Intel trips the light fantastic

With the Internet becoming part and parcel of everyday life, the future of computer networks lies along pathways of light - rather than cables - to transmit data at ultra high speed. It sounds futuristic, and it is, but one can see why Intel has decided to buy into optical technology. The three deals see the company paying $400 million for LightLogic, a company that specialises in equipment that coverts light signals into digital signals. ...more

Panrix goes into administration

PC vendor Panrix went into administration last Friday, due to plummeting sales and the increased competition in the market. Philip Deyes, of Wilson Pitts, the company handling the administration, told us that Panrix is: "still trading under the protection of the administrators" and that it would be able to fulfil existing orders. He said the Leeds-based company is hoping for a "quick sale of the business as a going concern". ...more

Half Brits go online for Christmas spree

A new study reveals the extent of online shopping in the run up to Christmas 2005. Research company IMRG states that as much as half of the adult population in the UK clicked online as sales increased 50 per cent. It seems that shoppers spent ?5 billion online during the 10-week run-up to Christmas, compared with ?3. ...more

UK Gov demands open source for US jet fighter

The UK Government has told the US that it will cancel its $12bn order for Joint Strike Fighter unless it is given the complete source code for the aircraft's computer system. Lord Drayson, the defence procurement minister, said that failure to grant the UK 'operational sovereignty' will lead to the withdrawal of the order for 150 of the F-35 jets. 'Without the technology transfer to give us the confidence to deliver an aircraft fit to fight on our terms, we will not be able to buy these aircraft,' Lord Drayson told the US Senate armed services committee. ...more

French National Assembly votes to open iTunes

The French National Assembly rocked the online music business yesterday by voting overwhelmingly to end the iPod's monopoly position with Apple's iTunes music service. If the law is endorsed by the French Senate, it will mean that the iTunes Music Store in France will be forced to allow other portable music players access to the iTunes library, currently holding around two million entries. In effect, it would mean that Apple would have to hand over or alter its FairPlay DRM to allow other portable music players to use it or translate it into a different format. ...more