Microsoft denies accusations of pressuring Denmark over EU patent directive

Microsoft is trying to stamp out the fires lit by the Danish media which is reporting Bill Gates has threatened to close down a successful Microsoft-owned software house if the Danish government fails to back an EU technology patent directive. According to Danish newspapers B?rsen and the Copenhagen Post, Bill Gates attended a meeting in November on the issue. They quote Microsoft Chief legal counsel Marianne Wier, who claims that in a conversation with Denmark's prime minister Fogh Rasmussen, Gates said: 'If I'm going to keep my development centre in Denmark, it demands that there must be a clarification of rights issues. ...more

Apple Camps for kids come to the UK

Apple's two UK shops in London and Birmingham are hosting Apple Camps for children over the summer holidays. Each camp provides an opportunity for children and their families to participate in activities including hands-on learning, and 'doing cool stuff on Macs'. Campers complete their own projects that they can take home on CD or DVD. ...more

Everest online

The grandson of the first man to reach the summit of Everest is building an Internet caf? in one of the most inhospitable of places, the mountain's base camp. Sherpa Tsering Gyaltsen, grandson of Sherpa Tensing who beat Sir Edmund Hillary to the top by a footstep, is planning to use a combination of satellite and wireless technology to provide Internet and email to climbing expeditions. Gyaltsen is a planning to charge between ?1,200 and ?3,000 per expedition, which may sound a lot, but an trip up Everest usually costs around ?40,000 per person. ...more

Peugeot turns to Internet car sales

The French car maker Peugeot - part of PSA Peugeot Citroen - plans to experiment with selling second-hand cars over the Internet, while at the same time trying not to upset its dealer network. Peugeot said yesterday that it would put about 100 of its small 1007 models with sliding doors, in three special configurations, for sale on the www.vente-privee. ...more

Microsoft hasn't sold a million Zunes after all

Microsoft has denied reports that the company has sold a million units of its Zune music player. The president of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, Robbie Bach, was quoted as saying: 'we've sold a little over a million Zunes,' during an interview with the San Francisco newspaper, SFGate. In fact, Microsoft says Bach was misquoted, and the company is in fact 'on track to sell one million devices before the end of the fiscal year (June 30)'. ...more