Updated: Dell refunds Linux users who ditch XP

According to the BBC, Dell is refunding the cost of a Windows XP licence to users that don't use the product but install Linux instead. Dave Mitchell, freelance programmer and consultant, claimed the US company issued a ?50 rebate after he refused to agree to the Windows licence agreement on a new Dell laptop he bought. He made the claim based on a clause in Microsoft's terms and conditions that state Dell, as manufacturer, will refund any unused products. ...more

Storage Expo 2006: Industry missing out on encryption

Companies are missing a free ride on data security accord to speakers at this year's Storage Expo show in London. Data security is still not as important an issue as it should be and users are missing many tricks when it comes to protecting their data. There are easy and free tools to make data more secure but people aren't using them because of ignorance or carelessness. ...more

Apple sells 2 million iPods as profits break $100mn

Apple yesterday reported its highest profit in four years after selling more than two million iPods in the three months to 25 September. iPod sales were up 245 per cent on the previous quarter, reaching 2,016,000, with the holiday shopping season still to come. As a result profits reached $106mn, the highest since the same quarter in 2000, when sales of the original iMac were still going strong. ...more

Twenty-one new broadband exchanges

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Sega in denial over Dreamcast

Will they or won't they? That is the question. And the question is whether Sega will abandon its ailing 128-bit Dreamcast console. A company spokesman in Japan has acknowledged that the company is considering dropping production of the Dreamcast in order to concentrate on supplying games for rival Sony PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Gameboy Advance systems. ...more