SCO scoops top influencer award for 'fear, uncertainty and doubt'

Software Developer Times has awarded Unix company SCO top honours as an industry influence in this year's SD Times 100 list. 'No other IT topic inspires such fervent debate, fear, uncertainty and doubt,' reads the accolade for the awards, which were chosen on the basis of 'how much buzz it was generating' and whether it forced 'its competitors to respond to its initiatives' among other factors. SCO headed up a new category for this year: influencers, and SD Times noted that 'the company's legal assaults on IBM and Linux users dominated 2003's tech headlines and shook up the open-source community. ...more

Intel bullish on third quarter revenues

Chip giant Intel has announced that it expects revenues for the third quarter of this year to be in the range of $7.6bn to $7.8bn. ...more

Government buys bulk broadband for the public sector

The Government has announced the formation of regional bodies that will buy broadband to meet public sector demand and also help lower trigger levels at rural ADSL exchanges. Nine Regional Aggregation Bodies (RABs) have been created in every English region that will aggregate public sector demand for broadband and buy it in one hit - saving money and enthusing the telcos to invest in equipment in areas that might otherwise have been neglected. E-Commerce Minister Stephen Timms, said: 'Not only will this mean maximum value for the tax payer, but it will also bring broadband to parts of the country that otherwise might find it difficult to access. ...more

DesignIT 2007 challenges IT pros

It's a chance for IT professionals to show their creative side, and it's charities that benefit. The DesignIT 2007 challenge was launched last night, with three charities - the NSPCC, Global Action Plan and Leonard Cheshire - setting the problems they hope the IT community will help surmount. Examples of the charity challenges include: how can IT help redesign or develop a web service that allows people to calculate their carbon footprint (Global Action Plan)? How can IT help a small scale local arts and crafts shop to benefit from the increased interest in local produce (Leonard Cheshire)? And how can IT provide a mechanism that would validate a user across a number of different media channels, helping to make younger users safer online (NSPCC)? The competition is sponsored by Microsoft and the head of its UK Server Product team, Bruce Lynn, officially launched the event, highlighting a usually unseen side of IT pros: their creativity. ...more

NTT DoCoMo to launch Wristomo Wristwatch Phone in Japan

Japanese telecoms giant NTT DoCoMo is to begin sales of the Wristomo, the world's first commercial wristwatch-style Personal Handyphone System mobile phone, on May 7, 2003 in Japan. Costing 37,000 yen, excluding tax, (?193), it comes with a standard accessory kit including battery charger, cushioned pad and adjustable wrist band. An optional cable (SI1001) that connects the Wristomo with a PC to exchange data costs 6,200 yen. ...more