Open source to power US patent review

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is looking to the open source community to help improve the quality of patents issued in the US. Quality issues have landed the USPTO with something of a reputation as an over-liberal system that one should try to avoid - particularly in relation to efforts in Europe to come up with a harmonised patent legislation for the EU. The successful patenting of what some might consider trivial or obvious inventions, such as 'one-click shopping' has made software patents tricky terrain for the tech industry. ...more

Net yourself a canine winner

If you like to have a flutter on the dogs and don't like the smoky atmosphere of your local betting shop then you may be in for a treat if Gaming Internet gets its way. The company intends to offer greyhound racing over the Internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week and have just secured a deal that ensures that they have access to 20 per cent of the dog tracks in Europe. They have also made in-roads into the Australian, African and Asian greyhound world. ...more

Mandrakesoft acquires South American Linux distro

Linux platform builder Mandrakesoft has announced a stock swap deal to acquire its Brazilian equivalent Conectiva. In what can only be described as a Pheonix-like rise from the ashes of near insolvency a year ago, Mandrake has since announced its most profitable quarter ever, posted a net income for the year, inked numourous deals with new customers and acquired a support company. Now its guns are aimed at bigger game. ...more

Latest broadband dates announced

BT Wholesale has announced another batch of broadband ready-for-service dates, with 30 exchanges scheduled to be ADSL-enabled. ...more

Fax to email, email to fax

For all its advantages, there is one thing you cannot do through a broadband Internet connection - send or receive faxes. eFax.co. ...more