Eclipse joins 1Mbit broadband rollout

Eclipse Internet has begun a public trial of ADSL Connect 1000 Lite, its first 1Mbit/sec broadband ADSL service. Although labelled a trial, ADSL Connect 1000 Lite is to all extents and purpose simply a faster version of Eclipse's existing 512K service, which is the fastest in the UK, according to ADSL Guide's latest speed tests. The service costs ?37. ...more

IT stocks recover in results week

In the week that Apple will announce its latest set of quarterly results, IT companies' stock prices rose to their pre-11 September level. Despite the current downturn in the computer market and fears that the events of 11 September may precipitate an economic recession, shares in the leading PC manufacturers have returned to or exceeded the level they were at before the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. Apple, Compaq and Hewlett-Packard are back where they were, while Dell's price is now at a higher level. ...more

Google Earth in the saddle for Le Tour

Tour de France fans can now follow the route via the satellite imagery of Google Earth. A simple download provides a detailed map of each of the 20 stages (and prologue), complete with all the key parts of each stage, the intermediate sprints and the climbs. The Tour website also promises regular results updates, though these don't yet appear to have materialised. ...more

Sony gets a bad vibration

Sony has been ordered by a US judge to pay $90 million damages to the Californian company Immersion Corporation for patent infringement. The suit refers to the vibration mechanism built into control pads for PlayStations that provide synchronised tactile feedback during a game The award follows a decision by a jury in the Northern Californian jurisdiction that Sony had infringed Immersion's patent by incorporating the Dual Shock controller technology into its consoles. In addition, the court decreed a permanent injunction against Sony manufacturing, importing or selling PlayStation consoles, Dual Shock controllers, and the 47 games which make use of the feature. ...more

Sega in denial over Dreamcast

Will they or won't they? That is the question. And the question is whether Sega will abandon its ailing 128-bit Dreamcast console. A company spokesman in Japan has acknowledged that the company is considering dropping production of the Dreamcast in order to concentrate on supplying games for rival Sony PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Gameboy Advance systems. ...more