Chancellor Alistair Darling has confirmed in his Pre-Budget Report that the 50p-per-month bradband tax will be included in the Finance Bill
TECHNOLOGY POWERING BUSINESS
2009
Government Urged To Support Online Retail As Stores Close
Shops are out of fashion, as Nokia closes its flagship store, Amazon denies any plans to open one, and the government comes under pressure to support online retailers
eWEEK Labs’ Top Products Of 2009
eWEEK Labs names the products that stood out in 2009, focusing on the ones that either provide significant innovation or make day-to-day life easier for IT professionals
Why Windows 7 Is Not One Of eWEEK’s ‘Products Of 2009’
Windows 7 was one of the biggest product launches of 2009, but a lack of true innovation has kept it off eWEEK Labs' "Products of the Year" list
Open Source Is Smart Choice For Business Intelligence
Analyst report points to growing interest in open source alternatives to traditional business intelligence tools
UK Leads Europe In E-commerce While Ireland Lags On Net Usage
Internet usage in Ireland is the lowest in Western Europe while the UK leads the way when it comes to e-commerce, supported by wider broadband access
Symantec Briefs Lords On Cyber Terrorism Threat
Security vendor Symantec is to present evidence to the House of Lords about the possible impact of natural disasters and cyber terrorism on the UK
Microsoft Tweets About End Of Windows XP Support
Microsoft has used blog postings and Twitter feeds over the past few days to remind users that support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows 2000 will expire in July 2010
Microsoft Floats New Server And Cloud Division
Microsoft forms a group that will focus on cloud computing and moving the lessons learned in the cloud into Microsoft's server products and vice versa
Apple Removes Apps Over Fake Review Claims
Apple pulls applications from its iPhone App Store after an accusation surfaces that the developer, Molinker, posted fake reviews about the mobile applications
Google Finally Releases Chrome For Mac And Linux
After a long wait, Google releases stable beta versions of Chrome for Mac, Chrome for Linux and Chrome extensions
US Fast-Tracks Green Tech Patents
Under a new pilot program, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office hopes to slice at least a year off the process for green technology patent applications
Oracle Adds To Governance And Compliance Apps
Oracle has beefed up its enterprise regulatory portfolio with new offerings for governance, risk and compliance
HP Targets SMBs With All-in-One PC Launch
HP has launched an environmentally friendly PC with a small physical footprint, for budget-conscious IT managers
IBM Offers Data Centre Monitoring Via The Cloud
IBM is giving IT managers the ability to monitor their data centre remotely thanks to Tivoli Live Monitoring Services
Samsung Reveals Bada Development Capabilities
Samsung has officially launched its mobile operating system, Bada, and is touting its developer friendly capabilities
Five Reasons Microsoft Should Be Worried About Android
Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS is likely to be among the hardest hit by the rise of Android, unless Mobile 7 proves to be the substantial improvement that Microsoft promises
Telehouse To Open Green Data Centre In London In 2010
A new green data centre in London's Docklands will provide heat energy to the surrounding housing developments
Smart Meters Allow Companies To Monitor Home-Worker Carbon
A new service could help businesses more easily include remote staff in carbon calculations
Cisco: Smart Grids Can Improve The World
Cisco claims smart grids can help improve the societal and economic problems around the world, but some experts have raised concerns about the security issues
Not Many Bugs Infesting Amazon.com Researchers Find
Amazon.com has fewer bugs on its Website than Wal-Mart or Target, according to a study by software-testing company uTest, which had 600 testers scour the sites in November
Most Phishing Scams Fail But Enough Succeed
New research from Trusteer shows that while the majority of phishing attacks are unsuccessful, those that slip past security defenses are costing millions
Google Reveals Details Of Mobile Goggles, What’s Nearby?
Real-time search ruled the roost at Google's search event at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California
VMWare’s Dominance Of Virtualisation Under Threat
While VMware is still the dominant virtualisation technology in the data centre, IT professionals are increasingly willing to consider alternatives
MIT Wins ARPANet Anniversary Competition
Using an inverse pyramid approach, a team from MIT captures the $40,000 (£24,400) first prize to locate 10 large, red balloons at undisclosed locations across the United States
Handset Makers Targeted With Commercial Android Platform
A commercial version of Android has been released to help industry players build Android-based devices and test them for market readines
Staff Increasingly Use Own Laptops At Work
More and more staff are bringing their own personal laptops into work, according to a study from analyst house Gartner
HP Teams Up With SAP To Ensure Business Uptime
HP has launched two new services designed to help businesses maximise the uptime of their critical IT systems
Bluetooth Group Slates Dongle Use
A “Ditch the Dongle” campaign has begun in order to convince users to use their Bluetooth-enabled handsets to connect to the internet
EC Has ‘Incorrect’ Facts Concerning Oracle-Sun Case
An open source legal expert has informed the European Commission that its concerns about Oracle's takeover of Sun are based on “incorrect” assertions