The price of junk mail counted in billions

The worldwide cost of junk mail is estimated to be €10bn (£6.2bn) a year, according to a recent European Commission study. The report estimates that every day approximately half a billion personalised ad mails fill up the inboxes around the world, and the figures are calculated against connection costs for the time it takes to read or delete them. ...more

BPI to chart online music sales

The British Music Industry BPI has announced that the UK's first Official Download Chart will launch on 1 September. The chart will include actual sales data from all the UK's most significant download retailers, including HMV, MSN, Mycokemusic and Virgin, all of which are powered by OD2, and Apple's iTunes. The much trumpeted Napster is not yet included although it is probably only a tiny fraction of the UK market at present. ...more

UPDATED: iPod firmware update breaks Real 'hack'

Apple's most recent firmware update for the iPod, released last month, breaks Real Network's Harmony technology, which enable songs bought from Real's online store to be played on the device. The change was not mentioned by Apple at the time and whether it has been effective has not yet been verified. Nor is anyone clear if it applies only to the iPod photo, or to any iPod with the update installed. ...more

Nokia shows off new phones at CeBIT 2001

Mobile phone company Nokia has unveiled four new phones at CeBIT 2001 in Germany, two of them being GPRS compatible. The 3330 features WAP-based browsing and downloadable games and it is an upgrade of the popular 3310. The two GPRS phones on show are the ultra-slim 6310, which also features a built-in wireless Bluetooth model, and the 8310 with its in-built FM radio. ...more

Viruses prefer IRC

A spate of four new viruses identified by Sophos around last weekend show chat app IRC the preferred means of pulling your computer's strings. Using IRC channels to gain remote access to a computer is not new, but these days its becoming a uniform component. Senior security consultant at Sophos, Carole Theriault, told us: 'The exploitation of chat systems such as IRC has grown in the last few years. ...more