Microsoft to challenge Google Base

Microsoft is planning a rival to the newly-launched Google Base, it has been revealed. The new Microsoft service currently codenamed 'Fremont' is said to allow users to post their own classified advertisements on the web alongside contact details. As with Google Base, visitors will be invited to post their own content onto the website along with contact details that will then be made available to the online community via the MSN search engine. ...more

PC Pro survey reveals Britain's broadband generation is getting restless

A PC Pro survey of over 2,000 readers has revealed that many are unhappy with their current connection speeds, the prices they're paying and the level of customer service they're receiving. This resulted in 17 per cent of PC Pro readers switching to a different supplier during 2004, with a further 16 per cent on the verge. 'That's already a third of the broadband population, but we expect these figures to leap in 2005,' said PC Pro editor, Tim Danton. ...more

AMD slashes Opteron server prices

AMD has slashed its pricing for its 64-bit server processor, the Opteron. Specifically, the top of the range models for single-, dual- and eight-way servers see cuts of up to 43 per cent. The price of the 148 drops from $733 to $417 (43 per cent), the 248 from $851 to $690 (19 per cent) and the 848 from $1,514 to $1,165 (23 per cent). ...more

ST FRIACO gets its first customer

WorldCom has announced it will be offering ISPs a wholesale unmetered product based on the ST FRIACO package announced by Oftel yesterday. The company is the only telco so far to act on the ST FRIACO news, despite Oftel's hopes that it would level the playing field for ISPs. WorldCom hasn't said how much it would charge for its service, but Phil Reynolds, UK director of regulatory affairs at WorldCom, said that ST FRIACO would bring "sustainable competition" to the UK. ...more

IBM creates 29.9nm circuit

IBM has come up with a method that will extend the life of traditional chip making processes beyond the level previously thought. Big Blue has developed a manufacturing technique that will create chips on a 29.9 nanometre process using optical lithography. ...more