Alliance & Leicester to offer mobile banking in the New Year

The banking giant will use the Monilink network to mobilise account services for customers Alliance & Leicester plans to offer millions of customers the ability to securely access their current account information on the move using their mobile phones from next year. The institution will use the Monilink phone-based financial transaction platform to enable account holders to access services such as mini statements and balance enquiries using a password protected application. Other services are planned for the future, such as the ability to pay bills, transfer money or access other accounts. ...more

Microsoft claims 'breakthrough' in eleventh-hour talks to soothe EU

Microsoft's general counsel Brad Smith emerged from EU talks with what he decribes as a 'blueprint' for compliance as the company holds emergency talks to stave off daily multi-million Euro fines Microsoft's general counsel Brad Smith emerged from two days of closed-door discussions with the EU over its alleged failure to fully meet the terms of the antitrust ruling claiming a 'breakthrough' had been reached. The world's biggest software company faces fines of up to €2mn a day for its failure to fully meet provisions that it make data available to rival companies that wish to build products that can interoperate with Microsoft programs. Last month an independent, Microsoft-approved monitoring trustee appointed by the EU described Microsoft's efforts in this respect as 'incomplete, inaccurate and unusable'. ...more

New bug-fixed version of Firefox released

The open source consortium Mozilla has released a new version of its popular Firefox browser this week. Version 1.0. ...more

Price Check: Multifunction printers

The printer market has come in for some stiff competition over the last year, with Dell entering the fray. And with product refreshes kicking off in a month or so, it seems a good time to see what you can get for your money in the all-in-one printer arena. Right at the value end, as they say, we found a range of Lexmarks. ...more

Games copying software launched in face of copyright threats

321 Studios - a company that has already met with short shrift from Hollywood for its DVD X copy software, which allows a user to make an exact image of a DVD film - can expect a similarly cool reception from the games industry with its Game X Copy 'We designed Games X Copy with the parent in mind,' said Robert Moore, President and Founder of 321 Studios. 'This software is easy to use, so making backups of PC games literally takes one click of a button,' Moore continued. 'We designed it for parents, but it is easy enough to use that even the kids could make the backup, and take it on vacation or to a friend's house - and parents no longer have to worry about the original being damaged or lost. ...more