UK to investigate e-government by digital TV

The UK government has outlines some policy guidelines on how it might deliver information and services by digital TV (DTV). It is estimated that 45 per cent of UK households now have DTV either through Freeview, cable or satellite and the government sees an opportunity to allow the public to communicate through the interactive services it can offer. It also gives a boost towards the government's promise of providing all its services electronically by 2005 - now little over a year away. ...more

Apple profits dance to the tune of the iPod

The music division of Apple helped the company to triple its second quarter earnings according to figures released yesterday. Apple said it made a total of $61 million compared with just $19 million over the same period last year. Revenues increased 30 percent to $2. ...more

Opera 9 goes public

Opera has announced the first public Beta of Opera 9, its forthcoming browser. Features of version 9 include support for widgets, thumbnail previews, site-specific preferences and improved pop-up blocking. By the term 'widgets' Opera means small Web apps that run directly on the desktop. ...more

Commwarrior virus threatens mobile phones via MMS messages

Finnish security expert F-Secure says it has discovered the first virus that spreads via multimedia messaging services, or MMS, sent by mobile phones. The virus, known as Commwarrior, is far from a simple proof of concept and has already been discovered in the 'wild'. There are already two variants. ...more

Virgin to join music downloads market

The Virgin Group is planning to launch into the increasingly crowded music downloads market with a new venture, Virgin Digital. The company is said to be developing its own digital jukebox and online music store and is working with Musicnet to develop the service. The company is said to be planning a wide assault on the market with plans to offer the product across a wide range of devices including mobile phones as well as other consumer devices. ...more