O2 buys Be

The Spanish owned mobile operator O2 is the latest mobile company to join the rush to convergence with the purchase of the high-speed broadband operator Be in a deal worth ?50 million. Founded only two years ago in 2004, Be was the first UK broadband internet service provider (ISP) to use ADSL2+ technology, which theoretically offers speeds of up to 24Mbps. Be has so far rolled its network out to 150 local exchanges and has plans to be in 400, covering half the UK population, by the end of 2006. ...more

Microsoft to fix .wmf Windows flaw

Microsoft says it has come up with a fix for the vulnerability exposed in the graphics rendering engine between Christmas and the New Year. As we reported yesterday a new strain of virus has appeared which means that a specially designed Windows Metafile (wmf) could be used to gain access to a machine and take control. The situation is worsened by the fact that source code for the exploit has been published on the Internet and that the virus changes itself when it replicates, making it harder for it to be detected by traditional signature-based security software. ...more

Is Disney courting Steve Jobs?

The latest 'Hollywood buzz' has Apple CEO Steve Jobs in line for a position on the board of Walt Disney Co. According to the New York Post, the company is looking for a new second-in-command after the acrimonious departure of the founder's nephew Roy Disney. Of course it's not Jobs' computer pedigree that appeals, but his lucrative sideline as the boss of animation studio Pixar, whose box office hits have included both Toy Story films and Finding Nemo. ...more

Intel launches Celeron range with 64-bit memory addressing

Intel has introduced a new family in the budget priced range with the Celeron D 351, fitted with so-called Extended Memory 64 Technology. With the announcement, Intel says it has completed the transition of its entire line to EM64T. As a result, 64-bit memory addressing is now standard across the whole range of desktop and server processors although not, as yet, the notebook range. ...more

eBay enjoys the Webby Awards 2003

The Webby Awards for 2003 have been announced. Winners of the seventh annual online Oscars include eBay (Services), Lonely Planet Online (Travel), rathergood.com (Weird) and Amazon. ...more