Surfing the skies

There's nothing worse that being stuck on a long flight with only a selection of terrible in-flight movies and a novel purchased in a hurry from the airport bookshop for company. Now Virgin Atlantic Airways plan to change the way we fly with the aid of the World Wide Web. In a partnership with Tenzing Communications, Virgin plans to offer its passengers access to the Internet and e-mail from every seat. ...more

2.6 kernel out of the traps

The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) has announced the availability of the Linux kernel 2.6 version, the first new production kernel for almost three years. 'With the new kernel, I think we're getting closer to Linux for everyone,' said Linus Torvalds who came up with the original Linux kernel in 1991. ...more

Fujitsu to shed thousands of jobs

The hi-tech downsizing continues with news that Fujitsu is to cut 10 per cent of its workforce. Sixteen thousand jobs are to be shed by the Japanese technology giant as part of a restructuring process, with two thirds of these expected to be outside Japan. The Japanese economy is struggling with a long-standing recession, of course, and the global PC and chip markets are still not providing any relief. ...more

Sony sets UK Blu-ray launch date

Sony is to introduce the first wave of Blu-ray titles this autumn to coincide with the launch of the hardware beyond North America. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment says it will be expanding its Blu-Ray operations to Europe, Japan, Australia and Korea. The Blu-ray titles will appear in Australia, Japan, Korea, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland, the Nordic countries, Spain and the United Kingdom. ...more

Branson breathes life into Virgin Mobile, NTL merger

Flamboyant entrepreneur Richard Branson has offered to forgo a ?42 million payday in order to finalise a deal with cable company NTL. Last month an $817m bid for the Virgin Mobile phone business was rejected by the board even though Branson, who owns a 71.3 per cent stake in the business had given the deal his backing. ...more