Britain has most extensive broadband coverage in G7

The UK now has the most extensive broadband market in the G7 according to a government minister. Quoting a report by telecoms analysts Ovum. Mike O'Brien MP, the E-commerce Minister made his remarks at the 4th ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) conference on E-Commerce in London's Docklands. ...more

Gates announces timely watches

In his keynote speech at the opening of the 2003 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Bill Gates showed of the first fruit of Microsoft's SPOT platform: watches. The Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) platform is designed to 'make everyday objects smarter and better at their core functions', according to Bill Mitchell, general manager of SPOT at Microsoft. During Gates' keynote SPOT watches (or 'wrist-tops' as manufacturer Suunto calls them) were demonstrated from Citizen, Fossil and Suunto. ...more

iPod mini audio problems surface

The first signs of dissatisfaction with Apple's iPod mini surfaced over the weekend, with users reporting a crackling noise when any buttons are pressed. A number of mini owners have found that the problem starts to occur after about five weeks, though Apple has been happy to replace affected units. The reports have been made via a thread in the iPodlounge forums; one account, posted by raul, says, 'the life expectancy for the mini is between 35 and 40 days; my new one is doing ok, but now i have that feeling that it will happen again. ...more

Yahoo! surfs online ad revenue surge

Yahoo! is continuing to enjoy a surge in search related advertising revenues as it beat Wall Street estimates. The Internet portal brought in revenues of $907 million for the quarter a 154 per cent increase on the $357 million in the same period in 2003 bringing gross profits of $574 million. 'Marketing Services' which includes contextual advertising, jumped 212 per cent which shows that not only is Yahoo! enjoying a healthy share of the recent boom in online advertising but is also reaping the benefits from the purchase of Overture contextual advertising services. ...more

Microsoft suspends IE changes

Microsoft has suspended planned changes to Internet Explorer, having decided that there is every chance that a patent on the embedding of interactive content in Web pages may be overturned. The US Patent Office is currently re-examining the patent, which is held by Eolas. Microsoft issued a brief statement saying, 'The action by the Patent Office may result in the cancellation of the Eolas patent. ...more