Sony's robodog to talk

Sony has revealed that it will be endowing its robotic cyber-pup, Aibo, with a voice. Sony engineers want Aibo to be able to interact with its owner using words and, with time, develop its own language skills. At the moment the ?1,600 robomutt only beeps and burps acknowledgement while the new prototype will actually be able to learn about its environment. ...more

Google News gets customised

Google has updated its popular Google News section. Users can now customise the page by rearranging the sections, deleting or adding new sections or adding their own customised section. Google News is an aggregate of some 4,500 different news sources from around the world, including PC Pro, updated regularly. ...more

Oracle reports profits and an increase in sales

The database giant has reported its quarterly results and revealed a 12 per cent increase in profits on the back of a two per cent increase in sales (year on year). For its third quarter, Oracle met analyst's expectations by declaring a net income of $571m from revenue of $2.31bn. ...more

Bulldog broadband customer details stolen in 2005

A security breach in 2005 resulted in the theft of the personal details of some 100,000 Bulldog broadband subscribers, its former owner Cable & Wireless has revealed. C&W said that it has become apparent that in December 2005 contact details were stolen, resulting in a number of unsolicited calls being made to 'a small number' of customers. But it stressed that there is no evidence that bank or credit card details were used illegally, though it is not clear whether they were among the information that was stolen. ...more

European Commission seeks to bolster IT and media industries

The European Commission has announced a new initiative to foster growth and jobs in the information and media industries. 'i2010: European Information Society 2010' is a strategy designed to encourage the development of the digital economy by modernising and deploying relevant EU policies on regulation, research and partnerships with industry. In particular it will aim to promote high-speed and secure broadband networks across the EU. ...more