$100 laptops lined up for February test pilot

Children in developing countries will get the first $100 laptops as early as February. The first computers, from the One Laptop Per Child project, will be test machines, with volumes building towards an official launch in July 2007. The XO laptop is currently expected to cost around $135 to produce, although MIT professor Nicholas Negroponte, who leads the project, forecast that that figure could drop to $50 once real volumes are established. ...more

Old media takes last stand against 'the Googles of the world'

Leading media executives took a combative tone against Internet companies on Tuesday, suggesting that Big Media increasingly considers new content distributors like Google to be more foe than friend. At a panel discussion on the second day of the 56th annual National Cable & Telecommunications Association conference, top executives said talk of the demise of traditional media in the digital age was overblown. While new distribution technologies like the Internet and mobile phones are siphoning television audiences, media companies argued that the Web also brings new revenue streams. ...more

HMV commits ?10mn to home-grown music service

HMV has invested ?10mn to launch its own music downloads store in the second half of next year. The UK high street retailer will sell Windows Media files through proprietary jukebox software to be developed by Microsoft. HMV's current download supplier, OD2, will be ditched as the retailer deals direct with record labels. ...more

Leading Internet players take spammers to court

The top ISPs and email companies in the US have filed six lawsuits against spammers using the recently inaugurated Can-Spam legislation. AOL, EarthLink, Microsoft and Yahoo! have filed six complaints against hundreds of defendants, which the companies say include 'some of the nation's most notorious large scale spammers'. AOL executive vice president and general counsel Randall Boe, said: 'Consumers should take note that the new law not only empowered us to help can the spam, but also to can the spammers as well - and we'll do that, one spam kingpin at a time if necessary. ...more

Updated: Oftel publishes user complaints data

BTopenworld, Npower and Cellular Operations top the complaints leagues for ISP, fixed-line and mobile markets. These are the findings from Oftel as it publishes its latest data on user complaints. Oftel's idea is for naming and shaming. ...more