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About 100,000 people caught swine flu in England last week, the chief medical officer revealed today, as the government's online diagnosis service crashed within minutes of launch when thousands of people tried to log on at the same time.The rapid spread of the virus was confirmed as the National Pandemic Flu Service - dispensing advice and anti-viral prescriptions over the telephone and online - went live to relieve pressure on GPs.The world's first government-run swine flu diagnosis website could not cope with the volume of traffic when it opened for business at 3pm today. Designed to handle 1,200 hits a second, the service was suspended just four minutes later when 2,600 people tried to access it every second.The service's inauspicious launch came as new official figures on consultation rates with GPs showed that:. the infection has spread broadly across the country from the hotspots where it was initially concentrated;. under-14s are the most affected;. 840 patients in England ar

Federal officials acknowledged the dangers of using a cell phone or texting while driving, saying the U.S. Secretary of Transportation is 'deeply concerned' about drivers distracted by using cell phones or texting.

Smart grid technology is a hot issue on Capitol Hill, but some are raising questions about the idea. In recent days we've discussed the smart grid's potential exposure to worm attacks, consumers' unreadiness for the idea, and whether the whole concept may need a rethink. A Congressional hearing on Thursday surfaced another reason for caution: the smart grid's vulnerability to EMP. 'Electromagnetic Pulse' refers to the damage caused in electrical circuits and systems when a nuclear explosive goes off nearby. The electric grid as it's currently constituted is vulnerable to EMP; the further down the road we go towards a smart grid, the more vulnerable it will become. 'It makes a great equalizer for small nations looking to stand up to military Goliaths, argues Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (Rep.-Md.), a former research scientist and engineer who has worked in the past on projects for NASA and the military. All one needs to wreak some serious EMP damage, he charges, is a sea-worthy steamer, $100,00

Cemaphore Systems, which makes software to help customers migrate their e-mail, calendar and contact data from microsoft to Google, or vice versa, confirms it has been acquired. Though the startup declines to say who until the announcement July 28, one strong possibility could be Sparxent, which has ties to Cemaphore. Sparxent, a technology provider for midmarket, is looking to buy companies to fill its systems lifecycle management strategy. Does Cemaphore fit the bill? - Cemaphore Systems, the company that makes software that migrates and synchronizes e-mail, calendar and contacts between Google Apps, Microsoft Exchange and other messaging products, plans to announce July 28 that it has been acquired. In an e-mail sent to eWEEK, Cemaphore Vice Pres...

Intel's work promoting netbooks -- the downsized PCs that are gaining in mindshare -- was touted by a company official Wednesday, who stressed benefits in boot-up times, graphics, and network capabilities during a technology conference.

Research in Motions latest smartphone #151the BlackBerry Tour 9630 #151fits sizewise between the BlackBerry Bold and the Curve. While not breaking any new ground in smartphone technology, the Tour features many features consumers want and slides easily into enterprise BlackBerry deployments. Available on the Verizon and Sprint networks, the Tour talks CMDA/EVDO Rev A. at home and GSM/EDGE/HSPA in international locations. Unfortunately, Wi-Fi connectivity was sacrificed for world coverage. By Andrew Garcia - ...

Gadgets and other technologies for our furry friends abound.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act promises massive new opportunities for the health care industry with the widespread adoption and use of electronic health records, but a new study finds the industry is ill-prepared to meet the security challenges. - While health care and life sciences companies are on the brink of new opportunities with the widespread adoption and use of EHR (electronic health records) technologies called for under the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), the industries are not prepared to meet the challenges o...

Several senior executives at Apple Inc took home 2007 cash bonuses that doubled their salaries but Chief Executive Steve Jobs maintained his annual pay of $1 and took no additional compensation.

...connected is likely to come through from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF). This would mean personal digital assistance (PDA) phones for RFOs to act swiftly against forest crimes, establishment of a forest data centre and a tie-up with ...