To start out, make sure you have all of the proper parts laid out. It is highly recommended that you work with latex gloves, to avoid natural oils on your skin and fingers coming in contact with the hardware. You should also stay grounded at all times (do not stand on a surface that could generate static electricity, such as a carpet or a rug). To stay grounded, start by touching a solid surface – the easiest way is to rest your hand on your computer case.

The first step is to begin opening your hardware. Make sure you have everything before we begin – your motherboard, RAM, CPU chip, case, power supply (PSU), and whatever else you may have bought (video and sound card). You’ll want to keep your manual for the case handy, since you will be referring to it often. Start by laying the case down on a flat surface, and opening the side panel. When the panel is removed, you will want to take notice to the holes on the motherboard tray. Lay your motherboard over the holes, and find which ones you will be using to screw and fasten the motherboard down. It may be helpful at this point to refer to your motherboard and case manual, to ensure you are properly screwing the piece of hardware down, and using the correct holes.

Once the motherboard is tightly (but not too tightly) fastened in, just enough so it won’t fall off, you’ll want to place your RAM into the allocated memory slots. Refer to the motherboard manual, as it will show you where the memory slots are, and how to open/release them. Generally, there will be two white tabs on either side of a memory slot. You simply push them open, insert the RAM, and push gently. If inserted properly, the white tabs will close, locking the RAM into place.

Now you’ll need to insert the CPU chip. This can be difficult for newcomers, and you must take your time to make sure it is inserted properly, otherwise you may ruin the chip. Be gentle when you insert it – you should not have to push the chip, instead, it will simply fall into place. After it falls into place, lock the chip in with the metal guard (refer to motherboard manual). At this point, you may want to apply some thermal paste to the top of the CPU chip carefully. Apply a small dot in the center of the CPU, and smooth it out into an even coat using something such as a credit-card. When you have a nice, smooth, even coat applied, lay the heatsink over the CPU, and lock the pins.

We’re almost done! Up next you’ll want to insert your video card into the proper slot (refer to motherboard manual), and sound card (if purchased). These are similar to the RAM – you will open a tab, and push the card in, until the tab locks.

The motherboard should now be finished. All that’s left to do is install the hard drive, dvd-drive, and power supply. You should refer to your case manual for these, as all cases are different. It shouldn’t take very long, and once everything is in, the last part is hooking it all up. Refer to your hardware manuals for this part, since it can be a bit tricky.

Once everything is installed, and the PSU is hooked up to all of the hardware, slide the side panel of your case back on, fasten it on, and plug in your peripherals (mouse, keyboard, monitor, power). If the computer turns on, and you see an output on the monitor, then so far, so good! From this point on, you will need to install an OS (windows, os x), and the proper drivers which came with your hardware, usually on a CD.

Lastly, enjoy your new computer!

The network connects six locations across Vienna and in the nearby town of St Poelten, using 200 km of standard commercial fibre optic cables.

Quantum cryptography is completely different from the kinds of security schemes used on computer networks today.

These are typically based on complex mathematical procedures which are extremely hard for outsiders to crack, but not impossible given sufficient computing resources or time.

But quantum systems use the laws of quantum theory, which have been shown to be inherently unbreakable.

The basic idea of quantum cryptography was worked out 25 years ago by Charles Bennett of IBM and Gilles Brassard of Montreal University, who was in Vienna to see the network in action.

“All quantum security schemes are based on the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, on the fact that you cannot measure quantum information without disturbing it,” he explained.

“Because of that, one can have a communications channel between two users on which it’s impossible to eavesdrop without creating a disturbance. An eavesdropper would create a mark on it. That was the key idea.”

In practice this means using the ultimate quantum objects: photons, the atoms of light. Incredibly faint beams of light equating to single photons fired a million times a second raced between the nodes in the Vienna network.

Each node, housed in a different Siemens office (Siemens has provided the fibre links), contains a small rack of electronics – boxes about the size of a PC, and a handful of sensitive light detectors.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7661311.stm

Mr Gates, who made his fortune through developing software for the personal computer, plans to devote his time to charity work.

As a teenager Bill Gates had a vision of a personal computer on every desk in every home.

He says he caught sight of the future and based his career on what he saw.

Now 52, he still has boyish looks, but he is no longer the world’s richest man. He has been overtaken by the investor Warren Buffett and the Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim.

But Mr Gates’ fortune is at the root of his decision to leave his day job and concentrate on his charitable organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

He will remain as Microsoft’s chairman and work on special technology projects, but according to Mr Gates, great wealth brings great responsibility and his future work will include finding new vaccines and financing projects in the developing world.

Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7476720.stm

Scientists have shown off the blueprint for “acoustic cloaks“, which could make objects impervious to sound waves.

The technology, outlined in the New Journal of Physics, could be used to build sound-proof homes, advanced concert halls or stealth warships.

Scientists have previously demonstrated devices that cloak objects from microwaves, making them “invisible”.

“The mathematics behind cloaking has been known for several years,” said Professor John Pendry of Imperial College London, UK, an expert in cloaking.

“What hasn’t been available for sound is the sort of materials you need to build a cloak out of.”

Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7450321.stm

Scientists at the firm have shown off a prototype device layered with thousands of “hair-width” cooling arteries.

They believe it could be a solution to the increasing amount of heat pumped out by chips as they become smaller and more densely packed with components.

The technology was demonstrated in IBM’s 3D chips, where circuits are stacked one on top of the other.

Laying chips vertically, instead of side by side, reduces the distance data has to travel , enhancing performance and saving critical space.

“As we package chips on top of each other….we have found that conventional coolers attached to the back of a chip don’t scale,” explained Thomas Brunschwiler at IBM’s Zurich Research Laboratory.

“In order to exploit the potential of high-performance 3D chip stacking, we need interlayer cooling.”

Full Story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7439406.stm

Customers will first be warned that a browser is unsafe but could then be blocked if they continue using it.

Paypal said it was “an alarming fact that there is a significant set of users who use very old and vulnerable browsers such as Internet Explorer 4″.

Phishing attacks trick users into handing over sensitive data.

Paypal said some users were still using Internet Explorer 3 , released more than 10 years ago. It lacks many of the security and safety features needed to protect users from phishing and other online attacks.

Legitimate sites

Paypal said it supported the use of Extended Validation SSL Certificates. Browsers which support the technology highlight the address bar in green when users are on a site that has been deemed legitimate.

The latest versions of Internet Explorer and Firefox support EV SSL certificates, but Apple’s Safari browser for Mac and PCs does not.

“By displaying the green glow and company name, these newer browsers make it much easier for users to determine whether or not they’re on the site that they thought they were visiting,” said Paypal.

The steps were outlined in a white paper on managing phishing, written by the firm’s chief information security officer Michael Barrett and Dan Levy, director of risk management.

In it, they said: “In our view letting users view the PayPal site on [an unsafe] browser is equal to a car manufacturer allowing drivers to buy one of their vehicles without seatbelts.”

Paypal described the battle against phishing as a “fast-moving chess match with the criminal community”.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7354539.stm