ASA raps Be 'up to 24 Meg' claim

The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld complaints that an advertisement for Be Un Limited's 'up to 24 Meg broadband' service was likely to mislead. Rival broadband provider NTL and a member of the public objected to the ad because they believed that the speed would be unattainable to most users. Be's service is based on ADSL2+ technology, the major downside of which is a steep fall in the maximum speed as the user moves further away from the exchange. ...more

Microsoft boss receives knighthood

Bill Gates received his honourary knighthood yesterday for his business skills and his charitable work. He will not be able to use the title 'Sir', as he is not British, but will suffix the letters KBE after his name. He arrived in London yesterday with his wife Melinda to receive an insignia, making him a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. ...more

Microsoft tackles W3C on a Royalty Free-only patents policy

Microsoft has clashed with the Internet standards body W3C over the acceptance of a royalty-free policy on the development of patents. The W3C Patent Policy working group (PPWG) is proposing the adoption of a Royalty Free (RF)-only policy, for the work in generating future Internet standards. The W3C, of course, oversees the development of such Internet standards and specifications as HTML, MathML and SVG. ...more

Microsoft gets a grip on the BIOS

Microsoft has teamed up with Phoenix Technologies to create a new generation of the PC's Basic Input Output System (BIOS). The move will give Microsoft an even tighter grip on the basic design of the PC. The companies say that the partnership will bring 'enhanced functionality' to the BIOS to increase the 'device's reliability, usability, manageability, and security'. ...more

France Telecom poised for C&W buy

France Telecom is reportedly poised to buy Cable & Wireless, owner of the Bulldog ISP, for 5.9bn Euros (?4bn). If the deal goes ahead, it will be the second time that Bulldog has changed hands recently, having been bought by C&W in June 2004. ...more