Yahoo! rejects Google approach for digital book info - report

Yahoo! has rejected Google's attempt to learn more about its efforts to create digital copies of books. It deals Google another setback as it prepares to fight a copyright infringement suit, the Associated Press reported on Thursday. A group of publishers and the Authors Guild sued Google in a New York federal court last year, claiming that the company did not get proper approval to make copies of books available to anyone with an Internet connection, AP reported. ...more

Singles market crashes by 41 per cent, album sales up at all time high

The market for singles continues to fall through the floor although album sales have gone up due to falling prices, according to the latest quarterly survey from the British Phonographic Industry. According the latest survey, the effect of shrinking price differentials between singles and albums (where a single can cost up to ?4.99 while the average price of a CD album is now ?9. ...more

SeaMonkey 1.0 takes over from Mozilla Internet suite

Less than a year after Mozilla decided to discontinue its eponymous Internet software suite in favour of the standalone Firefox browser and Thunderbird email client, a group of enthusiasts has released version 1.0 of its successor. SeaMonkey picks up where the Mozilla suite left off, combining a Web browser with email and IRC chat clients and a WYSIWYG Web page builder, but based on the latest version of the Gecko rendering engine (as used by Firefox) and incorporating all the intervening security enhancements. ...more

Ofcom charts fixed-line services

Ofcom has launched a new website designed to provide consumers with a comparison of quality of service levels among fixed-line telecoms providers in the UK. Although there are several price comparison sites already online and cost continues to be the most important determining factor for consumers choosing a fixed-line provider, the regulator recently commissioned research which showed that quality of service is consistently identified by consumers as an important factor in deciding whether to switch provider. Therefore the TopComm service will provide comparable information on: the percentage of orders that are completed on or before the agreed date; faults reported per 100 lines on a quarterly basis; the percentage of faults repaired within the agreed service time; and the percentage of complaints processed within 28 calendar days. ...more

Windows Media Player 7.01 for Macs released

Microsoft has released the latest Mac version of its sound and video player, Windows Media Player 7.01. Almost all of its features are already available to Mac users via the QuickTime Player, except to play Windows-native wma files, a format now often used on the Internet. ...more