Yahoo! surfs online ad revenue surge

Yahoo! is continuing to enjoy a surge in search related advertising revenues as it beat Wall Street estimates. The Internet portal brought in revenues of $907 million for the quarter a 154 per cent increase on the $357 million in the same period in 2003 bringing gross profits of $574 million. 'Marketing Services' which includes contextual advertising, jumped 212 per cent which shows that not only is Yahoo! enjoying a healthy share of the recent boom in online advertising but is also reaping the benefits from the purchase of Overture contextual advertising services. ...more

Toshiba rewrites printer rules with reusable paper

Toshiba Europe has today unveiled what it claims is the world's first rewritable printer, with paper that can be used up to 500 times. The B-SX8R uses thermal imaging to erase and rewrite documents printed on a special plastic-coated 'paper'. The PET-based documents are wiped by passing the paper through a heated element that alters the rewritable pigment layer within each sheet. ...more

1Gbit memory gears up for volume

Spansion has begun sampling what it claims to be the world's first one gigabit single-chip of NOR Flash Memory. Rather than mobile phones, the memory is targeted at a range of embedded applications, including gaming and industrial control as well as auto-navigation systems and comms infrastructure equipment. The 1Gbit chip is part of the MirrorBit GL family, based on the company's MirrorBit technology. ...more

Revenues from paid-for Web content to rise 25 per cent in 2003

Paid-for Internet content is expected to generate more than $2bn in 2003, a rise of 25 per cent on the $1.6bn spent in 2002 according to the latest report from Jupiter Research. The report also predicts that revenues will grow by more than 20 per cent every year at least until 2007. ...more

Controversial EU patent directive is passed despite opposition

A controversial draft of a new EU directive that would legalise software patents throughout Europe has been passed amid massive opposition. A number of member states asked at today's meeting that the draft be classed as a 'B' item, meaning that the various provisions within in were subject to alteration after further discussions. However, the current presidency - Luxembourg - maintained that this would not be possible because of 'procedural' reasons. ...more