Brits will double online shopping this Christmas

Forrester Research has calculated that the UK will spend ?2.2bn online this Christmas - double that of last year. However, the first person shoppers will think of is themselves - most money will be spent on cheap flights to escape to the continent. ...more

IBM launches new mainframe range

IBM went back to its roots yesterday and rolled out a new line of mainframe computers. The new System z9 line of computers concentrates on key security and virtualisation features. The new machines can process up to one billion transactions per day, double the performance of the Series z990, and process up to 6,000 secure online handshakes per second, around three times as many as the previous generation. ...more

Bulldog slashes cost of 4Mbps broadband

Bulldog has announced 25 per cent cuts in the prices of its '@ctive' 4Mbps broadband and telephone services. The Inter@ctive service, comprising 4Mbps ADSL, free phone line rental and pay-as-you-go phone calls, drops from ?40 to ?30 per month. Super@ctive, which includes unlimited calls to UK phone numbers, falls from ?52 to ?39 per month. ...more

MI5 has an expensive new enemy

If you believe the Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, then one of the biggest threats to national security nowadays is not terrorism or the armaments of dictatorial nations but... ...more

Demand for low-priced brand PCs boosts DRAM contract prices

Strong demand for low-priced brand PCs has driven up DRAM contract prices and should continue to support the growth in the second half of August, according to sources at local DRAM distributors. According to the distributors, contract prices should grow by 5-10% in the second half of August compared to the first half. DRAMeXchange, however, more conservatively estimates 3-5% growth. ...more