Computer Aid bids for eBay support

The charity Computer Aid International is teaming up with eBay to boost the donations of computer equipment to the developing world. The scheme will enable sellers to donate a percentage of money made through sales on eBay to Computer Aid. The charity will, in turn, use the donations to ship kit to needy schools and hospitals. ...more

Blu-ray discs get final spec

The Blu-ray Disc Association has finalised the specifications for the various Blu-ray (BD) disc formats. It said that the formats for BD-ROM, BD-R (recordable) and BD-RE (rewritable) are now complete for both 25GB single-layer and 50GB dual-layer versions of the format. Several disc manufacturers are now preparing to produce discs; Sony starts production next month and Verbatim said this week that it plans to start shipping discs early this year. ...more

Oftel names and shames the telcos

Oftel has published a complaints charts for the fixed line, mobile and broadband providers. An Oftel spokesperson said that the regulator's consumer representation section makes a record of each complaint and can help direct them to the right people. He said they regularly meet with companies to see how they are dealing with any issues, too. ...more

Allen's SEC filing suggests massive Microsoft share sale

According to a filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen intends to sell 15 million shares worth ?935.4m of common stock. It isn't clear from the SEC document, which was filed on 23 October, whether the shares, which were acquired in June 1981 as part of founders' stock, have already been sold. ...more

Bulldog stops direct sales of consumer and SMB broadband

Bulldog has announced that it is pulling out of the consumer and small business retail broadband markets. It will continue to support existing subscribers with both customer care and the launch of new services but will cease any further proactive sales, marketing or advertising activities to acquire new customers. The ISP will instead focus on offering its extensive LLU network as a wholesale product for other service providers. ...more