Microsoft re-signs NHS to nine-year licensing deal

A nine year deal has been signed by Microsoft and the National Health Service which gives the NHS a licence to use Microsoft software across 900,000 computers. Neither Microsoft nor the NHS will confirm the value of the deal although The Times today mentioned a figure of around ?500 million over the term of the contract. According to sources, this is around the same figure for a previous contract. ...more

Comment: Ad liberties

Advertising makes the Web go round, but amid a Desktop invasion it's time to fight back, argues Stewart Mitchell. Imagine sitting in a car, and staring at an irritating billboard - one that's advertising a product you find unnecessary at best, and is blocking an interesting view or street sign. Picture now that you drive round the corner and it's there again on the side of a hill; you get home and turn on the TV only to be haunted once more. ...more

Eidos not for sale

It looks as if time is running out for Eidos to find a buyer as long-running takeover talks flounder. The British software, which brought you the Tomb Raider series of games, had been in talks with Infogrames of France after the company expressed an interest in June. But four months later, the directors of Eidos found the all-share offer not to their taste and the talks collapsed. ...more

New Xbox details leak onto the Internet

Some ten days ahead of its scheduled launch, details of the next generation Xbox have been leaking onto the Internet. Several sites claim to have specs and a picture of the new Microsoft console that it hopes will supplant Sony in the affections of the majority of the world's gamers. According to Endgadget. ...more

iTunes 5 accompanies the iPod nano

Apple has released iTunes 5 to coincide with the unveiling of the new iPod nano. The latest version of the jukebox software and music store portal adds: a new Search Bar - which Mac OS X 10.4 users will recognise has more than a passing similarity to Spotlight; the ability to organise playlists into folders; Smart Shuffle, designed to let you adjust the 'randomness' (though surely something is either random or it isn't) of shuffled playback; and parental controls to restrict access to podcasts, the iTunes Music Store, shared music and explicit content. ...more