BSkyB poised to bid for LLU operator Easynet

Several UK newspapers reported this weekend that BSkyB is poised to launch a takeover bid for LLU operator Easynet. The Sunday Telegraph estimated that any deal could be worth up to ?150mn. Rumours that Sky wants to buy into broadband have been circulating for a while as the company looks to add Internet services such as video-on-demand and IP telephony to its Sky+ digital television service. ...more

Record annual fall in US music sales

The US music industry experienced its largest annual fall in revenues last year, despite a sharp increase in the sales of digital music. Figures from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) show a 13 per cent fall in the value of CD sales in 2006. Individual download revenues increased by 60 per cent while album sales doubled, but the net result was a revenue decline of 6. ...more

Toshiba completes dual layer HD DVD recording spec

Toshiba has announced the completion of the specification for dual layer recordable HD DVD discs. Dual layer discs will double the maximum recordable capacity of the format to 30GB, more than the 25GB currently provided by the rival Blu-ray format, although that may increase before the first drives become commercially available. The new HD DVD discs shares key manufacturing processes with the existing DVD-R format including the use of an organic dye as the data storage medium and a spin-coating process for depositing the dye. ...more

American Presidential e-lections

The American states of California and Arizona are to conduct the November Presidential Elections online. VoteHere.net and Compaq have joined forces to provide complete solutions to state sponsored online voting pilots. ...more

Vodafone unleashes 3G live! service

Vodafone has flicked the switch for the start of its 'Vodafone live! With 3G' service. Its portal of mobile services has had a 3G makeover for UMTS-based (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) video calls and messages, music downloads, games and also 'mobile TV' for streaming clips to your handset. 'Today is an important day for Vodafone and the start of a new era in mobile communications,' boasted Arun Sarin, Vodafone Chief Executive. ...more