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/ 26 October 2004

Microsoft plans new release of communication server

Microsoft plans a December 1 release for the latest version of its server software that aims to give companies more secure instant messaging and other corporate communications tools. The standard version of Microsoft’s Live Communications Server 2005 will start at around , said Taylor Collyer, senior director of product management, about the same as the previous version.

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/ 26 October 2004

Police order Cosatu out of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe home affairs officials expelled 13 members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Tuesday, the day after they arrived in the capital, Harare. The Cosatu delegation was present for discussions with its Zimbabwean counterparts in the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.

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/ 26 October 2004

The new wave of smart buildings

At the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, the lights are controlled by sensors that measure sunlight. They dim immediately when it’s sunny and brighten when a passing cloud blocks the sun. At a new middle school in Washington, DC, the air conditioner shuts off when a window is open.

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/ 26 October 2004

The success of Wikipedia

There have been no shortage of insane, overambitious ideas on the internet. Most of them never make it further than the pub they are conceived in. However, every so often, one sneaks through. It has no editors, no fact checkers and anyone can contribute an entry — or delete one. It should have been a recipe for disaster, but instead Wikipedia became one of the internet’s most inspiring success stories.

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/ 26 October 2004

Mbeki turns Aids row into race issue

President Thabo Mbeki has caused a race row by making a scathing attack on white people who link HIV/Aids to the alleged promiscuous and predatory behaviour of black Africans. Mbeki turned a parliamentary debate on HIV and rape into a broadside against ”bigots” who he said regarded black people as ”sub-human disease-carriers”.

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/ 26 October 2004

ThisDay off the streets until Monday

The publication of ThisDay newspaper has been suspended until Monday, major stakeholder Nduka Obaigbena said on Tuesday. ”A comprehensive plan to deal with all the debt is being put in place and all debt to staff and others will be cleared over the next few weeks,” Obaigbena said at a press conference in Johannesburg.

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/ 26 October 2004

Hip-hop on the Arab-Israeli frontline

Unites States hip-hop has had many messages beyond the current lyrical obsessions for bling and gangster lifestyles: the good-time party spirit of the Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight, the social comment of Grandmaster Flash’s The Message, the black politics of Public Enemy’s Fight the Power or the inclusivity of Eric B and Rakim’s anthem I Know You Got Soul.

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/ 26 October 2004

The Comeback Kid puts heart into Kerry’s campaign

Bill Clinton, the perennial Comeback Kid of American politics, returned from his sick bed to centre stage on Monday, proving that his ailing, quadruply bypassed heart is still in the fight. But it was a much thinner, frailer man who took the stage alongside John Kerry in Philadelphia’s Love Park than the vigorous leader who dominated the past American decade.

  • More accurate voting expected in US
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    / 26 October 2004

    Sharon heckled for Gaza withdrawal plan

    Ariel Sharon opened a bitter debate in Parliament on Monday over his plan to remove Jewish settlers from Gaza by saying it paves the way towards a Palestinian state while strengthening Israel’s grip over its West Bank colonies. Sharon was repeatedly interrupted and heckled as he defended the ”disengagement plan” ahead of a vote on Tuesday.