As of midnight tonight, Microsoft faces more EU fines over competition issues, to the tune of 5 per cent of their global daily turnover, or about £2.8m daily.

In March 2004, after a five-year investigation, the EU competition commission fined Microsoft €497m—enough to make even a wealthy company sit up and take notice. The EU also ordered the software company to sell a version of Windows without their media player, as well as to share source code with rival developers, so they can make software that works properly with Microsoft’s operating systems.

While the company claims to be trying to comply, some EU regulators believe the non-bundled Windows packages are not to the same standards as Windows packages that include the media player. Over the weekend, reps from both sides met to discuss how much Microsoft is planning to charge other companies to access their source code.

The EU commission expects it will take until the end of July to decide if Microsoft has fully complied. In order to impose the fine, the commission would then have to start a formal process that would eventually require agreement by all 25 member-countries of the EU, and is open to appeal.

Public service management could be transformed by a new national address database planned by the government. The National Spatial Address Infrastructure (NSAI) is intended to be a one-stop solution for the retrieval of address information in both local and national government offices and, if successful, will replace thousands of address databases held by departments.

The NSAI has a lot of potential. For example, benefit offices would view the same address information as census offices, and voter registration would be vastly improved. To this end, the NSAI would help deliver efficient public services services to citizens - surely what eGovernment is all about.

The NSAI must be accurate if it is to be a success. By taking information from both the Ordnance Survey and the National Land and Property Gazetteer, it is hoped that an exhaustive and accurate database can be designed. The Improvement and Development Agency is also involved in the 30 month project. Information on England and Wales will initially be collated for the new database, with the possible inclusion of Scotland and Northern Ireland at a later stage.

Whilst the idea of a central address database is not new (the ‘Acacia’ pilot project was published in late 2003), it will be interesting to see how the NSAI is drawn up and delivered.

A rise in visits to public libraries in the UK has been reported by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. There has been a corresponding rise in the amount of web sessions at libraries - in 2003 (the most recent date for the figures) there were 11.7 million. The availability of digital technologies such as broadband, SMS text messaging and wi-fi hotspots coincides with an increase in visits by over 18 million since 2002. With currently 32,000 computer terminals in UK libraries, funded by the People’s Network, the amount of web sessions and visits is set to increase further.

From a personal point of view, the increased availability of broadband has made the central library in Cardiff a more effective place for learning. The 4 pay-access PCs that frequently broke down are a distant memory - the library now boasts over 30 PCs, each offering free broadband access. An efficient online booking system manages access to users. The beauty of this particular scheme is that I can plan my library visit in advance, making a working visit more productive.

It is unfortunate that book lending has fallen, however. According to the Museums, Libraries and Arts Council, this could be due to poor stock management, as well as the increase in book sales. We are increasingly keen to purchase books, rather than borrow a dog-eared out-of-date impression from the dustier recesses of the library. The irony is that the very availability of broadband in libraries gives users an opportunity to buy books online, as well as enabling them to find information that they would otherwise require from a book or journal.

The increased availability of computers in libraries is encouraging more visitors to become IT literate, to make the most of the facilities. In return, libraries are providing more and more IT training sessions. To this end, could we soon be able to visit a paperless library?

The debate surrounding biometric ID cards is sure to intensify following the second proposal by the government today. Home Secretary Charles Clarke asserts that the new Identity Cards Bill is more stringent than the previous one, meeting the five quality tests for an ID card laid down by the Tories.

Clarke contends that the techonology employed in the proposed card is reliable and secure. This has been given short shrift by both politicians and IT experts. The Conservatives in particular have expressed doubts about the development of the biometric database, in which identity profiles will be stored and managed.

The doubters may have a point, if the performance of the Directgov search engine is anything to go by. The bizarre results that are returned by Directgov’s tailored serach engine pale in comparison to those from Google. If an expensive search engine created for web access to government services fails to operate intuitively, what hope is there for an efficient and secure biometric register for all UK citizens? This is particularly apposite when one considers that the government’s apparent rationale for ID cards is to combat identity fraud and terrorism whilst protecting civil liberties.

Questions will doubtless be raised concerning who will build and manage the database, and who will have access when matching a stored profile on an ID card. Further concerns over the reliability of iris scanning and fingerprint scanning will also need to be addressed. To this end, expect the Identity Cards Bill to reach a third version, and perhaps beyond.

Plans to drive down the cost of digital certification have been mooted by the Government, as part of a bid to improve security and convenience when using local eGovernment services. Digital certificates allow a user to prove their identity when conducting various transactions.

At present, certificates cost around £25 each. Digital certificates are an established way to provide security to website users, yet the current high cost has limited their popularity. By creating a huge new market for digital certification, the new Government Connect initiative hopes to drive down the cost to £5. It is a move that is of mutual benefit to the public and the Government. Chris Haynes, Programme Sponsor for Government Connect in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, believes reduction in the cost of such authentication is integral to the successful deployment of local eGovernment services, whilst citizens will benefit from the reduced cost of proving their identity online.

