UK boasts highest growth rate for broadband penetration in Europe

The UK is showing the fastest rate of take-up for broadband in Europe. The bad news, however, is that we still stand second from bottom in the European broadband stakes, according to the April 2003 figures from Nielsen//NetRatings. The total for take up is 22 per cent, marginally greater than Italy, at 16 per cent. ...more

Bill Gates donates another $750 million to child immunisation programmes

The world's richest man, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, has stepped up his philanthropic efforts with a grant of $750 million towards vaccination and immunisation programmes in the developing world. Gates is supporting the work of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and has called on other donors, including governments, to address the $10 billion funding gap for child immunisation. The latest grant matches an initial donation of ?750 million in 1999. ...more

Music file swapping network in the dock

Another file sharing network has been brought to book over copyright infringements. The Taiwan music service Kuro has been found guilty of criminal charges and becomes the first such case to see the imposition of gaol terms. The owners of the Taiwan-based Fashionow company, which operates Kuro, have been sentenced to three years in prison, and the company has been fined 3 million Taiwanese dollars (T$). ...more

Yoggie hails security on a stick

The innovative start-up firm Yoggie has unveiled what it claims is the world's first full security suite on a USB stick. The company claims the Yoggie Pico device will screen all internet traffic before it reaches the PC, and without impinging on the computer's processing power. The Linux-based device includes anti-virus, firewall and anti-spam protection among a series of other security applications aimed at both businesses and consumers. ...more

Sharp introduces world's first PDA with VGA resolution system LCD

On November 12, Sharp introduced a new Zaurus PDA, code-named SL-C700 and equipped with a 3.7-inch, 65,536-color, transmissive system LCD of VGA (640?480-pixel) resolution and a QWERTY keyboard. This is the world's first PDA using a Sharp-produced system LCD. ...more