UPDATED: Plusnet CEO makes quick exit

Lee Strafford, the CEO of Plusnet, has left the ISP ahead of its takeover by BT. While Strafford's departure was announced on the Official Plusnet Usergroup without comment or explanation, The Independent reports that Strafford, along with financial director Neil Comer, was sacked because they were planning to set up a business 'that would have been to the detriment of Plusnet'. According to the Independent's source, Strafford and Comer wanted to sell Plusnet's software platform to other companies, a proposal that they claim BT was aware of when it was considering its buyout. ...more

LaCie plugs FireWire for rich audio

LaCie has unveiled what it claims to be the first FireWire computer speakers to plug into the power of FireWire, the LaCie FireWire Speakers. The speakers take advantage of FireWire 400's inherent superiority as an audio connection, LaCie says. Speakers attached to a headphone jack must contend with noise distortion from the circuitry within the computer while USB speakers vie for limited bandwidth and power, having to share the bus with the keyboard, mouse and other peripherals. ...more

AMD poaches senior Intel engineer

Chip manufacturer AMD has confirmed that it has poached one of Intel's senior engineers. Intel fellow Samuel Naffziger has been hired to help design a new generation of chips as a Senior Fellow. Naffziger is said to have taken eight of his colleagues with him. ...more

Oftel to review UK dial-up deals

Oftel, the UK telecoms regulator, has begun a review of the UK's dial-up market to gauge whether or not there is effective competition. Oftel says that 25 per cent of UK homes access the Web via dial-up connections and is investigating how pricing compares with the UK's main rivals. Although it believes we have some of the best off-peak deals in Europe, it is looking into ways of making peak-rate access better value. ...more

Price Check: Hard Drives

It's been a while now since we took a snapshot of hard drives prices in the UK, so let's see how things have changed in the last two months. Not much, is the answer. Despite Seagate announcing the world's first 100GB platter, IDE drives don't look to be getting any cheaper. ...more