The iPhone 3.1 software update, which was issued yesterday, has caused some handsets to freeze and get stuck in a restore "loop". It means the device is wiped of all content, and cannot be used to make or receive calls. Downgrading to the previous 3.0 operating system is also proving difficult for users. "I've been trying everything I've found on trouble shooting pages and on some searches," writes a user, Batwing, on Apple's support forums. "I'm getting numerical errors after the phone/computer tries to restore to 3.1. (6, 14, etc.) I've reinstalled iTunes, tried restoring on 3 different computers, held down power/home buttons, moving to different USB slots..."

"I've been able to restore back to 3.0, but trying to update to 3.1 gets the iPhone stuck in recovery mode every time," writes ThisIsTheChris. "I tried to upgrade to 3.1 also and now am the proud owner of an expensive doorstop," writes John Gordon Doty. "Does Apple ever test these upgrades? They must, but it sure makes you wonder when so many people have the same problem with the same software."

Disgruntled iPhone owners have also been using Twitter to discuss the issue and find solutions. "Still waiting on restore on my iPhone. 45 minutes and counting. Beware the 3.1 update – make sure you're backed up," warned Grvychk. It is not known how many iPhone users are affected by the software problems, nor what has caused dozens of devices to crash. Apple has not commented on the situation, although it is likely that engineers are already working on resolving the problem. The new iPhone software was unveiled by Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs, who underwent a liver transplant earlier this year and last made a public appearance in October 2008. He also showcased a new iPod nano with built-in video camera, spec bumps to the iPod touch and iPod Classic range, and a new version of iTunes with features such as iTunes LP, which downloads sleevenotes and artist videos whenever a user buys an album, and Genius Mixes, which auto-generates playlists of "songs that go great together".( www.telegraph.co.uk)

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Despite Apple’s well-publicised claims that Macs are safer than their PC-based rivals, security expert Charlie Miller, author of The Mac Hacker’s Handbook, says that "Snow Leopard's more secure than [previous release] Leopard, but it's not as secure as Vista or Windows 7." Mr Miller says that Apple missed an opportunity to make Snow Leopard more secure when it ignored the security developments Microsoft had made three years ago in building Windows Vista. He points to a system called address space layout randomization (ASLR), which "randomly assigns data to memory to make it tougher for attackers to determine the location of critical operating system functions, and thus make it harder for them to craft reliable exploits." Mr Miller says that Leopard’s ASLR was substandard, and Apple have failed to address the issues. He said: "Apple didn't change anything. It's the exact same ASLR as in Leopard, which means it's not very good." He had made the same criticisms when Leopard was originally released. He concedes, however, that Apple have plugged some security holes, notably in QuickTime.

At the moment, says Mr Miller, Mac users are far less likely to get hacked than PC users. However, that is simply due to numbers: there aren’t enough Macs to make it worthwhile for hackers. He says: "It's harder to write exploits [hacks] for Windows than the Mac, but all you see are Windows exploits. "That's because if [the hacker] can hit 90 per cent of the machines out there, that's all he's gonna do. It's not worth him nearly doubling his work just to get that last 10 per cent." However, Snow Leopard has still outshone both Leopard and the previous system Tiger in first-week sales, by a distance. It has sold twice as many copies as Leopard did in its first week, and almost four times as many as Tiger. (www.telegraph.co.uk)

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Eco-friendly vehicles aren't something new today, but Taxius Animalus is a completely different story. This concept car represents an all-electric taxi that has six wheels and was designed to be able to pass through off road terrain. The design is credited to Francis Gomes from Turin, Italy.

The vehicle might be far from being produced for the masses, but its design is definitely worth highlighting. It is worth mentioning that the taxis used today emit a lot of gases everyday and a large portion of those gasses are wasted when taxis wait for passengers or are stuck in traffic jams. Taxius Animalus is not just eco-friendly, it is also capable of transporting people to areas where normal taxis would never pass using its six wheel track resembling that of a tank, informs Tuvie. You can find more information about cars at www.InfoNIAC.com - please check the links at the bottom of the story.