Freeserve blows out Dixons

Freeserve has said it will not renew its agreement to distribute its signup CDs through Dixons. Instead, Dixons has signed a deal to replace Freeserve with AOL as the preferred partner. The changeover will happen in February next year Negotiations between the Dixons and Freeserve sides have broken down over the thorny issue of money. ...more

Opera taking orders for new browser

Opera Software has released a major revision of its eponymous browser. New features within Opera 8, for Windows and Linux, include voice interaction capabilities and anti-phishing options, which help indicate the trustworthiness of banking and shopping Web sites. 'With 10 years of listening to the needs of Internet users, we believe we have released a product that sets a new standard for Web browsing,' declared Jon S. ...more

Investors shy of debt-ridden Euro telcos

European telcos that have found themselves steeped in debt after picking up the bill for UMTS licences are having to look for new ways to reduce the burden as investors become increasingly wary. BT's £2bn property sell off was announced last week, but the New York Times reports today that others may be getting the cold shoulder from investors unless they come up with funds. Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa announced today it would reduce its 3. ...more

Vodafone turns to Sun for Linux-based computing support

Vodafone has signed a deal to use Sun's full software, hardware and services products. 'With this agreement with Sun, we anticipate significant cost and synergy savings over the next few years due to reduced support and deployment costs,' said Detlef Schultz, global supply chain director at Vodafone.' The deal will include corporate and customer network services delivered over Sun's Java Enterprise System (JES) and the Java Desktop System client on desktops. ...more

Intel turns the desktop upside-down, reveals new platform

It's already been announced that Santa Rosa will initially comprise a Core 2-class CPU (with an upgrade to a Penryn-class 45nm CPU when the platform is refreshed next year), Intel's new Mobile 965 chipset, and 802.11n wireless. But Intel's Eric Kim announced that Intel will finally be doing what enthusiasts and niche products have been doing for years: bringing mobile-class processors to the desktop, with the Santa Rosa DT platform. ...more