China in Microsoft's hands

China has officially signed up to participate in Microsoft's Government Security Program (GSP). This is a program that provides government bodies with controlled access to Windows source code. It was launched early in the New Year - Microsoft moves to open government Windows. ...more

PlusNet introduces pay-as-you-go 8Mbps broadband

PlusNet has introduced a pay-as-you-go 8Mbps broadband service starting at ?9.99 per month. That gets you a base level of 50MB download traffic each month, with additional megabytes costing 0. ...more

UK Government refuses to legislate against spam.

The Government is abandoning the battle against unsolicited email despite its desire to take Britain to the forefront of e-commerce. The job of policing and punishing spammers will be left to ISPs. A spokesperson for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said, "the Government has decided that the most effective way to control unsolicited commercial e-mail is through self regulation by the industry. ...more

Microsoft goes for Instant Messaging interoperability

Microsoft's next version of its Live Communications Server will allow office workers to instant message contacts on other IM networks such as AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo Messenger as well as it its own MSN Messenger. Live Communications Server 2005 will launch at the end of the year with a trial version of the interoperable messaging software, with an official version mid way through next year. 'In much the same way that e-mail significantly has changed today's business landscape, instant messaging is becoming just as ubiquitous in organizations. ...more

And also today (9-Jan-2001), for the record...

Here, in brief, are some of the day's other stories. Oracle announced support by the Oracle9i Application Server and Oracle8i Database for the new Linux kernel, v4.2. ...more