High street sales fall to 22 year low
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According to the CBI’s monthly distributive trades survey, in June, year-on-year UK retail sales fell by the largest amount for 22 year.
Approximately 23% of retailers recorded a year-on-year increase in sales, but 42% recorded a decline, giving […]
Foreign firms attracted to UK investment
by brian_turner
, approximately 40,000 jobs were created in 2004/05 from 1,066 investment projects from foreign firms, a substantial increase from the 25,463 jobs created by 811 projects in the previous year.
The number of IT and software projects increased by 61% to 240, and research and development projects by 22% to 101.
The services sector was […]
Wanadoo to become Orange
by brian_turner
Wanadoo, the Internet service provider, is changing its name to Orange. France Telecom, the owner of both Wanadoo and Orange is implementing the change to create more unified business identity.
Wanadoo will be phased out both in the UK and across all its other European areas of operation, starting next year. It was known as […]
Phisher receives six year jail sentence
by brian_turner
A UK-based American citizen, Douglas Havard, has received a six-year jail sentence for stealing up to £6.5m through identity fraud. He was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court.
Havard, who comes from Dallas, Texas, created fake credit cards with stolen bank details as part of a global syndicate. Personal details from online accounts were stolen by […]
MPs force ID cards rethink
by brian_turner
Prime Minister Tony Blair said that he will listen to concerns about plans for identity cards after his Commons majority was reduced from 67 to 31 on the issue.
Twenty Labour MPs rejected the ID card plans on Tuesday night. Senior MPs advise that changes will be needed to get the plans through Parliament.
The […]
Study finds technology failing special needs
by brian_turner
A study by the charity Sense has shown that deafblind people find technology difficult to use, despite the fact that many rely on technology for communication, access to information and achieving independence. Nearly 50% of those surveyed who used assistive technology were experiencing difficulty.
The people surveyed reported difficulty in using everyday devices such as […]
June 28, 2005
Technology industries concerned at P2P ruling
by brian_turner
Technology industry experts are concerned about the implications of a ruling by the US Supreme Court that file-sharing networks, such as Grokster, can be held responsible if the main purpose of their software is to allow customers to swap songs and movies illegally.
The case, against Streamcast Networks which makes the software behind Grokster and […]
New iTunes offers Podcasting support
by brian_turner
Apple’s new version of its iTunes program includes the ability to download podcasts – downloadable audio shows. The company aims to take podcasting into the mainstream by providing a directory of 3,000 shows.
The ITunes software allows users to submit their podcasts for inclusion in the directory, but Apple will monitor these due to editorial […]
Royal Dutch/Shell to become single company
by brian_turner
RoyalDutch/Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil company, has secured shareholders approval to merge its dual-ownership structure and create a single company worth £120bn.
The firm is 60% owned by Royal Dutch Petroleum and 40% by Shell Transport & Trading Company. A merger is expected to simplify the management structure – a crisis causing Shell to slash its […]
Computacenter issues second profits warning
by brian_turnerComputacenter, the PC sales and services firm, has issued its second profits warning for 2005. The company said it expected sales in the first six months of the year to be approximately 10% down on the same period last year. The company said its services business grew, but more slowly than expected. Conditions are not […]
Google Earth
by Brian TurnerGoogle Earth and the Marketing Revolution
Google Earth was released today, a free application that has Google applying it demonstrative digital technology by recreating the earth in 3-D.
The size and scale of the program appears pretty vast, allowing an unprecedented view of the earth in close-up details. And although some parts of the map are more […]
June 27, 2005
US rules file-sharing illegal
by brian_turner
The US Supreme Court has ruled that file-sharing companies, such as Grokster and Morpheus, .
It had been thought that the Supreme Court would rule in favour of file-sharers because of legal precedents set when video recorders first appeared.
The legal case against Streamcast Networks, which manufactures the software behind Grokster and Morpheus, began in […]
Bank of England warns on long-term debt
by brian_turner
In its Financial Stability Review, the Bank of England warned that a downturn in the economy could cause problems with individual and company debt repayment.
Although short-term risks are low, the Bank warned about a possible long-term domino effect if banks called in loans because of concerns about the economy, thereby making it more difficult […]
ID card concerns raised by LSE
by brian_turner
Tony Blair re-confirmed his commitment to the introduction of ID cards the day before the ID Cards Bill has its second reading in the House of Commons. Mr Blair said he is confident that the public back them in principle.
According to the London School of Economics, however, the scheme could cost over three times […]
Microsoft unveils IE7 at Gnomedex
by brian_turner
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7 browser, scheduled for release this summer, will make it easier for people to be made aware of website updates.
IE7 was revealed at the Gnomedex technology conference in Seattle, US, on Friday. It will feature an orange button, which will light up when it detects a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed […]
British Gas to increase prices
by brian_turner
has warned that it expects its gas to increase significantly over the coming year. , which owns British Gas, said its electricity bills would also increase. It attributed the planned increases to soaring wholesale prices.
In 2004, British Gas increased its prices by 5.9% in January and 12.4% in September.
Centrica also said that […]
June 25, 2005
Blog software platforms
by Brian TurnerThere are a number of different options of blog platform to use when looking to set up a blog - not least MovableType and Wordpress, as well as Typepad and Blogger.
However, with blog software hosted with a third party, as with Typepad and Blogger, you have far less control of how to present your content, […]
June 24, 2005
Password protection management in crises
by brian_turnerA survey of 175 IT professionals, by IT security firm Cyber-Ark found that 10% of firms never changed their central administrative passwords and a further 5% did not even change the manufacturer’s default password which was supplied with the system. One IT manager said he kept all passwords on his mobile phone and less that […]
Property for pensions will benefit savers: Datamonitor
by brian_turner
Research group, Datamonitor, claims that the wealth of the richest members of society will increase by £2b, if government plans to simplify pension rules are implemented.
The rules, which are expected to be introduced in April 2006, will allow people to include buy-to-let investment property in their pension fund, meaning that many investors will be […]
PWC claim new technology driving strong online sales
by brian_turner
A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers claims that new technology is driving strong growth in the global entertainment and media industry.
Due to the increase in the online distribution of music, films books and games, the industry is expected to grow in value to $1,800bn (£987bn) by 2009.
The report predicts that across the world, new methods […]