Amazon to enter music downloads jungle

Amazon, the leading online retailer of physical CDs, may be about to become the latest entrant into the increasingly crowded downloads market. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company has been in talks with record labels about licensing music for a store offering both downloads sales and a subscription service. It has also had discussions with MusicNet, a provider of music store infrastructures for a number of retailers. ...more

High copper prices prompt BT rethink on fibre optics

BT is considering changing its policy on the installation of fibre optics, having previously rejected them as an alternative to its copper-based network. Bob Cowie, chief engineer of BT Openreach, said that the rising price of copper had prompted the telecoms company to reconsider. 'The most significant change in the last 12 months has been the price of copper on the world market, Cowie, told journalists in Tokyo. ...more

Jobs and Gates to debate digital revolution

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates will come face-to-face when they take to the stage to discuss the history and future of the digital revolution in an unrehearsed, unscripted conversation at the the Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference in May. Some-time friends and long-time adversaries, the Apple CEO and Microsoft founder have swapped David and Goliath roles of late, with Jobs basking in Apple's dominance of the digital music market. Gates, meanwhile, has been popping up all over the media talking-up Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system, insisting that its 'innovative' new features are exactly that, and not merely a copy of Apple's Mac OS X. ...more

Job losses in Ireland as Shinko Microelectronics closes

Around 340 jobs may be on the line as Fujitsu and Shinko Electric Industries look to close the Shinko Microelectronics semi-conductor factory sometime in November. The controlling companies are to begin talks with trade union officials about the closure of the Irish plant, which manufactures flash memory and SAW filters for mobile phones, and they will help find new jobs for the employees. The companies blame the sharp downturn in the semi-conductor market and slack orders for the decision and had previously tried to find a buyer for the fab without success. ...more

Ofcom plans massive increase in DAB

Telecoms watchdog Ofcom has set out proposals that will allow the vast majority of existing BBC and commercial radio stations to move to digital services. If approved, operators will be able to bid for a broadcasting licence in late 2006 with the awards announced in early 2007. Under the plans, the industry regulator plans a major increase in Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) that currently offers local and national free-to-air services that can be received both in the home and on portable radios throughout the country. ...more