An envoy to the land of e

Prime Minister Blair has given his blessing and so Andrew Pinder has officially been appointed as the next e-Envoy in the Cabinet Office. Pinder already held the post as an interim appointment following the quick exit of Alex Allan last Autumn, so he already knows his way around the halls of Westminster. He faced an open competition for the post, however, before being confirmed the by Civil Service Commissioners. ...more

Yahoo! to launch first licensed lyrics website

Yahoo! and digital media company Gracenote launched an online lyrics service on Tuesday, the first industry-backed effort in a market dominated by unauthorised websites. Song lyrics are among the top searches performed on the Web, but consumers have largely relied on unlicensed sources that often provide inaccurate and incomplete lyrics and do not compensate composers for their work. 'Finally, a free, legal and definitive way to settle a bet with the guy sitting next to you at the bar who is certain the Ramones' most famous anthem declares "I wanna piece of bacon", said Ian Rogers, general manager of Yahoo! Music, which will offer lyrics to hundreds of thousands of songs. ...more

Apple confirms end of line for single processor Power Macs

Apple has confirmed that it has stopped manufacturing single processor Power Macs, although some remain in retail channels, including the online UK Apple Store. No reason for the decision has been given. Once the inventory has been sold, the cheapest Power Mac will be the dual 2GHz model for ?1,349, ?350 more expensive then the now defunct model. ...more

Google UK to beat Channel 4 ad revenues this year

Google will make more advertising revenue in the UK this year than Channel 4, the publicly-owned broadcaster's chief executive said on Wednesday, as he warned the TV industry had underestimated the threat of the Internet. In an interview with Reuters, Andy Duncan said some traditional broadcasters had been slow to recognise the challenge posed by the Internet and multichannel TV, which cut into the audience and ad revenues of terrestrial broadcasters. '(This) reinforces that significant structural change has been going on and will continue to go on,' Duncan said in reference to the UK advertising market. ...more

Sun rises for Napster in Japan

Napster has announced that its digital music service is now available in Japan, taking the total number of countries in which it operates to five. Launched as part of a joint venture with Tower Records Japan, Napster offers nearly 2 million tracks on a subscription or ? la carte download basis plus commercial-free radio stations and 'community' features. 'Napster is very pleased to bring the first music subscription service to Japan's vibrant music and technology market,' said Chris Gorog, Napster's chairman and CEO. ...more