Businesses prepare to bluejack your phone

Even your mobile phone might not be able to avoid the curse of spam, now that the marketing industry is waking up to the advertising potential of Bluetooth. As we reported in October, Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones have spawned bluejacking, the process of anonymously sending text and images from one phone to another. However, what started out as an innocent pastime could become a pervasive marketing tool, outside the control of privacy protection laws. ...more

Holes in US air-traffic control

The US air-traffic control system is vulnerable to hackers according to a congressional report due to be released today. The report, according to the US Today newspaper, states that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has failed to adequately address ''pervasive weaknesses in its computer security programs”. General Accounting Office (GAO) investigators also found that the FFA has not performed adequate background checks on computer experts hired to test the system or on foreign nationals hired to tackle Y2K problems. ...more

Vonage dials into UK

Vonage has launched its VoIP telephony service into the UK, with kits available on the high street, backed by an online advertising campaign. Already one of the leading playeres in the burgeoning US market, Vonage's UK outing offers unlimited local and national calls, whether they are to other Vonage users or fixed lines, for a penny less than ?10 a month. Mobile costs are fixed at 15p, 10p, and 5p a minute at daytime, evening and weekends respectively. ...more

Lastminute.com sells out to Travelocity

The former darling of Britain's dot com boom, Lastminute.com has been sold. The buyer is US firm Sabre Holdings that already owns the Travelocity online travel business. ...more

iTunes model key to online music success

Following Apple's successful iTunes model is the key to a successful online music business, according to a new report by Forrester Research. The report argues that the combination of an easy-to-use interface which as well as giving you access to music, lets you organise it, burn CDs and copy songs to a portable player are all necessary elements if rival services are to compete with Apple's. It also stresses the importance of having the right marketing strategy, and praises Apple's strategy of achieving as high a profile as possible, through advertising and setting up alliances with AOL and Pepsi that would not be reached simply by promoting the product through its website. ...more