Security and authentication of identity is of paramount importance if trust is to be gained in eGovernment services. It will be interesting to see how Government Connect can project popular demand for local eGovernment services, to the extent that the cost of digital certificates drops to the hallowed £5 target. If the price was reduced and sales of certificates increased, it would certainly make internet transactions more secure for many UK users.

Once the stuff of science-fiction, the ability for computers to connect with humans on an emotional and conscious level could become reality. Ian Pearson, an eminent futurologist, believes that within 45 years it will be possible for a human to upload their mind onto a machine. Pearson bases his findings on the rate of computer processor development and his claim that Sony’s forthcoming Playstation 3 is 1% as powerful as the brain.

Like most developments in technology, money will dictate who has initial access to this digital storage. Pearson expects the super-rich to use mind downloads and uploads by 2050, with more widespread access available by 2080. He contends that, in theory, those who upload the contents of their brain cannot die.

Pearson is not a voice on the fringe. He is head of BT’s Foresight and Futurology Unit, recently named as one of the UK’s top 20 think tanks. Pearson also predicts rapid developments in supercomputing technology - he envisages a conscious supercomputer by 2020.

The mind upload is perhaps the logical conclusion to the concept of computing. It will be interesting to see how Pearson’s vision checks out against the generally accepted view that Moore’s Law (which stated in 1968 that computing power doubles every 24 months) is due to reach the limit of its hypothesis. Clearly, a totally new method of processor architecture may soon be required to facilitate the bold new predictions of futurologists.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) has transferred masses of data onto a 3D map of Britain. The project aims to show how different types of rock make up the island’s geology. The BGS website explains how the model was devised, and features screensavers for visitors to download - a novel and fun way to fly around Britain without leaving your desk. The 3D model is an intelligent use of information technology that will amaze both novice and expert.

Fujitsu’s latest biometric security platform is to be rolled out internationally, following its successful use by Japanese businesses. Palm-vein technology does pretty much what its name suggests - the pattern of veins inside the user’s hand is scanned in order to verify identity. The system has worked well for The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, which employed the technology as an alternative to PIN codes in its cash machines.

The technology compares a near-infrared scan result with a previous image of the user’s hand on a database. If the results match, the user’s identity is verified. According to Fujitsu the palm-scan system offers higher security than fingerprint scanning, being over ten times less likely to accept an unauthorised user in error. The James Bond appeal of fingerprint scanning has waned since 2002, when a Japanese scientist demonstrated that fingerprint scanners could be fooled by a gelatin ‘dummy’ finger.

Many fingerprint-scan users complain of a criminal connotation to being fingerprinted in advance. This process is naturally unnecessary for palm-scan technology. The current sticking point in the widespread employment of palm-scan is that of size. The race is now on to shrink the palm-scanner down from its current 7 square-inch area to a size that is compatible with the increasing miniaturisation of mobile phones and handheld PCs.

It is anticipated that palm-scan will available to overseas markets such as the UK and US by the close of 2005. Palm-scan is certainly set to provoke as much debate as iris scanning and the aforementioned fingerprint scan technology. It will be interesting to see if biometric data from palm-scans will form a basis for the government’s planned ID card.

A new variant of the Sober worm has been given a political twist and is filling inboxes across the globe with right-wing spam messages. The new worm, Sober-Q, has effectively turned infected PCs into ‘spam machines’ (Techwhack News). The worm sends out email containing links to webpages advancing far-right German politics.

Political viruses are not new. In 2004 the Nachi B worm overwrote the files of Windows machines with an HTML page. It contained what, on first inspection, appeared random dates. When the dates were deciphered by an anti-virus company it was found they corresponded to events in South East Asia during World War II, such as the bombing of Hirsohima and Nagasaki. Nachi B’s HTML message ended with the legend ‘Let History Tell Future!’, in what appeared to be an unrefined comment on current US foreign policy. In early 2005, a mass-mailing email virus contained messages calling for support for the Fathers 4 Justice campaign. Fathers 4 Justice denied links to the virus.

Sober-Q is going for a subtle tactic. Rather than presenting a dogmatic page of text at source, it aims to steer users of infected PCs onto otherwise remote web pages that present a far-right agenda. According to anti-virus company McAfee Inc., the primary aim of Sober Q is to spew out information rather than cause harm to infected machines. This is immaterial to affected users, and exemplifies the insidious nature of political viruses and those who write them.

A new report from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister predicts a bright future for e-voting. Internet and text message services are seen as a way to increase efficiency and public participation in the electoral process. Political e-voting has been linked to the success of SMS text message voting systems for TV shows such as Big Brother and Pop Idol. Present security concerns around electronic voting and fraud are acknowledged in the report, but the watchword for the future of voting is ‘choice’.

Naturally, there are others who take a more sanguine view. Professor Stephen Coleman of the Oxford Internet Institute sees the internet as a way for people to ‘keep the dialogue going’ around the subject of politics, rather than as a glitzy new way to persuade disaffected citizens to mark their vote. In his view, politicians should make more effort to engage with voters throughout the whole election term using electronic methods, rather than just at the polls.