computer systems

An experiment conceived and conducted by two enterprising Intel employees in Rio Rancho [New Mexico] has shown how businesses worldwide could drastically reduce the amount of electricity they use to cool essential computer systems.

It works the same way as rolling down a car window to let in cool air. Instead of using a power-hungry air conditioning to combat the heat generated by hundreds of densely packed computer servers, Don Atwood and John Miner created a ventilation system that draws in cool air from outside and allows heated air to escape.

While Internet attacks continue in Georgia, security experts say the U.S. is not prepared for similar attacks that could steal confidential data and wreak havoc on U.S. computer systems.

National intelligence officials earlier this year told a Senate committee that unlike the U.S. military, the federal government and private sector are not prepared for cyber attacks and pointed to China and Russia as threats to consider. It wasn't the first time government officials cited China as a threat.

Three men were charged Monday with hacking into a national restaurant chain's computerized cash registers and stealing credit card information from customers.

Eleven Dave & Buster's restaurants at various locations around the United States were hit in the scheme, including one in Islandia, on Long Island, where information was stolen on 5,000 credit and debit cards, causing at least $600,000 (EU390,000) in losses, federal prosecutors said.

The extent of the losses from the other branches was not immediately known.