August 31, 2005
Microsoft buys Teleo for VoIP
Link: Microsoft buys Teleo for VoIP
Filed under: Mobile News
Microsoft is strengthening its position in the expanding internet phone sector with the acquisition of San Francisco-based Teleo for an undisclosed sum. Teleo’s technology allows computer users to make and receive phone calls from their pc and has the advantage of being ...
PSP makes UK debut
Link: PSP makes UK debut
Filed under: Mobile News
Sony's handheld games console, the PlayStation Portable (PSP), has gone on sale in the UK after months of delay. The console has been available in Japanese stores for the past nine months and in the US for six months.
The games console, which ...
Mastercard to sell shares to fight anti-trust case
Link: Mastercard to sell shares to fight anti-trust case
Filed under: Ecommerce News
Mastercard, the New York based credit card company, is planning to sell shares in an initial public offering (IPO) next year, to raise funds for possible legal costs related to an anti-competition case.
The company, which is owned by 1,400 member banks, ...
Oil prices force power companies to increase prices
Link: Oil prices force power companies to increase prices
Filed under: Business News
Powergen is increasing its domestic electricity charges by 7% and its gas charges by 12%, for its six million customers.
The increases, which are due to higher wholesale electricity prices, will add £52 a year to a typical "dual fuel" bill.
British ...
Apple iPhone to be announced
Link: Apple iPhone to be announced
Filed under: Apple News
Apple will next week announce the release of a new product, that combines elements of it's popular iPod with mobile phone services.
Dubbed "iPhone", expectation that the device was coming has been rife for some time.
No definite information is yet available - for ...
August 30, 2005
CBI says high street sales still weakening
Link: CBI says high street sales still weakening
Filed under: Economy News
According to the CBI's distributive trades survey, high street retailers have experienced one of the worst summers for years and the situation is not expected to improve in the short term.
Approximately 20% of retailers expect trade to worsen in the next quarter, ...
Creative win mp3 player patent battle
Link: Creative win mp3 player patent battle
Filed under: Apple News
Creative Technology, one of Apple's main rivals, has secured a patent for the interface used on many digital music players. The patent applies to Creative's players, as well as some competing products, including Apple's iPod and iPod mini.
Although Creative was one ...
Borrowing slows across the UK
Link: Borrowing slows across the UK
Filed under: Economy News
According to the Bank of England, mortgage lending in the UK is rising at its slowest rate since January 2002. Lending in July increased at a yearly rate of 10.4%. Lending by banks and building societies increased by £6.45bn.
However, figures on mortgage ...
Government workers may strike on pension plans
Link: Government workers may strike on pension plans
Filed under: Pensions News, Employment News
Local government workers may strike this autumn, in protest at government plans to raise the retirement age of public sector workers from 60 to 65. The planned increase in pensionable age is part of a strategy to deal with increasing pension costs. It ...
Payfinder states gender pay gap continues
Link: Payfinder states gender pay gap continues
Filed under: Employment News
Research by salary comparison site, PayFinder, suggests that female British workers earn on average 27% less than male co-workers. The largest gap in wages was in London, where men earned an average of £39,022 and women 35% less at £28,833.
PayFinder's report was ...
Teleography says net traffic slowing
Link: Teleography says net traffic slowing
Filed under: Internet News
Consultancy Teleography says that the amount of net traffic is slowing down. The amount of net traffic travelling on backbone cables between nations increased by 104% in 2004, compared with only 49% in 2005.
Telegeography attributes the change to a global slowdown in the numbers of people ...
UK GDP sees slight increase on last quarter
Link: UK GDP sees slight increase on last quarter
Filed under: Economy News
New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that in the three months to June, UK GDP grew by 0.5% compared to the previous quarter. This represents a significant improvement from the ONS’s previous estimate of 0.4%.
The upward revision was due to a higher ...
IBM to enter continuous data protection
Link: IBM to enter continuous data protection
Filed under: IBM News
IBM, the US computer company is developing software that will continuously back up information on the PCs of small and medium-sized firms. The company is adapting its corporate Tivoli product as part of its strategy to secure more business from firms with less ...
Investors warned that avia flu pendemic is a risk factor
Link: Investors warned that avia flu pendemic is a risk factor
Filed under: Finance News
A report from BMO Nesbitt Burns, a Canadian bank, claims that a global outbreak of avian flu could cause severely affect the economy. It suggests that the financial effect could exceed that of the 2003 Sars epidemic, estimated to have cost $30bn.
Discovery of the virus in Siberia has ...
Government catches on to cross-browser compatability
Link: Government catches on to cross-browser compatability
Filed under: Browsers
The Department for Work & Pensions is planning to make its Web sites compatible with as many browsers as possible, including the open-source browser Firefox.
More companies, including software company Autodesk, are striving for Firefox compatibility, though significant gaps remain.
Carl Mawson, the ...
TUC calls for less standing in the workplace
Link: TUC calls for less standing in the workplace
Filed under: Employment News
Standing up at work for long periods can damage workers’ health, according to the TUC. Standing for too long contributes to 200,000 workers with leg ailments being off sick for two million days a year. Problems caused by standing for long periods include ...
Oil over $68 a barrel
Link: Oil over $68 a barrel
Filed under: Finance News
The price of US light crude reached $68 a barrel in Asian trade on Thursday, after the country reported a fall in gasoline stocks. Concern that tropical storm Katrina could jeopardise production in the Gulf of Mexico also pushed up the price. The storm ...
Banks use insecure methods for PIN numbers
Link: Banks use insecure methods for PIN numbers
Filed under: Security News
University of Cambridge researchers have revealed pin numbers in tamper-proof stationery, using bright lights and easy to use software. The security experts warn that the pin numbers of millions of consumers are at risk.
Secure stationery is used by banks and other organisations ...
Intel reveals Viiv computers for digital home entertainment
Link: Intel reveals Viiv computers for digital home entertainment
Filed under: Technology News
Intel is developing PCs designed to act like media hubs for the home.
The Viiv computers will include Intel dual-core processors, chipsets, software and networking capabilities and users will be able to control media with a remote. They will be controlled in ...
Google Talk with GMail
Link: Google Talk with GMail
Filed under: Google News
Search engine Google has launched a free service called Google Talk, which enables e-mail account holders to talk to each other via a PC, microphone and speakers.
It had been rumoured that Google might use the proceeds from a $4bn share sale ...