Missing M&S laptop poses ID theft risk to staff

Following the theft of a laptop containing salary details, addresses, dates of birth, and National Insurance and phone numbers of staff, Marks and Spencers has written to 26,000 employees telling them they may be at risk of identity fraud. The news comes just days after we reported a laptop stolen from a hospital in Cornwall. The retailer warned workers they were at risk if criminals accessed and used the data on the laptop, which was stolen from a printing firm on 18 April. ...more

Record industry seeks to 'sex up' music buying

John Dyer, the general manager of Domino Records, the Arctic Monkey's label, will keynote a seminar next week that will debate how to persuade the public to buy more music. The 'Pimp My Tune: Making Music Compete With Free' seminar will look at ways of 'sexing up' music purchasing options, asking the question 'Is a product and/or marketing re-think necessary to get the public more enthused about the legal product?' at a time when filesharing is outstripping paid-for downloads by 40 to one. Issues under consideration will include traditional 'added-value' options such as bonus tracks, commentary, videos and more comprehensive liner notes are all traditional options. ...more

PC World backs Safe Surfing for kids

There's no substitute for parental guidance and advice, says a new campaign for child safety on the Net. PC World has launched a Safe Surfing campaign to raise awareness of child safety on the Internet. Aimed at parents, the goal is to remove the danger of the Net for kids. ...more

Free Java with JBuilder 4 Foundation

Borland has released a Foundation edition of its new version of JBuilder, and it's freely available for download. With a full-featured IDE (integrated development environment), JBuilder 4 Foundation allows you to build, debug and deploy Java 2 applications. As well as employing the Java 2 JDK 1. ...more

UPDATED: SuSE goes to Novell for $210mn

Novell has acquired Linux vendor SuSE for $210mn in cash, helped by a $50mn hand from IBM. The deal, still subject to regulatory approval, will make Novell the only $1bn software company with its own Linux distro and mean it is also the world's largest supplier of 'desktop-to-server' Linux solutions. In a conference call this afternoon Jack Messman, CEO at Novell, said: 'I can't tell you how pleased we are. ...more