Chips n' bytes channel
Computer users in the UK will soon have a satellite TV channel of their own. The Sky Computer Channel will begin broadcasts on November 1 and transmit programmes every night. The four hours of nightly programming will consist of four regular slots: Family Guide is aimed at introducing people to PCs, Games World is dedicated to joy stick addicts, Global Village provides the latest PC news and Chips With Everything will focus on new and existing technology. The channel provides access to the Net 100 times faster than a conventional telephone line for a monthly rental of US $30.

Cyber cable
After two years of anticipation, delays and jitters, the cable TV industry is finally heading into cyberspace. Time Warner of the US has announced that it has begun selling access to the Internet to 400 cable subscribers in Ohio, US. The company is supplying a new type of modem that will allow customers to receive data at very high speeds over coaxial cable. The Comcast Corp, plans to offer cable-modem service in Baltimore, US, by the end of this year. Bell Atlantic US West and other regional Bell companies have begun marketing special telephone lines that offer high-speed access to the Internet.

Loopholes in the Net Computer saboteurs paralysed a New York Internet access company recently with the first major use of an electronic attack method that experts say could shut down virtually any Internet service in the world. The hackers flooded Public Access Networks Corp, which services about 6,000 individuals and 1,000 companies, with streams of messages that overwhelmed its computers, forcing them to shut down for hours at a time. Security specialists state that the attack underlined the vulnerability of the global network, which is used for E-mail, entertainment, research and shopping.