Google branded top by 'branding professional'

Internet firm Google has again pipped Apple to the top spot in a global brand ranking that also sees YouTube and Wikipedia debut in the top five, a survey showed on Friday. The annual survey by online branding magazine brandchannel.com often throws up controversial results, such as in 2004, when Arabic TV station Al Jazeera was named the world's fifth most influential brand. ...more

Red Hat fires salvo to unite Linux against SCO

Red Hat has filed a formal complaint against SCO for its 'unsubstantiated' statements regarding alleged Unix infringements by Linux. 'We filed this complaint to stop SCO from making unsubstantiated and untrue public statements attacking Red Hat Linux and the integrity of the Open Source software development process,' said Mark Webbink, General Counsel at Red Hat. SCO CEO Darl McBride responded in a letter to Webbink, saying, 'Be advised that our response will likely include counterclaims for copyright infringement and conspiracy. ...more

Nokia records Christmas sales boost

Nokia had a welcome gift this Christmas, as thousands of mobile addicts bought its phones: more than two and a half million of them according to Canalys. The final quarter for 2004 saw shipments of mobile devices rocket 51 per cent, according to the research company, but there were clear winners and losers. Nokia is clearly the former, not only selling nearly 5mn phones in Q4, but also grabbing some serious market share: 45. ...more

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Here's wishing everyone a lovely Christmas, and a happy, healthy and successful 2007! As always, thanks to all those who have helped with the site - whether posting comments or giving us feedback - but special thanks to all our forum moderators! In particular we should mention gullyg and timark, for their endeavours beyond the call of duty. ...more

Chief officers for privacy

IBM has appointed Harriet P. Pearson as the company's first chief privacy officer, leading a corporate trend in America to recognise the importance of maintaining the integrity of customer data. The company intends her to guide IBM's privacy policies and lead initiatives to strengthen consumer data protection. ...more