Apple of my eye
Richard Dawkins: The appearance of the Mac 20 years ago wasn't an evolutionary advance, it was a macro-mutational leap.
School mobile phone ban ‘will not curb porn’
A ban is not the answer to concerns about the use of the latest mobile phone technology in the murky world of child pornography, said a leading internet consultant.
Popular demand keeps film exhibition open to midnight
The hairiest feet in Britain have proved such a crowd-puller that the Science Museum will stay open until midnight for the first time tomorrow and on Saturday.
Ted, Sylvia and me
In a uniquely intimate portrait of Sylvia Plath, The Observer's former poetry editor recalls being her confidant and mentor and tells of the strange experience of seeing himself portrayed in the new film of her life. By Al Alvarez.
Worldwide quest for the magic of Middle Earth
Millions of hobbit-lovers and elf enthusiasts are being cajoled to advance the frontiers of knowledge by joining a £40,000 study of why the Lord of the Rings is so popular.
Life and liberties
Orson Welles is almost too large a subject for a single volume. David Thomson looks at the latest account of the film legend in Peter Conrad's The Stories of His Life
Dracula’s long shadow
Alfred Hickling wades through the Christmas crop of showbiz biographies and finds there's more bite to Christopher Lee's memoir, Lord of Misrule, than to authorised lives of David Niven and Alec Guinness
Q&A: data protection and the police
Humberside police have been criticised for deleting records of previous allegations of sex offences against Soham murderer Ian Huntley but says it had to act due to data protection law. David Batty reports.
IPPR warns of inequality in the digital age
The digital divide is stopping many people from exploring new learning opportunities and harming their long-term life chances, the Institute for Public Policy Research said today at the first UK conference on equality in the digital age.
Researchers celebrate 30 years of the net
Internet pioneers gather this week to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Arpanet, the first step towards the creation of the world wide web.
Minister launches school budget website
Schools standards minister David Miliband today launched a website to help headteachers plan their budgets.
Website perils of ancestor worship
Worldwide interest in tracing ancestors is becoming so popular that no website releasing new census information can possibly cope with the demand from millions of people without crashing, the National Audit Office concludes today, writes David Hencke.
Luther biopic has slim chance with the critics
The German theologian Martin Luther is at the centre of a fresh controversy following the release of a new blockbusting film about his life.