Top 10 articles, 22 May 09

The most popular article this week came from the Thinking Digital conference in Newcastle, where delegates were encouraged to take a more open view of online piracy as it could spark innovation in unexpected ways. Not a view likely to be shared by the Business Software Alliance or the entertainment industry.

The launch of the Wolfram Alpha search tool, which dubs itself a 'computational knowledge engine', sparked a healthy debate among vnunet.com readers. According to the most recent figures from our Wolfram Alpha poll, it's neck and neck at the moment between people who acknowledged a few teething problems but would try it again, and those who think it's rubbish and are going to stick with Google.

Companies urged to embrace the piracy model
Unauthorised downloads can spark innovation in unpredictable ways

Wolfram Alpha launches to mixed reviews
Computational knowledge engine gets tentative thumbs-up, but problems persist

New Apple iPhone specs leaked online
Twice the storage, longer battery life, better camera and a new design

Top 10 disappointing technologies
'Game changers' that never quite hit their stride

Rumours point to new BlackBerry Storm
Update to RIM's touch-screen smartphone coming this summer?

Review: Acer Aspire Timeline 3810T
A thin-and-light laptop designed for a longer than average battery life

Palm reveals US launch date for Pre smartphone
Much anticipated handset to arrive on 6 June

Visual Studio 2010 beta launches this week
Update to flagship developer platform available for download from Monday

Sophos planning to supply anti-virus in Klingon
Marketing stunt or the ultimate niche market?

Ross email blunder highlights dangers of Twitter
Unfortunate updates can be hard to hide