Competition Commission lifts business bank rate limits
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The Competition Commission has announced plans to lift the price controls it imposed on business bank rates in 2003.
The controls were put in place to make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to move accounts […]
UK SMB’s benefit from technology investment
by Jan HarrisAccording to new research carried out by Accelerator in association with Cisco, the vast majority (over 90%) of Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) in the UK, gain significant benefits from their investment in technology.
The ‘Accelerator Business Confidence Survey’ found that 45% of the SMBs surveyed had gained clear, tangible business benefits from their IT […]
Report highlights failings in SMB’s IT security
by Jan HarrisAccording to new research commissioned by Websense Inc, employees of small and medium sized businesses (SMB’s) regularly visit high-risk sites in work time, but IT Managers are failing to implement adequate IT security measures.
The research, which was carried out by Dynamic Markets, surveyed 750 IT managers and employees in SMBs across five European countries. […]
August 22, 2007
STFU about traffic
by Brian TurnerOne of the huge pitfalls of marketing these days is that too many persons and companies are chasing traffic - rather than targeted traffic.
It’s reminiscent of the late 90’s dotcom boom, where the focus was simply on gaining visitors - without worrying about any kind of call to action (CTA) being achieved.
And what’s more worrying […]
What makes an Entrepreneur?
by Brian TurnerEntrepreneur is one of those funny words that can be difficult to define.
When I was younger, I imagined an entrepreneur to be some kind of swashbuckler of the business world.
And in a way, it’s right - unhindered by conventional restraints and bureaucracy, they become a kind of pioneer in their own right.
That doesn’t mean to […]
Tiled architecture is hot topic at chips conference
by Jan HarrisTiled architecture has been high on the agenda at the 19th annual Hot Chips conference at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
Processor designers are promoting tiled architecture as the next generation of chip design, to take computing to a new level.
There is a limit to how many cores can be put on a […]
August 21, 2007
Fujitsu develops biodegradable laptop
by Jan HarrisFujitsu has developed a laptop with a biodegradable chassis - the Fujitsu LifeBook - and released the model in Japan.
The chassis is made from a cornstarch-based plastic which will decompose within months, substantially quicker than traditional plastics which can take decades to break down.
Cornstarch-based plastics release 15 per cent less carbon emissions than traditional […]
August 20, 2007
Google launches Click-Fraud resource centre
by Jan HarrisGoogle Inc has launched a new site providing information about ‘click fraud’, a serious threat to pay-per-click advertising, the company’s main revenue stream.
Google developed the new Ad Traffic Quality Resource Centre to address the increasing problem of click fraud - some organisations estimate the incidence of click fraud at over 30%.
The resource centre […]
August 17, 2007
Online presence doubles business confidence
by Jan HarrisAccording to a poll of small business owners by thebestof, a national network of local marketing websites, businesses with an online presence are twice as confident about their future growth prospects than those who don’t use the Internet.
Businesses with an established online presence expect to grow by an average of 41% over the next […]
August 16, 2007
A Level results farce continues
by Brian TurnerA-Levels results showed no sign of abating the trend of continued increases in pass grades, with the national pass rate up 0.3% to 96.9%, and results with an A up 1.2″ to 25.3%.
It demonstrates a continuing trend of dumbing down of the British education system, with politicians and exam boards spinning the results as down […]
Customers less satisfied with Apple, Dell and Google
by Jan Harris
According to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index, published by the University of Michigan’s National Quality Research Centre, customers of Apple, Dell and Google were less satisfied with the companies’ products and services.
Overall customer satisfaction with the PC industry fell 3% compared with last year. Apple and Dell were the worst performers, with […]
Ionic Wind more efficient at computer cooling
by Jan Harris
Researchers in the US have developed ‘ionic wind’ technology which is significantly more efficient than traditional fan cooling mechanisms and could facilitate the growth in computer power.
A prototype ionic wind device has been developed which creates a ‘breeze’ of charged particles, or ions, to cool computer chips.
Computers are becoming both smaller and more […]
August 15, 2007
Researchers identify Spam’s weak spot
by Jan Harris
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), believe they have identified a weak spot in the spam infrastructure which could be used to stop spammers gaining financially from their activities.
According to UCSD researchers, spammers use powerful distributed delivery networks to send out junk e-mail, but this isn’t the case for the internet […]
Google and Microsoft plan online health initiative
by Jan Harris
According to the New York Times, Google and Microsoft both have early-stage plans to enter the online health care market, with initiatives that could help people make better choices about their health care.
The New York Time article included screen images of Google’s prototype web pages for the proposed service.
A message on Google’s prototype […]
August 14, 2007
EU approves Intel & STMicro’s Numonyx Venture
by Jan Harris
The European Union has approved a plan by semiconductor group Intel and Switerland-based chip maker STMicroelectronics, to conbine their flash memory chip businesses in a new joint venture.
The proposal is also expected to involve a US$150 million cash injection from Francisco Partners, a California-based private equity. The venture will create a separate company called […]
Fujitsu develops nanohole hard drive
by Jan Harris
Fujitsu has announced a major step forward in the development of hard drives that can hold a terabyte of data in each square inch of recording surface. This technology could provide a smaller hard drive, with lower power consumption and cooling requirements, combined with substantially higher storage capacity.
Fujitsu’s latest development involves a 2.5in disk […]
August 13, 2007
Amazon launches PayPal rival
by Jan Harris
Amazon has announced a limited beta version of an online payment system - the Amazon Flexible Payments Service (FPS) - on its web services blog.
Amazon FPS is designed for developers who are building online businesses, allowing them to more easily incorporate payment processing into their sites.
It provides “Amazon Payments” accounts and funds can […]
Microsoft trials dashboard view for Windows Live
by Jan Harris
Microsoft is trialling a new version of Windows Live with its online services rearranged into a ‘dashboard’ view.
The new format allows Windows Live users to easily and quickly scan for new emails and blog postings, access contacts or use services such as online antivirus and spyware scans.
Microsoft hopes the new version will help […]
August 10, 2007
Lords report calls for data security law
by Jan Harris
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has issued a new report calling for a major review of internet security.
The Personal Internet Security report recommends the urgent introduction of a data security breach law and a central web-based e-crime reporting system on which it would be mandatory for companies and public sector organisations […]
August 9, 2007
Ofcom gives wireless USB the go-ahead
by Jan Harris
Media regulator Ofcom has changed its regulations to allow Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology to be used in consumer devices without a licence.
UWB is a radio technology which provides short-range high-bandwidth communications by using a large portion of the radio spectrum in a way that doesn’t interfere with narrow band usage.
Technologies that use radio spectrum […]