Hard disks hit 250

LaCie has announced new 250Gb and 200Gb hard drives, built with the digital video and server markets in mind. Both FireWire drives provide data throughput of a maximum 35Mb/sec but the 200Gb version is especially designed for the digital video streaming with an enlarged 8Mb data buffer that enables it to provide sustained throughput at this speed. The 250Gb drive with a 2Mb buffer is more suited to tasks that are not streaming dependent, such as back-up and server storage. ...more

NTL splits in financial restructuring

Internet service provider NTL is to split into two following a restructuring of its $17 billion debt. The process should be completed in August or September. NTL's UK and Irish operations will form one new company - possibly called NTL UK and Ireland - and will get $500m of new financing. ...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

China promises to become world's largest Net user

China is set to become the world's largest Net user within two years, outsurfing the US. According to figures for 2006 released by the China Internet Networks Information Centre (CNNIC), the People's Republic now boasts 137 million Internet users, up 23.4 per cent year on year. ...more

Academic studying social impact of the iPod

The world's leading expert on the social impact of personal stereos has turned his attention to the iPod. Dr Michael Bull from Sussex University, the author of Sounding Out the City: Personal Stereos and the Management of Everyday Life, wants to know how iPods are used and what impact they have on their owners' lives. He particularly wants to hear from women with the white earbuds. ...more