Heathrow tests biometric security

A trial of a new biometric scanning system at Heathrow Airport's Terminal Three started today. Dubbed MiSense, the pilot scheme, set to run until the end of January, will track passengers as they make their way through the airport and onto their plane. Passengers travelling on Cathay Pacific and Emirates flights will scan their fingerprints and passport at the check-in. ...more

CES: Bill Gates promises more Microsoft muscle for entertainment media

Bill Gates hit the CES floor last night for a keynote outlining how Microsoft is putting its muscle behind media and entertainment. Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas yesterday, Redmond's Chief Software Architect highlighted how its Media Center will continue to form the hub for many of the entertainment devices that have its backing. Gates said Media Center PCs had doubled sales this year to 1. ...more

BT launches Entertainment division to exploit broadband content

BT is looking to make broadband a more attractive proposition, in terms of the content that is delivered rather than just the throughput of the connection - the company has announced the formation of a new division called BT Entertainment. Its official remit is to 'enable content providers to reach broadband customers through platforms and services backed by the quality of the BT brand'. What this means in practice is cultivating partnerships with third-party content providers to deliver music, games and movies into BT-connected homes. ...more

IT salaries rise by 5.5 per cent

According to a study by recruitment firm CV Screen, salaries have jumped by 5.5 per cent for permanent IT staff in the UK over the past year. The average salary across 30,000 advertised IT jobs in the first quarter of 2007 was ?32,965, around ?9,000 above the UK national average wage. ...more

Japanese record labels win landmark P2P settlement

Japanese record labels have won a landmark settlement from the MMO peer-to-peer service for breach of copyright. It is the first time anywhere in the world that a peer-to-peer service has been found liable for the illegal sharing of files using its software. A Tokyo court rejected MMO's appeal and awarded damages of Yen36. ...more