Sony to replace XCP-protected CDs

Sony is replacing its XCP-protected CDs after mounting pressure from all sides. The company had already said it would halt production of CDs using the controversial copy-protection software which has proven both a security nightmare for purchasers and a public relations disaster for the company. It said: 'We share the concerns of consumers regarding discs with XCP content-protected software, and, for this reason, we are instituting a consumer exchange program and removing all unsold CDs with this software from retail outlets. ...more

IBM offers on-demand super computing to Europe

Montpelier, France is the location of a new IBM Deep Computing Capacity on Demand centre. Only the second such in the world - the other is in Poughkeepsie, New York - the centre is intended to provide supercomputing power on tap. Markets targeted include petroleum and life-science industries, digital animation and financial services. ...more

Virgin.net slashes broadband startup costs

ISP Virgin.net has cut the cost of its Broadband service. From 1 May, the Virgin. ...more

BT to compensate for Manchester fire

BT will compensate homes and businesses that lost phone and Internet services after the fire in Manchester last March. The fire affected some 130,000 phone lines and BT said in a statement today: 'The initial findings indicate it started as a result of damage to electrical equipment. BT believes that during the course of work being undertaken in the tunnel before the fire, electrical fittings were damaged and this damage may have caused the fire. ...more

Dial-up access to Internet increasing once again

The Office of National Statistics has published its latest monthly report on UK Internet connectivity, covering the month of January 2003. The headline figure is that the total number of subscriptions to the Internet has increased 4.5 per cent between January 2002 and January 2003. ...more