Microsoft and other games publishers bid for 3DO

Microsoft looks to add to its Xbox roster Seven videogames companies have qualified to bid for the assets of bankrupt company 3DO, and the sale has attracted a number of big hitters. The full list of interested parties is Crave, Eidos, JoWood, Microsoft, Namco, Turbine and Ubisoft. 3DO filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late May; the auction will include the rights to bid on in progress titles like Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and Street Racing Syndicate, though there's no news on whether or not any new Army Men titles are in the pipeline. ...more

World Online pulls out of ADSL

World Online is the latest ISP to withdraw from BT's unbundling process and abandon its ADSL plans. According to Reuters, World Online blames the extravagant prices charged by BT for its decision. NTL, Thus, and Kingston Communications have all pulled out of the unbundling trials saying the cost was too high. ...more

UPDATED: Speed boost for iBooks

Apple has upped the processor speed of its iBook line-up, adding 100MHz to each of the four models. The entry-level 12.1in CD-ROM iBook now runs on an 800MHz G3 processor. ...more

Jobs admits iTunes will fall short of target

Steve Jobs has confirmed that iTunes Music Store sales will fall short of the target of 100 million songs by the end of April. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Apple's CEO said that he expects to have sold somewhere between 70 and 75 million. Nonetheless, he said he is 'thrilled' with its success. ...more

Broadband hopes raised for rural Scotland

The Scottish Executive has told an MP for one of the country's Highland regions that it is looking to bring broadband access to the few rural areas where it remains out of reach. Deputy First Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Nicol Stephen told John Thurso, the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross member of Parliament, that it is hoping to begin extending fast broadband access as early as this year, working into 2007. 'Over the past year, we have been collecting data about potential problem areas and have recently appointed independent consultants to assist us in our policy approach to the reach problem,' Stephen told Thurso. ...more