Google attacked for 'hostility to privacy'

Google has an 'entrenched hostility to privacy', according to new report. The Web search leader's commitment to consumer privacy came under fire from Privacy International, a group that has previously singled it out for criticism. The London-based group released a report on Saturday entitled 'A Race to the Bottom - Privacy Ranking of Internet Service Companies'. ...more

Microsoft turns up the heat on spammers

Microsoft is claiming success with the widespread adoption of the anti-spam Sender ID initiative. The company is also introducing new smart spam filters which 'learn' how to detect junk email. As the developer of the world's most-used email client in Outlook and the world's biggest web mail service in Hotmail, Microsoft has an interest in promoting methods of keeping the spammers out of the inboxes of its customers as effectively as possible. ...more

New Government initiative to help R&D

The Government has launched a new programme to help businesses and universities take advantage of a pot of 17 billion Euros provided by the European Union to help fund R&D within the Union. The Framework Programme, entitled in true EU fashion as FP6UK, is aimed to help British institutions to take advantage of the development fund that runs through to 2006 and is open to all kinds of organisations throughout the European Union. Interested parties can find details through the FP6UK website or by calling 0870 600 6080. ...more

Hotmail shuts door on Mac users

Security upgrades of Microsoft's MSN Hotmail email servers have left Mac users unable to access Hotmail accounts using either Entourage or Outlook Express, both of which are, ironically, Microsoft products. Microsoft has upgraded the servers to provide additional security with its Passport authentication system. The company is believed to working on a fix for the problem. ...more

Macromedia contributes to eBay Stores

Macromedia has announced a special version of its Contribute website editing application designed to simplify the creation and customisation of eBay Stores. eBay Store sellers will be able to create and manage their store from within Contribute, without needing to know any HTML, allowing them to quickly design and publish a professional-looking store featuring logos, images, descriptions, product categories, product showcases, and product search. 'eBay Stores is an online selling solution that is used by hundreds of thousands of sellers to build their own customised online store,' explained Julian Green, senior manager of eBay Stores. ...more