Ofcom sets Christmas launch date

Ofcom, the joint regulation body - which replaces the Independent Television Commission (ITC), the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC), Oftel, the Radiocommunications Agency and the Radio Authority - says it will be open for business by the end of the year. With the Communications Bill expected to pass into law this summer, and everyone who is joining Ofcom to be in situ at Ofcom's Riverside House headquarters by mid December, the new body will be flexing its regulatory muscle by then. CEO Stephen Carter described Ofcom as a 'new, leaner, effective and important organisation,' and we are told that there may be redundancies in achieving this. ...more

Borland builds Delphi 8 on .Net

Borland has released its next-generation Delphi development system, previously codenamed 'Octane'. It provides full .Net, as well as Win32, support. ...more

MSN UK launches Movie Channel

MSN UK has launched a Movie Channel, as apart of its strategy to expand the content within its entertainment, lifestyle and news offerings. Aimed at casual cinema-goers as well as film buffs, it will carry entertainment news and details of the latest releases. Microsoft boats that it will 'provide one of the most comprehensive movie experiences on the web, giving users the widest range of film content available in the UK. ...more

Next-gen graphics demand on hold until Vista launch

Nvidia has lead the way on DirectX 10 graphics technology with last week's launch of the DirectX 10-compliant GeForce 8800 GPU, and it has had a mixed reception - see the PC Pro and Custom PC write ups. According to graphics industry sources in Taiwan, however, demand for such high-end cards may not pick up until Microsoft's Vista is actually released. This is unsurprising given that DirectX 10 will only feature in retail copies of Windows Vista (excluding the Home Basic version). ...more

Logitech large it

Recession? What recession? Logitech has posted its best ever results for Q3, ending December 31st, with a net income of $33m, a 67 per cent increase on the corresponding quarter of 2000. Guerrino De Luca, president and CEO, said: 'In the midst of an extremely challenging market and economy, we have delivered our best quarter yet, and we remain confident in our ability to grow across a broad spectrum of platforms and products.' He put the success down to aggressive pricing for products across a largely untapped base. ...more