Microsoft has today released a plug-in for Firefox that allows Open XML documents to be viewed within the popular open source browser.…

Every now and then we run a poll with the Reg audience, and we know we’ve hit a nerve. On this occasion it was a simple set of questions about what tools and practices you had in place to support tasking and reporting of activities. There’s plenty of sometimes-great project management theory out there, but the tendency can be to believe that it’s only by adopting one methodology over another that can make a difference.…

An FCC plan that would see every US mobile-phone base station equipped with eight hours of backup power has been rejected by the White House, on the grounds that the regulator failed to consult properly on the proposal.…

Fewer than one in 50 Windows PCs are fully patched, according to stats from users of Secunia's new patching tool, which suggest surfers are becoming even more slipshod with applying patches over the last year.…

The Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin has confirmed that he was not asked for permission for the Metropolitan Police, who had no search warrant, to raid Tory shadow minister Damian Green's office in the House.…

Sage had to restrain itself from sounding too optimistic today as it announced full year results that showed revenues and profits up on the year.…

Budget airlines Ryanair and easyJet are failing to comply with European laws that ban pre-checked boxes on websites that sell flight tickets. New rules provide that optional price supplements must be accepted on an 'opt-in' basis.…

Highland data hosting outfit Alchemy Plus is planning to use the Scottish winters to cool servers at a new datacentre in Inverness, piping the heat to nearby offices, shops and a hotel, while utilising the green energy that abounds north of the border.…

Japan's Ulvac has become the first company to put solid-state thin-film lithium batteries into mass production, it claimed this week.…

Imagine an unpopular, impotent, and fragile UK Government, trying to make political capital out of a looming crisis. To avoid being embarrassed by criticism of its shallow policies, it appoints an independent panel of experts, to which it defers controversial decisions. Now imagine that the panel proposes measures from which its members and their associates will directly benefit.…

The latest top level domain extension - .tel - opens for business today with a new twist on the DNS.…

Free Download - The Reg Guide to Storage and Storage Platforms

One of the more famous Get a Mac ads boasted that Apple systems, unlike Windows boxes, didn't need anti-virus software. So when an article on an Apple support site encouraged the use of anti-virus software on Macs it seemed like news. In truth the article reiterated long-standing, though little publicised, advice from Apple.…

Scientists from Germany's renowned Fraunhofer institutes have concluded that the much-hyped issue of laser printers emitting deadly toxic clouds of toner particles is essentially bunk. Printers do emit small amounts of volatile organic chemicals, but so do toasters.…

Review Once a real power-player in the world of hi-fi micro systems, LG's standing has suffered as portable players have grown in popularity. In a spirit of 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em', LG is now looking to unite the world of portable MP3 and the micro.…

The government put overhauling the financial sector and underpinning the British economy at the top of the agenda in the Queen's speech today.…