Microsoft names IE7 winners with Firefox tools

Microsoft has announced the winners of its IE7 add-on development contest. In a back-handed compliment to Firefox, however, the main prize was scooped by Core Services for its mimicking of the open-source browser's search behaviour. The Inline Search add-on lets you search for content on a webpage without bringing up the Find Dialog. ...more

Yahoo! launches music downloads service

The rapidly expanding Internet portal Yahoo! is set to take on iTunes and Napster with its own music subscription service. The company has announced a beta version of the Yahoo! Music Unlimited service from today. As part of the launch, US subscribers are offered a week's free subscription to the service that claims to have more than one million tracks encoded at 192Kbs available to download and play. ...more

Big Brother technology for everyone

Glasgow-based Essential Viewing has produced a video software package which, it claims, can send high quality streaming video over narrow bandwidth connections. The system has already been picked up by the US Navy for use in Iraq and is to be offered to security and police forces around the world. According to CEO Simon Hardy, this means 'a soldier or intelligence agent in the field can film an on-going situation and relay what he can see in realtime. ...more

Forty-seven new broadband exchanges

BT has confirmed broadband ready-for-service dates for another 43 exchanges, though potential users will have to wait until February or March to get connected. ADSL will be available on the following dates from the listed exchanges. ? 25th February 2004:, Galston, Leven, Lochgelly, New Mills ? 10 March 2004:, Billinge, Hale, Hightown (LV), Manor Park, Moore, Rainford ? 17 March 2004:, New Oakley, Stewarton ? 24 March 2004:, Ballingry, Girvan ? 14 April 2004:, Bledlow Ridge, Caton, Chrishall, Clifton Hampden, Coln St Aldwyns, Corscombe, Cranfield, Durley, Enstone, Glenrothes South, Goudhurst, Halland, Hatton-on-Lune, Ide Hill, Longparish, Medbourne Green, Mursley, Pencaitland, Perranporth, Petham, Rhu, Rotherfield Greys, Selborne, Sutterton, Weston, Woodchurch, Wormshill ? 21 April 2004: Dollar However, there are still 145 exchanges that have reached their trigger levels, but are awating RFS dates. ...more

PS2 delayed indefinitely in Hong Kong

Gamers may be complaining that there are shortages of the PlayStation 2 in the UK, but be grateful that the console has been released over here at all. Fans of the super console aren't so lucky in Hong Kong and south Asia, as Sony has postponed the release indefinitely, causing buyers to get their PS2 fix from the black market. The machine was already delayed, being brought back from a July release date to the end of the year but now that promise has been broken. ...more