SonyBMG makes digital demo only call

If you're thinking of sending your demo CD to a music label in the hope of landing a deal, don't bother SonyBMG with it. SonyBMG, the world's second-biggest music company, said that from Monday it would no longer accept hard copy formats. Instead, budding musicians will be asked to sign up to a record label Web site such as www. ...more

Google UK to beat Channel 4 ad revenues this year

Google will make more advertising revenue in the UK this year than Channel 4, the publicly-owned broadcaster's chief executive said on Wednesday, as he warned the TV industry had underestimated the threat of the Internet. In an interview with Reuters, Andy Duncan said some traditional broadcasters had been slow to recognise the challenge posed by the Internet and multichannel TV, which cut into the audience and ad revenues of terrestrial broadcasters. '(This) reinforces that significant structural change has been going on and will continue to go on,' Duncan said in reference to the UK advertising market. ...more

World Online bought by rival

World Online's controversial time on the stock market ended when rival Internet service provider Tiscali bought out the company. The company was dogged by controversy after it was revealed that founder and chairwoman Nina Brink had sold a sizeable amount of her shareholding before World Online was floated. This meant that the floatation was made at a fraction of the float price, causing panic among investors. ...more

Google signs deal with NASA

Search engine Google has signed a deal with NASA to collaborate on a range of research and development activities. The plans envisage that the two organisations work together in a number of technology based projects such as massively distributed computing of which Google is an acknowledged world leader, bio-info-nano convergence, and what is referred to as the 'encouragement of the entrepreneurial space industry'. 'Our planned partnership presents an enormous range of potential benefits to the space programme,' said NASA Ames Centre Director G. ...more

InfoSec 2006: Expert warns of over reliance on technology against crime

Bruce Schneier, security guru and Founder and CTO of Counterpane Internet Security, said today that the high-profiling of the problem of child-pornography on the Internet is entirely misplaced. 'It's a people problem,' he told us. 'And it's very dangerous to rely on a technology solution to a people problem. ...more