Europeans' love of the single to boost online music market

Research company Forrester has predicted that Europe's online music market will be worth €1.3bn by 2007, with our love of singles translating into burgeoning online sales for sites offering single-song downloads. Forrester's latest research reveals that Apple's strategy of offering online music for sale as single tracks may prove even more popular in Europe than in the US, where the iTunes Music Store has already punted out 2 million tracks in just over two weeks. ...more

Microsoft to challenge Google Base

Microsoft is planning a rival to the newly-launched Google Base, it has been revealed. The new Microsoft service currently codenamed 'Fremont' is said to allow users to post their own classified advertisements on the web alongside contact details. As with Google Base, visitors will be invited to post their own content onto the website along with contact details that will then be made available to the online community via the MSN search engine. ...more

Intel's laser on a silicon chip

Intel Researchers are claiming the world's first silicon-based laser device. If so, it could revolutionise computers and communications. Traditionally, optical communications devices are expensive, requiring high quality glass fibre and some exotic compounds. ...more

Six Apart scales up Movable Type blogging

Six Apart has unveiled the next version of its Movable Type blogging software. And taken a swipe at better-known software providers in the process. The beta version of Movable Type (MT) 4, provides a 'reinvented' user interface with a dashboard overview of all of your blogs; support for publishing standalone pages and managing file assets and images; new community features; and a redesigned component architecture designed to make it faster and more scalable. ...more

Don't be a Goner

A recently discovered virus that has already spread throughout the US and Europe can disable antivirus software, leaving victims susceptible to further attacks. The virus, known as Goner, is believed to have been created in Europe, and arrives as an email attachment with the .scr (screensaver) file extension and a message: 'How are you? When I saw this screensaver I immediately thought of you. ...more