The European Commission has announced plans for Europe to play a leading part in developing and managing interconnected networks formed from everyday objects with radio frequency identity (RFID) tags embedded in them - the so-called "internet of things". The EC expects there will be a progressive connection of a variety of physical objects, such as food packaging that records temperature along its supply chain, or prescription drugs that warn patients of a possible incompatibility.

Click here to read the full story: EU lays out plans for the "internet of things"

Scientists are reporting successful tests of a new memory device that could allow terabytes of data to be stored without corruption for a billion years. The device is an iron nano-particle that measures 1/50,000th of the width of a human hair, enclosed in a hollow carbon nano-tube.

US officials are worried that the 20-year-old global positioning system (GPS) that sat-navs and other navigation devices rely on could begin to fail by next year. A report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), said that a lack of investment in satellites means that some are close to failing.

The GPS network is run by the US military and used by a number of commercial firms internationally for sat-nav systems.

Click here to read the full story: GPS system in jeopardy

The UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is funding a major new study into the possibilities of using the human ear as a biometric security system. The council has awarded a grant to the University of Southampton to study otoacoustic emissions (OAE), which are sounds that the ear generates in response to auditory stimuli.

Click here to read the full story: Researchers study ears for unbeatable biometrics

The BBC has launched a new service that allows viewers to watch live TV programmes from suitable Wi-Fi connected mobile phones. BBC Live TV is available in a beta test form, offering a limited number of the broadcaster’s channels, plus its radio stations.

Click here to read the full story: BBC launches live Wi-Fi TV

The government is considering monitoring communications on social networking sites, ministers have revealed.

The recent introduction to UK law of the EU Data Retention Directive means that ISPs are now required to keep information on email and internet use.

But home officer minister Vernon Coaker told a Commons committee yesterday that social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace or Bebo, are not covered by the new laws.

Click here to read the full story: Government wants to monitor Facebook users

Scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new design for lithium batteries that could cut recharging times down to seconds. The team believe that the technology could be available in two or three years, and promises a major advance for mobile phones, laptops and other battery-powered computer devices.

Click here to read the full story: Battery breakthrough could cut recharging to seconds

Budget airline Ryanair is rolling out in-flight technology to allow the use of mobile phones on its services within Europe.

The service is provided by O2 and it is reported that passengers will pay up to 10 times the average international mobile phone tariff to be able to make calls while travelling.

Click here to read the full story: Ryanair introduces in-flight mobile phone service

Research In Motion (RIM) has hit the 50 million sales milestone for its BlackBerry smartphone almost exactly 10 years after the first handset was launched in January 1999.

In the years that followed, RIM grew from making two-way pagers to add phone, email and web browsing support to its products as the BlackBerry name became synonymous with the business smartphone market.

Since then, the company estimates that it has amassed a user base of 21 million subscribers who transfer an estimated three petabytes of data over the handsets each month.

Click here to read the full story: BlackBerry hits 50 million sales milestone

IBM and PGP Corporation have stepped in to save Bletchley Park, the birthplace of modern computing.

The site, which was home to the UK's computing and code-breaking efforts during the Second World War, and the location of the first programmable computers, has been denied public funding and is slowly falling into disrepair.

Click here to read the full story: US firms step in to save Bletchley Park