Firefox market share tops 20 per cent in Germany

Germany leads Europe for Firefox adoption, according to new figures from French market research company, Xiti Monitor. More than one-in-five German surfers (21.4 per cent) use the open source browser, almost 10 per cent higher than the next largest adopter France (12. ...more

UK games chart: Sega Sonic magic does the trick

The long post-Christmas freeze is over and it is all change in this week's ELSPA UK games chart. EA's Need For Speed: Underground 2 has finally been deposed by Sega's Sonic Mega Collection Plus, which shoots straight in at number one. Sega's burst of nostalgia, for PS2 and Xbox owners, includes every Sonic title released including Sonic The Hedgehog 1, 2 and 3, Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic 3D Blast. ...more

Google says how it'll splash the R&D cash

Google is planning to invest around 70 per cent of this year's R&D cash in improving it's existing search and advertising business. In a conference call with analysts CEO Eric Schmidt said whilst Google's ad services were popular with medium sized businesses it needed to do better with large accounts and smaller businesses. To improve its services to larger companies, Google has already expanded its direct sales force and put in place better tracking procedures. ...more

Quark founder retires and gay rights will benefit

The chairman and founder of Quark, Tom Gill, has stepped down and promised the bulk of the proceeds from the sale of his 50 per cent stake in the company to the Gill Foundation. "I am proud of the work of Quark and expect it to maintain its position as a premier developer of innovative software," wrote Gill in a prepared statement. "But my passion now lies in philanthropy. ...more

UK public backs copyright extension - survey

A majority of British consumers support extended copyright protection for UK recording artists, according to a survey commissioned by the BPI. The YouGov Poll found that 62 per cent of those asked agreed that the term of copyright for sound recordings should be extended from its current 50 years to 95 years, bringing UK law in line with the US. Only 20 per cent of respondents did not agree that the copyright period should be lengthened. ...more