Dirty little secrets of the keyboard revealed

Next time you are eating at your desk, try not to think of multitude of germs lurking on your keyboard along with some other unpleasant debris.

Nail clippings, chips, pastry crumbs, chewing gum and beard hair are some of the disagreeable detritus that accumulates inside the average office keyboard, according to Claire Burke, director of Keep IT Clean, an IT hardware cleaning company with clients including hotels and the NHS.

Burke told silicon.com, that IT chiefs call her company in so tech staff don't have to negotiate a minefield of grime when they are called on to fix a broken PC.

Analyst: OLPC won't draw global PC makers

Whitebox vendors in the region may warm up to the One Laptop Per Child's (OLPC's) decision to open its design, according to market research analyst IDC.

Multinational PC makers, on the other hand, will continue their focus on mini-notebooks, Reuben Tan, IDC's senior manager for personal systems research in the Asia-Pacific region, told ZDNet Asia in a phone interview.

Earlier this month, OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte announced the organization's intention to open source its hardware design and invite commercial PC makers to copy it. In an e-mail interview with ZDNet Asia, Negroponte said the OLPC intends to make open as many aspects of its next-generation XO laptop as possible.

Sony reorganizes as president steps down

Sony has announced a major reorganization of its business divisions that sees chief executive and chairman Howard Stringer also become president.