BT to buy PlusNet for ?67m

BT has made a cash offer for the UK ISP Plusnet The deal, based on a cash offer of 210p per share, will add 200,000 broadband subscribers to BT's own broadband customer base. The offer has been unanimously recommended by the PlusNet directors. PlusNet revealed it was being wooed by a potential buyer more than a month ago, prompting its stock to surge some 30 per cent towards the 200p range. ...more

Sensei launches really light phone

The world's lightest phone was launched at this year's Live 2000 consumer electronics show. The new Sensei SPT88d phone only weighs in at a minute 68g and features a unique joystick to help you navigate the unit's many menus. The phone is dual band and features an in-built calculator, agenda function and is available in four different colours. ...more

Microsoft marshals Windows Media 9 for battle

Microsoft has announced it is to make sweeping changes to the way it licenses its Windows Media 9 Series technologies, including cutting prices and offering longer terms, to leave it in a better position to take on new markets. The Windows Media 9 Series is offered in its final version today, and alongside this Microsoft is offering cheaper, longer and more flexible licenses to manufacturers and software developers for the audio and video codecs. 'The unmatched audio and video quality of Windows Media 9 Series is now available under the most flexible and attractive license terms in the industry,' said Will Poole, corporate VP of the Windows New Media Platforms Division. ...more

Half Viagra on Internet fake, shock

Almost half the Viagra available on the Internet is fake according to British pharmacists. Analysis of a range of tablets bought online were not the genuine product from Pfizer but either contained a lower dose of the active ingredient or different chemicals entirely. he British Pharmaceutical Conference: 'On our initial estimate, around half of those Viagra samples could be counterfeit'. ...more

Macworld Expo: Apple goes on Safari with new Web browser

Apple has announced Safari, a new browser for the Mac. Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, unveiled the new browser at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco last night. Dismissing Microsoft's Internet Explorer, he claimed that Safari is 'three times faster' than IE for the Mac. ...more