Mobile lip-service

Goodbye to the 'Hello, I'm on the train' scenario... ...more

Silicon Valley touches down in Oxford

Silicon Valley came to Oxford University yesterday, for the sixth time in this annual event, and two clear themes arose: the advisability for would-be entrepreneurs to Go West and plug themselves into the Silicon Valley network, and the threat posed by Google to the traditional funding strategies for online start-ups. Among the West Coast attendees at the Said Business School were successful start-up founders, such as Reid Hoffman, CEO and founder of Linked in and formerly of PayPal, and Alex Walsh CEO and founder of Photobucket, technologists such as Chris Sacca, Google's Head of Special Initiatives, and venture capitalists, such as Allen Morgan, MD of Mayfield, one of Silicon Valley's oldest VC firms. In a series of panel discussions, master classes and 'Garage Innovation' sessions, MBA students and UK start-up kingpins mixed with some of the West Coast's finest. ...more

Email marketers told: Pay upfront if you want to send email to MSN or Hotmail

Companies who want their email to be delivered to hotmail accounts in the future will have to stump up cash upfront. Microsoft has announced that it is to adopt the IronPort 'bonded sender' programme for its MSN and Hotmail email systems IronPort works by having a list of companies which have subscribed to the programme. Subscribers IP addresses are then forwarded to ISPs such as Microsoft as being 'legitimate' senders of email. ...more

Gartner predicts Ofcom rules will bring in more UK broadband players

Gartner's latest research predicts that recent price setting measures by Ofcom will make wholesale broadband products more attractive, encouraging new players to enter the UK market. Currently, most ISPs offer broadband to their customers using BT's IPStream products - essentially renting a BT-managed broadband line and making a bit on top - but operators that have taken up DataStream products and moved into exchanges under the Local Loop unbundling schemes stand to benefit from a proposed pricing system which will maintain a specific margin between wholesale and retail prices. Gartner suggests that the effect of new regulations and proposed pricing structures to be implemented early next year will allow existing DataStream and operators using Local Loop Unbundling options to be able to expand their geographical coverage and provide a range of new services. ...more

Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo 'to list shares in the US'

Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo is planning an IPO in the US, according to the Shanghai Youth Daily. The company bought IBM's PC division in December of last year for $1.75 billion. ...more