Broadband hopes raised for rural Scotland

The Scottish Executive has told an MP for one of the country's Highland regions that it is looking to bring broadband access to the few rural areas where it remains out of reach. Deputy First Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Nicol Stephen told John Thurso, the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross member of Parliament, that it is hoping to begin extending fast broadband access as early as this year, working into 2007. 'Over the past year, we have been collecting data about potential problem areas and have recently appointed independent consultants to assist us in our policy approach to the reach problem,' Stephen told Thurso. ...more

EU to make its mark on the Internet

YAID! - yet another Internet domain. This time one representing the European Union. The idea of having a distinctive European - as opposed to nationalistic - Internet domain name has been formally agreed by the EU. ...more

Borland updates its service to applications

One for the back room boys. Borland has announced a new release of its application server product, AppServer 4.5. ...more

Petrol, newspaper, sandwich, broadband

BTopenworld has struck a deal with BP that will see broadband Internet registration CDs available at the 450 BP service stations nationwide. The CDs contain software and instructions for registering BTopenworld's 'Plug and Go' self-install ADSL. Provided users 'meet all the criteria for receiving broadband' - such as access to an enabled exchange - running the CD's software will provide automatic registration and ordering of the necessary hardware, which will then be dispatched. ...more

South Korea plans armed border robots

South Korea is considering the use of robots to help patrol the sensitive border lands with communist North Korea. In a futuristic twist, armed robots could be working a bot beat along the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that separates the countries, reports Reuters. It says South Korea will spend up to 33. ...more