Carphone Warehouse admits TalkTalk broadband delay

Carphone Warehouse has conceded that thousands of people who signed up for its 'free' TalkTalk broadband service will not be connected until August. Some 340,000 have subscribed to the service, which bundles broadband with a landline call service costing ?20.99 per month, since its launch in April. ...more

Broadreach and Virgin agree on new Net train company

Broadreach, the Wi-Fi hotspot operator, has announced a further tie up with Virgin. As well as Broadreach receiving extra funding, the deal involves the launch of Broadreach Train Services Limited (BTSL), a specialist subsidiary to provide on-train Internet access. Virgin Trains, of course, will be the primary customer of this new venture. ...more

Analyst: Intel Macs could appear in January

Apple may release its first Intel Macs as early as January, according to UBS Investment Research analyst Ben Reitzes. Noting that Intel plans to launch its Yonah dual-core mobile processor at the start of 2006, Reitzes suggest that Steve Jobs traditional new year curtain raiser - his keynote address to the Macworld Expo in San Francisco - may provide the platform for an Intel-driven Mac mini to be unveiled. He based his prediction on talks with Intel's Semiconductor Research Team, who indicated that the Yonah would be ideally suited to the compact desktop and possibly the iBook. ...more

Microsoft pilots Active Search in mail

Microsoft is piloting sponsored ads in its free email client currently in beta and earmarked to be bundled with Vista. The sponsored links will provide contextual advertising dependent on the content of the email message, which will doubtless sound familiar to the users of Google's Gmail which pioneered this kind of email advertising. Windows Live Mail Desktop Beta was announced in March as the replacement for the Outlook Express email client that will be provided free with the Vista operating system when it is released at the end of this year. ...more

BT offers restaurants a taste of e-commerce

Finding somewhere decent to eat at short notice might be a bit easier in future. Restaurants with empty tables can now advertise them in real time via Lastminute.com or through special kiosks built in city centres. ...more