Help at hand for game virgins

Are you stuck on the 299th level of Hyper Babble Jumper 3? Or have you lost the Elvin key in Old Dark Historical Adventure? If so, Virgin's web port offers help at hand in the form of some handy guides. The web portal has struck an exclusive deal with US publisher Prima Games in which they will offer electronic versions of their game guides. The Virgin portal has just been revamped and you can already download guides to over 50 top games, including that darned Pok?mon game, but this will be extended to a full catalogue of fast-track guides covering over 300 games. ...more

Labels pressure eMusic to increase prices

A number of independent record labels are threatening to withdraw their music from the eMusic download store unless it rethinks its pricing model. According to US industry magazine Billboard, at least six labels plan to either pull their entire repertoire or limit content to back-catalogue recordings. 'We've been partners with eMusic since the very beginning, and it is a great way for our customers to discover music,' the head of one of the labels, who asked not to be identified, told Billboard. ...more

Yahoo! surfs online ad revenue surge

Yahoo! is continuing to enjoy a surge in search related advertising revenues as it beat Wall Street estimates. The Internet portal brought in revenues of $907 million for the quarter a 154 per cent increase on the $357 million in the same period in 2003 bringing gross profits of $574 million. 'Marketing Services' which includes contextual advertising, jumped 212 per cent which shows that not only is Yahoo! enjoying a healthy share of the recent boom in online advertising but is also reaping the benefits from the purchase of Overture contextual advertising services. ...more

Fiorina hijacks her own CES demo

Hewlett-Packard chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina has commandeered her own demonstration to defend the proposed $25bn merger between HP and Compaq, reports Reuters. Having kept a low profile since the families of founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard spoke out to oppose the merger, Fiorina used these same characters as the basis for her argument. 'We're going to draw upon the same courage, the same determination, the same aspiration that drove our founders,' she told the audience at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today, and quoted Dave Packard, saying: 'To remain static is to lose ground. ...more

Apple doubles the money for iTunes Affiliates

Apple is doubling the money for all websites registered to its iTunes Affiliates Programme. The programme enables sites to earn commission on referrals to the iTunes Music Store. Normally four per cent, the commission rate will double to eight per cent during December. ...more