Lines linked for 8Mbit broadband

Nildram is the latest ISP to announce that it will be offering a bonded ADSL service that can provide a maximum speed of 8Mbit/sec. Bonding works by tying together up to four ADSL lines to create a single connection: 8Mbit, for example, would be achieved by bonding four 2Mbit lines. It is a process that will be familiar to ISDN users, which uses two lines to provide its throughput. ...more

What's NXT for Microsoft?

Microsoft is opening a new campaign to win over wavering software developers to Windows. The new initiative known as NXT is targeted at ISVs with software solutions turning over $5 million in revenue who are ready to migrate to, or work cross-platform with, a Microsoft operating system or database. The initiative is aimed principally at applications developers for the Unix and Linux platforms who are the main competitors to Windows Server and its accompanying back office technologies. ...more

Microsoft Works it out

The 2002 incarnation of Works will hit the high street next Monday, 5 November. The UK version will comprise: Word 2002 with smart tags, voice recognition and document recovery features; AutoRoute 2002; Money 2002 with its new background banking feature that updates with your bank even when you are not using it; Encarta 2002 and Picture It! 2002 to manage your digital images. The tag line is that it's the 'most wanted' set of Microsoft apps and it's yours from most retail outlets for ?119. ...more

Digital signatures to be given legal status

In a bid to push forward British e-commerce, the Cabinet Office has asked industry body E-Centre UK to look into legislation making documents signed digitally legally binding. Currently, the law requires documents to be physically signed or exchanged, but in July a European directive to give digital signatures the same legal status as written ones, gained Royal assent. E-Centre UK has been called in to sort out this conflict and change legislation concerning issues such as house buying, employment contracts and consumer credit. ...more

Red tape blamed for Euro music service delays

Apple and Roxio have both blamed record label bureaucracy for holding up the launches of iTunes Music Store and Napster in Europe. Eddy Cue, Apple's VP of Applications and Internet Services, and Chris Gorog, president & CEO of Roxio, which owns Napster, were speaking at the MidenMet event in Cannes, France. Reuters reports that both said significant obstacles stand in the way of Europena equivalents to the successful US music downloads services. ...more