French MPs fail to legalise file sharing

An attempt by French MPs to legalise file sharing appears to have failed after the government removed the relevant article from its copyright bill. In December, MPs approved an amendment to the bill that would permit sharing in return for the payment of a monthly royalty fee to be distributed to artists and rights holders. The amendment drew fierce criticism from the movie and record industries. ...more

Firefox 1.5 reaches release candidate 1

The first release candidate version of Firefox 1.5 is now available from the Mozilla Organisation. The release adds nothing bar bug fixes to previous beta releases. ...more

Skype signs up German mobile operator

Popular Net phone application maker Skype says it has signed a deal with a German mobile operator to offer a reduced rate data tariff across its network. Germany's third-largest mobile operator E-Plus is to offer 'all-you-can-eat' data tariffs for €39.95 (?27). ...more

Security developer claims share of Microsoft's Giant acquisition

Microsoft's entry into the anti-spyware business has hit a potential snag. Florida-based security developer Sunbelt Software Distribution claims that it owns part of the software Microsoft bought with the acquisition of Giant Software. Last week, Microsoft bought Giant Software for an undisclosed sum and would be releasing a beta anti-spyware product in the new year for users of Windows 2000 and above. ...more

Intel brings in $9.4bn for the quarter

Wall Street breathed a sigh of relief as Intel beat expectations with its announcement of revenues of $9.4bn for the quarter. This represents a 17 per cent rise in revenues over the corresponding quarter a year ago. ...more