery by sending non-stop transmissions to nearby handsets via Bluetooth, the technology that allows users to connect to their laptops or communicate with other phones without using wires. As the sophistication of phone viruses increases, it is suspected that hackers will be able to destroy files and inflate telephone bills by forcing users to dial premium rate numbers.

Viruses cause millions of pounds of damage to computer systems every year, and there are now more mobile phones than PCs in the world. Although mobile phone companies Nokia and Virgin Mobile said this weekend they believe there will be no serious virus outbreak in the near future, they are currently putting security measures in place in preparation for a widespread attack.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project released survey results indicating that the internet surpassed radio as a source for political news in the United States for the first time last year. The survey by the non-profit research centre explored the impact of the internet on families, communities, civic and political life in the US, showed that, while television remained the dominant medium for most voters, there was a significant increase in those whose main source of political news was the internet.

Twenty-nine percent of US adults used the internet as a means of getting political news in 2004, with eighteen percent saying it was their main source of political news. The survey cited covenience as the main reason people got their political news online. However more than half also said the internet appealed to them as it gave them access to information not available elsewhere.

For those with a broadband connection at home, the internet rivaled newspapers in importance. The survey also showed that supporters of Senator John Kerry were more likely to say the internet helped them settle on a candidate in last year’s election. It will be interesting to see what effect the internet will have on the British general election.

Alan Jackson, secretary of state for work and pensions, is behind a new service that offers online pension advice. Pensions At Work was launched on 1 March 2005 following a recommendation in the Employer Task Force (ETP) report, published in December last year.

The website offers advice and examples of good practice in employer pension provision. Johnson commented: “I am pleased to announce that with the launch of this website we have taken an important step towards ensuring that every employer who wishes to provide their employees with a decent pension scheme has the necessary tools to do so.”

ETF chair Sir Peter Davis says of the service: “By drawing together all existing material on good practice, offering helpful advice and giving support to companies, this website will provide assistance and guidance to employers to help them meet the pensions challenge.”

Hmm, let’s wait and see…

Ling House Medical Centre and Co-operative Group Pharmacy in Keighley, West Yorkshire has become the first pharmacy in the UK to begin using the Electronic Transmission of Prescriptions Service. The pharmacy is part of a pilot programme to test technical stability before the scheme is expanded across the UK by the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT).

At first patients will continue to receive their prescriptions on paper but the information will also be transmitted electronically from their GPs and other prescribers to their pharmacy. In addition the prescriptions will be sent electronically to the Prescription Pricing Authority, the organisation that reimburses community pharmacies for the medication they have supplied to patients.

The NPfIT hopes that as a result of the system pharmacists will need to do a lot less re-keying of data and will have access to better and clearer information. Patients will be able to choose where they collect their prescriptions which will save them time, and the costs of managing the payment for prescriptions will be reduced.

The full service is intended to go live in April, after a review by pharmacists and GP users groups, though pharmacies will be given some time to update their dispensing systems. The NPfIT has come in for some criticism of late but if this scheme is successful it will be beneficial to both patients and pharmacists alike.

People in the UK can now make free phone calls over the net from laptops and handheld computers. According to the BBC, wireless provider Broadreach and net telephony firm Skype will implement this service at 350 hotspots this week, including major train stations.

To take advantage of this offering, users need a Skype account, available for free download at www.skype.com. They will then be able to make PC-based calls to other Skype users.

Skype is a two-year old company based in Luxembourg. It specialises in software for laptops and mobile devices to make telephone calls over the public internet. Broadreach - founded five years ago - operates public wireless internet hotspots in Great Britain. It is available on Eurostar, Network Rail, and will launch wi-fi on Virgin Trains later this year. It also can be found in various hotels and stores across the UK.

Broadreach currently charges £3 per hour for internet access, but its network will be free for consumers making calls with a Skype account.

“We want Skype to be ubiquitous. This is part of our strategy to make Skype available wirelessly,” said Niklas Zennstrom, Skype’s co-founder and chief executive.

Broadreach chief executive Magnus McEwen-King said, “Skype’s success at spreading the world about internet telephony is well-known, and we are delighted to be offering free access to Skype users in our hotspots.”

A new project has equpped students in Kenyan primary schools with handhelds. The scheme, which has been introduced by EduVision, a non governmental organisation, utilises a low cost computer system to get up-to-date information to students.

The project uses a combination of satellite radios and handheld computers called E-slates as they are cheaper than installing and maintaining a conventional computer network. Though still in the pilot stages, the scheme aims to replace the students’ physical textbooks, which are often dated and in bad condition, with a single integrated system.

Despite being very easy to set up the system is not perfect, the one-way connection means it is presently not possible for students to get feedback via the E-slates.

EduVision already has plans to extend the Linux based system into areas without mains electricity by using solar powered technology. One designer of the system, Maciej Sundra, says that the scheme’s ultimate goal is to level access to knowledge around the world. Even on its present scale the project should vastly improve the educational opportunities of Kenyan students.

Many patients in the United States can now e-mail their doctors with medical questions. According to The New York Times, some healthcare providers and medical groups in the US are beginning to pay doctors who work within this system.

In a bid to improve productivity and cut-down on wasteful costs, healthcare providers are encouraging patients to e-mail their doctors concerning diet, post-surgical care, and other topics. Answering concerns through e-mail will allow doctors to spend more time with patients who need to be seen in person, and it will give patients more flexibility in terms of when they can communicate with their doctor.

Brian Settlemoir, 39, an accountant in Folsom, CA, is amazed at the convenience of this new offering. He used it to inquire about the dosage of a medication he was taking after his cholesterol dropped.

“I’m sitting at work,” Mr. Settlemoir said. “I’ve got e-mail open anyway. It’s much easier than calling and getting voice-mail prompts and sitting on hold. It’s very valuable to me.”

Doctors are also enthusiastic about this new service which they see as being especially helpful to patients with chronic conditions like diabetes, asthma and heart problems.

“Patients love this stuff; I love this stuff; the staff loves this stuff,” said Dr. Barbara Walters, a senior medical director at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire. “The intelligence of our patients never ceases to amaze me,” Dr. Walters said. “Patients can describe what’s going on with them, if given the chance and given the time.”

Doctors will be paid between $24 to $30 (£13 to £16) for each online consultation. Blue Cross of California has made the program available to 160,000 of its 6 million health plan members. Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield recently began a trial run with New York doctors at the Columbia University and Weill Cornell Medical Centers.

Online consulting can also be used to sort out medical malpractice lawsuits. Unlike telephone conversations, which are undocumented, e-mail correspondences are saved. “Good communications with patients is protective,” said Frank A. Sloan, an economist at Duke University who has studied malpractice suits. “This kind of interaction is helpful.”

The effects of this program are yet to be seen, and conerns regarding its costliness should be called into question. According to the American College of Physicians, this is part of a trend in which doctors charge patients for services that have traditionally been free. These services are not limited to e-mail. The Associated Press reports that doctors now charge for copies of medical records and up to $20 for the forms people need to apply for medical-leave benefits.