Week in Numbers: Snow, sales and social networks

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The big news story this week was the snow that fell on the UK, stranding many at home, but we also heard from Apple regarding a delay to its MacBook Pro, Microsoft about Windows 7 versions and IBM on its next massive supercomputer...

Two weeks – the delay Apple fans face to get their hands on the 17-inch MacBook Pro, after the release date was pushed back. Don’t panic, the aluminium laptops are set to arrive mid-month.

Four – the number of security patches set to be issued by Microsoft for next week’s Patch Tuesday, two of which are critical.

Five years – the years since Facebook was first launched, and the number of surprises we share with you about the UK’s most popular social network.

Six – the number of versions of Windows 7 which Microsoft is set to offer, despite confusion with different editions in its last operating system, Vista.

Nine years – the age of a kid who’s clever enough to design his very own Apple iPhone applications. Lim Ding Wen of Singapore created the paint program Doodle Kids for his younger sisters; it’s since been downloaded 4,000 times.

20 petaflops per second – the processing speed of IBM’s latest supercomputer, the Sequoia, which is as powerful as two million laptops – and an order of magnitude faster than it’s current top machine, the Roadrunner.

48 per cent – the fall in profit faced by Lenovo over the past year. While it’s easy to blame the recession, Lenovo chose to replace its chief executive, too.

£60 – the average cost, per record, of a data breach, up from £47 two years ago, according to research by the Ponemon Institute. And you expected costs to fall during a recession?

392 per cent – the increase in online sales seen on this week’s snow day, compared to a standard Monday. Apparently we weren’t all out making snowmen.

20,000 – the jobs cut by NEC this week, after posting rather grim results.

90,000 – the number of sex offenders who have been banned from MySpace.

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