Banks face US lawsuit over toxic mortgage debt

The new Windows smartphone

Industry analysts are predicting it will take the Windows Phone 7 platform just three years to surpass Apple's mighty iOS.

Microsoft's mobile operating system will reportedly have a 20.3% market share by 2015, pushing iOS into third place, according to research by Gartner and IDC.

The report also says Apple will only maintain a 17 per cent slice of the mobile pie whilst Android will maintain a healthy lead of 49 per cent.

At IFA 2011, Achim Berg, head of Windows Phone 7 marketing, told Bloomberg: 'This is a completely new platform, it takes time. It took time with Android, it took time with Apple. We have to show that we’re very capable and that we have the fastest and easiest phone.'

If you've not seen Windows Phone 7 or Mango in action take a look at the video below which is a mini-guided tour of some of the 500 new features that will soon be available.

Have ATMs changed since their invention? Hardly!

A concept ATM machine reminds us that cash dispensers have changed hardly at all since their introduction.

An exhibit at New York’s Museum of Modern Art shows that ATMs have hardly changed since their inception.  The Museum’s “Talk to me” exhibit, examines new and creative ways to interact with technology. One of the highlights is a concept ATM machine.

This concept ATM isn't just the normal functions of a cash machine plus style. It also makes change, offering the user bills in any denomination, a feature that many real ATMs offered as recently as 20 years ago. What we only sacrifice in the name of cost savings!

Trial, error and the God complex - Tim Harford

Economics writer Tim Harford studies complex systems - and finds a surprising link among the successful ones: they were built through trial and error. In this sparkling talk from TEDGlobal 2011, he asks us to embrace our randomness and start making better mistakes.

1984 - Steve Jobs Introduces The Mac

The video recording says it all.

Wireless data from every light bulb

What if every light bulb in the world could also transmit data? At TEDGlobal, Harald Haas demonstrates, for the first time, a device that could do exactly that. By flickering the light from a single LED, a change too quick for the human eye to detect, he can transmit far more data than a cellular tower - and do it in a way that's more efficient, secure and widespread.

Sweden’s iZettle turns phone handsets into a card payment terminal

Similar to “Square”, Sweden’s start-up, called iZettle, has been officially launched in that country.

Following closed beta testing, the iZettle application for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch has now gone live on the Swedish App Store.

The system lets users accept low value payments by simply entering the amount and customer's card number in the app.

For bigger payments, merchants attach a plastic card reader to their device which automatically opens the app. They then enter the payment amount and the customer signs on the device's screen, adding an e-mail address if they want a receipt.

The firm charges 2.75% of the sale plus SEK 1.50 for each transaction.

IZettle says it has received the approval of EMV and says it adheres to PCI-DSS data handling requirements.

Although it works with chip, not magstripe, cards, the system is similar to that offered by US operation Square, which has proved a big hit in that country.

Watch iZettle at work.