Vista delay has silver lining for Intel - Forrester

Microsoft's Vista delay could provide Intel with an unexpected Christmas present. So say analysts at Forrester, who predict that the absence of the next version of Microsoft's flagship Windows operating system in PCs sold this holiday season might be the window of opportunity it needs to get some traction for its ViiV home entertainment platform. On the whole, analysts Paul Jackson and Ted Schadler decided the Vista delay to the consumer launch was unfortunate but necessary if the reason behind the postponement was a desire to ensure the product ships in as secure a form as possible. ...more

Start-up Dipsie seeks out hidden pages

A US start-up has come up with a way of exposing web pages to search engine spiders that are currently invisible. These might include pages inside databases, or which use JavaScript or flash-based navigation that is impossible for a search engine robot to follow or sites based around frames. Typically, the solution has been to use a technique known as 'cloaking which intercepts a search engine spider and redirects it to index content which is different to that which a human might see if they are visiting the page. ...more

Jeeves starts to talk back

The popular search engine based on P.G. Wodehouse's faithful butler is to get speech recognition. ...more

Napster sleeps with the enemy

The inevitable has happened: Napster has signed a distribution deal with its former recording-industry enemies. The file-sharing software company, in trouble with nearly everyone in the music industry because it allows the free distribution of tracks, has signed the deal with MusicNet, a service owned by EMI, Warner, RealNetworks and Bertelsmann. The move will mean that MusicNet will be able to legally sell a huge chunk of mainstream music via Napster's innovative peer-to-peer software. ...more

UK public against investment in wider access for e-Government services

The UK public want the Government to focus on rolling out useful e-Government services rather than worry about means of access. Research carried out by NTL shows that two-thirds of the UK public would like to make simple transactions such as tax and fine payments online. However, we're not bothered about creating alternative means of access other than via a PC. ...more