Cisco has successfully tested a satellite-based router as part of its work for the US Department of Defense's Internet Routing in Space project. The IRIS project aims to bring the same routing capabilities to satellites as is already available on terrestrial networks - an implementation of TCP/IP in space, basically.

Cisco claims that the scheme will reduce delays in video and voice transmissions caused by the need for data to make additional hops between heaven and Earth.

Cisco also says that space-based routers will make it more practical for telecoms to offer high bandwidth, on-demand services by eliminating the need for customers using existing satellite networks to reserve bandwidth and pay for it whether its used or not. Read more

Microsoft has officially released the first Windows 7 beta. While it's been one of the web's worst kept secrets, Microsoft was still keeping quiet about the details and timing of the final release at the time of writing.

Everyone expects release later this year. A leaked briefing paper for OEM vendors suggests that the date when buyers of Windows Vista machines qualify for a free upgrade begins "for planning purposes" on July 1, 2009.

Build 7000, which has been widely leaked online, seems fully usable and feels faster than Windows Vista on the same hardware.

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Following a judge's temporary restraining order, Yahoo! Argentina has blocked all web searches for the country's most famous son: footballer Diego Maradona.

Maradona is known the world over for his, shall we say, sleight of hand in the 1986 World Cup which knocked England out of the quarter finals. And he now manages the Argentines. But if you key his name into Yahoo!'s Argentina-based search engine, you get nothing but news results.

The order did not bar all Maradona links. But according to Yahoo!, the language was so broad that blocking content on a site-by-site basis wasn't an option.

This litigation undermines the immense value of the internet as a worldwide vehicle for sharing information. These lawsuits exploit the law to limit freedom of expression and ultimately harm the many ordinary Internet users in Argentina who turn to search engines like Yahoo! to find information."

Google Earth has hooked up with the University of Virginia to produce a 3D rendition of Rome in the year 320AD featuring 250 "highly detailed" and 5000+ other buildings

Bernard Frischer of the University of Virginia said: "The project is a continuation of five centuries of research by scholars, architects and artists since the Renaissance, who have attempted to restore the ruins of the ancient city with words, maps and images." Read more

The mayor of Batman, Turkey, is suing Warner Bros. and The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan for using the Cape Crusader's name without the city's permission. Read more