In at the back door?

Many analysts believe the breakdown of the proposed Time Warner/EMI deal could open the way for a speedier merger for Time Warner and AOL. Although Time Warner and EMI are still in negotiations to come up with a solution that would appease the European Commission's concerns over music publishing domination, the deal is seen as the icing on the cake to the much larger merger between Time Warner and AOL. Youssef Squali, an analyst at ING Barings Bank, said: "This really will accelerate the process. ...more

More than half of London schools now connected to broadband

The London Grid for Learning (LGfL) has announced that 53 per cent of all London's schools which totals 1,386 sites and an estimated 750,000 pupils are now connected to broadband. This puts it on track to have all London's schools on broadband by 2005, a year ahead of the government target. A year ago only 20 per cent of London Schools were connected. ...more

Video games make it to A-level syllabus

Video games have found a place at the heart of modern culture to such a degree that the OCR exam board is to make them the subject of a module within a new AS-level media studies course. UK teenage scholars will be looking into issues of conflict in such games, and there are certainly plenty of this nature to choose from. The module will be run alongside others including celebrity and the tabloid press, and gender and situation comedy in the course that the OCR says is in line with the aims of the Unesco declaration on media education. ...more

Freeserve to launch 'pay per listing' search

Freeserve intends to generate a new revenue stream with the implementation of GoTo's search service, which ranks results in order of advertisers' bids, this November. This facility, developed by Inktomi, means that companies which have made a cash bid for a keyword will get a preferred position on the results listing. However, GoTo justifies this, saying that the paid-for results will get a lower priority and that keywords bid for by companies are carefully scrutinised by an editorial team for relevance. ...more

Games copying software launched in face of copyright threats

321 Studios - a company that has already met with short shrift from Hollywood for its DVD X copy software, which allows a user to make an exact image of a DVD film - can expect a similarly cool reception from the games industry with its Game X Copy 'We designed Games X Copy with the parent in mind,' said Robert Moore, President and Founder of 321 Studios. 'This software is easy to use, so making backups of PC games literally takes one click of a button,' Moore continued. 'We designed it for parents, but it is easy enough to use that even the kids could make the backup, and take it on vacation or to a friend's house - and parents no longer have to worry about the original being damaged or lost. ...more