Kiel, Germany - Windows Vista is the safest Microsoft operating system available, according to an online test conducted by the Association of German Network Security.

The test covered 225,000 PCs in Germany. Around 5.5 per cent of f computers using the Vista system had security problems. People using computers with the Windows XP operating system reported problem rates of 12 per cent. Even more problems were reported with computers using Windows 98, ME, and Windows 2000 - around 20 per cent.

Kirchheim-Heimstetten, Germany - Sun Microsystems intends offering a beta version of its StarOffice 9 office suite as a free download.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently announced that with in next six months, the Indian consumers would be able to have 3G telecom services, as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), have been allowed and issued the spectrum to roll out all-India services.

The 3G of third generation services are high in demand as it offers its users a really high internet accessing speed, which is 30 times faster than 2G. The state-owned corporations will get a four-to-five-month head start in the 3G space over private sector rivals.

London, Aug 1 : Foot spas have been named as the most useless gadget pushing the bread maker to the second spot to walk away with the ‘crown’, says a new survey.

In a survey of more than 1,000 Britons, consumer website www. which. co. uk found that heated hair straighteners or curlers were rated higher than TVs when it asked people to name the top gadget that had changed their life.

Ringing ahead, though, the mobile phone was the most popular life-changing gadget, named by almost a quarter of people surveyed and forty two per cent of the 16-24 age group.

In second place came the laptop, followed by the MP3 Player. Keeping things fresh, one person even said that their salad spinner had changed their life.