What is it about Apple product launches? When Nokia launch a new phone it's front page in the Carphone Warehouse brochure, but when Apple do the same it's front page of the FT. Anyway.

So they finally announced the 3G Iphone yesterday, and it's pretty much what everyone expected - more of the same, only its 3G and has GPS. The biggest surprise there is that it's only 3G, and not using the superfast "broadband speed" HSDPA that a number of other phones have been packing since before the original Iphone was released. It should benefit from some of the other improvements that are also coming the way of the first Iphone in a software update - exchange email support for example - but video calling is still out, since there's no front camera, and there's no word on picture messaging either.

Apple (they of the increasingly annoying adverts) are coming for in for some stick after finding ways to sneak their latest web browser onto Windows PCs.

Their Safari browser, previously found only on Macs, now has a free Windows version. Nothing wrong in that, except rather than wait for people to choose to download it, Apple are using the Apple Update software that comes with their ubiquitous Itunes and Quicktime applications to offload Safari onto Windows punters - often without their knowledge.

The prospect of a completely free mobile telephone network has become possible with the development of a peer to peer phone system, using mobile phones to route calls through other phones in the network - without the need for the usual base stations.

The adapted phones automatically connect to every other phone in the immediate (one kilometre) vicinity, forming a dispersed network that can carry voice calls independently, for as far as there are other phones in use - and since the network is entirely collaborative between the users themselves, the calls are completely free.

Once upon a time, if I was after a new computer I'd have always chosen a full-size PC over a laptop - laptops were overpriced, underpowered things with poor screens and cramped keyboards, and they couldn't be upgraded very easily either. They weren't even all that portable, a lot of the time.

Well after having the very nice M600i as my current giant phone since November, I've naturally been planning my next upgrade. I thought Sony Ericsson had made it easy for me when they announced the P1i.

P1iThe P1i is a new P series phone carrying on the legacy of the old P800, P910 etc but in an M600i-styled form, complete with the brilliant qwerty keyboard - it differs from the M600i with the addition of a 3.2mp camera (the M had none), Wifi, and more memory to run applications. Very nice, I thought.

Is anyone else terrified by the idea of wireless electricity?

The news that scientists at MIT are successfully pioneering "witricity" scares me to death for some reason - I just don't like the idea of it. Using resonance techniques (and a two foot receiving coil) the system has been proven to power gadgets wirelessly over a distance of up to 7 feet, paving the way for a battery-free utopia where all our gadgets are kept topped up wireless networks at home and away - but something about the idea of this kind of energy resonating about the place feels me with suspicion...

more here... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6638423.stm

I seem to remember we had some font discussion a few months ago when I had my knuckles rapped, and rightly so, for using the despised comic sans on my website... I still blush for very shame to think of it.

speaking of which, myPetersfield (.co.uk) is still going strong, there's lots more on it than when I last dropped in on Boinng, and your comments, advice, recommendations, abuse, whatever, would be very welcome. Don't be strangers...

Win a trip to Space.

All you have to do is tell Audi, and New Scientist what you think the best patent of all time is. Read more here.

Microsoft has admitted that speech recognition features in Vista could be hijacked so that a PC tells itself to delete files or folders.

Vista can respond to vocal commands and concern has been raised about malicious audio on websites or sent via e-mail.

In one scenario outlined by users an MP3 file of voice instructions was used to tell the PC to delete documents.

Microsoft said the exploit was "technically possible" but there was no need to worry.

Chip maker Intel have pushed the bounderies of chip making by announcing that they will be starting manufacturing of processors using transistors just 45 nanometres wide. Previously anything smaller than the current standard of 65nm had issues with performance due to current leaking. However using high-k metals, a sort of substitute for silicon, this issue was solved. With a substitute found chances are processors are about to get a lot faster.

-Giz